Making Lemonade...!

Yesterday I had hoped to get the kiddoes out to the store and pick up a pizza to take home for dinner. Rex was out at the sports show so he couldn't pick up dinner for me... Boo hoo!! I'm so spoiled! He always calls on the way home to see if we need anything and he'll pick it up for me! We live 15 minutes drive from the edge of town, 30 minutes from the good stores. It's not all that much I suppose but factor in getting the children bundled up, remembering they haven't been to the bathroom, unbundling them, starting again, getting Jack strapped in, putting the puppy in the car, remembering SHE hasn't peed, taking her out again, letting HER pee, putting her back in the car, starting the engine up and trying to get HEAT, driving on snow, driving on ICE, driving in the DARK and THEN driving to the store, getting INTO Super Target and stopping Jack from running off etc etc etc ... well frankly the idea began to lose it's appeal. I scratched it and we decided to come up with a new plan!! :D We have a teeny grocery store in town which sells boxed Mac and Cheese. The children love it for a treat (!) so I agreed to drive out quick and pick up a box of that whilst they stayed home and played on the computer. When I got home I made a pumpkin pie and sorted the children out with a shower together. (First time Jack has had a shower and he seemed to LOVE it!!! ) Whilst they were showering I also made some Oatmeal Raisin Cookies ( from scratch, if you are wondering!! ) and made up the loveliness that is Boxed Mac and Cheese!! :D I lit the fire and put the kiddoes in their PJ's!!! To be fair, Jessie put her OWN pj's on!! :D We ate our Mac, then snuggled by the fire on the reclining sofa under a giant blanket and we watched Tinkerbell whilst eating cookies and pie !!!! The kiddoes decided that this was MUCH better than Super Target and Pizza.... and I really have to agree!! ;D

Fun on Friday! :D

Well... I don't really know how much FUN we'll have today, but I'm sure they'll be a bunch of it! Isn't there ALWAYS??? Jack only peed his pants THREE times yesterday and one of the dogs got under the dining table and thought it was an appropriate place to empty their bladder. I tried to clean it up but I notice this morning that there is a HUGE stain on the carpet now.

**pause whilst I swear vividly**

I originally bought the puppy to take my mind and heart off my lost baby. I got the older dog to make me feel less guilty for getting a puppy. I wish, quite often, that I'd got neither.

Ah well!! You didn't want to hear all that did you!?! :D

OK! Onto sunnier, or at least brighter things!!

It snowed last night! The thing is neither Hubby nor myself had any idea it was going to snow, but Mum ( Garry ) back in the UK had checked our weather over night and SHE knew we were going to get snow!!! Ain't the Internet grand!!?!?! :D Hubby is out at work and then off to ANOTHER sports show tonight. I don't see the attraction myself, but he enjoys them so who am I to complain!?!? :D The kids are tearing about getting ready to go outside and play and I am contemplating my next move! Somewhere HOT I think.... like the Bahamas!??! or the shower?!?!? Shower's closer... and free!!! I think I'll try there!! :D

Later, Peeps!! 'D

Inside Outside.... take 2...!

Jack is working so hard at dressing himself...and all without any help or even encouragement really, from me! I put his clothes on the floor near him whilst he watched PBS ... I had intended to help him get dressed, but got busy doing other things as usual. When I happened to glance at him in the living room I noticed he was fully dressed!!! Socks and all!!!!! There was only ONE SMALL snag......








LOL!!! Poor Lamb!!!!

Feeling Sloth~like!

Oh my!! I'm having a very sloooow day today!!! I can't seem to get going ( AGAIN!!) I really ought to take my vitamins, I'm sure it will help... I DID get them out the cupboard.. that's a good start, right!!!! Now to OPEN the container and PUT ONE IN MY MOUTH!! :D

Today the children and I are going to get some school done! ( oh yes we are!! ) and it will most probably revolve around Dragons again...!! I DID manage to link the study of Dragons and the study of ratios!!! Go ME!! I'll make an unschooler out of myself yet!! ;D

I'm going to go and drag my sorry self up the stairs and slap some alertness into my face!! I slept really well last night, but could HAPPILY have continued sleeping for another 4 hours or more.... ah well.... I'm sure ONE day the kids, hubby, dogs and cat will let me sleep ... right?!!? RIGHT!?!?!? Oh just humor me for now....!! ;D

Who's a Dragon????

The children have been busy building a castle from the couch cushions and pillows. They've been playing very nicely together in there and Jessie kept coming to ask me to play with them. There'd been talk of a dragon and knights and such. I didn't really want to play, but thought, I'll be a Good AP Mom and I'll play with my kids. What harm could there be in that?!

Ahem.

I watched them playing together, Jack was "sleeping" and Jessie was waking him up very gently. I crouched down and approached the castle as might a Big Red Dragon!! I ROARED and leaped upon the couch cushions, knocking down walls and flailing around my mighty tail!!!

Roarrrr!!!
Roooaaarrrrr!!!!
RRROOOOOOAAAAARRRR!!!!!!!!!!

Jessie SCREAMED!!!!!!!!! eeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
and Jack, in blind terror, peed his pants.

Oops.

I took him to the bathroom where he explained it all to me.

"Boonan (Brecon) is the Dragon..... You...

(here he points accusingly)...MOMMY!!!!"




Oh! I see!!!! Sorry!!!

You sunk my Battleship!!! :D

 

Jessie recently has grown fond of Webkinz and she plays their online games including Battleship. She was amazed when I told her that in MY day ( yes, I used THAT line! ) we used to play it on paper!!! FOR REAL!!! ;D I showed her last night how to play and whilst "The Boys" played Mario Cart on the Wii, we played an old fashioned game of Battleship! I had her draw two grids A through J on the Y axis and 1 through 10 on the X axis. The top grid she was to label "My ships" and the bottom was to be labeled "Mum's ships". I told her to place her fleet anywhere using AAAAA for Aircraft Carrier, BBBB for Battleship, CCC for Cruiser, SSS for Submarine and finally DD for Destroyer. Once we were all set up we began "firing" !! We played and played with her happily sinking my ships and me marveling at the thorough way she had hers hidden! The game wore on and she had my fleet about demolished, still I had made little progress against hers. Finally she spoke up. "I don't think this is very fair" she said "Most of my ships aren't even on the grid....."


Ah.

Note to self. Small children, even nine year olds, are quite literal. When I told her to put her ships "anywhere" I meant anywhere on the grid. She thought I meant anywhere on the PAGE. Hmm. Could have been a LOOOOOONG game!!! :D

Are YOU Hyper?!!?

Oh my!! We recently purchased Hyper Dash! Have you played it?!! MAN it's EXHAUSTING!!! I thought I was being clever by moving the parts all around the house... some upstairs, some in the basement, some in the kitchen etc.... ahem.... The idea of the game is you have a handle piece that "tells" you which color or number you need to get, then you have to go as fast as you can .... AS FAST AS YOU CAN... and find that number or color, then put the handle over the piece to make it register... then it's on to the next one. You have to beat your own time or the time of other players. You may have to get GREEN, then 4, then double strike yellow, then 8-3 and so on and so on until you think you may just DIE .... then your turn is over and you get to collapse in your computer chair and watch the kids have a go.... then .... IT'S YOUR TURN AGAIN!!!!!!!!!! Sheesh!!!! To be honest I can't help but think it's an amazing game! You can take it to a park and spread the pieces out all over heck, or you can play it in a small room with pieces behind the couch, under the table and so on....! Don't kill yourself though!! ;D And watch the stairs!!!! :D

Inside, Outside, Upside down.....!

...Or, what happens when small boys try to dress themselves!! Awwww.. bless him!!! ;D

Here Jack is wearing a shirt, as pants. Sort of reminds me of a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon...!




Then it was discovered he was wearing two pairs of undies... one with the butt in the leg hole....!



Inside, outside, upside down!! ;D




Funny boy!! ;D

House Mistress!!! :D

Lately Hubby and I have taken to watching DVDs of House after the kids are tucked up in bed. We watch episode after episode one after another until it's reeeeally late and our eyes are crossed!!! I may... I MAY have watched one episode too many last night. I went to bed and dreamed about House. In fact I dreamed I was having a "relashonship" with House and he and I were forced to live under my Mother's kitchen sink so we wouldn't be found out. Hmmm... Yah. Riiiiiight. It was quite a nice dream actually.... the sink was very spacious underneath!! ;D

Monday, Monday! So good to me!! :D

I am sitting here, at my computer, listening to the kettle ramp up for my tea and Jack eating toast as he reads a book on Tai Chi For Kids. I was thinking about how it's Monday already, the weekend flashed past, and how depressing it is that it's Monday again. However, it occurred to me that Monday is sort of like a New Year every week. Each Monday the week stretches out before me, a blank sheet of paper. Will this week be the week I keep the house clean? Read to the kids every day? Get hour upon hour of school done? Walk daily? Maybe RUN again? Will this be the week we eat 11 servings of fruit and vegetables a day? Will we get our bills paid? Will the kids suddenly reach the age of reason and quit bickering with one another for JUST FIVE MINUTES!??!! Will this be the week the puppy stops chewing the furniture, barking in the night, peeing on the floor, pooping at random, chasing the cat and fighting with the dog??? Maybe. It all has potential!!! Heck this COULD be the week we win the lottery!!

About time too, is all I'm saying! ;D

I wonder what YOUR week will bring....???

Well I guess I now qualify for Genius status!!! ;D

Jessie is sitting here playing Webkinz on her computer. She just asked me how many Webkinz dollars she would have left if she decided to buy another room for her house. She had 2217 dollars and needed to spend 500 on a house. I showed her how to work it out by simply taking 500 from 2000 and then adding back the 217. She should have 1717 dollars left. We spent some time working it out so I knew she understood the concept and then I got back to my emails. Presently, after she had been back on Webkinz for a while, I heard her shout out in a surprised tone "We were RIGHT!!!" yes dear, we were right! It's math, not a miracle!! (well sometimes it feels like a miracle, but this was pretty easy stuff!!! Paying the BILLS feels like a miracle sometimes, but that's a whole 'nother post!! :D )