Friday Fill Ins

1. Ahhh Christmas! What a wonderful season.
2. I am almost finished preparing for Tuesday!
3. Creating a whole bunch of Christmas presents has been a lot of work, but also a lot of fun.
4. I am hoping I can soon find some relaxation.
5. Kick start this cleaning today!!
6. I never thought the end of the world would be coming this year. 
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to breakfast for dinner and a Christmas movie, tomorrow my plans include finishing some projects and cleaning my house and Sunday, I want to go to Mass and then keep cleaning! 

Play along here:  
  

Christmas Gifts and Love Languages

I was having a conversation with my mom about what to give a few people on my gift list this year.  I had asked a few friends for advice too.  My mom's response is always something about making a donation to charity in the person's name.  One friend mentioned that she and her husband haven't exchanged gifts since they were dating. Another friend mentioned that he gives his wife gifts, but not his brothers. I gave some serious thought to all of these methods and discarded them all.

The thing is, I enjoy giving gifts. I enjoy finding something that would be perfect for that certain person and gifting it to them.  I like to see people happy as they unwrap gifts. And, to be completely honest, I love receiving gifts! I would be very unhappy if Ken and I decided not to give each other gifts anymore. (He would be delighted, because he doesn't like people to buy things for him.)

I was trying to explain to my mom how enjoying actual gifts does not make me a greedy person, when I got to thinking about a marriage retreat Ken and I went on last year.  One of the main focuses of the weekend was communication.  We had a great chance to learn about how communication works, what can hinder communication and how people communicate in different ways.

We took a test of "Love Languages." I had actually done one before and had a good idea of how my answers would turn out.  Ken had never done it, and we both learned a lot about ourselves individually and as a couple.

If you are interested, you can go take the test here:

There is a version for single people, wives, husbands and children.

As I already knew, my love languages are receiving gifts and acts of service. Receiving gifts does not mean that I want Ken to buy me jewelry and roses once a week.  It means that I enjoy being thought about.  For example, one night he came home from the grocery store and brought me some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  It's nothing extravagant, but I loved the thought that he had been thinking about me while he was out at the grocery store.  Another time, I had a friend who bought me a personalized keychain.  It really meant a lot to me, because I never see my name on anything. She had gone out of her way, when she saw a place that hand-carved them, to request one just for me.  It's not really about the actual gift; it's about the thought that went into it.

My other love language is acts of service.  To me, this one is all about thought too.  Frequently when my parents come over, my mom will empty and refill the dishwasher for me. Sure it's great to not have to do that chore, but it's really about her doing something for me to free up my time for other things.

The things about Love Languages is that not only determine how we "hear" love; they determine how we tend to give love as well.  Remember how I said that I enjoy giving people things?  That's one reason Christmas is hard for me.  I see things all the time that I think would make great gifts for someone.  Some people would buy those things and set them aside for the next gift holiday. I tend to buy them and want to give them right away.  I also enjoy doing things for people. All you have to do is ask, and I will make you dinner! Have a baby, move, change jobs, etc. and I will almost insist. This is obviously easier when you live near me!!

When I taught preschool, I was surrounded by little kids all day long. They bump into you, hug you, sit on your lap, etc. all day long. By the end of the day, I would be all "touched out."  Then I would be in the kitchen washing dishes or making dinner and Ken would come up behind me a give me a hug, or kiss my neck.  It used to really annoy me.  When we learned that Ken's love language is physical touch, I figured out why he does that! That information, coupled with the fact that I no longer teach pre-school has made a huge difference!

One thing that has been especially difficult for us is the fact that my two high scoring languages are Ken's lowest and vice versa.  He doesn't like people to buy him things or do things for him. He likes to feel very independent in those areas.  Personal touch and quality time were my lowest scores and Ken's highest.  It doesn't mean that I don't like to be touch or be around people. It just means that those action mean different things to me.  I enjoy spending time with my husband, my kids, my friends and my family.  Honestly!! I just don't hear those things as love. Same with Ken. It doesn't make him mad when I buy him stuff; he just doesn't always recognize it as me saying, "I love you."

Tuning in to how we receive actions from others can make a huge difference in our relationships with those people.  I used to get annoyed when my mom always reminded me to drive safely. As if I don't!! Now I recognize the care and concern behind the words and usually respond with "I love you too!"

My next mission, is to get the kids to take the children's version of the quiz. I would be interested to know how my kids receive what I am telling them and if they would prefer to be approached a different way.

I also have a few more gifts to figure out, because I enjoy giving them; but mostly because Christmas is getting really close!!

Morning Motivation?? HELP!!

Readers? Moms? Friends? I need some help!

Our morning routine is not working at all!! I mentioned our new chart system last week. While it works well in the evenings, it just isn't cutting it in the mornings.  My kids will just not get moving!  This morning Frances and Benjamin were up a full hour early.  That didn't translate into any less chaos this morning, though. At 7:30 Ken was still asking them what they wanted for breakfast and telling them to get their shoes on.

I've read that some parents have put this situation completely into the hands of the children.  These parents tell the kids to get up and get ready and then send them to school in whatever state of dress or undress they are in at departure time.  The theory is that the kids will be embarrassed at the prospect of going to school in their pajamas with messy hair.  Have these people met any real children?? All the children I know, mine especially, would LOVE to go to school in their pajamas. In fact, Henry asks regularly when the next pajama day is because he had them in his day care pretty frequently.  {Please ignore the fact that I was the teacher that planned them!!}

It has nothing to do with not wanting to go to school. My kids LOVE school. They have never complained about going or tried to stay home.  And on the weekends when I tell them to get dressed before they watch TV, that only takes about 5 minutes. I am truly baffled why our school mornings are full of so much yelling and crying (and that's just Ken's reaction!!--KIDDING!)

Here's what we do:
The kids have an alarm clock.  The alarm goes off at 7am.  They have to get on the bus a little after 8, so that gives them an hour to get dressed, eat breakfast and complete their morning hygiene.  They pick their clothes out on Sunday for the whole week. (This is awesome, by the way, because we used to get busy or forget during the week and cause more morning chaos.) I have a play list that I play for the morning.  It's kinda lame, but I just got into iTunes this year and don't have much of a collection. Don't judge!

Breakfast choices are limited to cereal, toast, fruit, cereal bars and the like. I would love to sit down to scrambled eggs or pancakes, but not until we speed up the kids!

So what can we do?  How do we push the fast-forward button in the morning?  I should mention that I get Benjamin ready, but expect Henry and Frances to get themselves ready.  The only things I help with are tying Henry's shoes (which Frances often does anyway) and giving Frances' hair a once-over.

I'll take any and all suggestions you've got! Or maybe just commiserate with me in the comments and let me know I'm not alone!

The Magic of (Our) Christmas (Tree)

Ken used to manage a Radio Shack back when Frances was a baby. He was (and still is) obsessed with electronics and gadgets I'm pretty sure that if you asked him, he could still tell you the stock number on a package of batteries. It's a fascinating party trick!
It was also a time that we acquired a LOT of electronic gadgets that we still use.  One of those is a set of plug and play adapters that allow you to remotely turn outlets in your house off and on.  You could plug lamps into these outlets all over the house and then turn them all on at one time with the remote.  I suppose they would also be really useful if your outlets are located behind furniture-you could still turn things off and on without having to have access to the outlet.  However, we have never used the system for those purposes.  Nope. In our house we used them to convince our children that they could perform magic!
When we got the tree out this year and the kids saw the lights, they all ran to their room and started yelling about dress up stuff. I was confused as to why they all ran away at the same time, but then they returned to the living room decked out with capes and magic wands. {Note to self: We have a LOT of magic wands at our house.}
When Frances was little, we had the lights plugged into the adapter (truly because the outlet was behind the tree and we didn't want to have to keep climbing back there).  Ken told her that if she waved her magic Princess wand at the tree and said the magic words (which at the time were "Bibbity, Bobbity, Boo!") that the lights would turn on.  She was fascinated!  We had to have the remote in close range at all times in case she tried to test out her skills.
This year she had passed along the story to her brothers who were very excited to try out their magical skills.  They started yelling all kinds of incantations at the tree, which of course didn't work because we hadn't even gotten the lights on yet. We convinced the kids to help us get the lights situated before they tried again.  We even had to explain that the wands hadn't performed magic in a long time and maybe they should shake them a few times. Then they had to practice which magic words they would use. Some favorites:

Abracadabra!

Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious!

Bibbity Bobbity Boo!

And then my favorite: "Lumos!"  We even taught them to say "lumos" to turn the lights on and "nox" to turn them off.  It's great when Frances hasn't combed her hair and she looks a bit like Hermione Granger!!

This isn't Frances, but you see what I mean, right!?

Benjamin has the typical two-and-a-half year old issues with pronouncing new and big words.  And even though "nox" isn't difficult to say, it is unfamiliar. So he says it like something he's heard more often: "knock knock!"  Then the kids start telling jokes and rolling on the floor laughing and it takes a while to regroup.

"NOX!"

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

This weekend, my friend Julie texted me a picture of her kitchen. It was a mess! It's okay for me to say that, because that was the point of her text.  I texted her back: "I see your mess, and I'll raise you mine." and I sent her a picture of my living room. 

I had spent the afternoon sewing some Christmas gifts and the kids compounded my mess as soon as they got up from nap.  Thankfully it doesn't look exactly like that anymore. Mainly because we've had to keep the carpet-area clean because that's where the kids have been eating dinner.  Did I mention that the dining room table is covered in Christmas projects in various states of completion?  The kids have those nice trays there that they like to sit at to eat dinner. That keeps {most} of the food messes off the carpet.
The good news is that I am almost done with making Christmas presents. I wanted to share some of them here, but I don't want the people that I made them for to see them. I can, however, post these with confidence as I am sure there are no children who read my blog (except Frances and then, only when I let her).

I haven't completely finished these yet, but I am pretty close. I am making t-shirts for my kiddos.  I used Word to create a letter on an oval background.  I tried lots of different fonts for these.  My favorites ended up being: Goudy Stout, Gungsuh, Harrington, Segoe, and Showcard Gothic.  I made the oval with a text box over it for the letter. Then I upped the font size to between 300-450 (depending on the letter and the intended recipient) and printed them out.  I took the printouts home and decided on some fabrics from my extensive stash (with a sewing grandmother and other sewing friends, I rarely pay for fabric).  Then I pinned the paper on top of the paper and cut it out.  I set the resulting cloth oval aside and then pinned the paper oval to the coordinating fabric and cut out the letter.  For letters that have an inside (B, A, D in this case--haha!) I took the paper letter and pinned it to a small scrap of the original fabric.  The mid-part of the A, for example, is three layers of fabric.

After I had all the pieces cut out, I put them back together in a stack like you see above and pinned them together. In the case of middle pieces, I put the paper templates back together to help me get them in the right place. 

Next I will use my zigzag stitch on my sewing machine to go around the letters, starting from the middle out.  Once the letter is secured to the oval, I will use the same stitch to sew the oval to the t-shirt.  I have found in making these shirts in the past that sewing one oval onto a shirt is MUCH easier than sewing around a letter like that funky "F" up there!

I have made these shirts for the kids for their birthdays in the past and the LOVE them.  Since I am aiming for a mostly homemade Christmas this year, I thought I would go for initials. I hope they LOVE these just as much.  Plus my favorite part is using the same fabrics for different kids. All the girls have the same pink in their letter. Henry and his cousin have the same background, and Benjamin and our friend "D" have the same fabrics.  I also know that one of those fabrics is from a receiving blanket the kids used to use, at least two of them are from quilts my grandmother made, and another one is from a dear friend. I plan on telling the kids the story of their fabrics when they get their shirts.

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Oh, my, it has been a busy week.
2. I hope 5 o'clock comes sooner, rather than later!
3. "Buy one, get one free" is one my my favorite phrases.
4. I always try to look at things positively!
5. Soon, I'm going to start a LOT of sewing.
6. Did you see any shooting stars?
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to homemade pizza night with the kids, tomorrow my plans include getting a bunch of sewing started and Sunday, I want to go to Mass and then relax!

You can play along here: 

Hotel Roanoke & Transportation Museum

My mom's birthday was this past Monday. She took my kids that weekend and then we met at the Hotel Roanoke for lunch on Sunday with my older brother, his wife, and my younger brother.  We had a very nice lunch with a very kid-appreciative waitress. My mom got a present from her younger sister with instructions on how to spend it.

 

 We tried to take some family pictures, but everyone had bunny ears. And then Richard Nixon showed up.  {Henry asking me why he was supposed to be saying, "I am not a crook." was kinda precious!}

 Benjamin ate lots of food except for the stuff that was on his plate.

 Then we went over to Roanoke Visitor's Center to get some information about the transportation museum.  Frances thought this pile of gifts made a great picture place. I tend to agree!

 When we got to the Transportation Museum, the kids got to see lots of antique cars; but most of the place is dedicated to rail history in the area.  They had a refurbished train they call the Candy Cane Express that we got to ride on.  Benjamin took a ride in a racecar while we were in line from the train.

 The train goes about a mile down the tracks and comes back.  The kids loved it. And they all got a candy cane when they got off.

 There was also a playground with transportation themed things to play with.  We had to push the kids back and forth on this car about 30 times!

 Inside, Benjamin found an old train cockpit (that's probably not the right word...) He played with all the buttons and levers in here for about 20 minutes.  Then he left and wandered around a bit and came back to play some more.  This was his favorite spot!

 Right before we left the kids got in line to get their faces painted.  Henry wanted to be Rudolph.

 Frances was an Ice Princess (on the way home she kept telling me that she was so cold her lips were turning blue!)

 Benjamin actually sat still long enough to be transformed into an adorable kitty.

It was a great trip and we all had a blast!!

Chore Charts and Clothespin Game

Like most moms, I feel like I say the same things over and over again every day.  I've seen a lot of different chore charts and accountability systems, but we haven't had very good luck sticking with anything. I don't want to spend a ton of money on it only to find out later that it doesn't work. I don't want to make it so complicated that the kids and I get frustrated with it a give up. I decided on a simple list of eight responsibilities for the morning and eight for the evening. 

Morning responsibilities

Evening Responsibilities

 I had printed them out front to back and laminated them at work, but I was waiting for the perfect time to explain them and put them up. I was also looking for a place to put them that would be accessible to the kids but not in the way. I was also working the exact mechanics of how we would keep track of the jobs. But I was determined to get it figured out and put up.

I was in Roses early last week looking for some Christmas project supplies when I ran across some colorful, plastic clothespins. They were the same colors as the popsicle sticks we have been using for behavior management, so it seemed like a sign that I should buy them.  There was a fuchsia color for Frances, orange for Henry and blue for Benjamin.  I brought them home and clipped them on the sides of the chart next to each job. Then I clipped each chart to the refrigerator. One for Frances and one for Henry.  Benjamin has one too, but he hasn't asked to use it yet so I haven't put it up.

Now, each evening, instead of endlessly repeating "brush your teeth," "put on your pajamas," "go potty," I just say "check your chart."  They know to go see what is left to be done.  As they complete each job, they remove the clothespin and place it in a container on the table in the kitcehn.

Frances is the one who solved one of my earlier concerns about this being a complicated system.  Originally I was thinking it would be my job to turn the chart and replace the clothespins twice a day. However, the morning after our first evening use, Frances went to her chart (without being prompted) and said, "So, do we just turn it over and put the clips back on?" And I said, "Yes, my genius daughter; that's exactly what you do!"

We have been using this system for a little over a week now, and while it's not perfect, it does seem to cut out a lot of the repetition I go through in the mornings and evenings.   Actually, I just repeat "check your chart" over and over again, but it's an improvement!

As I said above, Benjamin doesn't seem to feel left out in not having a chart, but he does like to play with the clips.  So in a moment of desperation while refereeing the boys and trying to make dinner, I came up with this game. It is great for fine motor skills and cooperation.  It actually gave me about 15 minutes of peace, and that AWESOME in my book.

You need a sturdy wooden or plastic ruler, clothespins, and two kids.  I started the game by putting all the clothespins on one end of the ruler.  Then I handed it to Henry. Henry's job was to hold the ruler steady, while Benjamin took off the clothespins.

 

Then, Benjamin held the ruler steady while Henry put the clothespins back on the ruler.

They took turns like this back and forth for about 15 minutes before they mostly lost interest and went off to do something else.  But they weren't fighting when they left, so I was happy.

Candied Almonds

My Aunt Anne (for whom I was named) lives in California with her husband who is a farmer/plantation owner.  Each year at Christmastime she has offered almonds and walnuts from their trees and a neighbor's. My dad uses the almonds for his toffee (that I am determined to learn how to make one year).  I like them to snack on and I have used the walnuts for banana bread in the past. This year I decided to try out a new recipe I found online.  It is very simple if you know what you are doing.  Some of the reviewers were disappointed because they stopped the process too early and did not achieve their desired results.

Candied Almonds
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 cups almonds 

Add water, sugar and cinnamon to a saucepan over medium heat. Stir well and keep an eye on it. First the water will start to boil. This looks like little bubbles coming to the surface and popping.  Then the sugar will melt and start to boil. You will notice the amount of liquid in the pan increase and the bubbles will look syrupy and pop slower.  Keep stirring. When the mixture has reached a rolling boil, add the almonds and keep stirring. At first this mixture will look shiny, sticky and wet.  Keep stirring.

 

 As more liquid evaporates, it will begin to look dryer and dryer. The sugar will also crystallize around the edge of the pan, but don't worry about this it is very easy to clean.

 As the liquid continues to evaporate you will see the sugar more clearly. The mixture is losing it's sticky, shiny appearance.

 Once all the liquid is gone, turn the almonds out onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. (I probably should have stirred this first batch just a little bit longer to keep them from sticking to each other.

  They are very hot when you first pour them out, so have patience!  They taste good warm, but you won't be able to taste anything at all for a week if you try to taste one too soon!! :)

When your pan has cooled, you can add some warm water at let it soak.  Al the crystallized sugar should come out easily with the wipe of a sponge. Or you could leave it and make another batch without cleaning the pan.  Just add a little less sugar.

I added some cloves to this recipe when I made it last night.  Then smell in my kitchen was heavenly! I have also seen some people add Tabasco sauce for a bit of a kick.  What would you add?

Knight Bucks Store

My kids' school is like the United Nations of our town.  We have kids of all different races, cultures, and nationalities.  When I walk into their classrooms, I am struck by huge diversity of colors and languages represented.  Our school is also a very poor school.  We have the largest percentage of students receiving free and reduced lunch in the city. But we have an amazing support system in our teachers, administration and community groups.
One way that the community and teachers serve our school is through the annual Christmas Knight Bucks Store.  Throughout the year the kids can earn Knight Bucks for good behavior.  Each child has a pouch or wallet to keep their bucks in and they can spend them on various things at school, such as lunch with a friend from a different classroom, special time to visit the principal, school supplies and more. And each year at Christmastime, the guidance counselor and librarian host the Knight Bucks Store.
The Knight Bucks Store is filled with items donated from local businesses (like Michael's) and community organizations (The Mennonite Relief sale typically donates their leftovers).  Each item is priced anywhere from 5 Knight Bucks up to 50 Knight Bucks.  The kids come in during their library time to shop and they are able to purchase up to 4 gift items for their family members.  For an additional cost, these items can also be gift-wrapped.
I have helped in the store since Frances was in Kindergarten.  I help the kids pick out gifts, take their money and then do the gift wrapping. They are so excited to buy gifts for their family members. It is a joy to listen to them explain who each item is for. As the kids get older, the gift choices become more meaningful; but the younger kids have such cute reasoning, I'm sure their parents will still be pleased.
This year I helped with two different Kindergarten classes, Henry's being the second one.  I talked with him beforehand about why I would be there and how he needed to keep his purchases a secret from me.  I missed his first two purchases because I was helping another student.  He was looking for something for Frances and his eyes just lit up when he saw a horse figurine on the table.  I also happened to catch a glimpse of a wire basket of goodies in his bag. He doesn't know I saw it, but I'm glad I did for the conversation that came the next week:

Henry: Mommy, what do you want for Christmas?

Me: Oh, I'm not sure honey.

Henry: Would you like a basket?

Me: You know, I was just thinking yesterday how nice it would be to have a nice basket full of goodies.

Henry: {eyes light up} Really?  I don't have anything like that. {Sly grin}

Me: Oh? Oh well. Maybe next year.

And then he turned to whisper conspiratorially to Frances about something that made them both giggle. 

I just hope Ken is as pleased with his stuffed dinosaur as I will be with my basket of goodies!!

70 Things I Learned From My Mom

My Mommy's birthday is today.  It isn't polite to mention a woman's age, but I did make this special list just for her.

70 Things I Learned From My Mom

1. Love
2. To be nice to my brothers
3. How to be a good mom
4. My faith
5. To go to Mass regularly
6. To "watch Father" during the consecration
7. To say my prayers
8. To give thanks for what I have
9. To appreciate the small things in life
10. Love
11. To be kind
12. To help others
13. To call twice in a row if it's an emergency
14. It's never too late to learn new things
15. Or quit a bad habit
16. To keep in touch with your family
17. How to bake salmon
18. How to gut and fillet a fish
19. How to keep wrinkles out of your clothes by throwing them back in the dryer
20. Love
21. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all
22. If something is missing, St. Anthony can help
23. That curbs jump out and attack your tires if you drive too close to them
24. Do as I say, not as I do
25. When a car is driving strangely, you can fix this by saying, "car,car,car" at them
26. To honor Mary
27. To always wear clean underwear
28. To respect everyone
29. To wear earrings everyday
30. And lipstick
31. Love
32. To take my vitamins
33. How to make pepper steak
34. To not eat like a Brainard 
35. To shut the door behind me because I wasn't raised in a barn
36. That I am beautiful
37. Colorful cereals are for special occasions only
38. To honor my elders and my family's heritage
39. To look both ways before crossing the street
40. To eat my vegetables
41. Love
42. To pray for peace in the world
43. To respect, value, and learn about other cultures
44. A smile always makes you look better
45. A smile also makes you feel better
46. A mom can work outside the home and still be a great mom
47. Not to light a fire with a lighter
48. Always say, "I love you."
49. Always keep Kleenex handy
50. That my face probably won't really stick that way
51. That it's important to eat dinner around a table at home, together as a family
52. The best thing to yell at a soccer game is, "kick the ball." It works in every situation
53. Love
54. Wear a hat when it's cold
55. Be patient
56. Be generous
57. That this will hurt me more than it hurts you.  
58. Willie Nelson makes us melt.
59. That sharing a bathroom with 5 people might be hard, but try sharing it with 8!
60. "Take some Tylenol and put some heat on it" will work in most situations
61. That people who call and ask for "Sugar" are family, people who ask for "Madeline" are friends, and people who ask for "Mrs. Barnard" are telemarketers
62. To put a sweater on when I am cold
63. Love
64. Waffles with peanut butter and syrup are delicious
65. If the weather is bad enough that the weather anchor suggests checking on the elderly, it is always funny to turn to mom and ask how she's doing.
66. The Weather Channel is not just for checking the weather for five minutes, it is an actual channel that you can watch all day long
67. That celebrating my birthday separately from my brother's was probably always more about me having my own special day than it was about making me wait for presents.
68. The bond between a mother and a daughter is a special gift
69. That "This is the day the Lord has made, we should rejoice and be glad in it."
70. That my brothers are I are the luckiest kids in the world to have been raised by such a wonderful mom

Chicken and Sugar

The Brainard family, circa 1984?

The Queen Mum at Frances' princess birthday party

Easter 2010 (Pre-Benjamin)

Birthday Bucks!

Bunny ears always appear in family photos!

 Happy birthday, Mommy!! I love you!!

Friday Fill-Ins

1. I saw a lot of funny videos on YouTube last night when I couldn't sleep.
2. What's in that bag??...just a hint, please!
3. Once in a while it's nice to have some time to myself.
4. I have neglected that in times past.
5. The road led places I wasn't expecting, but it has been an interesting journey.
6. The world always looks more beautiful in the morning light.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Mass with Julie and her kiddos, tomorrow my plans include a Christmas crafting marathon and Sunday, I want to go have lunch with my Mommy for her birthday!

What's popular this week??
Mega Millions
The Garbage Truck
And a post about my New Feed

If you want to play along with Friday Fill Ins, head over here: 

Elf on the Shelf

I will admit it. We have an Elf on the Shelf.  His name is Bobby.  Frances named him that back when she was the only one of our children who could talk.  Ahhh...those were the days...
Sorry! I got lost in a memory there!!

Anyway, unlike some other people who have too much time on their hands, our elf is quite boring.  Bobby started out his visit this year by hiding in the kitchen cabinet.  Why the kitchen cabinet, you ask?  Because it took me an hour to find the blasted thing Saturday morning and I needed a place the kids hadn't already seen.

I hid him in my sleeve, snuck into the kitchen and then very nonchalantly asked Frances to come put away a few groceries that were still in a bag on the floor.  She asked me three times which shelf to put it on before she looked high enough to see him.  Then the kids came in the kitchen and giggled for about 10 minutes.

He has also been seen swinging from the ceiling fan and sitting on the shelf with his arms around a Willow Tree angel.  Today he is sitting in the key holder by the front door.  Unfortunately, I am running out of places to put him that the kids can see but not touch.  Yesterday he fell over on the dining room shelf halfway through the day and the kids about lost it!

Frances totally believes in this little elf who goes to the North Pole and tells Santa about her day, but I'm not sure Henry is buying it.  He had a rough day on Saturday and was doing a lot of yelling and foot stomping.  That evening I was talking to him about his day and I asked him what he thought Bobby was going to tell Santa about him for the day.

"He's inside the cabinet. He can't see anything anyway!"

was his reply.  Then I informed him that Bobby could still hear him and his eyes got all big and I could almost see him replaying his day inside his head. Gotcha!!

New Feed

Howdy Folks!
I was having some issues with the feeds for my blog (which you will understand if you are a subscriber), so I changed a few things around. That may mean you will have to re-subscribe to the feeds here. It may also mean that you won't even get a notification that I posted this.  :(
If you are a subscriber, please re-subscribe and then let me know everything is working okay on your end.
If you are not a subscriber, then please consider doing so, so you don't miss out on any cute pictures of my kids or fascinating stories of our wacky life!!

You know you'd miss these guys!

And you'd never find out why Bobby is in the cabinet.

And I know you're dying to know what Benjamin is up to here!

Wordless Wednesday: 2012 Tree Edition

Tree Farm

I got to go on another field trip with Henry's class! (I missed the one for Frances' class because she forgot to bring the form home until it was too late.)  We went to a tree farm in Keezletown.  The guide there was, hands down, one of the best field trip guides I have ever seen! He was loud enough for everyone to hear him; he was funny and engaging with the kids and he had a lot of good information. We saw different kinds of trees and learned about how the tree farmers rotate the fields.

We learned about praying mantis egg sacs (which you don't want inside on your tree)...

 and some kind of caterpillar you don't want in your tree at all.

We also saw some bird nests, but I was the adult in charge of holding the branches so the kids could peek in a see the nest, and I couldn't get a picture.
 Each class got to pick out a Christmas tree to take back to their classroom and decorate. 

 Then we went back to school for lunch and Ken and I headed home.

Mega Millions

Hi. My name is Rabia and I bought a PowerBall ticket.  Something about the allure of infinite millions and I couldn't resist. I stuck it in my pocket and went to pick up the kids from school.  Then we went home and I made dinner just like any other night.  We did some clean up and I put the kids to bed.  Then, as I sat on the couch to relax for the evening, I realized that I could be holding a winning lottery ticket.
I had some time before the drawing, so I got online to do some daydreaming.  What in the world would I spend $550 million dollars on??  I did some house shopping online, but there weren't many houses in the area I would like.  It didn't occur to me that with $550 million I could build a house pretty much anywhere I wanted! Or buy a house and completely remodel it.  I guess I am not used to thinking like a multimillionaire. I was having so much fun that I didn't get around to picking out new vehicles before I got tired and went to bed.
When Ken and I woke up the next morning, we had a discussion about what we would do with a million dollars.  A million seems easier to wrap my head around. Here's how we spent our million:
$300,000 for a new house-one where everyone has their own room, Ken and I each have a room for ourselves (a hunting room and a crafting room), a playroom for the kids, more than one bathroom and a nice yard.
$100,000 to fix up our current house.  Our plan calls for renovating it and then renting it out to ensure some future income.
$100,000 for two new vehicles for us.
$300,000 into the kids college funds ($100,000 each)
$100,000 to pay off all our bills (I realize in hindsight that this probably wouldn't cover all of them, but it's just a fantasy, so go with it)
$100,000 to cover taxes from all of the above.  Again I realize that it is probably not enough, but we overestimated on some of the other things anyway.

One million dollars went pretty easily.  Other than upgrading our living and driving conditions, I don't feel like our lives would change drastically.  Yeah, we wouldn't have to worry as much about paying our bills and providing for our family, but we would still work and send the kids to school and do other things we are doing now.

What about you?  What would you do with a million dollars?  How much money would it take for you to quit your job and move to an island in the South Pacific?  Or what would you do with a huge payout??


P.S. I did win with my PowerBall ticket!!  A big whopping $4!!! :)