WTH!

Seriously, today Wyatt is a terror.

How many times is he going to complain about how yucky the dog food tastes...but he keeps getting into it.

He pulled the DVDs off the shelf for the 500th time.

He managed to de-key the 'Z' key on my computer keyboard.

He wiped his Spagetti-O'd fingers all over the wall and then his hair...

He peed on his comforter.

He figured out the un-lock on the sliding door and runs outside whenever he feels like it now.

He is now swinging the frames on his wall whilst confined to his crib for driving Mommy nuts while she is trying to make dinner before Daddy gets home...

No rest for the parent of an 18 month old. Sheesh. Where's the Calgon? Heck, where's the weekend
get-a-way?

Sending Sweet Valentines

Boogety

Wild Weekend.  Started off with the Hall-OWEN-y Party.  Let me just say there is absolutely NO difference between a party of fifteen 8-12 year olds or teenagers.  They may just be drinking root beer and juice boxes instead of raiding the parents liquor cabinet. The drama and mayhem is all the same. Trunk or treat is the LAMEST excuse for an activity I can think of, but for some reason kids really like it. And Halloween itself was extremely anti-climactic this year despite all of my preps, but I have learned from the experience...

1) Start making pumpkins in the summer, when rain won't interrupt drying or painting efforts.
2) At least one child will always change their mind about their costume days before the actual event.
3) Don't make your husband dress up because he will inevitably complain about being "too hot".
4) Cook dinner early on Halloween night so you aren't handing out treats with floured, messy hands.
5) Friends or family make it more fun.

All in all, it was good fun. Wyatt seemed to enjoy it the most. He was a trooper, continuously wielding his magic wand and submitting willingly to eyeliner glasses. Happy Halloween!

Who Needs a $15 Yo-Yo Anyway??

Owen came home retelling the tale of an assembly at school.  As the visitor told the story of NED walking the dog, and visiting the Eiffel Tower, and eating spaghetti; he performed tricks that corresponded to each vignette. The kids were awed at the things you could do with a yo-yo.


The visitor was actually a motivational speaker. His aim was to motivate the children to "Never give up", "Encourage others" and "Do your best". Owen came home motivated to buy a yo-yo. Who could blame him, really? This NED guy was inspiring. He could do cool things. Maybe the N.E.D. actually stands for:


Never give up on asking your parents for a yo-yo.
Encourage others to buy a yo-yo.
Do your best to get your parents to buy you the yo-yo.


You may be shocked to learn that the motivational speaker actually...SELLS YO-YOs...after his performance. So, Owen drooled as he watched peers buy the Ned-yo ($6.50), the Boomerang ($10) and the Cosmic Spin ($15).  And upon his return from school, the first words out of his mouth as he rushed through the front door: "I NEED $15. If I don't get $15, I won't be able to get the best yo-yo EVER and I only have like, 5 more days until the school won't sell them anymore!"


Wow.  This is desperation now, not motivation. 


My first thought? "Sheesh, $15 bucks? Don't you have 5 yo-yos hidden under a pile of dirty socks somewhere? I've just given $40 to your school this week already."


However maybe I could use this...


My response? "$15 bucks is quite a lot of money...  and I am not going to just fork it over because you WANT something RIGHT now.  How about I will let you earn it over the weekend? If you are really wanting this yo-yo, and then you can show me how much by putting in a little effort for it."


I'm sure he went to bed thinking about all the yo-yo tricks he so desperately wanted to do. But that now seemed impossible because of the heavy chore burden I was about to enforce upon him.


Okay, I probably shouldn't use 'enforce', but if you don't have first hand experience with it: 10year old + chores = exasperation.


However, I was pleasantly surprised... Owen worked with gusto and determination I have not seen before. When reminded of the things he had agreed to work on, he gladly did them - even re-did them when they were not quite passable as having been complete. This must really be some yo-yo.


So today, as I hand over the envelope with the $15 check, I don't feel like I'm getting totally ripped off by some elementary yo-yo scam. My son learned a good lesson in earning rewards and I have clean bathtubs and streak free mirrored closet doors. Very win-win.

Does Anyone Need a New Dog?

Yeah. I have a really great one...she just needs more attention.

Lady Killers

Things That Go Bump in the Night

Oh, yes. My FAVORITE time of year. I can feel the magic that is coming. The smell of fall, black trash bags, and hot glue in the air... Now, I have been perusing Halloween costume sites for weeks, however last night I became far more interested in how to decorate the entry to our plain and boring mission style condo front for this years All Hallows after some site browsing at my fave, Grandin Road.  My late night web haunts have led me to come across some serious Halloween fanatics that turn their decorating endeavors into year-long projects! I have to say these are some pretty awesome dads. I am quite certain that my newest obsession is going to be paper mache jack o' lanterns. Check 'em out: SpookyBlue & Andersonville Graveyard & Stolloween.