Fourinarow.net

Ever since Kristina got us addicted to TV, we’ve been… well… addicted.  Me, because it gives me peace.  My children because, well, TV is addicting to kids, right?  To Maria in particular.  It’s her favorite activity, according to her.

Yesterday morning, in an effort to get some work out of my kids and a cleaner house, I proclaimed that the TV would not being going on until the basement was cleaned up.  Four kids, a couple hundred square feet, a few hundred toys.  Shouldn’t have taken but 30 minutes, right?

Wrong.  17 hours later and the basement is still not clean.  As a matter of fact, I think somehow they’ve managed to make it worse!

Still no TV.  Which is good, right?

For them maybe.  Not for me.

Dinnertime

Sam:  I’m thirsty!

Me:  Drink your milk.  It’s right here.

Sam:  No.  I don’t want my milk.  I want a Budweiser!

Me (and Dan):  Laughter

Sam:  Go get me a Budweiser!!!

She turned 6 on Tuesday, but we celebrated Monday so my parents could be here.

She was princess for a day (but, really, she is everyday).  We made ice cream cone cupcakes that the kids decorated, but also had a small cake, as there was so much batter left over.  Jack took on the task of decorating that one — and did a great job!

Cupcakes

Decorated by Jack

As is fitting of a princess, Maria’s room is now properly outfitted – with new curtains, a bedside table, a fancy lamp and a beautiful Michelle Allen clock.  Look for pictures soon!

It’s hard to believe, but tomorrow Sam will turn 3.

Since my parents are here but leave on Tuesday (Maria’s birthday), we’ve moved things up a bit so we can celebrate properly.

Sam (as you know from the capes) is having a superhero party.  Coincidentally, one of the museums here is opening their comic book exhibit today.  Perfect timing for us!  We’re going to be meeting Spiderman there this afternoon and then we’ll follow up with a Superman cake and The Opening of the Presents.

The museum encourages visitors today to wear their favorite superhero costumes.  Luke and Sam tried the idea out when we visted the nursery this morning.

“It’s not everyday you see Superman around here,” the man at the nursery told me, as I was trying to chase Sam down.

Sam, unbelievably, is about to turn 3.

On Sunday, we will be having a family superhero birthday party to celebrate.

Last night, between cleaning in preparation for my parents’ visit and grocery shopping, I made capes.

The party has started a little early.

This weekend was busy – with lots of things fun.. and not.  Here’s a run down:

Ordering a kids movie On Demand and watching it Friday evening – Fun

Having the electricity go out and prematurely ending movie – Not Fun

Rushing to the Apple Store on Friday night (despite the storm) in glorious anticipation of upgrading to the new 3Gs – Fun

Being returning my phone but then being forced to wait 24 hours before getting the new one (per AT&T) – Not Fun

Drinking beer by candlelight with Dan because we still had no power – Fun

Having no access to the phone, internet, mail, texting – Not Fun

Visiting the Two Brothers Brewery for lunch and a tour (and a couple of beers) – Fun

Coming home to continued power outage – Not Fun

Partying with the neighbors for most of the day and into the night  – Fun

Throwing out spoiled food due to prolonged power outage – Not Fun

Doing the happy dance when power returned – Fun

Waking up early on Sunday – Not Fun

Opening Father’s Day presents – Fun

Going back to Apple Store, standing in line with entire family and being denied again – Not Fun

Going to the AT&T store to get my account straightened out so I can get my new phone – Not Fun

Waiting FOREVER with four kids and a now crabby husband at the AT&T store – Not Fun

Eventual success at AT&T store – Fun

Standing in line for the third time at Apple Store with two kids (after dropping others at home with Dad) – Not Fun

Finally getting my new iPhone 3Gs – FUN!!!!!!

Rewarding two kids for good behavior at Apple Store with snow cones – Fun (and sticky)

Coming home to a frustrated husband and a still broken lawnmower – Not Fun

Watching husband mow the lawn after sucessfully repairing it – Fun

Relaxing on the deck with Dan, party lights glowing, beer in one hand and new iPhone in the other – Fun

Thank goodness the weekend is OVER.

Despite my love of Home Depot (most of the time) and Super Target’s with it’s great products and prices, I like to support The Little Guy when I can.  I’d much rather shop locally, at a mom and pop store, than over the internet or at the big box stores.  However, a budget-conscious mom can’t always manage that.

There are times, though, when paying the extra couple of bucks (or not) is definitely worth it.

The other day, Jack came to me complaining that the wire that connects his transformer to his tracks (we’re talking about his electric trains here) wasn’t working properly.  He needed a new one.  Why?  Because his youngest brother has a habit of wandering into Jack’s room and yanking the wire from the tracks.  I searched a little online, but wasn’t really sure about we needed.  A trip to Al’s Hobby Shop was in order.

We took the wire into the store and Jack explained to The Train Guy what was going on.  After carefully listening to Jack, TTG announced that there was no need for Mom to spend any money.  The wire connectors could easily be fixed.  (Waaahoooo!)

TTG tinkered around a little while I herded children and avoided destruction of the shop.  When he was finished, he carefully showed both Jack and me how he had fixed it, demonstrated how it now worked properly and explained to me how we could fix it again, if neccessary.

All I can say is “WOW”.

On Wednesday, Jack and Dan took off for our town’s downtown area to patronize Fleet Feet.  In the past, Dan has bought his running shoes online or at a mall store.  Once or twice he did go to a really great running store in St. Louis, but, alas, we are in St. Louis no more.

Dan came home with nothing but good things to say.  The guy at the store hooked him up to a treadmill, had him run on it and video taped it.  Afterward, he went over the video with Dan and pointed out a few things about how Dan’s feet move and how they land when he runs.  He then had him try on a few pairs of shoes appropriate for his feet and had Dan run in the parking lot to get a true feel for the shoes.

Dan came home, happy as a clam, with a new pair of Avia’s and a lot of enthusiasm for the store and the guy that helped him.  And, he really didn’t pay more than he would have elsewhere.  How cool is that?

Tomorrow, in celebration of Father’s Day weekend, we’re going to head down to Two Brothers Tap House and brewery for a tour and lunch.  And a six pack to carry home, probably.  And maybe some home brew supplies.

I came across Two Brothers when I was looking for a local place to buy home brewing supplies for Dan.  There are a lot of internet sites, but sometimes you need to see what you’re buying – hold it, touch it, heft it.  Like with a brewing pot.  (Dan has an inexpensive one and wants to replace it with a sturdier, heavy-bottomed pot.)  Hard to tell these things via the internet.

Anyway, we’re looking forward to the experience.  I’m hoping to find another local treasure, and I think we will.  I’ll let you know!

Luke is our… tempermental one.  He goes from one extreme to the other in seconds flat.  Hating to loving.  Happy to mad.  One of his favorite expressions is “I’m going to be mad at your forever!”  (Yeah… until you tickle him. Or distract him.)

Tonight at dinner (which was on the late side) I didn’t give him the cup he wanted in which to drink his milk.  You’d have thought I had held him down and ripped out some of his toenails.  He was MAD.

After demonstrating his anger a little, Dan and I sent him up to his room, so the rest of us could finish our dinner in peace.  A little while later, tears dried up, he came back down, and asked if he could finish his dinner.  I said, “sure!”

He sat down, thought for a second, and asked, “what did I do?”  I reminded him that he had thrown a fit because he hadn’t gotten the cup he wanted.  Guess what?!?  Having been reminded, he got mad all over again, turned his back to us and said, “I don’t love you anymore!”

We sent him back to his room again.

And then we had to laugh.  I mean, it was just too funny that he’d gotten over it, forgotten what had made him mad, but then once reminded he was mad all over again.

*sigh*  That’s my Lukie.

Luke

We went to St. Louis over the weekend.  One of Dan’s brothers and his family were in town for a few days, so we took the opportunity to see them, as they live quite a distance from us.  It was fun to see everyone and we were happily surprised that a) we were able to stay a day longer than we thought; and b) we were able to spend some extra time with Chris and Sandy, as their plans went slightly awry.

Here are a few pics from the weekend.  The highlights were swiming and visiting Grant’s Farm.  Cousins are so awesome – so wish we had more time with all the cousins on both sides of the family!

Cousin Joey, poolside

Samma Jamma

Cousin Matt

Sean feeding the goats

Goat feeding on Maria

Paige and Sam

Jack and One Big Horse

It was 9 p.m. last night before I put the last few tools away, but we did it!  We got ALL of the new shutters hung, and they look great!

Here’s a before pic:

And here (drumroll, please…) is an after picture:

Thank you to Steve, who is definitely more than an electrician and helped me make the right decisions about shutter size and placement.  I did trim one of the shutters on the upper level to make it fit, but you can’t tell at all, and it looks much better than if I had gone with smaller shutters.