March 30, 2010

They Crack Me Up

We went to The Creation Museum today.  Super cool place!!!  I took some sweet photos, but what in the world happened here?!!?  MY KIDS CRACK ME UP.

March 27, 2010

Humpty Dumpty

Today at a family get together, Luke was allowed to speed around on a scooter without a helmet, and wouldn't you know… he had a major spill! It went flying right out from underneath him, his feet far above his head and KABOOM -
he cracked his head  H A R D  on the sidewalk.
I try not to overreact when my kids are hurt, but seeing this with my own eyes led me to RUN to him. I scooped him up with my hand on the back of his head. Good news... no blood, but almost instantly he grew a gigantor goose-egg bump on the back of his head. We iced it, but even still he is leftover with a nasty sized knot. He described that it felt tender as he laid his head on his pillow tonight. Poor guy.
SO, I tell you this not as a lecture about helmets. More because it made me realize what a resilient kid Luke actually and typically can be. This very morning I have witnessed an example of his macho-ness. During Judo, he had an opportunity to match up against another 5 year old. Luke's aggression is normally pretty controlled. He does loves a good competition though.
Here's what happened...
Immediately after bowing in, Luke went right after his opponent and flipped him onto the ground. It didn't physically hurt the boy (it IS the purpose of Judo, after all), but it shocked him and he ran to his dad sobbing his eyes out.
The funny part?
Luke ran right after him, and as the boy was clinging to his father, Luke grabbed him around his waist and pulled/pried him right off his dad just to slam him down again. No exaggeration.
And No Mercy.
I felt bad for the boy. Luke didn't waiver. The boy eventually did calm down and his dad didn’t seem upset by it.
I simply tell you this to describe that Luke is quite a tough guy, and when I saw him crash onto the ground from his scooter this evening and completely freak out with pain... I sort of felt panicked. It's seldom for him to be "hurt".
It's also possible that secretly I'm relieved that he isn't some invincible warrior and does have some normal weaknesses. Maybe now, we can just focus on the words compassion and empathy.
Lydia's story of the evening...
She demonstrated that the hole on the cornhole boards reminded her of potty seats. She sat her tiny tushie on them and pretended to "go". In the car we laughed again about this as she confessed that she actually did "toot" while she sat on the boards also. Silly girl.

March 26, 2010

MOVIE NIGHT SUCCESS

Movie Night... FUN FUN FUN!
Planet 51
AN AWESOME MOVIE!

Present:
9 kids, 4 adults

Eaten:
1/2 bag of pretzels
1 bag of Cheetos
1 bag of M&Ms
16 Rice Krispie Treats
a couple handfuls of grapes
1 dozen marshmallow candy ice cream cones
2 bags microwave popcorn

No Kidding!  I anticipated this though, so as I announced the theater "rules" - I included a bit about how they could eat what they want AS LONG AS they don't complain to their parents later about belly aches!  These kids were so excited for the snacks AND the movie.  They were super eager to laugh... so much so- that they laughed even when it was barely funny.  I was glad though.  We were happy to have them, and it turned out to be a perfect evening!

Recap

Okay…
Last week, Luke ran around in shorts and a t-shirt. We couldn’t WAIT to be done with coats and put all of our snow boots away. WHAT HAPPENED?!?!!!!!!! Crazy.
Here’s a slight recap of our warm weather adventures though:

I attempted to help Luke ride his bike without training wheels. TERRIBLE MISTAKE! Totally not ready! You can imagine the display we put on for a while though.

Lydia got her first official war wound in the driveway. She had a nice, gross “boo boo” that hung on for over a week.

Luke has learned to hang upside down by his knees on jungle jims. Plus, he NO LONGER needs me to push him on the swings!


Poor Abi got a spring haircut just a smidge too early this year. I trimmed her fur shorter than it’s been all winter, but this morning she’s shivering her little doggie buns off!

We spent the day yesterday with my majorly preggo friend, Christy. She shared and I reminisced about the bittersweet aches and pains of the last few weeks. Some (well... MANY) too personal to share. It was a fun morning at Florence Mall though. The kids enjoyed an awesome indoor play area and a super cool double-decker carousel!

Craig coached a group of kids at his school to WIN the school’s talent show playing a drumline song he “wrote” (sort of) for them. They were pumped!
No fish have died in our aquarium for over a month!!!!! This is a serious accomplishment for me!

I'll try to do a better job at filling you in on the funnies around here.  I've been a bad, bad blogger :(

March 24, 2010

cough... cough...

We're trying to catch a break around here.
I wish the seasons would go ahead and CHANGE already...
so we can BREATHE finally!!!

March 19, 2010

Another Conversation

Another conversation... between Lydia and I yesterday afternoon.

Mommy: Reprimanding Lydia and explaining that she needs to use NICE words with her brother.  "Lydia, do you understand me? (pause) Lydia? Do you understand?"

Lydia: Pursed lips. Chin up. Swift glance out the car window away from Luke and I. "I can't talk, Mommy."

Mommy: "You can't talk?"

Lydia: "No."

Mommy: "Why not?"

Lydia: "I'm too tired."

UGH How do you manage a two year old?!!?!?
You'd think I've NEVER done this before!

March 17, 2010

A Pungent 'Present'

Okay, Luke's sick, Lydia's (sort of) sick, I'm sick.  Craig's been SUPER BUSY.  Life is dull right now.  I made a "funny" though...  a little lame, but it's all I got right now:

Scene: The kids and I waiting in a doctor's office this afternoon. Lydia poops in her diaper.  It's a genuine stink-bomb!  I didn't bring in a diaper, hoping we'd be there for a super short visit.  We sat in the room for 45+ minutes, and finally the doctor enters...

Doctor: "Phew! Seems like someone left a present in this room." (glancing at the garbage can)
Me: "No, someone is WEARING a present in this room." (glancing at Lydia)

He laughed.  I laughed.

TOTALLY worth blogging about it right now,
so I could relive it and laugh all over again!

March 16, 2010

Fun in Phoenix

This past weekend, Craig had to go out of town for a 4 day trip to Phoenix.  The good news is that I was able to join him!  It's the first time we've really gone away like this and left our kids.... EVER!
I'll describe it as WONDERFUL, as long as you understand that
I really did honestly miss my children!

Craig had to be at his scheduled conference for some/much of the time, which allowed ME complete freedom.
I had nowhere to be & plenty of time to get there.
I laughed at nearly a dozen of these statues, until I realized
they were embarrassingly detailed to be anatomically CORRECT!!!
Women AND Men.   Y U C K !
I would have much rather seen the Barbie/Ken approach
to their private parts!

See the bench?  It is where I spent hours of my time...
reading and writing.  It was breathtaking and serene.

While I was away though, my youngin's brewed up some nasty germs.  It seems Lydia may be getting over hers now, but Luke now has "walking pneumonia".  Poor little guy!!  Poor CHRISTY too, who babysat all weekend- along with caring for her own 3 year old AND her 3rd trimester pregnant self.  She did so though, graciously and selflessly.  I feel indebted!
THANK YOU, MY DEAR FRIEND!

March 8, 2010

"Not Candy" part 2

Well just as I had guessed (in my earlier post) - Craig mistakenly got a taste of the air freshener crystals.  He thought they looked like yummy rock candy.  Upon allowing his fingers to touch a piece though, he discovered they were a bit "wet". 
Still curious though, he LICKED his finger.... YUCK!
He told me it tasted like cleaning solution.
ha ha ha

"Not Candy"

Last night I poured some air freshener crystals into a bowl on our kitchen counter.  They smelled DELISH!  They're ROCKS though...
NOT EDIBLE!
I had not shared this detail with anyone in the family yet.

Here's a note Craig left this morning.
I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR THE STORY TO GO WITH IT!!!!
ha ha ha
(it says, "Not Candy!")

March 7, 2010

Spilled Spaghetti

I don't enjoy grocery shopping,
but I DO enjoy saving money.
I don't enjoy clipping and sorting coupons,
but I DO ENJOY SAVING MONEY!
I definitely don't enjoy the embarrassment of needing
a bagger to help me push two shopping carts out to my car,
BUT I DO ENJOY SAVING MONEY!!!!!!

Here's a list to describe my (practically) quarterly grocery shopping experience:
  • approximately 2 1/2 hours walking the store aisles
  • a gigantor stack of coupons, and NOT A SINGLE ONE was expired or declined
  • only 2 cashiers working AND ONE WAS AN EXPRESS LANE!  I do genuinely feel awful when people have to wait in line after me.  It helps me to think that I only do this every few months, so if you add up all the time OTHER NORMAL PEOPLE force others to wait on their checkouts...  I guess I'm not all that bad
  • ONE BOX OF THIN SPAGHETTI FALLING OVER THE EDGE OF MY OVERFLOWING CART AND BUSTING OPEN ON THE FLOOR AT THE REGISTER (I WASN'T ANYWHERE NEAR IT, SO I'M NOT TO BLAME!)  If you've ever been annoyed trying to pick up ONE little piece of uncooked spaghetti off your counter/floor, try HUNDREDS that rolled all over the floor.  The bagger told me he has only worked there 8 days... poor guy
  • a manager had to use a key to override my flagged order, because I SAVED TOO MUCH MONEY
  • an unexpected rainshower as I loaded up my car
  • a nice gentlemen that actually HAD TO WAIT IN LINE BEHIND ME offered to drive my two empty carts to the cart corral for me
  • amount saved $255. I saved 42.5% of my bill. You can do the math if you really want to know how much I spent. Never mind, I'll do it for you.  I paid around $340.  YES- That's a bunch, HOWEVER not TOO much when you consider I only shop every few months.
And actually right now I should be
putting groceries away, but I don't feel like it.
ha ha



March 6, 2010

300 TO GO

In case you're unaware and/or interested,
I am still rockin' with my 2nd blog.
I'm on DAY 65.
Only 300 more days to go... PHEW!

March 2, 2010

Something that WASN'T FUNNY..................... in the moment

Okay... I don't like spicy food. I detest it, to be precise. Craig, on the other hand, CRAVES intense flavors. We fortunately (for him) live close to Jungle Jims- a super cool grocery store that has an entire aisle dedicated to hot sauces. This week the kids and I chose wisely a few new varieties for Craig to try. So here's what happened-
Craig poured a teeny little amount on his plate
and delicately dipped a bite of chicken.
I laughed as he twitched a bit and made funny faces.
Wouldn't you know curiosity got the best of me!
THIS type of curiosity, I'm certain, WILL KILL THE CAT!
I wondered how HOT it had to be for CRAIG to be intolerant, so I smeared my finger ever so slightly, just to get a  transparent  wetness and the yes - I LICKED MY FINGER! IMMEDIATELY, and I'm not exaggerating...
I  M  M  E  D  I  A  T  E  L  Y
I burst out a very unladylike cough and then started hacking like a crazy person. I was out of my chair in an instant and running, yes RUNNING, for the bathroom as I gasped for air! I started dry heaving over the toilet bowl! I'll spare you too many details, but being in the privacy of your own home surrounded by  those  who  unconditionally  love  you makes it a lot easier to FORCEFULLY AND LOUDLY RETCH!!!!
(FYI  there was nothing to flush, so this isn't too gross of a story, I HOPE!)
My eyes were ready to burst out of their sockets
and I told Craig after it was over,
I think it would have been better if I would have just passed out until the pain in my mouth would have subsided.   And my poor children? I fear they will NEVER want to try a new flavor after the dramatic display I put on this evening.
I am not proud, but I wanted to share this to warn you...
Here is the terrible poison you should
NEVER, EVER attempt to digest!!!!!
IT IS PURE BOTTLED EVIL!!!!!
Of course, Craig has it already set aside
to take to work tomorrow to share with his coworkers.
Mr. Congeniality!