Ryan Short Story

This week's fairy tale theme at school must really have stuck with Ryan.  At dinner tonight he paused while eating and announced, "This is a Goldilocks dinner."

"A Goldilocks dinner?" I asked. "What's that?"

"Not too hot and not too cold. It's just right," he answered before spooning another bite into his mouth.

Right to Read and Literacy Night

I had planned to write a really nice post about Right to Read week that's going on at the kids' school this week and the literacy night we attended there tonight, but the kids have been fighting since we walked in the door, which has put me in a craptastic mood. So instead, I'll share some pictures from the event with you all, then go open a bottle of wine for me.

Pajama day was on Wednesday

Donning their super cool scarves from Aunt Cheryl for "Frozen" day

Ryan had a unique way of wearing his

Entrance to the school for literacy night

Signs encouraging folks to participate in the Read-a-Thon

Now THAT'S a dedicated principal!

King Wesley is displeased

Creating a shoe for Cinderella

Wesley posing with one of the third grade teachers who was portraying Princess Fiona

Those Are Some Manners

The W. family had an unexpected dinner out last night when one of the ingredients that we needed for our recipe had gone bad. I had come home with a terrible headache and feeling sick to my stomach, so I left our dinner destination up to Duane.  Knowing that I prefer to go to local restaurants, Duane took us to a cafe and bakery down the street. The owner is incredibly supportive of our community and the food is really good.

We sat down and ordered our meals and explained to the kids that since we were at a nicer restaurant, they were to put their napkins in their laps when the food arrived.  They said they understood and waited patiently for their meals.

When the food was placed on the table we all stared to eat. After a moment, Wesley said, "I need a fork."

"What happened to your fork?" Duane asked. "The utensils were wrapped up in the napkin. You have your napkin right?"

"Yes," Wesley replied, "but I didn't see a fork."

Duane peeked under the table and discovered that while Wesley had indeed put his napkin on his lap, he never unrolled the darn thing and the utensils were still inside it.

So close, and yet....no.

My Hubby, My Hero

That handsome man petting my friend's dog? That man is my hero. Every day. But especially today.

The boys had school one day last week. ONE. With the temperatures dipping well below zero last  night, I fell asleep crossing my fingers and toes and hoping there would be school today. They need to be in school.

When I heard my text alert go off at 4:52, I got a sinking feeling in my gut. Still, I managed to convince myself (at least partially) that it was just a hockey score alert from last night.  Yeah, right. When the phone rang at 5:15, I knew.  No school. AGAIN.

I started in on a random stream of consciousness while Duane listened. "Crap! I can't call off today. We're already pretty short staffed on the public service desks today, and I'm on desk first thing. I guess I could call Mom. I know she'll take them, but she hasn't had a break lately. First she was in Mansfield, then she had the kids most of last week, then she had weekend guests. It's not fair to always dump on her. I know Dad would take them too, but they are leaving for vacation tomorrow and will need today to get ready."

"I could call my mom and see if she could come down," Duane said.

"You can't call your mom at 5:30 in the morning and ask her to drive 20 miles in subzero temperatures to come stay with her grandkids who have essentially been housebound for the past week! I'm sure my mom will take them I just hate asking her all the time. Oh! I could take them to work with me for a couple of hours while I cover the desk, then I could come home after that. They'd be fine in the children's section or the homework help center. That's a possibility. But I know mom will take them if I call."

At this point Duane reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the phone.

"Who are you calling?" I asked.

"Work. I'm taking the day off," Duane replied.

"You can't take the day off!" I insisted. Duane pretty much IS the parts department at the HVAC company where he works. He never calls off and schedules his vacations very carefully. The main reason I always stay home when the kids are sick or something like this happens is that I get much more vacation than he does and my schedule is (usually) much more flexible.

"I can't normally call off, but we are actually pretty slow right now. Your mom has had them a lot lately and you are busy today. I'm a parent too. I'm calling off," he said.

Now this may not seem like that big of a deal to some of you. Some of you are probably thinking, "Well, he should share that responsibility." But life isn't always "fair" and the way we divide things is the way that works best for us. However, I've been battling the winter blues pretty fiercely lately and if I had to stay home today, it may have been the straw that broke the camel's back.  I joked to a friend that Duane called off because he values my sanity, but the truth is, he values our whole family. He didn't want to inconvenience anyone today and, as usual, was willing to step up and put others first. 

Yesterday, when I found a card he left in my car to help cheer me up, I knew I had a special man. Today it's reaffirmed that I have found my very own hero.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I did not have to take a day off work to stay with the kids when the schools were closed due to icy roads. And I certainly didn't make myself read all day if I had.

There is no way I have eaten cheesecake every day the past week and had my skinny jeans fit better than they have in months! That just wouldn't make sense.

I did not turn my hubby into the bad guy and tell my kids that we could adopt another cat if they could get their dad to agree, knowing full well that Daddy would say "no."

I did not skip exercising one morning because of the snow fall we recieved and instead spent my morning making a peanut butter pound cake. That would have been counterproductive to my health on TWO levels!

If You Can't Beat Winter, Join It

Yesterday set a record for February snowfall in central Ohio - 6.9 inches.  Our bowling plans were cancelled and Duane had to shovel the drive three times yesterday. A number of people lost power. We were lucky and were just pretty much housebound most of the day.

Unfortunately, that put me in a bit of a mood when I woke up this morning. I didn't want to go to church. I didn't want to read or do puzzles or bake or anything. I felt sad and completely listless. Thankfully, my hubby didn't let me wallow. He hauled my rear end up and made me go to church, which did good things for my soul.

After church we came home and had a full on comfort lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup, then decided to bundle up and go sledding. Well, Duane and I decided we were going sledding. The kids didn't really want to go, but I wanted them too. They've been inside too much lately and it's in the 30's today so it's practically tropical.

Despite their protests about going, everyone had a good time once we got to the hill.

 

Mommy's turn

 

 Daddy's turn

 

 

What is it with kids and eating the snow? This is Wesley chowing down, but Ryan grabbed a "snack" on his way up the hill every single time

We stayed at the hill for about an hour before getting back in the truck. "That was more fun than Disney World!" Wesley exclaimed.

Ryan looked at him and said, "Oh Wesley, you're such a kidder."

We came home wet and cold, but that means we got to enjoy the best part of sledding - hot chocolate with marshmallows and a fire in the fireplace.

I'm still not in love with winter, but getting out of the house and having fun helped beat some of those winter blues.

Another Snow Day

Is it possible to be "colded" in, instead of snowed in?  Temperatures were well below zero when we got up this morning, so it was yet another day of no school for the kiddos. That means they had school ONE day this week.  Sigh.

Wesley spent the morning working on some pictures. "I'm an artist and no one can stop me from doing art!" he exclaimed while gathering his supplies this morning.

Cleo had the right idea and spent the morning in the sun

Gus and Ryan sat in the sun for awhile too

I made the executive decision that we were going to get out of house for a little bit today, so around noon, when the temperature was a balmy 10 degrees we bundled up and piled into the car to run some errands. Our first stop was church. I'm supposed to provide cookies for the gathering area between services this Sunday and with our city supposed to get 5-8 inches of snow tomorrow, I'm not sure we'll be going to church on Sunday. But I wanted the brave souls who do get there to have something sweet to munch on!

After church, I decided we all needed a cold day treat. I've been craving a Krispy Kreme donut for a couple of weeks now and since there is a shop right by church, it seemed logical to make a little side trip there.

Ryan's treat had cookie dough in the donut hole. YUM!

Wesley taking a blissful bite of glazed donut filled with vanilla creme

Of course, the W. family can't go anywhere without some kind of incident. Wesley managed two sips of his hot chocolate before spilling his entire cup all over his coat, his pants and the table. The poor kid was absolutely mortified - but at least the hot chocolate wasn't hot enough to burn. One of the workers and I cleaned up the mess, all the while reassuring Wesley that he was not the first person to spill a drink there, nor would he be the last, and that no one was mad at him.  I don't know if he ever really believed us, but he did get over himself long enough to go get another hot chocolate.

From the donut shop, I took the chocolatey smelling boys across the street to the bookstore. Wesley has been wanting to buy a certain book, but then decided that he didn't need it after all. That boy has a very hard time parting with money. I told him that I didn't care if he didn't buy the book, but that sometimes it's okay to buy something just because you want it. "You are a kid," I explained. "Daddy and I make sure you have everything you need - food, clothes, a place to live, medicine when you're sick. You let us take care of that."

He still didn't feel like he could part with the money to buy a hardback book, but he did buy a couple of Mad Libs to keep him entertained over the weekend.

After the bookstore, we made one more stop - a quick trip to Cat Welfare to pet the felines. Both boys fell in love with a one-eyed cat named "Dreamboat" and were less than happy when I said that we were NOT adding a fourth cat to our family.

Then it was back home for more reading and loving on our own cats.

I kind of feel like I used up any kind of "fun" for the weekend. We're supposed to go bowling with our church group tomorrow, but since we're also supposed to get a lot of snow, I'm not really sure that's going to happen. I've tried to appease Ryan with the idea of Wii bowling and baking a cake if we get a lot of snow and have to stay in the house again tomorrow, but the thought of these kids stuck inside again makes me shudder. Maybe all the meteorologists are wrong?

Wednesday is the New Monday

Today was the first day this week that the boys had school. They were off Monday for President's Day and the schools were closed yesterday due to icy conditions on the side roads where buses and walkers travel. I stayed home yesterday (since Grandma and Grandpa H. had the boys on Monday AND were watching them last night while Duane and I went to a Mardi Gras dinner) so today was the first day of the week that it was really business as usual.

On the way to school Ryan commented that it really felt like Monday to him since it was the first day they had school this week. Then he went on to say how glad he was to be going to school because Wednesdays are Interest Group Day and he gets to go his domino group, which he loves, and it was pizza day - double win!

Of course, this week, Wednesday is also kind of like a Saturday because they don't have school AGAIN tomorrow due to extreme cold temperatures in the forecast. At this point I'm just praying for school on Friday or the kids may kill each other.

If the Shoe Fits

The boys were off school yesterday for President's Day. They spent the day hanging out with their grandparents and were treated to a trip to the Lego store, followed by McDonald's for lunch.  When I got home from last night I asked Wesley and Ryan how much their grandparents had spoiled them.  The boys proudly showed me some new Legos they had gotten that day.

Me: Wow! I hope you said 'thank you' to Grandpa and Grandma!

Ryan: I did. I said it a lot.

Wesley: I said 'thank you' (gives side-eye to Ryan) AND I said it calmly and only one time.

Ryan: Are you saying I'm hyper?

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I was in jammies and in bed by 8:00 one night. And if I was, there is no way I did so to have a "pajama party" and watch bad movies curled up with my kids. And it certainly didn't happen on a school night!

I did not refuse to even bring up the fact that Wesley's teacher said that the students could make a special box for their Valentines at home even though the class would be decorating bags for Valentines as well because I didn't want the extra work.

I did not spend half of one morning at work trying to remember if I brushed my teeth or not.

I did not spend WAY to much money on candy at a special candy shop when we already had a ton at home. Even if I did, there's no way most of it was for me and not my kids.

I know I didn't get stupidly excited when Grumpy Cat followed me on Twitter. I'm much more mature than that. 

The Return of Wesley

Wesley recently rejoined the church choir and today was his first (and second and third) performance.

I love hearing him sing. I'm so glad he decided to give it another try.

Happy Valentines Day Recap

Yesterday was such a wonderful Valentine's Day. We decided to forgo the whole "try to make the day super romantic" thing and decided instead to celebrate our family - and it turned out wonderfully well!

We started the day off by fixing red velvet pancakes with cream cheese glaze for breakfast. I mean, you have to overdo it on Valentine's Day, right?

I burned off the carbs and calories in Zumba class and after that, we headed off to the skating rink to meet some friends. Unfortunately, we left just as a horrible white out was occurring and what should have been a five minute drive was frightening twenty minutes.  But everyone got there safely.

Getting our buddy J.'s skates on

Duane even put skates on - which he NEVER does! I got to hold hands and skate with my honey!

After skating we headed downtown to a candy/soda shop I've heard great things about. The kids LOVED it!!

Just kids in a candy store

Ryan HAD to try this!

A little something for Duane

Part of our candy haul

From there we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant for a nice, cozy dinner for eleven. And it was fun and fantastic.  I'm so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family to spend a holiday with.

Cheers!

Just a Typical Friday Night

OK, maybe not a completely typical Friday night, but really, it wasn't too far off normal.

Ryan and I left the house after dinner to go to the grocery store. On the way there I realized that I had forgotten my phone at home, but I decided I didn't need it for just a quick trip to the store. I bought Ryan a cup of hot chocolate at the store cafe to drink while we shopped, and off we went.  Less than ten minutes later Duane was standing beside me, hand delivering the phone I had left at home.

"Did you go to Target already?" I asked. We discovered today that since Wesley has decided to rejoin the church choir, he needs a white shirt by Sunday.

"No, I brought you your phone. We'll stop and get a shirt after ukelele."

That was when Wesley noticed that Ryan had hot chocolate and wanted some too, so Duane decided go get him a cup before they left for class. About a minute after they walked off, Ryan wanted to tell Wesley something, so I said he could run up to the cafe to tell him. 

I happily continued shopping, and was getting a lot done, when I realized Duane and the kids had been gone a really long time. I wheeled my cart up to the cafe, but they weren't there.

I called Duane's phone. "Where are you?"

"About to walk into lessons," he said.

"And Ryan's with you, right?" I asked.

"No. I thought you had Ryan."

CRAP!!!  "No! He went to find you and Wesley at the cafe."

"He found us and when we left, I told him to go back to you."

"Well, I don't have him!"

CRAP!!!!!

I was just about to hang up with Duane and go into full panic mode, when I saw Ryan strolling along towards me like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Got him!" I said and hung up.

"Ryan! I was just about scared to death! Where did you go?"

Ryan nonchalantly climbed onto the cart and replied, "I didn't know exactly where you were, so I just did a lap around the whole store. I only stopped to look at a couple of things."

I swear, I am going to get that child a leash someday.

We finished our shopping without further incident, then decided to peek in on Wesley's lesson. While Wesley was showing Ryan what he was learning, I told Duane I'd just go to Target for them so they wouldn't have to stop after lessons. On the way out I reminded Ryan that if he wanted to take music lessons, we could see about making it happen.

"Well, I would like to play the drums," he answered. Of course he would.

So we went to Target for three things that ended up being four because Ryan wanted some mini marshmallows.  He only had a minor fit when I wouldn't buy him a LEGO set and told him that he'd have to save his money for it, but continued to pout while I checked out. 

Out of the blue, Duane appeared beside me again (which completely threw me off as I was trying to pay) and said he and Wesley still needed to get something there. Ryan was ticked at me, and he wanted to stay with Duane so I left for home by myself.

To recap: I left home with one kid and no husband, wound up at the store with hubby and two kids, which became no hubby and no kids, which turned into no hubby and lost kid, went back to no hubby and one kid, then found hubby and other kid, then returned home by myself. No wonder I feel a little confused tonight.

A Good Lesson to Learn

I know I have mentioned quite a few times that Wesley is a saver an Ryan is a spender.  My stereotypes of my kids were reinforced yesterday when I overheard Wesley lecturing his little brother.

"Dude, you have to learn to save your money. You are never able to buy anything that costs more than ten dollars!  Grandma's not going to buy everything for you, you know."

Wise words from the big brother.  Now, anyone want to bet who is going to have money for souvenirs when we go to the beach this summer?

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I do not find myself hating all my clothes each February like clockwork. That would only play into my winter doldrums and possibly cost me a fair amount of money should I attempt to rectify the situation.

I did not spend most of a day lamenting how quickly Wesley's childhood is passing only to find myself sucked into the longest fifteen minutes of my life when he asked me to play an extremely complicated game he made up using what must have been half the Legos in our house and conducted in what sounded oddly like a foreign language.

I was not so annoyed with my kids fighting one morning that I went and locked myself in my bedroom just to get away from them. And I did not briefly consider calling my mom and asking her to come take the Beastie Boys to school so I could get away from them for a little bit.

I know I didn't respond, "Just jump over it!" when the kids started flipping out about cat puke in front of the stairs while I was busy working on a jigsaw puzzle. 

There is no way that, while browsing at an upscale department store, I looked over at a salesperson in a "dress" and thought to myself, "She should really put some pants on with that shirt." That would make me old!

God and Me

Today was a very big day for the boys. Today was the day they received their God and Me pins/medals for Cub Scouts. Although scouts has a lots of roots in religion, this particular pin is not widely seen in their den.

My handsome scouts, ready for church

Ryan had a little bit of stage fright prior to the service beginning. He kept saying he didn't want to go up in front of everyone, but I reassured him that the whole family would be right there with him.  I was really nervous that he would hide and refuse to participate when the time came, but both boys made me proud.

One of the things the boys learned was to pray using P.A.T.H. to help them shape their prayers - Praise, Apologize, Thanks, Help.  Each boy had to say what one of the letters stood for and Ryan was up first. He spoke right in to the microphone (although I think it was off at the time). Wesley announced his letter loud and clear.

After that, our senior pastor handed out their pins and the parents got to pin them our little scouts.

Wesley was handed the microphone and led the entire congregation in the Lord's Prayer. He didn't stutter or stumble at all and didn't seem the least bit nervous!

Wesley stayed in church with us and all his grandparents who came to share in this special event. Ryan decided to go up to Sunday School, but when I picked him up his teacher said that he told his whole class about P.A.T.H. and showed them his pin. The children's choir director talked to Wesley about it and congratulated him during choir rehearsal too.

Ryan kept his scout uniform on all day - even after we got home and the rest of us changed out of church clothes. That alone tells me he was pretty proud of his learning and accomplishment.  I just pray that this is but one step on a lifelong faith journey for each of them.

No Accounting for Taste

I will be the first to admit that I have become something of a food snob. Shocking, I know. That's not to say I don't appreciate my junk food. I mean, I am desperately searching for the limited edition red velvet Oreos, and I do love my Ben & Jerry's,  but overall, I prefer....well...snobby food. I want real whipped cream, not Cool Whip. Cooked and diced real bacon, not packaged bacon bits. And let's not even discuss canned frosting. Give me goat cheese, prosciutto, and local ingredients whenever possible. I avoid big chain restaurants when I can (although I don't have anything against local chains) and I am proud to say I can't remember the last time I went to McDonald's.

And yes, I am fully aware of how obnoxious I sound. 

I'm admitting my snobbery, so you can fully appreciate the following story.

I made a whole wheat and chicken sausage lasagna for dinner tonight. I knew there was very little chance the kids would actually eat it, so I decided to sweeten the deal with some chocolate cake purchased from the grocery store. Eat your dinner without complaining and you can have dessert.

Fine, I'm not only a food snob, I'm also a desperate mom.

Wesley ate his dinner and pronounced it "halfway between good and really good" so he got his chocolate cake for dessert.

Wesley: This is so good!

Mom: Good. I'm glad you like it.

Wesley: What's not to like!? It's Kroger chocolate cake!

And just like that I feel all my baking has been in vain.

Little Brother Skills

When you are the little sibling, you develop all sorts of fun (read: annoying) skills that come in handy when dealing with your older sibling(s).  Not that I speak from experience.  I'm sure my big brother would tell you that I was the sweetest and most respectful of little sisters and that I completely respected his space.

In fact, I'm so sure he would tell you that, that there is not reason to ask him about it.

No reason at all.

Seriously, do not ask!

This evening Ryan had the whole "little sibling" thing down pat. Ryan was trying to look at a book, but Wesley was getting bossy and trying to order Ryan to stop looking at it.  Ryan very calmly picked up his book, went into his room, and shut and locked the door.

That may seem like a reasonable thing to do. But Ryan knew how to take it to the next level. When Wesley started knocking on the door (about three minutes after Ryan went upstairs) Ryan refused to answer.

It was a little like a scene out of "Big Bang Theory."  You know, *knock knock knock* "Ryan?"  But Ryan still wouldn't answer.

This went on for several minutes, with Wesley's agitation growing with each passing second.

"Ryan! What are you doing in there?" he finally demanded.

"Trying to annoy you," Duane answered. "And it's working."

Wesley wasn't convinced. "How do you know that's what he's doing?"

Little does Wesley realize, both his parents were little siblings too. And little siblings never share their trade secrets.

Someone Has Been Paying Attention

Overheard the other morning

Wesley: See, Ryan? It's as easy as pie.

Ryan: Actually, making pie isn't that easy. I've seen Mom do it.

Wesley: Fine. Then it's as easy as eating pie.

Winter in Ohio

You know it's winter in Ohio when the first thing your first grader says upon waking up in the morning is, "Is it a snow day?"

And I had to go and break his little heart by telling him, "No, it's a school day."

I'm telling you, his little head burrowed back under the covers so quickly it was Groundhog Day all over again. Ryan saw his shadow - six more weeks of winter.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama

We did not have good friends over for a relaxing evening only for me to spend the next two days after they left fretting that they didn't have a good time. 

I have not become seriously jealous of my kids' snow days, even while knowing how fortunate we are to have child care right around the corner on most of those unplanned days off.

I did not start dreaming of Junior's cheesecake the moment my boss told me she submitted the conference request for us to attend a conference in NYC this spring.

I most certainly did not dread the annual Cub Scout Pinewood Derby so much that I briefly considered sneaking in my flask to make the day more bearable. 

There is no way I heard my youngest son tell his dad that he "had an accident" and wound up peeing in his closet. That couldn't have happened. And if it did, I wasn't incredibly relieved that Duane wound up being the parent on call for that one!