STOCKING IDEAS

In the past we've filled our stockings with a lot of junk. You know, stuff you end up stepping on and throwing away like little plastic toys that aren't useful. Here's what I'm planning on filling our stockings with this year.

• candy


• Gouda cheese (big bag from Costco)


• wooden toy to be assembled and painted (you know, the $1 kind at the craft store). The kids love those and even though we eventually throw them away its fun for them to paint and assemble them.


• one fruit-with a message on how to prepare it to go into the fruit salad we'll have for breakfast.


• one individual item. Katie-hand made doll outfit, Grant-a new silk. Carl-wasabi peanuts etc.


• a new ornament for next year.

I need more ideas. Do you have any?

Strep, the preferred illness

Why is strep the preferred illness you ask? Because:

1) Feeling tired and achy is so much better than stomach cramps.

2) I've been nice and patient with the kids (mostly because I don't feel well enough to work on projects).

3) I have a good excuse for not making dinner.

4) I've felt well while napping.

5) I got a much needed break.

6) With antibiotics its over with pretty quick.

So now, back to work!

Cleaver Rules Song

While decluttering I found the following Cleaver Rules Song we made up one summer day (2006 I think) while driving home from piano lessons on the windy roads of Charlton MA.

To the tune of Yankee Doodle

Wash your hands before you eat.
No jumping on the couch.
Don't forget to say your prayers.
Don't hurt or pester your siblings.
Don't scream in the house,
unless there's an emergency.
Whining is a serious crime.
Be cheerful all the time.

Verse 2
No tattling unless it is
dangerous or destructive.
Serve others before yourself.
Don't take things out of people's hands.
If you can't say something nice
don't say nothing at all.
Respond when spoken to.
That is all the rules to do.

Although many of the rules were hard to follow such as "be cheerful all the time" the kids thought up almost all of the rules. Its funny that the rules the kids thought of were the ones they especially had a hard time with. For example Alex thought of "no jumping on the couch" and "don't take things out of people's hands." He happen to be the only one that had a difficult time with these before making the rules song. If we were to make a song again I think we'd do more general rules and attach some consequence right in the song.

Moving Right Along

We're moving again. We were hoping to live in this house for at least a couple more years or until our MA house is sold (we still have renters). But alas, the owner of this house wants to sell it in this crazy crazy market in the middle of winter. We've been really busy looking at houses to buy for the last few weeks. We have one offer down on a house, but its a short sale so the bank takes its time waiting for the best price (sometimes months). Its nice that I've recently decluttered most of the closets and cleaned the fridge top to bottom and gotten most of the Christmas presents ready. The goal is to totally finish Christmas up to the stockings by next week . At the moment I'm in round two of decluttering and cleaning. If we don't buy a house by the beginning of the year we'll rent again-ugh! In our 11 years of marriage we have never lived in one place for more than two years. The day will come when we'll be settled for good.

So life has been a little stressful and as a result I've eaten more candy, worried a lot and slacked off on dinner. Why not iron, fold laundry, cook and clean during times of stress? Do you think I could train myself to be productive instead of eating junk food and wastefully worrying?

goodbye halloween

Our two decorations: the Halloween sign and Alex's school pumpkin.

I had the kids put on their costumes again this week so we could finally get some pictures. We have been so busy with life (a later post) that we didn't even get to carve our 1 and only pumpkin. We did go trick or treating in the best trick-or-treating weather in the history of the world (it was in the 60s all night) but somehow didn't get pictures taken. So here are the costumes. We're planning on taking down the rest of the Halloween stuff (the two decorations that we have) today.

Grant the frog.

Our crying cowboy-Alex. He didn't like the alternative hat.

Jordan-any number of Star Wars characters. Its totally wrinkled because he had stuffed it in the closet after Halloween.

Katie decided to be a cat instead of Alice in Wonderland because she didn't want me to have to sew another costume-wasn't that nice?

Playground political talk

Katie: "Mom, we voted today for school. I voted for Obama"

Mom: "Why did you vote for Obama?"

Katie: "Because I knew he was going to win." (the school vote)

later...

Katie: "Mom, on the playground we were saying:

Vote McCain,
things stay the same.
Go tell your mama
to vote Obama

"Kids came over and stood around us, listening to us. I was doing it because my friends were."

I thought this was really funny. It made me wonder though how many people really sift through all the political talk to get down to the bottom of who the runners are and what they actually stand for. As with Katie it seems to be somewhat of a popularity contest, perhaps driven a great deal by the media. People loving Palin yesterday and hating her today. People thinking Obama doesn't have enough experience yesterday, thinking today he's the hope of America. I suppose only time will tell who these runners really are. One more hour before we hear the final decision of the country.

THE PLAN

I'm one of those people who loves a plan. Schedules generally make me very happy (until I overscheulde). Its funny that several of my friends are the opposite, especially Carl. "What time do you plan on coming home?" I ask. "Later" or "In a while," Carl says. "Could you give me a more specific time?" I ask (very sweetly). "Around 9:00" he says. I should learn not to ask for a time because he never gets home at the time he says. Instead of planning the evenings around Carl's no schedule I decided to make my own plan and stick to it. Our nightly routine is as follows:

6:00 clean for 15 minutes (I can't tell you how happy I am when this happens)
6:30 eat dinner
7:00 clean up dinner and pjs
7:30 scriptures
8:00 reading and lullabies

I am getting better at being flexible. If dinner happens at 6:36 I can deal with it, with a few deep breaths. No, just kidding I'm getting so much better I don't even have to watch my breathing.

So here's the plan for today:

Stay happy by expecting several arguments and a few tantrums. Know it will take Grant getting out of bed at least 3 times before he falls asleep for his nap.

Organize and declutter the storage room.

That shouldn't be too hard right? I just have two things. Totally doable.

This weeks plan:
Finish up 5 Christmas presents.