This morning, I felt like superwoman! We all got up a little early, Aaron made french toast for breakfast, and I had enough time before taking the kids to school to cut up veggies for the roast tonight (I had even remembered to take it out of the freezer early for it to defrost - WOW!). In fact, Caleb helped me make dinner. We had a lovely time together at the kitchen counter. I cut up carrots and onions (hardly cried) and potatoes and browned a large roast and he washed off all the celery and helped me dump stuff into the crock pot ... I turned it on to cook all day ... the kiddos were off to school ... I had MOPS, came home, played games with the kids, even picked up and vacuumed ... and man, I was feeling pretty good! I went back to the crock pot at 4pm to make the gravy - I even remembered to do that ... and it was cool as cool can be. The light was on saying, "Hey, I'm cooking" but it LIED! It had not cooked. At all. What happened? ARGHHHH!!! I had not conquered the world! I had tried. But I was foiled. DRAT! Foiled again! So now, we could eat raw roast and veggies ... or not. It's Chinese takeout for us! At least it's warm.
~JG
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
"What's that Smell?"
Well, much has happened since our last blog ... go figure. I'll start with sometime last week, Aaron and I were talking and decided that it would be neat if Aaron made a bedroom set for us. So we looked online and found plans we liked (it's scary how we have the exact same taste ...) and Aaron was off and running. On Friday, I left with the kids to spend the weekend at our parents; Dick came over to our house so he, Aaron and Randall could go out to Hearn Hardwoods and buy wood for the first project - a headboard. And they had a blast. Aaron told me all about picking out the right white oak quarter sawn ... and the awesome flecking (I don't even know if I'm spelling any of this right ...) in the wood ... and I said "AWESOME! Glad you had fun, honey!" Aaron and Dick spent the Friday night and Saturday prepping and cutting the wood, and the headboard is all together as I type. Aaron needs to sand it and varnish/etc. That was quick work! He is having a wonderful time woodworking. He hasn't really done that for awhile, and I think it's energizing him. Go Aaron! And I love it 'cuz we get new furniture! Double win!
Anyways, I returned with the kids Saturday night. I walked into the house and immediately said, "What is that smell?" And I started the sniff test all around. Couldn't figure it out. It wasn't the dishes - I'd done those before I left. It wasn't the cats - they were upstairs. I was getting a little nervous that I'd soon become accustomed to the odor and not notice it anymore ... but any guests would. Hey, I'm fine with a slightly messy house, but definitely not a smelly house! Well, we ate dinner, then I went upstairs to put chaos into somewhat of an order ... and voila! I walked into Ellie's room and discovered the odor! A big pile of dog poop right in the doorway! (Did I mention we are "foster dog-sitting" Riley, an 80 lb chocolate lab, for our youth pastors until they move into their new house ... this Saturday!) I was actually relieved. At least I had discovered the smell. So I happily called Aaron to report my discovery and have him clean it up (a stipulation of foster dog sitting was that he had to clean up all you-know-what). I do have to defend poor Riley - that is the first time he ever did anything in the house. He's really a good dog! And I'm actually going to miss him. It'll be pretty quite around here next week. Maybe our cats will dare to venture out of our bedroom. Hmmmm?
Well, it's our day off, and Aaron has been happily woodworking away. I had a great time switching out the kids summer and fall/winter wardrobes. Woohoo! Although, I did have my moments of productivity.
You see, our kids both love their blankies. Caleb's poor blankie survives him chewing on it, wrapping it around his fingers and toes and toys and who knows what else. The little binding around the edge has started to come off, and he just uses that to chew on and lasso trains. Ellie's blankie is 32 years old. Yup - it's my old baby blanket. And the knitting on the edge started to come apart. Well, that's not good- she'll pull on it and the whole thing will come undone. Soo, I resolved to FIX the blankies!
I asked my mother's advice (thank God for mothers!) and we visited Joanne Fabrics together to find new satin blanket trimming. And today, I cut the unraveling edge off of Ellie's blanket and sewed (yes, with my sewing machine!) a new pink satin trim on the new edge. It's definitely not professional. The top thread is white and the bottom is blue (I was so happy to get the machine threaded that I really didn't feel like messing with the bobbin!), but that's ok 'cuz there is blue in the blanket. It's a bit of a hack job, but it's done and it is NOT coming apart! It looks a bit strange - there is the original soft and faded 32 year old white/cream and almost translucent satin edging on 3 sides, and the new pink (Ellie's choice) crisp, hard satin edging on one side. But, it's home-made. :-) I finished it this afternoon, and Ellie's been carrying it around like a little Linus-ghost all afternoon and evening. I think it passes inspection.
This evening I tackled Caleb's little blankie. First, I had to take out all the stitches of the narrow satin edging that was actually still in place. That took forever. Fortunately, it's a very small blanket - less than 1ft sq. Then I got out the new wide satin edging (cream - not pink) and started to sew it on. How in the world do you do those dumb corners?!?! Ok, I know I could've stopped and looked it up somewhere, but I wanted to get it done. So it is done. And it is NOT coming off! HAHAHAH!!!! Y'know, when I turned off the sewing machine after the last stitch, I felt like I had conquered the world! Then I took out the blanket, cut the threads and looked at it ... and I didn't feel like that anymore ... not even a continent. Maybe I conquered a very small city. In the middle of Montana. Well, the blanket is fixed. It will be fine. And after Caleb chews on it for a night or so, it'll look just right. :-)
Ahhh, the things we do for our children. And I have discovered, once again, I will never make my living from sewing.
And yes, Randall, this is yet another blog that mentions poop. :-)
~JG
Anyways, I returned with the kids Saturday night. I walked into the house and immediately said, "What is that smell?" And I started the sniff test all around. Couldn't figure it out. It wasn't the dishes - I'd done those before I left. It wasn't the cats - they were upstairs. I was getting a little nervous that I'd soon become accustomed to the odor and not notice it anymore ... but any guests would. Hey, I'm fine with a slightly messy house, but definitely not a smelly house! Well, we ate dinner, then I went upstairs to put chaos into somewhat of an order ... and voila! I walked into Ellie's room and discovered the odor! A big pile of dog poop right in the doorway! (Did I mention we are "foster dog-sitting" Riley, an 80 lb chocolate lab, for our youth pastors until they move into their new house ... this Saturday!) I was actually relieved. At least I had discovered the smell. So I happily called Aaron to report my discovery and have him clean it up (a stipulation of foster dog sitting was that he had to clean up all you-know-what). I do have to defend poor Riley - that is the first time he ever did anything in the house. He's really a good dog! And I'm actually going to miss him. It'll be pretty quite around here next week. Maybe our cats will dare to venture out of our bedroom. Hmmmm?
Well, it's our day off, and Aaron has been happily woodworking away. I had a great time switching out the kids summer and fall/winter wardrobes. Woohoo! Although, I did have my moments of productivity.
You see, our kids both love their blankies. Caleb's poor blankie survives him chewing on it, wrapping it around his fingers and toes and toys and who knows what else. The little binding around the edge has started to come off, and he just uses that to chew on and lasso trains. Ellie's blankie is 32 years old. Yup - it's my old baby blanket. And the knitting on the edge started to come apart. Well, that's not good- she'll pull on it and the whole thing will come undone. Soo, I resolved to FIX the blankies!
I asked my mother's advice (thank God for mothers!) and we visited Joanne Fabrics together to find new satin blanket trimming. And today, I cut the unraveling edge off of Ellie's blanket and sewed (yes, with my sewing machine!) a new pink satin trim on the new edge. It's definitely not professional. The top thread is white and the bottom is blue (I was so happy to get the machine threaded that I really didn't feel like messing with the bobbin!), but that's ok 'cuz there is blue in the blanket. It's a bit of a hack job, but it's done and it is NOT coming apart! It looks a bit strange - there is the original soft and faded 32 year old white/cream and almost translucent satin edging on 3 sides, and the new pink (Ellie's choice) crisp, hard satin edging on one side. But, it's home-made. :-) I finished it this afternoon, and Ellie's been carrying it around like a little Linus-ghost all afternoon and evening. I think it passes inspection.
This evening I tackled Caleb's little blankie. First, I had to take out all the stitches of the narrow satin edging that was actually still in place. That took forever. Fortunately, it's a very small blanket - less than 1ft sq. Then I got out the new wide satin edging (cream - not pink) and started to sew it on. How in the world do you do those dumb corners?!?! Ok, I know I could've stopped and looked it up somewhere, but I wanted to get it done. So it is done. And it is NOT coming off! HAHAHAH!!!! Y'know, when I turned off the sewing machine after the last stitch, I felt like I had conquered the world! Then I took out the blanket, cut the threads and looked at it ... and I didn't feel like that anymore ... not even a continent. Maybe I conquered a very small city. In the middle of Montana. Well, the blanket is fixed. It will be fine. And after Caleb chews on it for a night or so, it'll look just right. :-)
Ahhh, the things we do for our children. And I have discovered, once again, I will never make my living from sewing.
And yes, Randall, this is yet another blog that mentions poop. :-)
~JG
Monday, August 17, 2009
It just hit me...
It's been a couple weeks since we last posted...and later we'll fill you in on our little vacation to Ephrata and Sight and Sound...and update you on our baby turtle (just hatched - in our kitchen - about 11 days ago).
But I had to write this morning, because something amazing just happened to me. I was outside pulling some tall grass from our flower beds. The cicadas are singing, the sun shining bright, and the geese are heading my way.
Yes, I could hear the honking of the geese - about 12 of them, and I knew they were getting closer.
I didn't look up...I've seen plenty of geese before...I knew they were coming and it seemed like they would be flying right overhead. And they did.
As all this was happening, I was thinking to myself how wonderful it was that geese don't poop in flight - they take care of that when they're on the ground - I'm one happy guy that geese don't poop in flight - I don't need to worry about a thing...
As these thoughts were about done scrolling through my head like a Star Wars title crawl, it hit me!
Literally...it hit me...and at the same time it hit me that I had been wrong all these years.
Geese can and do poop in flight.
You do need to be wary when the geese fly overhead.
You need to protect yourself.
Beware the geese.
But I had to write this morning, because something amazing just happened to me. I was outside pulling some tall grass from our flower beds. The cicadas are singing, the sun shining bright, and the geese are heading my way.
Yes, I could hear the honking of the geese - about 12 of them, and I knew they were getting closer.
I didn't look up...I've seen plenty of geese before...I knew they were coming and it seemed like they would be flying right overhead. And they did.
As all this was happening, I was thinking to myself how wonderful it was that geese don't poop in flight - they take care of that when they're on the ground - I'm one happy guy that geese don't poop in flight - I don't need to worry about a thing...
As these thoughts were about done scrolling through my head like a Star Wars title crawl, it hit me!
Literally...it hit me...and at the same time it hit me that I had been wrong all these years.
Geese can and do poop in flight.
You do need to be wary when the geese fly overhead.
You need to protect yourself.
Beware the geese.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Ellie "Sleep-Eating"
We had a family picnic this evening - dinner and a movie in our family room. I picked out a 30 minute film about monkeys (a VHS tape I took out of the huge bag of VHS tapes that dad was getting rid of a few months ago), and Papa John's delivered our pizza just in time. Ellie was in her high chair and Jen, Caleb, and I were each seated behind a TV tray. The film is older, but very entertaining.
When it was about 20 minutes in we looked over to see how Ellie was doing (as she had been unusually quiet for a while), and this is what we saw (enjoy!) : ~AG
When it was about 20 minutes in we looked over to see how Ellie was doing (as she had been unusually quiet for a while), and this is what we saw (enjoy!) : ~AG
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Whew ...
It's been awhile since a post ... well, since a NEW post anyways. We've had a lot going on.
VBS - July 13-17
VBS went great! I am way too tired to write about all the things that I could write about ... but I will say that we had over 300 kids, 100 volunteers, we had a great time, the kids had a great time, everyone had a great time at the Friday Family Night, we are so appreciative of all the wonderful people who helped ... and we're tired! :-) This was Caleb's first year in VBS and I loved watching him throughout the week. He was SO excited when he received a "Kindness Coin" for being kind. And I was so touched at his excitement. What was just a whim of an idea weeks ago turned into something personal. But now the Kindness Coins are gone because he keeps sucking on them.
On Monday, we relaxed and our family went to Sesame Place - our very first experience there! We exchanged vouchers for tickets so did not have to pay the ticket price ... but made up for it in parking fees, locker fees ($15!), and spending 1/2 our weekly grocery bill on lunch. But it was worth it. We spent 9 hours there and we had a marvelous time! We put all our stuff in an expensive locker, and walked out into the water park ... all 4 holding hands, with nothing but our swimsuits and shorts and watershoes. No phone. No wallet. No camera. Just us. And it was a great feeling! Freedom! We loved the Lazy River and water slides and Ellie went on her first water slide alone (it was pretty tame) and in the evening we changed into clothes and went on the "dry" rides ... and Caleb went on his first roller coaster (it was actually fun! I liked it!) and Ellie wanted to but she has to wait until she's 3. It was a really fun day.
On Tuesday night I drove out and spent the night with my parents. Wednesday morning, mom and I drove dad into Phoenixville Hospital for his surgery ... with a 6am check in time. We waited in the waiting room until noonish when the doctor informed us the surgery was done and everything was ok. Then we waited another 3 hours so we could see him in his room ... he was a BIT sluggish. :-) Then I drove back home and had church that evening.
Friday after lunch we all drove out to see Grandpa Marvin in the hospital. The kids didn't push any buttons or pull out any IV's ... YES! No, they were actually very well behaved. Dad looked pretty perky for just having surgery. And he has about 6 coloring pages from Caleb and Ellie hanging in his room. Saturday morning mom and I went to see dad, and looks like he'll be released tomorrow! We had lunch with Dick and Darlene and headed back home ... where ...
... we made dinner for Pastor Shawn and Kristal (youth pastors at CLC). And their dog Riley. They haven't yet sold their house in Lancaster so cannot look for a house here ... and needed a place for their chocolate lab (Shawn's brother had been keeping the dog but it wasn't working out with his kids). So now we are the foster parents of an 80 lb. chocolate lab until ... whenever they can buy a house here. Whew! (Riley just barked at Muffin ... Aaron is calming him downstairs ... let the fun begin!) Riley is really a good dog - he's trained to ring the bell to be let outside, doesn't jump on furniture, doesn't really bark (except for getting aquainted with our cats), is very gentle with the kids (who have already tested him) and is good with other animals ... after he satisfies his curiosity ... which our cats are not letting him do as of yet. I agreed to the arrangment on 1 condition ... Aaron takes care of all poop/pee of the dog and takes him on walks if I don't want to. So we are both satisfied. We'll see how this venture goes! The kids are pretty excited!
Funny moment ... during dinner, we were talking with Shawn and Kristal, and Caleb is really excited at having new people over so he's being very silly. And he looks at me, smiles and giggles and says, "Screw you!" Then he says it again, with an adorably silly look on his face. We all stop, try not to laugh ... and Aaron and I ponder how to address this. I don't know if he heard it from somewhere or if he just made it up, as he frequently does with other words ... but we calmly informed him that wasn't a polite thing to say. "Ok" he replied. And Shawn and Kristal just laughed, muttering "Pastor's kids ...".
Next week I'll be at Kids Camp. It will be fun and totally worth it, but I'm really looking forward to some down time soon!
Anyways, off to bed!
~JG
VBS - July 13-17
VBS went great! I am way too tired to write about all the things that I could write about ... but I will say that we had over 300 kids, 100 volunteers, we had a great time, the kids had a great time, everyone had a great time at the Friday Family Night, we are so appreciative of all the wonderful people who helped ... and we're tired! :-) This was Caleb's first year in VBS and I loved watching him throughout the week. He was SO excited when he received a "Kindness Coin" for being kind. And I was so touched at his excitement. What was just a whim of an idea weeks ago turned into something personal. But now the Kindness Coins are gone because he keeps sucking on them.
On Monday, we relaxed and our family went to Sesame Place - our very first experience there! We exchanged vouchers for tickets so did not have to pay the ticket price ... but made up for it in parking fees, locker fees ($15!), and spending 1/2 our weekly grocery bill on lunch. But it was worth it. We spent 9 hours there and we had a marvelous time! We put all our stuff in an expensive locker, and walked out into the water park ... all 4 holding hands, with nothing but our swimsuits and shorts and watershoes. No phone. No wallet. No camera. Just us. And it was a great feeling! Freedom! We loved the Lazy River and water slides and Ellie went on her first water slide alone (it was pretty tame) and in the evening we changed into clothes and went on the "dry" rides ... and Caleb went on his first roller coaster (it was actually fun! I liked it!) and Ellie wanted to but she has to wait until she's 3. It was a really fun day.
On Tuesday night I drove out and spent the night with my parents. Wednesday morning, mom and I drove dad into Phoenixville Hospital for his surgery ... with a 6am check in time. We waited in the waiting room until noonish when the doctor informed us the surgery was done and everything was ok. Then we waited another 3 hours so we could see him in his room ... he was a BIT sluggish. :-) Then I drove back home and had church that evening.
Friday after lunch we all drove out to see Grandpa Marvin in the hospital. The kids didn't push any buttons or pull out any IV's ... YES! No, they were actually very well behaved. Dad looked pretty perky for just having surgery. And he has about 6 coloring pages from Caleb and Ellie hanging in his room. Saturday morning mom and I went to see dad, and looks like he'll be released tomorrow! We had lunch with Dick and Darlene and headed back home ... where ...
... we made dinner for Pastor Shawn and Kristal (youth pastors at CLC). And their dog Riley. They haven't yet sold their house in Lancaster so cannot look for a house here ... and needed a place for their chocolate lab (Shawn's brother had been keeping the dog but it wasn't working out with his kids). So now we are the foster parents of an 80 lb. chocolate lab until ... whenever they can buy a house here. Whew! (Riley just barked at Muffin ... Aaron is calming him downstairs ... let the fun begin!) Riley is really a good dog - he's trained to ring the bell to be let outside, doesn't jump on furniture, doesn't really bark (except for getting aquainted with our cats), is very gentle with the kids (who have already tested him) and is good with other animals ... after he satisfies his curiosity ... which our cats are not letting him do as of yet. I agreed to the arrangment on 1 condition ... Aaron takes care of all poop/pee of the dog and takes him on walks if I don't want to. So we are both satisfied. We'll see how this venture goes! The kids are pretty excited!
Funny moment ... during dinner, we were talking with Shawn and Kristal, and Caleb is really excited at having new people over so he's being very silly. And he looks at me, smiles and giggles and says, "Screw you!" Then he says it again, with an adorably silly look on his face. We all stop, try not to laugh ... and Aaron and I ponder how to address this. I don't know if he heard it from somewhere or if he just made it up, as he frequently does with other words ... but we calmly informed him that wasn't a polite thing to say. "Ok" he replied. And Shawn and Kristal just laughed, muttering "Pastor's kids ...".
Next week I'll be at Kids Camp. It will be fun and totally worth it, but I'm really looking forward to some down time soon!
Anyways, off to bed!
~JG
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
A Glimpse of the Past
This was an email Jen sent to me on January 22 of this year. You may have also received this email...even if you did, it's a great read the second time around. ~AG
====================================
My Afternoon ...
Our family eats a nice, normal lunch.
After Aaron returns to work, Caleb, Ellie and I play a game of Candyland. It is 1:30pm. Ellie drops out of the game early. She starts collecting discarded cards and boing-ing the red figure all around the game board. Caleb whips me soundly. Twice. I didn’t even let him cheat.
We start getting ready for naps (or “quiet time”) … but …
While sitting on the toilet, Caleb accidentally pees everywhere. He didn’t point down in time. This is rather unusual. Pee is in his hair, face, clothes, mouth, on the bathroom floor … we both concur that it is time for a bath.
I get the kids naked for the bath. Caleb gets in. I need to run some more cool water. Ellie pees on the floor. Ellie gets in. I clean up the pee. From both children. Did I mention the toilet is[n't] flushing completely?
The kids are finally clean and covered in bubbles. They whine and bicker while in the bath. Ellie is very tired and Caleb is pushing her buttons.
Ellie dumps a toy full of water out of the tub. So I get her out. She has hit her wall. She cries “bubbo baff!” over and over hysterically, stamping her dripping wet feet.
I take Ellie to her room and dry her off. Her injured nose (from her slip yesterday - but that’s another story) starts to spontaneously bleed again. I find Kleenex and attempt to stop the blood but she cries all the more hysterically. She would much rather bleed all over her carpet.
I get her nosebleed slowed, and settle her into her rocking chair with some books, dressed in a diaper and pants only. I go get Caleb out of the bath. I wrap him in a towel and tell him to play with some trains while I get Ellie settled. He happily complies.
Ellie and I sit in the rocking chair with the Kleenex box. I sing her the “3-2-1 Penguins” theme song. She yells “NO NO NO mommy! No sing song!” and then she giggles. And asks me to sing it again. I will never understand the mind of an almost 2 year old. I sing the song about 28 times until I’m convinced her nose really has stopped bleeding. I put a shirt on her, finally, and settle her in her bed with a bunch of books. I leave to get stuff to clean up the blood on her carpet.
On my way back, I check on Caleb. He is in his room, naked, covered in green, yellow and orange marker … on his hands, belly, legs, arms … I think, “Ahhhh, that was the crash I heard. The marker and crayon bin.” I confiscate the markers. I will be back.
I go and clean the blood off Ellie’s floor. She lays in her bed, watching me with her binkie and blankie. She reminds me to turn off the light on my way out. She is ready to sleep!
I go back to Caleb and explain, again, why we have the rule of “only get colors out with mommy and daddy”. We go into the bathroom and I scrub him, leaving a hint of color tint throughout his little body. We get dressed in clean, non-peed on clothes, he climbs in my lap and whispers “I wuv you mommy”, gives me a kiss and crawls into his bed. It’s amazing how that little kiss makes up for a multitude of pee and marker! I start his music and leave.
I walk to the bathroom. There I see … water on the floor, towels with either pee or nosebleed strewn about, washclothes with either pee or marker tint hanging over the sink, toys with bubbles in the tub and bubbles all over the sink (I don’t remember how those got there …), kids dirty clothes … and I walk away.
It is only 2:50pm.
And I thank God that this was a totally and completely abnormal afternoon.
Hope yours is going better!
Love ya! :-)
Jenny
====================================
My Afternoon ...
Our family eats a nice, normal lunch.
After Aaron returns to work, Caleb, Ellie and I play a game of Candyland. It is 1:30pm. Ellie drops out of the game early. She starts collecting discarded cards and boing-ing the red figure all around the game board. Caleb whips me soundly. Twice. I didn’t even let him cheat.
We start getting ready for naps (or “quiet time”) … but …
While sitting on the toilet, Caleb accidentally pees everywhere. He didn’t point down in time. This is rather unusual. Pee is in his hair, face, clothes, mouth, on the bathroom floor … we both concur that it is time for a bath.
I get the kids naked for the bath. Caleb gets in. I need to run some more cool water. Ellie pees on the floor. Ellie gets in. I clean up the pee. From both children. Did I mention the toilet is[n't] flushing completely?
The kids are finally clean and covered in bubbles. They whine and bicker while in the bath. Ellie is very tired and Caleb is pushing her buttons.
Ellie dumps a toy full of water out of the tub. So I get her out. She has hit her wall. She cries “bubbo baff!” over and over hysterically, stamping her dripping wet feet.
I take Ellie to her room and dry her off. Her injured nose (from her slip yesterday - but that’s another story) starts to spontaneously bleed again. I find Kleenex and attempt to stop the blood but she cries all the more hysterically. She would much rather bleed all over her carpet.
I get her nosebleed slowed, and settle her into her rocking chair with some books, dressed in a diaper and pants only. I go get Caleb out of the bath. I wrap him in a towel and tell him to play with some trains while I get Ellie settled. He happily complies.
Ellie and I sit in the rocking chair with the Kleenex box. I sing her the “3-2-1 Penguins” theme song. She yells “NO NO NO mommy! No sing song!” and then she giggles. And asks me to sing it again. I will never understand the mind of an almost 2 year old. I sing the song about 28 times until I’m convinced her nose really has stopped bleeding. I put a shirt on her, finally, and settle her in her bed with a bunch of books. I leave to get stuff to clean up the blood on her carpet.
On my way back, I check on Caleb. He is in his room, naked, covered in green, yellow and orange marker … on his hands, belly, legs, arms … I think, “Ahhhh, that was the crash I heard. The marker and crayon bin.” I confiscate the markers. I will be back.
I go and clean the blood off Ellie’s floor. She lays in her bed, watching me with her binkie and blankie. She reminds me to turn off the light on my way out. She is ready to sleep!
I go back to Caleb and explain, again, why we have the rule of “only get colors out with mommy and daddy”. We go into the bathroom and I scrub him, leaving a hint of color tint throughout his little body. We get dressed in clean, non-peed on clothes, he climbs in my lap and whispers “I wuv you mommy”, gives me a kiss and crawls into his bed. It’s amazing how that little kiss makes up for a multitude of pee and marker! I start his music and leave.
I walk to the bathroom. There I see … water on the floor, towels with either pee or nosebleed strewn about, washclothes with either pee or marker tint hanging over the sink, toys with bubbles in the tub and bubbles all over the sink (I don’t remember how those got there …), kids dirty clothes … and I walk away.
It is only 2:50pm.
And I thank God that this was a totally and completely abnormal afternoon.
Hope yours is going better!
Love ya! :-)
Jenny
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Our Family Tea Party
Well, we finally had our very first family Tea Party. But we are not the ordinary family, and it was not an ordinary Tea Party. It first started when Caleb (always immediately mimic-ed by Ellie) announced we needed some groceries. So Aaron made a grocery list for Caleb to remember - apples, bananas, something starting with a "c", donuts and eggs - and told him how to remember each item because they all started with the alphabet. And Caleb took his money (which somehow materialized out of thin air ... ahhhh, that I could have that power!), took Aaron's keys, hopped in the car and took off to the grocery store (which interestingly resembled our bedroom). And he came back with all the groceries! He remembered the entire list. What a smart boy! HA!
Anyways, the kids eventually figured we needed to buy some tea. So they took me to the grocery store ... (I didn't know the grocery store had laundry baskets with clean laundry ready to be put away in it!) ... and we finally found the tea on what looked to be a computer desk. Caleb was about to walk out of the grocery store without paying (gasp!), but I insisted we stop by the nearest laundry basket to pay for our tea. Phew! Then we returned to Ellie's room (and her little house filled with tea cups and such), and Caleb and Ellie made us tea. Over and over again. And then they swiped our tea and ran squealing off into the sunset (which looked like the hallway) ... only to return to offer us more tea. And I learned that Caleb likes his tea with 30 lumps of sugar. A little tea with his sugar, eh? Aaron became a tea taster as he made a "tea smelling apparatus" for his nose made of out legos. The kids didn't even notice it was there. I think Caleb tried to fool us by offering us tea out of a Little People toilet chair instead of a cup ... but we didn't fall for that! HA - we weren't born yesterday!
Well, the kids are in bed ... both simultaneously yelling for us. And we have our new date TV show (now that The Office is on summer break) ... "Royal Pains". Very good show!
Happy 4th!
~JG
Anyways, the kids eventually figured we needed to buy some tea. So they took me to the grocery store ... (I didn't know the grocery store had laundry baskets with clean laundry ready to be put away in it!) ... and we finally found the tea on what looked to be a computer desk. Caleb was about to walk out of the grocery store without paying (gasp!), but I insisted we stop by the nearest laundry basket to pay for our tea. Phew! Then we returned to Ellie's room (and her little house filled with tea cups and such), and Caleb and Ellie made us tea. Over and over again. And then they swiped our tea and ran squealing off into the sunset (which looked like the hallway) ... only to return to offer us more tea. And I learned that Caleb likes his tea with 30 lumps of sugar. A little tea with his sugar, eh? Aaron became a tea taster as he made a "tea smelling apparatus" for his nose made of out legos. The kids didn't even notice it was there. I think Caleb tried to fool us by offering us tea out of a Little People toilet chair instead of a cup ... but we didn't fall for that! HA - we weren't born yesterday!
Well, the kids are in bed ... both simultaneously yelling for us. And we have our new date TV show (now that The Office is on summer break) ... "Royal Pains". Very good show!
Happy 4th!
~JG
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