Friday, May 2, 2008

Sneeking a Peek

Well, I made it to Friday, before I remembered that I do all my banking online. My husband and I were lying in the dark last night, discussing finances in those last few minutes before sleep comes. We couldn't agree about where we were with our accounts, so you see, I HAD to turn the computer on again. It's been pretty great, actually. With the computer and tv off, I suggested we take a break from construction too. We went to the library for Family Home Evening, and got tons of books to read. Reviews to follow. We also lost our two year old. I'm telling you, I'm up for Mother of the Year on this one. Here's the story:
After making a beeline for the kid's section, our group begins to separate. Daddy and I take off in different directions, and the kids meander around. The baby is assigned to the oldest child, who he calls 'Deet'. After finding boatloads of good books, Daddy finds Deet poring over a car magazine, with no baby in sight. We start the concerned but not yet frightened scan of the terrain. We find all four boys intent on their activities. No baby. We get more concerned. We search everywhere. Every corner, every little cubicle. We get a bit panicked. We were just about to enlist the aid of librarians when we hear his little voice scream "DAD!" We all come running to the entrance of the library, where he is standing there in the arms of a few of his brothers. My husband notices a man walking away, and tracks him down, curious to see if he had anything to do with his return. He did.
He was walking through the parking lot, when he found a van with it's trunk open and a kid inside. Apparently, he didn't see any brothers around in the library, and thought we'd left. He walked out all my himself, into the parking lot (!) and found our van. He let himself in the back, and that's where he was found by that nice man. Being a dad himself, he figured someone was probably looking for him. He brought him into the library, and told him to yell 'dad'. What drama. I tell you, my kids have some serious guardian angels. If they had a more safety conscious mom, maybe they wouldn't need so many!

Monday, April 28, 2008

Media Blackout

I just decided that we're spending too much time with electronic media. I'm going to unplug it all for a week. So our house is going dark. Wish us luck, I'm going to have to hit the library! See you in a week.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Hey boys, would you like a lesson on table etiquette?


That's exactly what every gal wants to hear her father ask her kids at the dinner table. I swallowed really hard, and exerted all my self control not to roll my eyes like a teenager. "Uh, sure" was their tepid response.
"Well, it's good manners for no one to take a bite of their food until your mother has taken a bite." The response from my eldest was immediate- "That offends me!" I stifled a snort. (That's his answer to every random observation. For example, "Hey D, I found those shoes you lost today." He'll reply, "You know, that offends me. I think I'll sue." It's his signature phrase right now.) So, back to the dinner conversation. My dad is rather formal where manners are concerned, so I'm curious how he'll respond. He doesn't have a chance. My six year old pipes up with "That offends me too. How about she doesn't get to eat a bite until we're all done eating?" "Yeah!" chimes in my eight year old. "We should start a cult that sacrifices stuff and Mom's have to eat last!"
At this point, self control is useless, and the snort I held in explodes. We all bust up laughing. My Dad's such a sweety, he took it in good grace. My boys just weren't up to that much wisdom at one time.