From What I Hear...

10 Random Thoughts

Lots of marbles have been rolling around in my head lately.  Hope I haven't lost any in the process.

1.  Spring in Budapest is transformative and summer is looking pretty darn wonderful.  It's awesome to open my windows in the evening and feel the cool crisp air filter through the house.  My garden burst to life in late March and now with summer practically here, I'm digging the idea of a pool.  I'm loving this 4 season thing.  Everyone should be doing this!
2.  Living in Europe has definitely boosted my score on Logo Quiz.

3.  Lincoln turned 12 in April, then he got the Priesthood and now he passes the sacrament and every week I'm reminded that he's not a little boy and it's still freaks me out.  On top of that, last week we went to the doctor for a checkup and Lincoln has gained 24 lbs and grown at least 3 inches since we moved here.  It's great 'cuz I have a few other things that require my mad worrier skillz.  (yes, skillz with a z.)

4.  I adore salsa.  Adam had a business trip to the states and he went armed with a list of US necessities, not the least of which came in a large Costco-sized plastic jar label El Paso.  The sheer awesomeness is without bounds.

5.  Having a maid is pretty darn perfect.  There's a lot of things that have gotten hard since moving here.  Laundry.  Finding tortillas or good BBQ sauce.  Laundry.  Avoiding pot holes.  Planning to get lost at least twice whereever you go.  Laundry.  But...having someone come clean my house 1 x week goes a long way to making up the difference.  She even does the ironing.  *Sigh*

6.  My guys can really rock a go-cart helmet.  And yes...they really sweat a lot in those things.

7.  David's school did an International Day.  I've been to these kind of things before, but for the first time since...well, ever...it was truly "international".  Every parent brought a dish or dessert from their home country and we had such a great time.

8.  Yesterday, while driving on a tiny side street, I had to stop for a huge cement truck to back into the driveway of a house.  The really super thing about it was he stopped, put the truck in park and got out with his front end still sticking out halfway across the street.  Plus, there was a car parked (1/2 on the street and 1/2 on the sidewalk) just opposite the truck.  It left a ity-bity teeny-weeny space for a car to pass through.  For a SmartCar it would have been snug but doable.  I drive a Honda CRV.  Not so doable.  I motioned for the driver to come back and move the truck but he ignored me.  By this time I had 4 cars behind me and they began to honk for me to get a move on.  So backing up was now out of the question.  I really didn't think I could make it, but the drivers behind me obviously thought I could.  I started to inch forward, heart palpitating.  I crawled at a snail's pace, adjusting as best as I could to manuever the tight space.  My side mirrors grazed the truck and car gently enough to turn them in without damaging them, but it still freaked me out.  I made it and came away feeling a weird sense of accomplishment.

9.  David makes a cute lion.  (Reminds me of "Little Lion Man")  I've never seen the attraction to the musical Cats but if they end up looking this adorable, maybe I could get on board.

10.  When Adam got home from the states, he brought us so many treats and surprises that it felt like Christmas.  I had to smile at Kyle though.  

Adam:  "I brought you guys a surprise.  You're gonna love it!"

Kyle:  "Did you pack our friends in there?"

Things don't matter nearly as much as people.  Especially, when they're your people.

 

Castles and Churches and Kids! Oh My!

Sightseeing with kids is always interesting.  One never knows quite how the experience will be received.  For the most part, I've been pretty pleased with the kids' attitudes.  They usually try to find something to be interested in.

Here's the perfect example.  Lincoln asked me to take this shot.  If you've seen the Pirates of the Caribbean movie where all the characters yell "FIRE!" then you'll know Lincoln's inspiration.  Of course, in the movie the pirates were firing cannons at the enemy ship, whereas Lincoln is an 11-year old not firing a catapult while his brother looks on with a mixture of disbelief and amusement...but let's not quibble about the details.

We took this picture in front of the weapons display at ruins of Visegrad Royal Castle.  We went there for a quick day trip and found an interesting history just waiting to be discovered.  After touring the windswept castle ruins and pretending to fire catapults we were all ready for another adventure.  Just down the road was a alpine bobsled track.  The kids and I had the place to ourselves and rode 6 times in a row until we were all frozen and smiling! 

The next week, we attempted another jaunt into the wilds of Budapest.  It was a bit of a bust, but we made the best of it.  We decided late in the day to go to Elizabeth Tower, the highest point in Budapest.  Upon arrival, we discovered that the chair lift to the tower closed at 3 pm.  It was 3:04 pm.  A tad deflated, we reversed course to a playground that we spotted on the way.  Here's the three boys doing their best to remedy our failure, aka..their own rendition of the Lord of the Rings "At dawn we ride!"

The Lord of the Rings was the original inspiration, but this was a close second:

There was a church just across the street and I hoped to tour it, but alas, it too was closed.  Beautiful church, though.

Do not count us out yet.  After having our fill of the playground, we drove down to the Danube, or the Duna as the locals call it.  We took a couple great shots of the Parliament and the Reformed Church of Budapest.

I love the tile work on the roof and the sharp pitch and angle of the towers.  As per the theme of the day, we couldn't tour the church, as it was closed, but the facade provided a wonderful view regardless.

By the end of the day, we went home happy and content despite the seemingly disappointing failures.  It's all in the attitude, as they say.

Have a laugh!

Love it!

 

My boys can't get enough.  My favorite is the greyhound AT-AT that walks in at the end!

Next road trip I doing this!  Okay...maybe not, but I'll think about it and then I'll laugh.  Bwah ha!

 

Guess what?

Guess what?  I found my camera cord!  So excited and yet so disappointed.  At least half of my pictures are so blurry, out of focus, dim or generally crappy that I simply cannot take it any longer.  Must.  Get.  Better.  Camera.

NOW!

Anyway, here's Halloween and don't judge me.  I know it's late.  I know it's nearly Christmas.  Don't judge.

Ahem.  Anyway, here's Lincoln.  Can you guess what he is?
He's a "Chick Magnet".  Get it?  Bwah ha ha.  Sorry, but the whole picture makes me just crack up.  

Okay, so onto the next one.  Here's Kyle.  
Whenever I looked at him in his costume, I would hear that song from the Honda Civic commercial in my head on an infinite loop..."I'm a ninja...I'm a hoodie ninja"...you know the one...

 

And finally, David.  So David had like, 37 Halloween parties, so he got to try out a couple costumes this year.  He was Mario, of Super Brothers fame.
And he was a Storm Trooper, ala Star Wars, episode one.  Note his little nose all smashed up in the stormtrooper mask.  Love it.

We arrive...

So where was I?

Oh yeah...we made it...sort of.  We got ourselves to the airport with our ten bags, which was no mean feat by the way, and eventually boarded our flight to Germany.  The company booked us business-class tickets and the kids were fairly entertained with the gadgets and buttons so the first 3 hours went quickly at which point, it was time to sleep.  We awoke to find that we were in Frankfurt where we had a short layover.  Then, we boarded our final flight to Budapest.

Once we arrived in Budapest, we collected our bags and prepared ourselves to go through customs, but as we followed the crowds exiting the building, there seemed to be nowhere to go to declare.  A fellow passenger saw our hesitation and he smiled and motioned for us to go ahead.  Maybe we should have looked harder but frankly customs is a pain, so we went through the doors and officially entered Hungary.  

Our taxi driver was waiting for us.  He and a fellow taxi driver took us and our bags to our hotel downtown.  My first impression of Budapest was gray.  Its winter and the trees are bare and the sky is cloud-filled.  The buildings are gray and the roads are gray.  Kinda depressing, huh.  But to be fair, the drive from the airport to downtown is through the industrial part of town, so that doesn't represent the majority of Budapest.  Downtown is quite European feeling, with buildings built at the end of the 1800's adjacent to new classically-styled buildings.  The only thing I don't enjoy is how the beautiful architecture is marred at the street-level by garish placards, billboards and advertisements.  Many of the buildings are built with limestone, the native stone of this area.  Limestone is highly susceptible to exhaust build-up, therefore I often see many lovely buildings either in the process of being cleaned or wearing a thin layer of black coating. The locals joke (but it's actually true) that the Parliament Building has been in the process of being cleaned for 70 years.  They just keep circling around because by the time they get to where they started, it's time to begin again.  

Quick geography lesson:  Budapest is actually 2 cities divided by the Danube River:  that of Buda and Pest.  Pest is to the east and is fairly flat, topographically-speaking.  The Parliament sits on its bank (District 5), surrounded by many of the museums.  The majority of downtown, the businesses, tourist sites, Adam's work (District 13), as well as apartments that let out flats are on the Pest side.  Further out on the Pest side is the industrial part of the city and the airport (District 16, I think).  

Buda, on the west side, is made up of "rolling hills", some of which are really steep with narrow roads climbing right up that very scary incline.  Buda is the home for many of Budapest's international families, all of the international schools, 2 of the 3 major malls, 2 of the international medical centers, as well as Buda Castle (another trademark building, this one in District 1).

We have decided to locate in Buda, specifically District 2 or 3.  We arrived in Budapest on Sunday, the 20th and began looking at homes to rent on Monday.  So far, I think we've seen about 25 homes and have narrowed the field down to about 5.  We are to visit the last home today, which has just come on the market.  It is supposedly, very suited to our needs and so we have held off a decision until we can see it.  

By locating in Buda, we hope to split the commuting distance between Adam's work, which is across the river in Pest, and the distance to the kids' school (the British International School of Budapest or BISB) which is located in Buda on the boarder between Districts 2 and 3.  

In addition to looking at homes, we have also selected a preschool for David, which is SuperKids.  We like the director and the teachers very much, but the real tipping of the scale was that the school seemed more academically focused than other preschools, which seemed more like play centers.  Because most Hungarian children don't start school until they are either 6 or 7, it is not an uncommon view that a 4-5 year preschool class be working only on shapes and colors.  SuperKids seems more connected with academics as we expect them in the States.  David will start at SuperKids tomorrow.  In addition to class/instructional time, snack time, lunch, outside play, David will also participate in swim, judo and skiing lessons.  He is very excited and I'm hopeful that it will be a good fit until next fall when he will join Lincoln and Kyle at BISB.

Speaking of, Lincoln and Kyle began school on Monday, November 28th.  Lincoln was pretty bummed that the first thing he had to do was entrance exams, but he managed to do just fine.  He is in Key Stage 3, which is similar to Middle School in the States.  His classes are combined, based on level or year, with kids in Year 7,8 and 9 (grades, 6, 7, and 8 in the states).  The classes are small, about 12-14 kids in each class.  He is taking Math, Science, Geography, English, French, PE and Drama.  Crazy coincidence:  Lincoln met a boy, Nicholas, that he knew from Sampson Elementary (his school in Cypress) when they were in switch classes back in 4th grade.  Nicholas has been here in Hungary for about 18 months.  He and Lincoln are now in nearly every class together.  Also, when we arrived for the first day, 3 boys were there to greet Lincoln and show him around.  He shares schedules with them as well.

Kyle is in Key Stage 2 (Elementary), year 5 (grade 4).  There are 2 classes of year 5's and his teacher seems very nice.  Kyle has a boy named Casper who is from Belgium but lived in Houston, Texas for 3 years and they were paired initially to help Kyle get to know his way around.  Kyle loves that he has 2 recesses and is jumping right into playing soccer with all the other kids his age.  Recess for Kyle is the whole Key Stage (grades 1-5).

Well, I've got to go.  I'm heading down to the local Christmas market.  Wish me luck.  More details to come.

15 years and counting

Last week, I had the rare experience of having a pleasant after-dinner chat with the boys.  See, usually they hurry to do their dishes chores and rush off before I can give them another job, but for whatever reason, on this particular day, they stayed and chatted with Adam and I.  The subject of our impending 15-year anniversary came up.  The boys oohed and aahed that we were so old and then Kyle got a sly grin on his face and ran upstairs.  When he came down, he presented me with this: 
"I don't have real flowers to give you, Mom, but happy anniversary anyway."

As a mom of boys, I thought I understood the power of Legos, but not so.  Kinda melts the heart, doesn't it?

August 1st to Now...in 500 words or less.

I've been a little intimidated by the increasingly long and pregnant pause that has taken over my blog.  How can I do justice to the numerous events that have transpired?  I know.  Do it in 500 words or less. 

First, our trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama––a final fling with summer before school began in earnest.  We were joined by our dear friends, the Bybees and Kyle's face says it all.  Friends + Vacation = Pure Joy!  Please ignore the sullen girl in the corner.  She's not with us.  This picture was taken as we waited for our dolphin cruise.  We also let the kids try parasailing.  Kyle got props for being the only one brave enough to go up and the first thing he said after we landed was, "Can I go again?!" 

Still, the beach was the highlight, especially in the evenings.  It was glorious. White sugar sand.  Setting sun.  Warm breeze.  Happy kids.  Perfect.  Until...Adam tore his Achilles tendon while sprinting on the beach.

Yeah.  You read that right.  In a twist of cruel fate or some kind of vengeful karma just when I was finally walking normally Adam goes down with an equally debilitating leg injury.  What are the odds?  

We cut our vacation short and headed home.  Two days later Adam had surgery, armed with the knowledge that he would be facing a long and painful recovery.

The next day, I took Lincoln to his Jr. High orientation, leaving Kyle and David in the care of my immobilized and drugged-out husband.  Recipe for disaster, no?

But one problem at a time....first, Lincoln and Jr. High.  I could tell he was nervous about the locker thing and finding his classes but he rolled with the punches like a pro.  We left the school anxious to get home before the kids set fire to anything, but the van had other ideas.  Our wonderful, reliable, trust-worthy van simply refused to start.  Thankfully, I got a jump and after a quick run to Walmart for a battery, I returned home to find it still miraculously standing.  

The days between then and now have been a blur of school supplies, backpacks, lunches, nursemaid duties and doctor appointments.  Somewhere in there, school began thrusting Kyle into 4th grade and Lincoln into 6th.  Labor Day came and went.  Adam continued working from home due to his leg and David waits anxiously for the start of preschool, asking every day if "this day is my school?".  Thankfully, Thursday is the first day of preschool and I for one, am thankful for that fact.    So, that's the short version of my life from August 1 to today.  Sure there's more stuff to tell, but my word count is up. 

The excitement of a 4-year old on his birthday

Have you ever seen a happier boy?    

David was over the moon about his birthday this year.  Who knew turning four could be so exciting? 
We did birthday presents and cake and then headed out to Kung Fu Panda 2, which was very cute and I’d definitely recommend it.  Very good, especially for a sequel.  (In my experience, sequels can be real snoozers).   Dave had a great time and loved every second of his big day.  I think his only disappointment was that it didn’t last longer.

 

Cub Scout Day Camp 2011

Last week, the three boys and I spent our afternoons and evenings at Cub Scout Day camp.  The Day camp 'day' would begin at 2:30pm and we'd get home about 8:30 or 9 pm.  It was a very long and very hot day for the boys.  

Isn't Kyle such a cheese-ball...he makes me laugh with all his silly poses.

Kyle went as a Bear, Lincoln as a Jr. Staff, David as a sibling and I helped out as a leader over the Bear programs.  As always, it was an adventure––I survived and the boys thrived.  Some day I'll figure out how to thrive, too.  By Thursday night, I had just enough energy to crawl into bed where I zonked out until 8 am the next morning.  Ultimately, it was worth it.  My boys had a great time.  The scouting program can be a pain and sometimes even seem ridiculous...but at its heart, BSA is a great institution that enables boys to learn important skills, most of which have nothing at all to do with camping.  

End of School (aka: SUMMER)

It's not exactly a news flash, but school is out in the Wariner House.  This year was particularly poignant for Lincoln, as the school's end marks his final moments of elementary school and the beginning of something bigger (and in my case at least, something scarier).  

Here is Lincoln at his 5th Grade Awards ceremony and graduation.    

Lincoln made the A&B Honor Roll all year long and was awarded the Citizenship award.  We are so proud of his accomplishments.  His dyslexia and dsygraphia hasn't made it easy, but over the years, Lincoln has stuck with it and made significant improvements.  Every single teacher Lincoln has ever had, even as early as Kindergarten has voiced nearly the same message:  "Lincoln is a brilliant boy.  He's going places." So I guess, regardless of how Jr High seems to me, I shouldn't worry too much.  Lincoln will manage to find his stride.  

I should keep the following statement in mind:

Trust me, keeping that in mind is way harder than it should be.  

Either way though, it's summer.  Time to enjoy life.  Worries can wait.  (They are quite good at waiting and take great pleasure in jumping you when you least expect it.  Darn things)

So, on to summer.  Is there anything that says summer more than a goggles on a 4-year old? When the boys aren't in the pool, their shooting each other with nerf guns, playing the legos, doing puzzles or games and of course, the spending inordinate amount of time on electronics.
And when our toys aren't cool enough, we simply invite over friends and suddenly our toys have a whole new appeal. And summer wouldn't be complete without food.  We made a Costco run last week and I came home with all sorts of new exciting things.  But I did have two additional helper and they did an amazing job loading the cart.  (btw:  I find that there is a great need for a sarcasm font)Hope your summer is going well.

Cub Scouts

Kyle recently completed his Wolf badge in Cub Scouts.  
He worked hard and got it done almost 6 months early.  He's very excited about anything to do with scouting and looking forward to Day Camp in June where he'll go as a Bear.  We are very pleased that Scouting is available for our boys.  It teaches some great skills and values.

Lincoln has also progressed in the Cub Scout program, to the point of graduating to Boy Scouts.  Before leaving Cubs, the big rite of passage, for the boys that achieve it, is the Arrow of Light ceremony.  The Scouting District sent in their guys (the Order of the Arrow) to officiate in the ceremony.  And afterward, we gave Lincoln is Award Arrow to commemorate the achievement.

 

Guess Who?

This week, Lincoln was able to participate in the annual 5th Grade Wax Museum.  Each student is assigned an historical figure from the last century to enact.  They do their own research, poster and prepare a speech and then parent get to come walk the halls of the 'wax museum' .  

Any guesses on which historical figure Lincoln is portraying?
No?  Well, maybe this will help:

Lincoln's prepared speech is below for the interested parties:

Hello.  My name is Theodore Roosevelt.  I am famous for building the Panama Canal, winning the first Nobel Prize awarded to any American for negotiating the end of a war and for passing the Pure Food and Drug Act.  I am famous for saying "Speak softly and carry a big stick."  I am known for my cowboy-like image, my love of nature and for being the 26th President of United States.  Thank you.

Postcards in Time

 This week my mom asked for me to send a short and funny story about my kids for her personal history..kinda like a my own version of Kids Say the Darndest Things.

It was fun to think back with Adam to all the silly things our kids have done and said.  Here's what I came up with:

David Hayes Wariner:  Our running joke is that David (age 3-4) speaks Ewok, not English.  In his enthusiastic high-pitched voice, we’re lucky to understand 30% of what he says.  Our David to English translation:  McDonald’s = De-donls.  Chick-fila = Chit-ta-fay.  Chocolate Chips = cha-kit kips.  (Notice the food theme?)  Lincoln and Kyle = my boys, as in  'When are my boys coming home?  I want to play with my boys.'

Kyle Reid Wariner:  One night when Adam tucked Kyle (age 6) into bed, he looked up solemnly and said, “Dad.  I need to repent.”  Dad:  “Okay, for what?”  Kyle:  “I have to repent because I’m addicted...to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.  They are like a drug to me.  I have to have them.”

Yes, Kyle.  I know of what you speak.

Lincoln William Wariner:  After watching a car commercial, Lincoln (age 4) says, “Wow, Mom.  That’s a really cool car.”  Mom:  “What makes it so cool?”  Lincoln:  “Because it’s really fast and...it doesn’t have ANY car seats!”   

Lincoln is a tad susceptible to marketing ploys.

11-year old birthdays

How is it possible that Lincoln is eleven?  I remember being eleven...all angsty, with my pre-teen shyness.  Is it really possible that my first born at that stage already?

A frightening thought.

Well, Lincoln has been building his birthday list since Christmas.  The top of the list was an Xbox, which was never gonna happen, but his other options were video games and complicated Lego sets.  He specifically requested a puzzle-solving/treasure hunt to find his presents.  I knew he wanted chocolate cake, but he settled for something else because his brother doesn't like chocolate.  This sign a maturity in him both frightens me and makes me proud.  That's pretty much how I view the whole your-child-is-growing-up thing––with a certain mixture of fear and delight.

Lincoln solved his treasure hunt, found and unwrapped his presents and built his Lego set completely on his own.  (He was adamant about that.)  And in record time, too.
His favorite part is that the tail lights really light up.  

What's on your phone?

I going to make a confession of my matrimonial arrangement.  Long ago when Adam and I married there were lines drawn in the sand regarding who would do what task.  It wasn't anything official, but the those divisions were made nonetheless.  My Adam excels at completing many, many of his tasks, like going to work every day, killing big nasty bugs, and teaching my boys how to camp, build a fire and be a man.  However, there are a few things that I thought, until recently, would always reside on his list of duties.

Numero Uno:  acting as technical support & overall guru of all things technology related.  Don't get me wrong, he still does all the buying of the technology, but I recently accepted that there were a few things that I just had to learn for myself.  

For example, two weeks ago, I tackled the 'Case of the Mysteriously Broken Printer'.  Our printer of seven years decided to up and quit.  One day it printed fine and the next, it refuse to recognize the printer cartidges as valid and wouldn't print a single dot.  

Normally, Adam would handle this.  He'd research printers, prices and brands and then go out and buy one, bring it home, install it and suddenly the problem would be fixed.  That, however, was not going to happen.  Like most people, he has a full-plate so it was either do it myself, or wait 20 years until he retired to print from home.  I chose to do it myself.  I did an hour of research on the internet, bought a printer at Office Max while out on errands, brought it home, set it up, spent thirty minutes on the phone with technical support getting the Wifi to work and voila:  a brand-spankin' new printer that works perfectly.

So, now I'm feeling all fancy and capable, so I gear up for the next technology task: the transfer of photos from my phone to my PC.  Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, right?  The first part went great.  Got the photos fine, but when it came to downloading my videos, I ran into a few problems.  I googled answers, tried several uploads and finally figured it out.  (I think).

Now if I could just figure out how to reorient the dang things, people might actually watch them.

Anyway, regardless of the poor quality and screwed up orientation, these videos are gonna get some air time.

Here's Dave on the farm, during out visit last summer to Idaho.  

Lincoln showing off a high score on an ipod game.

And David showing off his raspberry fingers.

 

Introducing David as Buzz Lightyear.  Costumes & Staging also by David.

 

I don't even remember the song now, but the radio was playing a song that Lincoln and Kyle were really getting into and David decided to join the fun, only he did it with eyes closed and his very own version of the robot dance.  Watch out Justin Bieber.

Where did the time go?

So yesterday was supposed to be this really productive day.  

I woke up, dressed in my workout clothes, made breakfast and got the kids going by 7 am.  The boys were moving a little slow, but not to worry, I could move even faster to make up the time.  But then Lincoln wants to review his Social Studies* just one more time (evidently the verbal exam that I thought was Monday, was actually Tuesday and so we reviewed twice on Monday and now another time today).  I bite back my retort that we don't have time and instead just accept that they'll be a minute or two behind getting off to school.  

With that done, I straighten up the house, finish up a bathroom mirror project, call the plumber (again) about my kitchen sink repair and then we're off preschool.  Unfortunately, I timed my arrival wrong and hit the line too late and yet, too early.  You know how it is: you get there and you're at the back of the line which isn't moving and so you have to wait for 15 minutes, but if you'd have gotten there 5 minutes earlier, you'd be first in line OR if you'd gotten there 10 minutes later, you'd still eek out an on-time delivery.

Anyway, because I didn't time the arrival right, I'm 15 minutes late to the gym and it's so busy that my elliptical partner and I can't get two machines together.  I mean c'mon.  What's the point of having a gym partner if you can't gossip while burning calories?  An hour later (now 10:40), I'm on my way home and thinking myself productive, I place a call to the preschool.  Registration for fall is due today and although I was super duper on top of things and filled out all the paperwork and turned it in, I had this niggling feeling that I forgot to include my check.  I leave the administrator a nice message asking for her to call me to confirm or deny the existence of said check.  

Back home.  Whew.  Time to be productive.  Kids are all at school and I have the house to myself.  I sit down with my laptop ready to work and then the phone rings.  Needless to say, I have problems with brevity.  One hour later and I'm back to work on the laptop, pounding out some edits for a fellow aspiring writer, which takes til 12:45.  I grab a slice of cold pizza and turn my attention to the bills.  I can still salvage this day, right?   

An hour and a half later, I'm still sitting in front of my computer wondering why we have so much money.  Not a problem I encounter often, so I was doubtful of its reality.  I know my budget and I shouldn't have an excess like what Quicken was showing.  Turns out one of my $900 bills had been entered as a deposit, therefore explaining why I suddenly had about $1800 more than I should have. 

Correction made, bills paid, reconciliation with the bank done, I breath and check the time.  Crap!  1:58 pm.  What!  I have to leave to pick up Dave in fifteen minutes!  Grr.  I go to put the bills away and in so doing, spot a stack of papers that look suspiciously like the registration forms for preschool in the fall.  The phone rings.  It's the administrator at the preschool.  Not only can she not find my check, she can't find my registration either...oh, yeah, well about that...that's because it's in my hand.  Apologizing profusely, I assure her that I'll turn it to her in the pick up line in just minutes from now.  I scribble off a check, run to the bathroom, jump in the shower (which is cold, of course because I didn't give it time to warm up), towel off, dress and I'm back out the door with my registration form, check and wet hair.  How did this day go so wrong? 

After getting Dave, I run to the bank and Dave falls asleep in the car.  With the gentleness of a summer breeze, I get him out of the car and into my bedroom.  A success!  Maybe I can get something done before the boys get...nope.  There they are.  Riding up the driveway on their bikes.  Sigh.

The rest of the afternoon and evening involved homework, guitar and then, "Shoot.  I gotta feed you (Lincoln) because your ride for scouts will be here in ten minutes.  Oh, and you (Kyle) will have to eat too because scouts for you will be here at the house in twenty.  Oh, and I'm running that meeting.  Hmm.  And no, you (David) can't have red velvet cake for dinner."

7:20.  Scouts at my house has run over.  After the last boy leaves, I throw Kyle and David in the van for Lincoln's pickup at 7:30 pm.  My shoes are not be found and instead of spending precious minutes on that trivial fact, I opt for no shoes at all.  Instead, I send Kyle to the door to get Lincoln.  The van's door and Kyle hops out, but David, who is sure that something fabulous is going to happen inside that house, says, "I go too!"  

Ignoring the screams from the backseat, I calmly push the button to close the van door, but not to be dissuaded by things like metal doors, David puts half his body out the door, freaks out that he'll get squished and screams bloody murder.  Rolling my eyes, I calmly push the button to open the door again.  Don't judge me.  Those doors are designed to rebound if something's in the way and they move at a snail's pace.  David was in no real danger.

Five toe-tapping minutes later, I've got Lincoln, Kyle, David and two additional boys in my van ready to go, but no.  Lincoln forgot his Webelos book.  Back in the house.  Back in the van and we finally leave.  By the time I get my carpool to their homes and walk in the door, it's 8:20.  That's when Kyle looks up at me and says, "Mom!  We have Math CBAs tomorrow."  And then my head explodes.

Luckily, Adam gets home about five minutes later to pick up the pieces of my sanity.  We help the boys study and get them in bed at 8:45 pm.

What will tomorrow bring?

***So, interesting side note.  On Monday when Lincoln first told me about his upcoming Social Studies exam, he brought out his study guide and turned to a page of handwritten questions.  The first was something like, "Which President sent Lewis and Clark to explore the west?"  But there were several other questions like this:  "Which statement is not true about the War of 1812?"  That's it.  No statements listed.  I asked Lincoln and he said, "My teacher just said to copy the questions, not the answers."  Hmm.  Maybe not the most effective study guide.

 

The impromptu 3-day weekend

The kids were off on Friday due to the threatening ice/snow storm and Adam worked from home. So Friday felt like Saturday and Saturday felt like Saturday.  It was a weird weekend.  These pictures pretty much sum it up.

Below is a picture of the newest addition to our Lego men collection--Ninjago.  They're basically lego men that attach to a spinning top, which you can 'battle'.  The boys are really into them.

 

No Sweeter Words

"MOMMY!  I have to go poop!"  

No sweeter words have been spoken.  

That's it.  That's all I have to say.  Just that today was a milestone...a breakthrough.  Today maybe very well be the day I've been looking forward to for 11 years.  The day when diapers no longer occupy space in my house (or on my mind).  

Yes, I know it seems like a small thing, but let me assure you, it isn't.

Walt Disney World: Animal Kingdom

We really enjoyed Animal Kingdom.  The crowds were low and there was a lot to do.  It was my second favorite park and in my opinion, the most underrated.  The Everest Expedition ride was the boys' favorite overall but we enjoyed the safari ride, Dinosaur ride and 'It's a Bugs Life' show.  For some reason, this park seemed more relaxed.  We were able to see everything we wanted and still finish in time for our Aloha dinner show at 5:30 pm.  

Christmas Day: aka A Lego Builder's dream

Christmas was exactly as I would have hoped.  The kids got three gifts:  one from Santa, one from us and one from in their sibling exchange.  Our gift to the boys was a trip to Walt Disney World, which will require a post on another day, but the gifts from Santa and the exchange were almost exclusively Lego in origin.  We spent all day doing puzzles, playing games and enjoying our toys...but mostly building Legos.  Here are the finished products.  

Kyle with the Lego Harry Potter:  The Burrow

Kyle with Lego Harry Potter:  Hogwarts Castle

Lincoln with Lego Power Miners:  Crystal Sweeper

And Lincoln with The Emerald Knight Train Set.  Once we get the batteries and track it will really run.

And of course, when the camera comes out, David has to be in the mix.  He got a few small Lego figures and an army truck, which he insisted we take a picture of too.

Hope you had a Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year!