We still haven't managed to get all the X-mas toys put away, and already people are asking me about what to get Keith for his birthday. Yikes, man--I don't know!
So I updated his wishlist----------------------------->
In a nutshell: Didj games, digital camera, Electronic (or even NON-electronic) Battleship.... I think we're all set with clothes for a while, but if you see something you just love, his sizes are 6 slim pants, and 6 shirts.
BTW: most of our X-mas thank you cards are done. I wanted to send pics with them, but then I realized that we didn't really have ENOUGH pictures to go around. Those school packages are SUCH a rip-off! So...maybe I'll get off my duff and just send the cards out without the pics--and see about FINALLY getting in to get our family pic taken--with extra singles of Mary and Keith.
(Don't hold your breath.)
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The Puke Channel: All puking, all the time
One would think that if one child gets the barfing flu on Wednesday night, and then the next child gets it on Friday night, and then FIVE DAYS PASS, that the rest of one's family would be SAFE, right?
One would be WRONG.
Mary came down with the barfing flu on Wednesday night--five days, and I-thought-we-were-in-the-clear, after her brother. SO WRONG.
So, Mary missed school on Thursday. And since she missed school on Thursday, she ALSO missed her Beginning Orchestra concert Thursday night. No luck 'round here, I tell ya!
Ah well, Keith got to make his cello debut at the concert on Thursday night, anyway. It appeared to Mom as if his timing was just a bit off with his "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," but he's still learning, and I'm not too fussed with that (he always sounds good at home). He did look just too darn grown up and cute in his white shirt, black pants, and black shoes.
We've gotten Keith and Mary to practice the "Twinkle" variations together--and nothing makes my heart swell more than to see my little "virtuosos" playing TOGETHER--and quite well, too.
In other "nerd" news, Keith has joined the chess club at school. Now John and Keith play chess together on the weekends, and Keith tells us that he's "kicking butt" against his opponents at school. He's been trying to teach Izzy how to play. We explained that Izzy's probably too young, so maybe he should try teaching Mary? No, he doesn't want to teach Mary, "because she might beat me!" Ha! Better get used to getting beaten, bud--not every player you are going to play against will be as inexperienced as the other first graders you are playing against now. (stinker)
One would be WRONG.
Mary came down with the barfing flu on Wednesday night--five days, and I-thought-we-were-in-the-clear, after her brother. SO WRONG.
So, Mary missed school on Thursday. And since she missed school on Thursday, she ALSO missed her Beginning Orchestra concert Thursday night. No luck 'round here, I tell ya!
Ah well, Keith got to make his cello debut at the concert on Thursday night, anyway. It appeared to Mom as if his timing was just a bit off with his "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," but he's still learning, and I'm not too fussed with that (he always sounds good at home). He did look just too darn grown up and cute in his white shirt, black pants, and black shoes.
We've gotten Keith and Mary to practice the "Twinkle" variations together--and nothing makes my heart swell more than to see my little "virtuosos" playing TOGETHER--and quite well, too.
In other "nerd" news, Keith has joined the chess club at school. Now John and Keith play chess together on the weekends, and Keith tells us that he's "kicking butt" against his opponents at school. He's been trying to teach Izzy how to play. We explained that Izzy's probably too young, so maybe he should try teaching Mary? No, he doesn't want to teach Mary, "because she might beat me!" Ha! Better get used to getting beaten, bud--not every player you are going to play against will be as inexperienced as the other first graders you are playing against now. (stinker)
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Pukefest Ver 3.0: Who's got the debugger for this?
Keith was the next to fall victim to the barfing flu. Out of the blue on Friday night he started whining and complaining his stomach hurt. Well then, guess what, kid--you are NOT getting up in your loft tonight! I set him up in his sleeping bag on the floor--with the ever-trusty Hello Kitty Barf Can by his side.
The first explosion was around 10:00 or so. Man, he near 'bout filled the Barf Can! Then...all got quiet. John and I were beginning to think he escaped with a mild bout. Ha, ha! Fooled you! The Puke Monster struck again around 2:00 in the morning!
That sealed Keith's fate on whether or not he could attend his Cub Scout Pinewood Derby and first day of swim lessons on Saturday. Seriously, this kid just never seems to get a break when it comes to these things! John, feeling that they just worked TOO DAR HARD on that car to skip it, went to the Derby without him. Another boy ran the car--and Keith's car won 3 of the 4 heats--and by a sizable margin, too! John says one of the wheels "stuck" on the first try, leading to the initial loss. After that, the car worked PERFECTLY and left the competition in the dust! The other fathers were a bit envious and looked over the car with a tinge of green. John freely gave out advice--he found it on the internet, after all (and it was all completely LEGAL, too). Heh.
We almost sent Keith to his swim lesson--he was definitely feeling better by the afternoon--but we didn't want to run the risk of spreading the Puke Bug on to others. (And wouldn't ya know it? Two of the kids in his swim class are in Scouts! Good call!)
See--there's John! But no Keith.... :-(
The winner--and DEN CHAMPION! (That cool looking orangey-black car on the far left).
The first explosion was around 10:00 or so. Man, he near 'bout filled the Barf Can! Then...all got quiet. John and I were beginning to think he escaped with a mild bout. Ha, ha! Fooled you! The Puke Monster struck again around 2:00 in the morning!
That sealed Keith's fate on whether or not he could attend his Cub Scout Pinewood Derby and first day of swim lessons on Saturday. Seriously, this kid just never seems to get a break when it comes to these things! John, feeling that they just worked TOO DAR HARD on that car to skip it, went to the Derby without him. Another boy ran the car--and Keith's car won 3 of the 4 heats--and by a sizable margin, too! John says one of the wheels "stuck" on the first try, leading to the initial loss. After that, the car worked PERFECTLY and left the competition in the dust! The other fathers were a bit envious and looked over the car with a tinge of green. John freely gave out advice--he found it on the internet, after all (and it was all completely LEGAL, too). Heh.
We almost sent Keith to his swim lesson--he was definitely feeling better by the afternoon--but we didn't want to run the risk of spreading the Puke Bug on to others. (And wouldn't ya know it? Two of the kids in his swim class are in Scouts! Good call!)
See--there's John! But no Keith.... :-(
The winner--and DEN CHAMPION! (That cool looking orangey-black car on the far left).
Thursday, January 15, 2009
PUKEFEST 2.0
Oh no! Not again!
Oh yes! Another bout of the stomach flu has hit the day care. I knew we were in trouble when Izzy didn't fall asleep last night, but lay there moaning and groaning. Crap. Around 11:00, I grabbed a trashcan and crawled in bed with Izzy to help direct the flow. And at around the midnight, the puking began.
We were basically up all night--the puking/dry heaves didn't stop until around 7:00 this morning. John's schedule dictated that it was MY turn to stay home with the sickling. I didn't actually mind as I didn't get ANY sleep last night and was really in no mood to work anyway.
Izzy is now on the mends. She's starting to perk up and actually managed to eat a handful of crackers. Meanwhile, Mom is hoping HER upset stomach is due to drinking a cup of coffee, and NOT due to germ-transference through the night.
Bleh.
Oh yes! Another bout of the stomach flu has hit the day care. I knew we were in trouble when Izzy didn't fall asleep last night, but lay there moaning and groaning. Crap. Around 11:00, I grabbed a trashcan and crawled in bed with Izzy to help direct the flow. And at around the midnight, the puking began.
We were basically up all night--the puking/dry heaves didn't stop until around 7:00 this morning. John's schedule dictated that it was MY turn to stay home with the sickling. I didn't actually mind as I didn't get ANY sleep last night and was really in no mood to work anyway.
Izzy is now on the mends. She's starting to perk up and actually managed to eat a handful of crackers. Meanwhile, Mom is hoping HER upset stomach is due to drinking a cup of coffee, and NOT due to germ-transference through the night.
Bleh.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The Trials and Tribulations of Mary's Teeth
Mary had to go to the dentist yesterday to get more fillings. Most of you know how I HATE to have baby teeth filled! But the dentist keeps pushing the NEED for it. And I didn't want Mary to have to go through another baby root canal, so I finally set up an appointment. "Conveniently" Mary also developed a sore on her gums this last week. I feared an infection leading to another root canal, so I was glad we already had this appointment set up so that I didn't have to go through the "should I call or shouldn't I call" fret.
Now, she had five more cavities (that's in addition to the three(?) we've already had filled in the last year?). The dentist was originally going to take care of it in two appointments, but he asked John (and Mary) if he could just go ahead and do them all at once. Mary was game. Alrighty.
(I still do NOT get why Mary's teeth have completely fallen apart this last year or so. Of the three, she's probably the best at brushing--and REMEMBERING to brush her teeth. And except for the candy-stealing incidents, she doesn't get a lot of sugary crap. What the freak?!)
So, Mary was a brave, little soldier and had five fillings (I was not there, and I don't know how many were on baby teeth vs. adult ones). Then the dental assistant came out and told John the verdict of the sore--it's an infection; they want to pull the tooth.
(I REFUSE to get myself all riled up over this. La, la, la, la, la, la....)
So, Mary was a brave, little soldier for just a while longer, and came out with five fillings and minus one tooth. John said she was basically fine until they went to the store to buy some pudding/applesauce/soup for her to eat for the next 24 hours. THAT'S when the tears started.
When I got home, she was just blubbering. Oh, the poor thing. How tramatic for her. I can only hope that this will help encourage her to brush more accurately and FLOSS! FOR CRIPES SAKE! FLOSS!!!!
Now, she had five more cavities (that's in addition to the three(?) we've already had filled in the last year?). The dentist was originally going to take care of it in two appointments, but he asked John (and Mary) if he could just go ahead and do them all at once. Mary was game. Alrighty.
(I still do NOT get why Mary's teeth have completely fallen apart this last year or so. Of the three, she's probably the best at brushing--and REMEMBERING to brush her teeth. And except for the candy-stealing incidents, she doesn't get a lot of sugary crap. What the freak?!)
So, Mary was a brave, little soldier and had five fillings (I was not there, and I don't know how many were on baby teeth vs. adult ones). Then the dental assistant came out and told John the verdict of the sore--it's an infection; they want to pull the tooth.
(I REFUSE to get myself all riled up over this. La, la, la, la, la, la....)
So, Mary was a brave, little soldier for just a while longer, and came out with five fillings and minus one tooth. John said she was basically fine until they went to the store to buy some pudding/applesauce/soup for her to eat for the next 24 hours. THAT'S when the tears started.
When I got home, she was just blubbering. Oh, the poor thing. How tramatic for her. I can only hope that this will help encourage her to brush more accurately and FLOSS! FOR CRIPES SAKE! FLOSS!!!!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Delurking Day! And a Funny Story about my Goofy Kid
One night a while back, not long after I went to bed, Mary wakes up in one of her normal nightmare/terror ways, crying out, "No! No! No! No!" (Keith's pranks and tortures apparently follow her in her sleep.) I went in to check on her, and she's starting to climb down the ladder to her bunk. "Hey, kid, are you OK?" She nods yes, and crawls back up in her bed.
Minutes later, I'm snuggled in my bed, and I hear her getting into her dresser drawers. ???? Being VERY snug and lazy, I call for her, "Mary? What are you doing?"
Mary comes into my bedroom--completely dressed. "Um...Mary, why are you dressed?" "It's morning!" "Um...honey...? It's midnight!"
Now HERE's the funny part.... Apparently while she was rooting around for clothes in the dark, she noticed I had set out clothes for the morning on her chair, so she grabbed them and put them on.
...They were IZZY'S clothes!!!!
Do you know how hard it is to keep from cracking up so as not to hurt the dainty feelings of your 9-year old--who is already grumpy and groggy since it's the midnight hour--and she's wearing clothes FIVE TIMES TOO SMALL FOR HER?
OMG!! Sleeves up to her forearms! Jeans the size of capris! And she couldn't even fasten them! She got them over her skinny butt, but she couldn't fasten them!
(I was able to get her to laugh a little more the next day. WHY did you think it was time to get up when it was pitch black? "Well, it's always pitch black when I get up!" Hmmm....true, but when it's time to get up, Mom ALWAYS turns on the light for you!)
Is it too cruel to say that I wish I'd taken a picture?
Monday, January 05, 2009
Another Baby!
What happens when I don't get online for a few weeks--a baby gets born!
Welcome, Emilia! Born 12-26-08. Hope we get to meet you before you grow out of that wonderful baby-head-smelling state!
Friday, January 02, 2009
Thank you, Oh, Internet Goddess (aka Devan)
The long lost Holiday post:
Our kids are spoiled.
And so am I.
X-mas was a ball, of course. I had started coming down with another cold, but everyone else was healthy. I spent the whole day on X-mas Eve FINALLY getting all my baking done for the neighbors. Goodies were dropped off by 5:00. After the kids went to bed, I wrapped the rest of the presents while John and I watched Dr. Who.
At 6:15 Keith was up. I nudged John, thinking the FUN was about to start. Nope. Keith went to the bathroom and then immediately went back to bed. Ha! Around 7:30, I hear the pitter-patter of feet again--and excited whispers. Oh yes! NOW it's time! John and I got up and joined the kids as they gazed upon ALL. THOSE. PRESENTS! (Actually, John and I were very grateful that the haul didn't seem to be as big as last year....) Despite my protests to just "WAIT!" I heard them tearing into the wrapping paper as I was running down to get the camera. John took over the camera--and the new memory card he had bought the night before didn't work! So he made the kids stop (they probably had about two torn into a piece) while he figured it out. To stall time, I made the kids get up and eat their breakfast, "But I'm not hungry!" Finally, we got some sort of camera action going on, so the tearing commenced.
After the carnage, John says, "Hey, let's go to the movies." Um...OK (thinking...but what about dinner?) Ah! Let's go OUT to dinner!
So we went out and saw Desperaux and then drove around to find an open Chinese place (thinking..."Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra, Ra Ra Ra Ra"). Just as we are walking into a Chinese place, we notice people walking into the Japanese place next door (which did NOT have their sign lit). Quick! We walk in--yeah,they don't open for five minutes. No problem! We'll wait!
So we sat at the hibachichi, and the kids got entertained, and the steak was absolutely PERFECT, and the waitress was amazed our kids would actually eat a) sushi and b) the onion soup. Yeah--we're raising them right!
On the way home we stopped at a gas station to buy outrageously priced batteries, so the kids could play with their new toys.
New favorites:
The Didjs and the Leapster 2 (thanks again, Aunt Lynnie!)
All! Those! Beads!
The ball thing for Keith....
New bikes for the girls!
Lots and LOTS of art supplies
Wii Fit (now I need to force myself to actually USE it)
...and we also plan on getting the kids swim lessons with leftover funds.
Much, much fun.
For New Year's we invited the neighbors over. We adults ended up just having a few beers and chatting while the kids all watched movies downstairs. All the kids (well, except the baby) made it past midnight this year. Anyway, we adults were having so much fun just yakking, that we never even managed to get out the Wii. I know! Good times....
Our kids are spoiled.
And so am I.
X-mas was a ball, of course. I had started coming down with another cold, but everyone else was healthy. I spent the whole day on X-mas Eve FINALLY getting all my baking done for the neighbors. Goodies were dropped off by 5:00. After the kids went to bed, I wrapped the rest of the presents while John and I watched Dr. Who.
At 6:15 Keith was up. I nudged John, thinking the FUN was about to start. Nope. Keith went to the bathroom and then immediately went back to bed. Ha! Around 7:30, I hear the pitter-patter of feet again--and excited whispers. Oh yes! NOW it's time! John and I got up and joined the kids as they gazed upon ALL. THOSE. PRESENTS! (Actually, John and I were very grateful that the haul didn't seem to be as big as last year....) Despite my protests to just "WAIT!" I heard them tearing into the wrapping paper as I was running down to get the camera. John took over the camera--and the new memory card he had bought the night before didn't work! So he made the kids stop (they probably had about two torn into a piece) while he figured it out. To stall time, I made the kids get up and eat their breakfast, "But I'm not hungry!" Finally, we got some sort of camera action going on, so the tearing commenced.
After the carnage, John says, "Hey, let's go to the movies." Um...OK (thinking...but what about dinner?) Ah! Let's go OUT to dinner!
So we went out and saw Desperaux and then drove around to find an open Chinese place (thinking..."Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra, Ra Ra Ra Ra"). Just as we are walking into a Chinese place, we notice people walking into the Japanese place next door (which did NOT have their sign lit). Quick! We walk in--yeah,they don't open for five minutes. No problem! We'll wait!
So we sat at the hibachichi, and the kids got entertained, and the steak was absolutely PERFECT, and the waitress was amazed our kids would actually eat a) sushi and b) the onion soup. Yeah--we're raising them right!
On the way home we stopped at a gas station to buy outrageously priced batteries, so the kids could play with their new toys.
New favorites:
The Didjs and the Leapster 2 (thanks again, Aunt Lynnie!)
All! Those! Beads!
The ball thing for Keith....
New bikes for the girls!
Lots and LOTS of art supplies
Wii Fit (now I need to force myself to actually USE it)
...and we also plan on getting the kids swim lessons with leftover funds.
Much, much fun.
For New Year's we invited the neighbors over. We adults ended up just having a few beers and chatting while the kids all watched movies downstairs. All the kids (well, except the baby) made it past midnight this year. Anyway, we adults were having so much fun just yakking, that we never even managed to get out the Wii. I know! Good times....
Curse You, Blogger!
My Holiday post--which was started over a week ago and then finished by me today--which means that YES, it WAS in my drafts folder--is now GONE. COMPETELY GONE.
So imagine what you will about our holiday. I just don't have the time or desire to type it all up again right now.
So imagine what you will about our holiday. I just don't have the time or desire to type it all up again right now.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
I SURVIVED: Slumber Party '08
So last Friday's snowstorm caused me to postpone Mary's birthday slumber party to Saturday. Bonus! One of the girls who couldn't make it on Friday could actually come on Saturday (crap!)! Bonus! More time to prepare and cut out tissue paper flowers!
(A side note here: when postponing the party, one girl [Mary's BFF, in the sense that she plays with this girl more than any other] originally couldn't come on Saturday as her grandparents were coming to town, and they were going to go skiing. No problem! We'll set them up for a playdate some other time--no big deal. Well, the mother was pretty frantic about R missing this party.... I ended up with another call from her on Friday: "My husband had an idea! Why doesn't Mary come over HERE tonight and stay the night here?!" Um...I canceled the party because I was being considerate and did NOT want anyone driving out on these roads!? And now you're offering for me to drive MY kid to YOUR house????? Um...No, no, thank you. We're going to relax and put in a movie instead. WTH? Hours afterward I was STILL laughing about that. People just don't THINK! Anyway, the grandparents couldn't make it to go skiing [due to the weather--imagine that!], so R got to come.)
So, on Saturday the party started just before 6:00. One of the girls apparently does not do well sleeping over, so we had her come a little early for a playdate instead. She and Mary hung out for a bit and then played with the Wii.
At 6:50, Mary's BFF shows up ("She was so excited to come that we came a little early--but this is the earliest I would let her!") Then the pile of other parents/girls descends upon us. Six girls in all. John took off with Keith to have some manly time together, and I started a craft with the girls in the dining room.
I turned on the X-mas music, and we made a garland of tissue paper flowers (they turned out pretty cute). And then we decorated our own cupcakes and ate them (and somehow forgot to sing Happy Birthday?). And then we opened presents (And EVERYONE brought a gift despite my plea NOT to--people honestly can't HELP themselves!). And guess what? The Dance Dance Revolution I had bought for Mary from Amazon--which somehow got delayed in delivery, so I wasn't expecting it until 12/24--actually DID get here in time for her party (must've come on Friday--John found it under about six inches of snow when he shoveled the sidewalk Saturday). So after the shrieks and oohs and ahhs, we set it up, and the girls all got to dance. Of course, the one girl--whom I will henceforth call the "Evil K"--kept taking off in the other room to do a Mad Libs game with another girl--and then they would come back to read it to the other girls. I tried not to mind, as they were all having fun (and "Evil K's" stories were mostly being ignored by the girls wanting to enjoy the party), but it was annoying to see the girls break off into groups like that. I prevented it as best as I could.
Around this time, the girl who "couldn't handle sleepovers" decides she really wants to stay the night and calls her Mom. Mom brings over clothes (forgets her jammies). I kept wondering how this was all going to turn out....
All the girls get their pajamas on and someone decides they should have a pajama fashion show. Alright--I'm game. The girls raid through their goodie baskets. Next thing I know, I've got a parade of girls in jammies walking down my living room "runway" with stickers and body glitter all over their faces. Ha!
Around 10:00 or so, I pop a ton of popcorn and settle the girls in the den to watch a movie. I stop the movie at about the half-way point to try to get them to settle down in their sleeping bags. I was on the couch--laughing at their feeble attempts to get me to go to another room. Mary finally says to the one girl, "Mom's not stupid, ya know!" Ha!
Mary and her BFF calm down right away. But the OTHER four girls--well, they decided to make this a NOT-slumber party. Now, I don't mind a roomful of goofy girls. I AM a GS leader, and despite my age, I DO remember what sleep-overs are like. So, I gave them plenty of time to goof-off and talk and laugh (begging them to please try and keep it down a bit as Keith and Izzy were in bed by this point). I did get a bit angry when one decided she needed to go to the bathroom, and three others piled in with her--and then two of them spilled over to running around in the basement. Um...NO!
We all lay down again, and "Evil K" just will NOT stop talking--LOUDLY. Mary actually got on to her, "PLEASE stop! I want to SLEEP" Another girl actually got TICKED OFF at yelled at her a couple of times (while alternately giggling at the girl's antics). I finally laid down the law and gave "Evil K" and her co-hort M (the one who doesn't do well at sleepovers?) 20 minutes to calm down (SEE how reasonable I am?) before I start calling parents. I watched "Evil K" still talking and giggling and taking articles of clothing and "throwing" them on the other girls...but at least she was being pretty quiet.....
Everything started to get quiet, and I actually dozed off. Next thing I know, it's about 1:30 in the morning, and John is coming downstairs and getting onto "Evil K." "Where is the Rubik's cube? The one I just saw you pick up when you were wandering upstairs? Where is it? OK. Now you all need to settle down and stop wandering the house, or I WILL call parents." Apparently she had taken a few trips to wander upstairs while I was dozing and was messing with stuff on the party table. John, being the night owl he is, was sitting in the living room and of course, saw the whole thing. I told him later I was sure she wasn't stealing it--she was just playing with it because she was bored and didn't want to go to sleep.
Finally "Evil K" gave it up and ALL the girls went to sleep.
I wake up in a still-dark den and chattering girls. "What time is it?" I stumbled upstairs--it was 6:40. Yeah--you all can still sleep a bit longer. ...I gave up the attempt around 7:00.
We ate breakfast, got dressed, packed up the bags (er, mostly--got quite a bit of a "lost and found" here now), watched the rest of our movie, and then got out the Wii and DDR again. Then all the parents pretty much showed up at once, and my house was quiet again.
The whole time I was corralling this party, I could only think, "Boy, I wish I had one of my co-leaders here!" And, "Wow. These girls who generally seem to be pretty quiet are quite LOUD when they all get together."
Despite the antics of "Evil K," we all did have fun. Mary said it was the BEST. SLEEPOVER. EVER. Hope you enjoyed it, kid. I'm NOT having that many of your friends over again anytime soon.
*Note to self: Please remember the NOISE level of six girls when planning a party next year! And DON'T invite "Evil K!"
(A side note here: when postponing the party, one girl [Mary's BFF, in the sense that she plays with this girl more than any other] originally couldn't come on Saturday as her grandparents were coming to town, and they were going to go skiing. No problem! We'll set them up for a playdate some other time--no big deal. Well, the mother was pretty frantic about R missing this party.... I ended up with another call from her on Friday: "My husband had an idea! Why doesn't Mary come over HERE tonight and stay the night here?!" Um...I canceled the party because I was being considerate and did NOT want anyone driving out on these roads!? And now you're offering for me to drive MY kid to YOUR house????? Um...No, no, thank you. We're going to relax and put in a movie instead. WTH? Hours afterward I was STILL laughing about that. People just don't THINK! Anyway, the grandparents couldn't make it to go skiing [due to the weather--imagine that!], so R got to come.)
So, on Saturday the party started just before 6:00. One of the girls apparently does not do well sleeping over, so we had her come a little early for a playdate instead. She and Mary hung out for a bit and then played with the Wii.
At 6:50, Mary's BFF shows up ("She was so excited to come that we came a little early--but this is the earliest I would let her!") Then the pile of other parents/girls descends upon us. Six girls in all. John took off with Keith to have some manly time together, and I started a craft with the girls in the dining room.
I turned on the X-mas music, and we made a garland of tissue paper flowers (they turned out pretty cute). And then we decorated our own cupcakes and ate them (and somehow forgot to sing Happy Birthday?). And then we opened presents (And EVERYONE brought a gift despite my plea NOT to--people honestly can't HELP themselves!). And guess what? The Dance Dance Revolution I had bought for Mary from Amazon--which somehow got delayed in delivery, so I wasn't expecting it until 12/24--actually DID get here in time for her party (must've come on Friday--John found it under about six inches of snow when he shoveled the sidewalk Saturday). So after the shrieks and oohs and ahhs, we set it up, and the girls all got to dance. Of course, the one girl--whom I will henceforth call the "Evil K"--kept taking off in the other room to do a Mad Libs game with another girl--and then they would come back to read it to the other girls. I tried not to mind, as they were all having fun (and "Evil K's" stories were mostly being ignored by the girls wanting to enjoy the party), but it was annoying to see the girls break off into groups like that. I prevented it as best as I could.
Around this time, the girl who "couldn't handle sleepovers" decides she really wants to stay the night and calls her Mom. Mom brings over clothes (forgets her jammies). I kept wondering how this was all going to turn out....
All the girls get their pajamas on and someone decides they should have a pajama fashion show. Alright--I'm game. The girls raid through their goodie baskets. Next thing I know, I've got a parade of girls in jammies walking down my living room "runway" with stickers and body glitter all over their faces. Ha!
Around 10:00 or so, I pop a ton of popcorn and settle the girls in the den to watch a movie. I stop the movie at about the half-way point to try to get them to settle down in their sleeping bags. I was on the couch--laughing at their feeble attempts to get me to go to another room. Mary finally says to the one girl, "Mom's not stupid, ya know!" Ha!
Mary and her BFF calm down right away. But the OTHER four girls--well, they decided to make this a NOT-slumber party. Now, I don't mind a roomful of goofy girls. I AM a GS leader, and despite my age, I DO remember what sleep-overs are like. So, I gave them plenty of time to goof-off and talk and laugh (begging them to please try and keep it down a bit as Keith and Izzy were in bed by this point). I did get a bit angry when one decided she needed to go to the bathroom, and three others piled in with her--and then two of them spilled over to running around in the basement. Um...NO!
We all lay down again, and "Evil K" just will NOT stop talking--LOUDLY. Mary actually got on to her, "PLEASE stop! I want to SLEEP" Another girl actually got TICKED OFF at yelled at her a couple of times (while alternately giggling at the girl's antics). I finally laid down the law and gave "Evil K" and her co-hort M (the one who doesn't do well at sleepovers?) 20 minutes to calm down (SEE how reasonable I am?) before I start calling parents. I watched "Evil K" still talking and giggling and taking articles of clothing and "throwing" them on the other girls...but at least she was being pretty quiet.....
Everything started to get quiet, and I actually dozed off. Next thing I know, it's about 1:30 in the morning, and John is coming downstairs and getting onto "Evil K." "Where is the Rubik's cube? The one I just saw you pick up when you were wandering upstairs? Where is it? OK. Now you all need to settle down and stop wandering the house, or I WILL call parents." Apparently she had taken a few trips to wander upstairs while I was dozing and was messing with stuff on the party table. John, being the night owl he is, was sitting in the living room and of course, saw the whole thing. I told him later I was sure she wasn't stealing it--she was just playing with it because she was bored and didn't want to go to sleep.
Finally "Evil K" gave it up and ALL the girls went to sleep.
I wake up in a still-dark den and chattering girls. "What time is it?" I stumbled upstairs--it was 6:40. Yeah--you all can still sleep a bit longer. ...I gave up the attempt around 7:00.
We ate breakfast, got dressed, packed up the bags (er, mostly--got quite a bit of a "lost and found" here now), watched the rest of our movie, and then got out the Wii and DDR again. Then all the parents pretty much showed up at once, and my house was quiet again.
The whole time I was corralling this party, I could only think, "Boy, I wish I had one of my co-leaders here!" And, "Wow. These girls who generally seem to be pretty quiet are quite LOUD when they all get together."
Despite the antics of "Evil K," we all did have fun. Mary said it was the BEST. SLEEPOVER. EVER. Hope you enjoyed it, kid. I'm NOT having that many of your friends over again anytime soon.
*Note to self: Please remember the NOISE level of six girls when planning a party next year! And DON'T invite "Evil K!"
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it BLAH
We've got tons of snow out there--and probably even more coming in the next hour or two. And so I was forced to postpone Mary's birthday slumber party tonight. That is going to be one VERY disappointed girl when she finally gets home (bus is running 30-45 minutes late do to the LOVELY weather). So far it looks as if two or even three of the girls can make it tomorrow night instead. I hope we can do that. Postponing it until after the holidays makes it more likely that it won't happen at all! Shhh!
We had a carry-in at work today. It got moved up from 3:00 to 12:00--and then they told us we could all go home. It took me about 35 minutes to go my normal 20 minute route home. The side roads were the worst. And that's when I decided that even if it DID stop snowing by 7:00 tonight, chances are the roads still won't all be plowed nicely--and who really wants to drag their kid out in that to drop them off at somebody else's house? Stay home! Pop some popcorn and watch a movie! (And now I have more time to cut out all those freakin' tissue paper flowers).
I've got about two more weeks until it's decided whether or not I'm loved enough to keep me at my job. It got kind of scary there as I wasn't very busy for a while, but it was noticed, and the last week has more than made up for it. I just hope it was enough--and that I proved myself enough--for them to decide that they can't do without me. Love me! Pick me! Choose me!
And last, a somewhat sad announcement: I don't think the X-mas cards are going to make it out this year. We never managed to get a family picture done. And then all these preparations for this birthday party have kind of scared the thought of X-mas cards right out of my head. So, IF they do go out, boy, are they ever going to be late! Sorry folks! It's not you--it's me, I swear! Still love you and miss you and Happy Holidays and blah, blah, blah. Mwah!
We had a carry-in at work today. It got moved up from 3:00 to 12:00--and then they told us we could all go home. It took me about 35 minutes to go my normal 20 minute route home. The side roads were the worst. And that's when I decided that even if it DID stop snowing by 7:00 tonight, chances are the roads still won't all be plowed nicely--and who really wants to drag their kid out in that to drop them off at somebody else's house? Stay home! Pop some popcorn and watch a movie! (And now I have more time to cut out all those freakin' tissue paper flowers).
I've got about two more weeks until it's decided whether or not I'm loved enough to keep me at my job. It got kind of scary there as I wasn't very busy for a while, but it was noticed, and the last week has more than made up for it. I just hope it was enough--and that I proved myself enough--for them to decide that they can't do without me. Love me! Pick me! Choose me!
And last, a somewhat sad announcement: I don't think the X-mas cards are going to make it out this year. We never managed to get a family picture done. And then all these preparations for this birthday party have kind of scared the thought of X-mas cards right out of my head. So, IF they do go out, boy, are they ever going to be late! Sorry folks! It's not you--it's me, I swear! Still love you and miss you and Happy Holidays and blah, blah, blah. Mwah!
Friday, December 12, 2008
17 years and 3 kids later
Hey, it's the best I could do....
(Edited to add: Where'd all those other kids in the picture come from? Don't remember ever having THOSE? Heh.)
17 Years
John and I met 17 years ago today.
Wuv. Twue Wuv.
Dude, that was a looooong time ago.
(And now is when I wish my scanner were working so that I could post a picture of John and me with our early 90s hair-dos [heh--he had a MULLET when I met him]. *sigh* You'll just have to IMAGINE our young adult geekiness.)
Wuv. Twue Wuv.
Dude, that was a looooong time ago.
(And now is when I wish my scanner were working so that I could post a picture of John and me with our early 90s hair-dos [heh--he had a MULLET when I met him]. *sigh* You'll just have to IMAGINE our young adult geekiness.)
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Recuperating
Izzy spent most of her day yesterday sitting in her slightly pukey pjs (she'd drooled on the clean ones I'd thrown on her after her 3 AM bath) and watching TV. By dinnertime last night, she was starting to perk up. She ate an apple and half a pbj sandwich. I gave her another bath (her hair smelled like the Lysol that I had um, liberally applied to every surface of her room). By bedtime, she was her usual perky self (great timing, kid!).
Izzy is SUCH a better sick person than say, HER SISTER. Mary sits and whines and mopes and complains ALL DAY. It's just DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA all day long with her! Izzy is quiet and may get upset for a minute after she pukes, but then she will sit there and chatter with you a minute after she's done. Oh yes. Staying home with a sick Izzy is much, much more pleasant than a sick Mary.
So far NO ONE ELSE IN THE FAMILY has started puking. Could this really stop at ONE hit?
The daycare was not so fortunate. The provider, her son, her boyfriend, and (at last count) 6 of the 8 kids she watches have all been hit.
I did well yesterday, but today I think my previous restless night finally caught up with me. I can barely keep my eyes open at work and have been reduced to eating chocolate in the attempt to stay awake.
What? Doesn't chocolate work the same as coffee? ;-)
Izzy is SUCH a better sick person than say, HER SISTER. Mary sits and whines and mopes and complains ALL DAY. It's just DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA all day long with her! Izzy is quiet and may get upset for a minute after she pukes, but then she will sit there and chatter with you a minute after she's done. Oh yes. Staying home with a sick Izzy is much, much more pleasant than a sick Mary.
So far NO ONE ELSE IN THE FAMILY has started puking. Could this really stop at ONE hit?
The daycare was not so fortunate. The provider, her son, her boyfriend, and (at last count) 6 of the 8 kids she watches have all been hit.
I did well yesterday, but today I think my previous restless night finally caught up with me. I can barely keep my eyes open at work and have been reduced to eating chocolate in the attempt to stay awake.
What? Doesn't chocolate work the same as coffee? ;-)
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Well, It's 3:00 in the morning...
...and Izzy is PUKING all over her bed.
@#$%!
So much for escaping the Great Stomach Bug Epidemic of 2008!
By 7:15-ish she seemed to finally run out of puke. I called the day care provider and said, "I've got a puker!" Guess what? D had been up all night puking too. LOVELY.
John had a 9:00 meeting, so he ran into work, and I stayed home and put the older two (We'll call them Carriers #2 and #3 now--since *I* am surely Carrier #1) on the bus. Izzy and I sat and watched PBS Kids, made a quick trip to drop Mary's forgotten violin at the school (whoops!), John came home, and I made it back into work by 10:30.
And my boss is actually going to let me "make up the time."
um....Wow?!
@#$%!
So much for escaping the Great Stomach Bug Epidemic of 2008!
By 7:15-ish she seemed to finally run out of puke. I called the day care provider and said, "I've got a puker!" Guess what? D had been up all night puking too. LOVELY.
John had a 9:00 meeting, so he ran into work, and I stayed home and put the older two (We'll call them Carriers #2 and #3 now--since *I* am surely Carrier #1) on the bus. Izzy and I sat and watched PBS Kids, made a quick trip to drop Mary's forgotten violin at the school (whoops!), John came home, and I made it back into work by 10:30.
And my boss is actually going to let me "make up the time."
um....Wow?!
Monday, December 08, 2008
Cold Lethargy
This weekend was sort of a lazy one--and COLD! I mean, I had LOTS to do (especially since I'd been sick for so long and all the housework was way, way behind), but I basically didn't do (most of) it.
Friday night I went out to eat with L. I chose Mexican as my kids won't eat it, so I hardly ever get it. Margarita on the rocks! Yum! Then we went to the mall, looked around and bought a few gifts (well, SHE did), and then sat at That-incredibly-expensive-coffee-shop until the mall closed at 10:00. We never did make it back to the one store we were actually heading to.... But I'm not much of a shopper, anyway--it was the company that I was enjoying.
Saturday I wasted the whole morning reading and doing basically nothing. Well, that's not exactly true. I did get some of the housework HALF-WAY done--in preparation for the X-mas tree we were planning on buying. John actually got out and put up X-mas lights--our very first year doing it (I think the fact that EVERY neighbor had their lights up last weekend kinda shamed him into it). We finally all climbed in the van and headed to a Big Home Store to buy some more decorations for the outside of the house. By the time we got out to our little Boy Scout X-mas tree lot, they had closed up for the day (WHY close down a x-mas tree lot at 6:00 on a Saturday????). So, we grabbed a bite to eat and headed home.
Sunday morning it was freaking FREEZING outside. I started the laundry (and that was basically it for the domestics of the day). Then we rushed to our BS lot, grabbed a tree, perched it in its stand at home, then rushed Keith off to a Pokemon birthday party (Drat! Here I was hoping he'd never NOTICE Pokemon! Now he's been TAINTED!). Mary and I finally lucked out and found our last three GS cookie customers AT HOME. Then we picked up Keith, dropped him off at home, and we went out to Wally-World where she picked out gifts for Keith and Izzy (and I was once again disappointed in my local Wally-World's selection of toddler clothes). THEN we went to the store--where I ONCE AGAIN forgot my list and just winged it. Yeah, I'll be running back to the store probably TONIGHT.
Another weekend went by where I never got around to scheduling the family portrait (hmmm...may not be happening this year). And the bathroom didn't get cleaned. And none of the dusting got done. And the kids never cleaned their rooms any of the 10 times I asked, and I didn't bother trying to ask the 11th. The den/playroom still has tons of toys scattered everywhere and badly needs to be vacuumed. And we ended up not having time to actually put the ornaments on our tree. And I was too tired last night to bake the six dozen cookies that I'm supposed to have for my cookie exchange tomorrow (guess what I'll be doing tonight?).
What did get done: five (or was it six?) loads of laundry, living room vacuumed, kitchen mopped. SOME junk sorted out of the basement.
Well...I guess I wasn't as unproductive as I thought.
Friday night I went out to eat with L. I chose Mexican as my kids won't eat it, so I hardly ever get it. Margarita on the rocks! Yum! Then we went to the mall, looked around and bought a few gifts (well, SHE did), and then sat at That-incredibly-expensive-coffee-shop until the mall closed at 10:00. We never did make it back to the one store we were actually heading to.... But I'm not much of a shopper, anyway--it was the company that I was enjoying.
Saturday I wasted the whole morning reading and doing basically nothing. Well, that's not exactly true. I did get some of the housework HALF-WAY done--in preparation for the X-mas tree we were planning on buying. John actually got out and put up X-mas lights--our very first year doing it (I think the fact that EVERY neighbor had their lights up last weekend kinda shamed him into it). We finally all climbed in the van and headed to a Big Home Store to buy some more decorations for the outside of the house. By the time we got out to our little Boy Scout X-mas tree lot, they had closed up for the day (WHY close down a x-mas tree lot at 6:00 on a Saturday????). So, we grabbed a bite to eat and headed home.
Sunday morning it was freaking FREEZING outside. I started the laundry (and that was basically it for the domestics of the day). Then we rushed to our BS lot, grabbed a tree, perched it in its stand at home, then rushed Keith off to a Pokemon birthday party (Drat! Here I was hoping he'd never NOTICE Pokemon! Now he's been TAINTED!). Mary and I finally lucked out and found our last three GS cookie customers AT HOME. Then we picked up Keith, dropped him off at home, and we went out to Wally-World where she picked out gifts for Keith and Izzy (and I was once again disappointed in my local Wally-World's selection of toddler clothes). THEN we went to the store--where I ONCE AGAIN forgot my list and just winged it. Yeah, I'll be running back to the store probably TONIGHT.
Another weekend went by where I never got around to scheduling the family portrait (hmmm...may not be happening this year). And the bathroom didn't get cleaned. And none of the dusting got done. And the kids never cleaned their rooms any of the 10 times I asked, and I didn't bother trying to ask the 11th. The den/playroom still has tons of toys scattered everywhere and badly needs to be vacuumed. And we ended up not having time to actually put the ornaments on our tree. And I was too tired last night to bake the six dozen cookies that I'm supposed to have for my cookie exchange tomorrow (guess what I'll be doing tonight?).
What did get done: five (or was it six?) loads of laundry, living room vacuumed, kitchen mopped. SOME junk sorted out of the basement.
Well...I guess I wasn't as unproductive as I thought.
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