Five For Friday

I have been asked today where I've been.  Where's Five For Friday?  Where did you go??  Well, readers... I did say I was taking a little time off... But let me tell you, it's nice to be missed.  I mean, I am constantly missed, constantly needed...  by people who need their butt wiped.  So, it's nice to be needed or missed by you fairly normal types.  (If you too need your butt wiped however, you have more serious problems that will not be solved here in this blog.  Know what I'm saying, g?)

Back!  ...by semi-popular demand...  Five For Friday.

I will do the best I can.

1.  The Christmas mess is up.  Sorta.  ...As much as humanly possible??  I had but a few hours to look around and take in my living room.  Had it really always been so big??  Before this happened:

...and BAM!  Living room gone again.  They've all enjoyed the jumpy-jump... complete with 100 balls to pelt at people and pick up daily.  The grown ups have enjoyed the fact that their little hairs stand right up like little electricity balls when inside.  ...And when these grown ups scruff their feet along the floor and around the jumpy-jump, they can get a pretty fun jolt out of each little tyke.  Muahahahahaha.

2.  I am up late looking into science curricula.  This deserves one big ridiculous UGH.  I've been here so many times before and I've never made a dang decision.  I grew up in public school.  Therefore I learned evolutionary theory, big bang theory... all that ...stuff.  I always took it as theory.  I went to church and I learned those religious ideas too.  There's plenty of room in my brain for both.  When home schooling however, it would seem that there is only room for one thing:  7 days and 2 peeps in a garden.  I am searching for a happy medium:  all things come from God, but because we do not want to be ignorant of the ways of the world, here are some theories.  How's about that??  I haven't seen this yet.  It is confusing and infuriating.  So I continue on.  One of these days Ima just do it and be done with it.  This kid eats science... loves the stuff... thrives on it.  He wants it.  I may just have to give up some reservations.

3.  Twice this week I've gotten partially out of my mom uniform (pony tail) and heard, "Wow, I had no idea your hair was so long".  I've been growing this crap forever it seems and I'm so glad to finally have gotten over the hump.  I've gone as short as

this before.  Only an inch or two at the longest.  (you should know that as the Hubs was 'trimming' my Z's long locks for the first time, he let the little-bit run in and surprise me with only the front cut.  He was, in fact, business in the front and all party in the back.  We call this a mullet in the South.  This would be my aw-hell-no-not-a-mullet face.)

I digress.  My hair continues to grow ass-bound 'til I get a eh... wild hair.

...It's longer than this now.  But you won't be seeing that because, hello... I have acne.

Anyway.  Someone asked me how long I would let it grow.  I jokingly said I was going to dread this shit.  They laughed and said I wouldn't and if you know my personality, then you know it means that I just might.  hmmm....

4.  We've been 'off of school' for 2 weeks now and these children are driving me nuts.  What these heathens don't realize is that while their little smooshy faces say they are glad they don't have to 'do school', their behavior says they need their freaking schedule back.  dang it.

5.  Yesterday after speech therapy was complete, the speech therapist (who I still believe may suck, but now I like her on a personal level, so this is my problem) asks, "Do you think Max has actually become less intelligible?"  Sigh.  I replied, "yes." and that I was glad she just asked because that makes it truly objective.  We mamas have a way at nit-picking any situation because we are worried.  So we continue to work... even harder.  He's a pretty tough nut to crack.  Lola sits in on his therapy sessions with me and I am beginning to wonder if she will soon have more words under her belt.  She's catching up and it makes my heart ache for Max.  We'll get it, but I have never been accused of being patient.

Well there you have it.  BOOM.  Submitted before midnight.  There's your Five For Friday.  Happy Weekend.  Don't forget to vote for me.  (wink, wink)  ...and vote often.  (please.)

Steamy Mops and Jumping of Bones.

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away...  I was your normal full-time employee at a chiropractic office.  I had no children and no commitments... besides said full-time job.  The boss told me he was getting his wife some sort of hand held vacuum contraption for Christmas and this became fodder for jokes for the next few weeks.  I was sure to mention (because I knew everything, duh) that women do not want things with plugs for Christmas.  How unromantic!  How revolting!  How could he get his wife a vacuum for Christmas?  "But you have to know her," he'd say.  "She'll love it!  She's a clean freak!"  "No way." I'd tell him.  I felt I had some sort of duty to her as a female.  Poor thing, all unwrapping this horrid thing on Christmas Day.  I assumed she'd be crushed.

It is interesting how things change.  How we evolve into grown-ups, hopefully with common sense and better senses of humor...

Enter Christmas 2011.

I received a steam mop for Christmas.  It has plugs.  It cleans.

I could have jumped the Hubs' bones right then and there...  woulda been awkward for the kids I suppose.

I would have to say it was my favorite gift yet.

... funny how we change.

WHEN IS CHRISTMAS GOING TO BE HERE???!

Happy St. Nicholas' Feast Day... eh, yesterday!  Each year (on December 6th) I have the kiddos put their little shoes underneath the tree so St. Nick can put a little somethin' somethin' in 'em over night.  When I was little and in CCD at church my youth director would do the same thing while we sat in class.  It would always be a surprise that we'd get to take off our shoes and find out what was in them outside the door at the end of class.  I remember always hoping my shoes weren't too stinky...makes for some gross candy.  Anyway, it's a tradition in Germany and something fun to do with the kids when they feel like Christmas JUST WON'T COME FAST ENOUGH.  I always like to add that the Jolly Saint will probably be checking in on their behavior when he gets here...  I use whatever I can.

And so, like any good mother... my kids feasted on
chocolate for breakfast this morning.
 

Meanwhile, we'll keep taking links off our Advent chain day-by-day and eating a little more chocolate from our countdown calendars each night.  It beats answering the question, "WHEN IS CHRISTMAS GOING TO BE HERE???!" every 5 minutes.