What Happens When Electronics Collide

My son.

Isn't he cute?

Good thing he has his looks.

Every other Sunday, Paige and I have our Girl Scout meetings. The past few meeting nights as we're walking out the door, that boy up there hits me with, "Can you turn on the WiiU for me?" Now, he knows how to change the input on the tv and he knows how to turn the WiiU on. I reminded him that he knew what to do and he could play as I pulled the door closed behind us.

We get to my friend's house for our meeting, get the girls settled and started on their work and 20 minutes in, Peter Griffin starts singing "Bird is the Word". That's my husband's ringtone. He knows where I am and what I'm doing so I can only assume something bad has happened. So I answer.

"The tv is dead. He broke it."

Excuse me? What is dead and who did what?

Mike was playing a Zelda game we recently discovered and he apparently got a little too into pretending to be Link. Well, more like a lot too into it.

While he was swinging the Wii-mote around like a sword he got a tad too close to the tv. He usually wears the wrist strap, but since I wasn't there, I can't be sure. There's always the chance he swung his sword and that sword came flying out of his hand. Either way, the Wii-mote met the tv screen.

Needless to say I was fuming and had a hard time staying focused on Girl Scouts over the next 90 minutes. You might think that would be enough time for one to calm down and return home not as mad as when they first found out what happened.

You would be wrong.

I honestly expected to come home and see a Wii-mote sticking out of the tv screen. Or at the very least see a shattered screen. I saw neither when Paige and I walked in the door. Confused, I calmly walked upstairs to talk to Mike. I say calmly (or at least as calm as I could be) because the husband had already told him the yelling was done. It's never pretty when the husband really gets mad so I can only imagine how it went over when he discovered what happened. You can also congratulate me here for abiding to the no yelling. My temper? It's an ugly one, too.

I told Mike I understood it was an accident, and even though he owned up to what he did to both me and the husband, he was still in trouble. We discussed how long he's grounded for and what he needs to do around the house to pay us back for the damage he caused. I calmly walked back downstairs to find out just how bad the damage was. From what I was told, I didn't think the tv would even turn on.

Don't tell my son this, but it's really not as bad as I expected. For his safety, that's probably a good thing.

It looks like a bullet went through the bottom right corner of the screen. And those two shapes sticking up? They look like silhouettes of buildings with psychedelic rainbow stripes. Annoying, but still a bit neat. The black lines going across the bottom and up the right side I could do without, but the odd thing is, the longer I had the tv on last night, the better they got. Things at the top of the screen were no longer showing up at the bottom. Which is a really good thing since Conan O'Brian's head during his commercials was not only where it should be, but it was also showing up on his crotch.

In the meantime, we do have a back-up tv in case this one really does give out because of this incident (thank you, friend! You know who you are!), but I'm glad it wasn't as bad as I expected. And I'm still glad I wasn't home when it happened.

The lessons to take from this, for you and for me - always wear the wrist straps, stand far back from the tv, and maybe avoid sword fighting games.

I'm not the only parent this has happened to, right?


Until next time...

Success

It's something we all want, but if we really look, it's something all of us already have.

I won't lie when I say I suck at New Year's resolutions. The proof? Our house is nowhere near as organized as I would like even though that has been my resolution for the past too many years to count. Approaching this past New's Years Eve, I noticed a few friends talking about a theme instead of a resolution. Maybe on some level it means the same thing, but I'm choosing to ignore that.

My theme for 2014 is success. Not that last year wasn't a success. In fact, that's far from the truth. We all succeeded at little things throughout the year but there some biggies that none us will forget any time soon.

The husband completed his first full marathon, which we also tied into a beach vacation for the family. It may have been in March and too chilly to fully enjoy the beach, but both a marathon and beach vacation were on our lists of things to do.

By the end of summer, we had two successful bike riders. Not only that, but both kids were able to get mountain bikes that they desperately wanted.

My big accomplishment last year was finally opening my Etsy shop, Cuppa Stitches. Learning to crochet a few years was one of the best things I ever learned to do. I love creating, but I also find it very relaxing. Once I opened my shop, I worked on it for months. I edited pictures, changed descriptions, added more inventory and did everything else I could think of. I was starting to give up hope. Then out of the blue a few weeks before Thanksgiving (almost 7 months after opening!) I got my first sale. To be perfectly honest, I would have been happy closing up shop after that one sale. It was proof that I set my mind to something and accomplished it. But to this day, my store is happily moving along.

Success in my shop for the coming year is just one piece of the pie. I want success to be a part of every aspect of my life and my family this coming year

For the rest of the year, I want to focus on little things in every aspect of my life. Whether it's teaching one of the kids something new, learning something new myself, organizing a room and keeping it organized, watching my husband accomplish something he sets his mind to. Everything.

January isn't even half way over and we've already experienced a bit of success. Dude recently had his Pinewood Derby race for Cub Scouts. He came in 3rd place and gets to move on to the next set of races.

GG learned a new skill a few night ago. She received a polymer clay kit for Christmas and she's already made a few animals and winged hearts that she wants to bake. If she sticks with it, maybe I'll give her her own little section of my shop.

Success doesn't just have to be monetary. Oh, believe you me, that is on our lists as well, but saving money is a resolution. It is a promise to yourself that focuses on one aspect of your life. Succeeding at what you put your mind to is much more. It applies to every aspect, not just one. Hopefully that mindset will lead to great things in this new year. Not only for me, but for my family. I hope it gives us the strength and motivation to continue down that path of success.

Do you have goals for the coming year? I'd love to hear them!

Until next time...

Poison Ivy and Snakes

What a busy weekend we had. I feel like I say that every weekend anymore, but it's the truth.

As much as I love my sleep, I actually don't mind getting up early.  I am not a morning person, but I do enjoy savoring a cup of coffee (or three) and having everything I need to do done by early afternoon so I can enjoy the rest of the day with my husband and kids.

As satisfying as that feeling is to get things done early, I hate having to wake early and rush out the door.  Not being able to savor those cups of coffee tends to make me grumpy.  A grumpy me is never a fun me.

The chaos of last weekend began Friday afternoon with school pick-up.

Little Dude was complaining of being itchy the night before.  He has dry skin and has had issue with eczema in the past so I thought nothing of it.  I would just lotion him up and he's be good to go.

Not the case.

Little Dude bounced out of school Friday afternoon, happy it was finally the weekend, and that's when I saw it.  Scratches, blisters, and a flaming red neck.  Right then I knew it was more than eczema.  It was poison ivy.  Perhaps letting them run around on the hillside by the husband's work was not a good idea.  Thank goodness I had some anti-itch cream in the medicine cabinet because I didn't have time to run to the store.  I had to get the husband from work and take my boys to the zoo for a Scout sleepover

After we returned home from our drive to the zoo, GG and I prepared for our girl's night in.  I was setting up the DVD player for a few games of Harry Potter Scene-It when I realized Little Dude wasn't the only one who was running around on that hillside.  The proof was beginning to show on GG's legs, hands, and arms.  Thankfully she could make do without the anti-itch cream (I sent it off with my boys).  She was either not effected as bad as Little Dude or she had more control when it came to not scratching.

Until Sunday.

Sunday was our end of the year Girl Scout picnic.  It was hot as hell and she was running around almost the entire 8 hours we were there.  A hot and sweaty girl made for an itchy girl.  I again left the cream with the boys because Little Dude didn't seem to understand he shouldn't scratch if he wanted to get better.  A hot, sweaty, tired and itchy child is NOT a fun child!

But just because we were all hot, sweaty, tired, and some were itchy, didn't mean there was no fun to be had.  GG had a blast at the picnic - good food, crafts, and friends.  And Little Dude had a blast on his zoo trip.  He was able to go behind the scenes with a few exhibits and touch animals ordinary patrons might not have a chance to touch.

Holding an armadillo

You'll just have to trust me that GG had a great time at our picnic.  I wasn't able to capture any pictures during the event because I was too busy trying to control the chaos.  All the girls in attendance seemed to have a good time, but events like this make me realize that we do, in fact, have well behaved children.


Until next time...

Open the Door

Those fleeting moments when I have nothing to do but think, I envision my perfect house.  This house has more than enough room for us 4 and all of our stuff.  This house also has a large, flat backyard where my kids can run and play ball.

Those fleeting moments are often interrupted by a quick glance out our back window.  We have a porch and we have a deck.  Both, when toys are not scattered about, have enough room for the kids to run.  Our actual yard makes me want to return to my dreams.  Our yard is a hill.  Not ideal for running and playing ball.  Our backyard has weeds and sticks that fell from the trees.  Not ideal to run through without any shoes.

But sometimes I catch moments of my kids playing in our yard.  Those moments are when I wouldn't trade our yard for the world.

Those sticks that fall can be used as walls for a club house.

Leaves are gathered to be used as camoflage

Trees can be climbed

Doorways to another world can be made

Wordful Wednesday by



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Until next time...

There's Always a Price to Pay

Over the weekend, Little Dude and the husband went away to Boy Scout Camp.  After watching him pack before they left, I think the husband was more excited than the boy!

I always worry when they're gone.  It's what I do best.  And some of the texts from the husband certainly didn't help.  For example, the one complaining no one else there would know how to survive in the wilderness or no one knew how to build a fire.  And those were from their first night there!  Ya, comforting.

After that first night, I assume all had a good time.  One of the activities my boys were really looking forward to was fishing.  The husband was so excited to go out last week and buy his boy his very first fishing rod.  I was worried when Little Dude was waving his rod around  like a sword, but considering he caught not one, but THREE fish, I think it's safe to say he learned the proper way to handle a fishing rod!

Once the boys were home, Little Dude told me all about fishing, running around with his friends, and how to make S'mores.  What he failed to mention to me were his battle wounds.

He fell into a wall!

I think it's about time I really started pressing the husband to let me buy this boy a helmet!



Until next time...

No Flowers for Me

At the back of our deck, we have 2 flower beds built into the wall that holds up the hillside. For years I have planted flowers in those planters.  Impatients, to be exact.  Why impatients?  Not only do they thrive in the shade, which we have plenty of in the back yard, but because I have a habit of killing most other plants.

Every year the kids and I would go out to some flower store or another to chose our impatients.  The kids loved to come with me so they could pick out which colors we were going with that particular year.  Sadly, this year, I do not see such a trip in our future.  Why?  Because I have a son.  To be more exact, I have a son who loves to dig.

Last year we dedicated a spot on the side of the yard where he could dig to his heart's content.  I think he outgrew that spot.  Last fall I purchased a sandbox thinking he could dig and get dirty in there.  He still does, but it's not enough to feed his digging addiction.  I finally caved and let him have the smaller of the two flower beds.  Those three spots would definitely give him enough room to dig, right?

Wrong!

Little Dude has moved on to digging not only in both flower beds, but up into the hillside as well.

This Spring I have decided to let him dig in all of those spots.  Partly because I am tired of arguing with him over where to dig, but I've learned his digging also benefits me.

By digging up the flower beds, it saves me the trouble of planting flowers.  Yes flowers are pretty and I would love to have a pretty yard, but it's one less thing to add to my to-do list.  By letting him dig on the hillside I've learned that the weeds no longer grow where him and GG play.  This means less weed whacking for the husband and I to do.

From the time Little Dude wakes up in the morning until the sun begins to set, he is outside.  He is being creative when playing outside, he is learning cause and effect when he builds and digs, he is soaking up some sun and fresh air, and most important, he is not vegging out in front of the tv or a video game all day.  So even though I won't be able to plant flowers in our back yard for quite some time, I am very happy that Little Dude spends his time outside.

However, there is a downfall to all of his digging.  Our water bill is starting to sky rocket due to all the hand washing and bathing of one little boy.

Until next time...

No diggers

For 5 of his 6 years of life, Little Dude has been infatuated with diggers.  Just in case you don't know,  "Diggers" are any type of construction vehicle.  This obsession seemed to fall to the wayside about a month ago.  Thank god!  I was growing tired of my flowers always getting dug up and stepping on teeny orange construction cones (think Legos).  Although the digger obsession did come in handy when snow needed cleared from the walkways.

But anyway, Little Dude began to move from a digger obsession to a dinosaur obsession.  Dinosaurs car be just as loud as diggers, but somehow, when he plays with dinosaurs, all is quiet. It's a change I welcome.  Hell, I embrace it!

However, I think I inadvertently sent my boy back to the land of noisy toys.  How did I do this?  By taking him out to do things.

Things such as Nuclear Cowboyz, a very loud motocross show...

And other things, such as not quiet as loud Monster Truck Jam...

Little Dude's motorcycles can now be found any and everywhere throughout the house.  Steeping on those hurts!  Think teeny construction cones, therefor Legos.  And Monster Trucks?  They're like tiny skateboards.  So much fun when left on the steps!


I guess having kids and expecting things to be quiet is a little too much to ask.  As long as Little Dude, and his sister, had fun, I guess I can't ask for much more.

Although a little peace and quiet wouldn't hurt!




Until next time...

Sick at just the right time

Yes, there actually is a right time to be sick.  Little Dude has proved that to me this past few weeks.

Two Fridays ago he began complaining that his ear hurt.  Of course it was after the pediatrician had closed for the day.  Isn't that how it always is?  I suspected an ear infection, but for all I knew he bumped his ear at school and forgot until that moment.  Little Dude is known for forgetting his injuries.

The following morning, Saturday, he woke up just fine.  He didn't complain about his ear until later that night. Again, after the pediatrician had closed for the day.  By then, I knew he had an ear infection, but I hoped he could hold out until Monday morning when I could actually call the doctor and get an appointment.  Sure enough, he didn't complain once on Sunday.  Until dinner time.  The pediatrician isn't open at all on Sundays. I could have taken him to Med Express, but by this point, pharmacies were also closed for the day.

First thing Monday morning, I was on the phone with the pediatrician setting up an appointment.  Immediately after we headed to the pharmacy for his antibiotic.  Within 24 hours his ear began to feel better and the rest of the week was smooth sailing.  Until Friday night.

We were getting ready to go to Monster Jam and he asked me to spike his hair.  Thanks to a tube of Axe Spiking Glue I have, this is an easy and quick process.

As I was rubbing the glue into his hair and spiking it up I saw it.  A 1-inch line of dried blood by his hair line, with a bump on one end.  What the hell was this?!  Little Dude had no idea what had happened to his head (didn't I tell you he forgets his injuries?).  Looking back I hadn't noticed any signs of a concussion.  And being on an antibiotic, I knew we were safe from infection.  Example #1 of how he was sick at the right time.

Fast forward to yesterday.  GG woke up looking like she was punched int he face.  Her left eye was bright, bright red.  Chalking it up to still being tired after a crazy busy weekend, the husband and I told her to get dressed and ready for school.  We drove the husband to work and after I parked the car once returning to the kids' school, I took a look at GG.  Her eye?  Still flaming red.  And now it was swollen and all kinds of goopy.  Shit!  Pink eye.  We walked Little Dude into school and turned around and headed to Med Express.

Other than charging me the higher of our two copay amounts, they were extremely nice.  GG was, in fact diagnosed with pink eye.  We were handed a prescription for some drops and off to the pharmacy we went. I'm thinking this is example #2 of Little Dude being sick at the right time.  Hopefully still being on an antibiotic will protect him from catching what his sister has.

I have to give GG one drop in her eye every 2 hours for 2 days, then every 4 hours for five days.  It's a crazy prescription that I really don't want to do with a second child.  I have a feeling Little Dude will be even less cooperative when it comes to putting something into his eyes.


Until next time...

Sickeningly sweet

I have a 6 year old who thinks he's the king of the world that listens to no one and a 10 year old who is embracing every bit of pre-tweendom there is. I know. You're jealous.

But just because my kids have bratty tendencies doesn't mean they're like that all the time. In fact, they can be sickeningly sweet. Take this past weekend for example.

Friday night GG was invited to sleepover a friend's house. With one child out of the house I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to work on the 100th day of school project with the other. Little Dude, with the help of GG, decided to make a football field for this project. Football fields have 100 yards so this was a perfect idea.

I squirted some green paint on a plate so Little Dude could start to paint his field. When he was done he asked if he cold paint the rest of the plate. Instead of wasting the paint, I told him to have at it. Before it had time to dry, he asked if I could add some glitter to the paint. When all was said and done, he had a green glittered plate with a picture of a girl taped to the side. On the back of the picture was a note to his sister - I love you.

How sweet, right?! But he was not the only one who was sweet over the weekend.

GG had some gift card to a book store burning a hole in her pocket. I told her we could go to the book store and have a mother-daughter afternoon. While we were at the store, GG got lost in the maze of shelves. Being an avid reader, she just couldn't make up her mind. And then she saw it. An illuminating Harry Potter wand! Sadly, the only actual Harry Potter wand we could find was broken. She was about to settle on a Hermione wand when the look in her eyes changed. I tried to explain she could get whatever she wanted with her gift cards. GG told me if she bought the wand and one of the nooks she wanted, she wouldn't have enough money left over to buy me a treat and coffee.

Naturally that explanation broke my heart. I told her to put the wand back and grab her original choice of books. If treating me was that important to her, the husband and I would go online and buy her an actual Harry Potter wand. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree. She proudly paid for her books and we walked towards the coffee shop. I must say, that was the best tasting Oreo cheesecake I have ever had.

Have your kids done anything sweet lately?

Until next time...

Stay out of the kitchen

It never fails. When we want the kids to do something, they can't be found. Or become temporarily deaf. When we need the kids to give us space, they are all over us like white on rice.

The perfect example happened just the other day.

News Year's Eve. GG was at a friend's house so we had to wait for her to come home before making dinner. It was too early to begin any kind of celebrations. I couldn't really go out and stray too far from home. I'm paranoid like that when GG goes to a friend's house.

To kill some time I thought I would try to clean our kitchen counters. Again. Don't get me wrong, it's not that they're not clean. They just don't look the part. We have very limited counter space to begin with so the space we do have gets used. A lot. Over the years, many things have been spilled in these counters, including red Kool-aid. Our counters are cream in color as well as textured. I know anything red has the potential to stain, which it did in regards to our counters, but every so often I try to remove all of the red stain.

I have tried spray cleaners, soap and water, bleach, Mr. Magic erasers - they help, but the red still remains. The other day I decided to make a paste and make it stronger. In other words, OxyClean. I made my paste and I covered the counter top. It now had to sit for an hour. Throughout this whole process, Little Dude was in and out of the kitchen. He wanted a snack. Then a drink. Could I hook up the Wii so he could play a game? When is dinner? What is that white stuff in the kitchen (my paste)? He was so far up my ass he might as well have been in front of me. All I wanted to do was clean, but he was making things rather difficult.

But I think my yelling, and that of the husband who was trying to help me out, finally kicked in. I turn around and in the doorway to the kitchen I see this...

If it gives me some peace to get done what needs done, this sign can stay on the wall forever!



Until next time...

What the boy really wants

Alternately titled "The year we became some of those parents" - the crazy, must have this toy and now Christmas shopper kind of parents.


Every Christmas, we buy each kid one big gift and a few smaller, filler gifts. The idea for GG was conceived a few months ago and it is now safely hiding somewhere in the house. Little Dude's big gift? Well, that another story. And an ugly one.


A few months ago LeapFrog announced a new toy, the LeapPad. As cool as it looked, I didn't really think Little Dude needed it. I knew he would love it, but I really didn't want to buy all new games. It would be like switching all of our VHS tapes over to DVDs - a royal pain in the ass! And besides, stores around here weren't carrying them. I wasn't going to turn into one of those moms who goes nuts over a toy for her young child. I did that once with Elmo and it wasn't fun.

As time passed I periodically checked out this LeapPad. Our Target finally got a few in stock and I admit, I did play around with the display model a bit. But I still wasn't sure if his Explorer games would work with it. After more research, I learned that his games would in fact work with this new system. Now I had to get the husband on board with me on this purchase.

The husband was on the fence for quite some time but I finally managed to pull him over to the other side, my side. This feat of mine was finally accomplished the day after Cyber Monday. That night we turned to the LeapFrog website, as well as websites for any and all stores that sold toys. The LeapPad could not be found anywhere. The husband and I decided we would keep looking, but would talk up the dinosaur I had purchased a few days prior in case we couldn't acquire a LeapPad. And then Monday happened.


I had gone shopping with a friend in the morning. Once home I decided to give finding an available LeapPad a shot. The LeapFrog website wouldn't load and I knew something was up. A quick check of their Facebook page told me they had a few in stock. Everybody and their mother must have seen this status update. Damn them!

The husband and I spent the better part of the next 3 hours trying to obtain this precious toy. Just as one of us managed to add it to our virtual cart, our session would time out and the site would crash. Finally at the end of that 3 hour time span, the husband managed to add one to his cart and enter our shipping information. Just as he was about to enter our billing information, the site crashed once again. Our purchase never went through. When the site was finally brought back up, all but the super expensive bundles were sold out. Not wanting to spend that kind of money, we felt sad, frustrated, and defeated.

Yesterday afternoon the husband and I finally agreed that we would purchase Little Dude a LeapPad after Christmas. Perhaps for Easter. I had lost hope of obtaining one and I think the frustrations from Monday were something the husband didn't want to go through again. Apparently a little birdie, or frog in this case thought otherwise.

As usual, while dinner is cooking, the kids are taking a tv break, the husband is upstairs doing work for the class he's taking, and I'm playing around on the computer . That's when I saw it - our window of opportunity. One little status update with a heads up and off I was racing up the steps to share what I just read with the husband. He quickly jumped on the website and just like that, he bought our boy a LeapPad. I cannot wait to see Little Dude's face come Christmas morning!

Now if only I could have this kind of luck with the lottery!


How is your Christmas shopping going? Hopefully not as stressful as mine!



Until next time...

Dear Santa

Not too long ago, Little Dude wrote a letter to Santa at school. He didn't write the whole letter. It was more a fill in the blank kind of thing. Almost like a Mad Lib.

This letter was sent to the schools by a local letter shop. In their store, they had a special bright red mailbox. Letters for Santa were deposited in this mailbox and shipped to the North Pole. Given that there was a space at the bottom of the letters for one's address, I am assuming that Little Dude will get a letter in return. After reading what my boy wrote, I am quite anxious to see how the big man responds.


In case you can't see or figure out what my boy is trying to say with his lovely spelling skills, let me point out the crucial parts.

For the most part, Little Dude has been good. But apparently the husband and I have been busy. If you look close, it appears our son thinks he has 22 sisters and 1 brother. It would also appear we are quite neglectful as parents because I have no idea where these siblings are!

"Please" is often a word my kids forget, but Little Dude is correct in pointing out he always says "Thank you". That does make him plite (polite), so I guess he does deserve gifts.

But just because my boy thinks he deserves lots of gifts doesn't mean he doesn't think others should get jipped!



For me, Little Dude would like Santa to bring muge (mug). His daddy needs a new computer. I beg to differ on that one! For GG, he wold like Santa to bring mackup (make-up). She's only 10 so Santa and I might have some words if he really does bring her make-up, but I have to give Little Dude credit. He does know what his sister likes!

For our cat, a lidul cot (little cot). Last time I checked, our cat died over the summer. Perhaps this cat is hiding with the missing siblings? And finally, for his cousins, some bons (bones). Because they have dogs. Yes, I had to ask for an explanation with the bones.

In closing, Little Dude would like more Digrs (diggers). Santa and I might have more words because another digger is the last thing this boy of mine needs! And that big long "K" word under diggers - I do believe that is how my son spells a construction work site. Because a sandbox and his own designated digging spot in the yard aren't sufficient? Forget words with friends, it's words with Santa should he follow through!


Although with the luck Santa's helper (aka me) is having with finding the toy I really want to get, I might have to resort to more diggers.


What are your kids asking for Christmas because obviously I need more ideas other than diggers?




Until next time...

Sanity Saver

My Thanksgiving was spent with my family. The holiday was full of good food, lots of laugh, and of course, pouring over the Black Friday ads.

My mom and I are Black Friday shoppers, but we're not the crazy ones. We could care less about the big deals and have no desire to stand in line with hundreds for hours over a tv when the store only has 8 in stock. But that doesn't mean we don't hit the mall early - early enough for the good sales, but late enough to miss the crazies.

This year while we were shopping I picked up a hitch hiker - our very own Elf on the Shelf. I have thought about bringing one home for quite some time now. Like every other kid out there, mine go nuts this time of year. I had hoped by bringing this guy home, the kids' behavior would improve, thus saving my sanity.


Friday night we welcomed the elf into our home. I explained to GG and Little Dude that his job wouldn't start until we read his story and gave him a proper name. We read the story, learned the rules, and after much debate, they finally decided to name our elf Geno.

We have had a few bumps in the road, but behavior seems to be improving. I just hope the mischief Geno causes doesn't influence the kids in how they decide to act!

Geno wasted no time getting into things. The very next morning he was found wrapped in a string of beads, surrounded by pieces of red garland from the railing above.

Little Dude, who wanted to play with the toys in the box Geno was on, decided to move him to another part of the room. Touching Geno is against one of the rules. Warning Little Dude, I told him I hoped Geno's magic wasn't gone and he could still report to Santa every night.

Luckily that warning was enough, because Geno moved onto playing with Little Dude's toys the next morning. It took the kids quite some time to find him. I guess Geno had picked an ideal spot to play without being disturbed.

The kids, Little Dude in particular, wonder aloud every night as to where Geno will end up in the morning. I can't wait to discover the places he can hide.

I also wouldn't be surprised if Geno returned carrying a note from Santa about the things that were reported, good and bad. I hope Geno can hear my wish for a note because that would be a huge boost to my sanity!


Do you have your own Elf on the Shelf? What kind of crazy places does he hide?


Until next time...

Blue blur

I am so proud of my boy!

Last week the Boy Scouts held their annual Space Derby. Each boy was given a kit to build their space ship. The husband glued the two blocks of wood together. Once they dried, he began to sand out the square into the shape of a rocket. The husband did the bulk o the sanding, but Little Dude definitely had a hand in it.

Once the husband deemed the shape of the space ship acceptable, it was handed over to me. My job was to then apply a base coat of paint. Sky blue was the color Little Dude picked. Once that was dry, Little Dude took over with a handful of brushes and a full palette of paint.

Last Friday, the husband added the propeller and the fins. Saturday afternoon we were off to the race. We were all worried as this was Little Dude's first time with this race. It was the husband's first time since this was an event his Boy Scout troop opted out of.

My boy's ship would be
the blue blur in the lead :)

By the end of the race, Little Dude's space ship had won 6 races before it was eliminated. Had he won just one more race, my boy would have placed third and that would have given him a trophy. The husband and I were a little disappointed that, for the second Boy Scout race, Little Dude was just one race shy of a trophy. But I don't think Little Dude cared. The race by itself was enough for him.

But a blue ribbon didn't hurt either!

Until next time...

Rhyme Time

I am so incredibly proud of my kids. They brought home their report cards last week. All A's and B's!! I am especially proud of Little Dude because honestly, I was a little worried.

Every day I ask what they did in school. GG will give me examples of math problems or a science project. Little Dude will tell me what he ate for lunch or what he played at recess. However, when we least expect it, or at night when he's supposed to be in bed trying to sleep, he will tell us all about a lesson from the day.

Over the past few days, Little Dude has been learning that you can change the beginning or end sound of a word to create another word. Sometimes the words rhyme while other times they make a whole new word. For example, "man" can be changed into "map". At the end of last week, he was learning what can happen when the end sound of a word is changed. This week they are working on changing the beginning sound. How do I know this? Well, let me explain...


The other night I took the kids with me to Target, which could be an entire post in itself as I left with much more than I originally planned for. As usual! During the short car ride home, GG was talking about her upcoming birthday. Little Dude began to ramble on about words that can be changed. I was nodding and "uh-huh"-ing so he knew I was paying attention, even though I was more worried about driving down a dark, twisty hill in the rain. And then I heard it.... Duck. Oh, this can't end well.

Luck

Puck

Muck

Buck


And finally he came to the mother of all curse words.


Thank goodness we were in the car away from the general public and thankfully he had no idea what he had just said.

Proud Mommy Moment
hosted by Kmama and Emmy Mom
Do you have a proud (or "proud") moment
from the week?

Until next time...

Happy Halloween

Looking at the outside of our house, you would never know that I am a Halloween junkie. Except for my Boo door hanger, there is not an ounce of Halloween in our yard. First of all, it has been cold and I hate decorating in the cold. Second, very few, if any kids trick-or-treat on our street.

But that doesn't mean I am lacking on the decorations on the inside of our house.

Witch and monster sign, courtesy of my MIL.
Boo ghosts that I just finished making.
A pumpkin whose batteries might actually survive
through Halloween this year.

As much as I hate spiders, I have to put this guy out every year.
Last year, I actually forgot to put him away.
Yes, it freaked me out on more than one occasion.



web made by me

Not only do I enjoy watching my kids enjoy this holiday, but I also enjoy being someone else for a change. Can you guess what I was this year?

The husband was NOT a fan of my all to real black eye!

And by the way, why does my hair never cooperate
until I actually want it to be messy?! So frustrating!


In case you're still not sure of my costume,
would dirty, beat up wings give you a clue?

Because I have been so busy making Halloween decorations and starting on Christmas stuff, I decided to forgo making homemade costumes for the kids. The first costume GG chose was not available in a size that would fit her. Big is good as we have to work a costume over layers of clothes in this city, but 4 sizes too big is pushing it. She instantly fell in love once she saw a picture of something else.

I bought Little Dude's costume at a consignment shop back in July and up until October, he was so psyched to wear it. Then he decided to be a werewolf. Having already purchased a costume, I said no. Once I explained I could paint his face, his original costume was a go.

Without further adu, I introduce my Polar Princess and a soldier to protect her.

Or maybe a soldier to chase the polar princess with the gun I caved a bought him.

I wish everyone a safe and happy Halloween full of good candy for moms and dads to dip into!


PS. In case you're still not sure of what my costume was, I was a Fallen Angel.


Until next time...