I emptied the dishwasher yesterday and put two identical glasses that had just come out of it on the counter. I then grabbed a third glass that matched the other two from the pile of dirty dishes in the sink (it had been used for chocolate instant breakfast in the morning) and set it next to its mates. Then I challenged Mike to determine which glass had just come out of the sink.
He guessed wrong.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
As seen on TV
Did you ever buy your kids stuff at their request, knowing full well it was money down the drain? This was the case with the Bendaroos. Jonathan asked for them for Christmas, and because it was an honest answer to the question "What do you want for Christmas?" and not a spur of the moment "Buy me that!" statement while viewing the TV commercial, I acquiesced. Of course, I knew what I was in for, but that didn't stop me.
See the problem with these things that are advertised on TV, like Bendaroos, Moon Sand, Pixos, etc., etc., is that kids have no concept of their own limitations. To whit, here's an example of what you can do with Bendaroos, according to the commercial:
Do you think my child produced a fantastical Wizards and Toadstools chess set with his Bendaroos? Of course not. He produced this:
Which has lived on my dining room wall for 3 months now, because I have an amazing ability to ignore such things until the absurdity overwhelms me. I must point out that this objet d'art used to be somewhat more detailed, but every so often one of the Bendaroos falls off and I find it in my bedroom, where it has been dragged by the cat.
The kicker is, said child has not touched the Bendaroos since the Christmas tree came down.
But that hasn't stopped him from asking me to buy him Moon Sand.
See the problem with these things that are advertised on TV, like Bendaroos, Moon Sand, Pixos, etc., etc., is that kids have no concept of their own limitations. To whit, here's an example of what you can do with Bendaroos, according to the commercial:
Do you think my child produced a fantastical Wizards and Toadstools chess set with his Bendaroos? Of course not. He produced this:
Which has lived on my dining room wall for 3 months now, because I have an amazing ability to ignore such things until the absurdity overwhelms me. I must point out that this objet d'art used to be somewhat more detailed, but every so often one of the Bendaroos falls off and I find it in my bedroom, where it has been dragged by the cat.
The kicker is, said child has not touched the Bendaroos since the Christmas tree came down.
But that hasn't stopped him from asking me to buy him Moon Sand.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Enough already!
We've just come off over a week of pestilence in our house. Well okay,
just two-fifths of us were sick, but since they were the youngest two,
it was no fun. Grace started off the fun with the sniffles and the goop
back on February 21st. Matt joined the party 2 nights later with a
wonderful bout of the "barky cough" in the middle of the night. He was
fine by morning though, so we sent him off to school. By the next day,
though, he had a fever and was in no mood to go anywhere. Then came the
throwing up. The fever would go away and come back, go away and come
back. And the goop put out by both him and Grace...ick. By Friday, we
thought everyone was on the mend, but then Matt spiked another fever,
and it was off to the doctor with him. Ear infection. We got him good
and drugged with amoxicillan, wiped our brows, and looked forward to the
end of the illness. And then Grace's eyes turned red. And goopy. So
back to the doctor with her on Tuesday. Pinkeye. Antibiotic drops in
her eyes. Three times a day. Oh joy.
just two-fifths of us were sick, but since they were the youngest two,
it was no fun. Grace started off the fun with the sniffles and the goop
back on February 21st. Matt joined the party 2 nights later with a
wonderful bout of the "barky cough" in the middle of the night. He was
fine by morning though, so we sent him off to school. By the next day,
though, he had a fever and was in no mood to go anywhere. Then came the
throwing up. The fever would go away and come back, go away and come
back. And the goop put out by both him and Grace...ick. By Friday, we
thought everyone was on the mend, but then Matt spiked another fever,
and it was off to the doctor with him. Ear infection. We got him good
and drugged with amoxicillan, wiped our brows, and looked forward to the
end of the illness. And then Grace's eyes turned red. And goopy. So
back to the doctor with her on Tuesday. Pinkeye. Antibiotic drops in
her eyes. Three times a day. Oh joy.
So both sickos are now medicated and seem to be back on the road to good
health. Fortunately, Jonathan seems to have fought off the plague
surrounding him, as did Mike. Me? I'm not so sure. I can't pinpoint
it, but I don't think I'm 100% well. But hey, the power of positive
thinking, right?
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Of big brothers and babies
One of Jonathan's favorite things right now is to torment Matthew by calling him a baby. (He's a big brother...this is fully expected.) Friday morning in the car on the way to the sitter, the conversation in the back seat went something like this:
Jonathan: Matt's a baby.
Matthew: I'M. NOT. A BABY!!
Rinse, lather, and repeat a couple dozen times. Finally, a brief silence (taking a breath for air, perhaps), and then, from the middle seat, a small voice:
Graceanne: I a beebee.
Jonathan: Matt's a baby.
Matthew: I'M. NOT. A BABY!!
Rinse, lather, and repeat a couple dozen times. Finally, a brief silence (taking a breath for air, perhaps), and then, from the middle seat, a small voice:
Graceanne: I a beebee.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
1 score years
What were you doing February 3rd, 1989? Me? I had my first date with the man who would become my eternal companion and the father of my children. How is it possible that we've been together for 20 years? I'm not that old!! Heck, I wasn't even that old when I met him! (It was a week before my 19th birthday.) Anyway, I can't think of anyone I'd rather be on this journey through life with, and I'm looking forward to the next 2 or 3 score years ahead of us.
So okay, we have to go back to 1989 for just a minute (I do love me some YouTube). Here's a song I distinctly remember dancing with Mike to at one of the few "dances" that were held in the old Pub at IC. Apparently, this song is notable for being in the Guiness Book for the LONGEST note held by a Power Ballad/Pop song. I haven't actually verified that, but it's not too hard to believe.
(Love love LOVE the stylin' '80s looks on these guys!)
I have to admit it was a tossup between the Sheriff song and "Angel Eyes" by the Jeff Healy Band, which is a song I've heard Mike singing around the house on more than one occasion. But hey, it's my blog, and since the Jeff Healy song is sung from a guy's point of view, I went with Sheriff. If you're interested, here's a link to the other one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYz_LHKrgDY
Oh, and for the record, 3 years later, on this same day, we got engaged. I'll save the songs from 1992 for another time.
So okay, we have to go back to 1989 for just a minute (I do love me some YouTube). Here's a song I distinctly remember dancing with Mike to at one of the few "dances" that were held in the old Pub at IC. Apparently, this song is notable for being in the Guiness Book for the LONGEST note held by a Power Ballad/Pop song. I haven't actually verified that, but it's not too hard to believe.
(Love love LOVE the stylin' '80s looks on these guys!)
I have to admit it was a tossup between the Sheriff song and "Angel Eyes" by the Jeff Healy Band, which is a song I've heard Mike singing around the house on more than one occasion. But hey, it's my blog, and since the Jeff Healy song is sung from a guy's point of view, I went with Sheriff. If you're interested, here's a link to the other one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYz_LHKrgDY
Oh, and for the record, 3 years later, on this same day, we got engaged. I'll save the songs from 1992 for another time.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Random nuggets
Since Jill informed me that she's stalking me, I figured I'd better post SOMETHING to make it worth her while. =) This post is basically just recent observations about the kids.
I'm very amused by the way Matthew laughs when HE'S amused (which is different than when he laughs because he's being tickled). If he's trying to restrain himself, he sounds like "tee-hee!" Literally, he says "tee-hee." It's too funny. And I've caught Grace doing it too. When he's amused by a cartoon or something and he's letting it all hang out, he says something that sounds sort of like a very loud, nasally "He-yeah!" You have to be there.
Jonathan informed me this weekend that he wants a pet of his very own. The two cats apparently aren't cutting it for him. Every parent gets this request at some point, right? Well, he seems to want a fish, which is a personal pet I can get behind. BUT, I told him he needs to prove he's ready for pet ownership before I'll permit this, so it is now his responsibility to feed the cats every afternoon. I haven't quite decided what measure of success he needs to attain for me to decide he's proven his pet ownership worthiness, but it will definitely have to involve VERY LITTLE reminding on my part. Any advice in this area is welcome!
Since December, I have been trying to make a point of jotting down the new words I hear Grace say on the calendar in her room. Well, it's starting to get a little challenging. Just this past weekend, I think I recorded 3 or 4 new words and 2 or 3 phrases, including "go," "cheese," and "Can I see?" I think it's going to get to the point soon where I can't keep up. I've also heard her singing "Popcorn Popping," although no one else would recognize it as such, because her enunciation still leaves a bit to be desired. But I can tell by the tune, the repeated "p" sound, and the little wagging finger that goes along with the line "It wasn't really so." Dang she's cute.
I'm very amused by the way Matthew laughs when HE'S amused (which is different than when he laughs because he's being tickled). If he's trying to restrain himself, he sounds like "tee-hee!" Literally, he says "tee-hee." It's too funny. And I've caught Grace doing it too. When he's amused by a cartoon or something and he's letting it all hang out, he says something that sounds sort of like a very loud, nasally "He-yeah!" You have to be there.
Jonathan informed me this weekend that he wants a pet of his very own. The two cats apparently aren't cutting it for him. Every parent gets this request at some point, right? Well, he seems to want a fish, which is a personal pet I can get behind. BUT, I told him he needs to prove he's ready for pet ownership before I'll permit this, so it is now his responsibility to feed the cats every afternoon. I haven't quite decided what measure of success he needs to attain for me to decide he's proven his pet ownership worthiness, but it will definitely have to involve VERY LITTLE reminding on my part. Any advice in this area is welcome!
Since December, I have been trying to make a point of jotting down the new words I hear Grace say on the calendar in her room. Well, it's starting to get a little challenging. Just this past weekend, I think I recorded 3 or 4 new words and 2 or 3 phrases, including "go," "cheese," and "Can I see?" I think it's going to get to the point soon where I can't keep up. I've also heard her singing "Popcorn Popping," although no one else would recognize it as such, because her enunciation still leaves a bit to be desired. But I can tell by the tune, the repeated "p" sound, and the little wagging finger that goes along with the line "It wasn't really so." Dang she's cute.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
A-blogging I will go
Okay, yeah, so it's been two weeks since I last posted. Call it the calm AFTER the storm. Essentially, the holidays are over and I'm thankfully not so busy anymore, and there just hasn't been much going on. Mike and I go to work, the kids go to school, and then we come home and veg. That's what January is for, right? Hibernation, as Matthew has been learning about in school. I'm sure things will pick up again in the not-so-distant future, but right now, there's really nothing exciting going on, and I think I'm pretty content with that. And hey, you can't complain about being content, right?
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