A new year of fishing....

Yesterday Cindy brought the kids up at the end of work, and after the usual roaming of the halls and cubicles in search of candy (any bowl on any desk--even on a VP's desk--is fair game to their greedy fingers), Cindy drove off with just Allyson and a big elated grin.
I was left with the terrible threes, and after bathroom breaks for the girls, we set up the poles and went fishing at the pond.
Using hotdogs as bait, Cameron caught 2 right away, and then Makenna caught 1, and then Erin started pulling in lots of the little bluegills.
Erin (AKA 'I get bored with most everything really quick' Erin) had brought along a real lifesaver--her MP3 player--and she grooved to the music as she patiently waited for bites and even baited her own hook!
After 45 minutes, Erin and Makenna went off to play by the car, but Cameron was still fishing with real intent--Erin had caught 5 and he had only caught 4. (Makenna had also caught 5, but, as he pointed out repeatedly, that didn't count because I had hooked the last 2 for her.)
15 minutes later he was up to 8, and we finally headed home.

I don't know about the kids, but that was the best fishing trip I've been on with them 3 of them in years! (Even though Makenna did get the tip of a fishhook in her finger which drew some blood--see the post somewhere below about her being accident-prone!)

Emulation IS the best form of adoration!

As I was changing Allyson's diaper yesterday, she decided to pass the time by perusing a paper.



Next time I'll get her the page with a crossword!

Seven plagues of Egypt?

First it was a flood (which rhymes with BLOOD!).
Then it was a wire (which rhymes with FIRE!)
Then it was a clog (which handily rhymes with FROGS!)
And now it is more fire (which even more than rhymes with FIRE!?)

More specifically:
We had a small drippy leak in the ceiling on the first floor 3 weeks ago, then on Friday the phone went dead due to outside phoneline probs, then today there was a kitchen sink clog (too much spaghetti for the InSinkerator to handle), and just an hour ago the neighbor kids were playing with gasoline and lit their garage on fire.

Our kids enjoyed the 20-odd emergency and police personnel and about 7 emergency response units.



Now the only question is, what calamities that at least rhyme with the plagues will strike us next? (Any good ideas of a rhyme for 'locust' or 'first-born'?)

Our new neighbor!

Last week Cindy found a bird in the kids' toy shopping basket out by our back door.

Mama bird had obviously decided that the balmy weather at that time was perfect, and decided to make the basket her birthing center.

I didn't see it until yesterday when, focused on another errand, I walked out the back door and that bird blasted out of the basket like a pheasant on steroids (or, as that old Indian might've said, 'Like a pheasant on hemorrhoids!') Kinda startling, you might say! However, my bladder, et al., did not fail me, and I was able to espy 2 little eggs.

Here is the little minx!

Hey dad, you wanna have a catch?

Before the deep freeze settled back in, Cameron and Erin got out the b-ball gloves and started playing catch.

And based on even their own accounts, they were both actually catching the ball!

Cameron begged me to play catch with him, and he did pretty darn good, so, for your viewing pleasure....

Did we ever mention that Allyson likes spaghetti?

Klutz extraordinaire

In previous years we have praised Makenna for the care with which she has carried plates, cups full of juice, etc., from table to sink, etc. This has remained unchanged.

However, when it comes to moving herself with care from place to place, to call it 'flitting' as she twirls, goofs around, and does everything but pay attention is putting it mildly.

As a result, every 5~10 minutes you hear the clarion weep of 'OoohOohhOwwwOwww' as she has again been flung to the floor by an inelastic wall that she first crashed into, or perhaps bumped a toe, banged a knee, thumped an elbow, bashed her head, crushed a finger, poked her eye, grazed her ear....it's a regular anatomy lesson (or lesion?)

Obviously the words, 'Makenna! You need to be more careful and watch where you are going!' do not compute.

This in no small part explains the look of sheer terror and the violent squirming of Allyson whenever Makenna tries to pick her up. It also explains why once she is in Makenna's arms she becomes almost statuesque in her movements--in some innate way she obviously senses that any superfluous motion could cause her already-shaky host to teeter over the brink.

How some brains think.

Erin and then Cameron woke up at 7 AM, but the rule is that you can't go downstairs and look for candy and easter baskets until all the kids are up--and Makenna was still sawing logs.

After about 20 minutes, they started getting antsy, and at 7:15 Cindy said they would have to wait until 8 AM to wake up Makenna. Cameron, his mind whirling, rushed over to our CD/radio/clock on the nightstand and jabbered about how he was going to change the time to make it 8 AM.
As we told him not to, he was busy trying the figure out the controls, mumbling to himself, "FM? What does that mean? Farting Machine?"

He gets an 'A' for being imaginative, and an 'F' for being, well...you know....

Five minutes later we gathered around Makenna's bed and sang 'Jingle Bells' to ring in the frigid holiday!

Easter dresses.....again!

Yes, it is that time of year.
My pocketbook cries as Erin and Makenna connect the dots every year and of their own volition (unless Cindy is even sneakier than I think....) start their persistent angling for Easter dresses.

Yes, I know that this is just a fact of life--that I just need to buck up and put up the big bucks so Cindy can plop it down at Kohls.

Leaving it all (i.e., the credit cards) in Cindy's able hands, Erin got 2 outfits yesterday, and Makenna got one.

Pictures to follow soon. (That is also a tradition that it is best to not get me started on....=)

The kids should should look quite stunning in their spring dresses in the snowy 20-degree weather!

Update: Here they is!

Allyson is steppin' out!

She is getting more daring in her two-legged forays, and is tottering around quite a bit, especially if you are holding out something she wants to get her hands on.

I foresee the scads of Easter candy in the house serving that purpose quite nicely, and knowing how much she loves chocolate, she could easily by sprinting by Friday!

I just hope the kids don't just try to tease her with the candy, as she would probably also end up possessing a serviceable death-grip by Friday too!

UPDATE: Maybe it was the chocolate, or maybe not, but today (Sunday) Allyson was walkin' all over the place! I measured at least one 15-foot walk at church, and Cindy said that she was even more active earlier! I think this is now her preferred method of locomotion.

What month is this again?

It's a big mystery to us....on Christmas it was 50 degrees. Now on Easter weekend there are snow flurries and the kids went to the big easter egg hunt and looked for candy in a 1/4-inch of snow and occasional snow flurries!
The upside of this is that attendance at the EE hunt was about 1/3 the normal, so the kids' takes were relatively vast!
Not surprisingly, Cameron did the best in terms of weight and variety of candy.

Muted

I went with Cameron to the dentist today--2 small fillings and then sealant to prevent other cavities.
Needless to say, he didn't say a word to either the hygienist or dentist. He just nodded or shook his head, and when asked a point-blank question he would just grimace or get a tight grin.
The various procedures went without a hitch (no needles were required), and we came home.
Cameron then went back up to his room due to all his mouthiness before and after school.
He also missed out on ice cream for the same reason. That is truly just desserts--you might even say it is the one dessert that prevents cavities!

Train up a child.....

Today Cindy and Erin concentrated on cleaning up Erin's room especially nice. Cindy was especially eying the egregious eyesore that was her bookcase.

Amazingly, Erin attacked it with gusto, even adjusting the height of the shelves to better fit the displayed accoutrements of girldom.

And she did a really great job!

Cindy congratulated her, saying, 'You're a regular Martha Stewart!.....By the way, do you know who she is?'

'Yeah,' Erin replied, 'She's a lady who slaves all day!'
* * * * * * *
Which reminds me of a recently read joke (especially funny as Cindy and I have had some fun spoofing some of the advice in Fascinating Womanhood)!

A boy asked his mother the following question: "Mom, why are wedding dresses white?"
The mother looks at her son and replies, "Son, this shows your friends and relatives that your bride is pure."

The boy thanks his mom and goes off to double-check this with his father. "Dad why are wedding dresses white?"

The father looks at his son in surprise and says, "Son, all household appliances come in white."

A Tale of One _____ [Rhymes with 'City']

Feeling rather worn after dealing with Erin and Cameron, Cindy was talking to Makenna and me, dreamily wishing, 'I wish I had a big piece of chocolate cake right now!'

At that point, Makenna turned around to show off a balloon she had stuffed up her shirt.

Cindy told her, 'You don't need any--you've eaten enough already!'

Cindy tried to pull down on the balloon string, to which Makenna said, "Hey, don't pull on my stomach!"

'Your stomach? It goes up to your chin!!!'

'Then don't pull on my boob! she rejoindered, demurely adjusting her one protruding bosom.

The Code of the Convict[s]

Erin was smarting off to Cindy, so Cindy sternly directed her to go to her room. I helped escort her up as she continued to complain about her treatment.

As she finally climbed the last couple stairs, she yelled out, "I HATE YOU MOM!" [Cindy and I both laughed at that!]

Cameron, who was already serving time for general mouthiness, chimed in from his room, 'Good one, Erin! Gimme five!!'

Now she is saying that she hates Cindy EVEN MORE, because it is so boring in her room, etc., etc. I guess putting her in her place [in this case, her room] is paying handsome dividends!

And it is much quieter downstairs!

Cameron's Newest Trick....

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

After all, he is a Floyd, and he does take after many of my brothers.

Anyway, this past week he showcased his latest talent: burping at will.

He was very proud of himself.

VERY proud.

A realist at work....

Yesterday as Cameron and I were tossing his latest little squishy ball* around in the frontroom, he made a rude comment to me, then to Makenna.

Dropping the ball on the floor, I decreed, 'Playtime is now over.'

Cameron moaned, then in a display I have never seen before, without askance he looked at Makenna and gave a sincerity-laden apology, and then did the same to me.

He must've noticed my stunned visage, as he then launched into a cryptic elucidation. 'I do what I have to do [i.e., to get what I want].'

Yeah, we started throwing the ball back and forth again.

*Note: He gets these squishly little balls with tentacles every Friday at school, when all the kids who have not gotten into trouble that week get to pick something from the teacher's basket of toys. He is very imaginative with them. 2 weeks ago he popped one of the them, but rather than throwing it away, he began encasing different parts of his body (not, not that!) in it.

Enjoy the photo of leper boy! Gross!

Baby Steps

We can now say that Allyson has taken her first bona fide steps.

Yesterday she tottered for about 5 before biffing it.

For your viewing pleasure, here is a staged re-enactment.

Or maybe she was just reaching for a cookie in the above picture...

The times, they are a'changin'

As I sat watching a Brady Bunch episode with Cameron and Makenna, there came a scene where Bobby was realizing how much of a stinker he had been, and was explaining how he had really learned a good lesson.

'There!!' I exclaimed to the kids, 'Look at that! A kid who knows he did something wrong and not only does he feel sorry about it, he actually apologizes!'

Erin had walked into the room just before my animated exclamation, and thus immediately retorted, 'Yeah, but that was like...1762! Not today!'

Cameron piled on, 'Yeah, that was like Year Zero!'

Once again, REAL reality and television are lightyears apart.

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.

A Dispassionate, Clinical Account (I.e., 'He Says')

At approximately 10:34 this morning, I received a call at work from Cindy.
She anxiously related that a carbon monoxide detector was going off.

I asked if both of the detectors were going off.
"No," she responded.
I asked which one of the two detector was going off.
She told me that it was the older one--the one that had caused a false alarm 3 years ago.
She further explained that she had turned the kerosene heater off about an hour earlier.

Having ascertained the pertinent facts, I reassured her that all was probably OK. I further said that she could call the fire department if she wished--the decision was hers, as she was still in her pajamas, etc. I further offered to come home if she wanted me to--I would meet her at Dean and Kay's house across the street.
Within seconds of hanging up, she called again and said that she wanted me to come home and that she was calling the FD.
I arrived home 10 minutes later, and after the FD came and ascertained that there was no carbon monoxide problem, I drove back to work.

As a countermeasure to such future false alarms, I will now be purchasing a CO detector with a readout that shows the current CO levels.
Problem solved!

Allyson Update

Maybe it's because we know she's the last one, but for whatever the reason, Allyson is a joy to have around.

It is heartwarming to see her break into a wriggling mass of smiles when she sees her Mom or Dad. Likewise when she is sucking her two fingers and you do some antic to coax the corners of her otherwise-occupied mouth upwards in a bemused grin.

She is good at scuttling around on her knees, and if she notices that you have food at hand, she scoots over and pulls herself up to make herself more available. If the food happens to be ice cream, she yelps whenever we let her go too long between bites.

She eats most everything. This past week I have fed her little bits of meatloaf, baked potato, freshly smashed bananas, and even some chicken enchilada. (Cindy was not amused with me when Allyson appeared to have a tummy ache after the enchilada and kept us both up half the night.)

She is now able to climb up the stairs--and quickly too--so we have dusted off the old baby gate again.

On the flip side, she doesn't sleep through the night as she used to, but we can handle that. At least she falls right back to sleep after getting tanked up again.


She is also a big 'Dancepad' fan!



What a gal!

Filthy Lucre Does the Trick

Cindy has come up with a new way to motivate the kids to get their daily chores done.

She made up chore charts, and at the end of each week the kids are now receiving an allowance based upon how many of the chores they have fully completed.

This is not to say that they get money for doing their chores, they just lose money if they don't do them. Cindy was also prescient enough to leave a number of empty spaces on each chart for additional weekly write-ins.

During the first week, everyone had deductions for missed work, but on the second week Cameron made sure he had everything done. The kid loves money!

And there have been a number of secondary salutary effects. There is no longer any fighting about who gets to sit at the end of the table (because the kid who sets the table for the whole week gets to pick where they want to sit, and they now know that they will each get a whole week to enjoy the 'hallowed' seat). Ditto for the big fights over who got to put what away from the dishwasher (they all strove mightily to do the silverware, one kid now does the entire dishwasher for the entire week!

Yes, Cindy is a genius!

With bowed head....

'Kenner has a new way of waking me up at night. She walks into our room, comes over to my side of the bed, and lays her head on my chest.

She then softly whines, 'I'm scared!'

That is my signal to get up and stagger behind her to her room and lay with her. Depending on how tired I am, I can be in there anywhere between 3 minutes and 4 hours.

Life is rough for a 42-year old dad!
However, Cindy is very appreciative of Makenna's new 'stealth mode,' as most of the time she doesn't hear Makenna come in, nor me leave.

Here is sweet 'Kenner during the daylight hours....


UPDATE! On Sunday night I woke up as she quietly came into the room. As she sidled over to my side of the bed, I pretended to be asleep, waiting for her to gently lay her head on my chest. She came near, paused for approximately 0.05 seconds, then roughly shoved me in order to wake me up. Just to show her my displeasure, I only stayed in her bed for 3 or 4 hours.

Allyson 'Spawn of Dracula'

A week ago Allyson was doing her darndest to get put on a formula-based diet.

As we have related previously, she has two lower teeth that are fully extended, and as Cindy let me know a number of times last week with her whimsical loud yelps (exaggerated for comical effect, I am sure), Allyson had been trying to get some red meat (or at least blood) in her diet. When Cindy first began yippin' at the nippin', Allyson would get startled, and even start crying in response. However, she soon grew hardened to the pain and just did it for fun.

Cindy is also quick to note that Allyson's fingernails also serve well as talons to pin down the prey during feeding time.

But as you might expect, Cindy finally found a good cure. As she started feeding Allyson she would gently place her thumb and forefinger on Allyson's soft cheek and softly caress her. When Allyson started to clamp down, Cindy would clamp the aforementioned two fingers together and apply some pressure until she stopped.

Thanks to this, Allyson has stopped being so carnivorous (cannibalous?) and both mother and baby are doing well.

Ahh, sabbaticals

Actually, the main reasons for the blogging being so light since Christmas is that things have gotten a lot busier at work, and I've been lazy during the time I get to spend at home.
But even more than that, it is also due to the disappointing performances of the kids--they really need to work on doing things that are blog-worthy!
They definitely need to get their collective acts together!

Parting words....

As I prepared to leave Makenna after tucking her in bed and tickling her back, she rolled over to face me and sweetly said, 'Don't even think about tootin' in my room!'

Christmas Loot and Smiles to Boot!

We really need to do something about that 'Red-Eye' photo problem!

As you can see by her facial expression, Allyson displays great pathos as she gives piano recitals!

Merry Christmas!

We hope you and your'ns had a merry Christmas!


Our kids enjoyed Christmas exceedingly, but we parents were rather stressed out--not enough parents to go around to help all the kids figure out their stuff!

Keeping the Floyd family tradition alive.....

Last night I made something I haven't made in 11 years of married life---oyster stew! Of course, traditions have to be adjusted over time, and this was no exception:

--I used half cream and half milk instead of just skim milk.
--I used a whole 12-oz. container of large fresh oysters for 1.5 quarts of soup instead of just a couple little ones for 2 gallons.

After just smelling it, Cindy refused to even look at the big oysters half-submerged in the stew. She made some wisecrack about the smell, and not wanting to spew!
As I was eating it later, I asked the kids if they wanted to see a really big oyster. Cameron came over to see, then Makenna came over for a gander.
I could tell she was impressed with my hot and creamy soup, as she had plugged her nose before approaching!
Anyway, at least I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Our first and second Christmas miracles

Tonight it was my turn to take Erin shopping, specifically for athletic shoes and jeans.
After sifting through the jeans for 30 seconds, Erin decided she didn't need to buy jeans tonight.
That was the first miracle.

Miracle number two was when we found a pair of Womens Size 12-Wide Nike shoes in a style she liked and a price I could live with. The miraculous part is that these were the only shoes in the store in that size.

Lucky Ducky

Today Cameron came downstairs wearing the same clothes he has worn for the past two schooldays. (It is no surprise that it is his camouflage shirt and pants.)
When Cindy pointed out this oversight, and pleaded that he wear something else, he refused.
She came to find out that these were his "lucky clothes."
Lucky how?
"Well," he explained, “Yesterday I got 5 homeruns in kickball, and the day before I got three." (And yes, he has quite the inflated ego about his kickball prowess.)

Cindy jumped at this teaching moment, and related to him the story of the little girl who had a lucky duck, then lost the duck, and thereby found out that it wasn't the duck that made her lucky after all.

Needless to say, that dog didn't hunt.

"Nope," he replied, "I still like these clothes--they're lucky!"

And they may be even luckier than even he thinks, as they will pay out extra dividends come Saturday when it comes time for him to do his laundry, as he will only have to wash, dry, fold, and put away one shirt and one pair of pants (along with his action figure boxers and the 3 pairs of socks (the ones with green wording in the toe area) that he deigns to wear).

Of course, the above assumes that he can bend or otherwise contort the lucky clothes ('lucky stiff' clothes?) enough to get them into the washer.

Gizzards

Erin brought home a slew of books from the library yesterday, all with similar themes, such as Haunted Houses, Scary Stories for Sleepovers, and The Nightmare before Christmas (based on the overrated movie directed by perhaps the most overrated director in history).
As she started Haunted Houses, she came over to show me the photographs in this 'non-fiction' book that had images of ghosts, etc. I explained the wonders of PhotoShop and other photo enhancing software. Soon thereafter she came to me to say that the book had made her scared.
Doling out loving fatherly advice, 'Well, stop reading it then! Duh!!' I gently urged.
'But I've read the whole thing already!' she protested.
Needless to say, at bedtime and then again much later when Allyson woke her up during the night, she complained about being scared.
'Think happy thoughts!' I suggested. Having just gotten Allyson back to sleep by tickling her back in the middle of the night, it took me awhile to think of some actual happy thoughts for her to consider thinking.
I don't think she'll be reading the other books anytime soon....

We don't want to make anyone jealous, but....

unlike previous years, it is only one week from the big day, but this is where we stand.
1. All presents to extended family, etc., have been sent.
2. All presents to our family have been wrapped (except for a few 'undecided' items).
3. Our Christmas cards and family Christmas letters (both the English and Japanese versions) have all been sent.
4. Presents for teachers have all been prepared.

But lest you accuse us of boasting....
1. Our 'goody trays' are only half-baked. (Truth be told, our neighbors for some reason have developed some very high expectations. A couple years ago we just took some banana bread and oranges to a diabetic neighbor, and there was such moaning and gnashing of teeth (mostly by the diabetic) along with hints that they were really anticipating our next visit when we would be bringing the 'real stuff' that we spent the next week making over 10 different taste sensations.)

Hmmm....maybe that was boasting too....?

Chomper

Allyson's first tooth has finally come through this past week.

Matching the indentation on my finger with her gums, it is situated on her lower jaw, just right of center.

Dear Mr. Manners....

Dear Mr. Manners,

As Christmas approaches and I see the way my children are acting, is there something wrong about these feelings I keep having--that I really want to return all their expensive presents that I have spent so much time and effort on and replace them with some chunks of low-grade sub-bituminous coal?
I mean, I know it would be wrong to take even stronger steps. Besides, there are no local gypsy folk to sell them to anyway!
Sincerely,
Being Driven Up the Walls in Dayton

Hello Walls,
I have some good news and some bad news.
The bad news is that the malady with which you are afflicted is a common winter ailment. As an aside, the illustrious Polish psychologist Dr. Myse is the namesake of the clinical name of the ailment, namely 'Myse Lfishk Ids Syndrome.' And I regret to inform you that this is a chronic ailment that strikes without fail sometime between the Saturday after Thanksgiving and December 22rd, and will strike every year until your dear children move away.
Though there is no prescription available to combat this, please do not be too concerned, because there is good news.
By December 23rd, the magic that is Christmas and frantic rationalizing that there must have been SOMETHING good that the kids did during the year that justifies straining the family finances will combine to relieve all the symptoms.
Enjoy your Christmas!

Cherry cordially yours,
Mr. Manners

Like a rattlesnake!

Last night at 10 PM or so Makenna staggered into our room. She was only half-awake and obviously moody.

We put down our respective books and asked the usual questions....
'Did you have a bad dream?'
'nnnNNNN!' she snarled.
'Do you have to go to the bathroom?'
'nnnNNNNNNN!' she hissed.
'Would you like to get in bed with us?'
Silence, then a short nod.

She climbed in between us and we gently covered her with a blanket.
Ten seconds later she petulantly threw the blankets off, accompanied by additional snarls.
'Are you hot?'
'nnnNNNN!' she screeched.
'Would you like me to tickle your back?'
'nnnNNNN!!!' she shrieked.
By this reply we now knew that she had reached a new level of irritability.
'OK, then we'll just leave you alone.'
I turned back and continued reading King Lear.
Makenna snuggled up against me, draping an arm over me.
Cindy and I both began chuckling.
'nnnNNNN!!!' she bellowed.

However, she was soon squirming around again, lashing out at anything that displeased her, which was anything she saw, heard, or felt. After a couple minutes of this Cindy decided to shut it down.

'Makenna! Tell us what is wrong!'
'nnnNNNN!'
'Why are you wiggling so much? Does your bottom hurt?'
'nnnNNNN!'
'Makenna, if you won't tell us what is wrong, then you need to go get back in your bed!'
A pregnant pause.
Then...
'I have to go to the bathroom!' she moaned.
Cindy and I again made eye contact and tried to hide our spontaneous chortles.
After Makenna finished her job, all was well.

Especially as Makenna for once asked Cindy to go lay with her for awhile!

Christmas is coming, The goose is getting fat....

....That means we clean the frig out
To make more space for all that!

As you can see, we haven't cleaned out the frig recently, and I must say that the great variety of old dishes (also called 'petri dishes') was something to behold! Cindy says I am becoming more and more like her father every day!

Cindy probably also appreciates that I am throwing away some of the old mustard I have accumulated over the years. I am trying to make room for the prepared horseradish I asked Santa to bring me.

The Birthday Girl

As you can see, Cindy didn't have to slave over a bloated icing bag to prepare Erin's 10th year birthday 'cakes.' So in one sense it was more of a present for Cindy!

And we finally took Erin to 'Build-a-Bear' for her to build her own....MONKEY!
[Does not compute! Does not compute!]
She loved the experience and loves her bear, AKA 'Misty.' (Miserly fathers like me also get 'misty-eyed' by the time they walk out of this establishment. Others just cry outright!)
She also loved the fact that we took her out of school in the afternoon to do this (the lines during peak hours are unbelievable!)

When candy canes ATTACK!!

Cameron and Makenna love the 'colored' candy canes.

And it's not as if Cameron doesn't have enough weapons already!

Yet, yet again he finds a creative new way to employ his tongue to inflict wounds on others!!

Kenner was rather proud of her tongue too, shown below in all its glory!

Today the TV stand, tomorrow the Alps!

"What am I doing here? Nothing. Nothing at all.....

Why do you ask?"

Is her favorite show M*A*S*H?

Allyson has obviously been watching M*A*S*H reruns on the sly (which just goes to show just how precocious she is, as to do this would necessitate splicing into a cable signal from a neighbor, climbing out of her crib, going downstairs, and working the remote. Yet this is mere child's play for her!!)

The signs are obvious once you make the connection. We have since surmised the following:

• Klinger is her favorite character.
• She likes to gamble, and prefers to be the croupier.
• She has little respect for authority.
• She enjoys being around nurses.
• She has an affinity for men named Frank (actually I just made that one up!)

Which I guess is just another of saying that Allyson has the croup--she's very clingy, she seems to think that the more croupier she is the better, she doesn't listen when we plead for her to stay asleep, and she saw a doctor on Tuesday.

Monday and Tuesday nights Cindy got very little sleep, and I got more than her, but still not enough. Last night she slept all night, and we were able to catch up on some sleep, but she is still under the weather.

Her voice has deepened an octave, she is quite snot-nosed, and between her throat hurting and being stuffed up, she has a hard time staying asleep.

The Towering Inferno

Erin is playing on a 7~9 yr. old co-ed basketball team at the YMCA. It is made to be pretty non-competitive (which dovetails nicely with Erin's non-aggressive style of play).

Still, she does have quite a competitive advantage over the other kids.



--There just ain't to many 5'5" nine-year-olds out there!--

However, when she starts playing games in the 9~10 yr. old very-competitive girl league in January, she will definitely have to 'take it up a notch!'

Precious Moments.....'Shame, thy name is USELESS!'

Cameron has a lot of 'issues,' mainly of the variety that drive a parent nuts. And, knowing Cameron, that is likely the main reason he employs his different idiosyncratic behaviors.

Intelligent imp that he is, on some days he makes a chimp seem intelligent by comparison.

For example, though he knows how to say a perfectly good prayer without help, and he knows how to tie his shoes quite well, on many days he will feign utter incompetence and have a cute little tantrum as he vociferously demands help for these and other easy tasks.

Yesterday he had a friend over for most of the afternoon, and as we were getting all the kids together to go to Sam's Club, there was Cameron on the floor demanding that we tie his shoes.

Seeing his friend there, I tried to utilize peer pressure (i.e., shame him) to get him to tie his shoes. 'Cameron, I'll bet your friend ______ knows how to tie his shoes. Maybe he can show you!'

Cameron's hands didn't make even the slightest move towards his laces.

But his friend--one of the nicest kids you will ever meet--enthusiastically responded to my suggestion. He crouched down and kindly tied one of Cameron's shoes, doing each step slowly so that Cameron could learn it. As he finished, he said encouragingly, 'There! Now you try to tie the other shoe!' As Cameron slowly did each step (which he could do in his sleep if he had wanted to), his friend continuously lathered him with generous praise, and when Cameron had successfully completed the operation, gushed, 'You did great, Cameron!'

Cameron's friend surely did a good deed that day, and must've felt 10 feet tall.

As for us, as Cindy commented later, 'I wish we had gotten that on video! We could've had decades of laughs at Cameron's expense!'

A Blogworthy Exclusive! See it here first!

We took our family Christmas picture today, and this was the #2 pick, provided as an exclusive preview of upcoming attractive attractions to our loyal blog readers (all 1 of you??)



The #1 pick may soon be coming in the mail to you soon!

(Or, if I procrastinate writing the family letter, in an email on December 24th.)

And before we forget....

We went to Denna's house for Thanksgiving dinner (mmmm....dressing), and we had Erin wear my Napoleon Dynamite T-shirt with only one slight modification.

See if you can spot it!

Windy Wintry Wonderland

After a good 10 days of beautiful 60-degree weather, winter finally made a comeback.

Let's just say that this morning it was 54 degrees at 5:30 AM, and now at 10:20 PM it is 28 degrees and getting colder.

And windy! Over the course of the day the wind managed to nudge our 16-foot trampoline over 30 feet downwind! It's a good thing we have a fence and a small side hill, or the upstream neighbors would've thought Christmas had come early!

Another generation of 'A Christmas Story' watchers

Over the past 2 nights I have had some quality entertainment as the kids watched 'A Christmas Story.'

Sure, the movie was as great as ever, but the funnest part was watching the kids cackle at the different scenes.

I had the foresight to hit the mute button right after Ralphie intoned, 'A crummy commercial!?' after he deciphered the message "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine" using his Orphan Annie decoder ring.

The last thing I need is sweet Cameron (or even Makenna) running around calling things (and parents) SOBs!

Cameron was a curious monkey.....I mean BOY....

Cameron had to use our bathroom for his #2 tonight, and as he sat there with nothing better to do, he began gazing around and saw a box near the throne.

'Hey,' he yelled, 'What are these things in this box?'

Figuring out right away what he was looking at, I yelled back, 'They are girl things!'

He rejoindered, 'Yeah, but what are they?'

I shot back, 'You'll find out in about 7th grade!'

Cindy chimed in, 'Believe me, if I tried to explain it to you, you wouldn't want to know!'

'Hmmmfff!' was his only reply.

Silence reigned for a short while.

Then he called out again, with naked disgust in his voice, 'I'm reading the box but it doesn't explain anything! Here's a different box of the same stuff....it doesn't tell me anything either! Sheesh!'

In this case, curious minds don't need to know!

Cindy took a story book in for him to read instead.

Our own Mary Lou Retton?

I went in to get a crying Allyson out of her crib to find her standing up, supported by the rail.

At this rate, she'll be on inline skates by Easter!

A mother's love....

Cameron was teasing Makenna, and I called out,
'Be nice, Cameron!'

Cindy, busily working at the microwave (and stove), sang out, 'Remember who you're talking to!'

Then, mimicking an Olympics announcer at a challenging event, she added, 'Degree of Difficulty...!'

Don't ever turn your back on him!

Well, Cameron did it again.

Cindy bought a quart of egg nog, and aside from a small cup for me and the remaining quarter-cup that Cindy was able to salvage from the bottom of the carton, he drank the whole stinkin' thing!

The give-away is the faint egg nog moustache!



And, of course, the look of sublime satisfaction!

In the spirit of Ol' Saint----no....I mean Ol' SLICK Nick!

At the end of dinner, the exuberant Beelzebubs began chasing each other, running and screaming throughout the downstairs.

Cindy promptly moved to direct their annoying energies to more fruitful endeavors--they were tasked with clearing off the table.

After further groans, complaints, and other crass behavior, they were further directed to load the dishwasher and wash and dry the other dishes.

Cameron suddenly had to go poop. Erin thought he was pulling a 'Slick Nick,' but when Cindy checked on him and began mega-gagging, they accepted that his excuse was valid.

From his throne Cameron then chortled, 'I've been saving up my poop until Mom had a job for me to do!'

Thus is the 'Slick Nick' further refined by succeeding generations of ingenious progeny.

It almost brings tears to my eyes....or is that just due to the fumes?

Stars in their courses....

Today things are back to normal.

Cindy was presumably off chasing door-busters at 4:15 AM, the kids slept until 7:30, we put up the tree and decorations, went to play at the Y, the kids had burgers and Frosty's from Wendy's for lunch, then we enjoyed the 60-degree cloudless weather at a park (with one quick run home for 'Kenner to do what she should've done before we left).

It is now 3:45, and no sign of Cindy, so things must be going well!

Oh....what is that? The garage door is opening!

It's a bit early for Santa.....

....but Cameron was giving it a go.

You don't often see Cameron with a cheesy grin, so enjoy!

Another generation of board-gamers

This week Erin and Cameron pulled out Scrabble, and with a little coaching and help from me, made it through an entire game.

We have since played 5 or more games.

The best part is that they don't really need my help anymore!

Role Reversals

It was a nippy Thanksgiving morn, with wintry frost decorating the grass. The constellation Orion was slowly sinking in the western sky. It was 3:45 AM.

Cindy was oblivious. She had only one thing on her mind....shopping, shopping, and then more shopping. Unconsciously pulling the warm covers up to her chin, she restlessly (yet very gingerly--she had been the chiropractor the previous morning) turned onto her side, and continued dreaming of blazing-hot sales.

I, on the other hand, was on my way to the local Meijer's to get a place in line for a 6AM door-buster I-Pod for Cindy (it's no secret, so no cats are getting out of their bags). Arriving at the 24-hour store, I spent 20 minutes trying to find someone who knew where the line was, thereby finally ascertaining that there was no line yet. I got some door-busting cashews, cheese, and coconut shampoo, then I moseyed to spot where the line was to be. There was even a stool there! I pulled out my handy Sudoku book. By 5 AM we were a line of 8. By 6 AM it was a line of 50.

I walked out of the store with my purchases at 6:10 AM.

I dropped the big-ticket items (something secret for the kids too) at home, then went to wait at K-Mart for their 7 AM sale.

At 7:10 I walked out of there with 50 blank DVDs and something for Cindy. I got home at 7:15, finding Cindy still in bed.

Tomorrow Cindy and I will reverse roles. Of course, she will shop all day with friends, eat a nice lunch with friends, while I watch all 4 kids.

Still, she will do 98% of the Christmas shopping, so it seems like a fair trade!

How to Leave Mom Speechless

On the way back from swimming at the Y tonight, Erin suddenly said, "Mom, if you could give me any nickname, what would it be?"

Cindy opened her mouth with a ready reply, but before she could say anything Erin added an addendum: "...and it can't be 'Sassy Butt."

That made Cindy think harder, and then as she again opened her mouth to reply Erin again added further restrictions, "Nor can it have just 'Sassy' or just 'Butt,' nor 'Bum,' nor 'Boo-tocks*.'

Cindy closed her mouth permanently--all the apt ones were now off limits.

*'Boo-tocks' is an alternate pronunciation of the word 'buttocks' that I believe was first uttered by her cousin Sydnee well over a decade ago.

There's Gold in Them Thar Hills!

Once again Erin and Cameron earned 'gold cards' for this first quarter of the 2006-07 school year. All the gold card kids will be given these cards at a special assembly next week, along with the usual coupons for free baby pizzas or kids' meals, etc.
Naturally, both kids are pleased as punch. Of course, in Cameron's case, he has never received anything else, so it's taken as more of a 'given.'
At both of their parent-teacher conferences they were highly praised as being well-mannered and hardworking students. Doing some math (220 school days x 7 hrs / 12 waking hours per day), I see that this correlates to approximately 128.3 days of good behavior in a year. Kindly adding a generous helping of the time at home they display these same sterling qualities, one comes up with a grand total of 129.5 days of such behavior in a year for Cameron, and 135.75 days for Erin.
Finally, this award serves to engorge Cameron's already ballooning ego, and when he finds out that he will be bused to another school next year every week to participate in 'gifted math' he will be completely insufferable. (Right now he is just a plain variety of 'insufferable.')
As an aside, Makenna was also praised as being a wonderful student, but they don't give out gold cards until 1st grade.

No, It's Definitely not Merely 'Pining for the Fjords'

Sadly, the last of the 3 original goldfish died last night. It was soon after Cindy had gone to all the trouble of changing the water and even scrubbing down the insides of the tank.
That was rather inconsiderate of 'Floatie' in my humble opinion.
As for the cause of its demise, it could be due to any of a number of factors or even a diabolical combination:

1. A change in water temperature.
2. Too much chlorine and other nasty chemicals in the city water.
3. Something that ‘fish specialists’ refer to as 'stress.' (I don’t get it—they’re almost identical to cats—all they do (and I use the word 'do' quite loosely) is lazily float around all day and eat! So where’s the stress?)

Anyway, Cindy felt kinda bad, so she and Makenna (and cute Allyson) went to the local fish pet store this morning and bought another goldfish. They named it 'Beauty.' (If it is anything like the last one in its final stages, it might be better named 'Blackening Beauty.'

And Makenna has already grown quite attached to it. In her own innocent, childlike way, she is trying to foster a closer relationship with it than she enjoyed with the first three fish.

This became apparent when she ardently asked Cindy, "Can I flush it when it dies? I didn't get to flush any of the other three!"

Holy Creepy Crawlies Batman!

Well, as of Sunday we can assuredly say that Allyson can crawl FORWARDS.

Once she really gets moving we're going to have to start baby-proofing the house, but for right now she just provides lively entertainment for her siblings as they watch her crawl toward some object and then they move it away, then move it away again, etc., etc.

Loquacity is for losers...

....or so Cameron obviously believes.

In his never-ending quest for pithy brevity in his utterances, he has hit upon a terse curse.

"You....ALL cuss words!"

This thereby puts the onus of figuring out which cuss words he means on the recipient.

The boy is a deep thinker!

Hypnotic Technique for Babes

1. Lightly brush a fingertip in a circular pattern around the baby's face, including around (but not IN) the eyes and nose, chin and cheeks.
2. Watch as the babe stops moving.
3. Watch as the 1000-mile stare develops.
4. Watch as the eyelids droop and the baby falls asleep.

It has worked like a charm this week--even when she has woken up in the middle of the night!

I think she has developed an addiction....

They can be taught!

Cindy has made the kids do their own laundry the past couple Saturdays (usually with little grins at me as she directs the work).

And it looks like it is paying off!

As Erin was folding her own laundry she commented that she didn't have a lot to fold.

Cindy immediately cautioned her, 'Well, if you don't have enough clothes for this week, you'll have to do another load in the middle of the week.'

Erin brightly replied, 'That's OK, Mom. I know how to wash my own clothes now, so even if I have to do another one it's no problem!'

As Cindy was telling me this, that little grin on her face grew to hugey-mongous proportions, which rather nicely complemented the little victory jig she was doing.

Have I been remiss as a father?

Wheel of Fortune just happened to be on as Cameron and I were sitting on the couch last night. The subject was 'The 1990s.' The solution was something like 'Super Bowl Won Three Times by the Cowboys.'

I could tell that Cameron was still puzzled after reading the solution, so I asked him,"Cameron, who are the Cowboys?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

I asked a follow-up:

"What sport has the Super Bowl?"

Another shrug.
(Surprisingly, Erin piped up with the correct answer to the second one!)

Still, even though he got stumped I don’t really consider his education to be at all deficient.

Stats Break

Makenna and Allyson both went to see the doctor, with Makenna getting three, and Allyson getting 4 shots.

As a matter of fact, a couple days ago Makenna was getting mentally prepared, and she asked the question, 'Will they hurt more than the flu shot [from 2 years ago]?' When she was told that it would be about the same, she said, 'Goody, goody--the flu shots didn't really hurt!' and she was actually looking forward to getting them.

And her prep obviously worked. Makenna didn't cry a bit.

As for stats, 'Kenner is in the 95+ percentile in height and weight, and Allyson is still hovering around the 20~25th percentile for height, but only 10th percentile for weight.

It's too bad for Allyson that cuteness isn't 'percentiligulated,' as that would certainly improve her overall scores! [See some of the photos in previous posts for proof.]

Backboards

No, Cindy wasn't carried off on one after her back collapsed.

Rather, Erin has been learning to use the backboard when making basketball shots. The past 2 years she has done pretty well relying on just dead-reckoning at the hoop, but both of her coaches on both of her teams are stressing the importance of learning to use the backboard.
I went out with her a couple days ago, and she missed about 4 shots, got mad, and stamped off. Then yesterday she and Cameron went outside and when she came back in she said she had made 30 in a row.
Tonight she only got up to 23.
It is a big confidence-builder for her.
I am also trying to get her to be a more aggressive rebounder. I have started calling her the shark in an effort to get her thinking about lunging after a rebound instead of being fairly passive.

Of course, as stubborn as she is at times, maybe I should be more specific on the shark species and call her 'Hammerhead!'

The holidays are fast approaching....

Cameron and I were in the frontroom playing Slap-Jack as Cindy walked in the door from WalMart. She called out my name and tried to sneakily show me what she was holding. There was little lighting, so all I could make out was that it was a quart carton of something.

After a couple tries of trying to make it easier for me to see (without turning on a light so I could actually see it!), Cameron hopped up and jogged in to take a gander.

I heard him start reading, 'Southern...Comfort...E" then a quick squeal and a jerk as he tried to rip it out of her hands.

'Egg nog! She bought egg nog!' he yelled out, already drooling in anticipation.

He will have to wait until tomorrow, but he is one happy egg-nog-sucking-down camper!

I'll be lucky to get a drop!

He always has a ready response....

As Cindy was combing Cameron's hair this AM, I lightheartedly called out, 'Hey cow-lick boy!'

He immediately replied, 'Hey, Red-Butt boy! That'll be from me kicking you in the butt!'

Happy November!

For your viewing pleasure....

Primary and Games of Chance

Cindy's Mom sent us a link to the online version of the gameshow 'Deal or No Deal' (though I didn't know it was such a hit in Peru....).

So as I happened to pass by Erin as she was choosing the suitcases, I heard her softly singing a Primary song:

Choose the right,
When a choice is placed before you....

Would this work when playing roulette too?

Timing is everything....Part II

When I got home from church, Cindy was scooping apple muffin batter into the muffin stoneware pan.

I smelled something funny about this time, and starting sniffing.

Cindy asked what the problem was.

"It smells like throw-up,' I dutifully replied.

Note to self: Never say this when in close proximity to the chef's workspace.

Timing is everything.....

So last night Allyson went down at 8:30 PM, and then woke up refreshed at 10 PM, looking like this:



Though I had originally planned to show the above picture in its full glory--with both a happy Allyson and a disgruntled Mommy, the editorial board revoked my freedom of the press and only the happy Allyson could be shown. (They gave me some cock-and-bull line about 'maintaining marital bliss.')

Quality Girl Time...

The kids were out of school on Friday, and my sister Denna offered to take Erin shopping for a couple hours. It appears that a good time was had by all, and Erin came back with some cool clothes and a nice Sunday outfit, complete with brown clogs. (Even though it was frigid cold last Sunday she still wore her old dirty purple flip-flops to church.)
We'll take a snapshot of the 'New Erin' tomorrow and post it with this blog.

UPDATE: Here it is....

Take a stroll on the Boardwalk....

Cameron has a new addiction--Monopoly.
I've played it with him twice in 2 days, and he has beat me both times.
Sure, I'm not trying real hard to win, but I enjoy the games because it is fun to see him doing the money math in his head without even the slightest hesitation.

'You owe me $26 dollars. Give me $31 and I'll give you $5 back.'

or

'I have to pay $40 in taxes, but I just passed Go, so I just get to keep $160 of the $200.'

I had always thought he would be an engineer, but maybe he'll be an accountant instead!

A Day of Endings

Today marked the official end to the soccer season for the three eldest. Makenna's team had a party at CiCi's Pizza, which also served as a proxy party for Cameron (since his is set for tomorrow (Sunday)), and Erin tagged along too. (Cindy stayed home with a sleeping Allyson).
Then tonight I took Erin to her party--all the teams in her age group had a roller-skating party. Erin even talked me into going out on the floor.
I am glad to note that we both made it through the night without falling!

Sudoku

Cameron is the latest victim to fall prey to this addicting little game. On Sunday he got up early (due to the time change), and 40 minutes later he came down and plopped the adult Sudoku book next to where I was making crepes. He had done an entire puzzle, and was quite proud.

He next proudly went on to eat 3 crepes.

Fict-ation

Makenna learned the words 'fiction' and 'non-fiction' and has never looked back.

As she and Cindy were watching a Barbie movie, Cindy told her that it was only 'make-believe.'

'No,' Makenna replied, 'It is FICTION!'

How to Ask for a Favor--NOT!

This morning after the other two kids had gone to school, Cindy told Makenna that she was going to take a shower, which 'Kenner graciously acknowledged.
But when Cindy got out of the shower, she heard Makenna's blood-curdling screams from downstairs. Listening intently for a second, she judged that they weren't 'hurt' screams, so she decided to get dressed first. She figured that Makenna was probably bent forward in front of the downstairs toilet yelling for Cindy to come wipe her butt--if she ignored it, Makenna might try doing it herself.
But--surprise, surprise--when Cindy came down she found 'Kenner lying flat on her back in front of the TV, and it was abundantly clear that she was not hurt at all.
Makenna espied her and yelled out, 'I've been calling you for about an hour!!'
Cindy lovingly cooed back, 'Did you ever think to use the legs that your Heavenly Father gave you so you could walk upstairs and ask me your question, instead of sitting on your little butt and screaming at me!!?'
Makenna looked at her with a completely baffled look—either she had never even thought that such an option existed, or, more likely, she considered Cindy to be loony for having dared to entertain such a quaint notion.
Cindy turned around to leave the room.
Makenna, mimicking a Marine drill sergeant, then belted out, 'READ ME A STORY!' which was obviously what the entire ruckus had been about.

Somehow I don’t think she has gotten her story yet....maybe when she's 10 years old?

Wrestling, anyone?

Allyson is also feeling her oats (rice cereal, to be specific), and is now getting up on her knees and slowly engaging in rearward locomotion. She often ends up in a corner. She needs to take a page from Mao's Little Red Book and try a 'Great Leap Forward' campaign (minus the resulting mass starvation, of course).

A Regrettable Moment of Fortitude

A day before Halloween Cindy asked me to hide all the chocolate and candy left over from the Trunk-or-Treat from her to prevent her from snacking (can scarfing really be called snacking??) on it during the day.

Just 5 minutes ago she called, cursing me for hiding it so well (I guess she has been searching), yet not wanting me to tell her. She ate a couple of Cameron's Tootsie Rolls and then, feeling guilty, she is instead began dipping into the candy bars the kids didn't like (which she had hid herself and thus was able to easily find by herself).

Temptations can be very desking...ooops, I mean vexing!

Belated Halloween Greetings

This Halloween was a first for us--it was the first time since we had kids that one of us actually stayed home to give out candy for the entire night! We'll have to get back to you as to whether it was truly better to give than receive...so far we have our doubts!

Cindy stayed home with Allyson (it was about 48 degrees), I took Cameron and Makenna, and Erin went around with her friend Erinn and family.

Makenna said her stomach hurt (though she didn't each much candy at all), so Cameron and I dropped her off at home after an hour and continued on. We went down a lightly-hit street and at half of the houses Cameron got 1~2 handfuls of candy! He was a happy camper!

As usual, the kids got a lot of candy, and did their best to sample it once they got home....and they gladly threw all the candy they didn't like into the big bowl for Mom and Dad (things like Snickers, Paydays, Baby Ruths, etc.)

It makes sense.....theoretically.....

Cameron came home today begging for a 'Cowtail' (a long and chewy candy) for having had a dry pull-up.

As soon as he got it he said that he had to go poop.

Cindy suggested that he take his math homework with him for his quality sitting time, but he said that he had his hands full with the Cowtail.

I chimed in that if he got any fecal matter on it he could get very sick.

He immediately shot back, "I'll eat it before I wipe my butt!"