Why I love having another girl in the house

In case you can't tell, this is a photo of a female, who upon noticing the garbage was full, removed the full bag, sought ought a refill in the pantry, and promptly put it in the can, being careful to put a few extra in the bottom of the can, so next time, she won't have to search the pantry.
I kid you not.

Recipie for a lovely afternoon...

First, you must have a rainy day, turning to snow...
Next, add a baby babbling bubbles...
And finally, happy kids eating chocolate chip cookies...
MMMMMM. Delicious

In a Blaze of Glory

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Jack loves football. It has always been surprising to both Jared and I. Jared played football, and hated it, and me? Well, that should be obvious. Nonetheless, Jack loves it. Such a cute kid, don't you think?

So, Monday night was Jack's last football game of the season. He was very excited, yet a little sad and sentimental because his new school does not have a football program, and the community ed program only goes through 6th grade. I was feeling little big guilty for denying him his masculine hobby.

I was, unfortunately, watching Spencer and Ethan in the school cafeteria do Tae Kwon Do while Jared and Olivia were on the field watching Jack. It was the 4th quarter and the coach gave Jack the ball. He made a FANTASTIC 50 yard run before being tackled!! What a star Jack!

Then he fell.

Then this.

Way to go out in a Blaze of Glory my boy, way to Go!

Ps. He says he doesn't want to play football anymore.

Hell in a Handbasket

So I am sitting here listening to the Presidential debate on the radio, positively livid. I am so furious with what is, and is not being said. Am I the only one wondering if people are really buying this?!
I can think of several people through the years, who have deliberately chosen to NOT work so they can qualify for "this" or "that" government benefit, while we have scraped by in times we COULD have qualified for government help. We just happened to be old fashioned and believed it was our responsibility. (Strange, I know)
Now people stand up and whine about how life's not fair, and they want "somebody", namely, "the lucky rich" to pay for it. Hello!!!
It makes me think we should just stop paying our mortgage (think of the monthly savings!) and let the government rescue us!
I don't want to hear any sob stories, and I promise I won't bore you with mine, because frankly, it's just time to grow up and deal with it.
I heard Sir John Templeton speak at a college graduation, and he said, "Do you want to know the one thing you need to be one of the richest people in the world?" He then said, "You need to have been born in the United States of America. That fact alone means you have been handed the golden ticket to your dreams."
This whole Robin Hood mentality is what made Stalin and Hitler popular. People who hate greedy people, are just on the wrong side of their own greed. Why can't they see what they are giving up to "get even"?
sigh.

Can't I just vote for Sarah Palin?

Somthing tells me this was a bad idea...

Part of Jared's very glamorous ice cream job is once a year getting "new item" samples. While the culinary delights of next year's new products will get a post of their own in the near future this post is about the OTHER delights contained in this shipment, namely, DRY ICE.

I am sure that if any of you have known Jared for very long, you will recall his rather colorful, law-breaking-really-stupid-but-never-caught, stories about dry ice "experiments" during high school. As amusing as these stories are, I often remind him they are only funny because he still has all his fingers, and have warned him of the dangers of regailing these stories to our boys. I am afraid that today is the day we officially planted "seeds of stupidity" to be sown in the future by our boys. I fear I am an accomplice as I didn't don the "Fretful Mother" hat as I probably should have, because, even a woman of advanced maternal age enjoys an occasional adolescent moment.

It all started with making "fog" in the garage, then a video of the "experiment", and finally, the finished product. Oh Boys!
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"Your mother must have been quite a slave to your education, Miss Bennett..."

I can't believe I am the same person who thought life was going to get easier with my children in school. I don't know if it's just the sheer quantity of children I now have, or the fact I have to have 4 of the 5 in 3 schools in 2 counties, 5 days a week. (Please don't ask me to repeat that, it's late) That being said, I actually am very happy with their circumstances. Jack brought home an assignment for English the other night that I don't think I could have tackled until I was a junior in High School. He is feeling the pinch of higher expectations, but that pinch sent me spiriling into depression my first semester of college, so better to get over it when you're in 6th grade, right?
I have definately entered a new phase of motherhood. It is good. I mean, the whole handful of toddlers was NOT my forte. I need people that can use a toilet independently. (Although, I suddenly appreciate the value of having my most pressing appointment be naptime.)
On the other hand, I have always had a certain disdain for people who always whine about being "so busy!". The implication of that response has always made me feel that somehow what they are doing is so much more important than what I'm doing, and they'd love to share it all with me, if I was important enough to spend time explaining it all to me. Similar to the way I feel being late is like saying, "What I was doing was more important than being here, with you."
So, I am bravely resolving to not whine. If you had told me a year ago that I could have my children in the type of schools they are now, with the only tuition being "my time" to transport them, or volunteer at the school, I would have jumped with joy! So here goes.
Someday, hopefully, a great distinguished person (such as Lady Catherine Deberg) will say to one of my children, "Your mother must have been quite a slave to your education."
And they will reply, "Yes. Yes she was."

Chatty Susie

Susannah was being so terribly cute and chatty in her swing the other day that I just had to grab my camera and take some video. It wasn't until watching it back however, that I realized it made me a little motion sick. Hopefully, it won't overshadow the cuteness of her babbling! You might not be able to hear all of it, but Olivia was busy translating what Susannah was saying. All I really managed to catch was something about her wanting to jump off a diving board? As a side note, in the last 2 days her mohawk (or "mo-hog" as Olivia says) is finally getting long enough that it's beginning to lay down. Well, okay. Tip to one side. She can also turn herself completely around as she lays on the floor. Sigh. She's growing up so fast! Enjoy!