Mama On The Move

Emily mentioned about a week before Christmas that the stuffed rhino she had put on her wish list was probably the one thing she wanted more than any other item.  Unfortunately, I hadn't gotten it for her.  I did some last minute scrambling and managed to get it here in time! Not sure what was going on here, but I love this picture.  Ben got a set of throwing knives.  The girls were not pleased.  The aftermath.  New hat, new slippers.  A Hufflepuff scarf which was a favorite gift this year, as well as a completely unexpected phone. And a completely unexpected tablet!

And Christmas Eve is finally here.  I've actually been so far ahead of the game this year that I feel really off-kilter like I've forgotten something.  All the gifts were bought well ahead of time.  I've been wrapping as I go, so there is very little wrapping to do this evening.  Normally, I'm running around buying things at the last minute and wrapping until the wee hours. We went to the Christmas Eve service at our church, came home and made dairy-free egg nog, then made a dairy-free casserole for tomorrow morning. And then I gave the kids their Christmas pajamas. Every year I get them a nice, new set of pj's so they will look good in our Christmas morning photos. This year, Emily got a set that features the early bird, Ben got some with bacon on it, and Katie got a cute pair with a reindeer.  Although, actually once she got them on and started dancing around in them, Emily looked closely and said, "That's not a reindeer!  That&

We went to an amazing light display here in Belleville, Illinois.  It's located at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows which is dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus. The light display has over a million white lights and it takes them six weeks  just to get them all up. If you just want to view the lights, you can simply drive right through.  There is no charge, although they do accept donations at the end. But if you want to get out of your car and experience some of the extras, you'll be quite pleased! Check the weather first!  We didn't realize we'd be getting out of the car and nearly froze .  Luckily, they were selling hot chocolate there for only $2 a cup!  Emily wasn't happy as she's allergic to milk, but we bought her some kettle corn to make up for it. Then Katie wasn't happy because she wanted Emily's kettle corn. Peace on earth, my aunt fanny. At the first stop we discovered a horse-drawn carriage which you

I found a new way to "encourage" my girls when they complain about having to learn diagramming sentences or working out geometry proofs.  "I will NEVER need to do this in real life when I'm an adult," they tell me.   I agree with them actually.  I've been an adult for a number of years and not once have my skills in diagramming sentences come in handy.  Nor has anyone ever burst into my office (back when I worked outside the home) and said, "Quick!  Tell me!  Is this an appositive or a predicate nominative?" Nevertheless, they do have to learn this stuff now because the department of education says so - although I hear they are now dropping cursive as a necessary skill in life so there goes all that time I spent battling with the kids teaching them that. Anyway, now when they complain about having to learn something they find unnecessary to their future lives I just pull up this picture on the the computer and point to it. "

I was checking Facebook one day recently when these photos popped up of Emily at her Biology class.  I asked her, "What were you doing in these photos?" "Oh," she responded blithely, "We were studying the effects of alcohol on human reactions." "What?!?!" She grinned at me, "We had to spin around in a circle and then try to run down the balance beam.  It produces the same effects as alcohol." Oh.  Whew.

All freshmen in college are now required to take "Freshmen Experience" during their first semester.  In my day, only the remedial students had to take a class like this.  It basically teaches students how to study, how to use the library, and how to manage your life now that your parents aren't around to make you get out of bed and tale your assignments to class. Ben has been saying all semester that you'd have to be an idiot to fail this class.  I think if you show up you're pretty much guaranteed an "A".  But he took his final in the class today and here is his synopsis of the exam: My Freshman Experience test:  1. What is the room number of this class?  2. What town are we in?  3. Who is your advisor?  4. How do you spell the teacher's last name?  5. Rate this class on a scale of one to five. I studied so I was fine. I expect many a tear stained F on this one though :p

Emily brought me a jar that she was trying to open but it was new and she couldn't budge it.  I took it and with one twist, got the lid off. "Really?" I teased her.  "Aren't you supposed to be stronger than me by now?" "Who says I'm supposed to be stronger than you?  I'm a teenager!" "That's my point.  You're young, and you guys are always telling me I'm old." "I never say you're old out loud, Mom.  I just think it in my head," she responded.  "And when I say you're old, what I really mean is - you're short."

My girls have become archers.  They take archery lessons once a week and are really enjoying it.  They are in a class of homeschoolers and it's quite a large group.   For safety reasons their instructor taught everyone to obey commands by whistle.  One tweet on the whistle means "step up to the line".  Two tweets means "shoot your arrows".  Three tweets means "go collect your arrows".  This keeps any over-excited youngster from running out to collect his arrows while those around him are still shooting. The instructor told the parents that for some extra money he could whistle train them all to clean their rooms and do their schoolwork too. All the archers wear braces on their left arms to protect them from the bow string.  It tends to pop the arm and it packs a wallop.  Both the girls have come home with stinging red marks where they've been popped hard. A couple of weeks ago, Katie was having a hormonal pre-teen type of day

One of the most family friendly restaurants in the mid-west: Fitz's American Grill in St. Louis!  Food that will make everyone happy, especially the kids. But also good stuff for the adults.  I got the hummus platter but neglected to take a picture.   If you have a teen, he can get a burger which will solve all his problems, including world hunger. And when your meal is gone, you can have an ice cream float if you aren't full - which basically means that you didn't eat a meal, you just came in for a float.  (Or if you are Katie and you are determined to try the float and you end up letting everyone at the table eat some because there is no way you can eat it all without exploding and causing quite a mess.) But the coolest thing about Fitz's is that they bottle their own root beer on 1940's style equipment behind a glass window.  You can watch the bottles being processed as you eat if you are on the first floor.  It's quite nifty.

It was a good Thanksgiving. We made our very first fire in our fireplace and toasted marshmallows. There was turkey....  ...turkey....  ....turkey....  ....reindeer..... .....and more turkey.  There were games.....  ......good friends.....  ....girlfriends.... .....and even more turkeys.  Oh, and zombies. There were definitely zombies.