Spring is coming!!

Driving past Herman's today, we saw the sign: Opening March 19th!! That's as sure a sign that spring is on its way as any old robin, and not a moment too soon!!

Trivial Pursuit

If you've ever wondered exactly how large an item you could flush down a toilet without clogging it entirely, I can tell you that a 4-inch plastic toy boat will fit down the toilet & allow some water & such to pass. I can also tell you that at some point after flushing said boat, you're going to have to pull the toilet off & remove it from the toilet so that anything else besides water can also pass. And I could also add that plumbing is just about my husband's favorite thing to do, but that might be a teeny tiny bit over the top....

...and I mean business!

The other day I asked Mary Beth how I looked before I went to work. I explained that I had a meeting where I had to lecture someone about not doing what they were supposed to do & said, "So, do I look like someone you should listen to?"
She responded, "Yeah, Mom...you should call that your 'I mean business!' suit!"

Out of the mouths of babes :-)

Live & Learn

Note to self: Next time, when you're taking a photo of your adorable youngest child doing something that you would otherwise discourage him from doing, take away the mashed potato container before grabbing the camera...

...or else. Is it any wonder we recently got a new vacuum cleaner? :-)

Contentment...

...is listening to siblings bickering, Star Wars actions figures & their sound effects, the sound of cheerios dumping on the floor. Much better than sick kids laying around! We dodged the bullet this time & Mary Beth is feeling so much better. E just bumped his head on the table - isn't it great how well the "magic boo-boo words" work? Hailey, hailey, hinkle dreck...he hopped down off my lap & said, "All better, Mommy!"

Jonathan's kindergarten class does something called "kid writing." Sometimes the teacher gives them a theme to write about, other times the subject is up to them. It's amazing to see the progression from month to month, and then from the beginning of the school year to the end. This was a page from J's January journal:

I like Ethan. He is my brother and I got a sister. Her (name) is Mary BeF. Too cute!

Coming storm?

OK, today feels less than hilarious...MB is sick with we-don't-know-what & came home early from school. Jonathan announced this evening that he has a headache (& just doesn't look so hot). Ethan's got that non-stop runny nose that sort of glazes his face. Ick. So everybody's tucked into bed with barf buckets close at hand. I still have traumatic memories of the other year when everybody except E was throwing up at the same time...eeeeew.

On the other hand, there were cute moments: E smiling and giggling while we played this little piggy as I put him in his jammies. MB asleep on one end of the couch & E curled up on the other end. Michael & Jonathan trying to count out 100 smarties for 100th day tomorrow at school (and having to start over a couple of times when they got interrupted & lost count!). J repeating, "Oh my gosh Mom! Oh my gosh!" as he turned the pages of his new book about archaeology & mummies. He really did say it about 25 times :-) He was so excited...his student teacher read his other book about Egypt to his kindergarten class today, and the kids were all suitably wowed. Pretty big day for a 6-year old!

It's all good...