A Rescue and Sneaky Decor

Chance saved our tree! Isn't it glorious? Emma wasn't satisfied that we didn't put everything on the tree tonight and told us all that we didn't have the Christmas Spirit.  And then she had a time out on the stairs....But the tree has been rescued! So, Merry Christmas!

Also, earlier yesterday we discovered that our little elves had taken it upon themselves to do a little decorating without us.  Noah and Emma placed a bunch of Ben10 toys throughout the tree.  Their ingenuity makes me smile.

"But, you know, that old Grinch was so smart and so slick
He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick!
'Why, my sweet little tot,' the fake Santy Claus lied,
'There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side.
So I'm taking it home to my workshop, my dear.
I'll fix it up there.  Then I'll bring it back here.'"
~Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas

It Wouldn't Be Christmas If...

....the lights on the tree worked perfectly. 

Last year, Chance bought a 9 ft. lighted tree on super-mega-clearance after Christmas.  He got a steal of a deal (less than $99) and was very proud of himself for being so frugal and all.  This year, I came home from Black Friday shopping with my sister to find that he had already put the tree together and was ready to decorate.  A few days later, this happened:

It's not too noticeable, right?  Not like the lights are off right in the middle or anything like that.  We actually had a strand on the top go out as well, but he was able to fix that was some special Christmas light tool that he had to buy at Lowes.  When he attempted to fix the middle lights, the whole strand shorted out and now all the lights are blackish inside.  Which I think means not good. 

Poor Chance.  He's currently running around town trying to find a strand to match the rest perfectly.  He's on attempt #2.  Crossing my fingers...



PS - Emma doesn't care about the middle lights being out.  She is so angry that we haven't decorated the tree yet.  This morning she told me that even though not all the lights work, that it is STILL a Christmas Tree and it should be decorated.  She wanted to compromise by decorating only the areas where the lights ARE working.  I discovered tonight that she and Noah had stealthily decorated when I wasn't around.  I'll have to share more about that later. 

Happy Haunting

Here's a recap of Halloween 2012....

Could the leaves be more beautiful?  Seriously.

Queen of the Snow Fairies

Snake Eyes (G.I.Joe)

A Roman Gladiator

A our cute little owl (who we discovered wasn't the least bit interested in Halloween)

Above is the best shot of all four together. 

I loved Ty's costume.  We made fun of him all night for wearing a dress. 

Emma pondering how many pieces of candy she was going to eat...

 

Then there was a battle...

 

And a Victor!

This year marked Tyler's first time alone with his friends to trick-or-treat the neighborhood sans parents.  And then spent the next hour trying to get away from his younger brother chasing after him. 

Mia was the first to head inside.  She wanted nothing to do with Trick-or-Treating.

Noah filled his bucket and was the first of the older ones to call it a night. Followed closely by Tyler who was more interested in passing out candy.

After a brief stop at home, Emma had to go back outside to catch the last few houses she missed.  She danced and pranced about the streets and would have gone all night if she could have.  It was her "best day ever."

Happy Halloween!

Vampiress

Noah received his first (and hopefully last) hickey yesterday afternoon. Apparently, he was involved in a game of "Vampire" and he was the victim.  Who was the vampire?  His sister, Emma, of course.  I'm not sure what to think about Emma giving out hickeys at age 7, and to her brother!  Sheesh.  I am never prepared for what they will do next. 

This is a shot of Noah in "time-out" for something unrelated to this post.  I'll wait till tomorrow for that story.  You can see the hickey here.  Nicely placed, Emma.  Noah is currently wearing a bandaid on his neck so no one will see it.  He's terribly embarrassed and he has no idea why.



"When other little girls wanted to be ballet dancers I kind of wanted to be a vampire."
~Angelina Jolie

Funny Bits

Funny little bits from the last couple of months ....


Michaelynn:  "I might need See's (Candies) today."
Chance:  "OK.  Do they sell those at Fry's (Electronics)?"
Michaelynn:  "Um....not usually."


At the furniture store looking at new beds....
Noah: "Most of the stuff here is for ladies." *grimaces*


"He's not Dracula. He's called 'Lord Vampire' and you have to say that in a fancy voice."
~Noah, discussing the new Monster Legos


Tyler:  "Mom, I need barbarians for my ripstick."
Mom:  "Barbarians?"
Tyler:  "Yeah, Lorilei's grandpa told me that's what I need for my wheels."
Mom:  "Could you possibly mean ball bearings?"
Tyler:  "Oh, yeah.  Maybe that's what they're called."


Noah:  "Mom, Emma licked my DS."
Me:  "That's just gross."
Emma:  "It was just a little lick."


Took the kids to the circus for the first time today.
Emma: "Mommy! It's just like the TV show America's Got Talent!"  
Kinda sad when AGT trumps Ringling Bros.


Michaelynn:  "The school was crazy insane this morning.  Had two police cars directing traffic....The policemen were directing traffic, not their cars."
Chance:  "Yes, I got that."


Noah: "Can we watch E.T. tomorrow?"
Emma: "What's E.T.?"
Noah: "You know, that alien that eats Reese's Pieces?"


Went to the Supermall with Emma and she begged to go on the merry-go-round. I told her it wouldn't be fair because the boys weren't with us. Her reply:  
"I won't tell them! I'll just write about it in my journal."


Chance:  "Did Tyler make it out (to school) OK?"
Michaelynn:  "You didn't stay? .... Well, he's either at school, ran away from home or in a serial killer's lair."
Chance:  "Yes, it's one of those three."

This Kid

This kid has been driving me crazy for months.  He's so tender and wonderful sometimes; and other times he's a demon.  Completely unpredictable.  Could be the puberty hormones.  (By the way, he's been wearing these sports glasses all summer because I keep forgetting to take his other glasses in to be repaired.  I'm Mother of the Year obviously.) 

For weeks, Tyler has had an intense germ phobia.  He's become super OCD about washing his hands and touching anything.  Going anywhere with him is becoming a problem.  He won't open doors with his hands.  If we go to the mall, he uses his feet to open the door.  It's crazy!  And he washes his hands so much that they're all dried up and cracking.  I'm trying to be patient and hoping it will pass or improve soon.  At the end of the school year, the school had a health unit all about HIV and AIDS and he's been very concerned about it.  Concerned that I might give it to Mia while nursing or concerned that he might get it from Noah if he drank out of his cup....crazy questions all the time.  It took forever for him to understand that Noah cannot give him HIV because HE DOES NOT HAVE IT!  Ugh.  I must have said that to him 27 times.  Then, he watched a few minutes of Shark Week and afterward asked if sharks can get HIV. What?! I had no idea what to say to that.

Overall, he's a good little guy.  He's not violent, into drugs, failing school, or anything that serious.  Mostly, I'm frustrated with his penchant for dishonesty about the most insignificant things and his bullying nature toward the younger siblings.  (Except Mia.  He adores Mia).  I know that big brothers are bullies by nature.  I'm trying to be more understanding - its hard.  A couple weeks ago we were driving in the car and the boys were playing the "quiet game".   Noah was winning.  So, Tyler tried to kiss him on the mouth to get him to talk!  Devious.

He sure is cute, though.

Chocolate

I ate a Hershey bar while holding Mia today. She lunged forward and I pulled it out of her reach. She turned to me and her eyes said "I hate you."

Mia has also grown two lovely (and sharp!) teeth and is saying "Da Da" all day long. She has the cutest little conversations with Chance. The little traitor.

Independence Day 2012

We spent the 4th with our some of our favorite people, the Hatch family.  Chance brought a crazy amount of fireworks and we ate a crazy amount of food.  Such a nice holiday with great weather, too.

Emma was blowing bubbles and Noah decided to get in on that action.  I guess.  He's the oddest boy. 

The sun was sooo bright, but the kids loved it.  Noah and Megan hanging on the hammock:

Michelle looks lovely as ever.  Check out Chance's firework stash!

Mia spent the night being needy.  Thankfully, she really took to Michelle so I had a little break from holding her all night.  And check out how much her eyes have lightened up. 

Love this one of Noah.  Smudged face, glasses askew, eating junk food....its totally him.

Our preteens spent most of the time being weird and rude to everyone around them.  I can't believe Tyler starts middle school in 2 months.  I'm in denial about it.

And then the fireworks started...

 

 

Happy Independence Day!

 

 

"It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace – but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"

~Patrick Henry, 1775 

 

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

~Abraham Lincoln, 1863 Gettysburg Address

6 months?

Mia is already six months old! It's going by so dang fast.

The Happenings

I need to update the blog more; I'm forever saying this.  But life is busy and this blog seems to be the first thing that is sacrificed when my schedule gets out of hand.  So, here's a brief update....

Uncle Greg returned from Afghanistan awhile ago (actually a LONG while ago) and we finally had him over for dinner because in a short time he's moving on to Texas.  Uncle Greg lived with us for a while last year before deploying and the kids grew quite fond of him.  He's a fun guy to have around and is always, always, ALWAYS trying to help out.  (I love you, Greg, but if you wash the laundry one more time, I'll kill you!)  We will miss you when you move to Texas.

Earlier this month Chance had a guys weekend with some old friends from high school.  They went to some sort of crazy outdoor concert weekend in Texas and Chance came home completely sunburned.  It was a good weekend for him, though.  He doesn't do enough stuff like that, really.  He was gone for four days and Emma was a complete drama queen.  It's not that I don't believe she missed Chance, she's just so over-the-top.  Eyes full of tears, unable to do any chores because she misses her father and her "heart is broken". 

The kids finished up the school year successfully.  And the summer battles have already begun between Emma and Tyler.  They simply cannot get along and it is exhausting.  I'm not 100% certain but I believe Tyler may have planted evidence against Emma in her room today.  We have a no-food in the bedrooms rule.  A can of nuts was suspiciously "found under her pillow" by Tyler, but he changed his story about where it actually was a few times.  Of course, Emma denied having nuts in her room.  I can't quite believe what she says either because she wasn't exactly surprised that there was a can of nuts in her room.  Important skirmishes like this are happening constantly and I'm threatening to cancel 4th of July everyday. 

This afternoon I had an argument with Emma about folding her laundry.  She stormed upstairs and was gone for quite awhile.  I got busy with Mia and kind of forgot she was up there.  Sometime later Noah informed me that someone had TP'd is room!  Apparently, she has found a new outlet for her anger.  (And yes, that dresser usually looks that way.  Noah has an interesting system going on.)

 

 

 

And I almost forgot about my trip to Urgent Care the other day.  Emma and Noah stuck Q-tips in each other's ears.  I don't know why.  Emma's ear is still a little sore, but doctor says she didn't sustain any serious injury.  Just freaked me out when I heard the screaming.  Kids!



 

 

"Siblings are the people we practice on, the people who teach us about fairness and cooperation and kindness and caring - quite often the hard way."

~Pamela Dugdale