New school pics

Here are the latest school pictures. Matthew could have smiled a little more, but at least he kept his clothes on and isn't sticking his tongue out!

Waterfalls

So, we have had some rain today. We've had a drought for so long that any rain is usually cause for celebration. Unfortunately, when we DO get rain we often get a month's worth in a span of hours. Literally, it's like buckets of rain are being dumped from the sky. When this happens, we get "the waterfall". Actually, we get several, but this one is the coolest...

Pictures

We have lots of pictures to add today. We have weird boys, parades, soccer games, and some very "random" shots ("random" is the new "cool"...or something like that). And, as promised, we have the disgusting toe.

Things you don't expect a kids to say when they break a bone...

"I broke my toe! It's awesome. Well, it doesn't feel awesome, but it's so cool. But, it doesn't look cool, it's disgusting."

Yes, it was Julia. She's claiming the status of 4th person in the family to break something (Todd broke an arm and finger, Amanda her arm, Matthew his head, and now she has joined the elite group by most likely breaking her toe). I hold the record for appendectomies, while Matthew has the record for surgeries. Allison has the record for most times falling down. Bucky holds the record for greatest number of failed attempts at catching squirrels. Do you see a trend? Yes, we're pretty boring (or just easily entertained).


Pictures of the disgusting toe will most certainly follow...

New bug to fear in Georgia

So, palmetto bugs and cicadas and bald-faced hornets just weren't enough. Now, we have "Cicada Killers". Julia (our resident bug torturer/collector) found one with friend Taylor. Described as having a, "fat butt, and it's disgusting" the cicada killer apparently (as the name indicates) kills cicadas. It could also be called, "The bug that freaks everyone out." Euuuwwww......

(Incidentally, this is a picture from the internet - as if I would go near one of these let alone HOLD 5 of them!)

The Story of Jorden

(I found this while cleaning out a drawer...)

Jorden

Jorden was a bumblebee that died. So, I put him in a grave. When we first found him, he couldn't fly. Then, another bumblebee atackt him. Then the next day he was died. But, he was a great bee to have.

by Allison

A New Way to Loose Teeth...by Allison Linskey

Lesson #437: When you are such a wimp that you cannot actually pull out your own loose tooth with your fingers, look no further than the bathroom drawer for a handy pair of fingernail clippers. They grip that tooth like a vise and will rip that baby right out! Also, FYI, tweezers are TOTALLY ineffective for pulling teeth.

Yes, Allison had decided that she needed some additional help in pulling out her loose bottom tooth that has been at a 90 degree angle sticking out of her mouth for the past two weeks. Quite a look, let me tell you. So, she is in the bathroom looking for tweezers. She asks if she can use them to try to pull out her tooth. Awww, what the heck - why not? They were clean, so I said she could. Well, she tries and tries but can't quite grip that tooth. So, I jokingly say, "Try the fingernail clippers." I should know better than to joke - they always take me seriously (they all need a sarcasm sign). SO, she goes for the clippers, grabs the tooth, and launches it into the sink (where I stopped it from going down the drain). She was SO proud of her accomplishment, and we now have yet another way to remove teeth. This method now joins our previous successful methods of using your loose tooth to open an orange juice container, falling flat on your face on concrete, and getting elbowed in the mouth by your sister.

It's official: Hell has frozen over

Yes, we are under contract!!!

Keep your fingers crossed that the appraisal and inspection go well. We're not worried, but who they heck knows what will happen in this market.

And, I really hope strange people can now quit driving by taking pictures of my house!!! Seriously, someone did that Wednesday. It's happened before, but it's still creepy. And, I can't wait for people to stop coming into my house too. 12 more days and we're past due diligence ...

Quote of the day

While playing Wii Lego Indiana Jones, the following quote was overheard:

"Dad, you need to be a girl!"

Apparently, you can change your game avatar to various people from the first three Indiana Jones movies. The "girl" will attack things by (and I'm not making this up) screaming at them. If she screams at them, they fall apart. We're not quite sure why Matthew believed Dad needed to be the girl other than he maybe felt it was unfair for both of them to be "Minmiana Jones" (this is how he pronounces it). He also applauded dad's efforts by constantly telling him to "drop out" because he was screwing up. This is actually better than what he usually does if you, as his partner, screw up. Normally, he just kills you.

Still another thing I never thought I'd say...

The list continues. Today, I said the following to Matthew:

"DON'T GLUE STUFF ON THE WALL!"

Matthew had been drawing on post-its. They are, as most people know, self-adhesive. Matthew either did not know this or determined that the post-it adhesive was somehow unreliable. He decided (for some reason known only to him) that he needed to put a post-it on the family room wall. First, he decided tape was needed. He came over and asked me for tape. I said we didn't have any (that's a lie, but he usually finds a way to use up a whole roll of tape anytime he gets a hold of one so I've learned not to give him any). He goes over to the desk and looks around anyway (probably because he knows I'm lying). I was unaware that in his search for tape he instead found ...a gluestick. He disappears around the corner. I then hear an odd rubbing sound, then a patting sound, then a way-too-satisfied, "There!" I come around the corner and he has applied a liberal amount of purple gluestick to the wall (2'x3') to put up one 3"x3" post-it. I shake my head and say the above quote and realize how odd it really does sound. It cleans up fine (when you catch it fast).

It really makes me wonder what happens in his kindergarten class when he does this at home. I can only imagine the quotes and stories those teachers must have...

Life Cycle of a Newly Minted Kindergartener

6:00-6:30am - Awaken excited. Dress fairly fast. Brush teeth and sink (don't ask).

6:30-7:00am - Eat, run around in circles, tackle dog, try repeatedly to turn on TV

7:00-7:05am - Walk, skip, leap, occasionally trip and fall on way to bus stop

7:05-7:10am - Show everyone lunchbox ...whether or not they want to see it.

7:11 am - Board bus

7:12am - 2:44pm - ?????????? (I'm sure it was fun)

2:45 pm - Disembark from bus, slightly sweaty, still quite excited

2:50pm - Arrive home, throw backpack, run to Wii and turn on Lego Star Wars

2:51-4:00pm -

Scream at sisters about how "a force is not with you" and have sisters scream back, "Stop killing me Matthew!" Inform mom, "Sorry mom, a force is not with you."

4:01pm - Demand spaghetti. Now.

4:02pm - Apologize to mom for being sassy.

4:03pm - Ask nicely for spaghetti.

4:05pm - Inhale spaghetti, try to return to Lego Star Wars...which is somehow now missing.

4:06 - ??? pm - Cry pathetically to emphasize displeasure at the interruption of game

5:15-6:45 pm - Go to pool and play, jump, splash, and burn lots of energy.

6:50 pm - Arrive home

6:51-7:00 pm - Run around naked

7:00-7:10 pm - Start shower; use entire bottle of shampoo. Again.

7:10-7:30 pm - Finish showering (aka - flooding the bathroom) and put on PJs

7:31-7:59 - Eat ice cream, resume search for Lego Star Wars

8:00pm - Pass out in mom's bed after being upset that Lego Star Wars is still mysteriously missing...

First Day of School 2009

The kids were excited to start school today. Not so excited to get up, but that's to be expected.

Matthew was happy, grinning, goofy, and wanted to hold my hand instead of pulling away and complaining. He showed everyone his new Transformers lunchbox. Those who didn't heed his call were poked and forced to look at the Transformers lunchbox until they were appropriately amazed.

There were 15 kids at the bus stop today. That is probably double the number that will be riding the bus the rest of the year... Notice also how many girls there are. We found out yesterday that there may be 3 more sisters joining the school in a week. So, that will officially make the the neighborhood odds roughly 14 to 4 in favor of the girls. If you added youngsters not in school yet, you'd have to bring that up to 23 to 5 (including 3 sets of twin girls). Seriously, there's something in the water here that makes more girls.

Quote of the day: Allison and Julia saw the moon still out as we were walking to the bus stop and told Matthew, "Look, there's the moon." Matthew looks up and says, "Yeah, but he's not my friend."

Super cool insects

Julia was in heaven. Not only does Mr. Paul have hornets, he has a whole hornet NEST in the bushes in his front yard. They are, according to Mr. Paul's research, bald-faced hornets. Now, anyone who knows me knows I like flying insects about as much as I like peanut butter. I probably would rather eat peanut butter than be near a potentially stinging/biting insect. The obvious difference between the two is that I don't run away from peanut butter screaming like a little girl and occasionally falling down or running into stuff. So, for me to get close enough to take these pictures is a big step in my recovery from my complete-freaking-out-over-potentially biting/stinging-insects disease.

Julia, who in the insect world is known as "the kid who plays with us until we die, or scares us so bad we wish we'd die", tried to get closer and closer to the nest. Mr. Paul observantly pointed out that there could be several hundred hornets in the nest. Making them mad could bring them all out. This would probably be bad and would totally derail any progress I would have ever made in my insect-tolerance. It could also keep Julia from thinking insects were cool ever again.

I actually just looked it up and they are not true hornets. They are actually from the wasp family, or more specifically yellow jackets. Hmmmm....I also just read that they very aggressively protect their hive and will go for the facial area when they attack (how did they know that's my worst nightmare!?!) I don't think I will be taking any more pictures....

Haircut Day

It's official - Julia and Allison both had their hair brushed today. They got haircuts. I took pictures as proof...

Interesting Global Warming Policy video

Below is a link to a 40 minute video talking about global warming policies. If you have 40 minutes to watch American Idol (or any "reality" show for that matter), you can watch this:

http://blog.heritage.org/2009/07/28/why-global-warming-policies-are-more-dangerous-than-global-warming-itself/

Another Lesson

This one is more of a "something to remember" lesson than one that was the result of any actions on the part of me or the kids (or Bucky).

Lesson #436: Always have a pen and something to write on within reach at all times. But, make sure that said pen is not a sharpie AND that it is not within reach of a 5-year old boy.

Why? Well, you just don't ever really know what will come out of the mouth of a child. A comedian would never have to write any material given enough time observing a group of 3-10 year old children. Examples? Here are are few from the last few days in our sphere of influence....

Matthew has declared for some time that his right foot "smells like cheeseburgers" and his left foot "smells like french fries". The other day, he said that his right foot instead "smells like chicken and Hi-C". But, you get the idea. Yesterday morning, he wakes up and declares that his right foot "still smells like cheeseburgers" but that his left foot was "stinky". When I asked him why, he just looked at me like I was a total idiot and said, "It just is. I don't know why!"

The second example needs a little background. Since school starts in a little more than a week, that means the kids have been out of school for a long, long time. So, they fight about everything. They get mad if they touch each other, look at each other, use too much shampoo, use too little shampoo, etc. etc. So, we were at the grocery store picking up some stuff. Matthew was busy smelling his feet in the cart. Julia and Allison were having some kind of argument about Rubik's cubes or gum balls or the insanity of considering a Cap and Trade bill with its real estate market-killing EPA compliance components. It really could have been anything and it doesn't matter what they fought about because it's usually nonsense (like the Cap and Trade bill...for crying out loud even **Greenpeace is against it!) ANYWAY, as they are walking to the car Julia murmurs something I didn't catch to Allison who loudly and adamantly responds: "It's not your business or concern Julia...whatever THAT means!"

I just about fell over laughing, as did the woman unloading groceries next to our car. As I sat writing it down, Allison looked at me and with an exasperated whine said "You're not going to write THAT down, are you?" Ohh yes, definitely a keeper!

The third example is courtesy of Matthew. He always says he likes white powdered doughnuts. But, he will often eat chocolate doughnuts too. So, today we had some chocolate doughnut holes (half-price) that I brought down to the pool for a snack. Matthew, after swimming for an hour, asked if I had any snacks. I held up the doughnut holes and when he saw them he broke into hysterics saying how he didn't want those, he didn't like those, and "No, those are YUCKY!" A few seconds later, in a very quiet and pleading voice he asked, "Can I try one???" I opened the box (suppressing laughing at his very pathetic expression) and gave him one "to try". He took a bite and squealed almost too excitedly, "Yummy!! This isn't yucky, it's yummy!" He then proceeded to run around to random people at the pool showing them his half-eaten doughnut hole proclaiming, "This isn't yucky! See!!!"

** I know that Greenpeace is against it because they don't believe that the bill does enough, not that they are opposed to it in principle. Their lack-of-support however does point out the lunacy of the bill which is heavily politically motivated and ultimately does little if anything to help the environment. It also disproportionally effects the poor.

Angel

There is a new puppy in our neighborhood. No, it's not ours (it's Bobbi Ann's). She's about the size of Bucky's paw, maybe. Her name is Angel and she's so super-cute. It's really neat to have a dog jump on you and not dislocate any major joints or cause bruising!

Immunization Day

So, we had 3 of the 4 kids get shots today. It was actually not too bad with minimal screaming and nothing being thrown.

But, as you can see from the picture, it has taken its toll on Matthew....

It's either the shots, or the fact that I made all the kids get up at 8am (which is an hour later than they'd have to catch their school bus!) School starts in 17 days...I still can't believe the summer has gone this fast.

No new updates on the house. Well, we have ants that are getting in the dishwasher, so that's new. And annoying. I have them cornered, so hopefully I can just wipe them all out (and not myself in the process)...

Darth Matthew

For your viewing enjoyment, we bring you...

Darth Matthew

He does the famous breathing sounds, he will attack you with "a force", and he even has a light saber. This would be menacing if not for the fact that the light saber retracts with gravity...

Pictures of our shack

Here are a few pictures of our house. There's a reason I'm doing this, and it's mostly nuts as Joel will tell you, but there is a reason. For those unaware, Joel is the voice in my head. Okay, that's a joke - he' our real estate agent.

Who climbs a hunk of granite in 90+ degree heat?

Yes, that would be us.

We climbed Stone Mountain yesterday. Well, it's only about a 1-mile hike up the side of it. But, that didn't mean that the kids didn't complain about how hard it was. Julia, on more than one occasion, asked me, "How are you doing this?" Meaning, apparently, walking uphill. I guess this is better than us gasping for breath trying to keep up with them, right?

So, what is Stone Mountain? It is basically a really REALLY big granite "monadnock". This is a real word, I didn't make it up. That means it's a big rock sticking out of the ground. At some point, somebody decided to carve some civil war figures into it. This led us to conclude that it was not, as Allison suggested, done by Indians. Well, I suppose it could have been done by Indians who bore a striking resemblance to Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and "the third guy". But, no, it was in fact carved by (let me go look this up)...okay, it was apparently several different people. It was started sometime after 1916 and was finished in 1972. I did find out that the third guy is Stonewall Jackson. It's big, very southern, but pretty interesting too. The laser light show at night is good. Unless you ask Matthew. He was not the slightest bit impressed by any of it. He hates loud noises. He just kept his hands over his ears and kept asking us, "Is it done?"

So, we've crossed off another "to do" on our list of things to do before we leave Georgia. We still have to "shoot the hooch" and maybe do a few other things. I'm not sure about shooting the hooch - that means taking a canoe trip down the Chattahoochee river. Me, alone, with 4 kids in a canoe? Yes, what a blog entry that would be!

Hey, aren't you moving?

I get this question just about daily, so I figured I'd post an update, which isn't really an update:

The answer is yes and no.

Todd will report to Rochester shortly. We will be in a holding pattern in Atlanta until we are able to sell the house. It's already been 3 months. But, some have been at this a lot longer.

So, yes we are supposed to move. No, we don't know when. Hopefully, we'll be able to visit somewhere this summer. We have no plans for anything. But, it could all change in a day. We'll just see what happens...