Merry Christmas!

I won't be here for about 2 weeks, so I want to say to you Merry Christmas!

Our family leaves tomorrow for Arizona. The kids are very excited. My daughter was so excited about packing her suitcase, she emptied out her dresser drawers. Then, to be helpful, she emptied her younger brother's dressers too. Then she packed it all into their suitcase that they share. She was so sweet to be so helpful. I took everything out and she helped me fold and put into the suitcase what she would be needing. She is insisting we bring just about every stuffed animal and baby doll she owns.

This morning I gave my two younger sons a haircut. They were starting to look like Luke Skywalker. Now they have nicely trimmed hair and everyone got showers. I'll do my older son when he gets home from school. My to do list is so long, there is laundry and packing and I need to get to the library to return some books, and cleaning the house.

I've been learning, recently, about web pages. I'm learning some HTML and enjoying that. My hubby, who loves to do cool projects in Photoshop taught me a few basics and I'm creating things. It has been fun and my attempts aren't very good right now. I'm hoping to fix up my blog and make it fun and when I'm better at that, I want to create some web pages. Anyway, I'm having fun learning a bit of something new. When Christmas is over, I'll fix up my blog.

Well, I've goofed around enough. Merry Christmas everyone, and a very happy new year!

Typical Monday

Things have been quiet around here. A little too quiet. This week's schedule is crazy and this Monday morning we received an omen foretelling us of the week to come.

I got up this morning and went to start breakfast. I checked the dishwasher and found that I had forgotten to start it - again. I've done this a lot lately. I load the dishwasher, put soap in it and forget to turn it on. So, annoyed with myself, I start the dishwasher and start cooking oatmeal. At 7:13, the phone rings. I knew who it was before I answered it. None of our friends get up this early and most of our family are in later time zones so they wouldn't be calling us either. It was my husband's carpool companion asking "Is he coming today?" The answer was no. They had made arrangments, but she forgot. My daughter comes down a few moments later. She had wet her bed and was soaking. So, while the older kids are starting to eat the oatmeal, I take the princess back upstairs and start the bath. She bathes. I go into my bedroom to talk to my hubby while he gets dressed.

After a nice morning conversation in which he told me all about the lack of sleep he got because of the princess going in and out of his room all night, we went down stairs together. The kitchen stank. There is smoke coming out of the dishwasher. I open the dishwasher expecting a fire, but thankfully, there isn't any. It seems the smoke was in the front electrical compartment on the door. OK. The dishwasher is history.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my friend Kristi, who gave me her dishwasher when she remodled her kitchen. We will be installing that dishwasher very soon. Thank you!

Now the downstairs skinks of electrical fire smoke. It is 30 degrees outside, so I can't open windows and doors to air out the kitchen. I lit some incense. I don't like that stuff much, it gives me a headache, but I was hoping it could mask the electric smell. Hubby leaves and I take a couple of things out to the mailbox. When I came back in, the smell nearly knocked me over. The house smells like electric fire with a hint of cinnamon. Ewww.

The week is packed. I have a to do list a mile long, a mountain of laundry awaits me and there are no free evenings this week to get extra things done. I do get the van tomorrow so I can run errands. We leave Friday for our trip to Arizona to see family. I'm dreading the airport!!!! With all the storms going on and all the canceled and delayed flights, I am going to be getting plenty of snacks to take along.

So, do you think the dishwasher fire is a bad omen or is it just one of those things that happen? I'm hoping it is just one of those things..... time will tell.

Boys will be boys

I looked out my kitchen window, just now and saw my two older sons jumping on the trampoline. They are laughing and jumping and flicking underware at each other. They each have a pair of their undies and they are shooting it like a rubber band at each other. Obviously, it is tremendouly funny to them.

What is it about boys? What is it about an underware fight is so hilarious? We live on a busy street. Anyone who walks by or drives by can see this going on. I'm horrified and amused at the same time. Do I let them have their underward fight, or do I stop it?

Ugg, boys!

Run Away Mom

Can I run away today? My youngest didn't get much sleep last night. That is his own fault, but he makes the rest of us suffer when he doesn't get enough sleep. He and his sister can't get along. He wants whatever toy she has. When she doesn't give it to him or she takes it back, he screams a horrible scream. It honestly makes my nerves jump when he lets out a scream like that. Most people would think he had just broken his arm because of the way he screams. No, he is just mad. What do I do to stop him from screaming like a banshee when he doesn't get his way? I've tried popping him in the mouth and telling him don't scream, but he does it again and again and again. He refuses to nap too and I can't hold him. He is too strong for me to stuggle with and my big baby belly just doesn't give me the lap room to hold him in.

So, I was working with my homeschooler and asking him a question. He didn't know an answer and spent more time hitting his head with his hand in a supposed deep thought than he actually spent time thinking. While he is doing this, he sits on his desk, knocking it over. As bad as it is to do that, he had a cup of milk on his desk. I didn't know that was there. The milk went everywhere all over his books, his calculator, and the floor.

Today is a rare day for me that I get the van. But the 2 year old is in a horrible mood and just throwing constant tantrums and crying spells because he is so tired. I wanted to get some copies of pictures at Sam's Club so I could give them to Grandmothers as gifts, but last night hubby told me we went over in our checking account. No money, again. He tells me I should use the credit card, like he does, but I can't stand the debt and I am not going to add to it. What errands can I run with a tired toddler and no money?

I guess it isn't all that bad. I'm in a bad mood today, I guess. I need to get moving. My hubby has had a headache for two weeks and has been in a terrible mood about it. Of course, he won't do anything about it but take pain relief meds and complain. I guess his mood is rubbing off on me. All I know is, if when we get old and he has a lot of medical problems, I'm going to have to get him a private nurse and I'm going to get my own apartment.

Monday clean up

I really haven't thought of much to write about lately. There are a hundred things going on and I stay so busy, but at the same time, nothing really to write.

A few things going on around here:

My 2 year old son is potty-training. He is very young, just turned 2 last month. He is doing alright. We aren't making this a serious effort and if he has accidents, oh well. He is aware of his body and even when he has on a diaper, he will let me know if he needs to go pee. It's messy and the bathroom stinks. I'll be cleaning the floors really good again later today.

Our Christmas plans are on hold at the moment. We were going to my husband's family for Christmas. I was having some anxiety about the trip - 4 kids in the airport for hours, 4 kids on a plane for many more hours, the in-laws pets, and finding a place to sleep everyone once we are there. Still, we were all very excited about seeing the grandparents and all the aunts, uncles and cousins there. Now we found out last night that a one way plane ticket was bought by accident by my mother-in-law. We can get there, but we couldn't get home. A large amount of money was spent and if you have ever looked at one way plane tickets, they are more expensive than just a regular round trip. For the 6 of us to get back home, it would cost a lot more money. So, we are thinking of the possiblities, cancel the trip and go next month for half as much money, go anyway and just spend the money to get home, drive? The drive would be nice but it would be a three and a half day journey each way. Basically, we would get there Christmas Eve and leave around the 28 or 29 to get home intime for school to start and without hubby taking off anymore leave. So, we are waiting to hear from hubby's parents. They are the one to make the decision. There isn't much time to think. Christmas is coming soon.

Anything else? Nope, homeschool, potty training and Christmas travel are taking up much of my thoughts. My mind is busy with those things, but my body is busy with laundry, weekend recovery clean up, and tortilla making.

The Silly Postman

The oddest thing happened today. I was at my computer typing an email to a friend, when there is a knock at the door. It is the postman and he has a registered package for me to sign. He was quite funny about it and told me I am the proud recipient of a registered package and would I please sign. Sure, I signed, took the package and the rest of the mail from his hands and he bowed as he backed up saying thank you in every language he could think of. It was funny and it made me laugh.

I bring in the mail and start going through it, not paying attention to anything else going on the house for a few moments. The package was for my hubby who does all his Christmas shopping online. A few moments later, my seven year old son closes the front door and tells me the mailman didn't pick up the Netflix.

What?

I go out to the mailbox and sitting in it, with the flag still up, are 20 Christmas letters, one birthday card to my grandmother, one card to my cousin and 2 Netflix movies!

The silly postman forgot to pick up our mail, but he was very kind in bringing the mail and the registered package to my door. As soon as hubby gets home from work, I'm going to have to drive those letters to the post office. Most of the letters can wait one more day, but not the birthday card to grandmother. Oh well. I need to get out of the house.

Poetic thoughts at 4:30 a.m.

I have a story to tell - the story of how I, ML, got to sleep on the couch.
This is a true story. Only the names have been changed to protect the not so innocent.

Two years ago, in October 2005, I was eight months pregnant with my youngest son and I had a terrible cough. I would lay in bed at nights so uncomfortable with a sore back and I would cough and cough. I kept my hubby awake and he was quite annoyed with me. So, frustrated, one night I went downstairs to the couch. With a few pillows, I propped myself up on the arm of the couch and fell asleep. My back no longer hurt and I coughed less because I was almost sitting up.

Into November, my cough went away, but still I slept on the couch. It was so comfy and my back didn't hurt. I was sleeping very well for being nine months along. Then, came the baby. Once we made it home from the hospital, I went back to the bed. But the baby would wake up at night and want to be nursed. I would go down stairs to the rocking chair. If I was able to get him back to sleep, I would go back upstairs. The thing about our stairs, though, they are very squeaky. And my bedroom floor, which is right over the living room, is very squeaky too. Well, after the first few nights of going up and down the squeaky stairs multiple times, I decided this wasn't working out. Baby didn't think so either, because he spent more of the nights awake and fussing than he spent sleeping and I spent more nights walking the downstairs with him than I did sleeping.

It just became easier to sleep on the couch again. Baby would wake up and want to eat. I was there next to my rocking chair. When I walked him, I wasn't bothering anyone else who was asleep. When he finally managed to sleep, I would plop down on the couch and get some rest.

Baby got older and became Mr. Fussy. He cried all day, he cried all night. When he did manage to sleep, he slept on my chest while I slept on the couch. It was the only rest for either of us. He got older and older and my attempts to get baby to sleep on his own were futile. He would not sleep unless I was holding him. Fast forward to now. He is now two and he keeps me up most of the nights still. Just before his second birthday, we got him a bed. It is a comfy bed and we lay him in it at night. He sleeps there until 12:45 and then his internal alarm clock goes off and he comes downstairs. See, I still sleep there. After sleeping there for two years, I can't go back to a bed. The moment I lay down in a bed, my nose plugs up and I can't breath and I usually get heartburn. So, I stay on the soft, comfy couch.

My son wakes up at 12:45 and comes down to find me. He lays on the couch in between my legs. He isn't comfortable. He squirms and kicks and squirms some more. He might finally find a sleeping position, but it is terribly uncomfortable to me. He doesn't sleep long before he wakes up and squirms some more. Anyway, this goes on and on all night long. I end up sleeping in the rocking chair most of the night, which isn't too nice and it makes my rear-end ache. By 3 something, I've had it with my son. I can't sleep. He is in my spot and won't leave. I end up on the computer, reading this and that. I read blogs, I read Wikipedia, I read about sewing, cooking, movie stars, I rate movies I've seen on IMDB. I stay up for an hour or more. Finally around 4:15, I decide I had better try and sleep some more. I go sit in the rocking chair (the couch is occupied) and I can't go back to sleep. My mind is racing. It is thinking poetic thoughts that I wish to blog the next morning. It is thinking about what Ms. Movie Star has done recently. It is thinking about anything. I can't get back to sleep. Finally with less than an hour before my alarm goes off, I fall asleep and moments later, it seems, my alarm goes off and I'm up for the day.

I've got to change two things. I've got to get my son off the couch! It is way too crowded with 2 1/2 people on it. Last night I was getting kicked by my son on the outside and my daughter on the inside at the same time. Who can sleep like that? So, my son needs to go back to bed.

The other thing I need to change is what I do when I get on the computer at night. No more reading! I should find some mindless game to play. I love the Sims 2. Problem with that is, it takes 20 mintues to load the game.

Then, I'm tired in the daytime and I fall asleep when I'm trying to do homeschool lessons with my son. He doesn't mind. It is free time for him, but I mind!

I think I need to get a hotel room each night just for me.

The Rich Vocabulary of the Three Year Old

My vocabulary has been greatly increased since having children. They have provided me with words and phrases that were previously not a part of my repertoire or anyone else’s that I’m aware of. Let’s explore some of this enriching vocabulary.

Pooky – Spooky. A word discovered and made popular by my oldest son when he was quite small. He had a Halloween CD with a song that would chant” “It’s spooky, It’s spooky” Being the small child he was he would chant with gusto, “It’s pooky, it’s pooky!” Now, each year when Halloween rolls around, I often find myself doing this little chant, but I don’t say spooky, I say pooky!

Shoody – Pronounced ‘shoe dee’ – This word is not one of my own children’s. It is my niece who founded this word when she was a small two year old. It means scary. When she saw something scary, she would yell, “Shoody!”

Pooker – Another word of my niece. It means fart. Personally, I like pooker better. Can’t you just see a three year old saying “I had a pooker.” It cracks me up when I think of it.

Opomeal – ‘Oh poe meal’ This is my daughter’s creation. It means oatmeal. It is usually combined with another word to create the favorite breakfast dish, opomeal scotch. When she requests opomeal scotch, I make butterscotch oatmeal for her.

Kol Lo Made – This was one of my son’s who liked to have this for a drink. It is Kool-Aid, the nice refreshing drink of powder, sugar and water. To this day, my husband will ask me if we have any kol lo made to drink.

Pooloo – Let’s go swimming in the pooloo! Be sure to pucker your lips with each “oo” When you say this word, you should look like you are ready to kiss someone – Pooo looo. My second son came up with this super word when he was two or three. Again, only my husband and I still use it in our summer vocabulary.

Gravy Rocket – Born on a mountain top in Tennessee, greatest state in the land of the free, lived in the woods so he knew every tree, killed him a bar when he was only three, Gravy, Gravy Rocket, king of the wild frontier. When my young sons heard this song, they misunderstood the great pioneer legend’s name. Davy Crocket became Gravy Rocket.

Noey – This is no with an ee sound on the end. Come on 2 year old, it’s time for bed. NOEY!

Splashy – This same word is used for all water related areas – a pool, a bath tub, a fountain, a river, the ocean. It is also a verb, as in “Let’s go splashy to get clean.” My older children take showers. My toddler on the other hand takes a splashy.

To boot

It has been a while since I had a random thought. It seems I'm too busy to have many random thoughts anymore, or at least time to entertain those thoughts and write about them.

So, onto today's random thought: to boot. Have you seen or hear this lately? "That purse is cute to boot." What in the world does this mean? Where did the phrase "to boot" come from? Why has it caught on so quickly? It makes absolutely no sense when you think about what you are saying.

Perhaps this is an old phrase, but it seems only this year I've heard it or seen it and it usually is in reference to how cute or great something is. The American Linguistic Society has a conference each year where they pick a word of the year. I want to offer the phrase "to boot" to the ALS. I know it isn't a word, but can some exception be made?

Curious me, I Googled "to boot". (Funny how the word google has become a common verb in our vocabulary) This is what Google says about this strange phrase:

To boot
Meaning:
Moreover; in addition to.

Origin:
This term has nothing to do with footwear. The 'boot' is thought to be a derivative of the earlier 'bat' meaning 'good or useful'. This is also the root of the word 'better'.

Forms of 'to boot' in Old English date from around 1000AD. Robert Manning of Brunne included a version of it in Langtoft's Chronicle, 1330:

"A hundreth knyghtes mo... and four hundreth to bote, squieres of gode aray."

OK, it means moreover; in addition to. So, "That purse is cute to boot" becomes "That purse is cute moreover." Well, in my mind, neither sound good, but it makes sense now. I think it is a phrase that will quickly become abused because I don't think the general population knows really what it means or how to use it. Well, this is one phrase I will avoid to boot.

All Dressed Up in my Christmas Best

Are things looking festive here or what? Do you like the new design of my blog?
I LOVE it!

A huge thanks to Dawn from Barefoot Blogs for making this for me.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope your day is filled with fun, family and tasty food.

Our day is off to a good start. The boys were up long before I was, I could hear them, but they didn't come downstairs and wake me for a change. I am thankful. We've had pancakes with chocolate chips and walnuts. Mmmmm. Now, my dear hubby is preparing the turkey and I'm thankful for that. I really don't like touching that cold, wet bird.

Well, to all of you, happy Thanksgiving and a happy start to the holidays! See you soon.

carpet woes

Why is it when you are tying your hardest at something, it all seems to go wrong?

Maybe that is exaggerating a bit. This morning, in getting ready for my daughter's birthday party, (2 kids) I decided to clean the carpet with my neat-o carpet cleaner. I carefully went over the carpet, putting on the soap and water and then letting the machine suck up all that dirt, sand, hot chocolate, and muddy water that is deep in my pink carpet. When I was done, the living room looked good. The carpet is a brighter color (not always a good thing when your carpet is pink) and the carpet seemed to be fluffier and not matted down by dirt.

I yell, everyone stay out of the living room until the carpet is dry. Toddler isn't listening when I announce this. I walk into the living room later to see pumpkin bread ALL OVER the freshly washed carpet. AHHHHH! Who gave him pumpkin bread? Oh, yeah, I did. The carpet was mostly dry and I quickly ran the regular vacuum over the pumpkin bread.

You try hard and get the living room clean before guest arrive and that is the day the kids want to wander from the kitchen with food. Oh well. The guests coming over is a mom with a 3 and 5 year old. She understands messy floors. She has seen my house in every condition from very clean to don't open your eyes while in my house. She has seen it all and she is still my friend. I guess a little pumpkin bread won't bother her, but it sure bothers me.

P.S. Who's bright idea was it to spell "vacuum" with two u's?

We're getting old

Today is my little Princess's 4th birthday. It is so hard to believe. She is so tall, so verbal, so silly, so pretty, so smart, so great. Today, hubby asked her, what do you think you will get for your birthday? A rock? A stick? A clod of dirt? Princess laughed, No, I'm not going to get a rock or a stick or a clod of dirt. It is funny to hear a four year old use the word 'clod'.

Five days ago my toddler turned two. He is no longer a baby, he is officially a toddler. He can throw professional two year old tantrums. I actually like 2 year olds. They are really fun. They are still babyish in many ways, but they can play, talk some, and laugh at funny things. They are independent, but still need momma to comfort and kiss them.

What do I do with these kids who are growing up so much? My nine year old amazes me. My seven year old has to remind me he isn't so little anymore. My four year old holds great conversations with me and my two year old wants to walk down the stairs alone.

My friends with teenagers scare me. Can I just freeze time? Can't I just keep them at nine, seven, four and two? I don't want to deal with nineteen, seventeen, fourteen and twelve. Well, I have a few more years before we get to that point. Time is flying by and I had better enjoy it while I can. Well, my toddler is asking for num nums and holding the cereal bag. I had better go help him before he dumps the num nums to the floor and helps himself. Got to go enjoy that two year old while he is still two.

Word to the wise

OK, I keep a box for my free samples I get in the mail. It is my emergency box. It has lotion, shampoo, laundry detergent, toothpaste, soap, and other similar items. I was searching through the box the other day and I found that I had a small box of cereal that I had gotten. The box smelled like flowers, but I didn't think anything of it. Well, today, for a snack, I decided I would taste my free sample. It taste like fabric softener. It is also a bit stale (who knows how many months ago I got that), but I can't tell if I like the cereal or not because the smell of mountain air and the taste of wildflowers fill my senses.

Never store food in a container with fabric softener!

Tuesday, already?

This week is busy and my mind is in a million places, except where it should be. I must confess something - I forgot my parent/teacher conference with my son's 4th grade teacher today. I was painting my stairway and just forgot. I remembered this morning when I got up, but then I got to painting, forgot the conference and now I'm feeling quite down. Dumb me. So, here I sit, still in my painting clothes with all the painting stuff that needs to be put away sitting about in various places. The one good thing is, the stairway is DONE! (All except for one part that I can't reach and I don't feel like standing on a stool at the very edge of the top of the stairs. I'll ask hubby to get that for me)

My mom is coming to visit on Saturday! I'm so excited. We only see each other about twice a year. Unfortunatly, the visit is going to be extreemly short. She will leave Monday afternoon. I wish she could stay longer. (sigh)

We had a wonderful day yesterday. We were all home together on a Monday and no one was sick. Usually the only reason someone is home from work or school is because of illness, but not yesterday. We had a great morning, a trip to the Botanical Gardens, and a cookout in the backyard's firepit. The boys camped out in the backyard last night. It was COLD, but they had fun. I've been trying to get them to nap today, but when I sent them upstairs to nap, they turned on their crazy music and danced. Then they ask me if they can come down yet. No, not until you nap. They turned off the music, but I could still hear a lot of movement going on. Well, the toddler napped while the others were upstairs and for my sanity, his napping is more important than the others.

Well, I guess I'll go clean up the painting supplies, shower, put on fresh clothes, and write a note to my son's teacher, appologizing for my lack of showing up today, then I'll clean up and start dinner. I wrote up lesson plans for this week and half of next week's. I really need to get a head on those so I'm not in a panic on Sunday evenings. Later, later, now, it is time to clean.

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it!

I entered a fall give-a-way contest and won a pre-made Christmas blog design! Around Thanksgiving time, things around here will change and for the better!

Dawn at Barefoot Blog Designs is going to give my blog a Christmas look and I can't wait to see it. I've seen some really neat blogs and they have the coolest designs. I don't know anything about web designs and so I use the pink pre-made blogger template. This is really a fun treat for me. Thank you, Dawn, for being willing to sharing your talent and making my little bit of blogging space a Christmas wonderland later this month!

The contest was started by a fun blog called Rocks in My Dryer . Over 600 people participated in holding give-a-way contests at their blogs. You could enter as many contests as you wanted. I, obviously, didn't hold a give-a-way myself, but the next time I find something like this, I'll hold a contest too. I don't know what I would give yet, but I'll be thinking about it now.

Finding yourself - Not just a teenage problem

There is a young lady that I see at church every week, almost. She is a pretty girl, but sometimes that prettiness is masked by the bizarre hairdos and clothes she wears. I'm sure you've seen the type.

One week she comes with the bottom half of her hair dyed black and straight while the top half is bleach blond and curly. The next week her hair will be all bleached blond and curly. The next week her hair will be something else. (At least part of it is always bleach blond.) Her clothes range from t-shirts and denim skirts, to empire waist mini-dresses, to a brown skirt and blue sweatshirt. It is a secret bit of entertainment for me to see what this young lady will look like from week to week.

I asked a friend of mine, who is closer to the young lady's family than I am, what is up with the changes each week. My friend said the young lady is "searching for herself" in a big way. She tries every hair style and clothing style during these searches. It is a stage most teenages go through.

I laughed to myself. I don't remember really searching for myself as a teen. I was confident in myself. I had a style that was comfortable and neat. It wasn't trendy in anyway, but I was always clean and neat. I knew that I would attend college and I knew what college. In the 9th grade I decided what it was I wanted to study in college and I stuck with it. I went to the college of my choice and I never changed majors once I got to college. I knew what kind of job I wanted and where I wanted to work. I knew what I wanted and where I was going.

Part of those life plans included marriage and children. Now, I have two college degrees, a good husband and four amazing children. Yet now, I feel myself is lost. I find my confidence in who I am is gone. My brain is mushy, I'm anti-social, I'm no longer an intelligent person and I prefer to stay hidden in my home rather than go out and have adventures.

I'm doing the opposite of the teenage thing. Now, I feel the need to find myself, search for myself and find out who I am. The thing is, as a teen, you have the energy to search for yourself, but now, as a 30-Something year old mom, I don't have the energy to do anymore than I'm required to each day. It is a shame to waste youth on youth.

This is all meant in fun, but it is also truth. It's too bad no one has told the young lady it isn't the clothes or the hair styles that make you who you are. Instead of dying her hair various colors from week to week, she should be spending that time she undoubtable spends in front of the mirror, working in areas of interest. Volunteer in places you might want to work someday, take a class in web design or flower arranging. That would help her find herself in a much better way than black hair or empire dresses.

Good luck to us all who are searching for ourselves, no matter how old we are.

Thoughts running wild

OK, hey there! I started wring a blog about a serious topic, but I couldn't get my thoughts expressed in a proper order. If I did, it would take pages to describe what I was thinking. Also, I like to keep my blog on a more positive side. There are so many negative things out there, I didn't want to add to it. Perhaps one day I'll write out my feelings on the serious issue, but for now, I'm letting it go and ready to write about the funny things that go on in life.

I have three sons and one daughter. The boys are boys and they are noisy, messy, gross, and funny. My daughter is girly, pink, sweet and something of a rebel. My toddler son and I were playing with cars the other day. The cars in each of our hands would run head first into each other and crash spectauarly. He would laugh so hard and we would do it again. Later he brings me a couple of his sister's Polly Pocket dolls. (They are the perfect size to fit into a little fist) He gives me one doll and takes the other. He brings his Polly up to mine and says "hi". I say hi back and his Polly attacks mine. He jumps on her head and knocks her over. He laughs and laughs.

On the other hand, when my daughter brings me her Polly's to play with, we first much change all the girl's clothes. After new dresses are on all the girl's, we meet. "Hi, I'm Polly," I say.
"Hi, I'm Cinderella."
Then I ask, "So, Cinderella, what are we going to do today?"
"We are going to have a party"
"Yeah, a party!" I say making Polly jump in the air, "What kind of party?"
"A Valentine's Day party," (forget Thanksgiving and Christmas, let's get right into Valentine's Day)"You need to get the presents"
You know, it isn't a party without presents. "OK, where are the presents?"
"Back there," Cinderella tells me, pointing to some random place in space behind me. I make Polly go to the general area of random space. "No, not there," Cinderella is sounding annoyed, "Over there!" Another random place of space.
"Maybe you had better get the presents, Cinderella. I'll go make a cake."

Well, to make a long story short (too late) Polly can't make the cake correctly either. She doesn't seem to know where the random space kitchen is. This goes on and on. Polly and Cinderella are joined by Ariel, Belle, a kitty and a pet dinosaur. Now, toddler sees the fun, grabs the dinosaur and basically destroys the party in a Godzilla-like fashion.

I love my one sweet daughter. I'm so happy to have that bit of pink and princess in my life, but right now, it is more fun to play with my toddler. I love his laugh when the cars crash or when dolls attack each other and jump on each other's head. I think my three sons have corrupted me.

Ski Battles

My kids found the funniest web site. They love playing funny games and this one is one that even I got into. It is called Ski Battles. Basically, you build a ski slope, push play and watch a little man on skis slide down (or fall down) the slope you made. My kids love to put bumps and strange obstacles in the way of the skiier and watch him fall. It is funny and really quite challenging to make a good slope. It is on a site called addicting games and with ski battle, it is addicting!

http://www.addictinggames.com/skibattle.html

Give it a try.

Air Noise

We live very near a Navy Air Base. F-18’s fly over our house constantly. They fly day and night! The latest at night that I’ve hear a jet fly over was after 2 a.m. I understand they need to practice night flights, but really, can’t they limit the night flights or just stop after 11 p.m.?

I actually don’t mind the noise. I like seeing the F-18’s flying around. I realize they have a very important job.

Virginia is a lovely state for fall and spring. Those seasons last a long time here and they are my favorites. Winter in our area of Virginia are mild and we have seen very little snow, although we get some biting cold winds and summers are hot and humid. But fall, ooo, fall, it is perfect here. The temperature hovers in the mid 70’s and it is pleasant to be outside. I love to take walks and feel the cool air. I don’t turn on the air conditioning, just open up lots of windows and it keeps the inside of the house a perfect temperature. Right outside the front living room window is a little water fall that we installed in April. I love hearing the sounds of water falling from one little pool to the large pool. It is calm and peaceful.

Then, the F-18’s rev up and start flying over. It certainly gives the ambient sounds a new tune. Sometimes they fly directly over the house, pointing their engines right at us. The windows rattle, glasses in the cupboards rattle and I’ve even heard a door shake on it’s hinges. All conversation must be stopped, and if we happen to be watching a movie, we have to rewind a bit to hear what we missed when the jet flew over. F-18’s never travel alone. They work in groups of twos or fours. One passes by and the noise just starts to subside then the next one flies by, then the next one and the next one. Yesterday I was sure they were going to land in our yard. They were low and loud. My toddler, who loves to play outside doesn’t know how to cover his ears yet. He lays his head on the ground, waiting for the jets to pass.

Often I must close the windows while they are flying around. Later I’ll notice they have stopped. I go open all the windows again and guess what happens…. Yes, the F-18’s rev up again.

We are bound to live near air bases. My husband’s work is of the nature where he works with military. (Luckily he is no longer military, but that is another story.) Truly, I don’t mind. I like the jets. I just hope one day we will live near an Air Force Base rather than a Navy Air Base. Air Force has usually got quieter engines. Or, better yet, we can live near some of the stealth fighters. They are awesome to see and well, stealthy quiet.