Tricky Daddy and Flatulating Cameron

To spur the kids into getting their Saturday chores done, I offered to take them to CiCi's pizza.

As we were leaving the house, Cameron and Erin grabbed $2 each to spend on the video games at that fine establishment (they even had a new spicy Buffalo chicken pizza!)

However, on the way I suggested that we visit the Dollar Tree store adjacent to CiCi's, and the kids heartily agreed to spend their money there instead!

We walked out with various treats and toys. Cameron was especially pleased at his full-size whoopie cushion.

After trying it out, he proudly proclaimed, 'Now I can fart [i.e., make fart sounds] with my armpit and my cushion!'

I think he was forgetting a third prime source, but I didn't feel like reminding him--he was giddily happy and I didn't want him to change his mood and start acting like the one he was forgetting....

The Brady Bunch

Before Cindy flitted off to Utah, she checked out the 4-DVD 1st Season of the Brady Bunch. Thursday and today have seemed like BB marathons.

I was surprised how well they stood up 38 years later, and all the kids are hooked. Erin was astute enough to notice that the producer (Sherwood Schwartz) was the same one who produced their beloved Gilligan's Island!

Anyway, they are a big 'Thumbs up'!

A Little Wii (not to be confused with Wii-Wii)

Last night we spent a delightful evening at my sister's home, where we were introduced to the new Nintendo Wii system.

As you might expect, Cameron acted shy at first, but by the end of the night he was doing his best to play (i.e., hog and dictate) the various Wii games (bowling, baseball, tennis, fishing, etc.) and doing 'in-your-face' victory dances.

The new ping-pong table there was also a big hit with all the kids! I was amazed at how quickly I got back up to speed too!

We got home a bit late (10:15 or so), and Makenna was the only one with enough sense to fall asleep in the car!

Got milk?

When Cindy took Allyson to see the doc on Saturday (as usual, by the time we get a kid to the doc, the fever is gone and the kid is normal), one of the questions was whether Allyson knew who 'Mama' and 'Dada' were if asked.

Today after work Cindy was holding Sweet Noogie-Poogie Peanut, so we tried to see if she had a clue yet.

'Where's Dada?' I asked.
No noticeable response.

'Where's Mama?' Cindy asked.
Again no response.

With nothing to lose, Cindy ventured, 'Where's the milk truck?'

Makenna turned and put her index finger on Cindy's nose.

She's definitely our Sherlock-ette.

Update: On a similar (milk) vein, Allyson was getting a but fussy, and Cindy commented that she probably wanted to be nursed, then added, 'Being the last, she'll probably nurse until she's 14!'
I additionally added, 'Yeah, and as small as she is, she'll probably still fit under your shirt!'

Pit Music

In his continuing endeavor to emulate the Floyd family uncles, Cameron has been practicing hard on a new skill to exhibit before family and friends.

Yep, he has learned to put his cupped hand in the pit of his upraised arm, then bring his arm down quickly. The resulting sound is both disgustingly loud (at least to the onlooker) and disgustingly gratifying (at least to Cameron).

What will he learn next?

The world trembles!

Blessed Warmth [?]

After almost a month-long hiatus, today is the day the temperature gauge finally gets to climb back above freezing. And it looks like it is planning to stay above it for the foreseeable future.

Cindy is ecstatic. First, she is ecstatic that the kids will no longer have 2-hour school delays or outright cancellations due to the intense cold and/or snowfall. The kids have only gone to school 3 days in the past 2 weeks, and 2 of those were ‘2-hour delay’ days!) Second, she is literally giddy with the thought of a whole week in Utah with just Allyson. She leaves on Wednesday.

So this morning Cindy told the kids that they’d better spend the entire day outside playing in the 10 inches of snow, because it ain't gonna be around long! (Besides, if the kids are outside, they aren't inside incessantly pestering her, each other, each other's toys, Allyson, etc!)

Hearing that the snow was going to begin melting, Cameron clenched his teeth and spat out with supervillain-inspired pathos, ‘Heat is my enemy!’

Humble Pie

This last Saturday Cameron talked me into playing Monopoly with him.

However, unlike previous games, I decided to be a bit more proactive, and luck was also on my side. Before long I had all 4 railroads and a monopoly on the red properties. Cameron, as usual, was gunning for Park Place and Boardwalk. Then in a run of bad luck he landed on my railroads 6 times (three of them in succession!) and was pretty much wiped out. Then he landed on Illinois Avenue.

It was his death knell. Not to mention his first loss.

I was hoping that this will be a learning opportunity for him.

First and foremost, I hoped that it would teach him to accept defeat with quiet dignity. (And I must admit that he took the loss very well!)

Moreover, as an added benefit, I hope this drains him of his enthusiasm to ask me to play Monopoly with him!

Life is too short for such long games! (If he wants to play a long game, get out Scrabble!)

Sibling Jealousy, Thy Name is.....Cutesy-Wootsy-Poogie-Goo!

Today Erin told Cindy that she felt a bit left out because Cindy was using all sorts of cute nicknames when talking to Allyson, but not when she talked to Erin.

Appelations such as 'Little lovey girl,' Little sweetie-pie honey bun,' or 'C'mere my little peanut.'

(Obviously Erin doesn't remember all of the cute nicknames our tongues employed when she was a kid--'Erin Poo-Poo,' 'Cutesy Erin,' 'Wilt,' etc., etc.

Cindy quickly quipped, 'How about "Pumpkin-Butt"?'

Erin liked it! A lot!

Dino-rrific Dude!

Being Valentines Day, Cindy with her usual planning had gifts ready for the kids.
This year the theme was 'books.' The girls each got a book (Erin was estatic about her 'sticker' book), and Cameron got a 'Dinosaur' kit.

Included in the kit was a chunk of concrete with 'dinosaur bones' buried in it.


He went right to work, and soon had them all out. (As Cindy said with disappointment unfeigned, 'It was supposed to take longer! Preferably all day!')

To top it off, he followed the instructions in the accompanying book to make a 10" long, 5-inch wide dinosaur poop, complete with sticks, rice, and other presumably undigested morsels clinging tenaciously to the amorphous mass.

At first he had the sticks poking straight out, but once Cindy drew a verbal picture of how much such a poop would have hurt on its torturous, twisted journey to freedom, he quickly decided to embed them obliquely.

And for your viewing pleasure, a demonstration of how coprolites get their start.



Once it dries he gets to paint it too!

After 13.5 months....

I finally took the 3 kids to the school to go sledding.

We got them sleds for Christmas 2005, but it never snowed, and so the snow we got last week was the first sleddable amount in over a year.

Unfortunately, when I went home to get the camera, Makenna also went home to warm up, so only the two older yahoos were available for the photo....

Remember the Golden Rule!

As we corraled the kids for family home evening and tried to actually teach them something (yes, a more or less fruitless task....), I dared ask the question, "What is the 'Golden Rule?'"

Almost simultaneously both Erin and Cameron called out, 'Tithing!'

'No, no [chuckle], no.' I replied.

'The Roman way?!' Erin replied brightly! (This is because she has been home all day with a low fever, and thus her eyes were brighter than usual....)

'Wrong again.'

Cindy began, 'Do unto others as....' and surprisingly enough, Cameron was able to more or less finish the thought. (This is what is known as 'pedagogic (i.e., 'book') learning,' as he knows what it is but not how to do it.)

Traditions continue apace.....

Tonight when Cameron asked whether he could say his prayer "Out loud or in my head,' I said he could say them in his head.

As he began praying I began tickling his back, at which point he expertly lifted up the back of his pajama tops to get skin-on-skin contact.

After about a minute I coughed gently, and he quickly said, 'Amen.'

He then continued, "I pulled a 'Daddy'!....I mean, I pulled a 'Louis!'"

Simply put, this means that he finished praying in about 10 seconds and just enjoyed a long back tickle.

Sometimes it just doesn't pay to tell kids about your own childhood memories!

Do they, or don't they??

This morning Makenna was sitting on the couch with Cindy, vegging out on the TV.
Cindy asked her what she wanted for breakfast, and she replied, 'Can I have chocolate cereal?'

Cindy acceded, and generously offered to get it ready for her, ending with, 'And do I get a big kiss in return?'

Makenna gazed over at her, and replied rhetorically, 'Do pigs fly?'

She then collapsed into gales (blizzards?) of laughter.

Is it hype, or is it a blizzard?

Tonight we shall see. According to the weatherman we could be getting anywhere from 4~12 inches of snow over the next 24 hours (mixed with rain and sleet at times).
Still, the local weathermen sure have the global warming scientists beat--at least the locals don't pretend to have a sure foreknowledge of the 10-year~90-year local forecast, much less the global one!

UPDATE: Well, we have welcomed about 5 1/2 inches of snow and about 2 inches of frozen rain (not to be mistaken for freezing rain). If that had been snow, we probably would've had about 12 inches! I again took Erin and Cameron to the school to go sledding, and we were pelted with ice pellets the entire time.
Once again, thank goodness for a snow blower!

A change in the weather....

After two sub-zero AMs and two days of school closures for the same reason, I am sure that Cindy is ready to get them back to their out-of-the-home scholarly endeavors.
And today was a very busy day for them:
1. Cindy took all 4 kids along for Allyson's well-check visit. Allyson is 4th percentile for weight, and 15th percentile for height--we don't grow them as big as we used to!! The visit was capped off with 2 shots! What fun!
2. Upon returning home, Cameron got pukey, and spent much of the rest of the day clutching a bowl, retching into the bowl, sitting on the porcelain throne, and sometimes sitting and retching at the same time. He is a boy of many skills! By bedtime he was feeling much better, as testified to by his actions and mouth.
3. At noon it started snowing, and by the time it stopped around 7 PM, we had 4~5 inches. Cindy is hoping that the plows will get the job done tonight in time for the school buses!
4. Erin's teacher called to tell Erin that her science project has made it to the semi-finalist round, so she gets to do her presentation again in front of other judges. (Her project was to find out which of 3 exercise machines would get her heart beating faster after 3 minutes. She came up with the title, "The Beat of My Heart.")
5. I had a video conference with Japan at work at 6PM, and getting home about 7:15, I gave the used snow blower I had been given a real workout. It worked like a charm, and 6 neighbors are probably quite grateful!
Well, it's bedtime!

Sore Throat and Sore Shins Blues

The Background:
The kids have suffered from various minor ailments this week, so it was no surprise that Makenna woke up complaining that her throat hurt. (Both Erin and Makenna have had mildly upset stomachs, Allyson is on day 2.5 of a 102 fever (she is fast becoming a Motrin addict), and Cameron….well,…I guess you could say that Cameron is just continuing to suffer from that chronic ailment of his known as ‘poopyheadedness.’)

The Confrontation:
After Cindy got home from taking Erin and Cameron to school and was holding Allyson, Makenna came up and sweetly asked, ‘Can I hold Ally?’
Cindy sensibly replied, ‘You said your throat hurts, so no, you can’t.’
The above conversation was repeated near-verbatim 2 more times.
Making no headway, Makenna then launched into one of her spectacular tantrums.
Between her unintelligible shrieking and hyper-sobbing, she screamed “I wanna hold her! Let me hold her! My throat doesn’t hurt anymore! Let me hold her! WAAAHH WAAAAHH WAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!”
She also managed to get in a well-aimed kick or two.
After this continued awhile, Cindy calmly explained, ‘You don’t get what you want if you scream and yell.’
Makenna yelled back venomously, “I HATE YOU!!” She then gave Cindy a big wet raspberry and tried to kick her again.

The Reconciliation[???]
Makenna suddenly turned off her tantrum and tears and, in a very sweet--almost cherubic--voice, queried, ‘Can I hold Ally?’
Cindy sensibly replied again, ‘You’ve just been having a big tantrum, and you’ve been kicking me and spitting at me. Do you really think I’m going to let you hold her?’
Makenna paused to digest this, then changed tack.
‘Mommy,’ she sweetly cooed, ‘I love you.’
Cindy couldn’t stop a spontaneous laugh, but so as to not exacerbate the standoff she raised Allyson up higher to cover her laughing face.
Not being able to see any response, Makenna cooed, ‘Mommy, I said “I LOVE you!”’
Cindy was laughing too hard to even try to attempt any reply.
In the manner of an enraged Tasmanian devil, Makenna vociferously cooed, ‘I SAID I LOVE YOU!’ and at the same time aimed another kick at Cindy's shapely legs.

The Killer Husband (i.e., 'She Says")

[This is space left open for Cindy to explain how she viewed the CO detector incident. When she has time she will surely write up some crazed account about an unfeeling husband and father who seemingly had no qualms about letting his family--even the sweet infant Allyson--suck up CO in copious quantities. Heck, he wasn't in the house himself, and besides, his wife's life insurance coverage had just been upped!
We await with baited breath....]

The wait is over...I am finally sitting down to tell the whole truth as it really happened.
It was a cold morning and I had been running the kerosene heater (as many times before). I turned it off so I wouldn't have to worry about keeping Allyson away from it. About 30 minutes later Makenna started complaining about her head hurting . I took her temp and she had no fever. I gave her some Motrin anyway, because she insited her head was really hurting her. While I was on the phone with a friend of mine the CO detector started beeping. I immediately hung up and started to assess what was going on. We have two detectors and only one was going off. Yes, it was the one that went off several years ago and the other one had had new batteries put in just a couple of days previous. I went right away to the kerosene heater to check that it had been turned off properly and even pushed the ememgency shut-off switch. I opened the sliding door (on an 18-degree day!) and went back upstairs to open another window. I phoned Louis to tell him the alarm was going off and the response he gave me was...."I am sure you are probably okay." Now that is not exactly the response you expect to get from your husband...father of your children....protector and provider. "I am sure you are PROBABLY okay." He figured that since only 1 was going off it was probably a false alarm. I asked if I should call the fire department and he said it was my decision. So I'm thinking, "You don't really care if we live or die. It is all my decision." Great feeling!
I was a little ticked off that he seemed so unconcerned about it and wondered how he would feel coming home from work and finding that his wife and two small children had died from CO poisoning. I decided to hang up. I had already grabbed Allyson out of her bed (where she had only been napping for 5 or 10 minutes) and told Makenna to get her socks and shoes on. I called Louis back at work and told him I was going to call the fire department. He wanted to know if I wanted him to come home???? HELLO!! The fire department is coming to your house because a carbon monoxide alarm has gone off and you are wondering if I want you to come home. What kind of a question is that? I didn't think it was one that really needed to be asked. It should have been like this. "I will be right there. Your lives may be in danger and I want to protect you and make sure everything is going to be okay. You are my life and I couldn't bear the thought of anything every happening to you or the kids."
But no....I had to tell him to come home.
As it turned out it was a faulty alarm but can a person be too careful? Needless to say I was a little disappointed in the reaction from my husband. Maybe I will forgive him.....one day.