Do 'they' really think we are SO stupid? Whoever touched up this picture should have been fired ON THE SPOT.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Are You Kidding Me???
What the eyeball is going on here?
Do 'they' really think we are SO stupid? Whoever touched up this picture should have been fired ON THE SPOT.
Do 'they' really think we are SO stupid? Whoever touched up this picture should have been fired ON THE SPOT.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
When Things Disappear...Where Do They Go?
We have a zipper case full of DVDs that went on our trip with us to WY for Thanksgiving. We also have a plastic zipper bag thingy full of about 8 Polly Pockets and all of their fashionable silicone outfits. Both missing. For weeks now.
We've searched high and low. They are nowhere to be found.
Do you think there is a heap of Lost Things somewhere in the universe? Probably right next to the Missing Socks Mound. Anyone know how to get there?
We've searched high and low. They are nowhere to be found.
Do you think there is a heap of Lost Things somewhere in the universe? Probably right next to the Missing Socks Mound. Anyone know how to get there?
Monday, January 25, 2010
Randomness
So, it's 5 in the morning and I can't sleep anymore. The little Sassy came and woke me up and 22 minutes after 4 cause she woke up and wanted to get in bed with me. Sorry. I don't really do that much. I kindly put her back in her own bed. I think she needs a warm happy nightlite in her room. Maybe it will help her.
Anyway - I've been missing my San Francisco/Smart Remarks friends (more on this later) and wishing I had some sort of trip in the works. One of my all time favorite trips was the time I flew up to Rochester, NY and drove into Palmyra with my parents. We visited the historical sites and stuff, and then one day braved a nasty rain storm to drive over to Buffalo and on to Niagara Falls. Seriously the most gorgeous landmark I've ever seen in my life!!! It was fall, mid September, and everything was still massively green and wonderful, but it was cool and totally uncrowded. The rain let up for us while we visited the falls and then we took a leisurely drive through local roads back. We stopped at fruit stands and ate at some little roadside restaurant. Fabulous. Brian and I need to get away and we can't seem to narrow it down. Not having much experience traveling, I think it's harder to know what to do. We've discussed Hawaii, a cruise of some kind (either western carribean or mediterranean), Mexico or even just my grandfathers little old cabin in WY, surrounded by snow, out of touch of the entire world. Until we get something down on paper though, I'm not feeling any sort of excitement. Plans have a way of being changed, cancelled, or swept under the rug until some point in the future.
Did I ever do a post about my little dog that had back surgery over the summer? I don't think I did. We have dachshunds. Naturally, with those extra long spines, they are prone to spinal injuries. Our first dog, Bailey, threw her back about 6 yrs ago. We had to pay for the ER in the middle of the night, xrays, a special scan they did with dye and stuff, steroids to keep the inflammation down to see if she'd get better (which she didn't) and then surgery. It was $$$expensive$$$. She was only 6 at the time. Then, this last year, our other little dachshund Sammy threw her back. Apparently she'd had a burst disk in her back that had been there for a LONG time. It was big and I don't know how the little dog survived in that kind of pain for so long. Amazing. Anyway, finally one day she just couldn't walk on her back legs at all and it was pitiful! We went back and forth on whether we were going to fork out the dough again, but our hearts beat out the other and we did it. She's like new. Running around and happy and all. Barking her little tail off as usual. Yesterday however..........
Bailey came down our 16 stairs to go out in the morning. Then, down the 13 stairs from our back door to the yard to potty in the grass. Back up the 13 stairs to come back in - at which time my husband discovered her hobbling on three legs only. We've already done surgery on this girl. She was almost double what the first dog cost. And - she's 12. What do you do? We're still paying off the last canine surgery. So we're keeping her confined and rested. Carrying her up and down the stairs. Giving her pain pills. Conservative like crazy is our plan. I'm going to call the vet today and talk to her about just picking up the steriods so we can do that for a week or two. This morning she did put a little pressure on that leg, which is a good sign. Anyway---fun times.
We also have a leaking dishwasher. But it's rapidly getting worse. At first we noticed because the hardwood in front of the thing was warped. We've been trying to keep it sopped up with an old towel until we can decide what to do, but last night, the leakage ran clear out onto the floor. Now - it's off limits until we can either get it repaired or replaced. Dishes. By. Hand. Aren't I spoiled? I'll pretend I'm at the cabin. It might be fun. Might.
Oh!!! On fab news, I was reminded this morning about a place we went in San Francisco when I saw Bakerella's new blog post. It's called Miette! Located in the Ferry Building. They also have a website and a blog. Us SF girls wandered through that place for a while and stopped at this little patisserie for treats. They had what we thought were macaroons. But apparently, as I learned this morning, they are called Macarons. (long 'o'). Bakerella even showed step by step directions on how to make the precious little sweets. I might be brave enough, you guys. It's quite an interesting process. Takes a few days. Since you have to age your egg whites for at least 24 hours and then after you pipe the cookies out, they have to sit for at least an hour before baking. If you can believe it, I'm more stressed out about where I could find powdered food coloring and what on earth would I make for filling??? They have to be TO DIE FOR when I'm finished. Not a disaster I wish I hadn't done.
Soooo, I guess I'd better get off this couch and take advantage of the extra time I have this morning. Today's a run-around day. Happy lunch with friends, sweet ballet class for Sassy. I have to order a cake for New Beginnings this week, etc. Off I go. OH! And I get to weigh myself this morning. Down 15 lbs you gize!! 15 boxes of butter. Three 5 lb bags of flour. Shaved off and thrown to the curb. Not to mention nearly 18 inches. I'm feeling great!
Oh, and since no one commented on the pull up post, I feel I'd better apologize for grossing you all out so much you couldn't even click on the comment button. That's okay. I'll get over it. ::wink::
Anyway - I've been missing my San Francisco/Smart Remarks friends (more on this later) and wishing I had some sort of trip in the works. One of my all time favorite trips was the time I flew up to Rochester, NY and drove into Palmyra with my parents. We visited the historical sites and stuff, and then one day braved a nasty rain storm to drive over to Buffalo and on to Niagara Falls. Seriously the most gorgeous landmark I've ever seen in my life!!! It was fall, mid September, and everything was still massively green and wonderful, but it was cool and totally uncrowded. The rain let up for us while we visited the falls and then we took a leisurely drive through local roads back. We stopped at fruit stands and ate at some little roadside restaurant. Fabulous. Brian and I need to get away and we can't seem to narrow it down. Not having much experience traveling, I think it's harder to know what to do. We've discussed Hawaii, a cruise of some kind (either western carribean or mediterranean), Mexico or even just my grandfathers little old cabin in WY, surrounded by snow, out of touch of the entire world. Until we get something down on paper though, I'm not feeling any sort of excitement. Plans have a way of being changed, cancelled, or swept under the rug until some point in the future.
Did I ever do a post about my little dog that had back surgery over the summer? I don't think I did. We have dachshunds. Naturally, with those extra long spines, they are prone to spinal injuries. Our first dog, Bailey, threw her back about 6 yrs ago. We had to pay for the ER in the middle of the night, xrays, a special scan they did with dye and stuff, steroids to keep the inflammation down to see if she'd get better (which she didn't) and then surgery. It was $$$expensive$$$. She was only 6 at the time. Then, this last year, our other little dachshund Sammy threw her back. Apparently she'd had a burst disk in her back that had been there for a LONG time. It was big and I don't know how the little dog survived in that kind of pain for so long. Amazing. Anyway, finally one day she just couldn't walk on her back legs at all and it was pitiful! We went back and forth on whether we were going to fork out the dough again, but our hearts beat out the other and we did it. She's like new. Running around and happy and all. Barking her little tail off as usual. Yesterday however..........
Bailey came down our 16 stairs to go out in the morning. Then, down the 13 stairs from our back door to the yard to potty in the grass. Back up the 13 stairs to come back in - at which time my husband discovered her hobbling on three legs only. We've already done surgery on this girl. She was almost double what the first dog cost. And - she's 12. What do you do? We're still paying off the last canine surgery. So we're keeping her confined and rested. Carrying her up and down the stairs. Giving her pain pills. Conservative like crazy is our plan. I'm going to call the vet today and talk to her about just picking up the steriods so we can do that for a week or two. This morning she did put a little pressure on that leg, which is a good sign. Anyway---fun times.
We also have a leaking dishwasher. But it's rapidly getting worse. At first we noticed because the hardwood in front of the thing was warped. We've been trying to keep it sopped up with an old towel until we can decide what to do, but last night, the leakage ran clear out onto the floor. Now - it's off limits until we can either get it repaired or replaced. Dishes. By. Hand. Aren't I spoiled? I'll pretend I'm at the cabin. It might be fun. Might.
Oh!!! On fab news, I was reminded this morning about a place we went in San Francisco when I saw Bakerella's new blog post. It's called Miette! Located in the Ferry Building. They also have a website and a blog. Us SF girls wandered through that place for a while and stopped at this little patisserie for treats. They had what we thought were macaroons. But apparently, as I learned this morning, they are called Macarons. (long 'o'). Bakerella even showed step by step directions on how to make the precious little sweets. I might be brave enough, you guys. It's quite an interesting process. Takes a few days. Since you have to age your egg whites for at least 24 hours and then after you pipe the cookies out, they have to sit for at least an hour before baking. If you can believe it, I'm more stressed out about where I could find powdered food coloring and what on earth would I make for filling??? They have to be TO DIE FOR when I'm finished. Not a disaster I wish I hadn't done.
Soooo, I guess I'd better get off this couch and take advantage of the extra time I have this morning. Today's a run-around day. Happy lunch with friends, sweet ballet class for Sassy. I have to order a cake for New Beginnings this week, etc. Off I go. OH! And I get to weigh myself this morning. Down 15 lbs you gize!! 15 boxes of butter. Three 5 lb bags of flour. Shaved off and thrown to the curb. Not to mention nearly 18 inches. I'm feeling great!
Oh, and since no one commented on the pull up post, I feel I'd better apologize for grossing you all out so much you couldn't even click on the comment button. That's okay. I'll get over it. ::wink::
Friday, January 22, 2010
Gag me with a Pull Up
My 8 yr old wears pull ups. All day. All night.
There. I said it.
You can imagine it's a HUGE deal in our house to get those things thrown out in the garage garbage. There is no patience for pull ups left under the bed, laying around in the bedroom, or elsewhere.
My kids are occasionally enlisted to Sorting-the-laundry duty. My 10 yr old can start a load, run it, switch it to the dryer, etc. It's glorious.
Until today.
While switching the laundry, he called me to come and look at something in the washer. I didn't want to look. But I did. There, lining the door of the inside of my lovely semi-new washing machine was those blasted little teensy pellets of silicone that fill the inside of all disposable diapers and pull ups. You know the stuff. Don't tell me you've never experienced the busted open diaper that was too full.
I calmly informed the boys that they were going to clean it out. "George, this is your fault for not throwing away your pull up in the first place and leaving it tangled up in your jeans." "Link, this is also your fault for not paying attention when you put the clothes in the washer."
(Do my children not have a sense of smell???)
They are currently wiping out the inside of the washer and I hear things like, "This stuff is a polymer!"
It is G. ross. D. sgusting. Nassssty.
I should be embarrassed. I am. But this is blog world. So I can type it, post it, and hide from it all at the same time. Plus, I'm still refusing to enter the laundry room. I don't want to see it or be near it or watch my kids clean it up. I will lose it and freak out. This is my way of keeping myself sane enough to function until it's over.
The end.
There. I said it.
You can imagine it's a HUGE deal in our house to get those things thrown out in the garage garbage. There is no patience for pull ups left under the bed, laying around in the bedroom, or elsewhere.
My kids are occasionally enlisted to Sorting-the-laundry duty. My 10 yr old can start a load, run it, switch it to the dryer, etc. It's glorious.
Until today.
While switching the laundry, he called me to come and look at something in the washer. I didn't want to look. But I did. There, lining the door of the inside of my lovely semi-new washing machine was those blasted little teensy pellets of silicone that fill the inside of all disposable diapers and pull ups. You know the stuff. Don't tell me you've never experienced the busted open diaper that was too full.
I calmly informed the boys that they were going to clean it out. "George, this is your fault for not throwing away your pull up in the first place and leaving it tangled up in your jeans." "Link, this is also your fault for not paying attention when you put the clothes in the washer."
(Do my children not have a sense of smell???)
They are currently wiping out the inside of the washer and I hear things like, "This stuff is a polymer!"
It is G. ross. D. sgusting. Nassssty.
I should be embarrassed. I am. But this is blog world. So I can type it, post it, and hide from it all at the same time. Plus, I'm still refusing to enter the laundry room. I don't want to see it or be near it or watch my kids clean it up. I will lose it and freak out. This is my way of keeping myself sane enough to function until it's over.
The end.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Choosing A Weapon
A whistle? A pea shooter? Or a squirt gun?
We have a daily chart. This is designed to give the kids reference to what they are supposed to do every morning without my having to tell them 500 million times a week that they're supposed to be getting dressed and ready for school. The morning items are:
Get Dressed Including Shoes and Socks (because they'll entirely forget about the shoes and socks. Especially the socks.)
Eat Breakfast, Brush Teeth (I have to set a timer for breakfast or they'll sit there for 30 minutes and do nothing.)
Clean Room Up (I don't understand how they do this every day, and every day it's still a disaster)
Flush Toilet, Dirty Clothes (What do they have against flushing a toilet? Ewww!)
Lunch and Backpack (this one puts a big wrench in the morning...more on that in a minute)
The idea is that they get ONE (1) warning per item. After that, they lose their star. After that, they start accruing things like time outs, more chores to do later, etc. Stars earn chips, which earn quarters.
When they wake up in the morning - they NEVER take the initiative and start on their stuff. They lay around and do nothing until I say move. There is a strict No TV rule in the morning. So, it isn't like they get lost in cartoons or something. They simply lay around on the couch or the floor. George never puts his shoes on. I always have to remind him. I make them get dressed before they eat, because if they eat and then go upstairs, they're lost and I don't see them again. I think...that has solved the problem with the room cleaning too. All of that upstairs stuff has to be done before they get fed. Perfect.
That leads me to lunch. We are buying drinks, chips, sandwich stuff, string cheese, gogurts, granola bars, etc. All they have to do is grab, grab, grab - stick it in their lunch boxes, zip them up and toss them in their back packs. You'd think that was easy. Unfortunately, because they spend so much time screwing around - they always find themselves with no time left. Lunch at school is $2.50 per day. Am I crazy to think that's a lot? There are usually 2 or 3 choices, one always being yogurt and string cheese. George ALWAYS picks that one. $2.50 for a yogurt and string cheese? Rip. Off.
I think this is what's going to happen. First - I'm going to get them up at 6 am tomorrow. Maybe I'll go get one of those horns-in-a-can. That'll wake them up. Then I'm going to announce that they will not receive any breakfast until they have accomplished every other morning task on their charts. I think that sounds like fun. OR...if they screw around with their lunch, I'll make it for them. A piece of plain bread, a couple of carrots and some water. No snack. No fabulous peanut butter or tasty gogurts. OR....making the lunch gets shifted to the night before. We could just entirely eliminate it from the morning list altogether. I think I can figure out how to incorporate all three. I still want to get a whistle so I can use that to represent the One Warning. I'd love a pea shooter, so I could ping someone in the back of the neck when they're doddling their way up the stairs or rolling around on the floor instead of being productive. The squirt gun would be a great way to get people's attention. Don't you think??
Time for a family meeting, I suppose.
P.S. (sorry for originally posting this in the wrong place....dumb!!)
We have a daily chart. This is designed to give the kids reference to what they are supposed to do every morning without my having to tell them 500 million times a week that they're supposed to be getting dressed and ready for school. The morning items are:
Get Dressed Including Shoes and Socks (because they'll entirely forget about the shoes and socks. Especially the socks.)
Eat Breakfast, Brush Teeth (I have to set a timer for breakfast or they'll sit there for 30 minutes and do nothing.)
Clean Room Up (I don't understand how they do this every day, and every day it's still a disaster)
Flush Toilet, Dirty Clothes (What do they have against flushing a toilet? Ewww!)
Lunch and Backpack (this one puts a big wrench in the morning...more on that in a minute)
The idea is that they get ONE (1) warning per item. After that, they lose their star. After that, they start accruing things like time outs, more chores to do later, etc. Stars earn chips, which earn quarters.
When they wake up in the morning - they NEVER take the initiative and start on their stuff. They lay around and do nothing until I say move. There is a strict No TV rule in the morning. So, it isn't like they get lost in cartoons or something. They simply lay around on the couch or the floor. George never puts his shoes on. I always have to remind him. I make them get dressed before they eat, because if they eat and then go upstairs, they're lost and I don't see them again. I think...that has solved the problem with the room cleaning too. All of that upstairs stuff has to be done before they get fed. Perfect.
That leads me to lunch. We are buying drinks, chips, sandwich stuff, string cheese, gogurts, granola bars, etc. All they have to do is grab, grab, grab - stick it in their lunch boxes, zip them up and toss them in their back packs. You'd think that was easy. Unfortunately, because they spend so much time screwing around - they always find themselves with no time left. Lunch at school is $2.50 per day. Am I crazy to think that's a lot? There are usually 2 or 3 choices, one always being yogurt and string cheese. George ALWAYS picks that one. $2.50 for a yogurt and string cheese? Rip. Off.
I think this is what's going to happen. First - I'm going to get them up at 6 am tomorrow. Maybe I'll go get one of those horns-in-a-can. That'll wake them up. Then I'm going to announce that they will not receive any breakfast until they have accomplished every other morning task on their charts. I think that sounds like fun. OR...if they screw around with their lunch, I'll make it for them. A piece of plain bread, a couple of carrots and some water. No snack. No fabulous peanut butter or tasty gogurts. OR....making the lunch gets shifted to the night before. We could just entirely eliminate it from the morning list altogether. I think I can figure out how to incorporate all three. I still want to get a whistle so I can use that to represent the One Warning. I'd love a pea shooter, so I could ping someone in the back of the neck when they're doddling their way up the stairs or rolling around on the floor instead of being productive. The squirt gun would be a great way to get people's attention. Don't you think??
Time for a family meeting, I suppose.
P.S. (sorry for originally posting this in the wrong place....dumb!!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)