Slightly Confused Tooth Fairy

Guess who lost her first tooth!

We were sitting in the grocery line yesterday and Ellie mentioned that her tooth was wiggly - her first wiggly tooth. Jared bent down to look at it, and well, before you know it, that tooth was out. A bit of an unpleasant surprise to Ellie and her now-embarrassed mom (whose daughter was screaming at her dad in the grocery store line), but hey, it's out now. So Ellie came home and dutifully put it under her pillow in anticipation of the tooth fairy's visit. But much to the tooth fairy's confusion, Jack ended up also crashing in Ellie's bed, and the tooth fairy might have gotten a WEE bit confused - and put the money under Jack's pillow. It took much fast-talking to explain that one to Ellie, but hey, money is money, and she is now proudly one less tooth and a couple bucks richer.

Bad Guy Bottoms

The other day, in a public restroom:

Ellie: "Mom, why do we put paper down on the toilet seat while we're out in public but not at home?"

Mom: "Well, there are just lots and lots of people using these toilets"

Ellie: "Yeah, and that's lots and lots of bottoms"

Mom: "Yeah, it is"

Ellie: (Gasps) "And you know what, there could be some BAD GUY BOTTOMS using these toilets too! We don't want to share a toilet with BAD GUY BOTTOMS!"

Out On the Town

The other day, we hit the town (D.C., that is) for a fun day out. We started out with an Imax movie called "The Arctic" (translation, Meryl Streep chastising us for all our greenhouse gases), then went through one of the Smithsonian museums. We grabbed some really yummy Mexican food, then went to see the Wizards game. We've determined that we're good-luck charms for the Wizards, because we've seen them in person twice, and they've won both times. That may not sound very impressive, except for the fact that this team has won a total of 4 games this whole season (that's 4 out of like 27 games). So I'd say we have a pretty good streak going. Then we crashed out at a hotel nearby the stadium before coming home the next day. Not a bad day and night out on the town!



This being the museum of natural history, there were lots and lots o' bones - mummies, animals, you name it. They even had a little forensics anthropology lab there. Kinda creeped out the kids a bit, but I enjoyed it.

Our little monkeys

Settling in for the game

That's Ellie's tough face - she was quite the Wizards fan - she kept yelling "Go Wizards! Go Wizards!" and "Blue team, you're going DOWN! Don't make me go down there and beat you up!" We were a bit afraid of being thrown out for unsportsmanlike conduct, so we urged her to tone down a bit on the physical threats.

If you look closely at the penants, you'll notice that our poor team hasn't won a championship since the days of the bell bottoms - but hey, then won while we were there, so we'll take it!

Merry Christmas!

Well, I gotta say that for the most part, this was the best Christmas ever. Jared was home, the kids had a great Christmas - if it weren't for the case of acute bronchitis I got for Christmas, it would have been perfect. As it was, I spent 3 hours in the urgent care place on Christmas Eve, and most of Christmas Day on the couch hacking. But luckily, Jared and the kids stepped up to the plate and pulled off Christmas Eve and Christmas Day without a hitch.

Ellie was the first one up on Christmas morning, and ran around the house yelling "Happy Christmas everybody!" She was our own little Tiny Tim. We made them stop for the obligatory Christmas morning photo before digging into their stockings.

Then the carnage began - Ellie tore through her presents so quickly, it appeared that Jack had a lot more presents to open (since he was still opening them 15 minutes after she was done). We had to slow her down and force her to actually LOOK at the presents he had opened.

This was at the top of Ellie's Santa list - the Barbie styling head. Gotta say, it was a total bust. It's really tiny, and you can't do makeup - only hair. I swear the one when I was a kid had makeup. And don't even ask me what this bust of a present cost. That is, if I had bought it. Which I didn't. Since Santa made it in his workshop. Not your best work, Santa.

The kids bought Jared some snazzy new pajama pants with their allowance money.

Stealthy ninja warrior! But Jack's very favorite gift was a set of walkie talkies - Jack (code name 'Picasso') spent most of the day running around to various parts of the house to talk with 'Big Daddy' and 'Mama Bear'

Ellie and her petite princess dolls had a tea party (Mom was invited as well), followed by a showing of 'Tangled'

Merry Christmas!

Is it really too much to ask?

Is it really too much to ask for a nice Christmas photo in front of the tree? Apparently in our house it is. After we got back from church today I thought, hey, how about a cute picture of the kiddies. And my kids said, "Sure Mom, because we love you so!" Oh wait, that's what they SHOULD have said. What REALLY happened was that Jack sulked and pouted and steamed and muttered because this was just really, really too much to ask of him.

But we tried anyway.

Yeah, not so much.

Apparently Ellie has cooties.

And Jack is testing out his mug shot look

At this point, I had gone storming upstairs and Jared was trying - and hey, is that a smile I see?

Apparently Jared bribed him with a hat - hey, anything that will work, right? I'd be willing to offer him cash and hookers just to get a damn picture - unfortunately, at this point, apparently Ellie was drunk

And trying out her kiddie pageant look

But hey, I think we're getting close

Almost there, almost there

Well, to hell with it

Maybe next year.

Meeting with Santa .... or Not

We suspected this would happen, and it did.

Every year at my parents' Christmas party, Santa comes to visit, and gives all the kids a present to tide them over until the real deal. It's a lot of fun, but this year, I was quite worried, because Ellie had been talking about how much Santa looks and talks like GrandDad, and that she thought Santa was really GrandDad. Well, of COURSE he's not, but you know how kids are, and I was worried that our not-shy child would scream that out in front of all the other kids. And apparently my worry was justified, because early in the evening she started talk about it. I'd shush her every chance I got, but she kept it up. Jack was hearing none of it, and had the thrill of his life when he got his chance with the Big Man. And I have to say that during the actual sit-time, Ellie forgot for a minute that she was a doubter. Well, until she started to quiz Santa on what was on her wish list. Of course Santa knew the answer, and we were saved. But then today she started listing all her 'clues' that would prove that it was GrandDad - and she wants to conduct an interview with GrandMom to see if she can ferret out the truth. I'm this close to threatening the naughty list if she doesn't shut her trap. Luckily Santa brings gifts even to the big-mouthed ones.


Ellie and her cousin Brooke, getting ready for Santa

Ellie and Paige sang some songs to get the crowd going

And then the Big Man arrived

Jack and Ellie waited patiently - they were toward the end

Despite the big talk, Ellie still had a great time with Santa

And I'm sure you can tell, Jack did too

After Santa left, all the kids ran to the window to see if they could see his sleigh take off from the roof

And we have one more year before we need to worry about the Ellie-Santa-Outburst of 2013

No You Didn't

Oh yes we did. We done gone and done it, we did. We bought our dog a little doggie sweater.

In our defense, the poor widdle doggie shivers out in the big, bad cold. And to be fair, I think it's a rather manly doggie sweater. Really more of a sports fleece. Yes, yes, that's it - a manly sports fleece for the athletically inclined canine.

Yeah, that's it.

Three Things

(1) We've all been sick around these parts. Nasty, nasty flu. And of course, moms everywhere know that when you're sick, well, you can't really BE sick. Because you still have to get up to get the kids ready for school (and then back again), you still have to chauffeur them around to activities, you still need to feed them SOMETHING, you still need to help them with their homework, etc etc. So having the flu has been extra sucky in that respect.

(2) But I get to play with the kids at school this week so that makes things better. Today, I went to Jack's Polar Express Day, and got to pass out hot cocoa and popcorn and candy canes while they watched the movie. And Thursday is Ellie's holiday party. And next week? Christmas, baby! I LOVE ME SOME CHRISTMAS.

(3) And you know what else I love? Reese's Peanut Butter Trees. Frankly, I'm fairly certain they're of the devil. I absolutely positively cannot resist them - and every time I walk into any store, I have to search out a Reese's Peanut Butter Tree. It's quite sad. As much as I love them, I'm kinda looking forward to them leaving after Christmas, because really, I'm disgusted by my complete lack of willpower. So at least I'll have a few months of self-respect - until the peanut butter eggs come out.


It was really cute - the principal went around in a conductor's outfit, calling everyone to the Polar Express.

Whirlwind

It's been a busy couple of days around here. I don't know how people with large families handle all the activities - I have my hands full just with two kids worth of activities. These past two days we've had cub scouts and dance and two taekwondo belt tests and one vet appointment and volunteering at school and job deadlines and now - yay - two doctor appointments to test for strep. My hats off to big-family-moms, because this is plenty for me, thank you!


The other night, we had a fun cub scout visit to the local fire station to learn about safety - luckily, they always let siblings come along

The kids had to sit through the safety lectures before they could see the cool stuff

Then last night, Ellie tested successfully for her yellow belt, and Jack tested successfully for his green belt. I didn't take pictures of Jack during his test, because it was just too pitiful to document. Jack was clearly too sick to be taking his test, but despite several protests from me to skip the test, he was hell-bent on getting his green belt. He did it - but it wasn't pretty. Between tests, he could be seen laying on the mat like an abandoned puppy. After the test, he promptly curled up in my lap while I watched Ellie's test

My Little Hobos

My Jack and Ellie, they do love boxes. I know there's always that cliche - that why bother with the present, they'd rather just play with the box, right? But do your kids want to LIVE in the box? SLEEP in the box? EAT DINNER in the box? Am I not providing a sufficiently nurturing home environment that my kids want to live in a box? Questions, questions.

So I've done a lot of online shopping for Christmas, and so I've gotten lots o' boxes in the mail. One in particular came that was really big, and I thought, hey, I'll keep that for a while, bet the kids will like building a fort with it or something. And they did. But then later that night they wanted to watch TV while sitting in the box. And the next day they wanted to have their dinner in the box (I refused that one). And three nights in a row, they've fought over who gets to SLEEP IN THE BOX.

Oh, and by the way, have you had the pleasure of having your kids yell out loud in the grocery line that they sleep in boxes?

So yeah - on the one hand, that's great that my kids can have fun with simple things. But on the other hand .... they're sleeping in boxes. Enough said.


TV watching .... in a box

Yeah, I can't resist it .... wait for it .... Jack in the Box

Crazy in a Box

And yes, they slept through the night ... in a box. Please don't judge me.

You Should See the Other Guy

When Jared and I were first dating, I noticed a bunch of scars on his chest and back. He told me they were shrapnel wounds from a live-fire exercise, and described the whole scary ordeal to me ..... and then five minutes later, laughingly told me that no, they were scars from where moles were removed. And yeah, that's a much less impressive story, but he had a nice chest, so I kept dating him anyway.

Fast forward several years, and we still have the same un-sexy stories for our injuries.

Just yesterday, Ellie came home from taekwondo with a splint on her pinky finger, and the finger itself was swollen and purple. And I thought to myself, man, that girl is hardcore with her taekwondo moves, my friend. No? Not that? Oh, well, maybe she finally went after that punk Ethan S. who is always bothering her and gave him what-for. Oh, not that either? Then what? Oh. Slammed it in the bathroom door, huh.

Or the time that I got called from the nurse's office at school, and Jack had a nice black eye and scar overtop his eye. And I thought to myself, yeah, that's right, don't mess with Jack Attack on the playground. No? Not that? Well, must have been his daredevil antics on the jungle gym. Oh, not that either? Then what? Oh. Got hit by a flying hula hoop? Dropped by a girl? Accidentally? Huh.

At least I know better. Do you think that when people asked about the scar on my neck that I said it was from having my thyroid removed? Come on. It was clearly from a knife fight with a Mexican drug lord. And man, you should see the other guy.

So let's try it again, shall we?

Yeah, her finger got hurt, but it was worth it, saving that busload of orphans and what-not

I have two words for you: ninja warriors

Watch out, or I will cut you. Don't think I won't.

Mini-Me, on Crack

Do you ever get a little scared when you see one of your character traits passed down to one of your kids? Well, both of my kids seem to have inherited my desire for order and schedule, but for Ellie, that DNA seems to have concentrated to an almost evil level. Every time you suggest an activity, she maps it out, gives everyone assignments, and tells everyone the rules. In painful detail. Just today:

Mom: "Hey, guys, your dad is going to take you swimming at the gym this morning!"

Ellie: "OK, well, here's the plan. Everyone listen. Is everyone listening? Good. So here's how it's going to work. First, we'll get to the gym, and Jack and I will go to the Kids Club. Then, Dad will go to the basketball court. Mom, your job will be to go to the ellipticals. Mom, are you listening? That's your job. And then, IF the water is warm enough in the pool - that's the rule, only if the water is warm enough in the pool - THEN we'll go swimming."

Stunned silence around the room

Ellie: "OK, raise your hand if you understand the plan."

Oh, Lord, help us all.

Our Coin Collecting Commando

Congratulations to Jack, who just finished collecting all of the U.S. state and territory quarters. We got him the kit a while back to help him learn his geography, and before you know it, he (and Dad, and Dad's co-workers) were ferociously tracking down quarters. And now? Ta-da, he's done! Good job, Jack!