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.

Week 14: Just Sitting Here on the Corner of Awesome and Bombdiggity

It's been a long eventful week around here. I've found those are best to alternate with short, lazy weeks. Asa responds much better to going out for the weekend if it 1. somehow matches up with his work from home week on either end. 2. follows a weekend of very uneventful activities. Asa didn't grow up traveling a whole lot, so while to me 5 hours in the car sounds like no big deal, about two hours in he's complaining about how we're not there yet. And then he tries to sneakily pawn it off as though the kids (who HAVE grown up travelling) are ready to be out of the car. I see right through your tactics, Asa Waterstraut. You've been found out.

Early in the week Hayden had his very first field trip. He went to a farm, and was very excited about his meeting with Rosie the Cow. Apparently the teachers had talked this cow up so much, according to Hayden it was the cutest cow ever. He was equally as excited about the piglets, which he said were smaller than Porkchop, and the rooster. He got a mini pumpkin, and got to pet goats. He talked about this for days like it was the best trip he'd ever been on, Alaska included. In addition to the first ever field trip, he also got to ride on a bus for the first time. He was very excited about this, as if it was the coolest form of transportation he'd ever been on, glass domed train car included.

The next day, however, Hayden had a note in his planner that he had been talking when Ms. Bazin asked him to stop. He was so upset when he got in the car, telling me he had a note. I said 'Hayden, what was it for', and he broke down in full on sobbing, threw his hands up in the air and replied "I don't know, I can't read!" He knew he was in big time trouble, and by big time, I mean no video games, tv, or Halloween candy as a snack. To a five year old this is about as devastating as the world gets. I know, right? To be five...

Calib and Peyton both had their science project boards due this week. There's very little room on these boards for creativity. Basically, they just want you to print out your entire project, glue it to a board, and they tell you exactly how to lay it out. They did have about half the middle section to do what they wanted. Since their projects were really similar (calib saw how plants grew in different amounts of light, while Peyton saw how plants grew being 'watered' with milk, water, and gatorade) we did the boards pretty similar. I cut the dixie cups in half, and glued them to the board, then we made flowers out of pipe cleaner depending on how they grew. For Calibs I made a little closet door for the one in the dark, and window sill for the one in the sun, and a tree for the one under the shade. I think they turned out pretty cool. I would also like to thank Justin for the use of his printer, and the banana he left me for breakfast while I typed out their projects. And, we may all rejoice, for Science Projects are done for the year! Whoo-hoo!

Thursday morning was the Student of the Month Presentation. I went to see Calib get his award, and his coupons and things. I doubt they have this is middle school, so this is probably my last time going to the Student of the Month Presentation for Calib. How sad. It was nice not to have to take Hayden with me, he usually squirmed and whined through the whole thing. On my way out, I saw Peyton walking with his class, and he must not be too embarrassed by me, because he did yell out 'Hi Mom' and wave. Thursday was also Otter Run Day. Think Run for Fun on a smaller scale. They used to take donations for Otter Run and used it to help fund raise for the school, but this year they didn't. I kind of wondered what the point was then, but the kids had fun.

Thursday also saw Asa complete his first Quest. I discovered if you form chores in quest form, he responds much better. In this case, the chores consisted of getting the camping gear from the garage, when he was successful, we threw a parade in his honor concluding with a trophy presentation. However, this said trophy presentation was interrupted by a fire breathing dragon, which Asa and Peyton bravely slayed. Or, in lay men term- a lizard got in the house, Hayden and I ran screaming, while Peyton and Asa caught it in a cup and sent it outside. However, during this traumatic event Calib called to see if he could stay and eat dinner at his friends house, and I just yelled into the phone about dragons, and trophies, and quests. He seemed unfazed and just responded with 'so, right, can I eat over?' Hayden was quite traumatized by the event. He ran under the covers and started screaming 'This is how it all ends!" In his defense, it was one of the biggest lizards we've ever had in the house.

The boys didn't have school on Friday because of a Teacher Planning Day. Asa had requested the day off, but because of things at work, they later changed it so he had to go in. This really screwed with our plans, because we were going to leave early Friday Morning, and take our time getting up to the campgrounds in Georgia. Our plan was to get there around 5 so we could put the tent up before it got dark. Instead, I spent Friday dragging kids to the store and getting the house and things ready (which I procrastinated and didn't do Thursday), and we didn't get to the campgrounds until it was 10:30 and pitch dark. We manoeuvred the fit so the headlights were on the area for the tent, and actually put it up pretty fast. It was only the third time we had done it, and the first time in the dark, I thought it went pretty smoothly. There wasn't even any cursing involved.

Clint and Jessica got there right after we had finished setting up the tent, which was good because we were two sleeping bags short, and Clint and Jess were bringing them for us. The low was supposed to be around 30, so we knew it was going to be cold. I had gotten the boys all long underwear, packed hats and gloves, two hoodies for everyone, extra socks, plus the blankets and sleeping bags. We were all sleeping on air mattresses or mats too, which helped keep us a little warmer. I'll admit the first night I was cold. I passed on the long underwear, and was in the sleeping bag that had a broken zipper. Asa complained about being cold, but in reality he was in a sleeping bag good for 0 degrees, complete with another fleece lined sleeping bag on an air mattress. As much as he wanted his friends at work to believe he was roughing it, I think he had it pretty good. He said his arms were a little cold, but he refused to put on the hat, gloves, or hoodie I had brought for him. The boys actually said they were fine. Peyton was the funniest, because he scooted all the way down in his sleeping bag, and his head only came up to about half way. He was in a full on cocoon, and slept pretty great actually.

Clint had planned out our Saturday pretty well. We drove from our Campground in Richmond Hill to Savannah. He had gotten maps at AAA for all the kids, and would tell them a park and have the kids direct us. Calib was really the only one interested, and Peyton whined because he wasn't into it, but he quickly changed his mind, and would read the History plaques at each park. Hayden would just run around a lot, but I figured it was a good way to get his energy out. Eventually we found ourselves at the really large park, playground included, and the boys played on that for awhile. The also picked up a ton of leaves, pinecones, acorns and other assorted things to get my pockets all gross, but I suppose thats the job I signed up for when I had boys.

After we walked around Savannah, we went to Fort Pulaski. We stopped in at the Ranger Station and got three Junior Ranger Books. If the boys walked around and found the answers, they would be rewarded with a Junior Ranger Pin. They really liked the fort. It was complete with a moat and everything. They ran around it, spent a good amount of time in the jail, and climbed on some cannons. Clint took Peyton and Calib around to fill out their books, and Asa and I took Hayden to fill out his. Let me tell you, there was quite the difference in what they wanted Hayden to do (like find shapes and such), and what they wanted Calib and Peyton to do (complete with Math problems). Either way, the boys all filled there's out and returned it to the Ranger Station for their pins. I told Clint I didn't remember having that much fun at a fort when I was a kid. He said we liked the forts, it was the battlefields that dad used to drag us too that were much less exciting. I think it really tired the kids out, and had the same effect on Clints dog, Elemeno.

After the Fort we picniced lunch in the grass out by our cars because it was nearly time for low tide, and Clint had said Tybee Island had some really great Tide Pooling. Jess and Elemeno stayed in the car while we went in search of random marine life. Peyton LOVES Tide Pools. His favorite part of the whole Alaska trip was the tide pooling in Seattle. We went out to the rocks, and initially found nothing, so we moved on to the next set. Clint was worried it was going to be a bust, but when we got to the second set we found all sorts of things. There was a lot of baby hermit crabs, some sort of sea cucumber type things, a horseshoe crab, and a ton of conch shells- fully intact you can hear the ocean in them, only ever find ones like that in a gift shop- conch shells. The boys loaded up on those. Peyton could have stayed forever, but the tide started to come back in.

It is also worth noting, this was the first time my kids ever saw the Atlantic Ocean. I know, I can hardly believe it, either. We've lived here for almost six years, and have never made it the three hours over to the other coast. My kids actually saw the Pacific Ocean first. Anyway, of course we all put our toes in, because thats what my grandpa said you always have to do. Let me tell you, it was cold. Not like, the Gulf is cold this time of year cold, and Not quite Alaska cold, but somewhere in between. Definitely not 'I could go swimming in that' warm though.

We headed back to the campsite and got the tent, beds, and pajamas ready, and dinner going before it got to dark. I'm very uncreative when it comes to camping food, so hot dogs and brats it was. Clint brought some sides of baked beans and potato salad, and I had the stuff for smores. I'm not sure if all my kids decided they liked burnt marshmallows, or just catching them on fire, but either way, that became the fun activity for awhile. Eventually, Peyton and Hayden got cold and went in the tent. They had a flash light and were making shadow puppets which you could see from the outside, it was pretty funny. Eventually though, things got out of hand and there was a lot of jumping around. When I went in the tent there was blankets, pillows, gloves, hats, socks, and pajamas everywhere. So much for spending all my time getting it organized before it got dark. Needless to say, Peyton and Hayden then went to bed. Although, there was still a lot of shadow puppet-ing after that. Calib stayed up with us, probably in part due to his fear of raccoons, and probably because he didn't want to go in the tent and deal with Peyton pouting about going to bed early. We went to bed when we got too cold to sit outside anymore. I don't know if it was the addition of long underwear, or the fact that it was 10 degrees warmer the next night, or a combination of both, but it was much warmer the second night.

Sunday morning Clint made breakfast, he was much more ambitious than I was, but then he's a seasoned camper. He made us all breakfast sandwiches, complete with sausage, egg, and cheese on an english muffin. They were really good. Jessica started the fire, apparently with no lighter or anything- all Survivor style. Then she taught Calib and Peyton how to tend to the fire, and they gathered up leaves and sticks. They then sat around talking about who was 'fire manager' and who was 'assistant fire manger' for hours. After breakfast we packed up the tent and headed home. Clint and I decided this should be a yearly activity. It was nice of them to drive the extra time, because I really thought the 5 hours wasn't bad at all. Take note, Sattler family, when mom retires, I want our February trip closer on my end, dang it.

On our way home, we swung by the Jacksonville Jaguars Stadium, to check one more off my list. We were lucky it was an away game, or we'd never have been able to get in and out so quickly, and we might not have been able to get it at all. Anyway, one down for the year, only four more to go. I'm thinking I'll get Cleveland, Miami, Pittsburgh (*waves* Hi Joanne, we'll have to come visit you for that one), and maybe Indianapolis. We'll see how all that pans out. We haven't made official 2012 summer plans yet. I know, can you believe it? We're not all booked up by some huge event. What ever will Asa do with his vacation days?

It was also the last day for the food and wine festival, so we stopped by on our way back. For those of you who don't know, it's a festival they have at Epcot every year. Around the world, they set up little kiosks in each country and have tasting portions of food from that country. You can buy a gift card type thing and then swipe that instead of digging out your cash or credit card at each one, and it helps you keep track of what your spending. It was way more packed than I expected it to be, but really, I just wanted the Fisherman's pie. That was our first stop, and then we decided we would head back to where we came from and try some new things. We had $40 on our card, I didn't want to try anything I had last year (not because it wasn't good, I just wanted to try new stuff), and I didn't want to have to go back further into the World Showcase because of how crowded it was. So, we headed back and luckily there were all kinds of new things to be had. We had some sandwich pita thing in Greece, which was yummy. The Cheddar Cheese Soup in Canada, was as good as people had said it was. We had the desert trio, and then discovered the two new 'country' kiosks were at the front, so we could try everything at those. Hawaii and Australia were new this year, and I was happy they were at the front so we could try them. I even had the raw tuna. Yes, me. Raw fish. I ate it. Oh yea. Also, gross, I'll never do that again. After that we stopped by Club Cool and filled up a water bottle full of free Chinese Coke-a-Cola and headed home. The boys were disappointed we didn't ride anything, but the lines were just too long.

We got home around 5, and thank God we missed the game, looks like it was just horrible for the Bucs. After we unpacked the necessary items, Asa went off to play Skyrim, a new much anticipated game. He'd been looking forward to it for months, and still agreed to go camping this weekend. Although, had I known he wouldn't have had the day off, I would have picked a different weekend.

Monday Peyton had his field trip to the History Museum. He was supposed to go when the Vice President was here, so it got moved. The funny thing is, he has another field trip scheduled for later this week, so he gets two in one week. What a lucky kid, and lucky for us too because we hardly have homework to worry about this week! I also spent Monday making a baby quilt for a friend, and sent that off to her. It'll be so nice when I have a spot for all my sewing and crafting stuff. I love working on things, but it's such a chore to get it all out and put it all away.

By Monday, my cold really started to set in. Luckily, it's work from home week, and Asa has been getting the boys to and from school and handling homework and dinner time. I basically have no voice, and when I do have it, I use it to blame Asa for spreading his germs to me. I want to get better because theres a lot to do in preparation of Thanksgiving, plus I'm missing out on Justin's test Cheesecake for Pie Making Wednesday. Hopefully my voice and energy return soon.

And, I leave you with Asa's Quest, given to him over instant messaging.

Rinsters 1:34 pm

I'll make a list of items for you to retrieve from the garage.

I'm going to make hamburgers for dinner.

asa.m.waterstraut 1:35 pm

yea, that's what I meant. chores and food.

Rinsters 1:35 pm

no.. not chores... a quest.

asa.m.waterstraut 1:35 pm

... go on.

how will this quest be presented?

Rinsters 1:35 pm

You need to go into the abyss and retrieve several items bringing them to safety in the house.

asa.m.waterstraut 1:36 pm

*gasp

asa.m.waterstraut 1:36 pm

but you know what they say about the abyss

not one man that's gone in has ever come back out

Rinsters 1:36 pm

so file this under epic quest

asa.m.waterstraut 1:36 pm

*GASP

You see me worthy of such an undertaking?

Rinsters 1:37 pm

I do. You may need goggles, and a broom for your protection.

asa.m.waterstraut 1:37 pm

I'll have to stop at a tavern to properly equip myself.

What is the reward for this quest?

Rinsters 1:37 pm

just over the mountain beyond the broken down washer you may see a green lid, retrieve green lid being careful not to come into contact with any dragons.

asa.m.waterstraut 1:38 pm

oh my gosh. oh my gosh.

Rinsters 1:38 pm

There can be a trophy.

asa.m.waterstraut 1:38 pm

YES! A TROPHY!

A prestigious mantle to show the world of my courage.

Rinsters 1:38 pm

Beyond the mountain, you may find a source of light in the forms of flashlights and lanterns. Bonus points if you retrieve these in working order.

asa.m.waterstraut 1:38 pm

oh my gosh

Rinsters 1:40 pm

Somewhere in the great abyss, you may find air mattresses to rest your weary head. Retrieve the mattress for plus one to comfy sleepiness. Come back without the pump, and the mattress will be rendered useless and you will have -1 to comfy sleepiness.

asa.m.waterstraut 1:40 pm

oh man

so many variables

I'm so excited

so I need a green lid, flashlights, a lantern, an air mattress and an air pump

Rinsters 1:43 pm

Now, there are several other camping goodies to be found. Perhaps located near the green lid. These goodies include picnic table cloths and clips to keep the table down. Other items may include off bug spray and hot dog scewers. For each of these brough back to saftey, you will be given plus one to stud-ly-ness.

Should you become unsteady on your feet, you must locate a blue tube containing a chair. Find this, and you have nearly completed your quest.

And finally, the mecca of all camping items, the reason for this quest...

asa.m.waterstraut 1:44 pm

oh my gosh, this quest is huge.

the tent?

Rinsters 1:45 pm

is the place to keep yourself warm and cozy...

Rinsters 1:45 pm

the Tent *ahhhhhhhhh*

asa.m.waterstraut 1:45 pm

gaaaso

..p

ok, ok. ok.

ok I can handle this.

Rinsters 1:45 pm

Bring back the tent, along with these other items, and you will be victorious!

asa.m.waterstraut 1:45 pm

and then I get a trophy?

and perhaps a burger?

Rinsters 1:46 pm

yes, my good sir. You will be rewarded handsomly, and celebrated on your throne when you triumphantly return!

asa.m.waterstraut 1:46 pm

oh man

this is exciting

I feel that I'm up for it, I accept the quest.

Rinsters 1:46 pm

dun dun dun dunnnn!!

asa.m.waterstraut 1:46 pm

wait

what;s the name of the quest?

I need to categorize my quest journal

Rinsters 1:47 pm

It is so secret, it is beyond naming.

asa.m.waterstraut 1:47 pm

oh man

this is heavy

Rinsters 1:47 pm

No one is to know of this quest, until you retun to the townspeople with the items they so desperatly need.

asa.m.waterstraut 1:48 pm

they're depending on me.

Rinsters 1:51 pm

They are.

Or else how will the survive in the cold days ahead?

asa.m.waterstraut 1:52 pm

they won't... prolly just die.

Rinsters 1:52 pm

its all up to you.

There will surely be a parade in your honor.

Rinsters 1:53 pm

concluding with the presentation of the trophy, of course.

asa.m.waterstraut 1:54 pm

yessss

I so got this

Next Up: Muddy Shoes, Blanket Forts, and Eye Sheilding from the game that is the Packers vs. Bucs

Week 13: Why did the bacteria fail the math test? He thought multiplication was the same as division.

*cough cough, sneeze sneeze*

Disclaimer: Be sure to Lysol your computer after reading this, as our germs are everywhere.

Asa has been sick for over two weeks now. Should he go to the Doctor? Yes. Have I told him to go to the Doctor? Of course. Has he listened to me? Of course not. And now, not only does he have the audacity to not listen to me, but he's spreading his germs to the entire family. I just came down with it two days ago, and Hayden spent the weekend with it. Which, of course we're all getting sick now. Just in time to go spread our germs throughout the country and give them to another Sattler. Sorry in advance, Clint and Jess. But, getting each others families sick is what me and my siblings do, so nobody should be surprised.

So here I am laying on the couch with my pillow, a roll of toilet paper (because the Kleenex was gone quite a few sneezes ago), and a cozy blanket trying desperately to get better before the weekend. I figured what better time to blog than being tucked into a nice warm fleece blanket, and sharing the couch with a gaggle of sleeping dogs. I don't have a lot to say this week though, because we spent all of it with someone being sick.

We didn't do a lot of activities this week. Some games of Bananagrams, and lots of Xbox since I bought battery packs so now all four boys can play Dungeon Defenders together. But on Wednesday we did play 'What's this?' Where the boys all were blindfolded and had to determine the food in front of them. Good news, nobody's anosmic. They all had spot on smelling, and got all the objects correct. Next time I'll just have to make it harder.

Big news of the week: Calib was named Student of the Month. He's usually Student of the Month in September or October, except for that one time he switched schools mid-year and was Student of the Month at his old school in September and his new school in March. Such an overachiever this boy is. I tried to congratulate him, but at first he was just really disappointed that he didn't get it sooner. You know, because two months into school is totally unacceptable. Peyton just gets annoyed at comments like these, and I can't say I blame him. Think Me and Clint. Same concept. Anyway, way to go Calib- even if it took TWO WHOLE MONTHS! *Sigh* Who's kid is this anyway?

Hayden got to borrow the book 'More Parts' from his teacher this week. He LOVES the book 'Parts' that we have at home, and this is the much anticipated sequel. He got in the car and was all "GUESS WHAT MOM?!?!?" Like he had won the lottery or something. I sure wish I could get that excited about a book. Speaking of though, I was nearly this excited when Brandy sent me a link to the new pixels game. I was so disappointed when it was over, and now I have fifty brand new puzzles. Hey Brandy, let me know if you find another grid detectives. I loved that one too.

We were supposed to hit some Fests this weekend- because this really is the time of year when the Fests come out in full force. Even funnier was when I was watching a show that totally makes fun of the suburbs there was a whole episode about suburbs and their festivals- which is too true. This weekend was the Airfest, the Chalkfest, Pioneer Fest, the Seafood Fest, and the Swamp Fest. This weekend is Sand Sculpting and Music fest, Festival of the Masters and the RibFest to name a few. We didn't make it to any though, because Hayden was laying on the couch under 15 covers saying how cold he was. Dun Dun Dunnnn... We're missing more this weekend, but only because we have plans. I'm over sitting at home on the weekend, and in true Waterstraut form, I'm going to the extreme of jam packing this weekend.

We did find time to use our Bowling groupon this weekend. We all used bumpers, because really theres no better way to bowl. We have discovered it really puts the kibosh on Peyton's poor sportsmanship if we pick a goal as a team. We said 450, and got 488. I told everyone not to talk about their individual scores as to not draw attention to the fact that Peyton was getting beat by everyone, Hayden included. It seemed to work. Everyone, including the people next to us, would get really excited for Hayden, giving him high 5's as long as he knocked down a couple of pins. This irked Peyton, but overall we avoided any pouting. It took forever to bowl two games though, because it took Hayden's ball like a year to get down the lane. At one point it was moving at a whopping 1.45 mph.

Sunday we watched the Bucs lose again. So depressing, but I said they'd go 8-8, and here we are mid season with 4-4, so that's pretty much where I expected them to be. They're still my hometown team, and I still love them. And, on the upside the worse they do the cheaper tickets will get and maybe we'll be able to make it to one more game before the season is up (I'm crossing my fingers for the Dallas Game- it's a Saturday Night Game- whoo wee!)

We did have to have the Santa talk with Peyton. I was hoping to get away with one more year, but he was asking too many questions. I knew it was coming, because a few months ago he was to the point where he didn't believe in the Easter Bunny, because how could a giant bunny hop around your house and hide eggs? But Santa, the guy who hits every house in the world in one night was totally feesable. I didn't want to tell him so close to Christmas, but I also didn't want him to ruin it for Hayden. He seemed completely unshocked at the news.

This week also saw Daylight Savings Time come to an end. I love that I got the extra hour of sleep, but I hate that it gets dark so early now. It was 5:45 last night and the boys had to come in because they couldn't see the football anymore. 5:45!! Crazy. But here I am complaining about them having to come in so early, when if I lived up north there'd be months when they wouldn't be playing outside at all. I don't know how you up north mom's do it. I would go crazy.

Thats all. I know it wasn't a very exciting week, but for busy weeks, or lazy weeks, I said I would write one a week. I should have more entertaining things to share next week though.

Awards for the week:

Funniest Comments:

Peyton: 'whats your favorite color?'

Me: "Pink"

Peyton "Thats so 80s"

Most Annoying:

The Realtor selling our house. He seriously called every day for a week.

Most Horrible Death:

The drowning of the Remote in the Washing Machine. (I'm sorry, Asa, I didn't see it in the covers!)

Highest Opinion of oneself:

This award goes to Hayden...

Me: "Hayden you have such a good imagination"

Hayden: "I know. I have all the ideas."

Up Next: Science Boards, Field Trips, and Smores!

Week 12: If Nothing Ever Changed There'd Be No Butterflies

Another week, another plan to go to the food and wine festival blown. Boo! This is my favorite festival, and we haven't had a free day to go yet. This week Asa came down with something, and completely lost his voice. While this was maybe nice for a day at two (hi babe *waves*), it is not awesome as a prolonged event. I did learn that when given the choice of pain or whispering, he can actually pull off a whisper. If you know Asa, you know his whispering skills leave something to be desired. It's one of his many adorable quirks. (Ask me again in a few years though, we haven't been married all that long).

Anyway, due to his illness, I didn't think it was best to go to the food and wine festival while he couldn't eat anything but ice cream and soups. Though I've heard the Cheddar Cheese Soup at the Canada Pavilion is to die for. Which also means I missed Sister Hazel at Eat to the Beat. Hanson was on a weekday so I couldn't make it for that either. Boo! Ok, enough focusing on the stuff I missed out on, I'll get there eventually, even if it has to be on the last day on our way back from our camping trip with Clint and Jess.

This week I made all our activities and snacks Halloween related. Yes, I've become that Mom. Don't look for me to be on the PTA anytime soon though. Because those moms are seriously out of control. We had spiders (aka crackers with PB in the middle, pretzel sticks for legs and chocolate chips for beady little spider eyes), Vampire Smiles (Apples with PB and marshmallows for teeth), Ghost Poop and Spider legs (marshmallows and pretzel sticks), worm sandwiches (Nilla wafers sandwiched with nutella and gummy worms), jello jigglers (in halloween shapes, but of course) and blood red spider drinks (Sprite with Gatorade Ice Cubes that I froze plastic spiders in). The boys thoroughly enjoyed their Halloween inspired snacks. This week, I'm getting the week off from after school snacks, and letting them have a couple pieces of candy from their buckets.

We played some fun games. My favorite was the popcorn answer find. They each had a bowl of popcorn, with tiny little cardboard pieces hidden inside with answers on them they had to match to their cards. Hayden had sight words, Calib and Peyton had Math problems. I really should have thought ahead, though, because they ate half their bowl of popcorn looking for their answers, and weren't hungry for dinner.

Our Halloween inspired crafts were also pretty fun. We made salt dough pumpkins, complete with a stick from the yard for stem. The boys liked the glow up monsters too. I had bought some of those little Sunny D drinks, and we used the empty bottles, turned them upside down, painted them and added a glow stick. They made a nice night light for a night before the glow sticks died.

It was also red ribbon week at school, so they had all kinds of different things to do. Monday and Friday were green shirt days, which was relatively boring. Wednesday and red shirt day also was rather tame. However, crazy sock day and hat day were quite the hit with Hayden. When I realized it was crazy sock day I went out in search of some socks. I really thought it wouldn't be that hard, but crazy boy socks pretty much don't exist. (I noticed as I dropped them off the next day most boys were sporting girly socks). So, I grabbed a three pack of blue, black, and tan socks and figured we'd mix them up and everyone could have a 'crazy pair'. When I got home with them Hayden was really disappointed. He told me "These aren't crazy, they're just different colors, that's not crazy at all". So, I told him we could make them crazy, and glue things to them. He them thought this was the best idea ever, and wanted to paint one sock, and glue googly eyes, pom poms, and pipe cleaners in the shape of an H on the other. He happily did all of this while talking about how he was going to have the craziest pair of socks. I then asked Calib and Peyton what they wanted to do for crazy sock day. Calib said he would just wear one navy blue and one black sock (I couldn't really tell the difference once he had them on), and Peyton said he wasn't going to wear crazy socks (He later took one black and one tan). Hayden mocked them and their lack of crazy socks. I just realized I probably covered all this in my last blog- but oh well, I'm not deleting everything I just typed. When Hayden got home he was telling me all about how his crazy socks were the craziest there was.

The came hat day. After the socks, a regular old baseball cap was not good enough for Hayden. He needed something over the top, and crazy. I tried to tell him we could glue googly eyes and pom poms to a winter hat. He replied "Thats already been done, Mom. I can't do the same thing". We settled on the Moose Hat Peyton had gotten when Asa and I got married, and everyone got something moose related. From the second he got out of the car all the teachers were giving him thumbs up telling him how cool his hat was. Apparently though, he spent the day putting his head down and chasing kids around the playground with his antlers. Calib was quite embarrassed by it, but I thought it was hilarious.

Let me take a second out here to talk about Survivor Night- did anyone else see that crazy tribal council? It's all the boys have been talking about. They can't wait till this Wednesday to find out what happens. I told them they better be ready, in their PJS at 8:15 because I'm starting it with or without them.

This week also was both my brothers birthdays, so we took a picture of the boys holding "Happy. Birthday. (and) Uncle Cort/Clint" Signs. I was out of construction paper though, so I just had to minorly adjust the Uncle Cort sign for Clints birthday. I like this new way of sending birthday wishes, so when your day comes around look for a fun picture in your inbox. Oh, or a joke. I've been sending birthday jokes out, because I'm expecting some on my birthday again. Don't want to be a hypocrite you know.

Friday only half stunk. We got a call from the Realtor about how they needed to come look at the house, take some pictures, and we didn't even get 24 hours notice. This kind of stuff cannot continue to happen. I'm so over it. I'm trying not to post every little thing about it, but we were defiantly duped by the realtor. Asa had spoken to him the day before asking about when he thought they would come in to do the pictures and he said "a couple of weeks, maybe a month", and then here he was the next day. Our landlord apparently knew nothing about it. I find it fishy. I don't trust either of them, and it sets me on very shaky ground, and I do not like it. Renting is not cool anymore. Chalk us up to a statistic now, one of those people getting screwed over by the housing market who did nothing to get themselves into this mess. I know it'll come out ok, but it's getting there that is less than ideal. And, now I'll go back to not talking about it until I have actual news to report, just a rant there.

Friday was also report card day. Calib got all A's and a B. I was thrilled, but he was disappointed. He wanted to get all A's. Asa had to tell him to stop being all 'Uncle Clint' about it. Peyton on the other hand, I was worried about. Things aren't coming home as much as they were last year. I expected that, because he has the same teacher Calib had last year and she's not big on sending the graded stuff home. What has come home has been really good, though. I was kind of bracing myself. When I opened his report card I was so pleasantly surprised. He had three A's, two C's, and nothing he 'needs work' on (like organization, class participation, ect.) Last year Peyton had all C's, all year except for the one D incident. I've been really concerned about him and his attention, and at the end of the year I suggested perhaps there was an issue with the teacher and her unwillingness to bend to a child's individual needs. The school was not happy to hear this, but I said before I did anything, I wanted to see how Peyton did in another classroom, and since it was the end of the year, I would have the opportunity soon. Well, case and point. Good for Peyton. He responds so much better to not being overworked and under appreciated. Hayden got all S's, for successful, but I knew he would- unless of course there was a 'blowing nose' category. I've been told he needs work on that.

Friday was also the fall festival at school. You buy tickets and they have games, snacks, and prizes. Hayden really enjoyed the fishing game, but got a little too excited with the fishing pole, and nearly hit someone everytime he played it. Calib and Peyton both got to dunk teachers in the dunk tank, and everyone got ice cream sandwiches.

Saturday, after we had decided we weren't going to go to the food and wine festival, we decided to head out to the pumpkin festival. After all, they have pumpkin ice cream which was right what the doctor ordered for Asa. We spent awhile in the corn maze. We let Hayden lead for awhile, and hit more dead ends than I expected a corn maze to have. We got to see some pumpkins shoot out of the pumpkin cannon, and Hayden took a pony ride. Then we fed the goats, emu, and chickens and decided that we needed to buy a new house, out in the country so we could have a goat, and more importantly a llama. And a chicken. And a duck. And possibly a pig, which we could name Mr. Hamm Lincoln. Whether a house exists in our school district, I'm not so sure. But, I wouldn't mind not living 5 feet from the house next door. And having a duck.

Sunday was supposed to be the Halloween Party at the Clubhouse, but I guess the intial signs and bulletin that went out had the wrong date on it. I tend to put things on the calendar, decide were doing them, and not double check they're still occurring or haven't been moved. Apparently, the party was moved to Saturday and we had missed it. It turned out ok though because I had to make some costumes for the boys book character parade at school on Monday, and we had Science Project work to do. The Bucs were on a bye, so I didn't even have football to watch. We did carve pumpkins. Hayden skipped the carving, in lieu of painting, but was upset he didn't get to 'scoop out the goop'. Peyton on the other hand, made his usual frightened disgusted face at the prospect, and I eventually had to scoop the goop of his pumpkin.

For the book Character parade Hayden was the pig from 'If you give a pig a party'. I bought a pig hat, but had to change some things around, unglue the ears and reglue them to the other side, cut off the snout, take off the eyes, and glue a party hat. Then I found pig gloves, he had the pig nose from the costume shop in Ohio, and he wore pajamas (because of the pajama party in the book). I thought he was cute. I tried to get Calib to be Captain Underpants, because I try and get him to do it every year, but he refused. Maybe Hayden 'I don't care about what people think' Waterstraut will do it someday. Anyway, he was Captain Nobody from a Sunshine State book he's currently reading. I made him the eye mask, and we had the red cape, then I taped lightning bolts to his shoes to complete the outfit. Peytons was perhaps the best and cutest outfit. He was ADORABLE in it. He was Geronimo Stilton, a book series he's been reading for over a year now. Geronimo is a mouse who goes on adventures. I took the white shirt he wore at the wedding, and cut the sleeves off since it was too small anyway now, and put a green shirt over it. Then I made a red and white felt tie and glued that too it. I took a pair of glasses, painted them back and we completed the look with a mouse nose and ears from the costume holiday house in Fremont. I was pretty proud of their looks. It was full on crafty-Corinne-ness all around. I loved it.

They all had little parties at school on Friday, in which I was then reminded this would be Calib's last Character Parade, because next year he'll be in middle school. I angrily thanked Peyton for reminding me, and then I nearly hyperventilated. Calib in middle school- with a locker, and eating lunch with 9th graders. Oh boy. Lets not talk about that again for a very, very long time. Peytons friend Ciara and her dad came trick or treating with us.

For trick or treat, Hayden was a Pirate, Peyton was a knight, and Calib was a football player. They were pretty cute, but I gotta say I do miss the days of fuzzy full bodied suits of cuddly little animals. I guess I'll just have to look at old pictures and reminisce. Anyway, Ciara and Peyton were talking about hanging out this weekend, and I said 'we'll see, I'm not sure when your board is due for your Science Project, do you?' Peyton started blankly at me, like he didn't even know what his board was. Ciara chimed in "It's due November 10th". I marveled at the knowledge she had. I've never heard the boys tell me a date when something is due. I replied with 'whoa, is this what having a girl would be like? They actually know things?" Anyway, Ciara's nice, and Peyton is smitten with her. They had a good time trick or treating. I'm gonna have to watch out for this one, Peyton is going to be a heart breaker, I just know it.

Milestone of the week:

Porkchop finally chewed through the tail of his stuffed whale. He's been working on it for nine months.

Top Scorer of the week:

Me! On Luminous. It's a tetris like game for the Xbox. Sunday I had the sixth best score in the world. Oh yea!

Best Answer of the week:

Calib: 'I don't know how to answer this question- If you were to do your Science Project again, what would you do differently'

Me: 'I'd take care of the plants myself instead of making my mom do the whole thing'

Brought Back to Life:

My cell phone. Thats right folks. Fully functioning, and back to normal. Although, slightly disturbing- I had no messages from the two months it was off.

Teacher Fail:

While doing Hayden's homework with him, I read at the bottom of the page, this note from his teacher: It is ALWAYS ok to read the directions and questions to your child. If you have to help them answer it, just put your initials by the problem, and your child will receive partial credit.

Seriously? He's in kindergarten. He get's S's or U's.. hows he going to get partial credit?

Best Misunderstood Moment:

Asa (while whispering):"I can't talk"

Hayden: "eggnog?"

Up Next: A weekend of Fests! How many we'll make it to, I'm just not sure yet.

Week 11: Life is too short to fold fitted sheets

You know, it's a good thing that I keep track of what goes on throughout the week in a notepad file, or by Tuesday I'd completely forget what has happened in the last week. Pictures help jog my memory too, but my SD card is getting full- and I find instead of deleting pictures, I just take less. I did take all the videos off the card and plan on posting them on our youtube account later this week, so I'll be sure to link that up when they're done. There is some funny, funny stuff.

Tuesday we played Jeopardy, and in a strange turn of events Calib won. It was a three way tie until the last round too. Which was very suspenseful- I mean, as far as Jeopardy with kids goes. Calib bet modestly, and they all got final jeopardy wrong- so he was the winner kind of by default. I made Calib do 'mental math'. My sixth grade math teacher used to make me do that- - (wait, I'm getting old- I can't remember my grade school teachers names- I can still see her plastic bracelets and poofy black hair though)- Anyway, just a bunch of math problems strung together, without any writing down. He was miserable, but still came out victorious. He also did not enjoy his bonus question which was some long out math problem about a combination of different colored socks and shoes that made zero sense, and then asked a football question at the end. I however, found it hilarious. At any rate, he made a deal to split his winning sour gummy worms with Hayden if Hayden chose the gummy bears and split those with him. Peyton meanwhile, threw a fit for not winning. That child, and his poor sportsmanship. I just don't know where he gets it. Then Asa and I decided we would begin also giving out an award for the best sportsmanship while playing. I'll let you know how that goes over next time we play. Jeopardy must really be creating an impression on Hayden, later in the week I heard him playing with his toys humming the theme song over and over again.

Tuesday was also bookfair night at school. Now, this is one of two times where I'm going to need all the teachers in my family to shield their eyes. I know buying books at the bookfair at school is good for the school, and part of the money goes back to the school. But, the very same books are SO much cheaper on amazon. So, we ordered the books from there instead. I know, I'm awful. But seriously, that school is going to run us dry. The amount of random supplies I send in, the overpriced field trips, the supply fees, the plays and songs that require a fee to take part in, the fundraisers, the festivals I buy popcorn and candy and pop and random things for.. times three. Holy guacamole. Ok, end rant. Anyway, the books should be coming soon. Apparently there's a Parts and a Pout Pout Fish sequel. I don't know whose more excited, me or Hayden!

Wednesday was the second to last day of the quarter (report cards coming soon, and I am intrigued to see Peytons since his grades coming home this year seem to be much better than last). I had promised the boys if they had good grades, and didn't miss anymore school I would take them out a day and we would go to Disney. This is the second part where teachers need to shield your eyes. We set up a hangman/wheel of fortune puzzle to let them know the day had arrived and told them if they solved the puzzle, they'd get to do what it says. It didn't take them very long to reveal 'Skipping School to go to Disney'.

Anyway, last year we went in October on a weekday and it was the least crowded I had ever seen it. We rode nearly every ride in a couple hours. We were hoping for more of the same- but we arrived and it was super busy. I don't know if it was the Not So Scary Halloween Party that was scheduled for later that night, or the Extra Magic Hours, but it sure was something. The boys got over it pretty quick, because, well, at least they weren't at school. We decided we'd get a dole whip- because life doesn't get much better than a pineapple ice cream float in pineapple juice. And stop by the Tikki Room since it was opened again. Hayden was unimpressed with the talking robotic parrots. But was convinced the staged thunderstorm was real. I'm not sure where the disconnect was there. After that we went over to Tom Sawyers Island to avoid the crowds and the boys ran around there for hours. They spent 15 minutes on the barrel bridge trying to make me sea sick. It worked, but don't tell them that.

I was trying to convince them to go into the haunted mansion, as we had never been, but the name alone is too frightening. I wonder if I could have gotten away with telling them it was something else, now that I think about it. We opted for the Hall of Presidents instead. Peyton is really into History and Presidents so he really enjoyed it. When we walked in Hayden was very concerned I was trying to trick him. Here's how the conversation went:

Hayden: Mom, are we in the haunted mansion

Me: No, Hayden, we're in the Hall of Presidents. You're going to get to see Abraham Lincoln.

Hayden: (gets very uncomfortable and whispers) But Mom, Abraham Lincoln is dead--- so we ARE in the Haunted Mansion?!?!

Ah, Logic. Such a funny subjective thing. We chalked up the hall of Presidents to our History lesson for the day and then I felt a little better about them missing school.

After that we went over and watched part of the show in front of the Castle, and hurried over to Tomorrowland before the parade started. Lines get a lot shorter during parade times. We went to the laugh floor, where the Monsters from Monsters Inc tell jokes and collect your laughs for power. You can text your joke and they'll use it in the show if it's a good one. Peyton and Hayden both had me send one in. Hayden's 'what do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear!' joke got used. They even said 'this joke is from Hayden, whose from the Land O Lakes'. His face lit up like it was Christmas. I told Peyton next time I would just text his. He was awfully disappointed his joke wasn't used, but cheered up when he beat us all in Space Ranger Spin.

Then we went over to the cars. I loathe waiting for the cars at Disney. It's just a car, on a track- yet the wait tends to be hours long. All the time! The parade was just finishing up, so the line was only about 15 minutes. The boys begged me to wait, so we did. When we got up there Peyton seemed to be like half an inch to short and the guy kept saying, 'stand up really tall.... turn your head this way.... maybe scootch this way'. Eventually he just looked around and said to Peyton 'You can probably reach the peddle, go ahead', so for the first time ever Peyton got to drive his own car. Hayden on the other hand still needed me to push the peddle.

Hayden on the cars, is well, dangerous. My mom had gone on the cars with Hayden over my birthday and complained about how he would turn the wheel frantically from one side to another causing the car to jerk suddenly and crash from one side to the next, violently. I thought she was over reacting. I can now report, she was not. Hayden thought the whole thing was hilarious. Crash to one side, crash to the other. I am not trying to fight off my sea sickness from the barrels and a pounding headache from the thrashing about. As were swinging from side to side thumping along, at one point the crash was so intense my reaction was to abruptly take my foot off the peddle, causing the car to come to a screeching halt- this made Hayden's face ram right into the wheel. He began wailing, though I could find no physical harm done to him. I must have looked like an awful parent because I then began laughing so hard I was crying. It kind of served him right. He quickly got ahold of himself, and started swinging the car from side to side again. That ride could not have been over soon enough. Luckily, the teacup line was way too long so we headed home. I couldn't have afforded one more spinning/slamming/bobbing ride with the state my stomach was in.

The weekend was nice. Friday the boys had off school anyway- some sort of teacher in service day. I let them have a 'sleepover' on the couch, with the warning that if one kid misbehaved they'd all go sleep in their rooms- and so they were perfect angels. I really should make that deal more often. Them being quiet = me sleeping in. We did play some games, and make rainbow drinks with Gatorade (fyi- Gatorade is named for the FL Gators) ice cubes.

We also went to Great Explorations in St Pete. It's a small children's museum, and we get in free in the month of October with our aquarium pass. It was a fun afternoon. Hayden made my rat better by giving him ex-rays and band-aids. Peyton discovered he could lift his own weight if given the correct pulley system, and Calib discovered his sense of direction is worse in pitch black darkness as evidence by his face-plant into the wall in the touch tunnel. Asa sent back his pizza because there was ants, flies, and spiders hidden under the cheese, and I listened intently to the weather forecast that predicted sunny skies despite the background of what appeared to be a hurricane. And we both refused to pay the grocery bill of $983 for some milk, turkey, and pineapple.

This weekend also saw our very first food truck rally. It was a quick stop, but I finally got to eat at the Taco Bus. (It's pretty famous- it's going to be featured on the food network Monday) I also discovered the best deviled crab I've ever had. These kind of events with the food trucks are popping up all over, I can't wait to try more of them. The Bucs lost Sunday, which wasn't awesome, and even worse than that like half our players got injured and we lost a home game to play in London. To top it all off, it put Asa in quite the grumpy mood. I couldn't even relish my fantasy football stomping over him because of it. And boy was it a stomping. I won by over 100 points. *Stomp Stomp*

The boys also gave their Caterpillar a hair cut, because the grass had grown over their eyes. I love these caterpillars. I had no idea they'd be so successful. I wonder if I can keep them around long enough to put them in my new garden and have them holding a sign denoting what vegetable is in that row.

Monday wasn't awful this week- but the house needed a pick up on aisle.. well, pretty much everywhere. Sometimes I come home from taking the boys to school on Monday and I think 'was the weekend worth it? Did we have as much fun as the house appears as we did?' Because man, the house looked like we'd just had the party of the year. The damage they can do in a few hours, whooow. Anyway, it was clean up and laundry time- neither of which I enjoy, but both of which occasionally has to be done. I also set up our board for the week with our meals, snacks, and activities for the week and themed them all for Halloween. I was pretty happy with my spider crackers- they were cracker sandwiches with peanut butter in the middle, pretzel sticks for legs, and chocolate chips for eyes. They were a hit. And today we have a new twist on apple smiles- apple vampire smiles! We also made salt dough pumpkins which we'll be painting today.

It's also red ribbon week at school. So, this means three papers sent home to tell me about the random events for the week. (But I'm not still bitter about the unnecessary wastefulness of paper, can't you tell?) Monday was wear green to school, and Tuesday (today) is crazy sock day. The boys don't really have anything other than white socks, so I went to the store to pick some up. There wasn't really crazy socks in the boys department though, and so I picked up a three pack of socks- blue, black, and tan and decided they could decorate them. When I brought them home, here was the responses:

Calib 'I guess I'll just wear one black and one navy blue'

Me 'You won't be able to hardly tell they are different'

Calib 'I'm ok with that.

Peyton: "I don't really care about crazy sock day. I think I'll skip it"

(He was later convinced to wear one tan sock and one black sock, though I did refuse to pair the white socks and told him he could find his own, and he didn't much like that plan)

Hayden: "Can I put googly eyes on them? And Paint them?'

So Hayden then made his own pair of crazy socks.. googly eyes, fuzzy pom poms and a fuzzy pipe cleaner in the shape of an H glued to a blue sock, and his tan sock painted in orange blue and purple with a green H on it. He just kept talking about how crazy his socks were going to be. He was really excited about it. Then this morning he made me spike his hair all up so that his 'crazy hair would match my crazy socks". When they were about to get out of the car Calib told Hayden he would have to walk himself to class today. Oh to be a kindergartner and not worry about being cool.

And, I will leave you with some random awards for the week:

Best Song of the week:

Hayden- who made up the 'I love you more than' song, and sang it to Asa, and Peyton. Then, when he tried to sing it to Calib, Calib said 'I've heard it already', and Hayden blew him off and said 'wait this one is better, we have to hold hands.... I love you more than (insert random items he was sitting by at the moment) Thats the end"

Best countdown to Un-grounding this week:

Peyton. Who set the oven timer to know exactly when his grounding would be up so he could play his new game again.

Best Make Me Feel Old Moment

Me: "Calib, pull your pants up"

Asa: "What are you on MTV Jams? Are you Carson Daily?"

Calib: "Whose Carson Daily?"
Me: "Oh my god, I feel so old"

Asa "No, No Wait... The Lion King came out 17 years ago."

Me "What are you doing?!?!?"

Best Waldo Sighting:

Hayden and his location of Wenda, Waldo's sister.

Best Quote of the week:

Asa "I'm trying to be a good sport... sometimes!"

Next Up: Food and Wine Festival + Sister Hazel + Awesome Playgrounds+ Pumpkins+ Halloween Parties = One weekend stupid Hurricane Rina better not interfere with.