Sunday, February 2, 2014

Friends Over


Mike had tickets to Bacon Fest, which is why I let each kid invite a friend over to play.
Here's the rest of the story.
 
When you let the kids invite friends over...
 
You should plan to pull a flea out of Maisie's hair an hour before the friends arrive.
 
Once friends arrive, you'll feel the urge to wash all bedding while cleaning the house although your life depended on it.
 
Molly's friend will arrive and go straight to the make-up like she had an addiction and proceed to smear lipstick over her face, hair and clothes. 
 
Ross will come downstairs while you're preparing lunch to tell you his friend kicked a hole in his bedroom wall while practicing karate.
 
You'll make the boys take out the trash as punishment but they'll come back inside asking for a broom as wine bottles will fall out and shatter on the driveway.
 
After cooking 4 pizzas, 1 box of pizza rolls, 1 box of mac and cheese, 4 hot dogs, 6 frozen pretzels and 2 pitchers of Kool-Aid, your oven will start smoking.  You'll decide to clean it.
 
The self-cleaning feature on the oven will make the house smell so bad, you'll be forced to turn off the furnace in order to open up all the windows.
The friends' will leave and you'll wonder if it was all some sort of bad dream. 
 
You'll put the clean bedding on the beds that night and when you put clean sheets on the bed, chances are that's the night your husband will come home smelling like a smoked pig. 
 
The girls spent time singing Barbie songs, while Ross and his friend sought out ways to torment them.
 
Luckily, they eventually ran out of energy and resorted to Mario Cart on the Wii.
 

Friday, January 31, 2014

Choose to Celebrate

I recently posted about how silly it would be not to celebrate every chance you have.  It could be a celebration of the 100th day of school, or because it's Friday, or because you aced your spelling test, or more importantly because it's Papa Boyd's birthday.  We celebrated.
 
The bread I baked nearly exploded. 
Ross opened the oven door and said it looked like ball-sacks. 
I guess I don't see the resemblance. 
We played games, although some were more successful than others.
 

The kids were super-pumped.  And we hadn't even had dessert yet.
 

But they're kids.  Turns out kids are naturally good at celebrating. Maybe even more than adults.  
 
 
My kids are constantly teaching me.  Birthday parties aren't about how old you are, whether the bread resembles ball sacks, whether the words on the birthday card are spelled correctly or whether the glass breaks; birthday parties are simply a way to show someone how treasured they truly are.
 
Happy Birthday Papa!

Thursday, January 30, 2014

When they get along

When I find something the three of them enjoy doing at the same time...
 
 
I rejoice.
 
 
Yesterday was glitter playdoh day.  Molly requested purple playdoh that smelled like toothpaste.  Maisie wanted pink playdoh that smelled like cherries while Ross asked for blue playdoh that smelled like cookie dough.  Luckily for them, I have lots of extract in my pantry.

Meanwhile, I've noticed it appears my baking sheets have either been through war or were utilized by Christopher Columbus.
 
 
 
 
 
 
I told Ross to look at me.  This is the look I got.
 
 
I asked him to try again.  This time without looking as though he wanted to murder me.
 
So I got the "Mom, you are so weird look" from him instead. 
 
This only lasted about 30 minutes.  After that, chunks of playdoh were being thrown into the air vents, Maisie's 'cookies' were destroyed by her brother and Molly smooshed all the playdoh together which made everyone upset.
 
Is it spring yet?
 
 

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

100th Day

On Monday, Maisie came home uber-excited about the 100th day of school being celebrated Tuesday.  She explained how they would play games, bring 100 of something to school (she chose toothpicks), have extra snacks, make hats, sing songs and on, and on, and on.  Ross looked mopey as he worried his teacher didn't realize it was going to be the 100th day of school.  He told me how their 'day of school chart' was still in the 80's and somehow their class quit keeping track.  I knew his teacher wouldn't miss the 100th day of school celebration.  How could an elementary teacher not know it was the 100th day of school?  As he and I debated the possibility of a teacher overlooking the 100th day of school, I glanced over at my Molly.  That's when I realized it was a big day for her and I too.  It was the 100th day she and I have gotten spend together.  100 days of 'us'.  The days she and I have together are days I will treasure for the rest of my life.  I desperately wish there was a way to bottle this time so I could savor it down the road.  So with that thought, I decided she and would celebrate our own 100th day of 'just us'. 
We packed a sack lunch and visited Maisie in the cafeteria for lunch.  As we approached the hot lunch line, I became concerned someone had vomited as the smell was distinctly that of sour stomach.  I discreetly looked for a custodian sprinkling the blue vomit solidifier somewhere, and was caught off guard when I realized the smell was actually the chicken Alfredo pizza which was being served. 
After lunch, we stopped in Ross' room to make sure his teacher hadn't forgotten it was the 100th day of school say hello.  He was having fun with his friends, chomping on a candy bar and laughing.  Whew.
Molly and I returned home, created a collage out of a Women's Fitness Magazine, made a 100-day crown before she took a bath with her Barbies.  Lucky for us, the day is still young.  We snagged an uneaten rectangle of Chicken Alfredo pizza off Maisie's lunch tray and I'm reheating it for after school snacks.  I'm planning to see how long it takes Ross to ask 'who puked'.
Happy 100th Day!

Monday, January 27, 2014

Confident

Before we were even engaged, I couldn't help but picture our wedding day.  How would he propose?  What songs would we dance to?  What would my dress look like?  As I walked down the aisle, I was confident beyond confident I couldn't possibly love this man more.
 
Then 10 years happened and I realized I was wrong.
 
It became ever so clear when my heart skipped a beat watching him dance in the kitchen with my 3-year-old. I cringed at the thought of the two of them dancing with Molly wearing an actual wedding dress while her daddy wore a tux.  And again, the look of true love upon his face made me confident beyond confident I couldn't possibly love this man more...
 



 
 

either could she.


Thursday, January 23, 2014

Growth Chart

It all started with Pinterest.  Doesn't is always?
 
I kept thinking about that spot behind the kitchen door where I mark my kids' heights.  I couldn't find the heart to paint over the growth marks last spring when we were getting the house ready to sell.  To me, those marks tell stories. 
When Maisie passed Ross' very first mark... Ross' 7th birthday height... the day Molly realized she hadn't been measured on the wall yet and Ross helped her stand just right against the wall.  Of all the things I seem to fret over, one of those was someday having to leave those marks behind when and if we ever move.
 
Enter Pinterest.
 
I saw the idea quite some time ago.  Last fall, I took the first step and asked a reputable woodsmith for a tall board.  Well, this woodsmith has a mind very similar to mine, therefore a standard straight board would not suffice.  He handed me a board overflowing with character, unique to any other and as icing on the cake, he harvested it from the woods in which he lives.  Therefore, this board was priceless before I'd even touched it.
 
I have not found the perfect place for it yet, however it will not be hidden behind a door. 
 
 
It will lean against a wall where I can admire it, and appreciate where it originated.
 
 
And it will forever mark the growth of my children.
 

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Nose in the Books

Within 30 seconds of coming home from school, this was where I found my kids...

Maisie desperately needed to pee, but insisted on finishing her new "Frozen" book first. 
 
 
 Ross wanted to finish the last two pages of a Goosebumps book before taking off his shoes and starting his homework.  
 
I didn't know whether to be concerned or begin looking for where my real kids went.  I decided to grab my camera instead.
 
The whole world opened to me when I learned to read. ~ Mary McLeod Bethune