Rebel without a Pause

Tomorrow is picture day at school, so Cindy gave Cameron a quick trim around the ears and neck at bedtime.

Afterwards, he complained that his hair was still wet, so Cindy gave it a quick blow-dry.

For some reason, he even acquiesced to a snapshot (after Cindy grabbed him at the onset of his 'bolt and run' instinct....)

I think this is called the 'James Dean look'?

Makenna? Our Makenna?

Makenna got a 'card pulled' at school today, and her teacher wrote a note for us to read.
It read, "Makenna was on a yellow card today. She was reminded several times that she was not supposed to be talking loudly in the hallway and continued to do so."

Imagine our shock!

Our Makenna talking loudly!? And not listening to what an adult tells her!?? I can't imagine why the teacher didn't realize that Makenna was merely whispering as softly as she could. It's not Kenner's fault that her whispers usually don't fall much below 70 decibels! That probably also explains her poor listening skills--the poor dear is probably deaf, bless her heart!

Cindy had Kenner write an apology letter, dictated by Cindy and modified slightly at the end by Kenner.



It looks like Kenner needs more spelling lessons too!

As for suck-up lessons, she has obviously had plenty!

Magic 101

From what I understand, yesterday Cindy was asking Allyson the following question (it goes without saying that it was rhetorical in nature):

"Ally, is Mommy pretty?"

Ally never really deigned to respond verbally. Or via gestures. Or via a nod. Or via a big thumbs up. Nothing--Nada--Nil--Nashi.

Shortly thereafter Ally came up to her holding a princess wand (with a star on the end), and touched Cindy with it, and said, 'Make Mommy pretty! Make Mommy pretty!'

As Cindy later asked me, 'So, does she think it takes magic to make me pretty?'

Obviously another rhetorical question. (As I know so well, Cindy has yet to be hit with--or even suffer a glancing blow--from an ugly stick.

[I am working from memory here, so I am sure that Cindy will revise it later....)

***Cindy here to revise***
We were on the phone with Grandma and I was with Allyson, prompting her what to say to Grandma. She was repeating everything I said wonderfully. I thought I would try this one,
"Allyson, tell Grandma that your mommy is very pretty."

Thoughtful silence. Then, "I need my wand."

"What?" I asked.

"I need my wand," she replied

Then she hopped down and grabbed her fairy wand from off the floor and started waving it in my face saying, "I make Mommy pretty."

Ummmmmmm thanks.

****Note****
Louis watched me type up the revised edition of his post and told me to just go ahead and delete what he wrote.

"No thanks," was my reply.

I like everybody seeing how I tell him a story and he only half listens.

Curse you, Craig's List!

So yesterday Cindy called me at work, and said, "I see a listing on Craig's List for free walnuts."

That perked me up immediately. (Perhaps more the word 'free' than the word 'walnuts'? And there's nothing I can do about that. It's hard-wired into me.)

Anyway, I knew I had some late meetings, so I suggested she come by and pick me up and we could make a long lunch of it.

And let me digress and say that Superman didn't really exist. I changed into 'playclothes' in the middle seat of the van as Cindy drove, and really, there is NO WAY that he could've made the wardrobe change in a phone booth!

So, 7-odd boxes later, Cindy drove me back to work and she took care of unloading them and the millions of maggots that were beginning to emerge from the boxes due to the vibrating van. (Some insect lays eggs in the green covering over walnuts, and their young (maggots, one and all) live happily in that warm, moist environment).

Cindy was sufficiently grossed out. (But the van got a good vacuuming as a result!)

Anyway, last night I started removing the maggot-ridden crust of some of the walnuts. I was doing it manually with a knife, and an hour later I had a bucket full.

Tonight I continued the work, but I drilled a walnut-sized hole in my old worktable and then smacked the walnuts through the hole with a mallet, thereby removing the husk in a couple seconds. Things went quicker by a factor of 10 or more.

Anyway, I told you the above gory details in order to show you the results of my mostly gloveless labors.



And even searching on Google I have yet to find anyone with a method of removing these stains.

When I showed Cindy the stains that were a badge of honor reflecting (though black doesn't reflect, so I am speaking metaphorically) all the work I did tonight, she, being the kind--even genteel--soul that she is, exclaimed, "It looks like you've had your hands up a cow's butt!"

Later on she cackled again and said, "It looks like you gave a cow an enema!"

All I can say is, I hope these walnuts aren't rotten!

Ahh, feel the breeze!

As of 11 AM this morning, we now have a storm door on our front door. (Our good neighbors had one installed at the same time, and thus the contractor doing it gave us an even better deal!)

The contractor was the building manager/contractor when our new house was built and he treated us good and fairly, but with the housing downturn he was laid off along with half of the company (after 16 years!) and we found out that he was looking for odd jobs until something comes along, so it was a win-win for us both.

Don't be surprised if I am writing next week about having had the basement framed!

Aching Calves

Cameron is the naturally gifted sports dude of the family (it obviously skipped a generation on the Floyd side), but this year soccer has been more than a match for him.

His coach has managed to achieve something I thought was impossible—run Cameron into the ground during practice. (By the way, we do like the coach and his coaching style.)

In previous years Cameron would be full of vigor and vim, eagerly awaiting the fun of practice, and still be full of it at the end of practice.

However, this year he has come to dread practices and he comes home sore, tottering like a grandpa. He even demands a heating pad for his calves at bedtime.

And there is a 3rd grade teammate (Cameron is in 4th) who is just an amazing natural athlete—he can run faster and longer than anyone else, kick harder and more accurately, and is a gentleman team player to boot! (When other teammates miss a good kick or let a goal through, he is the first to call out, ‘That’s OK [So-and-so]! Good try!’)

Anyway, this (one-way) competition has also served to spur Cameron to greater heights.

But it has paid off—he scored 2 goals the last game (the final score was 12-2, and that was after half of Cameron’s team switched sides to help the other team), for a total of 3 this year.

As Cameron proudly told me, ‘I even stole the ball away from [the amazing kid] 2 times when he was playing for the other team!’

Making the Day of Others on a Daily Basis

Today Makenna woke up crying with a very sore side, and she explained that she fell off of the merry-go-round at school yesterday. Cindy decided to keep her home, as the inevitable crying and whining fits that Makenna is so proficient in were more than she could stomach.

So all day she kept telling Cindy she had a fever and kept begging and begging and begging and begging and begging and begging (Makenna is very good at this...) to have Cindy take her temperature.

In exasperation and to show her that she was imagining things, Cindy finally took her temperature in the afternoon, and just as she expected, it was 99.6 (i.e., as Makenna expected!) An hour later, it was 100, and soon thereafter it was 102.

And tonight as Cindy discussed this with the neighbor, the possibility that Makenna's side hurting might be the result of a kidney infection was posed, and then the following conversation ensued:

Cindy: 'What causes a kidney infection?'
Friend: 'I don't know.'
Cindy: 'Is it whining? Because if it is, she DEFINITELY has one!

And on a totally unrelated note, we have found that lots of people--mostly mothers, it seems--seem to find great solace, peace of mind, and soothing relief through reading our blog entries and how we ably[?] deal with our beloved spawns of ......I mean, children. (We are proud to be the virtual Prozac?)

I can't imagine why....

As you might expect....and now exposed to the world!

Our old (as in previous) neighbor mentioned that if I checked out the Street View feature on Google Maps at our old address that Cindy and I were shown in all our glory.

So I looked, and I found this:



Hmmm....as near as I can tell, I am edging the yard (with one of those manual tortures--I mean EDGERS), and Cindy is either fascinated with my skill, spurring me on to greater action, standing idly by, or glaring at me.

I report, you decide!

Ruminations in the Dark

During the two evenings without power we had minimal—yet sufficient—lighting, and one soon learned to cope with it.

Interestingly, my first thought when I walked inside Tuesday evening after the electricity had been restored was that the lighting seemed so awfully BRIGHT—almost TOO bright!

When I mentioned this observation to Cindy, she added that we should turn off the main breakers at 8:30 PM so the kids will get in bed earlier!

Since as US citizens we are told every day by the media that we are over-eating, over-spending, over-polluting, over-consuming (you pick the flavor-of-the-day consumption crisis—oil, gas, ice cream, butter, prescriptions.....), over-reacting, over-invading, and of course over-warming, maybe OVER-LIGHTING should be added to the list of reasons for shuddering with guilt when thinking about this great nation (at least for those so inclined).

Knock yourselves out, ye self-flagellators!

Blowin’ in the Wind

We had a major windstorm Sunday afternoon—Hurricane Ike’s final hurrah, as it were--and lost power at home (and at my work) until Tuesday afternoon.

We consider ourselves to be the lucky ones, as many of our friends and coworkers and are still without power.

The Ohio tree population and house shingle population suffered tremendous losses, but there were few human injuries. Driving around, you could see an endless array of trees with tops broken off, split trees, uprooted trees, and of course tree branches all over the place. Fortunately, the small trees in our yard (and in the neighborhood) all survived, as did the shingles. The only real temporary loss in the neighborhood was a snap-together shed (that we put back together on Monday).

The kids enjoyed eating pancakes and eggs cooked on the campstove and grill,

and we parents enjoyed putting the kids to bed when it got dark at 8:30. We are certainly glad we had 3 crank-type LED lanterns, 2 crank-type LED flashlights, and 2 LED headlamps. The kids used the LED lanterns as night-lights, and by morning they were still glowing dimly.

Our neighborhood became even closer tight-knit and everyone helped everyone else as much as possible. For example, a friend called to tell us that WalMart had just gotten a shipment of ice, so Cindy and Darlene, (our neighbor),went and picked up 10 bags or so and distributed it to neighbors. We even had a ‘block dinner party’ Monday, with everyone bringing stuff from their slowly warming fridges and freezers to cook on the grill, etc.




We fared better than most (our main freezer stayed frozen), but some things we learned include:
1) Always keep that extra propane tank full.
2) Always have an extra gas container (so that you always have some if you need to run chainsaws, etc.—assuming, of course, that you have the right oil to mix with the gas....)
3) In a long-term emergency you will be sharing your food storage with neighbors in need—so what really constitutes a ‘year’s supply?’
4) An old-style phone that doesn’t rely on electricity is a lifesaver. (Our neighbor in our previous neighborhood had given us one of his extra ones a couple years ago, and it has come in handy many a time!) Cell phones are also very handy.
5) When everyone is in the same boat, you see the inherent goodness in people come out, and people are more likely to initiate conversations with total strangers.

More later, I’m sure.....

Another rite of passage....

Here it is 10:55 and I am sitting at the computer waiting for Erin to come home from her first real babysitting gig--with real kids (5!) and everything!

On her own accord she even packed a 'Fun Bag' of books, treats, and toys to entertain the kids. (The things they teach in her at Activity Days! She can be taught!!)

3+ hours and just a couple calls home for minor advice--sounds like she did a good job!

I've heard of Fantasy Football, but.....

Last night found Erin and myself driving madly (yet safely) at 5:50 PM to a soccer field in nearby Tipp City.
Through a calendar malfunction (isn’t that what you call it when you don’t read what’s on it?) we didn’t remember that Erin had a soccer game at 6 PM, so when Erin came home from playing in the neighborhood at 5:45 to tell us that the asst. coach’s husband (who lives in the same neighborhood) had told her about the game, there was a mad dash to get her ready.

Anyway, I told you that to tell you this.....

So, there I was driving as Erin was busy putting on her shin guards and other accoutrements of the trade. Then she suddenly began daydreaming out loud about what would happen when she arrived right before the game was to start.

[Loosely paraphrased, of course....my memory isn’t THAT good!]

‘Yes, the other team is probably saying, “Look at that team--they’re all pretty small and not very fast--they don’t look that tough.” And then when I get out of the car and start walking over, and the girls will then start saying, “Wha.....what is that THING?!! She’s so TALL! And so FAST! She’s......she’s like a MONSTER!!!”’

And when I looked over, Erin had this big contented grin of anticipation on her face.

Erin’s team went on to score the first goal and then to not score the next 5.

Obviously her daydreaming was more akin to Fantasy Soccer.

UPDATE: I did forget to mention that she got some good kicks in, stole the ball a couple times, and body-blocked a kicked ball a number of times!

Through the eyes of a child!

Makenna came home from school on Wednesday exclaiming, "Mrs. Novellino saw the clean desk fairy going into the 3rd grade classrooms last night after all the kids were gone!!"

"Who is the clean desk fairy?" I asked.

"She is the cousin of the tooth fairy. She was jealous that her cousin was the tooth fairy so when she saw the Clean Desk Fairy job was open she tried for it and got it! Her name is Deskalina! I wonder if she is going to come to the 2nd grade tonight?"

"What does she do when she comes?"

"She looks for kids whose desks are clean and leaves them a little treat."

"Do you have a clean desk?

"Oh yes. My desk is really clean."

Apparently it is clean because Deskalina did visit and she did leave a note and a little treat for Makenna. WaHOO!! I like Mrs. Novellino.

I just realized I have never told Makenna about the Clean Bedroom Fairy. He name is Roomalina. She leaves a treat if you leave your room clean when you go to school.....

Shut your Trapper!

Erin, Kenner and Cindy made a run to Target, and while there Erin began begging for a Trapper Keeper multi-function binder/planner/junk collector for her school stuff. She used the usual 'cock-and-bull' arguments about there not being enough room in her current folder, etc., etc.
Finally, in minor exasperation Cindy relented, but still wasn't too pleased.

As they continued through the store on the real reason for going (exchanging and buying curtains), Erin kept asking Cindy, "Mom, are you mad?"

"No Erin," she would reply with a sigh, "I'm not mad."

Even as they were driving home the same conversation continued, but then it took a slight detour off the beaten track:

Makenna said, "No, Mommy's not mad. If she was mad she would be yelling and screaming!"

"No," Erin countered, "When she's really mad she either sighs, shakes her head, tightens her lips up, or walk away."

As Erin was reeling off the above, Cindy relates that her lips actually WERE pressed tight and she actually WAS sighing.

UPDATE: As I was typing this in, Erin came in to show off her new planner. She sat down next to me and began to point out all the nifty stuff. In the middle of reeling off all of the nifty features--and without skipping a beat--she pointed to a pocket and said, 'and this is where I will put my cell phone when I get one, and this...."

Let me just go on the record and say that the day she gets a cell phone will be the day that my heart has decided to skip all its beats permanently.....

Ummmmm...maybe another time.

I thought I would start potty trainging Allyson yesterday. I have changed my mind!

This photo is deceptive. She is happy only because she got chocolate for sitting on the potty. It does not show her yelling and crying later on for 20 minutes or so because I wouldn't give her more chocolate. The deal is you get chocolate if you sit on the potty. She didn't like the deal and I am not ready to deal with IT!

Warning: Not for the faint of heart! Proceed with caution!

I took this photo before leaving for church Sunday. Apparently Erin could not find her skirt.

Two Princesses

This is Allyson and Kylie. Allyson LOVES Kylie. She is our neighbor and if possible Allyson would spend every waking moment playing with her. Here they are dressed up as Rapunzel and Cinderella having a little refreshment while on the lookout for a Prince Charming.

Makenna's 7th Birthday

On Saturday August 31 we celebrated Makenna's 7th birthday. It started out a bit rocky when she came home from school Friday. She ran off the bus to the house crying when she found out the garage door was locked. You see...she had a horrible headache and felt like throwing up. Poor Kid. I was sure she had a migraine so after throwing up I sent her to the basement. It was darker down there, cooler, and she could lay on the couch and be left alone. She had taken cookies to school Friday to share with her class and I figured the sugar from that added to the 90 degree heat and horrible humidity on top of having her classroom on the third floor of their school with no air-conditioning would all make sense for having a migraine.
By the time Saturday morning rolled around it was evident that it was more than a migraine. It was a full-fledged virus... fever, throwing up and all.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Makenna would not let it get her down though. She insisted on having her presents at 6am. I insisted on letting everybody else wake up first! I won!

She was thrilled with her gifts. 2 Webkinz, polly pockets, pj's, books, markers, sparkly body wash and lotion and of course candy.

Here she is with her cake. After she blew out the candles on the top layer Cameron said, "Nobody wants to eat that now that it has your germs all over it." He was only partially right. We removed the top layer and served from the bottom.

We Love you Makenna!

Follicular Follies

Picture this:

I have gotten Allyson out of bed and carried her downstairs. She is still a bit sleepy and is leaning her head against me.

I give her a big hug and then tell her, “Ally—you’ve got to get down now, because Daddy has to go wash his hair.”

Ally pops her head up and then cocks her head to the side, intently looking upward at my hair with a delightful, impish grin on her face.

Cindy sees this and makes the dry comment, “She’s looking for ‘it’!”

Did you ever get that nagging feeling?

As I was posting the previous post, I kept looking at that first picture of Ally, thinking, 'Where have I seen that look before?'



And then it hit me!

And then I did a Google search!

And then I found the exact photo I was looking for, and I saw....





....that......







.....I.......







....had......






....been.....




....spot.....





....on!




Here's Johnny!!!!--------------And here's Ally!!!!


Whaddya think? A 'Shining' example, or what?!