Five Things

1) Today at the grocery store I insisted on a price check when my elbow macaroni rang up $0.40 more than it should have.

I was feeling ornery.

It's the principle of the matter.
Even more annoying is that I'm sure they didn't correct it in their computer, so the next schmuck will have to wait while the slow-moving clerk meanders away to check the price.
Customer service is going down the tubes, people.
Jeepers!
Don't worry, I spent my time waiting wisely, as I had chosen to self-checkout in Spanish.

I just pushed buttons and tried to figure out what they were saying.

2) The other day, the kids received Christmas cards in the mail here at Pat the Bunny's house.
They were the thick kind that play music and require extra postage.
Three stamps each, to be exact.

Care to guess who sent them?

Yep, Pat the Bunny.
Sent from her house, to her house.

I have no idea why she didn't just put them in her own mailbox without wasting money on stamps.

I'm going to guess that she would not have requested the price check for 40 cents.


3) This is my boy, fresh and clean from the bath.

He said that he was the baby turtle's daddy and he was going to take care of him.
Isn't he sweet?

Then he told the turtle to close his eyes and go to sleep-- he would go fight the bad guys to keep him safe.

I love Daddy's who do that.  :)

One such Daddy sent each of his kiddos a flag that he flew in combat.
They don't really get it, but they do enjoy using the flags as blankets for their stuffed animals.

Little patriots. ;)

4) I have not been poking nearly enough fun at Pat the Bunny this trip, but soon I shall remedy that with a post to be titled:

Food Groups according to Bunny, Pat the.

It will be entertaining.
Gross, yet entertaining.

5) This is my girl:

She likes Christmas.
And I like her.

Jeepers!

To Whom it May Concern at the Jeepers! Headquarters, if indeed, anyone is concerned:

Today I took my children to one of your Jeepers! establishments. We were celebrating the half-way mark of my daughter's school year.
When we chose to home school, her only concern was missing out on the annual Fun Day of her former school. I assured her that we would indeed have our own Fun Day. 
After all, even home-educated children need to leave the house once in a while, or so I've heard.
We tossed aside the denim jumper and the hymnal and we headed out to socialize.
Jeepers!

After careful deliberation, I chose your franchise for our festivities, as your website assures us that it is "America's Greatest Indoor Amusement Park" and the place "For Exciting Family Entertainment."

I knew it must be true when I saw that Jeepers! is always spelled with an exclamation point.
Dead giveaway for excitement.

After doing my careful research, including calling the location to confirm that they participated in $5 wristband Wednesdays (we are the thrifty sort),  we excitedly headed out to ride unlimited rides and experience unlimited excitment. Jeepers!

Even the downpour of rain couldn't dampen the spirits of my youngsters.
Probably because they weren't the ones sloshing through the mud trying to get them loaded into the car.

Since your website clearly stated that you open at noon on Wednesdays, we headed off around 11:50am. Surely your special promotion on this middle day of the week brings in larger crowds, and we wanted to beat them in. Jeepers!

Pulling into the parking lot at noon, the children were dismayed to find that your place of business (term used loosely) was not exactly...open for business. After slopping through the puddles we found that your door advertises your opening hour as 1pm.

That was disappointing.

I was slightly to moderately hungry at the time, and the Jeepers! menu was to fulfill our lunching needs. Instead we headed next door to the Big Lots where we did our best to pass the time.
Fortunately, my kids gave me plenty to do as they wanted to know, every thirty seconds, if I would please check the time to see if we could go to Jeepers!.
We also had the privilege of utilizing rather poorly maintained public restrooms, and growing hungrier by the moment.

At last! It was 12:58 and I told the kids it was safe to walk next door and start Fun Day.
Brrrrr! Jeepers! The rain had picked up and the wind sure was blowing!

There was a handtruck sitting right in front of your doors and the Pepsi man was idling in his large truck in front of the entrance. It seemed he was attempting to make a delivery, but the doors were locked.
Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock.
Mommy, why can't we go in?
Mama-- I can see a fun ride through the window!
Mommy, why aren't the lights on?
Mama I'm cold! You said it was time!
Mommy, are the exhaust fumes from the Pepsi truck making you want to vomit?
Yes darling, yes they are.

About six minutes later, a man came running up to the door and unlocked it. Then the Pepsi man made his delivery. We walked in behind him and waited another 5 minutes for the lights to be turned on.
After all, there was only this one man to accept the delivery and turn on the lights.
Then we waited some more.
And some more.
The one man went through a ritual of sorts involving moving trash cans about.

Eventually he came to the counter where I was able to request 2 wristbands for my children. I tried to pay with my debit card, but had to wait another 5 minutes before the computers "warmed up."
Jeepers! was kind of getting on my nerves right about then.

You see, I was hungry. And I don't do well when I'm hungry.
Ask my husband, he can confirm.
Only he's a bazillion miles away at war, and was probably having a better time than I was at that moment.

Did you hear that Jeepers!? War would be preferable to starving in your poorly employed establishment.
Also, I might have a little PMS.
Can't rightly say.

I asked the one man who would be running the rides, and he pointed to himself. And then I asked if he would be doing the cooking as well and he muttered something I didn't understand.
But my stomach understood.

There would be no lunch for me.
Fortunately I had forced my children to eat a banana each in the car on the way over, so at least they were doing okay.

Because, after all, there was only one man.
One man to move trash cans about, to man the register, to operate all the rides, and I certainly couldn't take him away from those things to ask him to heat up the fryers and cook me some gosh-darn lunch, now could I?

So myself, and the few other agitated customers, did our best to coordinate our childrens' desires for which ride to experience, since of course one man can only operate one ride at a time. We got on the first ride at 1:30pm, a mere hour and a half after we arrived ready for some Jeepers! fun.

And Jeepers!, when people came in to discuss birthday parties, that one man was unavailable to help us with a ride for ten minutes at a time.

I know in this economy, we all have to cut back where we can. But if this is your company's idea of a good way to cut back, then pardon my french, but you kind of suck.

Sincerely,
Still grumpy.

Day 90

Today we drove the 2 1/2 hours back to Pat the Bunny's house.
My kids are jumping up and down on my last nerve, so I've pawned them off on PtB for the evening and I'm hoping that they'll figure out how to put themselves to bed.

The last couple of days in western Michigan were quite festive. We decked the halls at Mimi's house, complete with a dinner of hot chocolate & candy canes, followed by some kettle corn and watching The Polar Express. Oh, and some apple slices for good measure.

We spent Sunday at Pepaw's playing outside and eating a yummy pot roast.

Have you ever seen two kids more excited about being pulled around on a sled?

It might be because Pepaw's idea of pulling the kids around is a little unconventional...

And fast.

Then we went traipsing through the woods, looking for animal tracks and the elusive perfect stick.

Mission accomplished.

Look! It's me in a picture that's not taken in a mirror!

Watch out:

 

Youngest member of the NRA

And if the dead deer hanging in the barn is any indicator, my father is definitely not a member of PETA. 

The kids checked it out and reported that there was a huge deer with blood dripping off it's nose. 

Nice.

They had so much fun outside that they wanted to do it all again after dinner.
I decided Pepaw could handle it on his own. They returned after dark, all in one piece and just a little wet.

So there you have a recap of our last couple days. Hopefully after a good nights' rest everyone here (read: me!) will be in a better mood.

Day 87

Good news!
My husband has been gone for 87 days.

Why is this good news?
Well, because I apparently made a mistake along the way at some point in my bloggy day-count, and I thought today was day 84.
But it's not, and I get an extra three days to add to the count.

Which, in retrospect, means nothing because the days he's been gone does not directly correlate to when he will return home.

So.
Forget I said anything.

Still, we're inching ever closer to the halfway point.

Today we woke up to another dusting of snow, but unlike the last time, the temperature today was much cooler. Twenty-nine degrees to be exact.
But the kids begged, and I figured that even 15 minutes outside would be good for them. So I bundled them up and shooed them off into the yard.

One of the nice things about being here is the ability to throw the kids outside on their own. I think it's good for kids to be able to explore independently and have a little freedom outside. It's a shame that the world we live in today limits that so much.
So it was nice to give them a taste of autonomy; I didn't tell them I was watching from inside.
After all, Derek is only a tiny infant baby toddler, as you know.

Despite my predictions of lasting 15 minutes, Derek was the first to come in an hour and half later! Alex lasted a full two hours before I insisted that she come in and get checked for frostbite.

And the best part of a romp in the snow-- hot chocolate.

Alex & I are still getting her schoolwork done, though I scheduled a lighter load for our time in Michigan. Because we started in June, we are able to take our time and not fall behind. It has been taking us more like 7-8 days to work through the assignments meant to be done in 5 days, but we're still on track to finish the year out at the end of May.

Unless of course, a move preempts that plan. The preliminary news that we're hearing is that we might be rolling out of North Carolina sooner than we originally thought. Maybe just a few weeks after Josh returns from Afghanistan. I guess that means we'd have to trade in our DisneyWorld plans for DisneyLand plans. We'll just have to wait and see...a move I'm perfecting after 10 years in the Air Force.

We've spent several evenings having dinner and playtime at my dad's. I finally remembered to bring my camera over yesterday.
Here are Pepaw & Alex, and an attempt to get all three of them.

Derek had a case of the sillies, which later developed into a case of the naughties, which was resolved only after a good night's rest.
He's so easy to read-- when he gets overtired, in addition to being naughty, he also trips, falls, and bumps into things like crazy. I keep waiting for him to get a little taller, because being at counter height & doorknob height hasn't been working out too well for him.

The sun was still up when we got over to my dad's yesterday, so Pepaw took Derek out for a "hunt" in the woods. My dad is a big hunter, and dreams of the day when his grandsons will enjoy that with him.
He might not want to hold his breath though.
First Derek did not want to take Pepaw up on his offer to carry a small BB gun through the woods (Just so he could feel like the real deal, not to actually shoot it. Remember-- tiny infant baby toddler.) He told Pepaw that he'd better not because the "deers might see it."
I asked him today why he didn't want the deer to see it and he told me "they might think I want to shoot them, Mama!"
So I'm thinking he's not quite grasping the concept of hunting yet.
Though spending time in my dad's house should make it abundantly clear, don't you think?

Here's a shot of Derek snuggling with Mimi (my mom). I've been terrible about getting pics of the kids with our family.

On Monday we're heading back over to Pat the Bunny's house for a couple weeks. We have to change up the scenery every so often, to give the old folks some quiet time.

Here's your friendly reminder: 16 days 'til Christmas!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

It's been too long since I've joined in with the Wednesday Hodgepodge at Joyce's page.
So here we go...

1. Will you be hosting any house guests between now and the end of December? Does that thought make you happy or crazy? Do you do anything special for your guests to make them feel at home? How long should a house guest stay? 

I shall not be having any guests, instead I myself will be continue to be a full-time house guest for all that time, and beyond. What luck!

If anyone is squatting back at our place, they would be guests of the uninvited variety.
And if you are reading this, could you start the robbery with that dinosaur of a TV we've got? I've heard of these things called flatscreens that apparently are all the rage.

I know because my mom's got, like, 6 of them.
See those guys on the field? I can see a booger in their nose from across the room.

Am I happy that I'm not hosting?

Why yes, yes I am. 

When people stay at your house they eventually will need to eat, and that poses a litany of woes. Grocery shopping, meal planning, cooking, clean up. You know, the stuff of life that I try to minimize as much as possible.

Do I do anything special as a host to make guests feel at home? Well I consider stocking the fridge and changing sheets special, so yeah, I guess I do.

How long should a houseguest stay? 

That depends-- do they cook?

2. Walter Elias Disney was born this week (December 5) back in 1905 ...what's your all time favorite Disney movie? Here's a list in case you're struggling...and yes, you have to pick one.

My favorite was always Beauty & the Beast. I like the music the best in that one, though I find the love connection startling.
About as startling as Josh would find my legs if he surprised me by coming home without warning. Not gonna lie. They too are a little beastly.

3. What was the last thing you purchased that you realized was a mistake after the fact?

Well the first thing that pops into my mind when I think of buyer's regret is that house we've got hanging around in Idaho.
I'm sure I've regretted something since then, but it pales in comparison.

4. What percentage of your Christmas shopping is done online?

This year it seems I'm doing almost all of my shopping online, but there is still plenty of time left to hit up some stores. I'd definitely say it will end up being somewhere between 50-75% online. The final touches & stocking stuffers will need to be done in-person.

5. Amaryllis-snowdrop-poinsettia...your favorite winter blossom?

Umm...what?

If it's not edible, I don't really care. 

If it's drawn with icing on a dessert, I'll prefer the one that is buttercream.

6. What is one thing on your personal Christmas wish list? I think we all want peace on earth so let's make this answer an actual item.

My hubby with a bow on his head? I assure you that he's one hot item.

But I sense that your question wanted me to be a bit more realistic...

There are a few things that I'm thinking I would like, though not necessarily for Christmas. One is a new cell phone--though I'm backing away from the smart phone thing to just a better phone with texting.

(I realized that a smart phone is very useful if you're away from the house a lot. However I spent most of my time hermiting, where I have a perfectly good acceptable laptop, that doubles as a lap warmer/burner, for all my inter-needs.)

I've also kind of gotten hooked the last couple weeks on my mom's Keurig coffee maker. Since Josh doesn't drink coffee, it might suit us better to just make individual cups. So that's a possibility as well. 

I'm supposed to be giving Josh ideas for my gift, but since the mountainous region of Afghanistan isn't known for it's shopping, I told him that I could just click "buy" on my own.

7. If you could only use one word today what would it be?

I'd better stick with the safe bet and go with "No."
After all, I have a couple kids.

And I also need to be prepared to reply in case I am propositioned on the street... Why, you look beautiful in your jeans and sweatshirt-- would you run away with me?

Hey. It could happen.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Today I took the kids to story hour at the local library. The kids area was actually really nice, so I plan to go back again soon. At the start of story time there were only a few other kids there besides mine, and the librarian made it a point to say that it was apparently just a girls' day today.

Maybe time for a haircut for the little fella?

I don't think he looks like a girl all that much.
And he's the sweetest guy in the whole wide world.
And he says the word mama more than I thought was possible.

He starts and ends his sentences with it.
For example: Mama, do you see my picture Mama? Mama I colored it with a blue crayon mama. Mama, do you like it Mama?

It would be totally annoying if he didn't come up to me every few minutes to rub his cheek against mine.
He's a nuzzler.
And I can't get enough of him.

He can call me mama as much as he wants. Between the hours of 8am and 8pm.

Oh, and Josh he made that candy cane for you during craft time at the library. But then he decided you wouldn't mind too much if he just kept it for himself. ;)

He's special.

Day 78

Two posts in one day? I'm on fiah.

Well that or my husband sent me an e-mail earlier today insisting on some new pictures, of which I neglected to deliver in my previous post.
So here are some around-the-house quick shots of what we've been doing here in western Michigan.

The theme for our days is pajamas.
For obvious reasons.

Derek working at his desk... in pajamas.

Alex smiling...in pajamas.

 

Playing with Mark's iPad...in pajamas. And a sweatshirt over them for Derek.

Listening to Daddy reading a Christmas storybook...in pajamas.

Swimming in a bubble bath, about to put on...pajamas.

Napping with Cowey and Woofy wearing...you guessed it, pajamas.

Suffice it to say, our days here are comfie.

Christmas Gift Ideas for Kids

Before Derek's 4th birthday in August, I stood in the middle of our messy, overflowing playroom and determined that I needed to put a little more thought into his birthday gifts lest I be swallowed up by one more piece of plastic that would be tossed aside and forgotten within weeks.

We found a couple of toys that really worked out well, and still get used consistently. I thought I would share some with you in case you are looking for good gift ideas for the little people in your life.

Pat the Bunny sent this set to Derek, and it is a really cool toy.

It comes with three vehicles that the little ones can take apart and put back together. It uses a battery powered screwdriver, and once together, each toy has a moving part.
Well made & not overpriced at $24, I think 4-8 is a good age range for it.

Actually, I kind of have fun with it too, so maybe 4-32 would be a better age range. ;)
You can find it here on Amazon: EZ Build & Play


Another toy that we've enjoyed is called Inchimals.

These are colorfully painted animal blocks that double as measuring sticks, from 12 inches down to 1. They come with a dry-erase book in which you can use the inchimals to do math problems.

Warning, your kids will start to say strange things. When baby Camille was over at our house, Alex said to me-- She's so tiny, I bet she's just one giraffe.

So we had to measure her, and it turns out she was a giraffe plus a bear.

;)

I also still really, really love the Seeds Family Worship CDs.

Bible verses set to music, and not annoying. 
(Unless you are annoyed by the Bible. Then you might find them annoying.)
This link is to their website, but I think you can also find their CDs on Amazon.

One of my favorite things we got the kids started on was listening to stories on CD during quiet time and on road trips. They've really liked the Frog &Toad audio books, Winnie the Pooh, and Veggie Tales stories.
So audio books and maybe a CD player would make a good gift.

What I have not yet told my husband, because he is often unavailable for consultation (some excuse about a war or something), is that I just bought the complete CD collection of Dan & Louie stories for this year's Christmas. And they might have been a little pricey.
This is a blast from the past from my own childhood. Dan and his puppet Louie tell Bible stories and sing songs, and it may not surprise you that I can still sing some of those songs today.

After all, I have a memory devoted to useless trivia but it refuses to hold onto key information like where I put my keys or phone.

In defense of the cost, there are 20 CDs in the collection, and over 24 hours worth of stories.
And they are coming soon to a doorstep near you me.

Looking for a good game for the mini mathlete in your family?

I'm going to get this for Alex.

A friend had it, and it helped her kiddo learn his addition math facts in a fun way. It's called Shut the Box.

So there you have a few ideas, I'll share some more if I think of any. If you have a gift idea that your family really enjoys, feel free to share it in the comments so we can all check it out.

Now I have to tell you that everything written above this line, I wrote earlier today. I wanted to proofread the post before I published it, but I needed to go get the kids and myself ready for a movie date with Peepaw (my dad).
And wouldn't you know that after writing that, as we were getting ready to leave for the movies, I could not find my keys.
Like, really couldn't find them. 

It took 3 adults looking for 40 minutes to find my keys.

And I only found them AFTER Mark searched through bags of garbage on my behalf.

Thanks, Mark.

Sorry, Mark.

Guess they weren't thrown away after all, Mark.

Are you glad we're staying at your house, Mark?

Oops.

But the kids and I made it to the movie. We saw Arthur Christmas and then spent some time releasing pent-up energy in the McDonald's playland.

Which means it is now disinfection time. AKA bathtime.

Later.