Cowboy Boots

Kindergartener A at lunch: "My Mom is lactose intolerant"
Me: "What does that mean?"
Kindergartener A: "She is allergic to cow things... they make her sneeze."
Me: "What kinds of cow things?"
Kindergarenter B: "Like Boots!!"

Vacation location

Pepper and I have a long weekend coming up and I am trying to get her to choose a place for us to go. I have Dad D set to watch the kids and we have gone to Traverse City in the past... which we really love. We could go there again, but I am worried that the weather may be bad driving up. I am thinking that maybe we should head a bit south instead. We don't want to go as far as Florida... too much driving and we are going there with the kids later this year anyway. Anyone have any suggestions? If you've been somewhere that is worth checking out.... send details!! :)

Dori Doesn't Drive...

Dori learned an important lesson last week. Driving is a powerful activity. I told her my Dad always said that a person was not a good driver until they had an accident. Then they realize the power and responsibility that driving a car entails. Dori and Pete were driving to Dad B and Dad D's for dinner to celebrate Dill's birthday and she ran into the back of a car turning left in her lane. No one was hurt so that was a blessing. The car looks pretty bad and may be totaled... Dori has learned to be a much more serious and much less cocky driver. Pete says he'll ride in the backseat from now until he becomes a driver. (He had a bloody nose and lots of bruising on his face from the airbag) Sometimes it is sooo hard to be a parent. Sometimes life lessons are sooo hard.

Dear Neighbor,

Thank you so much for driving Macy to the swim meet this morning. It was very nice of you to offer to take the kids that lived around you since it is an hour drive and the kids had to be there before 8. I have to say you surprised me when you came into the house to get her. I do not mind that you didn’t knock, sometimes I forget that we live in a homey, small town now where that occurs… although I will warn you that I know our neighbor on the other side keeps a shot gun by his lazy boy chair. If you ever go there… I suggest you give out a friendly “Hello!” as you cross the threshold.

My mom was the kind of woman that slept with a hairbrush on her nightstand. She would never have been caught by anyone with bad hair. As you could tell this morning, I am not like my mother in that way. She also almost always dressed immediately before she came out of her bedroom, and if she wasn’t dressed she was in a very pretty robe with flowers and cute little traction socks. I apologize that instead you got to see my stretched out, faded but well loved sweatshirt and my gingham patterned lounge pants. Be thankful you weren’t here in the summer when I sleep in an old ugly tank top and boxer shorts. And no, I don’t wear a bra to bed then either.

I am very tempted to get super dolled up and head to the beauty parlour for a cool hair do and a make over then show up at the very end of the meet after you have spent 3 hours at the pool in all that humidity and look it… but I think I will just hang out at home in my comfy clothes… or maybe even climb back into bed for an hour or so. That is really more my style.

And as far as the house goes…. We are not always so messy. We had a little family gathering last night and we were all tired and went to bed without a final clean up. No, I did not realize the puppy had dragged the toilet paper out of the bathroom and the trail led right through the hallway and up the staircase. By the way, the kids do know to put their backpacks and shoes in their rooms, but they find it so much more convenient to just drop everything in the doorway. Oh, we do actually eat at the kitchen table. Apparently, it was desk and locker clean out day at the everyone’s school… so we have 3 months worth of school work and notes to go through this weekend.

Next time you come over I will offer you a cup of coffee and have you sit for a minute or two. Unfortunately, you caught me this morning before my coffee finished brewing…. So if I looked like the cat in this picture, I am sure you can understand.

I do appreciate you taking that carload of middle schoolers to the meet. Oh… and while the drive this morning was probably enjoyable for you because the teens were all sleepy and quiet… I think your ride home with all of them wide awake and hyped on concession food and candy may just have you pulling at your own hair by the time you get back. ☺

Kirby Update

This is a picture of Kirby right after a bath. She dries up very beautifully... although I love the wet dog look too!! She is growing quickly she will be 13 weeks old tomorrow. We have been working hard on the potty training.... she does pretty good but accidents are definitely still pretty frequent. She loves playing out in the snow and is starting to get a little too brave and wanders away a little farther from me then I am comfortable with. Pepper picked up a 20 foot lead line today... I love it. She gets a little freedom but she can still be kept safe when she ventures to far.

She has been to the vet twice since we've gotten her. The vet was very impressed with how well behaved she was the first time we brought her in. He checked her all over and said he couldn't get enough of her puppy breath! This last time she was in the vet was amazed at her disposition. He said she is a great puppy. Very tolerant, easy going and happy.... even after 4 vaccines a nail trimming and getting her ears cleaned!! Of course, since we were writing him a big check at the time it might have influenced his opinion!! :D

Our cat, Kahlua is becoming more accepting of the puppy. I wouldn't say they love each other... but this is pretty good... :)

Overheard #2

Pete: Can Michael come over tomorrow?

Dill: Is that the kid that stayed over and slept in MY bed?!

Pete: Yeah

Dill: Mom, ya' know what they did? They said, "Let's all sleep on the floor." Then as soon as I fell asleep they both got in a bed and left me!!

:)

Overheard

Pete is doing his homework and tries to get Pepper to help him... "Mom, Mom, I need help! Mom, Mom, I don't get this! This does not make any sense at all... Mom, MOm, MOM!!" Pepper responds with an exasperated sigh.... "Relax, you are making Mom's eye twitch!!" I could not stop laughing!! :)

Pete: Can Michael come over tomorrow? 

Dill: Is that the kid that stayed over and slept in MY bed?! 

Pete: Yeah 

Dill: Mom, ya' know what they did? They said, "Let's all sleep on the floor." Then as soon as I fell asleep they both got in a bed and left me!! :)

Snow Day, Please!!

One of the benefits of attending school in the northern part of the United States is… SNOW DAYS!! This is not just for the students either…. Teachers and staff also look forward to the occasional unplanned day off. When we got hit Thursday afternoon with our biggest snowfall yet this year it got everyone’s hopes up at my house. Coming home from work on Thursday was a bit treacherous… and my feet were soaked and cold from scraping my windows clean… but there was a warmth in my heart thinking about a possible 3 day weekend.

Rituals about getting a snow day abound around here. When snow starts to fly all the kids discuss wearing their pajama’s inside out, putting a spoon under their pillows, flushing ice cubes down the toilet and taping white crayons to the window to help encourage the occurrence. Dori , Star and Macy just hope real hard and talk about the day as if they already know it will be a snow day. Dill wore his pj’s inside out AND backwards trying to double the chances for the snow day. Pete decided, without telling us, that he thought the best way to insure a snow day was to NOT do his homework. When we had to wake him up this morning, he was shocked. He could not believe that school was not cancelled. Then he was mad… at the weather people, the school people and Pepper for making him go to school. Then he burst into tears…. Partly because he stayed up to late watching the snowflakes fall and partly because his ritual let him down.

My ritual is staying up to late to watch late night news to see what schools around us have already closed. This is not a problem when we really do have our school cancelled and I can sleep in… however between just getting back into the school routine after 2 weeks off for Christmas, a new puppy who takes many potty breaks in the night and NOT getting the day off today…my day was probably as rough as Pete’s!!

BTW… to all the friends that commented on my Facebook status that they DID get the day off… all I can say is :P!!

Humor in the nursing home...

While we were visiting GG she was telling us about friends that she had in the nursing home. One of the hazards of being in a nursing home seems to be that saying "good bye" to someone could be more permanent than a person would expect. Since GG's friends are all well into their 90's they take saying good bye to each other quite seriously. On Christmas GG went for the day to my cousin's house. Her good friend of many years had family visit the night before and was staying in the home to rest. Before GG left she said good bye to her friend.... the friend said, "If I get to the pearlie gate before you I will leave the key under the mat for you". GG told me that her friend died on Christmas while she was gone. These kinds of situations make me uncomfortable because I never know the "right" thing to say. I said, "Well Grandma, after you pick up that key make sure to feel the door to see how hot it is before you open it!" GG couldn't help but laugh.

GG was telling us about another woman in the nursing home. Her goal was to live to be 100 years old. I asked how old she was now, GG answered, "She is 99... she will be 100 next month, but she is as spry as a 70 year old!!" :)