Can Mom do Math?

If you have read this blog for long, you will know the answer to that question.

A big fat, NO.

Math is definitely not a strength that I possess.

SaraGrace apparently thinks I need some practice because she has been making me worksheets. AUUGGGHHHHH......

And to top it off, it seems to be some type of geometry.

Should I tell her that geometry was a subject that I failed in high school?

It was the teacher's fault.

He laughed at anyone who asked a question.

Needless to say, I didn't ask any and quietly dropped out of the class.

So maybe a better teacher would have been able to explain to me why two triangles plus a circle could equal a square or something. Or is that only algebra?

Whatever...

I seemed to have survived in life without knowing anything about that.

Until now.

If SaraGrace has anything to say about it, I WILL be learning something about math related shapes. She seems to make up her own version of 'math' as she goes along though.

And she happily informed me that I only got a 99% on my paper while Daddy got a 100%.

That's why he is responsible for all the math at our house.

Jake's World

Jake and Zoey are on a new kick...earning money.

I'm not sure what started it but they are willing to work for pennies.

Literally.

"Mom, can we fold clothes for a penny?"

"Um...sure! I might even give you two pennies if you do a good job."

It's probably bad of me to take advantage of their lack of knowledge regarding the actual value of coins. It's just hard not to smile and offer two pennies instead of one quarter, you know?

Trust me when I say that they just lose whatever I give them anyway, so it really doesn't matter.

The other day, Jake asked if he and Zoey could clean the bathroom for a penny. The main bathroom is dubbed, 'the kids' bathroom' because no one else wants to use it. It's gross. No matter how often it gets cleaned, it's trashed within an hour.

I do not fully understand how that is possible, but it happens. It's still a mystery how toothpaste gobs can get e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e., toilet paper on the floor, etc. GROSS.

Happily, I agreed to 'let' them clean it. I figured anything is better than nothing.

Surprisingly, they did a really nice job. They even cleaned the toothpaste gobs out of the sink. Who knew that 5 year old were capable of this?

The next morning, Jake walked into the bathroom after the teenager had used it. With a dramatic sigh, and hands outstretched, he exclaimed, "NOT AGAIN! I jus cleaned dis! Who made dis mess in here? I bet Taydor did dis!"

I totally cracked up. And I might have even muttered under my breath, "Welcome to my world, Jake, welcome to my world.

Katie-Bug has a birthday

The Bug had a birthday this week...how can she be SIX already?! Ack! She was beside herself with excitement for D.A.Y.S.

Sunday at church, every time someone said hi to her, she said, "Tomorrow is my birthday!" And look pleased as punch when they said, "Oh! Happy Birthday, Kate!"

She's subtle, that one.

This year....SCORE...her birthday landed on Martin Luther King day, so she had the day off from school. Although...when you're a kid and you don't get to take your birthday treats to school on the DAY of your actual birthday, it can be cause for consternation.

She chose Red Robin for our usual lunch-out-after-church restaurant and happily slurped and smacked her free sundae after being sung to by half the establishment.

SaraGrace was hounding me to do a photoshoot with her new headband, so Kate jumped in for a few shots. It WAS her birthday, after all.

{In case you forgot, she would remind you. Every. Hour.}

Awwww....my two heart babies, and Hope Healing Home alumni.

Let's open presents! Jake wanted a picture with the birthday girl. That's cool because it's not every day that a girl gets to pose with a bona fide super hero.

I wrapped these myself.

Be impressed.

"Yay! I'm so excited!!!!"

"Wheeee! A dollhouse!"

"Yay! Matchbox cars!"

Stop judging. She ASKED for them! :)

And you can tell that she is super excited about them, too.

Jillian made the cake and did another fabulous job.

I love that big smile on her face!

Three tries and they were out.

Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Jake...the Super Hero

Jake came downstairs this morning dressed like this:

"I'm da Batman tiger guy."

"Check out my sweet cape."

Side view

"Wanna see me jump so my cape flies out?"

"See my ninja flying skills!"

{And please stop noticing that I have nothing hanging on the wall behind the tv, despite the fact that we have lived here for a year and a half. It's a huge wall and I can't decide what to put up there. Argh!}

And again...

"Jake! You got like three feet of air that time!"

Jake's New Do

Me: Noticing a notch out of Jake's hair... "Did you cut your hair?"

Jake: NO!

Me: Really? Because it looks like you did.

Jake: Nooooo (insert slight whiney tone)

Other kids notice which brings a chorus of: "Jake, yes you did!"

Jake takes umbrage: "NOOOO!"

Another chorus of: "Yes, you did!"

Jake: starts crying

Me: Jake! You're not in trouble. Just tell the truth. Did you cut your hair?
Jake: (Wails) Yessssssss.

Me: (relieved to know that it wasn't from the haircut I gave him) Where were you when you cut it?
Jake: Blank stare

Me: Were you in the bathroom? The kitchen?

Jake: Noooo.

Me: Where?

Jake: (softly) At school.

Me: You cut your hair at school?!

Jake: Yeah.

Me: What? You just sat in your seat and took a hunk out of your hair?

Jake: Yeah.

And I thought they went to school to learn. ha.

Taylor took fiendish delight in telling Jake I was going to have to give him a buzz cut to fix it.

I didn't.

He's just going to have to go around with a notch out of his hair for awhile. Ryan gave himself an identical cut at about the same age.

It's a fad for 5 year olds.

Just so you know.

You're welcome. {I wouldn't want you to miss out on the cutting edge of hair fashion.}

First Trip of the Year to ER

Well, the year is new but we have made our first trip to ER.

Little Miss Katie-bug forgot my warning not to touch the stockings hung on the mantle, due to the possibility of a large, heavy holder falling on their heads.

Hehhhhhhhhhh....

I was out with the bigger girls and Taylor was babysitting when I got a call. Katie had pulled a stocking holder down on her face, near her eye and it was bleeding. He wasn't sure if she needed a stitch.

When I got home, I ascertained that she did need one because it was an impact split of her skin near her eye. It was nice and clean, but it would not stay together. I tried a steri-strip because it was a pretty small cut, but alas...it wouldn't stay closed. Taylor had done a great job of getting her wound cleaned, bandaged, and a dose of Tylen*l for the pain.

Off we went to ER because the doctor's office was closed today.

I knew we would have a long wait when I saw three ambulances outside the loading area, and the parking lot packed with cars.

Thankfully, I think kids get triaged to the front of the line. We still waited several hours, but it could have been much worse. When they took us back, there were gurney's end to end lining both sides of the hallway--all occupied with people! Apparently everyone decided to get injured or sick today since the doctor's offices were closed. It was a zoo in ER!

Kate was brave and only needed one stitch. She was happy to get a milk shake on the way home. Jeff told me that the kids were going to start getting hurt on purpose so they could score some individual Mommy time and a milk shake. ha!

Modeling the bandage that Taylor put on her cheek while she waits to be seen.

Please excuse the dreadful cellphone photos.

Christmas Wrap-up

I really need to try to get back to blogging...

We just returned from a trip to Ohio and Iowa to see both sides of the family for Christmas!

We even survived it.

We had 2 vans, 9 kids, 1 dog, good attitudes and a renegade stomach virus.

The kids were actually great in the cars and I do not have one complaint about their behavior. The weather was great--no snowy roads. There weren't even any traffic jams!

We were at my parents' for the first leg of the trip since they are on the way to Jeff's parents. We spent two days with them, including Christmas eve, and then got up on Christmas day to drive to Iowa.

Grandma passes out the presents! All of my siblings and their kids were there most of the day and then we went to Christmas eve service at my parents' church.

Skype allowed Ryan and Dani to see some of the festivities.

We can't WAIT to open our presents!!

We spent two days there and were able to see all of Jeff's siblings--some of whom I hadn't seen in several years. It was so fun to see everyone! One of my friends who has a daughter the same age as Ryan, also paid a visit which was such a treat!

Cousins are fun!

I'm pretty sure this photo doesn't need an explanation. Aren't they cute?!

Playing "Memory." You do not want to challenge Chloe to a game of this. She is amazing at it.

We did have two kids come down with the stomach flu but thankfully the rest of us did not succumb.

I had the brilliant idea to leave most of our luggage at my parents and only take a portion of our stuff to Jeff's parents. It would decrease the amount of schlepping that needed to be done.

Right?

Well....theoretically.

It did decrease the amount but it caused a great deal of confusion later on.

When we got back to my parents' we had a barfing child in the car (thankfully, into a bowl).

This caused our parental brains to misfire.

We rested there a day and then Jeff began loading up all our junk...suitcases, backpacks, presents, and all manner of paraphernalia. (Remember, some of our stuff was still packed in the car, since we didn't have to bring it in from our Iowa leg of the trip. This is important to the story because it caused us not to remember what we had started out with.) Still...the amount of stuff clogged up a large area in my parents house.

So much so that we didn't notice that something was missing.

At all.

A rather large something.

(Yes, I did do a walk-thru to check for missing items but this particular something was tucked out of sight)

We had an uneventful drive home and unpacked the cars.

Still didn't notice anything missing.

(Oh...except for my computer cord which my mom had already taken to UPS.)

Time to get ready for bed and I wanted something out of my suitcase.

Except it didn't seem to be upstairs.

Or downstairs.

Or in the car.

But it was in Ohio.

ACK!

My entire suitcase is in Ohio and I am not. Most of my winter clothes were in it so I have very little to wear until my poor mother packs it up and makes the trek back to UPS with the large box.

The good news is that we did not leave any of our children in Ohio.

Despite our latest mishap, we had a wonderful trip and loved being able to see our families. What a blessing!!