Chores

There is a new super hero in our home and her name is Tuna Girl.  Tuna doesn't want to be called  by her real name to protect her hidden identity, but her under-cover name begins with the letter A.  Tuna Girl came into being this morning when I asked everyone to pitch in a help pick up the house which had reached new levels of clutter and mess. Tuna Girl discovered that by placing the wrapping from cans of tuna on each wrist she obtained super powers.

Tuna Girl spends her time saving homes from the attack of various enemies.  Today, she save us from the dreaded cleaning supplies.  Cleaning supplies are poisonous and need to be used carefully and then locked up in the prison above our linen closet.  Tuna created a sparkling clean bathroom and managed to capture and lock up the bad chemicals.

Her next assignment was to collect all scraps of paper that lie on the floor waiting to trip innocent civilians as they go about their daily lives.  There were a lot of scraps from packing up glassware and from school work.  Not only did Tuna Girl collect the scraps, she took them outside and placed in the big green penitentiary to be carted away next week!

Some of the other activities that Tuna Girl completed were collecting dirty laundry and  corralling it into the laundry room, shaking out the throw rugs that were harboring toxic dust bunnies, taking the vagrant smelly shoes to safe lock-ups thereby saving humanity from the stench of yesterdays gym shoes, reuniting lost  drinking glasses and silverware back with their families in the cupboard and drawer.

Tuna Girl wanted to give her sister a super hero name also.  Her sister was cleaning hair out of the roller of the vacuum.  Tuna Girl thought that a great name for her sister would be "Hair Ball".  While I found the name highly entertaining, Tuna Girl's sister did not.  Hair Ball will not be making any appearances in the near future.  In fact, Hair Ball has publicly stated that Tuna Girl and I need to "get out of the house and get a REAL life." 

I loved having Tuna Girl her for the morning and hope that she returns again soon. 

Prom

My youngest son's girlfriend is a year older than he.  Marley is a lovely girl who runs cross country and track and is a little bit shy.  In other words, she's a lot like Joe.  A few months ago, Joe asked her if she wanted to go to prom.  Because she's a junior, they could both attend prom.  Marley said that she had no desire to go to prom.  Marley is a little indecisive, so Joe asked her again 6 weeks ago and a month ago.  She declined.  Three weeks ago, Joe asked her again and said that this was the last time he was going to ask her.  She declined.

Eight days before prom, Joe received a phone call from Marley.  She had changed her mind and wanted to go to prom.  The last day to purchase tickets was the following day.  Joe entered the family room with the phone in his hand and told me that Marley wanted to attend prom.  I was floored. 

We're in our final push to finish the project house and move.  We need to come up with over $600 for cheer leading by the end of the month.  We only have one car.  My mind was spinning as I thought and stated all the expenses:  tux rental, flowers, tickets, dinner, transportation.  I looked at my son and said in an exasperated tone, "I hate Marley.  How could she do this to me?"

Joe looked at me with terror in his eyes and made frantic motions with his hands.  Marley was still on the phone!


As soon as I realized that she quite possibly overheard my remarks, I asked Joe to tell Marley that I don't hate her, but she has thrown me for a loop.  Marley mentioned that she KNEW that she had changed her mind very late.  Her parents had told her that Joe had every right to NOT take her to the prom.  Before she called, her parents had said that they would pay for the tickets (which included dinner) and would provide transportation to and from the prom.

Marley laughed at my comment and wasn't upset at all.  She told Joe that he should give both his parents a hug when he got off the phone.  She also said that if he had a suit, he could wear that instead of renting a tux.  Unfortunately, Joe doesn't currently own a suit.

We priced tux rental and decided that it would make more sense to purchase Joe a suit.  Mike headed off to Kohl's the following day and didn't find any suits in Joe's size that weren't more that $300, which we felt was too much to spend since he's still growing.  Mike's next stop was at J. C, Penney, where the clearance rack contained a tux in Joe's size for $5.00.  It was missing one button.  We purchased buttons for $1.75.  My 16-year old son owns his very first tux!  What a great deal!

Marley's mom ordered two dresses for her to try last Saturday.  By Thursday, they still hadn't arrived.  When I asked Joe about her dress, he said that he wasn't going to worry about it.  She would pull together something before Saturday.


The prom was Saturday and the happy couple looked so sweet.  Marley's dress arrived on Friday.  The weather was quite nippy, but they had a good time.

 

As You Know

Yesterday, Mike was working on the plumbing at the project house.  There was a knock at the door.  A 9-year old boy, who was holding a rake asked if he could do some yard work to earn some money.  It was a little bit surprising to have someone come to the door, because the house looks empty.  Mike explained that he had children who would be helping with the yard work.  The boy tried to look around inside the house to see the children. 

Mike told us about the boy at dinner and mentioned that the boy had a great spiel.  The boy's first words were, " As you know Mother's Day is coming up."  I wish we could have hired him, because the boy really put some thought into how to get customers. 

Mowing the Lawn

Mike fixed the lawn mower and Joe was mowing our front yard, when someone (Rob) stopped his car and asked Joe if he would like to earn some money mowing Rob's yard.  The mower ran out of gas and Joe asked Mike to purchase some more gas for the mower.   Mike ran to the gas station while I got ready to go to Menard's with him to purchase some plumbing supplies.

When Mike and I drove off, Joe was pouring the gas into the lawn mower.  When  we returned from the store, the lawn was still 1/2 mowed.  While we were unloading the SUV, Joe came home from mowing Rob's lawn.  It's always nice to see a child have a strong desire to work, but I had hoped that he would finish our lawn first.

Joe worked on the front lawn for awhile, then Madelyn asked if she could have a turn mowing.  She just came to the door to ask Mike to come look at the mower.  She think she broke it.  I don't know if my lawn will ever get finished. :)

Family Humor

The kids were talking about various naughty things that they did when they were younger today.  They brought up one of the times that the two boys were told to clean their bedroom.  After several hours of supposed labor, I went upstairs to check on their progress.  The room was surprisingly clear of clutter.  I complimented them on their hard work and asked them to run the vacuum  before they were finished. 

A short time later, I heard the front door open and close, then open and close again after a few minutes.  Then footsteps clamored up the stairs.  More footsteps were heard going down the stairs and the front door opened and closed again.  I hurried after the child to see what was happening and discovered the lawn strewn with items that had previously been scattered all over the boys bedroom floor, dresser, and desk.  Instead of putting things away, the boys had opened their window and threw everything out into the yard!

At the time, I didn't see the humor in the situation.  Now it makes me laugh to remember the incident.  What a blessing it is to have time provide the buffer necessary to put past incidents into a new perspective.  

Dance Battles

Amy came home from the gym on Sunday and saw my youngest girls moping around on the swings. They were bored because their friends were visiting non-custodial parents and two of the neighborhood girls were being unkind. Amy entered the house and a short time later came downstairs with her CD player. She set up the player on the deck and music began to play. My curiosity was aroused, so I walked over to the window and looked out.

Amy was teaching Paige and Allie various dances that are done at sporting events like the ChaCha Slide, Cotton Eyed Joe, and the Cupid Shuffle. They were laughing and having a great time. The next time I looked outside, I noticed that the girls who were being unkind to my girls were now standing next to the road trying to do the dances by watching my children.

A few minutes later, one of the girls' parent came outside and turned on his car stereo to the Macarena and was teaching the other girls that dance. It made me laugh! The neighbors turned their stereo up full blast and tried to drown out Amy's CD player. My girls continued to dance together for a few more minutes before coming in the house, tired and sweaty. It was great exercise and they were no longer bored.

The next afternoon, the neighbor children came by and asked if they could play with my girls. Would Amy come out and dance with them too?

Another Normal Day

Mike was home from work yesterday. He had some projects to complete and I wanted to do a thorough house cleaning, so we didn't see too much of each other. First thing in the morning, Mike went outside to clean a part on Amy's car. He needed a small brush and decided to use his toothbrush, which we planned to replace later in the day.

A few minutes later, Madelyn came up to me asking if I had seen her purple toothbrush. I checked in the toothbrush cups downstairs and asked her to recheck up stairs. After several minutes of searching, she went outside to ask Mike if he had seen the missing brush. There she discovered that Mike was using HER toothbrush to clean Amy's car. Madelyn was very indignant and after much apologizing, Mike stated that he would replace her toothbrush.

After Madelyn returned to the house, Mike began thinking. He took the toothbrush from his toothbrush cup. Why would Madelyn's toothbrush be in his cup. He has been finding his toothbrush on top of the counter after he thought that he had put it away. After a short conversation with Madelyn, we discovered that they had been using the same toothbrush for the last 4 months! Madelyn was extremely grossed out.

On his way to the store, Mike asked Madelyn if he should pick up one or two toothbrushes to replace the one used to clean the car. She was NOT amused!

Learning to Navigate the Public School

In Paige's class, the teacher has given each child a card with his name. Each time the child misbehaves, a marker on the name card moves down the bottom of the card. After 4 times, the name card is "flipped." Paige was appalled the second day of school when a classmate flipped his card.

Tonight at bedtime, Paige remarked that she is very tired during the school day. She stated that it would be nice to miss recess and take a nap. I said that I didn't think the teacher would let her skip recess. Her response? "She will if I flip my card!"

Embalming

Madelyn has been asking all week if she can help me embalm some more. Some more? It took me ahile to figure out that she wanted to help with embossing! Much more fun and less gross!

Ack!

What do you say to a child who judges the excellence of his nap upon the size of the drool stain on his pillowcase?

A Conversation

We were talking in the family room this morning about Joe's trip last week.

Joe: "The guys on the cross-country team think that I use big words. Easy words, like reprimand. I had to explain what it meant to one guy 5 times. He said that he was going to write it down in case I used it again."

Amy: "Just think Joe, you can help raise the team's SAT vocabulary scores this year."

Joe: "After I had explained another word to someone, another team-mate had said, 'We weren't all home schooled you know."

It's good to know that at least his vocabulary skills are up to par.

Not Being Bored

The previous owner of our home built a deck over part of an existing cement patio. The deck is open on the bottom and leaves often get stuck there. We have used the leaf blower to clear out the sticks and leaves several times. It was time for another clean-out, so I asked Joe to blow the leaves into the yard.

About 45 minutes later, Joe asked if he could clean all the dirt that was matted down under the deck. I told him it wasn't necessary, but he wanted to make it "spic and span." After about 1 1/2 hours, I walked outside to ask him how it was going. Joe was no where to be seen, but the flower beds around the deck had about an inch of rich, black soil on them. There was also some black soil on the bare spots in the lawn, underneath one of our huge maple trees. Suddenly, a hand gripped the edge of the deck and Joe came out from under the deck. He was covered with dirt, leaves and spiders. I asked if he was having fun. He responded, "I'm being NOT bored."

Children Cooking

Supper was prepared by various children in our family tonight. It's important to me that all of my children learn how to cook and take care of a home. Some of my children have discovered hidden talents in cooking, decorating, and knitting. Others try to be absent when it is time to start dinner preparation. Steve is one of those kids.

This afternoon, I managed to snag him before he headed off to the skateboard park. Mike and I were on the deck discussing gardening plans, so I gave directions. Here's our conversation. Keep in mind that Steve is 16. He's such a corker.

Mom: "Steve, please rinse the chicken and sprinkle it with season salt. Then place it in the roaster."

Steve: "Where is the roaster?"

Mom: "It's in the lower-cupboard, on the right of the stove."

It's been there ever since we moved into this house.

Steve: (looking puzzled) "Where?"

Dad: "Face the stove. Look in the cupboard on the right."

Steve (calling from the kitchen): "Where's the spice?"

Mom: "It's called Season Salt and it's in the spice cupboard."

Steve: "What does it look like?"

Mom: "It says Season Salt on the label."

Steve: "Where's the chicken?"

The chicken has been thawing on a plate top of the stove.

Mom: "It's on the stove."

Steve: "You mean this fat, little chicken? What do I do with it?"

Mom: "Open the package and wash it out at the sink. Do not use soap."

Loud sound and shrieking is heard from the kitchen.

Steve: "Mom! You should come in here."

I walked into the kitchen and discovered Steve standing in front of the sink, holding the chicken and laughing.

Steve: "You could have told me that stuff will come out of the chicken when the water runs through it. I thought the chicken was taking a dump!"

Eventually, the chicken was placed in the roaster and sprinkled with seasoned salt. After talking to Steve, I realized that he has developed a masterful plan to get out of cooking anything. He acts like he doesn't understand the directions and asks stupid questions. Eventually, someone else will step in to help poor defenseless Steve. Not anymore! That boy is gonna learn to cook this summer!

Madelyn, age 12, prepared the biscuits without any assistance. Paige (8)and Allie (6) managed to cut up vegetables to make a delicious salad. Steve sure managed to hide in our crowd!

Cemetery Visit

I wanted to plant another letterbox at a local cemetery, so Mike and I took Allie and Katie to walk through the cemetery with us. Paige asked if she could bring her bike or roller blades and was disappointed when she learned that she couldn't bring them. After thinking for a few seconds, she stated emphatically that she didn't want to come with because there was nothing to do, except walk and be bored. Katie suggested that she bring a shovel and they could play archeologist. I ignored Kate's not to helpful comment and told the children to get in the car if they wanted to come with us.

After we arrived at the cemetery, Allie asked Katie if she had brought the shovel.

We walked through the cemetery looking for a good hiding place and reading various stones and monuments. Allie noticed that several of the head-stones had poles with attached metal stars in the ground nearby. I explained that the stars were used to distinguish soldiers who had belonged to the GAR. She looked at me solemnly and explained that they were not for soldiers. The stars were for fairies. She pointed to a nearby grave and mentioned that that star was for Tinkerbell and the one next to it was for Water Fairy.

At least she has a vivid imagination.

I'm Bored....

Paige and Allie approached me several times today and said, "I'm bored. What's there to do?" These are statements that drive me crazy. I offered a few suggestions and the girls did go outside to play for an hour, but eventually returned inside due to the cold.

Once again I was told that they were bored. In frustration I threatened, "If you tell me you're bored again, you girls are going to scrub the floors." Two voices immediately chimed in, "Can we, please? "What floors can we do? Can we do them ALL?"

The youngest girls are happily scrubbing down the main bathroom floor with extreme joy and vigor. They are still saying that they want to do ALL the floors, but I'm not quite so optimistic. At least the bathroom will be cleaner and I have some peace and quiet.

Webkinz

My youngest girls discovered that they could get a free Webkinz virtual pet by watching a video on the Webkinz site. The free pet is a rabbit. Paige got her pet first and named it Strawberry. Allie wanted to name her pet Strawberry also and couldn't understand why Paige didn't like her using that name. After some discussion, the girls resolved their difference of opinion and began to build new rooms for their rabbits. About an hour later, the girls called me to "Come see our new bunny mansion." I asked the girls to not call their rooms, "Bunny Mansions" which they couldn't understand. I'm not explaining for a few years yet.

Teaching Math

Yesterday, Paige decided to help Allie with her math lesson. Paige is 7 and in second grade; Allie turned 6 in December and is in k/1st grade. I was folding clothes and overheard their discussion. It went something like this:

"First we need to count the dimes. Start counting."
"How much are dimes worth?"
"Ten cents. Hurry up. You know how to do this!" (exasperation in voice)
"10,20. What's this one called?"
"Come on!!! You know what the bigger one is called. What comes next?"
"Twenty-thirty?"
"Stop horsing around! What comes after 20 when you have a nickle?"
"Twenty-six?"
"Okay, remember 20....now count my fingers" (holds up 5 fingers)
"25. It's 25."
"Good job. I knew that you could do it!" (said in sickly sweet, high-pitched voice)

They finished the entire lesson and then came to tell me all about their experience. Allie thought that Paige was the nicest teacher ever. Today, Paige informed me that she was getting her math done really early, so she could teach Allie again. Allie was thrilled! Maybe I need to show less patience, but speak in a phony voice during our next lesson.

Homeless?

Madelyn has taken over Joe's pop bottle route since Joe got a paper route. Sometimes she helps Joe deliver his route, then he goes with her to collect bottles. Joe had a robotics meeting today, so Madelyn went out to gather bottles by herself. When she arrived home, she mentioned that someone asked her if she was homeless.

Upon further questioning, she said that a woman approached her and asked if she was gathering bottles to buy food. Madelyn explained that she hasn't been able to get a paper route yet, so was gathering bottles for extra spending money. The woman said that she wanted to give someone in need a basket of food for Christmas and if Madelyn knew anyone who needed food to let her know.

Two dumpsters later, a man approached Madelyn and asked her about the "tall boy who collects bottles with her." Madelyn said that he was her brother and he had to be somewhere else today. The guy handed her two dollars and told her to get herself a treat from McDonald's. As Madelyn was telling me her stories about today's events, I asked if this had happened before. She mentioned that a couple of different times, people have offered my two little dumpster-divers winning game pieces and coupons for McDonald's food.

The kids wear older clothes to gather bottles, because they get dirty and I don't want their better clothes ruined or torn. Obviously, people in the community think that we are poor and that the kids aren't getting enough to eat. What a generous and giving community! Their generosity should go to people in genuine need. I'm embarrassed that this has happened, but I don't want to discourage the children's entrepreneurial spirit. Maybe I should make them t-shirts that say, "I dumpster dive for fun."

Unexpected Date Night

Mike won two tickets to My One and Only while listening to the radio in his car. Aren't cell phones great? The tickets were for the show on 11/10, at 8:00pm. Mike had to work yesterday, but we decided to meet up at where he works and we would leave immediately for the venue. The time would be a little tight, but it would work out.

While I was getting ready to leave yesterday, the phone rang. Mike had left work, so that we could drive up together and I wouldn't have to drive home in the dark alone. My night vision is still terrible.

We left the house together as soon as he arrived home. During the drive, we caught up on each other's day and talked about the show. The musical's venue was on campus at my former university in a theater that was built after I left. We reached the university and began to look for the theater. After checking the time on the car radio, we discovered that the show would begin in 15 minutes.

The address for the theater was on W. Michigan. We drove down the road and reached a huge construction site which closed the road. It was dark and reading signs on buildings was difficult. Panic was beginning to set in for both of us. We finally decided to head over to the main theater and see if there were signs directing visitors to the theater we needed.

The new building next to the main theater was the one we had been searching for frantically. The van was parked quickly and we raced to the theater. It was dark. The box office was not open. Mike (the brave) continued wandering through the building until we finally discovered the theater. He quietly opened the theater doors and discovered a rehearsal in progress. Were we on the wrong day? In the wrong area?

Mike asked a girl who was seated on a nearby bench. She wasn't sure but she thought that the show began 8:00. Mike looked at me with a bewildered expression, as I checked the clock on my cell phone which said 6:58 p.m. Arrrrrrrrrg! The clock in the car is still set for daylight savings time! I hadn't changed it because I wasn't sure how to do it. I think Mike will handle that for me later today.

The show was really good. We loved hearing all the Rogers and Hammerstein songs. The dancing and correography was fabulous. There were two other shows that we are going to try and get to later this year. Especially, Wicked which is coming later this winter.

What Did You Find?

My little dumpster diver, Joe, found a black sealed rectangular box today in a dumpster. He shook the container and thought that it was probably filled with sand. After looking at the box more carefully, he noticed the words, "Cremation Services." YUCK!!!!!!!!

I may need to rethink his dumpster searches.

Any thoughts as to what was actually in the box? My thought is cat or dog.