Monster Steve Revisits!

Monster Steve had babies!  Not the "real" monster Steve, but, we have been "catching" Monster Steve's babies that have escaped from the garage all day.  Who knew monsters could have babies?  Not me... nor did I know that we had to catch handfuls of monsters and put them all back in the garage, so they could be with their daddy, Monster Steve.

Not only have we been catching baby monsters all day, but when she catches one, my daughter exclaims, "How did you get in here, you rascally monster?"

Oh, Monster Steve, you need to keep these little monsters under control...

Monster Steve

In lieu of something productive to do, my husband has convinced our children that "Monster Steve" is a big scary daddy monster that lives in the garage.  Yesterday, when I put the dog outside, my daughter, Mischief, announced that I let the imaginary Monster Steve out of the garage, and we needed to go hunt him down.  She used the stethoscope as her rope/lasso to throw at the imaginary monster and catch him.  Her brother is not sure what the game is, but he knows how to yell, "Hide!" and duck under the table.  Several times, Monster Steve escaped, but, alas, we finally caught him and put him back in the garage.

However, now his mother was on the loose in our house.  So, we caught her and put her in the garage.  Then it was Monster Steve's grandmother... then his grandfather.  Yes, we, in fact, caught all of Monster Steve's family and put them in the garage to not escape until Daddy (aka Monster Steve) was home today.

Once again, Monster Steve has escaped and must be caught...

Peter Pan

Check out the Fort Wayne Botanical Gardens' calendar because they have a Peter Pan display for the kids until early April.  This is a fun and adventurous activity for them to do without much price.

Let me know what you all think!

Cat Repellent

We have tried this whole time to convince my little one, Mayhem, that it is, in fact, not o.k. to hit or smack any of the animals, especially the cats.  Hitting anything is just not an appropriate behavior.

Anyway, we have been trying to convince him that hitting is not the thing to do.  We can gently move them out of the way, but no hitting or smacking.  Apparently, Mayhem cannot do this, so he screams at them to make them move.  For him, it is effective because they move, and he does not get in trouble for hitting or smacking the cats.  It is a ear splitting, blood curdling screech.  He is not mad, just feels like getting the cat out of his way.

So, if you ever need to have a cat removed, Mayhem's your man!

Break Dancing

We had kind of a lazy day today, so I decided to get the kids to exercise a little bit before nap time, so they might take a nap.  So, we put in "The Wiggles Go Bananas," so we could dance.  Yes, to my neighbors who can see through my windows, this probably looks ridiculous, but we have a lot of fun.

Mischief and Mayhem had a blast.  Mayhem loves the chicken song because he can flap his arms and his legs, and Mischief likes to sing and dance at the same time.  She is quite proud of herself for this feat.

During our hour long dance session, my daughter, Mischief, lays down on her back and starts spinning in circles using her feet.  I exclaimed, "Look!  You're break dancing!"  Her response to me was, "Mommy, no, it's not broken, I'm fix dancing!

Reward Chart

Quite some time ago, we started a reward chart.  If my daughter, Mischief, does something - such as helping with her brother, no fussing, etc - she earns a star for her chart.  When she fills the chart, she then gets a reward.  This, for some reason, has not been much of a motivation, but we are still working on it.  

She finally earned her last star today!  Yea for her!  And, thank you to her aunt, she earned her George puzzle.  She was sooo excited that she finally got her surprise.  Earlier, when we had talked about finishing her chart, she wanted to make sure her brother got a surprise, too.  Well, when it came to her getting to pick one out for him, she said he did not get one because he did not finish HIS chart!

Gotta love that kid!

Star Days

Tomorrow, my daughter, Mischief has her "Star Day."  This is a special day that each of the kid's have where they make a little poster about themselves, they get to bring in any snack of their choice (does not even have to be healthy), and someone special gets to go to school and read their favorite book.  This is a very exciting day for these children, so they look forward to it for a long time.

We started working on her poster project a while ago, and we are planning on making monkey bread for her snack.  However, she woke up this morning not feeling really well, and we have gotten a bunch of snow and ice.  So, the dilemma becomes, do we finish these projects and be disappointed tomorrow when school is either closed because of the weather or she is sick, or does Mommy finish the projects and snack after she goes to bed tonight, so she will not know if she misses school tomorrow?

Decisions, decisions...

Despicable Me

I had never seen "Despicable Me" until today.  Emersen found it on the table and wanted to watch it, so I told her we could try.  Then, I told her that if it was not a kid's movie, we would have to turn it off and try another one.  So, in went the movie...

It was in for a little while, then the guy blows up a balloon animal, gives it to the kid and then proceeds to pull out a needle and pop the balloon in the child's face.  It was at that moment that my daughter, Mischief, turns to me and says, "Mommy, this is not a kid's movie.  We need to pick a different one."  

I thought it was pretty good of the little kid to recognize that a movie is not actually for little kids....

Veggie Tales

If you have never watched Veggie Tales, you need to.  My kids were not interested in them until recently, and now, they cannot get enough.  One, in particular, is quite funny and entertaining for adults.  They do the story of the prodigal son, and they make a mock story of Darby O'Gill and the little people, refer to the pig as a dog, and harvest floss instead of cotton.  

Rather entertaining, even though the kids do not understand some of the funnies, what could be more entertaining then walking, talking vegetables?

www.bigidea.com

Heat Wave

"We're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave..."

Yes, the weather has turned nice, temporarily, I am sure.  However, we will take advantage of this.  So, after lunch, I took the kids on a walk.  We saw the neighbor walking his dogs, but I walk my kids.

Anyway, it became evident that the kids have not seen the sun enough when my son, Mayhem, walked the entire walk with one hand holding my hand and his other hand covering his face.  I know he does not like the wind, but, evidently, he does not like the sun either.  I wish I had my camera with me, because this was hysterical

Then, his sister announces to the neighborhood that she needs a leash for her brother so she can walk her dog, too!  Oh, it is just another day...

Sugar High

Mischief and I made sweet crafts to take to preschool for her Valentine's Day party.  This was an adventure!  We made flower cupcakes, sucker bouquets, and smiley face cookies.  Let me tell you, eight three year old kids is definitely not something I would deal with every day!  I am not quite sure how her teacher does it!

Some of the kids, used their fingers, rather than the knife provided, to spread the icing.  Then, two of them dumped the sprinkles on the floor.  Couple of them "hate" M&M's... Come on, what kid hates chocolate candies that are crunchy?  I have never heard of little kids who hate sweets!

This adventure made me think of Jessica Seinfeld's book series about healthy sweets.  Has anybody tried these recipes?  I believe I will have to go get the books and see if these recipes will actually pass the kid test.

Guard Dog

My dog, who is 4.5 years old, hates the vacuum cleaner - STILL.  I sweep, literally, every day, and he still attacks the vacuum cleaner repeatedly.  He never gives up.  So, when I am vacuuming, I have the kids yelling, Mayhem is yelling, "STOP," and the dog is trying to bite the throat of the vacuum.

How long does it take for a dog to get used to the vacuum, anyway?  Also, it is actually a funny thing to watch (if it were not so annoying).  Therefore, I took a video of it, and will have it up in the next couple of days - keep a look out!

Happy Birthday to Me

Mischief's secrets were allowed to come out!  She made me breakfast (blueberry muffins) and gave me the balloon she got for... one of us!  Mayhem wore himself out to the point of exhaustion playing with other balloons.  


Mischief blows the balloons up (a tiny little bit) and exclaims, "Do you see how red my face is getting?  It's really red because I'm working really hard"  Too cute.


Then, we had cake made by grandma and her two little helpers.  Mayhem proceeded to eat the icing off the cake, and start squawking for more.  When asked what he wanted, he says, "Peeeeaaaaassee!"


Just wait to see what I have in store for their birthdays!

New Name

It has been suggested to me that I change the name of my blog to "Mischief and Mayhem."  I think this is a brilliant idea.  From now on, my blog (as well as my children) will be referred to as Mischief (my daughter) and Mayhem (my son).

I hope you will have as much fun with this as I am going to!

Secrets

My birthday is coming up this weekend, and my mother took my daughter to the store to shop for surprises for my birthday.  I am not supposed to know why they went.  Emersen is struggling to keep this a secret.  As soon as she got home, she says, "We went shopping for....Oops!  I'm putting the secrets back in my mouth!"  So, she grabbed her secrets and put them back in her mouth.

Then, when Daddy got home for lunch, she whispered her secrets to him, so I (who am standing right beside him) cannot hear.

Ha! Gotta love these kids!

Back Seat Driver

On our way to school today, my daughter decided to inform me how to drive.  At the stop light, she starts telling me to slow down, and the green light, she yells, "Go, go, go, go, go!"  Then, she informed me that she knows how to drive now, but she is just not big enough to reach the pedals until she is sixteen.  Yes, that's right, my three year old is my back seat driver.

It gets better.  On the way to pick her up, my son decided he could be like his sister, and when I start to slow the car down, he starts yelling, "Go, go, go, go, go, go!"

Come on guys, really?  At least wait until you are thirteen until you start telling me how to drive!

Cooking Class

We had our Cooking Class today.  Really, it is called Toddler Time at Country Kitchen.  This is a super cute activity for kids 2-5 years old to do.  We have been going since my daughter turned two.  

Today, we made Valentine's Day truffles, cookie, and candy bar.  Emersen is so thrilled to eat the icing that is left in the cup after we ice the cookie.  Today, I was getting the icing, and she starts squawking, "That's enough, That's enough!  There won't be any for me to eat!"  

Then, after we got home, I was on the phone, and she came out and said, "I need a treat, so I will leave you alone."  Who has who trained?

www.countrykitchensa.com 

 

Back to School!

We finally had school today!  When I told my daughter last night that she had school today, she kept asking if it was closed.  So, when she woke up today, she was ready to eat lunch and go to school.  Then, the question of whether it was open came up again.  I assured her that the school was open, and there would be teachers there.  So, her response is, "Well, we'll just go there, and I'll see if it's open or not.  Then, I'll decide whether I go inside."

Really?  She's three, and she'll see if it's open?

So, when I picked her up from school, all she had to say was, "It IS open!"  Now, if she had only listened to her mother....

Drums - Need I Say More?

As I was getting out of the shower today, I heard my daughter yelling, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!"  My first thought was that her brother is probably into something, but she tells me that she has the giant tub of diaper cream and a spoon, and when she hits the tub, "It makes a great sound!"

So she gave a tub of baby food and a spoon to her brother, and they followed each other around the house playing their drums.  (Yes, it was wonderful on my ears.)  Then she asks me, "Do you like it when I sing and dance and drum?  Does it hurt your ears?"  I told her it did not, so she went around to her brother, all of the cats, and the dog banging on her "drum" next to their head, asking them if it hurt their ears.  

So, do you tell the poor kid that the ruckus she is making is highly annoying or join them with the drum and spoon she brings you?

Job Search

I have been looking for a job recently because, although I love it, staying at home with my kids does not pay well.  So, commence operation Find a Job!  I have applied a LOT of places, and most of them never let you know.  The standard is, if you do not hear from them in six months, then you are allowed to reapply.  Well, what if they are not hiring in six months?

So, I am open to suggestions on the applying/interviewing process.  If anybody has any experience/advice, I am willing and needing to learn!

Hide and Seek

Today, in lieu of having weather two little kids can go outside and play in, we stayed inside and played hide and seek.  I had to do something to wear my son out, so he would actually take his afternoon nap, rather than taking his clothes off!

So, hide and seek it was.  It was HILARIOUS!!!  Emersen loves to hide, but when she does, she announces where she is going to hide, and calls her brother to her while she's hiding.  Not productive.  Then, she wants me to hide.  So, I hide in a couple of places, all very obvious and have a good laugh when neither one of them can find me.  Nathan will find me, and is squealing and pointing, but Emersen says, "no, Nathan, Mommy's not in there!"  Neither one of them pay attention to the dog who follows me around, sits and looks wherever I am hiding, and frequently barks at me.

The best one was when I was hiding on the bed in the bedroom, covered with a blanket, and she walks in the bedroom, asks, "Mommy, where are you?"  And I responded, "In the kitchen," so she headed out to the kitchen, and yelled, "Mommy, I can't find you out here either!"

So, if you have nothing better to do with your kids, play hide and seek!

White Flag

Today, I flew my white flag.  I gave in.  The kids have actually been playing together, quietly, all day.  So why not let it continue?  Does it make a difference that they have emptied the toy boxes, are sitting in them, and tossing toys from box to box.  When they run out of toys, they get out, get a handful and get back in.  Nathan tosses them in Emersen's box, she says she has enough and tosses them over her shoulder.  They have repeated this behavior after I cleaned up the living room two times.  So, I asked myself, "What's the harm in a little mess?"

So, I flew my white flag, threw in the towel, however you want to say it.  I sat back, washed my dishes and my laundry, and listened to the almost peace and quiet.

Coloring Pages

Today, we decided to teach Nathan how to color and draw.  Of course Emersen was convinced she was going to teach him how to trace letters like she does and was completely aggravated when he "wasn't turning on his listening ears and doing what he was told!"  Anyway, she did her workbook, and we worked on Nathan coloring and started teaching him colors.  

When lunch time came along, we had hot dogs for the first time in a long time.  Previous to this, I deemed Nathan too young to eat hot dogs, but I thought we would try it today.  So, Nathan inhaled his whole hot dog before his sister ever even made it to the table.  Then, he yelled to get down.  So, I let him down, and he swiped my hot dog off my plate and began "coloring" the mail with it.  And it was a good time, because it made his sister laugh, so he ran from me with the ketchup covered hot dog to color on anything he could before I could catch him.

Since when does the whole house become a coloring page for the hot dog monster?

Blizzard Day

Her version of sledding...

Snow mound!

So today we did not have a snow day.  We, in fact, had a blizzard day.  It is not a good day when I have to help push out the snow plow because they managed to get their front end stuck against the cement.

Anyway, we definitely found out that my son is scared of snowballs, even though he was not outside at all.  He hides from snowballs being thrown at the window.  Emersen loves it, Nathan, however, hates it.  Emersen decided it was necessary to help me on my three hour quest to shovel out the drive.  So, if you consider a little one climbing up the snow mounds yelling that she is sinking and sledding down on her rear end help, then, yes, I had a lot of help!  Finally, she had to give up because she got snow up her sleeves.  

I, however, spent plenty of time outside today being excessively bitter at all the people with snow blowers who finish their drive and sit there, watching me break my back shoveling my drive.  I do not understand this!  If I had a snow blower, I would definitely help other people.  Heck, I help other people with my shovel, and shovel other people's sidewalks.  Either I am too nice, or other people are inconsiderate.  Oh well, I guess there is no use in being bitter!

Here's to blizzard days!

Snow Days

My three year old goes to preschool, and loves it.  Frankly, the world revolves around her school days, even though it is only two half days a week.  Well, she knows that on Tuesday and Thursday, she goes to school.  So, knowing today is Tuesday, she was a bit irate when she was told she was not going to school today because it was closed because of all the snow.


Now, in the mind of a three year old, who may not know that her teacher does not live at school, she was a bit upset.  She went on and on about how there is a school, and the snow cannot bury the school, etc, etc.  Does the snow pack up the school and take it someplace else?  Does the snow bury the school and turn it into homes for polar bears? Oh the questions I got asked today...


So, I am interested in any activities for days we are snowed in, after the kids get bored being locked inside.