From My Children's Minds...

Evan asked, as he was laying in bed at 9:00 last night:
How are bagpipes made? I bet it must be some kind of whistle.

Colby woke up singing (to Santa is Coming To Town) at the top of his lungs:
Santa Claus is going to jail.

When did bagpipes enter our lives? Why is our child asking when he should be sleeping?

I frequently hear the boys playing cops and the common phrase "I'm gonna under arrested you! You're going to jail!" We've had English lessons - you can be under arrest, or arrested, but not under arrested.

A day in the life...

Snow Day?

Welcome to our snow day. Ok, ice day. This is the view leaning out of the front door. I'm sure if I ventured farther than the porch it's slick, and last I checked it was +4, with a windchill of -10. I really didn't put out 6 cans of trash - it was 9 cans & bags of leaves. I should send them to TX so my nieces and nephew can play in the leaves in the fall. My Kansas City cousin is enjoying it - I think they got snow to go with it and make it worthwhile. We've played legos, done laundry, dishes, fought over TV and generally crabbed to each other. Yippee - can't wait for Christmas so we can do this every day for 2 weeks! We are stir crazy, and it's only noon. We don't sit at home well. At least my Christmas shopping, wrapping and shipping are done.

We got our Holiday gift from the hospital this week. Now I can be a homeless bag lady. Over the last many years, it's been 2 blankets, 3 different size backpacks/ duffel bags, a lawn chair with umbrella, a crank radio, and a calendar every year. If you want me to use a calendar, I need it in about August, not 2 weeks before it begins, and I don't need to know when New Employee Orientation is every month, and I already know when payday is - trust me! The calendar didn't make it home. The joke yesterday was that we could pack our belongings in our bags, sit in the lawn chair and be protected from the rain, ice and sun, with our crank radio/ flashlight, and be warm with our blankets while we sleep on the vents right outside the back doors of the hospital that are covered every morning with homeless folks. It was a long, busy, not fun weekend at work and we must make bad, insensitive jokes about it or go crazy. I really would be happy with a $4 coupon to the cafeteria - it's a little more useful in my world. Tom will get his holiday gift this week with his paycheck - it's not a duffel bag or calendar. Yeah, I like his job.

My uncle sent me this song about Illinois politics - I appreciated it.
"Get packin', Rod Blagojevich,"
by John McHugh
(to the tune of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen")

Get packin', Rod Blagojevich
The state's in disarray
The Tribune wants you unemployed
At least by Christmas Day.
The TV pundits want your head
Could there be pay to play?
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy
Save Illinois!
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy.



Good riddance Rod Blagojevich
Your Elvis look's inane,
The Senate's mad, so's Lisa's dad.
You drive us all insane.
Our transit's broke, the state's a joke,
The Tollway's one big pain.
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy
Save Illinois!
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy.



Good luck old Rod Blagojevich
The feds have quite a place.
Fitzgerald's poked his nose around
And if he has a case,
George Ryan's moving stuff around
Creating extra space.
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy
Save Illinois!
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy.

Have a good week, All.

Boy Scouts & Life Lessons

We made a cake. Ok, Evan made a cake. I supervised and did my best to keep my hands out of it. I gave him the choice of a tree or snowman to help me figure out what candy stuff to buy. I did the icing on the cake, Tom put circles on for the body, and Evan did all the candy decorating. It's for a Scout party that he isn't going to, but he will still get a cooking merit badge for the cake. Tom made plaques for 1-3 places. Evan broke my heart, but it's a life lesson he has really already learned. Sometimes, parents get carried away in these projects, and the kids never get their hands on them, but yet it's supposed to be "theirs." And sometimes those d@#$ parents win design trophies for their kids and the kids who did their own work get nothing. It's not rocket science to know what was done by a 6 yr old vs a 46 yr old.

"Mom, it kinda looks stupid. Everyone else's is gonna look better. Mine's not gonna win."
"But you did it, Evan. It's all yours. We helped with the hard parts, but it's your cake, and I'm proud of you for doing all the work."

Growing up is hard to do, and I hate it when my kid is disappointed, especially in himself. I think it's a cute snowman, and looks quite tasty.

Ouch

Strep throat hurts. It really really hurts. After a long weekend, I now have drugs. Antibiotics are my friend. Unfortunately, Tom now has a sore throat. Evan has a dr appt later in the week for his sleep/ anxiety issues. This week, I am so glad we have insurance. I am so glad we both have jobs that are relatively recession-proof. And I am glad we have Christmas shows on TV to watch - Grinch and Shrek tonight, Charlie Brown next Monday.