Gus had to work.
Made the kids breakfast after a neighbor friend, Emily, came over.
Later, after their friend left, they were asked to do their chores. Consisting of hanging their shirts (I washed, folded and placed the rest), pick up and vacuum their rooms. I was met with 2 horrifically crying kids (Ben and Abby). Surprisingly, Ellie worked quickly, without complaint and enjoyed her turn at vacuuming.
Later, after Gus was home from work, he announced he'd like to take the family to Ragged Point to have lunch and take pictures. We drove to Cambria and had lunch and Sandy's Deli, then we were off to Ragged Point. Unfortunately, the kids were less than impressed and even dared to complain it wasn't enough. It was a breakthrough moment for us as parents. We were done. Yep, done! The long drive home proved to be the perfect "can't get away from this conversation" location. They all mostly listened and I felt they understood how lucky they were. It's still a work in progress, we all are. Ultimately, they need to start earning fun stuff. The punishment for all the complaining, bickering and fighting in the car was a new day, full of nothing but boring and chores. I wasn't opposed to it, I had LOTS of chores available for completion and I love staying home.
Stopped at Walmart on our way home, they complained there too, and headed home to make dinner. After another explanatory talk on the way to our house, the kids volunteered to make dinner. Went well and we were off to bed.
Sigh...
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| Funny dudes |
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| My boys |
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| Silly girl |
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| Family |
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| Had to bring out the unicyles in the parking lot! |
Sunday February 12th
Gus had to work again.
In an attempt to rectify the disappointing behavior, Ben offered to make everyone pancakes. One entire bottle of syrup later, we were all over fed. We watch the Lion King and layed on the floor with blankets coloring.
After stating numerous times they were bored, the kids finally seemed to get the "Boring Sunday" concept and need to be appreciative. We didn't torture them but they didn't have much fun. When the neighbor kids walked over to play, Ben was devastated when I told him he had to tell them they were grounded and couldn't play. Leverage is proving useful.
Later, I elected Ben to accompany my for a not-so-fun filled trip to the grocery store. He wasn't too bothered to come along. Unfortunately, when we left, the Expedition wouldn't start (One day I'm going to write a Wikipedia article about the Johnson Car Curse). A very nice Hispanic gentleman that was sitting in his car came over and offered to take a look. After popping the hood, we exchanged many awkward head nodding, absurd hand gesture moments before I finally forced Ben to try and help translate. It didn't prove to be helpful; ultimately he said it was broken, needed to be fixed. Hmmm...thanks, I'm pretty sure I had already figured that one out. Called Gus and Clifford the big red truck to the rescue. We had take-out pizza for dinner.
Monday February 13th
School holiday, no school! Gus had to work, again!
Had a better day today. The kids picked up, took showers and played very nicely together.
The girls made themselves hot chocolate with our new Keurig coffee maker and thought the coffee cups I gave them to use were hilarious. They ran off the their rooms and came back dressed like this:
They thought the cups made them look like cowboys so they
dressed the part and said they were going outside to drink their
"coffee" with the goats. Later, they came back in to tell me they
were going to sit on a bench next and watch the clouds and wait for one to look
like a bunny.
Tuesday February 14th
Valentine’s Day!
Gus off, finally!
Ben got up early and made us both coffee and waffles. He packed all of their lunches and wrote me a special note saying he hoped I get an A on my homework. I love that boy!
Gus and I got dressed and helped the girls get ready for their fun party day.
The grown-ups decided to have a Valentines breakfast since we were strangely kid-less.
Visited Target afterwards, for some grownup shopping, and bought Ben an awesome birthday gift (you'll have to wait until Saturday to find out what it is!). I left for work and Gus navigated AAA in order to have the Expedition towed to the shop, super impressed, he didn't call me once.
After school Abby had a Girl Scout get together at Barney Schwartz Park for bike riding. All of our kids took advantage including big kid Gus and rode for hours.
End of the day, kids had a great time at their Valentines parties and were on sugar highs until bed time.
Wednesday February 15th
Gus was off again.
I stayed home and was logged in and ready to go by 7:00 to reserve our spots at Yosemite for June. Unfortunately as soon as I hit the button, they were already completely reserved, very disappointing. My mom and dad will be staying nearby so it will be a fantastic trip camping right next to them!
Gus kindly took the kiddos to school and I stayed behind to get ready for my day.
Went to Ellie's school for her "Me Day" presentation where she presented a poster full of pictures of her and the things she likes to do. She seemed nervous but didn't hesitate to answer questions.
Afterwards, I took her to the kinder orientation at Georgia Brown. That's where they talk about the program, give a demonstration and hand out the oh so coveted applications. In the past, parents would pour out of the meeting, head for their cars and frantically fill out the required forms in the hopes of being one of the firsts to return the packet. Fortunately, this year, they have changed the procedure. Now, we have about 2 weeks to complete the application and cannot turn them in until a certain date. However, you better bet, my butt will be at the door by 7am that morning in a parka waiting for the doors to unlock. My forms are complete, copied twice and originals in hand. It should take me only seconds to get that time stamp on my paperwork! I do like a little competition to get the heart going sometimes.
Then I went to work...boring.
Thursday February 16th
Ellie and I took the big kids to school and headed back home. I planned on making a Rice Krispy treat for Ben to bring to class to share. Then, I realized I forgot the Rice Krispy’s; I had plenty of marshmallows though! So, back to town we went, uhh! Finally, we began the process of molding a Diamondback Rattlesnake. Gus came home and finished off with some awesome piping work out of frosting.
Afterwards, we met Gus and Ellie back at Ben's classroom.
Gus and Ben arranged a little set up for presenting the snake cake. Gus put the
cake inside a large cardboard box and when they had the kids' attention; Ben
announced that he'd brought in his pet rattlesnake. Gus quickly opened the box
and a number of the kids jumped and gasped. We felt a little guilty afterwards
for scaring them but it was funny. They love, love, loved the cake! After
eating, they gathered around Gus asking him question and making requests of
their own for animal cakes. One talked about a 2 headed reptile of some sort and
another wanted a giant lizard. It was lovely and Ben seemed very happy.
I am working and planning to get everything ready for Ben's sleepover tomorrow night as soon as I get up. He's invited 3 very nice boys from school who will all be experiencing their first sleep over together. Gus is looking forward to it and he is officially in charge, I'm taking the girls to a move and sleeping in the trailer with them so the boys can be "girl free".
Wish us luck...
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