Waterstraut Year In Review 2011

2011 Waterstraut Style

This year for the Waterstrauts was nothing short of grand,

We traveled by air, by sea, and by land.

Our year started out with Corinne's first champagne cork pop,

And her favorite addition, the puppy, Porkchop.

We fed Reindeer, Moose, Penguins, Buffalo, and Kangaroo,

And toyed with the idea of having our own pet Emu.

Off to ESPN the weekend to run a 5 K,

Asa beat Calib by 30 seconds, so the results say.

Birthdays galore- including Corinne turning thirty-

Asa ran the warrior dash and came home beyond dirty.

At Medieval Times the Red Knight was the winner,

The best part was eating the utensil free dinner.

Easter Baskets hidden in cabinets, ovens, and dog food

And visits to Disney to put us in a magical mood.

A trip to the nations capitol- Washington D.C

And a slice of the biggest pizza you'll ever see

Monuments, Museums, and Ambulance Rides

Sixty-two trips for Asa down a Tennessee water slide.

Many a road trip in the Orange Honda Fit.

Which would have been more fun minus all the vomit.

Past 54 inches, Peyton finally grew,

Which meant waiting in line in a new coaster queue.

Our first anniversary swimming in the gulf in our clothes

Camping in Georgia, where we all pretty much froze.

Epic ice cream sinks, puzzles, and sand castles too,

And visits from friends without Corinne having a clue-

Swimming at Fort De Soto, Rainbow Springs, and in Tampa Bay

A date to paint pottery for Corinne's Mother's Day.

There was the trip to Corinne's 49th State,

And the 18 different animals that Asa ate.

29 days of an epic vacation-

We traveled 12455 miles across our very nation.

Phoenix, Alaska, Seattle, then Niagara Falls-

Our lack of an airport meltdown deserved some applause.

Four stadiums checked off the old to do list,

And a spin around on the famous maid of the mist.

Grandma's much anticipated ride on a camel,

Those Alaskan Moose proved an elusive mammal.

Parasailing, Ropes Course, and Putt Putt to play.

For some activities you must sign your life away

Sock Puppet Shows of the three little bears,

A visit to a Fort up some twisty old stairs.

Trampoline Jumping despite all Corinne's fears,

Pie Making Wednesday with some of our peers.

Hayden's first day of kindergarten came too fast,

Great news from the FCAT- Peyton had passed.

Cirque du Soleil our favorite show of the year-

The little girls with the spools deserved all the cheer.

We went to Monday Night Football to see the Bucs win-

Curtis Painter at QB where Manning should have been.

There were Magic and Lightning games too,

And Halloweekends at the Point to ride the Corkscrew.

Another visit up North for Grandma's 90th Birthday

And brunch with the Family at old Maumee Bay.

Invite Brandy to visit for a whole lot of fondue,

Or go to see her and get treats from Donuts, Voodoo.

The food and wine Fest with fishermans pie,

Asa tried the sushi, and he didn't die.

A visit to the Gulf, Alantic, and Pacific ocean.

The Bucs team this year tested our loyal devotion.

Our first trip to visit the Tampa Taco Bus,

The death of our inflatable alligator caused quite a fuss.

Art shows, Honor Assemblies, and the Fall Fest,

Calib in the spelling bee- we were impressed.

Giranimo Stilton, Captain Nobody and a pajama wearing Pig

By Halloween Porkchop had gotten so big.

Hayden, and the birth of his crazy socks,

Risking our lives to bring Justin some rocks.

Then there was the Rays and their miracle win,

And the time Grandpa got Asa drunk on his Tonic and Gin.

Thanksgiving this year saw a Bacon wrapped turkey,

Don't listen to Amanda when buying alligator jerky.

Corinne, the Waterstraut Island Survivor winner

And Seafood was back for our Christmas dinner

Christmas at home where it's very low key,

We learned Hayden's laughing fits could make him pee.

Pajama Eaters, Puppet Shows, and all kinds of crafts,

A year full of good times, and a good many laughs.

A great year for the Waterstrauts here in Land O Lakes

Sorry if you weren't part of it, them's just the breaks!

Highlights and Lowlights of 2011

(As voted on by the Council of Residents of Bellehurst Loop)

Favorite Holiday of 2011:

Peyton's Birthday

Honorable Mention: 4th of July

Favorite State visited in 2011:

Alaska in a landslide

Favorite Meal of 2011:

Mideval times

Honorable Mention: any day of the cruise

Favorite Craft Made in 2011:

Slime, and Christmas Tree Brownies in a tie (Hayden voted twice)

Favorite Video Game played in 2011:

Dungeon Defenders in a 3-1-1 vote. Skyrim and Luminous came in with a vote a piece.

Favorite Visitor of 2011:

Grandma Sattler-

and mentions of Brandy and her two visits (But, I equally enjoyed Amanda's visit too)

Best Sights of 2011:

Hubbard Glacier

in a Landslide.

Best Kodak Moment:

Feeding the Moose in Alaska.

Best Movie 2011:

Muppets,

with Thor receiving a respectable 2 votes.

Most Disappointing Moment of 2011:

No (Wild) Moose picture, No Cruise Ship Crab Legs

Worst Meal of 2011:

Half our Taco Bell order missing.

(Hayden was still pretty upset about his chips and cheese, and this happened months ago.)

Favorite Sporting Event:

Monday Night Football

Honorable Mention going to the Lightning game

Favorite Gift Received:

Santa gifts 3 votes, Porkchop 1 vote, Laptop 1 vote

Favorite Group Game Played:

Munchkin by far!

(Though newly acquired Dicecapdes got some nods)

Favorite Animal Pet:

Reindeer narrowly edging out the Moose.

Favorite Hotel Stay:

Caribbean Beach Resort

Although it was a hard choice between that and our suite in Anchorage.

Favorite day of the Year:

A tie!

Peytons Birthday, and driving from Anchorage to Fairbanks.

(Hayden's vote doesn't count here, because he said today- blaming the memory of a 5 year old)

2011 Dundee Awards:

Most Board Games Win:

Corinne.

In what everyone but Corinne thinks is a landslide.

Most Pajama's peed in:

Hayden.

With 100 percent of the vote, and 100 percent of the precincts reporting.

Most Madden Wins:

Asa.

(Despite Calib's best efforts)

Most times grounded:

Peyton.

Honorable Mention: Hayden

Most hair brushed out of his face:

Calib.

Tied with Justin Bieber. (But at least he cut his hair)

2012 New Years Resolutions:

Hayden: "I'm gonna be less more bad"

Peyton: "Getting my arm stronger throwing, and learning more about fish."

Calib: "Getting more exercise"

Asa: "Learn how to make a Cappuccino leaf"

Corinne: "Buy a house with more kitchen space"

Next Up: 2012. Happy New Year, Everyone!

Week 20: "This is not what Reindeer Eat."

This week's blog title is brought you by the 'Association of Funny Things Hayden Says'. Today he came home with 'Reindeer food' they mixed up at school to sprinkle on the lawn for the reindeer to come eat. Hayden then raised his hand, and informed his teacher that this is not what Reindeer eats, and he knows because he fed Reindeer. (If you recall we went to the Reindeer petting farm in Alaska'. He then procedded to tell his classmates everything he knew about Reindeer. And, then, that he ate one. (We also had that Reindeer Sausage). I don't think he would remember that we ate Reindeer, expect a few nights before at dinner, he randomly blurted out 'Hey, remember that big boat we went on where everything was free and I went to kids club' and then we started talking about our trip, and the Reindeer Sausage and lots of other fun awesome things. I like to remind them about our Alaska trip, since it's probably the coolest one we'll ever go on.

Anyway, it's been a busy, busy week in the Waterstraut household. We've been keeping on with our Christmas Activities. One of my favorites this week was the blindfolded Christmas drawing game. The boys were blindfolded and given instructions for what to draw, and then given points based on their drawing. The fireplace can't touch the Christmas Tree after all, thats a fire hazard! Peyton like the game only after he discovered the extra ornaments on his tree as opposed to off his tree pushed him over the edge, and he was the winner. Peyton's favorite was our crystal ornaments for the tree. Who knew some boiling water and borax combined would form crystals on pipe cleaners formed into various Christmas shapes. Cool project that one was. Hayden liked making the snowflakes out of toilet paper rolls. I suspect this may be because he enjoys any opportunity to get paint on everything around him. Calib thought the footprint/handprint Reindeer were the best, probably because he laughed the most when I painted his foot for the footprint. Something about it tickling too much. The cutest by far was their handprint snowman ornaments. Adorable.

Thursday also saw another doggie birthday around here. Sophie and Gracie (who yes, are biological sisters) turned eight years old. I can hardly believe they've been with us for eight years already. Gracie hasn't slowed down a bit, she's still just as dumb and loveable as always. Sophie, however, has punched her AARP card. You tell her to go outside and she gives you the 'eh, I'll go later' look, refusing to move. You tell her to get off the couch and she looks at you like 'I've dealt with these kids pulling at me for eight years, I've earned my right to sit here' look. If you dare throw a ball for her to chase she give you the 'you know how old I am' look. Don't even think about telling her to go out when it's raining. Then you just get the 'Seriously? You think I'm going out there? I'm too old for this crap' look. But, I love her, greying hair and all. They did really like their birthday cake. Since I had just made Porkchop the peanut butter cake with cream cheese frosting, I mixed it up and made the girls carrot cake with banana frosting. They were fans. Happy Birthday, Girls!

I finished up some sewing projects this week too. I made a draw string bag for Hayden's table fort, and hemmed it up. I origianlly put it on the table and was trying to pin it up so it would all be perfect, but in the end I just said screw it, took it off and folded the edges up without a real measurement. It turned out fine though. I also made a puppet theater for Hayden, and I cannot wait to see the first Hayden puppet show, it's going to be great. I also got a ton of stuff done around the house, and a bunch more presents wrapped. The pile is certainly growing.

Besides all that, Friday was camp-out in front of the Christmas Tree Night. We orignially were going to try to put the tent up in the livingroom, but Calib had started in with the runny nose, and I wasn't sure how it would work with all the dogs probably wanting to sleep in there with us, so we skipped the tent, opened up one couch for Peyton and Calib, made a bed on the other couch for Peyton, and dragged our mattress out there for me and Asa. Then we watched all kinds of little Christmas shows we had on the DVR. I didn't sleep all that great, but the boys loved it. Apparently, when my mom called the next morning while I was out at the grocery store, she said she wanted to have one when she got here too, so another Christmas Tree Camp-out we should have.

The down side to the sleepover may have been Calib feeling a little worse the next day. Some of Asa's friends were having a Christmas (or just December for our non-Christmas celebrating friends) party, and we had all planned on going- but with Calib's cold I just didn't want to risk him getting anyone sick, especially this close to Christmas. So, I made one peanut butter ball to send with Asa and Peyton to the party, and made a mini one for me, Calib and Hayden. Calib was really bummed about it, so I let him and Hayden each have one present early. I gave Calib the board game my mom had gotten for him, and Hayden some toy story guys, so the three of us relaxed, played some Sorry, watched an ugly Bucs game, and tucked ourselves in on the couch. It was a nice evening, until Hayden realized he was going to have to go to bed without Peyton- then it got ugly. But all in all, a nice evening- and Peyton seemed to have a good time at Kevin and Katie's looking at their fish tank, and being drooled on by the dog.Hopefully next time we can all make it.

By Sunday I realized Hayden and I had skipped over his homework completly. Luckily, Hayden loves doing his homework, so we sat and did all seven pages in no time at all. Then, we realized the dryer Asa had previously fixed for us, had completly given out. This was no good, because I was already in desperate need of doing laundry. The last thing I wanted to do was head to a laundry mat the week before Christmas. I hadn't been to the laundry mat since college. Asa and I decided to go with renting one, because I have no idea if they'll be one in the new house, what kind of hookups to expect or anything like that. We'll see if we end up being here a lot longer, we may just get a new one. Either way, it was delievered today, so I am happily drying some laundry (piles, and piles of laundry) now.

I had also procrastinated long enough on the rest of the cookie baking, so I finished that up, handing off the job of the Rum Balls to Calib and Asa. Yes, Calib made the rum balls. I'm such an awesome parent. Most of the rest of the cookie baking was me in the kitchen, with Calib watching football. Since the Bucs had already played- he was watching Red Zone (which is just a highlight of all the scoring plays/drives). Anyway, so I know he was trying to be helpful but he'd just start yelling "Touchdown!" "Interception!" "Sacked!" And I had no idea what game was which. It was pretty awful. I was particularly interested because I was playing Peyton in our fantasy football league for the superbowl! Calib apparently had been managing Peyton's roster for the last three weeks though, trying to get me out of the playoffs, and his team in. Well- ah ha! It didn't work! I AM THE SUPERBOWL CHAMPION! Peyton then pretended to be all upset about it. He's a sore loser, I have no idea where he gets it from *cough* *cough* Asa *cough* *cough*

Sunday was also the Survivor Finale, and in an effort to pay homage to the first season we all watched together as a family, we held Survivor: Waterstraut Island. (Season 1 of course). The first challenge, I had to double as the host. I made a pretty good one too, and suggested Asa vote me out first so I could continue on, but he refused, and voted for Calib instead. Hayden had immunity since he ate his (gummy)worms the fastest in the usual gross food challenge. This backfired on Asa, as I had thrown my vote his way as to not upset the kids, and Calib had also voted him out. I had a bad feeling when I came into the confessional(aka our bedroom), and dropped my vote into the urn (aka the pot we cook spaghetti in), when I returned to sit on my stump (aka ottoman), I had a feeling Asa was going to get his torch snuffed (aka wrapping paper roll with red construction paper flames on the end of it). And there it was, the first person voted out of Survivor Waterstraut Island, and the first member of the jury: Asa. The tribe had spoken.

In the second challenge we had to draw rocks (crayons) to determine teams, as it was a puzzle challenge. Hayden and Peyton had both gotten those spiderman puzzles at the holiday store at school, so we competed in two teams of two to complete the 20 piece puzzle without the box to see what the puzzle was. Peyton and I smoked Hayden and Calib's team, and in a 3-1 vote, Calib headed to the jury. The final challenge was to transfer water from one bucket to another using a sponge getting it past the painters tape line in each bucket. Though I was tired from lack of food, and the tiring life at camp, I mustered up the strength and nairly edged out Hayden for the immunity necklace. He tried to scramble for votes when we got back to camp, but Peyton and I made an alliance day 1 (aka 20 minutes before hand) that we would take each other to the finals. Besides, Peyton wasn't likable to the jury for how arrogant he was when each of their torches were snuffed.

The final tribal council was rough, lots of questions about my alliance with Peyton. But in the end (after two re-votes since Hayden voted for himself- then Porkchop) I took home the million dollars (aka the chocolate donut) in a 3-0 vote. Peyton was devastated that he lost, ran to his room screaming, and has brought this up several times since. Especially when he learned I won the super bowl in a two week battle by six points. He starts yelling about how I win everything, and I didn't even remember the Survivor incident. Anyway, we then all sat and watched the finale of Survivor together, and were all pretty bummed at the winner.

Monday was PJ day at school, so I ended up giving the boys the PJs that I had wrapped for them to get and wear on Christmas Eve, per tradition. Since the dryer was broken, I had no clean PJs for them. I don't even know why they have school this week. They've been coming home talking about how they were playing board games, watching movies, and making Christmas Crafts. This morning I dropped them off to Christmas music blaring over the PA in the breezeways, Teachers wearing Santa hats, and the Principal giving out candy canes. They were actually only supposed to have Friday off, but they turned Thursday into a furlough day, so tomorrow is the last day for nearly three weeks.

Asa took the day off on Monday. He had one personal day left, and if he didn't use it, it would just go away at the end of the year. Unfortunately he realized this when most days in December already had the maximum people on vacation/personal time, so he ended up with a random day instead of some time between Christmas and New Years. It was really nice to have a date day with him, and not having to worry about a babysitter. We went out to lunch, and went to see a movie together. We even got to make a stop at the grocery store together, which may not sound very exciting, but is pretty much unheard of for us. It was a nice day with my super awesome husband, though if I ever go on wheel of fortune, I'm going to refer to him as my horrible, awful husband- because we get so annoyed at all the adjectives people use to describe their spouses and kids on that show. After our date, Asa went to pick up the boys- and I went to the post office, which was nearly enough to kill my good mood. The line was out the door and around the building. It moved fast enough though, and the cookies, stuffed octopus and elephants are on their way to Ohio. Justin came over Monday night, and got hooked on dungeon defenders just like the rest of the boys in this house, and I watched the game biting my nails, hoping to win the fantasy football super bowl- which, in case I haven't mentioned, I totally did.

Today we had free pizza for dinner- a credit from pizza hut from totally screwing up our last order- and the drier got here. I spent the majority of the day house cleaning. I even cleaned out the pantry- taking everything out of it, giving the shelves and floor a good wash down- and then we made a five person assembly line to reload the pantry. It went super fast, and Hayden kept saying he was working in a factory. I also tackled cleaning Peyton and Hayden's room with them, while Asa and Calib organized Calib's room, complete with nerf guns hanging by hangers in the closet. Hey, as long as they aren't all over the house, I'm pretty pleased. Anyway, the house is cleaner now than it's ever been 5 days before a visitor gets here- I'm not even sure what to do with the rest of the week, except freak out every time the boys make a mess. It was super awesome of everyone to help clean the house though, they're awesome people to live with. Peyton also had his truth meter moved up to five, which is a pretty big deal because he earns back privileges, and he hasn't had any for quite some time. Just in time for video games he's getting for Christmas- yay!

That's all I think I have to share. I forgot to write stuff down this week, so I'm sure some funny things occurred that I didn't write about. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas (or a Happy Hanukkah- which I'm learning about by the way) and I'll see ya next week for the Waterstraut year in Review.

A few funny conversations to share:

Hayden: What dad? You were calling my name
Asa: No I wasn't
Hayden: Yes you were
Asa: Maybe it was the spirits
Me: ASA!
Hayden: ASA! (THE INFLECTION WAS SPOT ON)


Me: Why do you look so big today?
Hayden: Because, I'm growing up, Mom.
Asa: Ohhh...
Hayden: You just got burned.
*sigh*

Me: Hayden, I will call the North Pole if I have to
(later after Hayden is out of the room)
Calib: really mom, you're going to call the north pole.
Me: Calib, shut it. It used to work on you.
Calib: really mom, you're going to call the north pole
Me: I'm going to call the stores I got your presents at and see if I need a reciept to take them back.


Next Up: Uh... Christmas... Obviously. And a visit from Grandma!

*Disclaimer* Blogger is being all weird, and won't let me upload pictures, and has me using this weirdo font. So, I guess, sadly, no pictures this week.

Week 19: I Even Postpone Procrastination

Countdown Alert: Only Eleven Days Till Christmas! (I'm only told about 10 times a day how many days it is until Christmas, so I thought I would share.) Anyway, this week saw lots of Christmas related activities, including getting our tree. More on that later....

I hung the mistletoe this week. The boys are not fans. However, the mistletoe is hanging in the hallway, where they must walk under it in order to go to their bedrooms. My new favorite past time is sitting under the mistletoe, and tackling them when they come through. Sure, they flail about, and whine, but eventually I get a kiss on the cheek, and they get to go on their merry way. It's a win-win situation. At one point I asked Hayden for a bedtime kiss. I got one, but he declared 'Ok Mom, but next time I get a mistletoe pass'. They're all getting so big, I'll take what I can get.

We made some arts and crafts this week, Hayden's favorite was the brown paper bag reindeer puppets. This is good because I am making Hayden a puppet theater for Christmas, and I've already wrapped a bunch of puppets for him. He ran around saying his puppet was better than anyone elses, but then later begged Calib to use his too. The hours of entertainment that a kid can get out of a brown paper bag with some pipe cleaners, pom poms, and googly eyes glued to it is amazing. Thursday we made a Christmas Tree out of plant pots. The boys each painted one green, and used a sponge to add some red 'ornaments' to the tree. I later tried to retrieve another pot from the garage for the stem, and hurt my ankle climbing over camping gear. Calib declared me 'out two to three weeks with a high ankle sprain'. It was all for nothing to, because the pot wasn't even in the garage, it was up on the plant shelf- on the island of forbidden toys. This is where toys that have been confiscated go on vacation until they are earned back with random activities. These activities can range from singing I'm a little teapot for a nice you tube video, to cleaning your room. Asa and I are such awesome parents.

Friday was Hayden's student of the month assembly, which I missed. Which, makes me feel like an awful parent, despite my previous paragraph. He told me he was student of the month, but he never brought home the paper. Calib told me he was probably either Author of the month or Mathlete of the month, because they get their pictures too, and there isn't an assembly for those, you just eventually bring home your award. I am so upset about missing it, I don't even want to talk about it- but, I did want to mention that Hayden is student of the month. Yay Hayden!

The boys also went to the holiday store and purchased some things for Christmas. I have no idea what Calib bought, because he can express the self restraint it takes to hide the presents until Christmas. Hayden and Peyton, however, came home and immediately gave presents to me and Asa. It was a bad day, and I was being really hard on myself for missing Hayden's assembly, so I think they did it in part to cheer me up. Hayden got me a cute little bracelet, and Peyton got me a keychain. Calib was apparently at the holiday store the same time as Hayden, and over heard Hayden saying he needed to get something for his sister. Confused, Calib went over to tell Hayden he didn't have a sister. Hayden insisted he did. When Calib got in the car he was telling me the story about this, and Hayden chimed in with 'but I do have a sister'. Equally confused as everyone else, I asked who his sister was and he replied with 'Gwen'. Apparently Hayden needs a run down of family trees.

After the boys got home on Friday, we decided to go see Santa. Now, Hayden is the only Santa-brings presents-believing kid I have left, so I wasn't sure I could convince Peyton and Calib to sit for the annual family Santa Picture, but they actually did- with no complaining. I did bribe everyone with milk shakes at Red Robin, so that may have had something to do with it. Asa then bet me $5 this wouldn't be the last year Calib would sit for a picture, somehow I doubt it. Our timing was perfect to catch the light show at the mall again, and Hayden found the 'snow' just as entertaining the second time around. When we got home we all sat down and watched the Grinch. I think it's really funny the things Peyton picks up on now. Of course he knows those kind of movies are pretend, but then he'll comment on the strangest things. We start up the grinch and Peyton says "wow, that must be a really high altitude, look at that cloud cover".

Saturday we went to get our tree. We usually just go to Target or wherever and pick one up, but this year I found a farm about half an hour from here that you can cut down your own. Granted, these aren't the usual northern christmas trees, but you still get to chop down a tree! We all went out there sporting our Santa hats (with the exception of Asa who decided his warrior hat was just as festive), and settled on an eight footer. Asa chopped it down, and they shook it and wrapped it and even tied it to the top of the car for us. Meanwhile, the boys got to pet baby animals, and run around in the field. I think this will be our new Christmas Tree tradition, it was a lot funner than picking out a tree at Target.

When we got home, we had a hard time getting the tree to stand up without its usual tipping , thank you plant ledge, rope, and hook. You save my ornaments every single year. Oh, and I can't forget you, brick, holding down the fort at the base. I just want to take a second to point out the discussion that happens every year when we take down the tree.

Me: Hey Babe, please don't just jumble all the lights up like that.

Asa: It'll be fine.

Me: Until next year when I have to untangle them.

Asa: It'll be fine.

Fast forward just over 11 months to putting up the tree. And, untangling of lights. After that, we decorated the tree, and as per Sattler family tradition finished up the evening with Chinese food. Then, we watched the always hilarious National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. Super Awesome that the boys are getting old enough to like movies that aren't specifically for kids. It was brought to my attention this week they've never seen Ferris Buelers Day Off. We're going to have to remedy that.

Sunday, oh gosh, Sundays. The day when the Bucs lose, and Asa gets angry about it. But, hello, did anyone see the Tim Tebow game? I gotta say, I had given up hope and got in the bath tub, then realized this thing was totally in reach, and got out of the tub to see the end. He definitely restores my faith in football. Plus, hilarious things about him on twitter when he pulls off the miracle wins. I suspect next week may be the end of the magic, but then again, it is absolutely magical.

We also made candy cane and snowman pizza's on Sunday. It's nothing all that creative, just pizza in the shape of candy canes and snowmen. I love how the shape of something can make it magically taste better to a child. Peyton is not a fan of homemade pizza. But, shape it into something fun and he's totally on board. Same thing with Pancakes- so strange.

I've had my sewing machine out a ton these last few days. I made some elephants and octopus to make sure they were done in time to send out for Christmas. Then I started tackling some of the projects I wanted to get done for the boys for Christmas. I made a table fort for Hayden. It's this slipcover type thing that fits over the table and makes it into a super awesome fort, plus a nice drawstring bag to keep it in. I've also been churning out pajama pants like you wouldn't believe. I found this tutorial:

http://mycottoncreations.blogspot.com/2010/07/christmas-eve-pajama-pants-tutorial.html

And I will seriously probably never make another pair of pajama pants any other way. I can get them done in half an hour- and since I bought all kinds of the material when it was $1.49 a yard, and the elastic buy one get one free, It's costing less than $2.50 to make a pair. Ridiculous! I'm thrilled when I can do things on the cheap, so much so I was excited yesterday when I had to whip up another batch of laundry detergent. I will never ever again pay for that stuff.

Anyway, my most impressive project for the week has been the boys Pajama Eater Monsters I have made. This is a combination of two ideas I stumbled across- Stuffed animals that kids can feed their -not quite clean but not dirty enough for the laundry- pajamas to, and then retrieve later. And a website where kids can draw their own monsters, send it in, and have it made into a stuffed animal. I posted Peyton and Hayden's on facebook, so I'll share Calib's here.

Monday we had a snowman race, which was super fun. The boys picked Peyton to turn into a snowman. They had a start line, and a finish line, and had to stop at stations to complete the snowman. If they did it before the Ma-nom-a-nom song was over on you tube, they would be rewarded with hot chocolate. The stops were getting wrapped up like a snowman (in toilet paper--from the dollar store of course, I'm not wasting a roll of Charmin on that), buttons (circles cut from black construction paper), a pipe (made from pipe cleaners), a scarf (red crate paper), and a hat. They completed this before the song was over- but then begged Asa to be the snowman the second go around. That was even more entertaining to watch. I took video- so I'll have to post it on you tube. Pretty funny stuff.

Last, but certainly not least, this week, I'd like to share with you Hayden's Master Plan. Everyday at dinner we talk about what our favorite part of the day was. On Monday, Hayden said his was sitting under the slide, and grabbing kids ankles when they came down so he could scare them. When Asa asked if he got in trouble for it, he replied "Actually, I haven't done it yet. It's my plan for tomorrow'. I saw possible harm in this, but allowed it. The next day at dinner, he told us all about how his plan was successful and named off about seven kids in his class he scared. Peyton couldn't believe they kept falling for it kid after kid. Calib responded with 'those are kindergartners for you'.

Thats it. I have a busy week ahead of me, and have actually written this blog as a two parter- so forgive me if I've repeated myself.

Oh, one more- Award for the funniest misunderstanding this week:

Hayden: Can I sing my vowels?

Asa: Did he just ask if he could drain his bowels?

Next Up: Another doggie birthday party, and ugly Christmas Sweater Parties!

Week 18: A One Year Old Porkchop

Has it seriously been 18 weeks since my birthday? Ugh. I'm just not getting any younger. The thirties it is for me, gross.

Anyway, the most important event of the week was Porkchops birthday! I'm lucky enough to know his, Sophie, and Gracie's actual birthday. Phenom is much more the mystery, so he doesn't usually get a party. And by party, I mean a cake and some birthday hats. Porkchop wasn't a birthday hat fan though, so he just went right for the cake. I'd like to take this moment to thank my wonderful husband for getting me porkchop, because 'puppies heal hearts'. Porkchop is the best puppy in the whole world, and despite his short comings of licking my toes in the morning (no, really, it's gross), and getting too excited when I've been gone for 20 minutes and I get back, he's super fun and awesome. And, I love my puppy- so thanks, Asa!

It's Wednesday so I already feel behind on getting this up- and it's the Holiday Season so I'm neck deep in projects: sewing, baking, decorating, crafting, cleaning. And while not going to Ohio saved me a weekend, I blew that weekend a couple days ago being lazy around the house. So now I'm trying to jam pack everything in like the usual Christmas around here- at least I got that weekend though!

Monday I was grumpy, and the boys in this house saw this, and jumped right on the lets clean up bandwagon. The dryer and the washer had broken- we were going to have to call in repair guys, and the house was a disaster. I was off wrapping presents in the bedroom, and when I came out, the house was magically clean. Asa asked the boys : 'And why did we do this for mom?', and Peyton yelled out "Because we care about her!" Asa claims this was not rehearsed, but given Peyton's attitude lately, that raises an eyebrow. Still, it was nice, and the house is still fairly clean.

We had a casualty of the week: Hayden's backpack. This reaffirmed to me I should have gotten Jansport ones, as it lasted just over three months. And, fyi, it's not easy to find a kids backpack when it's not back to school time- at least for a reasonable price. Amazon to the rescue I suppose.

Thursday I ended up making a punch board for the boys and their Christmas activities instead of just posting them on the dry erase board. Think that Price-Is-Right game where you punch to find the half car paper- except you end up with like 250 bucks. These prizes are not as exciting as 250 bucks, or a car, but the boys get excited about whose turn it is to punch.

When they got home they got to do their first punch- it was to make Chocolate spoons. You melt chocolate, put it on a spoon, put marshmallows or sprinkles or whatever on the spoons and then let me harden. We actually used them later to stir our hot chocolate with breakfast for dinner night.

I did also make my own pattern and sew an Octopus. I'm pretty handy and crafty like that. It was just the prototype, but I feel like I can find a way to whip up whatever people ask me to do- perhaps I'm a little sewing full of myself, but I have big plans for this week coming up so my skills are defiantly going to be put to the test. I can't wait to see how it turns out- and share it with everyone!

Fridays punch was a Christmas Movie of their choosing. They picked the animated version of a Christmas Carol, which is like having to watch Scrooge in half an hour. No musical numbers or dancing on coffins, but the gist is the same- and I still have the memories of lincoln logs, and stitches.

Saturday I had to make a run to the grocery store, and to Kohls to spend my Kohls cash- and I was so grateful I was done shopping, because there was millions of people everywhere. Draw back of the holiday season- small aisles, tons of people, and chicks just as bad at cart maneuvering as they are driving (this does not include me, fyi, I'm awesome at both). When I got home we did our activity, which was making a yarn snowman. You take glue, mix with a little water (and don't put it in a white bowl or your middle child may think theres nothing in said bowl and flip it upside down sending glue everywhere), and then dip the yarn in glue, and string around a balloon. When it dries, pop the balloon and you have a yarn ball- stack three of them and you have a snowman. I don't think we used enough glue though, because the bottom two balls kind of collapsed into each other, causing Hayden to say the snowman was melting.

Saturday also saw the Handyman award going to Asa, as he fixed our dryer with a part he ordered off the internet and a youtube video. I wonder how people fixed things before you tube? I also wonder if you tube have put a lot of repair men out of business. Eventually, the boys friends called, and they went over to play. Asa and I then got a pretty quiet afternoon at home, it was really nice.

Sunday we watched the Bucs, sort of, thank you black out- and worked on finishing up Hayden's homework, in which the teacher expected him to write words on a line most grown ups couldn't fit the words in. I told Asa he would have to handle it, so he just had Hayden draw a line from the wordbank to the line he was supposed to write it on. We didn't hear back, so it must be A-O-K.

Sunday's punch was to decorate the house for Christmas- and as I took down some things to make room for the Christmas decorations, I realized a lot of these things won't go back up. One way or another we're going to have to move in the next few months. I want to be ahead of the packing game when that time comes.

Bucs games are just turning out to be a painful way to spend our Sundays, but at least Tim Tebow won- which is AWESOME. It's the final weeks of our fantasy football league in the family too, and despite Asa trying to throw his game against me so it wasn't an all kid super bowl, he pretty much won. However, he ended up taking out some players and leaving slots empty so I could win. The kids didn't seem to notice.. so shhh!!

Monday we decorated the fridge to look like a snowman, and Tuesday the boys let me record them singing Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer, which was hilarious. You should go to you tube to check it out. Asa spent the first half of this week, and the last half of last week working at work from 8-5. We all hate this new schedule, and can't wait for it to be over. He's not getting home till almost 6, and that's super lame. Yay for his normal schedule of out at 3.

Thats it for the week, I'll leave you with some entertaining quotes from the week.

Hayden: are you guys dating?

Me: well, i dont know if I want to date him. but, I wanna be married to him.

Hayden: married? ew! gross.

Me: thems the rules. i dont make them.

peyton: looks at me

Me: ok, well, I guess I do make them.

Hayden: I got a sticker at school today

Me: what did you get a sticker for?

Hayden: I finsihed my test, and I didn't even make one noise.

Me: Good Job, Hayden

Hayden: You weren't allowed to talk. But you could breathe.

Why do I picture the teacher saying 'I don't want to hear a sound', and Hayden raising his hand asking if breathing was ok?

Next Up: Christmas Mania!

Week 17: Ma-Nom-A-Non!

I have a secret. And, because of recent events, I am going to share my secret. Every week when I go to the grocery store, as a reward for going shopping (because I am not a fan), I get a six inch sub at the Subway that they have at the exit. Usually I even get cash back so Asa doesn't see how often I go, on the debit card. Now, I save up my Subway points until I earn a free footlong. This takes about two months. Then, I go to the Subway that isn't in the grocery store after I drop the boys off at school and collect. Because, it's very exciting to get the free footlong and NOT have to go to the grocery store to get it. It's really very exciting. Today I collected my free sub. I got enough points when I went Thanksgiving Dinner shopping on Tuesday. I've been waiting five whole days to collect, which is much longer than normal. So, at lunch time today, I opened the fridge and smiled. There it was, my footlong turkey on wheat. Complete with lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, pickles, and black olives, no cheese (it gets kind of gross if you don't eat it right away). I sat down to enjoy it, unwrapped it on the coffee table, and picked up the first half. Then, disaster! Phenom, Asa's dog, sniffed at it. I yelled at him, but it was to no avail, he grabbed the half in his mouth and flung it across the living room. It was mayhem. Dogs running to catch the insides, phenom running dragging 6 inches of the bread behind him, and me paralyzed in shock, devastated that my two months of saving points had crescendoed into this debacle. And so, I'm left saving up points for another two months. What a let down.

Anyway, I'm bothering telling you this because after I had enjoyed my much anticipated delicious larger than normal lunch, I was going to be super motivated to put on some Christmas music, and clean the disaster that has become of my house over the last five days. But, now, I'm putting it off a little while later to blog about the past week. Motivation has officially been killed. Just like my love for Urban Meyer, which was DOA this morning when I saw he was going to coach at Ohio State. And, just like our dryer, oh yea, that broke too. I was hoping it would last until we moved, as the dryer belongs to the house and not us, but the hope died yesterday along with the ailing dryer. Oh, Mondays. I should have known better than to get my free sub on Monday.

So, lets go back and revisit some happier times, you know, like 6 days ago, before anyone saw this dreadful event coming.

The week could be renamed into how many turkey food/crafts/items can you make into a turkey shape. Monday we made paper plate turkeys. Peyton skipped out on this one because he was in super big trouble. Lets just say there is now a need for a truth meter in my house. Anyway, the next morning when we were eating our turkey shaped pancakes, he was rather upset he didn't have a toilet roll paper plate turkey to contribute.

The boys had school Monday and Tuesday, although Tampa area schools were off the whole week. I got so much done during the day Monday and Tuesday- chopping, shopping, precooking, cleaning- that I was really happy we lived a mile farther north and therefore in the Pasco county school district. Tuesday night we made a popcorn turkey out of popcorn and brown paper bags. Peyton as this point was really into arts and crafts-more than normal- because he was grounded from pretty much all other fun things.

Calib went over to a friend's house, when we decided maybe we would go over to the outdoor mall and see the Symphony in Lights- a light show they put on to Christmas music twice an evening. Usually Peyton would not be up for such events- but as previously discussed he was bored to death- so he jumped right on board. Calib didn't want to come home, so I just took Peyton and Hayden. It was really unusual because we don't hardly ever do things without all of us. We stopped by Starbucks to get some hot chocolate first, although it was still at least 75 degrees out. Hayden LOVED the light show. At one point it started 'snowing' this bubble foam substance, and he couldn't get enough of it. I hadn't realized the spot we picked to sit was right under the 'snow' maker, so we ended up covered in the stuff. When we got home Hayden kept telling Asa how awesome it was, and how he wanted to go see it again. Maybe we'll get there before Christmas again.

Wednesday, after I made the boys 'Turkey Sandwiches' for lunch, I made Peyton help me with last minute cleaning and cooking. He wasn't very happy about it, and Calib quickly skirted out of the house and over to his friends house again. Partly because he didn't want to hear Peyton whining, partly, I suspect, because he didn't want to use his immunity idol. He's been holding onto that thing for something pretty epic, I've determined. I gotta find a way to flush that thing out, all Survivor style. I did tell Peyton if he helped, I would still take him to the pet store to get the fish I had promised before he got grounded, so he was more helpful than usual. My mom had sent my dads aquarium down with Clint when we saw him a few weeks ago- and Peyton has been dying to get fish for it, I'm pretty confident in saying he asked at least twice a day for two weeks. I poorly managed my time though, and headed out as soon as Asa got home from work, not taking into account dinner before the Second Annual Pie Making Wednesday. We did fit it all in though.

So, What is the Second Annual Pie Making Wednesday? Well, it's the day you make pies for Thanksgiving of course. It's an official event, facebook says so. Though the First Annual Pie Making Wednesday only had 6 attendees, the five of us plus Justin, this year we expanded to the bigger venue of Justin's house, and invited a few more people. Justin didn't get home until 8:30 or so though, so we had to start pie making without him. Ann made some awesome brownie concoction, but ruined it with the addition of pumpkin. Katie and Kevin stuck with the more traditional apple pie. Calib made a cookie pie (delicious with ice cream, by the way), I made a lemon meringue that didn't quite set up right (I should have done a trial run like Justin), and Asa made pumpkin pie, minus a pie shell. Eventually Justin made cheesecake, but by that time it was more "The Second Annual sit around and watch Justin cook while we all talk in the messy kitchen we made Wednesday".

Thursday I got up and started the Turkey. Here's how I generally feel about Thanksgiving.

Peyton: Mom, whats your least favorite holiday?'

Me: "Thanksgiving"

Peyton:"But we get all the yummy food!"

Me: "And, who do you think makes all that yummy food?"

I mean, generally, I cook dinner every night. Thanksgiving is just that on steroids. Justin comes over, but other than that, it's just us. I did find a few more people who had nowhere to go on Thanksgiving, and maybe Brandy will move here next year in time, so I may grow it to a full on misfits Thanksgiving. Maybe that'll make it a little better. It is a good excuse to make sweet potatoes though. Nobody else will even touch them. Hayden won't even eat the part with marshmallows on it. So, I feel like I can't make them the rest of the year. That, and acorn squash. I did even make a bacon weave and laid it over the turkey this year for added dramatics. Asa saw this and said he was going to make the turkey next year. I will gladly hand the turkey making baton over to him. He can have it, and all the disgusting inside parts. Ew.

We did watch the parade, and eat donuts for breakfast, and then watch the stupid Packers beat the Lions, and Suh beat the Packers. Ha! A little NFL humor for you there. The Lions on Thanksgiving remind me of my dad, I was actually hoping they'd win, but alas, it was not meant to be. We played some games, and checked through the ad's to see if there was anything all that awesome. Hayden made a fruit Turkey from fruit kabobs and a pumpkin, which was a big hit. I did add a new Thanksgiving tradition, I saw this idea on pinterest and had to use it. I bought a sheet to use as a table cloth, and everyone drew on it. I'm going to embroider the drawings (which this year was everyone's handprint a la turkey outline) and we'll add to it every year. This will be my first embroidering experience, but I'm pretty confident I can pull it off. Hey, I'm going to make stuffed octopus, if I can do that, I can pull anything out of my bag of tricks.

Thursday night we were trying to decide how to handle Black Friday Shopping. I was so annoyed at the stores opening on Thanksgiving Night. It brought out more shoppers, and a whole different crowd. Us shoppers who have been doing this for years are hardcore, and gladly get up at 3 am to go get deals. These new shoppers have no dedication. Surely, they wouldn't be getting up at 3am, but they have no problems staying up until 3 am to get deals. I went over to Walmart at 9:15 thinking I'd pick up a few toys and the place was crazy. Cars parked in the grass, parking lot (which is HUGE) was full, and I could see people with carts waiting at the registers already. I said forget this, and headed home.Justin was going to come back over for pie, and kid watching since both Asa and I were going to be out shopping. Asa was going to go to Traget to get Calib a netbook, and even though it was now 9:30 and they didn't open till midnight, I told him he better head out, plus at that point we didn't have to worry about a babysitter. He left, and waited in line. He got the second to last netbook, and was within the first 100 people in line. That was the extent of our early morning black friday shopping. I spent most of the time he was gone online shopping. I actually found pretty similar deals online as the stores had, and for the lack of craziness, I was happy to pay the few extra dollars and still get good prices.

Friday morning we got up and headed over to Disney. Cort and Holly were taking a trip sans Gwen and Garrett, who spent the holiday with my mom. They were staying at the Boardwalk hotel, and we decided to just visit them there instead of attempting a park on a holiday weekend. We had lunch with them, where Hayden took the opportunity of no Gwen to talk Aunt Holly's ear off, complete with the Bumblee Bee Song that went on for about thirty minutes. The boys went swimming in the pool, and played some games the pool staff was putting on. I didn't attempt to go swimming- are you kidding me- that water is not warm anymore in November. I'm from Florida people, that water needs to be at least 80 for me to consider jumping in. Hayden guilted Uncle Cort into getting in, and catching him at the bottom of the slide, and everyone took a dip in the hot tub. Afterwards we took a walk around the Boardwalk, where Cort and Asa tried to figure out if it was possible to bury yourself in the sand, and schemed on how to illegally get us all into the Yacht and Beach Club awesome pool in June.

We stopped by the gingerbread house in the lobby of the Boardwalk to count hidden mickeys, and convinced Hayden he found them all. Then we headed out, and stopped at Cort's car to pick up some more things mom had sent, and presents from Cort and Holly for Christmas. We then proceeded to open presents in the parking lot, because that's how we roll. Hayden got a hotwheels/Cars 2 thing that is super cool, and as a bonus doesn't require batteries. He loved it. Peyton got a science water kit thing, which we haven't opened yet. Calib got a game containing 100 dice, which we played Saturday night. This game is super fun, and requires things like stacking dice, drawing pictures, running in and out of rooms, flicking dice, and arm wrestling. I won, which rather upset Peyton, as he went off on a 'Mom always wins everything' rant. Gee, Asa Waterstraut, wonder where he got that from. Oh, and I'd like to thank Holly for the bacon toothpaste. Um, super gross. Asa also got a bacon wallet he's very excited about, and I got a find it game, which I played Sunday with Peyton and is actually way more exciting than the name would suggest.

We were going to go to Downtown Disney after our visit with Cort to watch the Muppets, but we couldn't find a parking spot, and it was taking forever in traffic to even get down there, so we decided to head home. Asa then decided the best way to kill time while I drove home was to have the boys play wheel of fortune on the magnadoodle. Surprisingly, they never put together that Asa was deciding what their spin would be. Although the spinner sound effects were top notch. Final score: Hayden (with Peyton's help since Hayden's reading skills are lacking): $3,655. Calib: One piece of candy valued at 55 cents. He won the prize puzzle.

When we got home it was still early enough I thought I'd head out to see if I could find any good Black Friday deals still going on. I went to Joann Fabrics where they had some awesome deals. $1.49 a yard for flannel. AND if you got the last part of the bundle and it wasn't a whole yard, you got 75 percent off. It was great! I loaded up on fabric, and then headed over to the mall thinking I would pick up the boys Christmas ornaments for this year, stop by the Disney store, and get the Elf on the shelf at the bookstore. Shows how often I go to the mall.. the Disney store was closed, the Bookstore was gone, and Hallmark had zero sales on their ornaments. I left and went to Kohls, where I came across a couple of great ornaments for the boys, and found Nintendo Monopoly which Peyton will love, and picked up enough to get Kohl's cash. I tried to convince my mom to send me her kohls cash, but to no avail. Rats. Then I stopped by walmart to see if they had anything left that I had wanted to get the night before. I managed to find the last two Xbox Live 3 month giftcards for $12 hanging out with all the other gift cards at the register and some other finds. By the time I got home between all the deals I had just gotten, and my online shopping, I was all done with the kids for Christmas. Justin was here to finally eat some pie, and we talked about how his house will be the perfect hiding spot for presents. I just don't know what to do with myself this holiday season. No more shopping, No going to Ohio. It's going to be awfully quiet and non-stressful. Except of course, for that whole moving/buying a house thing.

Saturday we went out to see The Muppets at Citrus Park. Let me tell you, if you want a movie dripping with nostalgia, this is your flick! I absolutely loved it. The boys thought it was great. The nods to the 80s made me happy. Oh, Childhood, how fun you were. The Muppets remind me of Sunday Night Bubble Baths and Footie Pajamas. The memories! When we got home we had leftover Thanksgiving Dinner, which is never quite as good or as fancy as Thanksgiving itself, but I just had to take a picture. I call this 'second thanksgiving'. Note the paper plates, plastic silverware, and tupperware.

Later, we played the new game from Cort, which I won (of course), and watched some movies on TV. Yay for Horton Hears a Who and the Bee Movie. It stinks nothing is new this time of year, but I love that there's all kinds of family friendly shows and movies on. Plus, theres plenty of room on the DVR's for the movies. Although, watching kids movies with Asa can, and always has been, a little taxing. "Right, because clearly that speck of dust is safer being carried around by an elephant than in a field of totally untouched other clovers'

Sunday was football day, as it will be for the next few weeks here. I was so confident the Bucs would win this week. It's been a month since I saw them win. But, nope. It was not meant to be. We better beat Carolina next week at home, or it may be the last football day we have at home for awhile. I later wrapped presents and watched Tim Tebow take down Philip Rivers away from Asa. I feel I handled the win with class, and good news, Asa didn't file for divorce this morning, so it looks like we're out of the woods, there. But seriously, people, have you seen the Tebow Magic at work. It's dripping with Florida Gator Memory-goodness. I LOVE it.

I guess that's it for this week. It seems like it was a long one, we kept awfully busy. It's back to ye old grind now though. The holidays are a comin!

Oh, and the award for the week..of the fourth most funny person in the house:

Me.. and my Thanksgiving Jokes!

What sound does a Turkeys phone make? Wing Wing.

Whose not hungry at Thanksgiving? A Turkey! Because he's already stuffed!

These Awards presented by Hayden Waterstraut.

Thank you, Thank you.

Hope you all had a wonderful long weekend!

Ugh, and now I suppose it's time to go clean. I had nearly forgotten about the sub.

Next Up: SNOW! For real, actual Florida Snow, Puppy Birthday Parties, Kindergarten friendly recipes, and the debut of Christmas Crafts!

Week 15: Laundry Today, or Naked Tomorrow!

Lets be realistic, I have nothing all that exciting to report this week. The illness really set in. Should I have gone to the Doctor? Probably, but I like to live on the edge, so instead I stayed under the covers, wore my pajamas and got out of bed as little as possible for the last five days. Asa worked from home, so he got the boys up and off to school. I'd wake up, realize there was nobody for me to get ready and off to school, hack, cough, and drink some water to ease my sore throat, and go back to sleep. There were days I slept through Asa's lunch break. But, in the interest of not sounding REALLY lazy, he does go to lunch at 10 am.

Luckily, we got off easy on the homework front this week too. Peyton had two field trips, one Monday and one Thursday, so he was pretty pleased with the week. Thursday he went to the EMC where they get to catch and release fish and other marine life, which is right up his alley. He was so jealous last year when Calib went. On the huge upside, this EMC is owned by the school district, and is therefore a free field trip. On the down side, they wade in mucky water and come back with dirty clothes and shoes in a muddy bag. It's kind of gross, but Peyton is still talking about it like it was the best thing ever. Oh man, I suddenly cannot wait to use our swim with manatees groupon!

I did spend a lot of my week planning. I have the Thanksgiving Menu, and we have instituted it to be Pajama Party Thanksgiving. Which, now I'm going to have to have a theme every year, you know. This came about due to my illness, and my suggestion that if I don't feel better we will all eat in our PJs. Asa then thought this was a good idea no matter what, so Pajama Party Thanksgiving was born. Justin needs to be getting himself appropriate attire for the event.

We also drew out our black friday plans this week. Calib wants a laptop for Christmas. God help me that I've gotten to that age. But, it's better than asking for a cell phone, I suppose. Originally I hated this all these stores opening at midnight thing, but now I'm thinking all of Friday won't be wasted due to us being super tired. So, bonus there.

I have completed my list of Christmas activities for us to do. I'm going to make a punch board, you know, like the one they have on price is right on that car game? We'll start that just after Thanksgiving. I'm pretty excited about it. Until then I have a few Thanksgiving activities and crafts up my sleeve. The boys have school Monday and Tuesday, so I'll be able to get everything together before they have the 5 days off.

Last, we made a list of houses in the area we're interested in. We finally made the decision to stay in the same school district. Though we could get more house for our money elsewhere, the boys don't want to leave their school, and I don't really blame them. Problem is here, you're looking at a very small area in a school district, not like Fremont where you either go to the public school or the private school. Luckily for us, a lot of people bought houses here in 2006 when they were ridiculously expensive, and will now sell them at a huge loss to get out from under them. Anyway, the list is complied.

By Sunday I was able to get off my butt and go to the grocery store. I should actually rephrase that. When I get sick, I super appreciate my ever so wonderful husband being super helpful. But, I know, it only lasts so long. After 5 days, the kids start eating like chips for a meal or something because theres nothing left in the house, the house falls completely to disarray with toys and games and books and dishes everywhere, and the laundry is piled to the ceiling. I have a shelf life for how long I can be sick. I've hit my limit, so for better or worse I have to get up, do some laundry, go the store, and fix a well balanced meal.

Anyway, I picked up most of what we need for Thanksgiving Dinner. I do not know why I buy cranberries. Nobody ever eats them, but somehow I just don't feel like it's thanksgiving without them sitting in the nicest bowl I have on the dinner table. I have a few more things to get, but the bulk of it is done. I also went and got a 20 pound turkey, because it was requested we have LOTS of leftovers. I wasn't going to argue. Leftovers mean less cooking for me, more use of the microwave. And, I'm ok with that. I also picked up the stuff for the 2nd Annual Pie Making Wednesday event thats occurring this week. Yea, it's pretty official. I'm going to be making lemon meringue and cookie pie. Oh, Pie. I love Pie. It's really underrated during ever holiday season. Christmas has cookies. Easter and Halloween have candy. Birthdays have cake. But Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving has pie. It is therefore, in my eyes, the superior dessert season. And, it deserves an event.

I wasn't going to watch the Bucs this week, because, well, their chance of winning was slim to none. But, I just can't look away. It's almost like a train wreck. However, I was surprised that they didn't get blown out, and this is probably the best I've felt after a loss. I could even bring myself to watch Football Night in America, and I can't usually do that after we lose. Plus, they didn't drool all over Aaron Rodgers the way they do Drew Brees. So, it was bearable.

Oh, and I was the top scorer in the world on Luminous for the week. I know it's only Sunday, but there I was top of the leader board. I'm pretty awesome like that. I also played lots of Pixel Puzzles on my Kindle, so many in fact, I have none left. I'm pretty sad about that.

Thats all, I have nothing else to report, because I've been quarantined to the bedroom most of the week. Think of all the funny things the kids must have done this week that I missed. How sad. There was one moment when Asa was trying to tell Hayden not to get Penelope (the cat) from the living room. It went something like this.

Hayden: I have to get Penelope

Asa: No, Peyton gets Penelope. If Peyton doesn't get her, she doesn't sleep in your room

Hayden: Ok, then I'm just going to get Penelope.

Asa: If Peyton doesn't get Penelope, nobody gets Penelope

Hayden: *stares at Asa*

Asa: So, what are you doing Hayden?

Hayden: I'm just going to get Penelope.

This continues for at least five minutes.

Asa: Hayden, whats wrong with your ears.

Hayden: I don't know. I'm just going to get Penelope

Asa: Hayden you're not listening with your ears.

Hayden: Ok. *stares*

Asa: So, what are you doing now Hayden

Hayden: I'm going to listen for my ears?

Also, MVP of the week goes to Porkchop for being a loyal puppy and sleeping next to me all week. I'd get up, he'd get up, I'd lay back down and he'd look at me like 'is it lay down time?' and come cuddle up with me. I LOVE my PUPPY!

Next Up: Pie Making, Pajama Parties, Midnight Shopping, and a Christmas Disney visit with Cort and Holly.