Subtle Hints

Chase doesn't talk a lot, so we spend a good share of our time trying to figure out what he's trying to say.

Right now, I think he is trying to tell me that he needs a bath.

Shoes

I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.

I made Madison cry. It wasn't the first time I have reduced my children to tears, but this time I wasn't even mad.

She was getting ready to go to grandma's for a full day of the kind of spoiling fun that only grandparents can accomplish. They were going to be decorating gingerbread houses so she was very concerned that she look festive. We had been told a storm was on the way, and it was already starting to snow. As a result I was less concerned that she look festive and more concerned that her toes remain a cute pink color. I told her she needed to wear boots or good sneakers. She responded with a very quick, "Okay." Not entirely confident in her ability to choose proper shoes, I made her show me the shoes she intended to wear. She showed me these . . . .


See how worn they are? That's because they are so tight her toes have been trying to dig out for the past few months in a desperate attempt for air. I said, "no." Not only did I say "no" I informed her that those shoes needed to be thrown away.

"But I love these shoes!"

"No"

"Well, can't we just give them to someone?"

"No one will want them!"

"But I LOVE these shoes!"

It went on like this for almost an hour. There was pleading, weeping, chest beating, and everything else required to make a tear jerking, chair-arm-gripping drama.

She finally agreed the shoes could be thrown away, but she would be the one to do it.

So good bye shoes. You two had a good run.

Linus

I am wondering if we should have named the baby Linus. I don't even think the name Linus was on the spread sheet. An obvious oversight on our part.

Whistler's Mother

Seeing as Madison was my first child, I was anxious she be prepared when she started Kindergarten. I was a little less anxious with the boy and I figure by the time Davis starts Kindergarten, I'll be excited if he knows his name.

But being the over anxious mother I was, I bought the book her school uses for their general curriculum. It is called What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know. I decided I would be the fantastic mom that I am, and we would pick a subject from the book each week, talk about it, do some projects, and maybe even go on a field trip. If I followed through with it, she would be very well prepared to start Kindergarten.

I wanted to start easy, so I picked a section about art. We were going to have a discussion, then a painting project, then we were going to go to a museum. How awesome is that! We started the discussion and we talked about how artists use colors to express emotions. The book had two paintings to compare, the first was Whistler's Mother and the other was a Degas ballerina.


Just like the book instructed, we talked about emotions and colors, and how they work together. It seemed to be going very well. Then I asked her, based on the colors he used, what kind of a woman did she think Whistler's mother was. She told me that his mom was probably a lot like me, and if he had painted his dad he probably would have used the same colors Degas used. She went on to explain that dads are more fun than moms, because dads want to all the fun things that moms never ever want to do.

Nice.

So every once in awhile I try to break out of my Whistler's Mother mold. Yesterday was one of these days. We decided to take the kids on the Polar Express. For the record, it was my idea. Yes, I thought it would be fun to gather all four kids onto a little, and very slow, train. And, shockingly, it wasn't horrible.

The trip was basically and hour and a half. They saw the north pole out the window and Santa gave each of them their own bell. Not surprisingly, Chase fell asleep quite awkwardly in the train windowsill. Awkward enough that one of the elves on the train asked if he was okay. He was.

Now, I'm not saying I'm going to do it again next year. But maybe the year after that, because, I'm fun damn it.

Snow, Glitter, and Glue

This weekend the boys played in the snow and made a wee snowman. It is one of my favorite snowmen they have made. At Kai’s insistence, it even has eyebrows. They all had a lot of fun and were freezing cold by the time they came in. I think it was worth it because I managed to get some great pictures of Chase to send to Holt (Chase’s adoption agency in Korea).

With all the snow it is starting to feel more like Christmas, and with Christmas comes the approaching New Year. So I have started to think about New Year Resolutions. I don’t usually make one because I’m realistic and don’t often enjoy taking on the task to better myself. However, I feel like making a resolution this year, so it is important I pick something that is attainable. Deep down, well maybe not so deep, I’m lazy. So if it’s something hard, I won’t do it.

I thought about cutting back on the caffeine, but I’m not really motivated to do that for some reason. I could stop anytime, really, I could. I just don’t want to stop right now.

I also figured it might be good to eliminate a few choice words from my vocabulary, but being realistic, I know that isn’t an attainable goal until all four of my kids are married and no longer under my controlling influence. Yeah, that one is going to have to wait a few years.

Exercising and losing a few pound . . . uh, no.

Fortunately for me, I have a wonderfully helpful two year old. I found him in my craft/laundry room creating this. . . .

It consists of one box of Oxi Clean, one bottle of gold glitter paint, one bottle of dry silver glitter, and a bag of fruit snacks.

My resolution for next year:

I am going finish unpacking, clean, and organize my craft/laundry room. I am also going to be buying a hook and eye for the top of that door, but hopefully that will happen before the New Year.

Bad News and Good News

I have never gotten a speeding ticket. In fact my driving record is virtually spotless. Today however, my good driving fortune has ended.

Sadly I swapped some paint with another car while I was parking. When the woman first saw her car, she told me not to worry about it, apparently it was her husbands car. I was a little concerned that her husband might be a little more upset than she was. I gave her my name and phone number just in case. The bumper on my car didn't fare as well as the bumper on her car. Not only does it now brandish new scratches and some new red paint, it has a nice crack.

As I was fretting about the fact that we are going to have to pay to have the other person bumper sanded and repainted and get a whole new bumper on our car, I got an email saying that I have now made my second sale on etsy!

Yup. I sold this handsome devil. So I have great news. I now have another 4 dollars of pure profit. This time I am going to put it towards my insurance deductible (I'm fairly certain the husband is going to be calling)! If I sell a few hundred more ornaments I'll be set. Of course in order to sell a few hundred more, I'm going to have to pull out my stained glass stuff so I can make more. Before I do that I'm going to have to clean out the garage.

I guess no sonic Dr. Pepper with lime for me today. Which is too bad because I could really use one.

Bubbles

I had no idea you could make such great bubbles with milk.

A great mopping always follows great bubbles.