Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Post from the Road: Do I have to pay mileage?
No biggie. "We'll just keep an eye on it, and you'll eat carefully."
I hadn't even known this one was that wiggly, and I really hoped we had enough change in the van in case the tooth fairy needs to visit Fort Wayne.
"Uh-oh! It's bleeding!"
I passed a napkin back to Large Fry. "Give that to Small."
Large dutifully passed it on.
"My tooth fell out!!!"
I turned in my seat. Sure enough, there's a small hole in Small's smile. "Wrap it up in the napkin and hand it up here to me. We'll leave it for the tooth fairy tonight."
Guess I'd better check the pull-out cupholder for spare change...
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Misadventures in Summer Vacation
This is the last day of our four-day break between trips. We got home from our family vacation to Florida last Friday night, and tomorrow morning we leave for our denomination's National Conference, the every-other-year denominational business meetings.
Despite only being home a few days, the den is a mess again and so are the kids' rooms.
Before he left for work today, Hubby posted two chores for the kids: pick up their rooms, and clean up the den.
I really dislike it when chores get assigned by Hubby and I have to enforce them. It doesn't go well. It was worse when we first started insisting they had to do chores, so it's better now, to a certain extent.
Sort of.
It amazes me what kids will do in order to get out of doing their assigned chores.
They had the morning to do what they wanted, but after lunch I said it was time to do their chores.
"Go clean your rooms, and when you're done, pick up the den," I told them.
Meanwhile, I've done two loads of laundry, cleaned up three out-of-the-box cat messes, treated the floor in those locations so it doesn't get done again, scooped litterboxes (OUCH), remailed Mille's birthday card that got sent back to me, and cooked lunch.
And they're griping that they have nothing to do. Oh, but you do! (I'm so mean.)
Shortly thereafter, I walked into the kitchen, where I found Small and Medium "cleaning" things.
"Look at all this mail I found!" Medium crowed.
It's the mail from last week, when we were gone. Which I had sorted into piles. Now back in a huge single pile.
I closed my eyes and stifled the urge to scream. "Medium, I had that all sorted!"
"Oh."
Yeah. Oh.
"What are you guys doing in here?"
"Daddy said we could clean up the kitchen!"
"No. You have to clean your rooms and the den first."
"But Daddy said..."
"You have to do your assigned chores first, before you do anything else!"
They grumbled and went upstairs.
I went upstairs half an hour ago to take my anti-inflammatory pain med (the MRI of my wrist was yesterday; fluid pocket noted, but diagnosis pending until my appointment on 7/5), and found them running around upstairs. Large Fry was barking at Pa'ani and chasing him, poor kitty. Then she ran into our bedroom and picked up Small's stuffed Toby, chirping, "Small wants him back!"
"What are you doing in my room?!" I shouted from the bathroom. Large skipped towards the door without answering. "What are you doing in my room?"
"Small wants this back!"
I hadn't heard her say that, and they were sure being loud enough.
"Bring it back!" I ordered.
She thankfully obeyed. "I'm helping Medium with her room!"
"Is your room clean?"
Large's face drooped. "No."
"Then go clean it!"
"But Medium helped with the mess!"
"I don't care. You clean your room, and they'll clean their room."
Then I sent Hubby a text, asking when he might be home today. He called me instead.
Meanwhile, upstairs, there was running and giggling and happy shrieks and general insanity.
I decided to wait for Hubby to get home and lay down the law. He's the one with the I Will Be Obeyed voice.
Golly, I need caffeine.
Despite only being home a few days, the den is a mess again and so are the kids' rooms.
Before he left for work today, Hubby posted two chores for the kids: pick up their rooms, and clean up the den.
I really dislike it when chores get assigned by Hubby and I have to enforce them. It doesn't go well. It was worse when we first started insisting they had to do chores, so it's better now, to a certain extent.
Sort of.
It amazes me what kids will do in order to get out of doing their assigned chores.
They had the morning to do what they wanted, but after lunch I said it was time to do their chores.
"Go clean your rooms, and when you're done, pick up the den," I told them.
Meanwhile, I've done two loads of laundry, cleaned up three out-of-the-box cat messes, treated the floor in those locations so it doesn't get done again, scooped litterboxes (OUCH), remailed Mille's birthday card that got sent back to me, and cooked lunch.
And they're griping that they have nothing to do. Oh, but you do! (I'm so mean.)
Shortly thereafter, I walked into the kitchen, where I found Small and Medium "cleaning" things.
"Look at all this mail I found!" Medium crowed.
It's the mail from last week, when we were gone. Which I had sorted into piles. Now back in a huge single pile.
I closed my eyes and stifled the urge to scream. "Medium, I had that all sorted!"
"Oh."
Yeah. Oh.
"What are you guys doing in here?"
"Daddy said we could clean up the kitchen!"
"No. You have to clean your rooms and the den first."
"But Daddy said..."
"You have to do your assigned chores first, before you do anything else!"
They grumbled and went upstairs.
I went upstairs half an hour ago to take my anti-inflammatory pain med (the MRI of my wrist was yesterday; fluid pocket noted, but diagnosis pending until my appointment on 7/5), and found them running around upstairs. Large Fry was barking at Pa'ani and chasing him, poor kitty. Then she ran into our bedroom and picked up Small's stuffed Toby, chirping, "Small wants him back!"
"What are you doing in my room?!" I shouted from the bathroom. Large skipped towards the door without answering. "What are you doing in my room?"
"Small wants this back!"
I hadn't heard her say that, and they were sure being loud enough.
"Bring it back!" I ordered.
She thankfully obeyed. "I'm helping Medium with her room!"
"Is your room clean?"
Large's face drooped. "No."
"Then go clean it!"
"But Medium helped with the mess!"
"I don't care. You clean your room, and they'll clean their room."
Then I sent Hubby a text, asking when he might be home today. He called me instead.
Meanwhile, upstairs, there was running and giggling and happy shrieks and general insanity.
I decided to wait for Hubby to get home and lay down the law. He's the one with the I Will Be Obeyed voice.
Golly, I need caffeine.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Post from the Road: Local Color
These guys never come to our Walmart at home.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Post from the Road: South Carolina
Here they have Liberty Garden, a 9/11 memorial, and one of the first in the country. Four quotations about liberty and American spirit ring a central fountain.
The girls wanted to toss in pennies and make a wish, so Hubby handed out coins.
He came over to me after the Fries made their wishes, and handed me a penny. "In case you wanted to make a wish," he said.
I took the penny.
Hubby went on, "Large Fry wished that our family would stay together forever and ever. Medium wished for our family to stay together forever. Small wished for a turtle."
I couldn't help but chuckle.
My wish?
I'm so glad you asked.
This was my wish:
"As long as the United States of America is determined and strong, this will not be an age of terror. This will be an age of liberty, here and across the world." -George W. Bush
I wished that we would always be a beacon of hope and liberty.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
VBS results
So, VBS wrapped up tonight.
Of course, the kids were challenged to raise money again, with increasing rewards.
If they raised $200, they got a picnic.
If they raised $300, they got a picnic AND a bouncy castle.
If they raised $400, they'd get a picnic with a bouncy castle, AND a dunk tank with King D (this year's emcee) on the hot seat.
And if they raised $500 (all the proceeds go to a local charity)...they'd get the picnic, bouncy castle, dunk the king dunk tank, AND get to both pie Hubby in the face and green-slime him.
As of last night, their offering total was a paltry $176.
There's just no way, Hubby thought. No way.
The total tonight?
$596.
Five hundred ninety-six dollars!
Never let it be said that the kids at our church don't love their youth pastor...or love getting to cream him.
Five hundred ninety-six bucks.
By the way, Hubby gave each of the Fries $10 in support of the cause.
Of course, the kids were challenged to raise money again, with increasing rewards.
If they raised $200, they got a picnic.
If they raised $300, they got a picnic AND a bouncy castle.
If they raised $400, they'd get a picnic with a bouncy castle, AND a dunk tank with King D (this year's emcee) on the hot seat.
And if they raised $500 (all the proceeds go to a local charity)...they'd get the picnic, bouncy castle, dunk the king dunk tank, AND get to both pie Hubby in the face and green-slime him.
As of last night, their offering total was a paltry $176.
There's just no way, Hubby thought. No way.
The total tonight?
$596.
Five hundred ninety-six dollars!
Never let it be said that the kids at our church don't love their youth pastor...or love getting to cream him.
Five hundred ninety-six bucks.
By the way, Hubby gave each of the Fries $10 in support of the cause.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
So far today...
*I've gotten dressed one and a half times.
* I forgot to eat breakfast.
*I did summer "school" with the kids. Oh, the agony. Large Fry had each of her worksheets explained to her, and then didn't do two of them right anyway...mostly because she didn't remember what I said and didn't read the directions herself. My mother assures me this will help the kids to not lose what we've spent nine months cramming into their ears. I think it will assure me either a sainthood or a room with rubber wallpaper.
*The neighbors are having a new roof put on their house. I've been listening to the hydraulic nail gun all day.
*Cleaned up where one of four feline suspects anointed the basement floor—one step out from the bottom of the stairs—with pee. After stepping in it, of course, and getting the bottoms of my jeans wet. (There's your .5 dressed thing, if you were wondering.) Darn it, I put up the Feliway diffuser in the basement last night!
*I washed a load of clothes.
*I am not thinking about the four loads of clothes I now have to fold.
*Fixed lunch. Making PBJ sandwiches is always a challenge when you can't really move your wrist.
*Made Large Fry redo the worksheet that she did totally wrong.
*Put wash in the dryer, and started another load.
*Mediated dispute over Small Fry pretending to cut down a tree in the yard with a "big stick" (*gasp* Stick? That's rebar!) and smacking Medium Fry in the head. I took them outside to have them show me what on earth happened. Small was taking the rebar to the tree and smacking the heck out of it to "cut" it down. More rebar was on the ground, covered by the mower shield, and various other things the kids had kiped for playthings...all of which were NOT playthings...when they have plenty of toys...and all but one or two had been taken out of the shed. Which Hubby explicitly told ALL of them, just the other day, that they were NOT to take things out of the shed and play with them.
*Ordered them to put all the stuff away, and reminded them of what Daddy had said. And then I warned that consequences would be swift if I caught them doing it again when they all knew the shed was off-limits for turning its contents into playthings. (Golly, we need a new shed that has better doors, but those things are freaking expensive!)
*I came back inside, only to have the kids follow.
*Ordered the kids outside to play because they were griping, only to have them all come back inside within five minutes, complaining of various ailments for why they couldn't go outside.
*Remembered I needed to start another load, find a printable chart for Large Fry, and try to see if I could make my old mp3 player work, because my current one died a spectacular death last night. "One too many hits with the snake..."
*Got distracted due to mediation again. Hubby called mid-mediation.
*Found an acceptable chart. Printed two copies.
*Hooray! The radiology office finally called to schedule my MRI! Suck a duck...I can't get in until 6/24 because of our summer schedule.
*Started another load of laundry. Mediated again.
*Forgot to go find my old Fuze. I think I'll do that now.
*Nope, wait. Going to shout at Large Fry for demanding she get a turn RIGHT NOW on Daddy's old tablet...which Medium has been using all of three minutes.
*NOW I'll go look for my old Fuze.
*sigh* When does VBS start today?
* I forgot to eat breakfast.
*I did summer "school" with the kids. Oh, the agony. Large Fry had each of her worksheets explained to her, and then didn't do two of them right anyway...mostly because she didn't remember what I said and didn't read the directions herself. My mother assures me this will help the kids to not lose what we've spent nine months cramming into their ears. I think it will assure me either a sainthood or a room with rubber wallpaper.
*The neighbors are having a new roof put on their house. I've been listening to the hydraulic nail gun all day.
*Cleaned up where one of four feline suspects anointed the basement floor—one step out from the bottom of the stairs—with pee. After stepping in it, of course, and getting the bottoms of my jeans wet. (There's your .5 dressed thing, if you were wondering.) Darn it, I put up the Feliway diffuser in the basement last night!
*I washed a load of clothes.
*I am not thinking about the four loads of clothes I now have to fold.
*Fixed lunch. Making PBJ sandwiches is always a challenge when you can't really move your wrist.
*Made Large Fry redo the worksheet that she did totally wrong.
*Put wash in the dryer, and started another load.
*Mediated dispute over Small Fry pretending to cut down a tree in the yard with a "big stick" (*gasp* Stick? That's rebar!) and smacking Medium Fry in the head. I took them outside to have them show me what on earth happened. Small was taking the rebar to the tree and smacking the heck out of it to "cut" it down. More rebar was on the ground, covered by the mower shield, and various other things the kids had kiped for playthings...all of which were NOT playthings...when they have plenty of toys...and all but one or two had been taken out of the shed. Which Hubby explicitly told ALL of them, just the other day, that they were NOT to take things out of the shed and play with them.
*Ordered them to put all the stuff away, and reminded them of what Daddy had said. And then I warned that consequences would be swift if I caught them doing it again when they all knew the shed was off-limits for turning its contents into playthings. (Golly, we need a new shed that has better doors, but those things are freaking expensive!)
*I came back inside, only to have the kids follow.
*Ordered the kids outside to play because they were griping, only to have them all come back inside within five minutes, complaining of various ailments for why they couldn't go outside.
*Remembered I needed to start another load, find a printable chart for Large Fry, and try to see if I could make my old mp3 player work, because my current one died a spectacular death last night. "One too many hits with the snake..."
*Got distracted due to mediation again. Hubby called mid-mediation.
*Found an acceptable chart. Printed two copies.
*Hooray! The radiology office finally called to schedule my MRI! Suck a duck...I can't get in until 6/24 because of our summer schedule.
*Started another load of laundry. Mediated again.
*Forgot to go find my old Fuze. I think I'll do that now.
*Nope, wait. Going to shout at Large Fry for demanding she get a turn RIGHT NOW on Daddy's old tablet...which Medium has been using all of three minutes.
*NOW I'll go look for my old Fuze.
*sigh* When does VBS start today?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)