Summer break anyone?

Jamo asked me for a sentence for "suggest". I said, "I suggest you get your homework done quickly."

It all went down hill from there. LOL!

( spelling word in caps)

*I'd SUGGEST you stop giving us homework. (underlined multiple times)
*I'm not CAPABLE of doing homework.
*I'm RELUCTANT to do my homework.
*I'm DRIVING to boring school.
*Do I have PERMISSION to stop doing homework?

Hmm, is someone ready for summer break???

Kiddos

*Scene - Jamo doing his spelling sentences*

"Mom, what does monthly mean?"
"It is something you do every month."
"What do I do monthly?"

*he shoots down several of my ideas*

...*snickering* "What about cleaning your room?"
"No, that is yearly."

*Scene - Mother and Daughter tea preparation*

"Don't touch that Sugar, it is really hot." (speaking of a curling iron)
"What is that?" (showing my utter lack of primping, my poor 4 yr old doesn't recognize a curling iron)
"It is a curling iron. I'm going to use it to curl your hair."
"Don't touch me with that thing! It will burn me!"
"No, as long as you are careful, it won't hurt you. Your hair won't feel it."

Poor, deprived Sweet Pea.

*Scene - at Mother and Daughter Tea Party*

I have just finished cleaning up the cup of milk Sugar has spilled trying to put a lemon into and the mothers are sharing what the daughters said for the cards. Here is mine from Sugar:

"I love you because we bake cupcakes and you give me kisses and I say, "GROSS!"

And they all laugh, but it is true. Every time I kiss her, she says "GROSS!"

*Scene - at Mother and Daughter Tea Party*

Sugar is up singing with the other kids the song called "Jesus rocks my blues away." I'm sure she was the only one singing, "Jesus rocks my boobs away." *sigh*

Blue's Clues and cakes

***scene - family dinner***

Sugar - Daddy can I have some Blue's Clues?
Brad - Do you mean cous cous?

and a little later at dessert...

Sugar - Daddy can I have some cake?
Brad - Do you mean crepe?

Ah, a child's interpretation!

Choices

*scene - dinner table having a family meal, Sugar wanting to be excused*

Brad: "Sugar, you need to sit at the table for dinner time."
Sugar: "But I want to be excused..."
B: "You have 2 choices, you can sit at the table or you can go to bed now."
S: "Daddy, I want 3 choices."
*me snickering*
B: "Okay, you can 1)sit at the table 2) go to bed or 3) go sit in bed.
*me hysterically laughing now*

Ahhhh, family dinner time...

When daddy is away...

I made the kids a dentist appointment 6 months ago. And wouldn't you know, Brad is working today. Isn't it just so much fun to take 3 kids to the dentist office? Oooo, party!

Sugar screamed, and by screamed I mean, the windows are shaking, people are looking for ear plugs, I have to sit in the chair, wrap my legs around her, have the boys hold a leg, screaming. So much fun. I can't wait to do it again in 6 months. Ugh.

*the bright side is 3 kids and 0 cavities*

Where could she be?

After a long afternoon at the pool, we came home, piled the towels and suits to get washed, I started dinner, sent the boys to clean their room, then I went to work on my Signing Time stuff for a little while.

Dinner was done and I realized I had not heard Sugar yelling at her brothers in probably 30 minutes. I sent Roo up to look for her. He said she was gone. I figured she fell asleep after a busy day, even though she has given up napping. I looked in her room. No Sugar. I looked in my room. No Sugar. I look in the boys' room and the toy room. No Sugar.

Panic starts to set in a little. This house is small. There are storage containers under every bed, she couldn't be there. The closets are too small to fit a human being laying down. I would have seen her go out the front door. The back door is locked. All of the windows are locked. Where in the world could she be?!

I finally opened up our IKEA storage and there she was, asleep. She had shut herself in. Little stinker.

My turn!

Sorry to post so much, I just want to remember the funny stuff. :o)

Today I had my kids go outside and clean up the dog poop to earn Handipoints. We have them earn Handipoints to do pretty much everything fun (Wii, Nintendo DS, TV, eat out, computer). It is great because it keeps them from having unlimited access to goofing off. LOL! They were bored and needed some Handipoints so I had them clean poop from the dogs we were watching.

Sugar even wanted to get in on the action. I suspected it was just because she wanted to wear the gloves, but when we were out there, she started to yell, "It's my turn to pick up poop!" I started to laugh and she said, "It's not funny! I want to pick up poop too!"

Three-year-olds are awesome! What other age group complains about not cleaning up poop!?

Dinner guests

Today, we had some friends over for dinner. And in true Mons fashion, is was not without some excitement.

Brad is amazing and went shopping last night. Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Veronese was on the menu and ingredients were needed. I had to laugh this afternoon as I was getting out the bell pepper and zucchini and instead found a cucumber. That's okay though. We just added green bell pepper and put cucumber in the salad. :o)

Jamo and Roo don't always get along great, but they do NOT frequently have fist fights. Of course, today with company over would be the day that they do. Sigh.

Then, as is typical in this house, the toilet flooded when the boys used a too much TP to flush a bug. In their eagerness to get it down, they kept flushing it even as the water rose. Thankfully we were no longer seated at the table as the water from the toilet rained down into the dining room.

Are we great hosts or what? Wait, don't answer that.

Can I just go back to bed?

Oy. What a day. And it is only 9:24.

After a week of no school and lax sleeping schedules, getting the kids up this morning was a challenge. Then Jamo's school didn't have volunteers to help with Game Club, so I offered to go, with my 2 other kids of course. We got everyone ready an hour earlier and I packed some DVDs and the DVD player for Sugar. Thankfully, Brad got the snow off the windshield, but it was a mess outside. Of all the days to NOT have a snow delay! Sheesh! It took me 3 tries to get all the way up the hill on our street. I finally got to the school, and there is no parking. Anywhere. Like most Philly establishments, there is no parking lot, so you park on the street. Only the streets are lined with huge piles of snow. You end up parking practically in the middle of the street. I drove around awhile, but finding nothing but snow and more snow, I just decided to become a true Philadelphian and park halfway into the street.

I finally got the 3 kids into the library, and the guy in charge looked none to pleased I had extra kids. Can't say I blame him. Sugar, in her sleep deprived state, was especially whiney and clingy. I managed to bring the wrong cord for the DVD player, so that wasn't an option. Instead she whined and complained that she couldn't play Mastermind like the other kids. Finally, the guy in charge said, "You can go ahead and go, there aren't very many kids." Hint hint. But Roo was in the middle of a game with Jamo, so I decided to distract Sugar with Othello. The poor guy saw us playing and said, "I don't know if that is a good idea." I told him I was playing it with her, not leaving her alone. To his credit, he kind of shuddered and then walked away. Smart man.

We left to go home because I watch a 2 yr old and 6 mo old on Tuesdays. But I couldn't get back up the driveway. There are huge ruts you can't really shovel that get icy. It took me 4 tries, but I got up the driveway enough to park. I couldn't park in the street because the snow piles in the street are so big, if you were to park on the side of them, you'd block the entire street, not just half of it.

We have one of those lovely dishwashers on wheels. You have to hook it up to your sink, and plug it in to get it to work. Yeah, it's a party. Brad, being Mr. Amazing, started the dishwasher this morning. But, being the tired resident he is, he didn't turn on the water. LOL!

So, I will be spending the day with 4 kids and thinking my child bearing days are over. Can I just go back to bed?

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

My kiddos got Zsu Zsu pets from their Grandma Jessie and they are in love. Seriously, I have gerbils going every place we go! Sugar loves her's a bit too much and we've had to cut it out of her hair twice. She just can't stop snuggling it. That's okay though. It just goes with the haircut she is already sporting from finding daddy's haircutting scissors.

The kids haven't had school since last Tues. Yes, I'm still mostly sane. Why? Brad had this past week off of work. Yay for vacations!!!! It has been amazing having him home! The kids had a 2 hr delay on Monday, school on Tuesday, then it got canceled on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday and today were already scheduled to be off. It is snowing right now. Please let the kids go back to school!!!!!

Slide show of, yes, more snow over on Cookie!

sNOw way!

Apparently we brought MI snow with us when we moved here. Sheesh. Maybe we should have brought a snow blower!

I have pictures of the snow over on Cookie. Oh, and it is a good thing I put up pictures of Sugar's hair because she decided to cut it this morning. Argh. I was really hoping to avoid that little life experience. So, go to Cookie to see Sugar looking guilty. LOL!

Friendly reminder

Just a reminder to please not leave surgical body markers around 3 yr olds. Thank you.

We come bearing gifts

Today my monsters brought something home from school I wasn't expecting.

Roo came in and told me I need to go outside to see it. From where I was, I could see part of a branch. What I could not see was how big the branch was.

They wanted to keep it in the backyard, but it would have taken up half of the backyard, so I made them take it back.

What is that craziest thing your kids have brought home?

One of THOSE days

We all have days like this, right? Days when you wake up late, find out your son left the window open to the car and it rained all night, get to the school and your son says he left his backpack at home, have to go to the store with your kids because you don't have a single slice of bread in the house, your knee starts to hurt during a butt kicking ARM workout, your 7 yr old has a bathroom accident at school, and your hubby spends a lot longer at the Cub Scout meeting than planned. We all have them, right? Right?

When is sugar not sweet?

When it is my little SugarPea and she decides to start a game of "Gotcha Last" with her older brother. And then when we ask Roo to stop playing "Gotcha Last" with his sister, she goes and tries to start it with Jamo. Seriously, where does a 2 yr old even learn this game?!

How was your day?

My day included a plant falling from the top of my bookshelf and spreading damp black dirt all over the place.

It also included Sugar finding the toothpaste that someone, who shall remain nameless, left downstairs after a call night. Notice her blue legs.

She got some in her eyes, poor baby. And yes, she had her pants off. See why I don't like cooking dinner. Chaos breaks out when I'm in the kitchen. Dinner was very cold by the time I got done bathing her and cleaning the floor. Fun times.

And here are some pictures she took tonight.

When it rains AND it pours...

Yeah, so lots of fun in the Monster Maison these days. Good news is that I have internet as of this morning. :o) I am finally caught up on emails and Facebook, but I still have about 600 posts in my reader that I haven't looked at yet. Sigh.

I've been experiencing progressively worse knee pain lately. I know I've mentioned it before, but it is really getting out of hand. I limp everywhere now. Yesterday I decided to fight it and get some stuff done. Oh, what a joke. First, I "borrowed" my neighbor's internet so I could find some addresses of errands I needed to run. Then I went to Hallmark to find postcards for the boys to send to their classes. Hallmark doesn't carry Philadelphia postcards. But, the mail place 4 doors down did. Plus, it saved me from driving to the post office. 2 yr olds in any kind of store = ugh. I made it out without her breaking anything.

Then I got to wait in the AT&T store for 30 minutes so I could get a Philly number. Sugar was being anything but sweet. Oh, that girl! At one point she kept saying 'potty' so I asked one of the workers and she said, "we don't have a public bathroom, so I'll have to ask my manager" and then continued to talk to the customer. I finally grabbed Sugar, ran (as much as I could with my knee) to the manager and said, "Where is your bathroom for a 2 yr old emergency?" Notice, I didn't exactly give them option. I get Sugar on the potty, and she says 'done' without 'doing' anything. ARGH. Potty training is SOOOOO over-rated! Finally, it was my turn to be helped and I'm told I need to do it over the phone. GRRR....

Getting gas should be free of problems, but of course, the printer wasn't working at my pump and it said I needed to go inside. Like I'm going to drag 3 wild kids into a store with candy near lunch time, no thanks. Nor was I willing to leave them alone in the car while I went in. I left without a receipt. This was almost painful for me with my meticulous record keeping, but I just couldn't deal with the other options.

Then I decided to brave going to the bank. *shudder* I will say though, the bank personnel were AMAZING. They gave my kids all kinds of distractions, including Popsicles, and didn't seem even the slightest bit annoyed. I will be opening an account there soon. I was very impressed. They even told me where I could find a mail receptacle for the post cards.

But the real fun was that evening when I got a call from my realtor that the backyard was flooded. What a helpless feeling that is! I pretty much spent the next hour and a half trying to find someone who could help my realtor get the water out of the backyard and fix the sump. I guess the entire system floated out of the ground because it wasn't weighted down enough. Oops. The water got into the house too. So I called Neysa and since she is super strong and has a super strong hubby, they were able to move the furniture out of the water. It wasn't standing water, the carpet was just wet. Either way, bad to have furniture sitting in it...

Then I was on the phone forever this morning with water restoration people, the guy that is fixing the yard, my realtor, making my ortho appointment, etc. I think I have burned through half of my cell phone minutes in 2 days. At least I think everything is taken care of for now. I hope.

Oh, I looked up our home online after Sarah's comment. It was built in, drum roll please..... 1860. This house is almost 150 years old. So, fine, it isn't older than the discovery of electricity, but it is still old. :o)

I'll probably post again before my knee appointment. Now that I have internet and all. :o) And here are some pictures of Sugar's closet, I mean, room:

We squeezed in her crib for her baby dolls and yes, that is my wedding dress

The bookcase, dresser and wardrobe

this is the whole room...

yes, I realize the wardrobe takes up her entire room, but it needed to be

big enough for Sugar's clothes and all of the linens. Sheesh.

Out of sight

Hi! Remember me? No? Yeah, it has been awhile, huh...

So, I called out an SOS and my a.m.a.z.i.n.g. grandma came on Monday to help me pack. She is seriously a master packer. And cleaner. She has single-handedly packed my entire house. In 3 days. AND, she has been going to the gym with me every morning. She runs circles around me. I thought I was in shape somewhat, but I can't keep up with her! I'm exhausted! You are all jealous, but that is too bad, I'm not sharing her! GRANDMA, YOU ARE WONDERFUL!!!!!

And because we could all use some lemonade laughs, here is my day for you. Woke up and started cleaning and packing, etc. Got Jamo off to school, came home for more packing, want to cry because my knee is still hurting, decide to go to kettlebell anyway because, hey, it is my last one. Come home and get kids lunch and then Roo on the bus. Drive all the way out to Eaton Rapids (20 minutes) to exchange a plant that died only to find that I forgot my receipt when I arrived. So then I have to drive back home and then another 20 minutes back out to ER. Pick up Jamo from school and then dash over to get Roo. Lucky boys have a dentist appointment today. I get to Roo's school and go to the office to sign him out. I go in and they say, "Oh good, you are here, we couldn't reach you at home." Huh? Apparently he peed his pants during gym class. Nice. According to Roo, he told the teacher he needed to go potty, but she said to do one more lap. That has not been confirmed by the gym teacher, but either way, argh.

I only had extra pants for Sugar, so I didn't know what to do. It was already 3 minutes until their dentist appointment and there was no way I'd have time to make it home and back. So, I went anyway and asked if they just wanted me to drop off Jamo, but I couldn't reschedule Roo because, hello, I'd be 12 hours away. They said they'd take Roo too. I'm the mom that took her kid to the dentist in pee pants. Great. That is what I've come to people! Argh!

So, they had no cavities. One of Jamo's top teeth finally came in after falling out in December. After the dentist, I ran to Elaine's to get more boxes (thanks!) and then to the store to get more tape. Since I'm in stellar parent mode and all, I left Roo in the car because he didn't want to go in with pee pants. Nice. Force a kid into the store with pee pants or leave him unattended? Don't you judge me. I haven't even told you the story about Roo missing the bus yesterday. Don't bother commenting on how it is illegal or what a bad parent I am. I don't have time to read my emails anyway. Anyway, after that, I planted my new plant, and cleaned the van. No, like super-cleaned. Vacuumed, wiped down, super-cleaned. And then we went out for pizza because cooking is officially impossible at my house. We took the pizza to the park and it was glorious. I love Michigan.

Then it was an insane night of baths, getting whiny and tired kids to bed and a wailing 2 yr old. Thank heavens I will have Brad back soon!!! And there is seriously and SERIOUSLY no way I could have done this without my grandma. Brad's dad is coming in tomorrow to help with the loading and actual driving which is awesome because I didn't want to drive alone in a van with the kids. Tomorrow is cleaning. Joy. The packing is mostly done. Anyone want to clean from 11-2 tomorrow? It will be a party! Okay, it won't, I lied, but my grandma is really fun, so it is like a party!

And in case I don't manage to get on a computer tomorrow, I'll see ya'll in Philly!

Oh, and my Google Reader has 340 posts waiting to be read. Sorry everyone. I'm really behind on reading.

Good parenting gone wrong

As Roo was getting ready to go to school today, he told me he had a tummy ache. I asked if he needed to go potty and he said no. Then he said he needed to stay home. I said that he could stay home if he was sick, but that during school hours, he needed to be laying quietly in his bed and not playing his Nintendo DS. He asked if he would lose it all day and I said it was just until Jamo got home. My logic was thus:

If he wasn't really that sick and just wanted to stay home with the Nintendo, taking it away during school hours would be a deterrent to exaggerating.

If he really was sick, I wasn't threatening him with the loss of it all day. I don't want him going to school if he shouldn't be.

He said he wanted to go to school, so I got him on the bus. An hour later I got a call from the school that he has diarrhea and could I bring him some more pants. I told them that I would be bringing him home as well. I'm one of those parents who thinks that organizations mean it when they say to not bring your kid if they have puked, had diarrhea, a rash, etc. less than 24 hours ago. I think it is respectful to the organization (church, daycare, school, etc) as well as the parents of the other children. So, tomorrow I will be missing my trip to the YMCA and Roo will be missing school.

And for the record, the Nintendo is only removed for unsubstantiated claims of illness. He is playing on it right now. :)

I'm not THAT clever

This morning I had yoga. It had just snowed, so it was a little slick out. I was carrying Calet because it was dang cold and I wanted to get inside fast. I slipped on the curb though. Between Calet in one arm and my heavy gym bag in the other, there was nothing I could do. I fell forward, but I managed to not let go of Calet, though her head did whack the concrete. Thankfully, she had the hoody on from her coat and had a little padding. Poor baby girl. I just sat there on the curb rocking her and trying to comfort her. A kind person came over and took her from me so I could get up, but she liked that even less. My accident was quite the talk in the welcome center. I love how kind everyone is in MI. I still went to yoga. I wasn't bleeding a significant amount. It looks like a raspberry, or is skin burn the technical name? I cried through the first 15 minutes. Why do I always cry at yoga? I could do most of the moves, but the ones on the knees I had to skip. And now that it has been a few hours, a nice purple bruise has made an appearance. I was leaving to go and passed Art in the welcome center. Calet wouldn't come and I said I was going to carry her if she didn't start to walk with me. She shrieked and ran away and I told Art that she didn't want me to carry her. He said, and I quote, "Can you blame her?" Thanks Art. I didn't have enough guilt to begin with without that comment.

We had mac n cheese for dinner. The boys were getting seconds, so Calet wanted more too. Her bowl still had some around the sides, with an empty space in the middle. I thought I'd be clever, so I put the pan between her and the bowl so she couldn't see what I was doing. Then I made sounds by scraping the edge of the pan and I rearranged the already present noodles together so it looked like more. I walked away feeling clever, but 2 seconds later I heard Calet shriek and point at her bowl again. Dang. I scooped 4 macaroni shells in and she was happy.