I love garage sales!

Where else can you get all this for less than $17?!?!



30 items. That's less than 60 cents an item!

Cleaning between the couch cushions

No I didn't find any money (sadly).

I found 6 pens and 4 pencils.

No wonder I never have a writing implement! The couch eats them.

What we did this morning

We spent some time this morning staring out our front window watching the city remove the monstrous pile of snow from the center of the cul-de-sac. Kiddo was a bit unhappy about this; he says he likes to climb up the mountain of snow. I pointed out to him that he hasn't actually done that this winter, though he has had ample opportunity. I also pointed out that it was dangerous to have a pile that big in the middle of the street. There was essentially a one lane loop around the pile, but there was no way to tell if there was any thing on the other side. The amount of darkness this time of year makes it that much worse.

So we watched as the trucks came, one after another, and hauled away the mountain. We also witnessed a random act of kindness, when our neighbor came out and offered the driver of the loader a cup of coffee (by creatively signing with his own cup). The driver stopped, opened the door, and handed the neighbor his own cup for a refill.



Wanna guess how many trucks it took to take it all away? Keep in mind, in the first picture, they had already hauled away 2-3 truckloads...

Kids in the Kitchen

Lately Kutey has been asking to help in the kitchen. Not at every meal, but many. She has her morning breakfast tasks, and I am beginning to remember that she likes to do certain things then--cause I have forgotten several times, and that has been unpopular. I often let the kids pick their lunch, so she gets to help a lot with that.

But then there are the times when having her help will slow down the process. I am not the greatest cook. I hold my own, but it takes more focus than some other things. And sometimes having Kutey there takes my focus away. I also struggle to find things she can do to help. I know it is important to let her help, I am just sometimes at a loss for what to have her do! She loves being there and feeling involved, and I want her to have that success.

So, what kinds of things do your almost 5 year-olds help with in the kitchen? Do you have any fantastic meals that kids can help with much of? I'm looking for ideas! Also, do you have any great tricks to keep it from being a messy endeavor? Because having to clean up a huge mess after cooking, not my favorite thing.

Camping out

Daddy wasn't feeling well the last few days, which for various reasons necessitated a shift from the upstairs to the downstairs for the rest of us. After brainstorming various ways to make it work, I came up with this:



A camp-out in the family room! So much fun. We actually have 3 more tents/forts that we could have put up, these are the smallest 2. The kids each slept in their sleeping bags in their own tents, and I slept in my sleeping bag on the couch (not a good trade for my bed, but better than the floor!). The kids loved it. They do not want to move back to their beds! I highly recommend it for beating back some of those January blues, too. We are longing for spring and camping at this point, so this has been a nice diversion. Maybe tonight I'll build a fire in the fireplace so we can toast marshmallows....mmmmmm, s'mores.

The hits just keep on coming!

January really needs to just end already!

Hubby came home from work sick.

That makes 3 Wednesdays in a row that someone has been sick, along with one random Monday.

And yes, I realize the first of those was not technically in January. I'm taking it out on January anyway.

I have never used this much Lys*l (which I dislike immensely, but when you are trying to avoid passing a crappy illness around the house again, you call out the big guns) in this short of an amount of time.

I want to throw open the windows and have us all breathe different air! But this is Minnesota. And it is winter.

All I can do is sigh. And walk around with a disinfecting wipe in my hand.

Random

• L (5) arrived this morning (I babysit him and his sister and brother) not at all himself. I think he is getting a cold, and is therefore a little "flat," as his mother described it. He got better, but is still not himself.
  

• Kutey must be going through a growth spurt. She had an accident in the bathroom today, all over the floor, which only happens when she is growing. The floor had to be cleaned and Kutey got a bath a bit earlier than she might have liked.
  

• Her accident resulted in a magnificent scream, which woke C (3) from his nap. He was extremely displeased to be awakened thusly, and had to go to the bathroom, too. He dislikes the downstairs bathroom, but I was still trying to get the upstairs one cleaned up (and Kutey was still there). I sent him downstairs with his sister (7), but he protested and ended up peeing on top of the toilet and in his pants. Sigh. Another bathroom to clean...again.
  

• I let them all watch Bob the Builder, because I needed to persuade C to calm down (he was unable to breathe he was crying so hard and long) and persuade him to put on the dry clothes I had for him (they weren't his. He has a thing about having his own clothes). It is the first time in the 5 months I have watched them that I have resorted to this tactic.

• Kutey has been in AT LEAST 6 outfits today. I can't figure out where each of the previous ones has gone. That will be fun later.
  

• My hands are so dry that they hurt. Washing them 40 times today has not helped.
  

• January is my least favorite month. This is not endearing it to me any more.
  

• Also, it is snowing. Again. Those of you who like this should be here. I'll trade spots with you if you are somewhere warm and sunny.

• It can only get better, right?
  

Recently at my house...

Me: Why are there balls all over the floor?

Kiddo: They're the stars!

Please tell me this isn't one of those things that I think is perfectly normal but happens at no one else's house! Your kids do this too, right?

For the record, there are also a number of balls sitting on piles of books which I believe are planets. I am afraid to ask, though!

The Dentist

The kids had dentist appointments this morning--ya know, the 6 month cleaning and check-up. I'd like to report that there were no cavities, but I can't. And this isn't the first time I can't say that. I always hesitate to mention that my kids have cavities, because I always feel judged. "My kids don't have cavities, but then, they don't drink soda" as their child downs their second juice box in half an hour. Or "Really? I am 40 and still don't have cavities! But I brush my teeth really well." These are actual statements I have heard when people find out my kids have cavities.

Yep, my kids don't drink soda either, they get a glass of juice with breakfast, and maybe when they have a cold they get a little more. Sugary snacks? not really. Brush their teeth? Yep, we still brush their teeth for them (on the dentist's recommendation, apparently the dexterity to do such things on their own isn't present for another few years). Floss? Yep, daily.

They just have cavity prone teeth. I don't know where it comes from (and please, don't guilt me about my nutrition during pregnancy--that is long past, I can't go back in time and fix that, if that even is what the problem is!) What I do know is that I feel bad enough. I don't need anyone adding to my mother's guilt.

And I am grateful. We live an a place where we have the ability to get the teeth repaired. We have dental insurance that covers some of the cost. Our dentist only does white fillings, so there is no way to tell that the kids have had fillings--unless you look closely...

I'm not looking for an answer to why. I don't need any judgment. I just have to get my kids through the appointments. Maybe a unit on dental health is in our future...