Signs of Spring

Spring is almost here!  Hooray!  What a beautiful springish day we had today.  Even the strep throat couldn't keep us completely down.  We ventured outside for a little while during the afternoon to soak up some sun, breathe fresh air and to look for signs of spring. 

 The first sign of spring is Ainsley "painting" the pole to the basketball hoop.  Painting this pole with muddy water has long been a favorite hobby of hers, and she has wasted no time getting right back at it this season.  I did make her use clean water today, and only a little.  I'm just not ready for the mess yet.  She's looking pretty good in this picture.  I think the meds have finally kicked in and she'll be back to school tomorrow.  Hooray!

And the second sign of spring is our frienemy, the wasp.  No sooner had Bennett opened the door to step outside and we saw a wasp fly by.  Delightful.  Bennett is terrified of stinging insects and she decided she would not be coming outside today.  I managed to get her to at least stand in the driveway and she ended up playing outside for about 10 minutes but the "what if the wasp stings me" talks began and my attempts to reassure her of safety were ineffective.  My argument was this: "Bennett!  I am pretty old!  Do you know how many times I've been stung in all my years!?!   Only three!"  Her response to me was, "Hey, I've already been stung three times!"  She is clearly much younger than I, and so her sting frequency does appear to be higher than mine, to date.   Needless to say, the girl went indoors, which is fine since she still doesn't seem to be feeling too hot.  And in other news, Dad has officially fallen completely ill with his touch of the strep.  Poor, poor boy.   Now that I think of it, the third sign of spring in our family always seems to be illness in Feb/March.  We're right on track!

Alright...Time For Some Intervention

As a parent, I try to follow this rule:  Say "yes" as often as you can, and when you say "no" mean it.  Well, the time has come that I must say no.  The wall decorating has gone too far, and I mean it!

Example 1 - Jewelry never needs to be attached to a wall with ticky tack.  I'm sorry, Ainsley, but this is coming down.

Example 2 - The things on your wall should not frighten those who live in your home.  Ethel is frightening.  I do not know who illustrated this girl on a phonics classroom card, but she should never have been drawn.  I have found Ethel hanging up and I have thrown her away a few times, but a little girl in our family seems to continually resurrect her from the trash.  Ethel, good bye.  You will be disposed of in a place where you cannot be found. 

Mr. Mom

What seemed to be a minor tickle in the throat on Friday, has turned out to be strep for three out of four in our house.  Maybe I am a huge wimp or maybe I'm biased, but I believe that I have taken the hardest hit.  I have basically been lying around for the past three days doing nothing but coughing and running a fever and feeling terrible.  Actually, now that I think of it, I would say Dad has taken the biggest hit, and he's the one out of four who has not fallen ill.  It reminds me a lot of this video link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8zj5Uiz-Ck&feature=related

It is not a good thing for a mom to be sick.  It's not that dads aren't helpful or don't do a good job, but they just do things differently.  And in this house where Dad works long hours to provide the bread and butter, that leaves me doing most of the day in/day out stuff, and it's my pleasure to do so!  But when Dad has to step in as a my sub, even with a very good attitude, things sort of fall apart just a little.    For instance, 1.) There was some sort of dad-sanctioned beach party in the living room while I was a feverish zombie.  The aftermath is pretty bad.  2.)I think the only foods consumed in our home over the past 48 hours have been saltines, canned soup, fish sticks and mac and cheese. 3.) Bath time...oh goodness.  It took about two years from start to finish...so I might be exagerating, but it felt like two years...as Ainsley took a very lengthy shower and ran us out of hot water for Bennett's turn.  Crying galore.  Then let's proceed to the hair combing.  Bless his heart, but Dad doesn't realize there is a process to combing a child's hair when the child has masses of hair like Bennett.  Scream and cryfest continues.  There were things that went well.  He successfully got them out the door to church, enjoyed a party with them and got them into bed.  I must not overlook those things.  But I'm pretty sure Dad was feeling a lot like Michael Keaton did in the below photo by the end of the weekend.

Not fun times.  But thank you, Dad, for being the servant-hearted man that you are and for doing a hard task while I am able to do virtually nothing.  Hopefully the meds will kick in full-force and I'll be back to making less processed foods that taste good and combing hair by tomorrow!   A heads up though...it might be saltines for dinner one more time tonight.

Taking Orders From a Nightgown??

A few weeks ago, Ainsley came into our room in the middle of the night.  She was fairly upset due to a nightmare she had been having.  We made her a little cozy bed on the floor and she slept well for the rest of the night.  In the morning, I was asking her about her middle of the night scare and she said, "I had this terrible dream!  I woke up, and I wanted to stop having the bad dream, but my nightgown said "Keep Dreaming!"  Well, this is obedience taken to the next level, I guess.  I'm glad she came to our room for a difference set of instructions that night!

First Hike of 2012!

 Boy, are we itching to get outdoors!  Over the weekend, the weather was mild enough for us to take our first hike of 2012.  It was a little lakeside mosey in search of the elusive buckeye tree we ran across last fall.  We did not find the buckeye tree, but we did have fun!

 Dad and Ainsley "hanging" out at the the beach house just off the trail.

Optical Illusion!  This photo might be the only time these children have ever appeared to be long-legged.   It's good to see these little smiles outside of our four walls!

What To Do

What can one do on a cold winter's night with no television to watch and no DS allowed on a weeknight?  Draw!

Bennett worked on this for a LONG time this afternoon and evening.  After she drew it in pencil she asked if I would trace it all for her in permanent, fine-point permanent marker.  Um, no thank you.

Out of Hand

A couple of weeks ago, Bennett asked if she could hang a couple of posters in her room because her little bulletin board was full.  I said it would be fine.  I should have realized what would happen next.  KABOOM!

POSTER EXPLOSION.  This is what can be seen as of today.  This is just one wall, mind you. 

 Here is another wall.  I think things are getting a bit out of hand.

And it doesn't stop there.  Ainsley has the fever as well.  So far her "signs" are limited to one side of her bedroom door.  I have also confiscated all Scotch tape and hidden it.  I feel the need to regain some control.  Who taught these girls that paper was such an acceptable form of wall decor?

I think we can safely point the finger at their father.  Here we have the south wall of the garage...

 ...and the north wall of the garage.  Ridiculous. 

 As as I close, a little creepiness for your morning blog read.  As I was taking pictures of Bennett's walls, I stumbled on to...you guessed it...Rubber Fetus.  R.F. is snuggled up in two tiny Santa caps this morning.  Weird.

I also found Repunzel resting on a soup dish.  She appears to be "Tangled" up in fuzzy googly-eyed somethings.  Double weird.

Jackie Chan!

Bennett's class has been working on reading and writing biographies.  Each student had to choose a person of interest to write a report on.  They were given the option to dress in character while reporting their biographical information to the class.  Bennett chose...not Abe Lincoln, not Amelia Earhart, not Martin Luther King, not Al Capone (but almost).  No.  She chose Jackie Chan.  Of course!  Why wasn't he the first to cross my mind as a suitable selection for a class report?

 Some friends of our loaned us a sweet jacket and Grandma found an old wig in her play clothes.  The wig had lots of read highlights so we had to spray paint it.  Let's just say that spray paint inhibits one's ability to style a wig, but it's cool.  Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to "Jackie Chan." 

Bennett's teacher just emailed this photo from school.  Bennett gave her report this morning, and it looks like she made a fine poster to display her information.  I also love how there is a huge picture of Jackie Chan on the projector screen behind her.  I think he's smiling his approval of her report and costume.  Never a dull moment with Bennett, I mean "Jackie."

Family Game Night

Last night during dinner, Dad and I were discussing how it seemed like a fine evening for a family game night.  We enjoy having girls old enough to participate in a little friendly competition.  A mildly intense game of Monopoly Jr. or Quirkle Cubes is always a good time, and it's fun because the girls are capable of holding their own.  No easy win for Mom and Dad.  Well last night, Dad mysteriously disappeared mid-meal...

                                                

...and returned wearing this get-up.  Compression base layer, hiking shorts, tennis shoes and his beloved Dominique Wilkins jersey.  The girls and I raised a few eyebrows and his defense was that this was his family game night uniform, designed to inspire team spirit and promote enthusiasm.  Okay then.  He also said he was going to "kick my (Mom's) butt at Quirkle Cubes."  Sure...we'll see about that.

 Dad always does his best when recording his score on tally sheets.  Here is his sheet from our last game night.  Perfect penmanship, tidy tally marks, winning score contained in a fancy scalloped circle, and of course, a bit of bragging.  Notice, Mr. Snowman is even holding a chicken leg in his stick hand.

Well, the tides have turned!  Last night, Mr. Winner Chicken Dinner came in last place, despite his fancy outfit.  Here is his score sheet.  Regardless of his finish in a game of Quirkle Cubes, he will never be outdone in score card design. 

Ainsley decided to talk a little smack (all in good humor) to him after his loss last night.  She wrote him this note, "Lose, lose, chicken boogers."  I should not promote smack talk from a child to the authority figure in her home, but every once in a while a person needs to be put in there place, right?

Family Photo

Bennett had to draw a family portrait for an art project at school.  She decided to make it look as if we are at Sears, posed on the white backdrop, getting our picture taken.  There are a few things I really like about this drawing.  1) I like how the sign on the studio door states that pictures are FREE today!  I'm a sucker for a bargain. 2) I think Bennett did a terrific job drawing us with some dimension, as far as the posing goes.  Ainsley and I are clearly in front of the bench and she and Dad are behind.  3) I love how she drew us affectionately touching each other.  Hands on shoulders, hands being held...feel the love.  4) I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how even though it's 2012, we are being photographed with a camera from the late 19th century.  You'll notice that the photographer is under a curtain.  Maybe Bennett thought she could achieve the vintage Instagram look if the photographer used a super old camera.  Fun, fun stuff.  Also, a bizarre comment came as she was coloring this drawing....She accidentally used a relatively dark shade for the photographer's hand as she colored it.  Not realizing this until it was too late she said, "Oh no!  This is too dark of a skin tone.  I didn't mean to use this colored pencil!  Oh well. Maybe the photographer is a Nez Perce Indian."  Again, it's 2012, but we are now referencing a people group that originated in the early 19th century or before.  Never a dull comment or drawing from this girl!