Not (Dish)wash(er Safe)

We are a Lego family.  For Christmas, I was able to get 4 pounds of Legos at the IDEA Store, which was the beginning of our stock.  Add to that some special sets from family, friends, and Santa, and amazing vintage hand-me-downs (tug boat and helicopter!) from our good friend C, and we have a good starter collection.

I was excited to hear McD's was going to do a Lego Movie happy meal toy.  Unfortunately, it was not really something to get excited about - it was a themed cup.  Which was not even dishwasher safe.  Oy.

My usual opinion about dishware is that if it says not dishwasher safe, that I'm willing to take my chances, and if it does not come out usable from the top rack, it wasn't worth my energy or attention anyway.  But the children were really drawn to these Lego cups, so I committed to at least temporarily hand-washing them so that we could use them a few times before I put them to the dishwasher test.

I explained to the kids that the cups couldnt go in the dishwasher. 

C took this very literally.  It took us a few days to realize (and a couple times of M pulling a cup out of the drawer and exclaiming "this is dirty!"), that instead of putting the cup in the sink or on the counter to get hand washed, he was putting it back in the kids cup drawer and reusing it! Wouldn't have been too bothersome if it had just been water in the cup, but once it was chocolate milk!  Eww! 

Lesson learned from the 5 year old:
"cup can't go in the dishwasher" = "cup does not need to be washed"

ha!

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Tights

It's been said by many that M has a particularly unique fashion sense.  And this day was no exception.  On this 20 degree morning, M picked out a short-sleeve black top with horizontal sliver glitter stripes paired with a flowing black knee length skirt.  Perfect for a summer night out!  She wanted to add knee length leggings under the skirt for provide some modesty in P.E. class.

Mom rarely raises an eyebrow about anything adorning M as she emerges from her room, but exposed skin on a below freezing day with a wait at the bus stop will not fly.  So, I suggested she wear tights rather than leggings. A reasonable compromise.

"I don't like tights.  I don't like wearing pants with socks attached to them!"

M for the win.

To appease her mother, she changed into pants.

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Dinner Conversation: The Bighouse

This evening's dinner conversation was beyond entertaining.

It all started with a sobering talking-to from Grandpa to M, warning of the downfall of credit card missed payments and the subsequent bankruptcy, court appearances, and possible hard time.  Never too early to discuss financial responsibility, Grandpa.

Overhearing the conversation, and specifically the word "jail," C jumped in.
C: "In jail, all you get is vegetables.  Tomatoes, the red ones.  And you have to eat all of them. And onions."
C; "I could get out of jail. That would be easy.  You sneak up onto the roof and you jump off"
C: "You gotta be sneaky.  You get a bunch of money and you throw it at the policemen - every one of them. Then you run out the door while they are picking it up."

If you'd like to have a lively discussion about prison-breaks, C is your go-to guy.  This segued into further conversation about prison escapees, which I've since learned have been fairly many!  Daddy also remembered a recent Chicago jail-break, involving a truly extraordinary story of descending 17 stories using bed sheets!

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Beety St. Valentines Day!

To celebrate St. Valentines Day, we invited bestie A, J, and baby A over to make a special batch of pink and purple pancakes.  So special, in fact, that I was inspired to write a poem about the experience.

Beet Pancakes

Would you like a little pancake
made from flour and milk?
how about with veggies in it
pureed as smooth as silk?

Did you know this pancake
has beets to dye it pink?
Oh say, you don't believe me?
See the blender in the sink!

What better way to eat a pancake?
I'm like a magic pancake genie!
Can't wait to try more veggies
carrot, pumpkin, and zucchini!


What's even better than making beet pancakes and writing poetry about them?  Watching M eat the entire beet pancake and not realize until the last bite was stuffed in her cheeks that she just ate a vegetable - the horror!  The look on her face when she overheard the word beet.  Hilarious.  And Awesome.  And DELICIOUS.

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My FurDog OldManBaby

Oh the cuteness!
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Family Meeting

*dun dun duuhhhhn*  Yes, that's the foreboding tone of an impending family meeting.

The agenda:

• Kindness. Our goal as parents is to raise the children into adjusted adults.  The most important thing in life is building relationships with others through kindness.
• Yelling. Getting in a yelling match with your mother (or your brother, or your sister, or your father), is not acceptable.  I refuse to partake in said yelling match.  If yelling ensues, I will leave the room for 5 minutes and will return to discuss the problem in a normal tone of voice.
• Respectful vs. disrespectful behaviors.  The children will brainstorm both types of behaviors and suggest proper forms of discipline for disrespectful behaviors.
• Chores. As part of this family, children are expected to contribute by performing their chores in a prompt and cheerful manner.  The children will name all of the chores they currently are capable of completing, thereby giving their mother a list of chores for our new Chore Ribbon.

This is actually the second family meeting we've organized and executed.  The first was to discuss and establish our bead jar reward system.  That's another post for another time. The bead jar has been successfully up and running for some time, but we needed a refresher course in kindness and respect.

This family meeting went over surprisingly well.  M especially enjoyed it, asking for more discussion, prompting Daddy to append two additional addenda to the agenda.

The comic relief came around the second bullet point:
Mom: "when you grow up and go to work, what do you think would happen if you got in a yelling match with your boss?"
M (with not a second of hesitation): "What if I am the boss?!"

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Cuteness Overload

Just a couple of quick stories I want to remember from 5-year-old C.

C: Dad! Dad! You'll never guess what comes out tomorrow!  The Lego Movie!  IN ALL THE THEATERS - Every one! It doesn't matter which one you go to!"

Of course, we were compelled by his overt enthusiasm and took him to see it on opening weekend.


C: Mom, can we please get corn? The kind you put the pokey things in?
Several hours after our trip to the grocery store:
C: Mom, can you make the corn for me for dinner? Even if it's just for me!

Of course, I never say no to a child asking to eat his vegetables, so I made corn on the cob for the whole family!

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Christmas 2013

I'm trying to make a tradition of getting the kids dressed in their Christmas best and doing one last photo shoot before the tree is put away for the season.  Here are the fruits of that effort.

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