Sunday, November 30, 2008

Sledding

It just wouldn't be a mommy blog without some sledding pics.  Today was the first measurable snowfall here in our region of the great state of Minnesota, and we had to go out and SLED!The Roses enjoyed their outing.  It was a bit of a struggle to get them out the door, especially Rose #2 (VERY picky about her coat, her snowpants, etc. etc.) but worth it!

I am still learning how to work my new camera.  Here is Rose #2, rather closer than I meant to shoot, but it is cute anyway.

Back in the SADDLE!

I happy ya.

We got a replacement for our really, really nice digital camera that fell from the top shelf of a tall bookcase.   The camera is for me - a smaller, MUCH less fancy digital camera, but it WORKS, and now I don't have to say, wistfully, "I wish I had our camera."

Last night we had friends over for dinner, and we made rollout cookies.  Decorating the cookies was one of the activities.  Here are Roses #3 and 1 in the throes of decorating.
And here is Rose #2 and her buddy Nadia working hard on decorating.  Putting sprinkles on is serious business.
Here is a panorama shot of the full decorating extravaganza.  (If you look carefully you can see one of our grownup dinner guests!)
I couldn't resist this picture of Rose #3.  I am just smitten with her.  All the Roses, actually.

Friday, November 28, 2008

A Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Menu:  Turkey, fried rice, mashed potatoes, Chinese broccoli, gravy (yes, from a packet), egg rolls, and squid.  And homemade french silk pie (take THAT, Baker's Square, with peanuts and tree nuts in your pie!).

We were at my in-laws' house.  Guess who loved the squid?  Rose #2, that's who.  She immediately asked for a helping of squid, and then seconds, and thirds.  Guess who couldn't even bring herself to eat squid?  Yours truly.  Guess who is getting used to the fact that squid would be on the menu?  Also yours truly.  (Seems like about time after 10+ years, but I can be a slow learner that way.)

I don't want to seem like I am not an adventurous eater, but in truth I guess I am not.  I am not opposed to other people eating things like squid, though.  I do think it is funny that a 4-year-old would want to eat it!

Other cute things about Thanksgiving:  
  • The girls, with their Ahgong, watching PBS kids on the new flatscreen TV that Ahma and Ahgong got for their kitchen.  They were sitting on the floor and Rose #3 was lounging on her Ahgong's lap.  
  • Rose #3 coming over to the dinner table after she was done but the grownups were not, and jumping while holding the side of the table as if she was on a trampoline.  But she wasn't.  
  • Ahma was cute because she loves the Roses so much.  She volunteers at Rose #1's school and Rose #2's school, and it continues to amaze me how much she loves the girls.  She watches them, and she knows about them, and I think they are the first thing she thinks of when she gets up and the last thing she thinks of before she goes to sleep.  That's ONE thing we have in common.  (Well, two, I guess - we both love her son!)

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Wishlists

The Roses and their cousins draw names for Christmas presents (spending limit = $25).  Tonight we worked on our wishlists.  Rose #1 wants all Pokemon items, Star Wars, and several items WAY out of the price range (D-rex anyone?).  Rose #2 also wants Pokemon items, a Christmas shirt (how cute is that) and several things that are indecipherable to me (a HSM tent with musical things - what?).  Rose #3 wants "Dora, Boots, Momo toy, and Purplicious.  Please."

My siblings and I also draw names.  My wishlist is pretty simple - although I have heard it is not the most well-written book of all time, I still really want to read Twilight.  So, I put it on my wishlist.  I also asked my husband to take me to the movie - he said he would take me, and drop me off, and go see the James Bond movie, and pick me up after.  Not exactly what I had in mind.

Tomorrow we are off to Ahma and Ahgong's house for turkey dinner.  I am looking forward to it.  We are bringing mashed potatoes and a homemade chocolate mousse pie (Rose #1 can't eat Baker's Square french silk pie - peanuts and tree nuts).

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Rose #3 and My Curious George

Rose #3 is playing with my Curious George doll, which I have had for a long, long time.  Curious George accompanied me to Russia, among other places, and to each apartment I ever lived in, and to our first house, and now to this (hopefully our last) house.  Here is a direct quote from Rose #3:  "Monkey Poopy.  Change Diaper."  I don't know where she gets these ideas!

Rose #1 is sitting at her homework desk.  It is actually a desk that H bought for me, a small secretary, and we made the mistake of putting it in the TV room.  It became a repository for random cords and wires, a bunch of unused flashcards, and old Netflix wrappers.  We thought better of this and brought it downstairs over the weekend, and I swiped it off with pledge wipes.  Now it looks quite nice, and we finally organized our art supplies so the Roses have easy access to crayons, markers, etc. for their crafting needs.

Rose #2  is just at loose ends.  She is on a 2.5-week long break from school, and while pre-kindergarteners arguably need downtime, I think she could stand to get back to class.  Mrs. S's class reconvenes on December 1.  Thank goodness.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Mellow (?!) MND

After yesterday's Thanksgivingpalooza, there was a smaller crowd at MND.   It was still quite loud!  The cousins - Roses and Sam and Maddie - were whooping it up all over the house.  They are not used to having the run of my mom's house because of the B&B, but there were no guests tonight.

We had a very good hamburger dinner (I had turkey sandwich) with thanksgiving leftovers.  Rose #1 tried the cherry pie tonight (and loved it, duh).  Rose #3 also tried the cherry pie and scarfed it down.  Rose #2, who is completely and utterly anti-fruit, would not even eat cherry pie.  Is cherry pie even fruit?

One downside to MND is that it makes our Mondays go really late.  I could hardly get in a word even with Rose #1 to hear about her school day.  I did hear that Roses #2 and 3 had a bath today - thanks to their nanny - who also introduced us to the wonders of baby oil for very, very dry skin.  All three of the Roses have heartbreakingly dry skin.  Rose #3 even has chapped cheeks.

I wish you could hear Rose #3 talking.  She can just talk up a storm.  And Rose #2, you can see the wheels turning behind her eyes.  And Rose #1, with her two rows of sharklike teeth (I kid you not, she has her two adult teeth in behind her two baby teeth on the bottom, and yes, we did have her checked at the dentist, and no they do not extract the baby teeth in that scenario).

Sunday, November 23, 2008

A wonderful pre-Thanksgiving

We always celebrate Thanksgiving on the Sunday before with my family, and we had a great time today.  We gathered at 2:00 so we could bring the kids to the grocery store to shp for the food shelf.  Guppy, Poppy, Tonya, Jay and I brought the Roses, Sam and Maddie, and Beatrice and Gus to Rainbow to shop for kids who don't have enough money to get all the yummy kinds of foods our kids take for granted.  Let's just say - the kids were more interested in playing with each other, taking junk food and throwing in the cart, and getting in the way of other shoppers than meditating on how we were helping some families that run into this food on their next food shelf visit.

Oh well.  I thought it was a great idea.  As time goes on the kids will hopefully get into the concept more.

Dinner was fabulous.  Turkey, of course, and mashed potatoes (our contribution!) and stuffing, and wild rice and mushrooms, and corn casserole, and green bean casserole, and bread, and cranberry sauce.  It was all so good, and I only sort of stuffed myself.  We had cherry pie, pumpkin pie and french silk pie for dessert.

And, the kids were good.  They sat at their kid table for the most part, and let the grownups eat.  Baby Kate sat in a high chair and ate sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and cranberry jelly.  She was SO GOOD!  She had a long nap and a good dinner, and Rose #3 played peek-a-boo with her all evening.

The funniest part of the evening was a joke Uncle Andy told while I was recounting the usual fascinatiing topic:  where did the Roses sleep last night?  I was telling about how Rose #3 came into our bed and was turning over and over like a rotisserie chicken.  And how H put her into the hall and locked the door, and how she cried for a couple of minutes, and then stopped crying.  Then, a second later, a small knock came on the door.  Uncle Andy said, "Land Shark."  Maybe it is a sign of how stressed out I am, or how much I needed a laugh, but I just laughed my head off.

We are so thankful for our family and all the good food we are blessed with.  

Thursday, November 20, 2008

What Should I Tell You?

About how I got home late from work, with groceries from Lund's, and our house was a total disaster area, like a train wreck, and H was sitting with the Roses on the floor playing Sequence for Kids?  And Rose #3 had peed on the rug and he was sitting with dishtowels all around him mopping up the pee?

Should I tell you about the sad thrown together dinner we had with bag salad, and the girls ate it like manna from heaven?  And Rose #3 said, after dinner, "Thank you for the dinner, Mommy and Daddy." 

Should I tell you about how 15 minutes sitting on the couch with H after the dishes were done felt like a moment of grace, and we had a good time just looking at the listings on craigslist for desks?

Should I tell you about how the thought of going to work tomorrow just makes me feel dead inside, and how leaving my girls behind makes me want to cry?  For an hour, or a day, or even a week?

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Study Hall After Dinner

Rose #1 in first grade has real homework.  She has a list of 10 spelling words she has to learn each week (the "hard' word this week is "picture" - which, if you look at that word for awhile, you wonder why exactly it is spelled that way).  Tonight we sat down and she carefully wrote them in two columns - one while looking at the list, and the other from memory.  She did pretty well.  I think she might be like her mama and a good speller.  For some reason I was blessed with being able to spell many words.  This is a talent that became largely useless after spell check was invented. 

We had a good night at study hall at the dining room table.  It does not help that Roses #2 and 3 have NO homework, and they were running around screaming like banshees.  But, I got the glue stick out (Rose #3 likes to think that gluesticks are actually chapstick) and Rose #2 worked on a smiley face guy with glued on pieces of craft-ish pom poms.  (You have to see it to know what I mean.)  Rose #3 dumped the brand new box of 64 crayons all over the floor and thought it was a scream.  You know, heaven forbid you should actually COLOR with the CRAYONS.  Far better to dump them into a waxy crayon pile.  Sigh.

Rose #1 persevered and got through her spelling list.  And, she worked on her math homework.  She also has a project to do about her cultural background.  This is a pretty intense school, but she is happy.   I have high hopes for this school to carry her largely unscathed through eighth grade - it is a 1-8 school - and hope she can go off to high school without a lot of the crappy junior high shenanigans.

It is funny how kids are so different.  I don't worry (much) about Rose #1's academic skills, but I worry about her socially (for reasons that are probably obvious).  I don't worry at all about Rose #2 socially - she is the life of the 4-year-old kindergarten party - but I do worry about her academically , at least as much as you CAN worry about a 4-year-old that way.  

Rose #3, I don't know about yet.  I was thinking this morning as I was walking into the skyway that we never even planned on having Rose #3.  (She was a bit of a surprise...a welcome surprise but a surprise nonetheless.)  I can't even imagine life without her now...

Monday, November 17, 2008

Happy Birthday Aunt Charity

How do you like the above?  Aunt Charity and Rose #3 collaborating to blow out the candles on a delicious pound cake!  Rose #3 ate quite a bit of the pound cake.  "More cake please."  "More milky please."  She starts each sentence with a little sound - kind of like a "nnnn" - so her sentences come out, "Nnnnn, more cake please."  Very cute.

MND

Just typing the word (OK, acronym) does not give you a sense of how people really say it - it is like a word -  Mennnnnd.  It stands for "Monday Night Dinner," when - each week - my siblings and I and our families are all invited to my mom's house for dinner.  Tonight we celebrated Aunt Charity's birthday.  We drew Aunt Charity for birthdays this year - and she is so easy!  She loves to cook, so we got her a bunch of cooking items.  Silicon spatulas, a big glass measuring cup, a mini muffin tin, and the best gift - a spritz cookie maker.  Who knew you can make cheese straws in such a device?  What exactly is a cheese straw anyway?


Rose #3 saw her favorite uncle (above!) and positively lunged for him to sit on his lap.  Rose #2 was so cute in her new High School Musical 3 shirt (from the clearance rack at my favorite discount retailer).  Rose #1 organized all the cousins - well, all of them except B. Kate - to make a card for Aunt Charity.  And, we had a very tasty dinner - Grandma Goldman's chicken.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Why I Missed Posting Yesterday and Weekend Musings

I took a Benadryl at about 6:30 p.m., and I was OUT.  Like a Light.  At 7:30 p.m.  This left H to put the Roses to bed by himself.  (Tee hee.  Perhaps I will start taking a Benadryl every night!)  I took a Benadryl because I ate something that caused the tastebuds on the BACK of my tongue to swell up.  A lot.  Anyway, that is probably TMI.  (Read on to learn what it was that I ate and the interesting back story.)

We had a fine weekend, especially after I got done working on Saturday.  I got home around 12:30 and organized everyone for a trip to the zoo with Aunt Heidi!  It was a good zoo day if a bit nippy.  We did the tropics trail first, then stopped for snack (where as Aunt Heidi observed each child had their own personal combination of chips, raisins, grapes, and crackers), then we went on the Minnesota trail, and then, to Discovery Bay.  Discovery Bay has a very, very fine tide pool.  Where periodically a huge wave appears cascading over rocks and causes foamy water to spread throughout the pool.  Which my beloved niece Beatrice could not help but stretch her hand and body out to touch, and - see if you can guess what happened.

I was sitting on a rock by this pool maybe, just maybe, about 7 feet from where Beatrice and the Roses were playing.  I warned them not to climb since they would not be happy if they fell in.  The starfish would also not be very happy!  I looked away, or was talking to Rose #3, or something, and I looked back just in time to see Beatrice slooshing into the water, face first, and her whole entire body was submerged in the tide pool.  She was not in there for more than about 2 seconds before I scooped her out.  She was shocked, of course, and wet and cold, but not in any real danger.  I don't know if she squished some marine life (I certainly hope not of course).  Anyway, I dispatched Rose #1 to find her Aunt Heidi (whom she summoned by saying "Aunt Heidi, we have a bit of an emergency") and asked the closest volunteer for a towel.

As it turns out, Beatrice was not the first child in the history of the zoo to fall into the tide pool.  They have a ready supply of towels for just this purpose.  They did ask us politely to leave the wet towel at Guest Services near the exit (which we did)!  Everyone was quite traumatized as we were leaving, so I got everyone a jumbo pretzel for the ride home.  I think it was one of the large granules of salt on the pretzel that made my tongue act so strangely.

Now you know why I did not post yesterday.  I am sorry because I was trying to post every day in November as part of NaBloPoMo.  I feel quite sad that I missed a single day.  But, on with the rest of the month.

Friday, November 14, 2008

MYO Pizza Friday

We like to have MYO Pizza night on Friday nights.  We have the following choices:

Shredded cheese
Pepperoni
Ham (turkey ham!)
Olives (yuck, but Rose #2 eats them by the handful)
Broccoli (yum)
Onions
Mushrooms

Rose #1 likes cheese pizza only.  Rose #2 likes pepperoni and olives. Rose #3 likes to grab handfuls of whatever is closest and dump it into a little tower on her pizza.  

We have a good pizza stone from the restaurant supply store.  MYO Pizza is very, very good on the pizza stone.

Tomorrow we are going to the zoo with Aunt Heidi, Beatrice and Gus.  We are excited about that!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

A fond farewell to our camera (sob)

Last night as I was reading bedtime stories to the Roses, I heard a terrible crash and a gut wrenching crunching noise from downstairs.  Then a "Oh Sh**!" from H.  Yes, our fancy camera, purchased as a Christmas gift from me to H a couple years ago, fell down from its "safe" perch on top of one of our really high bookshelves, and it is completely, totally, 100% broken.  And ruined.

It is my fault.  I took it down last night to take pictures for this blog (argh!) and I put it on the couch rather than putting it away on top of the shelf.  I also just stuck it in the bag, I did not fasten the bag.  So when H went to put it away on the shelf, his hand slipped and the camera toppled out of the bag.

What a stupid stupid mistake (of mine not to close the bag) and what a shame.  I am so sorry.  I know there are much worse things that could happen, but that camera brought us a lot of joy.  And it will be very expensive to replace.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Hangin' Around on a Wednesday

Wednesday night is Daddy's Class Night.  Tonight I had ZERO motivation to cook dinner, so we had turkey ham, blueberry muffins, and green beans.  YUM.  Rose #1 is not feeling very well today, so she just had chicken noodle soup.  She excused herself from the kitchen during dinner and played a videogame (on Disney.com).  Something about HSM3?
Rose #2 has learned how to make herself chocolate milk.  This is very, very dangerous.  Every time I turn around she is getting the chocolate syrup and a large gallon jug of milk out of the refrigerator.  Here she is stirring her concoction.  Can you tell it is not her first glass of chocolate milk (see, e.g., the brown smudges around her mouth!):

And Rose #3 has chapped cheeks already!  It is only November and her cheeks are all rosy.  Doesn't she have the cutest little smile?
Finally, here are Roses #2 and 3 playing the scarf game.  The rules:  unknowable to anyone over the age of 5.  The object:  unknown.  The prize for first place:  a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, shrowded in an enigma!
If I could wish for anything more on a day like this, it would be more time.  Time with my girls.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Rose #1's First Grade Conference

Well, we had Rose #1's first grade fall conference tonight.  Thank you to Guppy for babysitting Roses #2 and 3 so we could bring Rose #1 to her conference without her younger sisters in tow.

Rose #1's teacher is a veteran teacher of 5th and 6th graders but is new to teaching first graders.  I think she is doing a very good job with a group of precocious kids.  She has them all evaluated for reading level, and she has a very elaborate math system going.  Here is the bottom line on Rose #1:  she is a very strong reader - reading at a 4th grade level independently (which means she can read on a 5th grade level if someone is keeping an eye on her).  She reads too quickly though, so Mrs. Swenson has them stopping for text to person connections.  This is so cute - she has them putting post-it notes in the book and forces them to write down a connection they have to the text.  Rose #1 was reading a book about bees and a connection would be something like "I have never been stung by a bee" or "My sister was stung by a bee."

In math, Rose #1 is more reticent since math does not come easily to her.  She needs to focus on becoming more confident.

I love conference time.  I love hearing about how Rose #1 is doing, and what we need to work on  with her.  I am so grateful that she goes to a good school with a teacher who cares about her.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Just Another Manic Monday

Out the door early again to work, work, work, work all day then back home to the girls for MND at Guppy's.  We had tacos!  And corn.  And carrots.  And delicious homemade apple cake (thanks Aunt Heidi).

The mood was sort of subdued.  Our ministers' son is battling cancer and he is having a rough time. Check out his blog.  We are sending him healing thoughts and prayers and we wish him strength and health for his continued recovery.

Yesterday our sermon was about gratitude, and how even in the worst of times, on the bleakest of days, there are blessings all around us.  Today it seems hard to find those blessings.  My Rose #1 is whistling in my ear as I type - that's a blessing (of sorts).  Rose #2 is chowing down a piece of American cheese - that's a blessing.  Rose #3 was wearing a cute brown dress and her cheeks are rosy today - that's a blessing.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Menus 11/9 - 11/16

Sunday:   Chicken Salsa Chili, salad, bread
Monday:  MND!
Tuesday:  Tortellini with peas and ham, fruit salad, corn muffins
Wednesday:  Whole chicken crockpot, frozen veggies, bread
Thursday:  Five spice chicken, veggie fried rice
Friday:  Salmon, rice, broccoli

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Dinner at Jill and Tony's

Tonight we had dinner at Jill and Tony's.  Jill and Tony have 8-week-old twin girls!  We were so excited to see the girls.  The last time we saw them was at Jill's baby shower, and that was a number of weeks ago.  They were both very alert tonight.  And cute!  Baby A in particular has hair that reminded us all of Rose #3 when Rose #3 was a little baby (picture very, very sticky uppy).

Here are a few shots from the fun we had.  Jill and Tony have a Wii, which Rose #1 LOVED.  I mean LOVED.  She figured out how to play bowling and got about 4 strikes!  I think in this shot they are playing baseball.

Here is Rose #3 and her beloved old (old meaning former, of course, not chronologically old!) nanny.  Rose #3 has a very good memory for a 2-year-old.  She knows exactly who Jill and Tony are. 
Here is Rose #3 and Baby B!  They do bear some resemblance to each other.  Baby B's dad is Asian just like Rose #3's.
And, here is a shot that Jill has been waiting to get for some time (so she said!).  The Roses and the N's (the real names rhyme in real life, which we figured out as we were pulling into our garage on the way home tonight.
Thanks to Jill and Tony for letting us descend upon you and transform your house with newborns into a house with newborns and big kids!

Friday, November 7, 2008

Cousins Halloween

I can't resist a couple more Halloween shots.  Here is a group shot of all the cousins who were able to make it through MND for MND trick or treating (next year B. Kate!).  Back row:  Rose #2, Rose #1, S the Scary Vampire #1 and B Scary Vampire #2.  Front Row:  G the Brave Lion, Rose #3, and M as Dorothy.

And here is an outstanding close-up of the Scary Vampires.   I really liked their hair - neither one has black hair in real life - and the blood effects!

Tonight we went to Guppy's house for dinner and stayed to let her guests from tonight in.  I could never run a B&B myself, but it is fun to experience a little bit of it vicariously.  The guest from tonight was in town for her 20-year college reunion and she has grown children!  I am not all that much younger than her and my kids are still so little.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

One More Post

All right, I just want to say how proud I am of Rose #2. We went to her school conference tonight - she is in 4-year-old kindergarten - and her earnest teacher sat down with us to talk about how she is doing so far. Rose #2 is SO DIFFERENT than Rose #1. And, it is hard not to compare them! But I am going to try to avoid it if possible.

Rose #2 recognizes her capital letters, and she can count to twenty (almost - she usually skips 13 or 15). She can recognize facial expressions - happy, sad, mad, surprised. She is independent, can put on her own coat, etc.

Here's the newsflash: she is a huge social butterfly. She is very popular, says Mrs. S. She has a friend whose name we have never heard - Micah. Micah and Rose #2 are best buddies - they are like peas in a pod. They get separated at circle time because they like to chat so much. Who knew?!?!

I can't stand it that my own little HP is getting so big and is growing away from me. I know that she has to, it is natural, etc. But I can still be sad that my little baby girl is a big 4-year-old kindergartener.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Proud of Our Country

Today I am so proud of America. Remember when Michele Obama said during the campaign that she was proud to be American for the first time, and she got so much flak? I really understand how she feels now, after election day is over and the dust has settled. Honestly I never thought much about whether I am proud to be American - I just am American. But today I am very proud of our country.

It has been a long time since I have been anything besides ambivalent about the leadership in Washington. Now I am so excited, and looking forward to what happens, and hoping that in some small way I can help.

Guest Blogger: Rose #1

I am Rose #1. I am eating my Cheetos right now. I love my mommy right now because she lets us have three treats. Isn't that amazing? Anyways, at school I am learning about air and weather. My favorite type of weather is rainy because we can play in the rain and it is so much fun. I like to play with my neighbors.

Treat bags

When I saw these lovely sights, I had to take a picture.  Because of my chronic unpreparedness with things like cute Halloween bags, we used pillowcases.  They are actually working out quite well!  Here is Rose #3 with her head only partially inside her pillowcase:

Rose #2 is a very serious treat monster.  She is extremely focused on retrieving just the right kind of candy.
And here she is opening it.  Note the extreme concentration on her face:
And here is Rose #1, valiantly searching for a piece of candy that has no peanuts or tree nuts in it:
All I do is referee the number of candy items that are actually consumed.  If left to their own devices the Roses would devour the entire treat bag in one sitting.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Election Day Cuties

Here are the Election Day Cuties at our house.  First is Rose #1, who had to borrow my I Voted sticker.  She voted twice today - once at school, then again at the polls after I voted.  She was very enthusiastic about marking her ballot.Election Day Cutie #2 is Rose #3!  She voted too.  She had a ballot at the Kids Voting booth and managed to eke out "Barack Obama."  She selected the Libertarian candidate for Senate, however, lest you think she is brainwashed.
Election Day Cutie #3 is Rose #2, who enjoyed marking her Kids Voting ballot too.  She LOVES to say the words "Barack Obama."  I think it is the way it rolls off her tongue that she likes.
In all our polling place was very orderly.  I thought for sure we would have a long wait, but we had no wait at all!  It was great.  I felt so proud to vote today.  I was thinking a lot today about how voting is the great equalizer.  As long as you are 18 years old and a citizen (right?) your vote counts as much as the next person's. 

Monday, November 3, 2008

Guppy's Birthday and a Second Halloween

We celebrated Guppy's birthday at MND tonight.  We had a delicious collection of food - Aunt Heidi made beef stroganoff (which I am told was delicious), Missy and Bill brought bread and cheese, Aunt Boo brough mango pineapple salsa, I brought the chicken dish, Eli and Brenna brought green beans, and Tonya and Andy brought spaghetti for the kids.  Charity brought the cake, of course. And, we all went in together to buy Guppy a big sign for the B&B.  It says Cathedral Hill Bed & Breakfast and in the middle it says 488.  It was Andy's idea.  Great idea Andy!
We also had the BECHAMP Halloween.  It was a little bit crazy having both the birthday and the Halloween celebration, and in fact the Roses came home and absolutely PASSED OUT from exhaustion.   Here is Aunt Missy reading the annual collection of Halloween stories to the cousins who were still standing by the end of the night:
A fabulous time was had by all.  

Sunday, November 2, 2008

A day of chores and rest

Yesterday was a day to have fun (sort of) and get things done.  We pulled out the large sectional in the living room and found, you guessed it, 3 ancient jellybeans from Easter (YUCK), approximately 6 ancient raisins (I HOPE they were raisins anyway), $0.48 in change, and a lot of sand.  Oh yes, dirty socks, toys, crayons, paper, books, and other "missing items."  I am always amazed at how the kids can fight about toys that have been living under the couch for at least 3 months.  They spring forth from under the couch in all their sandy glory and are immediately the subject of great envy by whomever is not holding them at that moment.

Yesterday the kids became involved in a complex candy trading game with the neighbor kids.  Rose #1, of course, cannot eat anything with peanuts or tree nuts in it.  To anyone who thinks that nut allergies are not "real," I invite you to witness Rose #1 vomiting, swelling and wheezing if she eats a "fun" size Snickers bar.  I never posted about the horrible peanut butter incident - in my defense, Rose #1 had been TESTED for peanut allergies and came out negative.  Rule #1 of allergy testing - it is not always right.  Anyway, there was a lot of elaborate negotiation about how much a Snickers was worth in Smarties (i.e., 3 Smarties for a Snickers?  4?  Who can know the math.)

Rose #2 was so strung out from sugar that she was basically a howling mess all day.  With any luck she will be sleeping until 8:30 this morning.  Oh yes - HA!  HA!  HA!  My kids NEVER EVER sleep past 6:00.  Especially on "fall back" morning.  Who thought up fall back anyway?  Might have made more sense when people actually went to bed when it gets dark.  Not anymore!  Now the kids schedules will be all messed up for a week or two or three.  Sigh.

Rose #3 is my only nosepicker and fingernail biter.  (I guess if you have to have a combination that's a good one to have.)  But she woke up from her nap yesterday with a very bloody nose and a bloody pillowcase.  Blecky.  Straight into the bath with Rose #3!

H bought a contraption yesterday that replaces plastic garbage bags for leaves in the fall.  It is a big tarp that ties up into a makeshift bag.  It is pretty neat and it saves us from having to throw away a bunch of plastic bags each year.  We have more raking and trips to the compost pile in our future for today.  Is it a little bit weird that I really like to trim branches?  We have a TON of branches in our backyard, waiting to go to the special compost place that takes tree trimmings.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Halloween 2008

It was a gorgeous night for Halloween in Minnesota.  It was about 55 degrees when we went out at 6:00.   Rose #1 went as Luke Skywalker.  She saved up for her own lightsaber!  Lest you think that I am a terrible mean mommy that makes her children buy their own costumes, it should be noted that we actually already have three lightsabers, but none of them was the right color.  So, Rose #1 was required to buy her own blue lightsaber:
Rose #2 was Pikachu.  This is a Pokemon character, in case you didn't know.  We were SUPER lucky to find the costume at a thrift store.  Actually, I have thrift store shoppers that shop on my behalf (thanks Katie!!) and she found it.  $5!!!!!  We bought the face paints and Tam made the ears.  Yay!  Note the side view of the tail:
And Rose #3, of course, was a giraffe!  This is the same costume that Rose #2 wore when she was 2.  I thought the face painting turned out really well (if I do say so myself).
And I wanted at least one of me and Rose #3:
And here is the group photo for Halloween 08:
Gosh, we have a lot of candy in our house today.  Rule #1 of the day after Halloween:  NO CANDY BEFORE LUNCH!! 

Menus 11-1 through 11-7

Saturday 11-1:  Casserole Tam made that we didn't eat last night, frozen veggies, corn muffins
Sunday 11-2:  Pork chops and chicken breast on the grill, homemade bread, broccoli
Monday 11-3:  MND!  We have to bring a chicken dish.
Tuesday 11-4:  Election Night!  Crockpot chicken, frozen veggies, homemade bread
Wednesday 11-5:  Class Night!  Bean and noodle soup, homemade bread
Thursday 11-6:  Breakfast dinner (eggs, pancakes, fruit salad)
Friday 11-7:  Make your own pizza night