You Can't Make This Stuff Up

For those who don't know, Aldi is not a typical grocery store. Most stores have all kinds of options...including four types of refried beans. Aldi has one brand of the things they carry, but the prices are fantastic. Tonight, Susan took Caleb and Georgia to Aldi to get some major shopping accomplished.

Once the cart was full of food, they headed for the checkout (with Aldi, there's usually only one open...unless there's an unbelievable line of people waiting). As they got to the line, a man who rode his bike to get five items asked if he could jump ahead of them. Susan said sure, and the man looked down at Caleb and said, "Your mom sure is nice." Caleb's eyes got huge and his head moved backward in a kind of weirded-out reaction. This was most likely due to the man's decision to wear his bike helmet while shopping for cottage cheese...or whatever he was getting.

Susan piped up, "Caleb, say 'Thank you. She is nice.'" Caleb looks at Susan, looks at the bicycling enthusiast, and says, "She's not my mom...she's my grandmother."

Susan couldn't believe the words had come out of Caleb's mouth, but what came next hit even harder. The Lance Armstrong protege smiled and said, "Aw...she can't be your grandmother. She's not a day over forty." Yep...40. It was one of those moments where I wish I had access to the security cameras to see Susan's face.

Caleb didn't miss a beat. He said, "She's not really my grandmother." Then, he paused, probably smirked, and said, "She's my aunt." Oh goodness...this boy is a little too quick witted...like his daddy.

The biker had to get going...to train for the Tour de France or next weekend's bike-a-thon...and Susan proceeded to check out. They got in the van, started down the road, and Caleb said, "Aunt Susan, when we get home, can we have an ice cream sandwich?" Susan responded in classic fashion..."Sure...grandpa."

And you thought I was kidding when I said you can't make this stuff up.

Easter Egg Hunt

Hello, all. The kids participated in an Easter egg hunt this afternoon, and I thought you'd like to see the pics. Georgia and Emilie only got one egg because they were in the "any child not in kindergarten yet" category. The good news is...neither of them realized they were supposed to get more than one, so they were happy. Though we don't have a picture of it...Georgia immediately got the candy egg out of the wrapper and just sucked on it. It was one of those marshmellow eggs with colored shells on the outside. She sucked the red right off that thing. The kids had a great time.





Georgia's thinking, "How do I get this plastic wrapper off so I can suck the red right off that thing?"

Veggies and Pillows and Baths...Oh My!

How to eat raw veggies...

That photo looks like just another child eating ordinary carrots...think again. As many of you know, it's often a challenge to get young children to eat their vegetables. Fortunately, there are a few that our children like. For example, Emilie Grace likes raw carrots. However, at tonight's dinner, she didn't want to eat them. Why? Because they were dried out and appeared to have some white places on the outside...not mold, just dry.

The question is...how do you get your three-year-old who is OCD about food looking and feeling right to eat carrots that look a little dry? You could try not letting them eat anything else until they finish...even if it means that carrots will be for breakfast tomorrow morning. You could add something sweet to them to make them more appealing. Well, as I've always said...Susan is a resourceful mom. She is quick on her feet and often comes up with solutions I would have never dreamed of. Susan got Emilie to eat her carrots. How? Easy. Susan picked one up...popped it in her own mouth..."moisturized" the carrot until it was orange again...pulled it out...then, she asked Emilie, "Is that better?" Our little responded, "Yes," and she proceeded to eat it. This happened for all four of Emilie's carrots.



Those aren't pillows! Well, actually, they are. The boys have an over-sized chair in their room, and I was called in from the living room this morning to help them. They had taken both cushions off the chair and asked me to cover them. They sat in the bare chair and waited with smiles on their faces. However, the two cushions didn't do the job, so I had to add both their comforters, the pillows they sleep on, and every other blanket I could possibly find. At long last, all the light was blocked off, and they had their "fort." Oh, how I remember doing the same thing!



What you see here is a game that lasted about ten minutes. In an effort to make Georgia more and more comfortable with the bath, we gave her a cup. She immediately learned to pour the water on herself...she was intrigued by it. This time, when the girls got in the bath, Emilie decided to help Georgia along. So, she grabbed the cup, filled it with water, and poured it on Georgia's belly. Georgia didn't quite know what to think of it the first time. She looked at me with a "how should I react to this?" look on her face. So, I did what any dad would do...I laughed out loud. It was a sign that what just happened was okay...both girls grinned.

However, as we all know, that was not the end. Emilie did it again to make me laugh...when she did, all three of us laughed out loud. It was a game with the endurance of the Energizer bunny...it just kept going and going. So, I had to grab the camera to remember the moment.

Our Snowy Saturday

Hey...for those of you in Northern states, this won't sound like a big deal. However, we got about 4 inches of snow last night, and we immediately went out in it. The boys and I went on an "adventure" through the woodsy area behind our house. We scaled snowy hills, and, since we have no sled, used large snowy hills as slides. After about five trips down, we were all frosty on the backside. On the way back, we ran into Susan, who had brought the girls out.

Emma didn't want to go in, so she and I went on a 3-year-old version of adventure. That basically means...we walked around. Then, we came to the hill next to our house. Once at the top, I asked Emilie if she wanted to slide down, and with a bright red nose and bright red cheeks, she looked up at me and said, "YES!" So, I got down on my belly, she climbed on my back, and off we went...

Boys Do Work, Girls Get Clean

Well, tonight we had a woodshop class on our dining room table. We got these footstool kits from Home Depot, and all it takes is two screws and six nails...provided in the kit. So, each boy got to do a little work with a Phillips head screwdriver as well as a hammer, and they came prepared with their official "Home Depot" aprons. Afterward, they painted the stools...painted stool pictures yet to come. Enjoy the pics...we loved putting them together!

Caleb goes first!!!





Next comes Austin!!!





Here's a quick picture of the girls taking a bath. If they had a grown-up conversation, I could imagine that Emilie Grace is saying, "Hey Georgia...in Liberia, you took a bath in a bucket with only a rag. Here in America, we live in a land of abundance...we sit in gigantic tubs of water with bubbles, and we use these cups to pour water on ourselves. It's great fun!" Such a fun time!

homeschooling??!!

Here is Caleb's work from Family Christian Academy (his school away from school;) ) as he worked diligently to investigate a crime scene. I thought his sketch of the criminal was awesome! They got to learn how to lift finger prints & search for clues.
Here is Georgia "discovering" the fun of water play. I couldn't even get her to look up for me! She loves stiring & we think she may be a great chef someday.
Everyone gets tired of school come Feb/March so Austin's solution to Math workbooks? Playdough!!! He actually does subtraction better WITH it!
Emmi enjoying her penguin book & cheetos, this is preschool homeschooling in the winter...whatever goes.