Potpourri of Pointless Prose

In an effort to lift my grouch status after yesterday's post, I will happily share that the train table has redeemed itself back to "fairly appropriate with some practice" on the gift list. My children headed for the basement at 9:15 this morning, and except for the occasional outburst, I did only minimal intervening for the entire morning. It was delightful.

While they played, I cleaned out my pantry. I rearranged, threw out, wiped down shelves, organized, made lists, mopped the floor and dusted the trim. I never understand why I find things like seven ice cream bucket lids with absolutely no containers to match.

I'm having issues with writing my posts. When I want to go back and edit something I've already written above, I can't get the cursor where I want it just by clicking on that spot. Some weird cross thing shows up and a clip/print menu pops up. It takes anywhere from 4-7 tries to make it happen correctly. Anyone else having this problem or am I just a technological idiot? Be nice when you answer that.

It seems like everyone I talk to has news of the stomach flu. They are either related to, friends with, or has heard of someone who is puking. I'm locking my doors and none of us are coming out until April.

I called my husband at work this morning and asked him to stop at the library to pick up the two books that had come in for me. He said, "what are you going to do with two books?" I said, "Read them!" His response: "Because you don't have enough to do?" I think that was secret code for "The house is a disaster, why would I want to give you more reason to sit around and not take care of anything?" OK, who am I kidding. There was no secret code about that. That's just flat out what he was saying.

In the spirit of the snowy forecast, I'll share my son's favorite snow past time.

After 7 minutes out in the cold, cold snow after our last storm, he came to the door crying. He was tired of falling down and not being able to get back up, but he was begging for snow to eat. Why not. It's low cal, fat free, and cost effective.

R.I.P.

This gift may be the death of me.

Did you ever buy something for your child KNOWING it was going to be the PERFECT gift? My 1 year old (almost 2) loves trains. Lives and breathes trains. We've been to three friends' houses with train tables and he will stand there and play for hours. At ToysRUs, he loves the model set they have. At his cousins house - same thing. So we decided this would be the perfect gift for him.

I've been counting down the days until this gift could be opened. Yes, I have been counting down the days. We have this cheap, nasty train set that he asks for every day. The only place to set it up is in the middle of my kitchen floor. The pieces fall apart. The bridges fall down. It causes a lot of tears and drama. And yelling and fit throwing.

I was ready for Christmas. Bring on the train table.

The minute he tore the paper off, he started begging, "Build it, daddy. Build it, daddy!"

The present was opened at grandma's house, since it was from the grandparent's too. We brought it home last night and found a good spot in the basement. I knew it would be the first thing my son went for this morning. He cruised downstairs right after breakfast and I sighed a contented sigh. I could clean up the kitchen in peace. I was mentally making a list of everything I would accomplish today. Wait, what was that noise?

Crying? No way.

Yelling? No way.

Fit throwing? No way. This cannot be happening.

"It's stuck, mama!"

"My train won't hook up, mama!"

"It fell down, mama!"

And, my favorite, "My choo-choo train has a problem, mama!" Great, call in the psych team for that engine, because I am DONE with this train thing.

The disapointment is almost as great as when I was a kid and didn't get exactly what I wanted for Christmas.

OK, technically, I'm still holding out hope that he will figure out what the train can and can't do, how to cross the bridge without causing world war III, and that the magnets don't connect right when you try to put an engine on the front AND the back of the train.

The highlight of my morning - after much crying and screaming (from the child, not me) - was when I read this in the "train manual".

"This toy is intended for the enjoyment and development of children between the ages of 3 and 8. It has been specifically designed and tested for use by children of that age range in a constructive setting...Do not buy your 2-year-old a toy meant for children ages 3 and above...Use of the toy by persons other than children of the intended age may result in injury to the user or bystander..."

Yes, yes, I could see how injury might result from this.....however, they forgot the warning about loss of sanity.

10 Christmas Wishes

I'm stealing a friend's 10 idea for today, but really, if we're honest, it's what we are all thinking about four days before Christmas. I might not only be stealing her idea, but some of her wishes as well.

I wish for:

1. The weather to cooperate so my three out of town friends can gather together this weekend for a short but sweet Christmas moment.
2. Health. I'm scared to even mention that we've (even our extended families) been fairly healthy for many consecutive days now.
3. A quiet fire pager. No fires, no accidents, no false alarms, no CO leaks, no power line issues, no EMS back-ups. I'm guessing this might be asking for a bit too much, but I can always wish.
4. My son to learn his way around Webkinz World so computer time again becomes his thing instead of our thing.
5. To cook as little as possible.
6. To somehow minimize "gift getting" and focus on giving.
7. A strong, healthy back for my mom so she can enjoy the holidays without pain.
8. Safety for all those traveling here and there and everywhere.
9. To feel after the final Christmas family celebration that it wasn't all a blur of frantic activity, but a special time of togetherness and sharing.
10. To keep the main thing the main thing. I want my children to remember the baby in the manger, the special gift from God, and that the story doesn't end with the birth of Jesus. And that it's not just a "story", but everyday truth for all who are willing to accept the gift.

Really Long Day

Yesterday was a day for the record books. Here's how it went.

8:15 a.m. -- Dropped the boys off at grandma's so I could report for jury duty for the first time ever.

9:00 a.m. -- Jury selection process started.

10:00 a.m. -- Selection process still going.

11:00 a.m. -- The benches are getting really hard.

11:30 a.m. -- Still going, but I realize at this moment I will not be selected. The attorney asked if anyone had experience with adoption, specifically adopted kids. I was the only one in the room, and to top it off, I had biological and adopted kids. So did the defendant, with alleged abuse toward the adopted and not biological children.

1:30-4:15 p.m. -- More questions, more sitting. Finally at 4:15 they have selected the jury. I get to go home.

4:30 p.m. -- I call my husband to let him know I will be picking up the boys and heading home. He answers the phone like this: "We have a big problem. Our son just swallowed a quarter." I automatically think it's the 22 month old, he puts everything in his mouth. Nope, it's the five year old. I tell him to meet me at grandma's in two minutes and I call his pediatrician to see what to do. The verdict: if he's breathing okay bring him to us (hospital 20 minutes away), if not, take him to your local hospital (rinky-dink little place).

He was gagging quite a bit, but was breathing fine, so we loaded up for the hospital.

5:00 p.m. -- We check in with the doctor.

5:15 p.m. -- It's time to head over for x-rays. The first one doesn't show anything. My first thought - "Did he really swallow it, or are we here for nothing?" They take another shot. Oh yes, it's in there, way up high. They take another shot - I guess they need a side view too.

5:45 p.m. -- Back to the doctor's office. There's good news and bad news. The good news: the quarter is in the esophagus, not the trachea, which is why he was gagging so much, but still able to breathe. He will need to go to surgery and be put under to get it out. The bad news: No one at this hospital feels comfortable doing that type of surgery. We have to head 30 more minutes down the road to mega-hospital that covers 24 city blocks.

6:30 p.m. -- Everything is in order to head south. Thank goodness my son is so tired by this point (no nap in the afternoon, too busy eating money) that he sleeps all the way to the next hospital. I'm not sure how kids can sleep with quarters stuck in their throat, but he did it.

7:00 p.m. -- Arrive at the ER, get admitted, IV started, and answer the same questions all over again. "No, I wasn't there when it happened. No, I don't know why he put the quarter in his mouth. No, grandma didn't see it happen either. I'm not sure when he ate last, let me call grandma." The only thing that kept me from feeling like a terrible mother was that I was fulfilling my civic duty in court!

8:30 p.m. -- Time to head up to OR for surgery prep. We head the waiting room. More sitting. And waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

9:15 p.m. -- Okay, we didn't wait that long. The surgeon came out, gave us the quarter, and said everything went fine. He's a little roughed up in there, so take it easy with soft foods at first. Wait some more.

10:00 p.m. -- The nurse gives us an update. He's waking up a little, but having a hard time completely waking up. It will be a little while yet.

10:30 p.m. -- They wheel him out. Okay, where are we going? Oh, they can't dismiss us from anywhere in the OR, we have to be checked in to pediatrics in order to be dismissed. Great.

11:45 p.m. -- He has drank some Sprite and gone pee. Good, let's go home. Where did our nurse go?

12:30 a.m. -- She'll be with us in a few minutes.

1:00 a.m. -- Whew. We are walking out of the hospital. Most normal people would have driven straight home at this point, but no, not us, we were starving. No one had eaten since lunch. We drove through Spangles for my favorite - turkey club on pita - and some ice cream for my son since he was so brave (and because he hadn't eaten since lunch either).

2:00 a.m. -- My head hits the pillow. What a day.

In spite of all this craziness, God was watching out for us in SO many ways. The quarter didn't affect his breathing, my husband and I were both 2 minutes from grandma's when it happened, immediate care was open so we didn't have to go to the ER at the first hospital, the other grandma was working at the first hospital, so she could take little brother home with her, all the nurses and doctors were great, we didn't have to stay the (whole) night in the hospital, AND I didn't get picked for jury duty. I can't imagine if I would have had to report there at 9:00 this morning. Ugh.

I'm hoping for an un-eventful Christmas!!

You Know You Live In The Middle of Nowhere When...

Two different storms last week left us cold and without power for a few days, and then running around in our snow boots a few days later. Since I missed my Friday 10, I'll take this moment to enlighten you with this list.

You know you live in the middle of nowhere when...

1. The dirt road you live on is smoother after the snow drifts across it than it was before it started snowing.
2. Your electricity is off, but you can't completely move the entire family out because someone has to stay to bail water out of the sump pump every two hours. So you have buckets and buckets of water sitting in your basement, but...
3. You have no water to shower with, drink, or flush toilets with because it takes electricity to run the well.
4. The "neighbors" across the way have to park their cars in the road because there are so many tree limbs covering the yard that they can't drive in the driveway.
5. You question if the trash truck will actually come to your house on the scheduled day.
6. The electric company tells you that they will have power back on sometime in 1 - 30 days.
7. It is pitch black in the house when the lights go off because your yard light turned schizophrenic two years ago when the power line to your house got struck by lightening.
8. Your electricity still goes out three times each day, even though your power is officially "back on" again.
9. You grill steaks in near blizzard-like conditions because you promised your friends and because no one can see you performing this idiotic task.
10. You can't see where the road ends and where the driveway begins because of all the drifting - and you only got five inches of snow.

Sacrilegious??

My 1 year old loves music of any kind, and loves singing everything he can remember. His latest favorite is a camp song I sang as a young child. The boys and girls always had a competition to see who could sing their part the loudest. It's the "Hallelujah" song.

"Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah"
"Praise Ye The Lord."
"Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah"
"Praise Ye The Lord."
"Praise Ye The Lord."
"Hallelujah."
And so on...

I've been singing this to my 1 year old while we rock for a few minutes before bed. He's starting to sing with me.

So tonight I sang: "Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah"

Then I stopped to see what he would do.

He belted out: "Craa-zy Lord"

Close. But not quite. We may have to work on that line before he's allowed to sing in church.

Memorable Holiday Moments

I am really loving the holiday season this year. I don't know if it is because of the age of my kids, or that my Christmas shopping is pretty much done, or the list of fun holiday get-togethers coming up soon, or because I am not teaching a room full of holiday-spastic kids, but I am SO EXCITED for Christmas. So, in the spirit of the season, here are 10 fun memories of Christmastime.

1. Trips to Illinois to grandpa and grandma's house. One year we traveled the 600 miles there and then got stuck in a blizzard one mile from their house. We weren't sure if we were going to make it or not, but we finally got through!


2. Christmas Eve kid programs. They weren't of any great quality, but they were fun to be in.


3. Candy sacks and oranges for all of us after the program.


4. My very first (and only) Cabbage Patch Kid. Her name was Renetta and her birthday was October 1.


5. Finally having an excuse to eat a lot of junk - and mom and dad usually letting me.


6. My first Christmas after getting married. We had no ornaments at all to put on the tree, so we bought little kid "stained glass" ornaments and spent the afternoon together painting them. We still hang them up!


7. Christmas Caroling in -20 degree weather. It's at those moments that you decide nursing home residents need much more Christmas caroling cheer than anyone else in the world.


8. Trip to Branson with good friends and no kids (we didn't have any yet). An ice storm arrived the first night we were there, shutting down nearly everything in the entire city. The only restaurant open was Ruby Tuesday's and the only business open was Walmart. We swam during a thunder ice/snow storm and the electricity went out, locking us out of our hotel rooms. We played Phase 10 and watched CMT all weekend long. It was great!


9. Nursing my baby by tree-light. Just when I was SO TIRED of getting up in the night with our newborn, it was time to set up the Christmas tree. Being able to sit in the living room with only the tree lights on for the 3:00 a.m. feeding made being awake bearable once again. It's a good thing the little guy figured out the skill of sleeping through the night before the tree had to come down.


10. Christmas of 2006 - stuck at home with two little boys with fevers. Granted, the kids were sick, but we still decorated Christmas cookies and enjoyed a leisurely Christmas together without having to rush off anywhere. It was our first Christmas with two children - it just felt complete.

Happy December!

BEFORE

AFTER

There is still a lot to do -- finish trimming out the window, wire a phone line, put up the hall light, install a handrail on the stairs, put in door knobs...but at least it's usable!! I AM SO THANKFUL for my husband and all the work he has put into this, which is basically every detail except installing the carpet. It made for many stressful evenings, but now seems worth every one of them.

Random Thoughts

The basement is scheduled to be carpeted tomorrow. I have been counting down to this day for many, many weeks. Stay tuned for drastic before and after pictures.

The reindeer cupcakes were disappointing. The cookbook neglected to mention that if you put the reindeer faces on the cupcakes and store them in a container for any length of time that the oreo cookie will get soft and the pretzels will no longer be crunchy. I probably should have known that.

Thank goodness today's "fun Christmas thing" was Take a Special Christmas Treat to a Friend. How convenient that we had cupcakes around. Wonder how that worked out so well?

My five year old and I went on the great toy clean-out today. We went through his toybox, shelf, and three living room toy baskets. He helped me decide (with a little parental persuasion) which toys to keep, which ones to pass down to little brother, and which ones to pass on to other children in need. I was proud of his willingness to get rid of stuff.

I've learned it's never safe to say "I'm done Christmas shopping." Every time I speak those words, I think of one more gift I need to purchase. I think I may need another girls' shopping weekend to finish shopping.

If I'm not alive tomorrow it's because my husband read what I just wrote about another girls' weekend.

I have been introduced to flylady.net. She overwhelms me. But I will say that at least my sink is clean, my dresser tops are not cluttered, and I completed the "throw away 27 pieces of paper" task for today. Ahhh, I can sleep tonight.

Kitchen Crazy

I've updated my "kitchen" status. After accomplishing this feat, I am no longer kitchen challenged, I'm just crazy.

A friend of mine told me about a tradition they do at Christmas time. They come up with 25 fun Christmas things to do -- i.e. make cookies, go look at lights, take a special treat to someone -- and they draw out one thing each day of December until Christmas. So, last night (we got a late start on this tradition), we made a red and green chain with 22 things to do between now and Christmas. It was no easy task coming up with 22 things.

Here was today's "fun Christmas thing" -- Reindeer Cupcakes.

I had two little girls here today, and they were excited to help us with this project. This is what we sounded like:

"Can I eat some chocolate chips?"
"Can I eat these red things?"
"Oh, these are spicy." (from three year old who then spits it back on the table)
"Does anyone want to watch a video?" (me)
"How many white ones can I have?"
"My eye won't stay on!"
"This is fun."
"Achoo. Achoo." (Yes, she just sneezed all over the two reindeer faces she was working on.)
"Can I eat more chocolate chips?"
"Is anyone ready for a break? You can watch a movie." (me)
"I'm waiting for more white glue stuff."
"How many pretzels can I have?"

After they had each completed three reindeer faces - minus the antlers because the white "glue" was still too soft -- I made the executive decision that it was rest time in the living room for the these little people. Whew.

I then spent the rest of my afternoon assembling reindeer faces, making cupcakes, frosting cupcakes, and putting the reindeer on top, all while grumbling about Christmas traditions.

Then the little people saw them. You would have thought I had just built a ToysRUs in the backyard. They were excited.

Christmas traditions really are worth it, even if it seems crazy.

The Reward

See, they loved them.

Very much.

Although, the "popsicle" concept didn't work to well for little guy.

And yes, I know they would have loved them just as much if I would have bought them at the store.

Kitchen Challenged

I have never proclaimed to be a good cook. Or even remotely knowledgeable about anything related to cooking. But I can at least keep my family fed and decently well-nourished. Today, however, one would have to wonder about me.

My son has been begging me to make strawberry popsicles again (we did this one time this summer) and I finally agreed to do it today. Why not? It's at least 37 degrees outside.

So I started searching for the recipe. Where would I have put a popsicle recipe?

Under appetizers and beverages? No. But I found a missing muffin recipe there.

Under snacks? No. But there was my playdough recipe.

Under cookies and candies? No. But I think that is where ham and potato casserole landed.

I was getting desperate and just started looking in every category because obviously my filing system was not that reliable anyway.

Twenty minutes later I still had no popsicle recipe. I know, most of the world could probably pull off strawberry popsicles without a recipe, but I was not that brave. I had searched through every possible category and even my 2nd recipe box - the one that holds the recipes that people have given me on cards so gigantic they don't fit in a regular box - to see if somehow it had jumped in there. I was about to give up and suggest something else when my five year old said to me, "mom, last time we made popsicles, didn't we use that kids cookbook that grandma gave us?"

Ah hah. I'm glad someone in the family still has a brain. Maybe I can train him to be the cook of the family.

Another 20 minutes later we had everything combined, poured into the little cups, and ready for the freezer.

The recipe said to freeze them for two hours and then put in the popsicle sticks. I even set the timer so I wouldn't forget.

I guess I need a louder timer. Guess where the "popsicles" (really just frozen stuff in a cup at the moment) are right now?

Sitting on the counter THAWING so I can put in the sticks. I almost tried a hammer, but it's too cold to go to the garage to find it.

I do not remember popsicle making occupying my entire day last time we attempted the task. Oh, what we do for our kids. They better love them. They will love them. They don't have a choice.

Welcome to my pity party. Here are the things I'm feeling disgruntled about at the moment:

• Heavy fog.
• Heavy rain.
• Freezing rain.
• Snow.
• Flight changes.
• Flight delays.
• Flight connections missed.
• No husband home.
• No daddy home.
• Weekend plans possibly wrecked.

Thus ends my pity party.

And for some comic relief...

Today at the end of lunch my one year old let out a really loud belch. I looked over at him and he was laughing (how do they learn that?) and looking quite proud of himself.

I said, of course, did the mom thing and said, "what do you say?"

His response: "I forgive you."

Ellow Bug In Dere

This is a conversation I had with my 1 year old yesterday.

Him: “Ear hurts here.”

Me: “Your ear hurts?”

Him: “Uh-huh.” (his new favorite word)

Me: “Why does it hurt?”

Him: “A bug in dere (there).”

Me: “You have a bug in your ear?”

Him: “Uh-huh.”

Me: Wondering where this might be going…”is it a big bug or a little bug?”

Him: “Big bug.”

Me: “What color is it?”

Him: “Ellow.”

Me: “You have a yellow bug in your ear?”

Him: “Uh-huh.”

Me: Hmmm…now what?...”What should we do with it?”

Him: “Get it out.”

Me: “How should we get it out?”

Him: Blank stare.

Me: “You want it out?”

Him: “Uh-huh.”

Me: “Where will we put it.”

Him: “On the for-or (floor). Frow it on for-or.”

Me: “Okay.” I pretend to get it out. “There, I think I got it. Is it out now?”

Him: “NO. Get it out!”

I have no idea what is going on in his ear. In fact, he just finished a round of antibiotics yesterday for a sinus infection, so his ear shouldn’t be infected.

He even told grandma and grandpa last night that his ear hurts and that there is a “ellow bug in dere.”

If I have even one night of screaming I’m taking him in so the doctor can get the yellow bug out.

Oh Be Careful....

My mom used to sing this little song to me:

Oh be careful little hands what you do.

Oh be careful little hands what you do.

For the Father up above,

Is looking down in love.

Oh be careful little hands what you do.

She sang the other verses too:

Oh be careful little mouth what you say...

Oh be careful little ears what you hear...

Oh be careful little eyes what you see...

My son must have heard this song somewhere too. Today at breakfast he was singing this rendition to his brother:

Oh be careful little brother what you eat.
Oh be careful little brother what you eat.
So your body doesn't explode,
Because that would be so gross.
Oh be careful little brother what you eat.

My family is full of talent.

Thanksgiving Weekend Wrap-up

*I just ate the last piece of cherry pie (sniff, sniff). My mom makes it every year and it is always my Thanksgiving indulgence. Granted, it's "no sugar added" so my dad can eat it, but it definitely doesn't qualify as healthy.

*My son's stomach bug was a 24 hour thing, praise the Lord, and so far (I don't even want to say this out loud...) no one else has gotten anything. Even his 4 cousins that he played with for about 16 hours before it hit. Maybe he is really allergic to something?

*We actually put our Christmas tree up. We figured out a way to make the living room furniture fit and the boys had a great time. I'm glad I don't have to spend this week seeing everyone else's tree and listening to begging children.

*The basement is officially ready for carpet! There is still lots to do - light fixtures, switch covers, window trim...but the carpet could enter at any moment. Too bad it's not scheduled for another week.

*I got to spend Wednesday evening with my out-of-town girlfriends. It's rare moments that they all cruise through the area at relatively the same time. We did the typical stuff: ate a lot, talked a lot, laughed a lot, and talked about next time we'd see each other.

*I spent some time helping in my 5 year old's Sunday School Class and realized that he is like cling wrap. Then I spent some time in my 1 year old's nursery room and realized that he speaks 100 DECIBELS LOUDER AND WITH MORE WHINY EMPHASIS (you'll have to imagine the tone and volume) than any other child (ages 1-4) in there.

*I actually accomplished a few organizational things - cleaned out the cabinets in the bathroom and the utility room. How can one be storing so much trash without knowing it?

*Discovered that my 1 year old thinks Santa Claus is Goliath. That took some figuring out, but after the third time we finally realized what he was saying.

*We packed my husband up for a business trip. I have a feeling the kids are going to freak out when they see the airport tomorrow. England is a little too fresh in their memories.

*Watched Extreme Makeover Home Edition tonight and spent a little more time being very thankful for my family, our health, and the lack of drama that we have had to face compared to many families in America.

Tradition

We seem to have a new tradition at our house. Thanksgiving and stomach flu. Same thing happened in 2006. Same kid. Same day. Maybe he's allergic to turkey? I can only hope.

Taking a Poll

Part of a phone conversation with my husband yesterday afternoon:

Me: I'm actually accomplishing something today. I finally got the bathrooms clean.

Him: OK.

Me: Have you not noticed how horrendous they were?

Him: Umm, no.

Me: Are you serious? I think they had already starting packing up in search of a new owner who might take better care of them. You really didn't notice?

Him: I'm a man.


I was shocked (not that he's a man...). My husband isn't necessarily a neat freak, but he likes things picked up, and he is definitely not a slob. Is this really a guy thing? I wasn't sure whether to be really disturbed or really thankful that he isn't harping about having the house perfect.

So I'm taking a poll. If you're reading this, and I know you are because you just read that line, let me know your opinion. Is this a guy thing at your house?

After much reflection, I guess I should be really thankful. At least he is not packing up in search of someone new to take care of him.

I Need To Be A Better Mom

Today after lunch my friend called and we were innocently chatting away about important issues like hair color, school choices, and going out for dinner with friends. I was watching my kids, I really was, but obviously not close enough.

What will two 5 year olds and a 3 year old in a sandbox do to my precious little boy if I'm not watching closely?

Turn him into a human sand toy.

I know water can damage the tubes in his ears, I wonder about sand.

I also wonder when he will quit spitting all over me and crying, "sand in there."

Reflecting on the Day

Today I went Christmas shopping from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. And four children - ages 5, 3, 1, and 1. I'll pause for a moment of silence to let you process the insanity of that. I knew that, for me, this wasn't going to be a day of great shopping accomplishment, but instead just time spent with family. I was right -- I think I bought a grand total of two presents.

Here was the most enlightening part of my day.

I'll call it "Tales from the Bathroom".

My 3 year old nephew decided he had to...umm...in his terminology, "go poop".

I got bathroom duty since I was the only one not buying any gifts. My 5 year old son came along for, I don't know, pooping company. We made it to the bathroom in time and got the three year old settled. The power of suggestion must have overwhelmed my 5 year old, because after about 43 seconds in the bathroom, he decided he needed to go too.

At this point I was wishing for a soft recliner and a good book because my son takes FOREVER to complete this task. He is a true man -- multiplied by 100. Of course they picked WalMart for nature to call. Couldn't have been Dillards, where the bathrooms are relatively usable. At least the conversation was lively.

3 year old: I got new underwear. Look at these. I got lots of new underwear.

5 year old: Here comes the first one. Yep, I just heard it plop in there.

3 year old: (Grunt, grunt).

5 year old: Here comes some more.

3 year old: Me too!

5 year old: I'm trying for more, but it's just not here yet.

3 year old: (More grunting.)

5 year old: Now I just have to wait to see if I'm done.

3 year old: Done. Come see this.

5 year old: I can't. I feel like more is coming and I try, but I just can't get it...

These boys obviously feel very comfortable with each other. I was thanking the Lord that the bathroom was empty and begging Him to not allow any people to walk through the door.

I'll spare you the last 10 minutes of this saga, because it sure didn't get any better. By the time we left the facility, my family had nearly called the missing children hotline.

That's okay. I was getting good at pretending they didn't belong to me.

12 days. Only 12 more. I am counting down each precious day until my kid-free shopping trip.

10

Three-and-a-half months ago, on August 1, I wrote this:

"We are embarking on another project - finishing what will be the family room in the basement. It's a "work when there is money to move on" project, so this may take awhile. I'm trying to stay positive about the process - which includes a lot of single parenting for me - and focus on the much needed end result."

Now, on November 16, I can officially say we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. My husband has about 9 days left to finish this enormous project. He has continued working around his job, fire calls and training, and business trips, all while enduring a broken toe (running to the edge of the lake as our 4 year old plummeted off a huge boulder) and torn ligaments in his hand (fire training injury). So although this has felt like a 3 year project, I should be incredibly thankful that this has only been a three month project.

As carpet day approaches, he is frantically staining trim and doors and preparing for the last minute stuff that needs to be done. All this said, our thanksgiving break is going to revolve around finishing this project. I am going to try to be very positive during this time and focus on how wonderful it will be when everything is done.

But before I transition to "glass 1/2 full" mentality, I'll take one last look at 10 things that I typically do and/or wish I would be doing at Thanksgiving time that I will not get to do during our four days off.

1. Set up the Christmas Tree - We are waiting for the basement to be finished to move down some furniature (or at least the TV) so we have more room upstairs.

2. Lay around and watch football or movies all day long at least one day of the holiday break.

3. Put up Christmas lights and decorate the house.

4. Go Christmas shopping - one of my very favorite things to do!

5. Clean the house from top to bottom - why bother with all the dust and junk we are tracking in and out from finishing the basement.

6. Have friends over for dinner.

7. Wrap whatever Christmas presents we have already purchased - oh wait, we can't go shopping yet, and there will be no tree yet to put them under anyway!

8. Have "me" time - meet friends for coffee (yes, I know I don't drink coffee, but that sounds better than 'meet friends for a diet coke'), read, scrapbook, exercise, sleep, I could go on and on...

9. Take our kids out for a family date night.

10. Better yet, drop the kids off at grandma's and go out by ourselves.

Since they won't happen at Thanksgiving, let's just hope most of these thing occur before December 25.

Passing the Time

Here's a quick week-in-review for our family.

Monday Night: Fire Auxiliary Meeting
Tuesday Night: Fire Training for Firefighters completing their first year
Thursday Night: Fire Training for the entire department
Friday Night: Clean the Fire Station to get ready for Christmas Open House
Saturday: Spend most the day at the Fire Station for Christmas Open House

See a theme here? We're even sporting the gear at our house.




So, what do we do to pass the time while daddy is increasing his knowledge about fighting fires?

Can you guess?

Really think about it...


WE DYE EGGS!
That's right. Last night my oldest found the Easter Egg stuff in the pantry and asked to dye eggs. "Why not?" I thought. We seem to have some time on our hands this week.




Never mind the stacks of laundry from the trip, or the messy house. Those will still be there tomorrow.

The egg stuff would technically still be there tomorrow too, but I may not be feeling so agreeable about it another day!

We had a great time. I don't think the little guy remembered doing this at Easter. He kept trying to eat the eggs without taking the shell off first.

Maybe next week we'll decorate Valentine cookies.

Fall Fun

I love the changing seasons. I'm not always great at setting my own agendas aside and taking time to play with my kids. Being thousands of miles away from them for 8 days did help this matter some, but the changing of seasons is what really lured us outside for some fun moments together.

So, my oldest actually liked raking the leaves into huge piles more than jumping in, and my youngest preferred playing with all the sticks, but we have pictures to prove that we attempted creating great family memories!

A Few More Pictures

I've had people asking for pictures, so here are a few more of my favorites.

Although I'm still awestruck by my trip, I'm feeling a bit disgruntled this morning about England (the post says Monday, but it's really Tuesday morning). My mind has to be working in full functioning parenting mode here in Kansas, but my body still thinks I'm six hours away. Wide awake at 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. every morning - what a joy.

10 and 10 on Friday

Ten Things I've Learned in England:

1. One word: Adapters. Someone told us this back in August when we knew we were coming. However, we forget. Nothing from the U.S. plugs in here. My hair has been looking pretty scary.
2. The countryside is absolutely beautiful.
3. It's expensive!! Seriously expensive.
4. Kids go to school when they are 4 and are done when they are 16. However, this week the queen announced that the age would be rising to 18.
5. The British know how to do desserts. Yummo! Ice cream and chocolate are much better here than at home.
6. They drive fast here -- in little, tiny cars. Fuel is over $8.00/gallon, so they all have to have little, tiny cars. I've seen one pick-up on the highway.
7. In America, a Christian, church-attending nation (at least where we live), the teachers and students cannot pray or talk about God at all. In England, where most families don't attend church (at least where we are), they say a prayer at the end of every assembly and school day.
8. They eat baked beans for breakfast. Ick.
9. The drinks are not cold. Okay, so I was warned about that one too ahead of time. That has not been so bad. What is harder to get used to is that the glasses are small and they don't do free refills!
10. The language might be English, but you still feel like a foreigner! A queue is a line, a lift is an elevator, a jacket is a baked potato, and a boot is the car trunk. A wind screen is the windshield, a car park is the parking lot, and chips are fries. When someone says they will "collect you" that means they will pick you up. They use the words "nice", "smart", "lovely", and "beautiful" when we would say "good" or "great". There were so many other words we heard, but I can't tell you exactly what they mean!!

Here's my husband's 10 list for this week. You have to remember, this hasn't been much of a vacation for him this week! He's been working!

Ten things his body misses after a week in England:

1. His stomach misses American food.
2. His fingers miss American computer keyboards.
3. His butt misses American toilet paper!
4. His mouth misses ice in drinks.
5. His ego misses feeling like he understands things and "belongs" in the culture.
6. His body misses our showerhead.
7. His skin misses our water softener.
8. His ears miss American "accents."
9. His mental stability misses the American dollar.
10. His eyes miss seeing our boys!

You may not be able to tell by his list, but we really did have a great time. He just started rattling these off while I was doing my ten list and I thought they were funny.

Tomorrow we get on the plane and head home!

More From England

On Wednesday I had the opportunity to spend the day in a British school. Yep, I came to England for the week and landed in school. My husband has a collegue who's wife teaches in a local primary school here, and when she found out I was a teacher, she invited me to spend the day with her so I could see what education is like here in England.

It was great. First of all, it was the day we were switching hotels, so I had to go somewhere for the entire day anway. Second, if I could make a career of visiting schools and observing teachers and students, I would do it in a heartbeat.

I was actually surprised at the similarities between the two systems. I guess I was expecting some drastic difference, but there wasn't, at least at the school I was at for the day. The teachers were excellent, and I would say the students were a step ahead of American students in the area of respect.

I could go on and on with the differences/similarities, but I won't bore you with all that. The funniest part of the day was when the students found out I was from America. The 11 year olds said, "Woowwww," and that was about it. A group of five year olds immediately bombarded me with questions, "Have you seen Mickey Mouse?" "What language do you speak?" "Have you seen the princesses?" "Did you have jet lag?" (from a 5 year old!) "Have you seen Disney on Ice?" They were so cute. The 7 year olds just started laughing when they heard me talk. I never knew American accents were so hilarious.

It was a great day. I learned many things for my 10 on Friday list!

Greetings from England!

We’re here! The flights were fine (now that I’m OFF the plane), just LLLOOONNNGGG! Our hopes of sleeping on the plane did not happen, even with dramamine that may cause “marked drowsiness”. (“May” was obviously the key word there -- I guess I need something stronger.) We arrived yesterday morning, and while driving the 2 hours to our hotel, we decided that if we were going to see London, that it had to be that day.

So, we showered in a hurry, and jumped back in the car for the 3 hour drive to London. We saw more than I ever thought possible in 4 hours time, and walked more miles than I ever thought possible after missing an entire night of sleep. We were so thankful for my husband’s UK collegue and his wife who took us to every sight possible in our short time frame. There is no way we would have found our way to London on our own, let alone found anything inside the city. And just as a side note, I have lost count how many times I thought a car was coming straight at me simply because everyone is driving on the wrong side of the road!!

Here are a few of the gazillion pictures we took yesterday.

Flying into England:

The London Eye:

St. Paul's Cathedral:

Buckingham Palace:
I’ve learned something new about myself in the two days that I’ve been here. Just last week I was talking to some friends about embarrassment. One friend said she hated being embarrassed and looking stupid in situations. I saying that it didn’t bother me if I was around people that I would never see again. I was WRONG. Being in another culture has opened my eyes to that. I don’t know many things about this country – from England slang, to dining etiquette, to street signs…and much more. And guess what?? It’s embarrassing! In London, it was no big deal, there was a melting pot of people and more cameras than I’ve seen in one place in my entire life. But, here in the Midlands, I haven’t heard another American accent yet (yes, I am smart enough to realize that I’M the one with accent here).

Last night we finally got some sleep and I sent my husband off to work this morning. It was rainy and chilly this morning, so I started reading a book. I know, you're thinking, "she's in England and she is wasting time reading a book?" Yep, that is exactly what I did. It has been ages since I could selfishly take the the time to read and read and read. Plus, it was raining and I didn't have a car! Tomorrow I'm heading out to do some shopping. This may be my one and only internet time while I'm here - we are paying $16.00 for one hour of connection. Ouch. Maybe our next hotel will be different.

I hope you are all having a great week!

Friday's Ten

10 Things I'm Excited To See In The Next Seven Days:

1. England from the Airplane. Land will be great after several hours of ocean traveling!

2. Our hotel!

3. Beautiful Countryside.

4. Our other hotel.

5. Buckingham Palace.

6. Historic Castles.

7. Changing of the guards.

8. England's finest museums (although I'm not a museum fanatic, it would seem wrong not take in at least one!).



9. Big Ben.

10. And finally...when I'm all done...Kansas land! Home, Sweet, Home!

Trick or Treat

Or as the little guy would say, "Fireman. WOO WOO WOO WOO WOO!!" (over and over and over again...)