christmas day

it was a nice, fairly quiet day, although it started waaay too early. i had told pooka the night before that if she woke up before we did, her stocking was fair game. (i tried to ensure the girls would sleep in by keeping them up a little later than usual.) i never expected to be startled awake at 3 am with her looming over me complaining, "this is all that was in my stocking!"

i sent her back to bed, only to be woken up at 5 by a whining bug. something unidentified woke me up at 730, at which point i couldn't go back to sleep. at 8 we got the kids up and started unwrapping gifts. this year the gifts were few in number, but great in meaning. pooka was disappointed that she didn't get the ds she's been asking for all year, but she was thrilled with her mp3 player and her heated mattress pad. we only had to remind her a few times that it wasn't about how many gifts she got, but how great those gifts were. bug actually was interested in opening presents. a little bit. she loved her new bear and wanted me to open the play-doh right away, but i wasn't ready for that.

we cleaned up, got some breakfast and then retreated to the big bed to watch a dvd. this caused bug and i to need naps. later in the afternoon, dad and tina came over and the gift cycle started over again. kisu was thrilled with the new single cup coffeemaker. now we need some visitors to come over and test its versatility. both girls were very happy about their personalized weekender suitcases, especially bug who know has her own 'bock-ock'.

then we got dressy and headed over to kisu's parents for dinner and more presents. thanks to (childless) uncle adam, pooka got a giant makup kit. oy. kisu knew what he had bought and apologized to me in advance. i wonder how long until she uses everything up. she tends to go overboard on things like that.

bug had only had about an hourlong nap, so i was nervous about how crazy she would get. by the time we sat down to eat (which took her all of 10 minutes) she was wound tighter than a spring. when we let her down from the table, she started spinning in circles and laughing like a maniac. the adults were entranced, waiting for her to crack her head on the solid wood coffee table with the super-sharp corners. (that house is not even kid-friendly, let alone child-proof)

it was a pleasant day, the gifts were not out of control and we all just enjoyed each other's company. although i was not feeling very much in the spirit leading up to the holiday, i did enjoy the day. i am thankful to have a lovable and loving family and also for the birth of our savior.

merry christmas to all.

snow day

it was pretty much a foregone conclusion. the storm was so well predicted that everybody was prepared for today to be a snow day.

everybody but me.

i forgot to have pooka bring home her snow pants and i left bug's snow boots at daycare. i also left my desk at work with half-finished projects (some of which are christmas related).

this really screws with my pto time, too. i only had one day left, which i planned to use on tuesday to take pooka to clinic. with both the elementary school AND daycare closed (that never happens) i had no choice but to stay home. i could take pooka to work with me, but there is no way i can contain bug for 8 hours at work and actually get anything done. so tuesday i can either try to hurry and get to work for half a day or have poppa take her. pooh. i had planned on movies and a haircut with her.

once i dragged myself out of bed (after being rudely jolted out of a doze by bug who was wielding a pen all over my sheets, my devotional book, oh, and herself) i decided to make the most of the day. but when i asked gleefully who wanted to play in the snow, i was greeted with silence and blank stares. my new boss had ok'd me staying home, but as it turned out, kisu forgot his meds and i was going to take them to him. uh, that is, i was gonna try. we got about a mile away before concluded that the effort was not worth it. even in zed, the roads were slow going with at least 8 inches of snow and no plows in sight.

so we promptly turned around and i convinced the kids to play in the yard, instead. while pooka went inside to add more layers, i took bug for a sled ride. i started too fast for her at first and she was nervous. when i slowed down, she started to enjoy it. we were heading in for a break, when she leaned over to look at something and stuck her face right in a snow bank. she laughed until she realized how cold it was.
once pooka (finally!) came back out, i put both of them in the sled. it's amazing how much harder it was to pull with two kids in it. they both enjoyed it, though, until the end of the ride when i dumped them out. pooka's legs actually ended up planting bug deeper into the snow. she was pissed! pooka was laughing, though.

it was a lot colder than it usually is when snow is falling (how does that work, anyway?) so we didn't stay out long, only 10 minutes or so. when we came in i got the girls changed and in the big bed to warm up. i threw the wet stuff in the dryer for a potential return engagement and made some hot cocoa. it might have been bug's first try and since i put it in a sippy cup, she downed it superfast.
we spent the rest of the day sleeping, basically.

well worth the 40 cents

it was so hard to keep a straight face, but she had no idea what we were laughing at anyway.

kisu and pooka had been taunting each other throughout the evening and kisu threatened to put a dirty diaper in her bed. she responded with, "you better not or else!"

after he finished emptying the diaper champ, he got a clean diaper, filled it with tap water and put in smack dab in the middle of her bed. this is itself was funny. however, the fact that she was so oblivious to it made kisu nearly pee his pants.

she climbed the ladder (we were already grinning, waiting for her reaction) she opened the covers (i snorted and had to make up a reason for my laughing) she reached a hand back to steady herself (squarely on the diaper) and finally, she laid down right on top of it.

still no reaction.

kisu was doubled up laughing, which she correctly got defensive about, and sat up to throw a teddy bear at him. at this point, she noticed the diaper and hurled that at him instead. "gross, gross!"

kisu literally had cramps from laughing so hard.

after we got her contained back in bed, she didn't find it funny. she got quite mad about it, actually. she's such my child.

sometimes i hate cars

not really, i just hate when the time comes to spend money on their maintenance. especially when said money is hard to come by.

two weeks ago, i got the girls loaded into the truck and headed for daycare as per usual. i left pooka in the running vehicle because it was freezing! and quickly dropped bug off. then we headed over to latchkey to drop pooka. this time i shut the truck off. by the time i came back, it was dead.

turning the key, i heard an abbreviated startup kind of grinding, then lots of clicks and the dashboard lights starting flashing.

oh, hell.

after a brief prayer, i tried again, with no better result. i called kisu and let him know. he suggested i call dad, but dad couldn't take me to work after the tow truck dragged me to the garage.

i waited 45 minutes for the tow, and kisu met me at the garage whereupon the manager told me it was going to be "major surgery." always nice to hear.

halfway back to work, the garage called and gave me a laundry list of things that need to be replaced. predictable, right? when i asked what caused the non-start this morning, he said, "oh, that was just the battery."

2 to 4 players, ages 6 and up

we had a nice thanksgiving, even though it felt a little rushed for me, having worked until 11pm wednesday and then a little more than a full day on friday.

turkey day was relaxing at dad and tina's. we napped, watched a little football, ate a lot, and capped off the evening with a rousing game of scattergories.

we were several rounds in when pooka, in addition to her usual role as die-caster and timer operator, chimed in with some answers. what a delight to see her reading the categories and trying to find answers that fit. some of them were prime choices, too.

later in the weekend, we went to adrian to see kevin and marianne. the girls had a night out to see a production of a christmas carol at the croswell. pooka wore her very mature theatre outfit.

sunday the boys went to the movies, while the girls entertained ourselves by playing board games. pooka tried her hand at scrabble, and while i helped (a lot) she did give it a try and added up our points for us.

i am so proud of her and how she's growing up. and soooo glad that she is moving beyond candyland.

crackbook

i haven't been writing much here. i have been way too busy playing saving the planet. otherwise known as playing solitaire on facebook.

i have become one of the many addicts to that social network. once i got past the rigorous vetting process (it seems they didn't believe my name really was megachick) i quickly got hooked by how many darn people i know. in fact, the first hour, i contacted a friend from college who happened to be doing freelance work right that minute next door at my very own employer!

and it snowballed from there. although, to be honest, it's starting to slow down. i'm re-discovering that there really is a limit to how much solitaire you can play before your brain starts to liquify. that's why i started this hobby in the first place.

so eventually i'll come back here and start retuning my writing skills and paying attention to my children in order to have material on which to use those skills.

Do Good Sunday

Today like ! my mom said ! was Do Good Sunday I was Doing washing toys!
It was fun but there was A lot of toys to clean we got through all the toys.


*********************from pooka

ice queen

lately pooka and i have been getting along a lot better. she has been behaving and i have had a longer fuse, miraculously. despite her usual attitude toward me, she is actually a very sweet and caring child.

today was "do-good sunday" at church and my chore was to pick up trash at the local clinic that the church supports. i wanted to do something physical but had no idea that we would get a snow squall in the middle of the day. we were coated and soaking wet. when i finally came home, i wanted to bury myself under the blankets and sleep away the chill i felt in my bones. pooka was sympathetic. she also wanted to avoid folding her laundry. while i was sleeping, she thoughtfully covered me up--with every blanket she could find. i awoke feeling a little bit like i was sleeping in a furnace.


but my feet were still cold!

i love my church family

never before have i been somewhere where they clamor to take care of your children. last year we went to a christmas party and people were grabbing bug left and right to hold her, carry her, feed her. after services on sunday, they often do the same, one day almost fighting over her.

this year, they moved kids' choir rehearsal to wednesday night at a time we couldn't make. the director volunteered to drive waaay out of her way to pick up pooka from latchkey and get her to church. when the logistics ultimately didn't work out for her, a friend whose daughter is also in the choir called and asked if i minded if she picked up pooka instead. mind? why would i mind? you guys are doing all the work for me!

i have now performed twice in the sweet spirit choir and both times i have heard compliments, "good to see you up there. you sounded great."

this place is chock-full of lovely individuals who truly want you to fully enjoy the atmosphere and experience the fellowship. i love it here! i'm so happy to discover what i was missing by running out the door as soon as the last amen was said.

reduce, reuse, recycle has a limit

i am a pretty strong force for the 3 r's in our house. we use canvas shopping bags, we fill our bin weekly with milk jugs and glass jars, and we reuse plastic containers as much as possible. kisu participates if he thinks about it and pooka follows me fairly closely. i think bug will be a believer, too.

butt, i think she may push it a little too far.

the other day while pretending to use the training potty, she got some tp and wiped (her belly button, mostly), put it in the bowl, then pulled it out and wiped again. she actually repeated this several times. thank goodness she hadn't actually used the potty. pooka and i were cracking up, but clearly we've got a ways to go on the training.