Friday Night Up "Date" ;)

Miss h is out with a friend.
Miss s is at All State Choir,
We will go to her concert tomorrow at 2pm.
Little mr. b got beat in Wii boxing by a girl.
Little mr. j tried to beat up miss h because she said something about little mr. b losing to a girl.
Little mr. j can spell our last name (it's short) and knows the sounds & code (letters) to go with them for m, n, d, & t --kind of.
Little mr. b's friend is coming over tomorrow to play video games and help him move up some levels in Lego Indiana Jones.
Perhaps they will practice boxing.
When miss s has called to check in, she sounded oh so very happy.
Miss h is out with a friend -- on Friday. ;)
I think she is oh so very happy.

Oh, and I wrestled the dog.

Go to bed sleepyhead

 picture found here

I found the best way to get my sweet teenage girls to go bed earlier last night.
Their routine is to take their showers at night and then go to bed.
The boys also take their baths at night.
And I like to run the dishwasher when it's full-usually at night.

I don't know why it's taken me so long to figure this one out.

The girls don't like to run out of hot water.
Who does?
So I said, "The dishwasher will turn on at exactly X o'clock.  It uses a lot of hot water.  You might want to think about that."

We all got to bed so much earlier.

Scratch

When the floorman says that it is ok to put furniture down on freshly finished wood floor after 24 hours, do not believe him.

"You can't see in here, it's dark outside." ~little mr. b~The Blinds Lesson

picture found here

This just in:
Little mr. b doesn't shut the blinds when changing into his pjs.
He was sent outside by the other parent in this house, who then started undressing in front of said window.
Little mr. b ran inside.
Now he knows that it is wise to shut the blinds.
Goodnight.

Good thing my mr. dressed in layers today.

Footprints and Facebook

picture (and an article) from here

Once upon a time, there was a brand new wood floor with footprints.
Many times those prints were scrubbed and rubbed and polished.
They stayed and stayed.

Once upon a time, there was a woman who was getting frustrated.
She scrubbed and rubbed and polished.
They stayed and stayed.

Once upon a time, there was magnifying glass.
The woman, the magnifying glass, the prints, and sense of touch
all met up.

Once upon a time, there were footprints in the finish.
Builder's warranty.
Get out of the house.

And that gets us to the place where we are now. 
(I mean the "proverbial" place, because the literal place is now at home.)
Finally, I can get to the computer because certain people in my family have been a little too creative & hogging this machine during our little "vacation ."

Not that I mind, but oh what they are putting me through.
Two people in my family are pressuring me to join facebook (not to mention some of you outsiders!).

I am "the woman who won't join Facebook."

I have a lot of reasons why.

And-I am afraid that their antics might look like a ploy to get you over here to read this blog.  I promise that's not the case although it is wonderful to have you here & I hope you come back again.

And-I confess that it's a treat to hear about who's finding out about this. They are really tempting me to find and talk to old friends.

And- it is funny to listen to my mr. giggle like a little girl while he works his devious plan with miss s.

Lesson:  when doing a final walk through for a new home, bring a magnifying glass and be very, very picky.

Some of what I've learned this past week of Christmas

Christmas Day

1.  Counting blessings during a Christmas Eve blizzard is a great way to spend time.
2.  I do not know how to deal with a salt cured whole ham.  Tried. Efforts need improvement.
3.  Waking up on a bright, sunny Christmas morning & loving on the family is awesome. 
4.  A few days after the storm, the teens want OUT!
5.  When homebound, a lot of work can be done.
6.  Eventually, the roads will clear, but the drifts and ice in the driveway will take work.
7.  Visitors are a welcome distraction.
8.  A week like this deserves some celebrating--guess what we did?  Went ice skating. 

How's that for following the theme?

"Oh Fuuudge"

picture from here

"Every family has a kid who won't eat. My kid brother had not eaten voluntarily in over three years."

----Ralphie.

This would be little mr. j- at dinner. He does love lunch, fyi. Breakfast is a toss up.

My mr. loves this movie.

So, when little mr. j puts on his puffy red coat or does his dinner routine, there's usually a laugh with the little guy being typecast.

But, tonight, I believe that my little mr. j might have changed his character association.  You see, tonight he said,

                                Picture from here

And he hasn't even see the movie in his nontodder/movie coherent short life.

This is what happened:

We were finished with the dinner battle of the evening.  He was in the bathtub and the doorbell rang. One of his little friends and his family were out delivering yummy treats (oh, and they were yummy). I hurried and got him out of the tub and wrapped tightly in a towel.  He said hello and "what's in the box?"

We opened the box.

He said, "Oh Fuuudge," (just like Ralphie in the movie) grabbed a piece and ate it.

He also said thank you.

And just in case you were wondering what else my children were doing to emulate this holiday film, I give you the following in reference to a certain 10 year old boy:

.

               picture from here