Floored!

Today we got a floor!  It's really starting to look like a real room again, and I'm thrilled!  I'm really happy with how the floor turned out, and I'm getting more and more excited about the finished product!

Here are the floor pictures.  As you can see, Lexi has deemed it a perfect dancing floor.  :)

Progress...

When it comes to construction in my house, the crew can never move fast enough.  I can't stand it, and the kitchen is definitely the worst!!  The walls and plaster went in this week, which is great because it's starting to look better, but horrible because now every inch of our home is covered in plaster dust.  Ahren and I have basically cleaned non-stop since returning home on Friday and as soon as we put the dust cloth down, we see a new layer of dust already forming.  I see it in the air, feel it everywhere, and I can even taste it.  It's awful.  But I know it will be coming to an end soon.  We are told that we should be finishing up with the trim this week, our new refrigerator will be installed on Friday, and then the following week the painters arrive.  I'm trying to keep my "eyes on the prize" but really, right now I feel like I'm living in a hell hole.

Monday is the beginning of some drastic improvements.  But here's where we are today...

More to come on Monday!

The New Leader of the Thomson School!

Last night I announced to Lexi that next year she would have a new principal who would be a woman. Lexi thought for a second and said, "Oh! So a new princessipal!"

Pinky Swear

Yesterday I was venting at dinner about the plasterers who caught a case of spring fever and took off first thing in the morning, leaving our kitchen looking exactly the way it had when I left them at 9am.  I was particularly annoyed because I had been telling them how excited I was to see walls, finally, and I also mentioned that I am hosting Easter, and was feeling concerned that they wouldn't be done in time.  Despite all that they did nothing and I was annoyed.  Ahren spoke to our contractor later, who told us that they promised they would not leave the house today until they were done (drywall and plaster).  So after my little vent I said, "They better not break that promise!!" to which Lexi replied, "Mom, you should have made them pinky swear.  Then they can't break the promise unless someone was crossing their fingers."  She's right...I totally should have made them pinky swear.

Playing Telephone

Last week Ali came for dinner. While Ahren was out getting pizza Zach was playing with her phone and wanted to make a call. She called my phone, and standing right behind Zach, close enough to touch rest my hand on his head, I answered…

Me – “Hello?”
Zach – “Who’s this?”

Me – “Who’s this?”

Zach - “No, *I* said ‘who’s this?’”

Me – “This is Crissy.”
Zach – long pause… “My mom’s name is Crissy.”

Me – “Oh, who’s your mom?”

Zach – long pause “Is this Gigi?”

Me – “Does it sound like Gigi?”
Zach – “Your voice kind of looks like my Gigi’s voice.”

Me – Now cracking up laughing, “Zach, turn around.”

Zach turns and sees me with the phone on my ear. I say, “Hi.” He was shocked. It was very funny. Ali said she was watching his face the entire time and he was completely deadpan. He had no clue that it was me talking to him from one foot away.

I Spy!

Zachary to me on our way to Fadia's this morning - "Mama, did you see that huge garbage truck?"
Me (kind of annoyed) - "I did!  It was parked right in the middle of the road so no one could get by.  Tough to miss..."
Zachary - "Did you know it had a fire in the back?"  (Spoken in his "that's so cool!" tough-guy tone)
Me - "No, Zachary.  I don't think garbage trucks have fire in the back."
Zachary - "Yes they do, Mom!"
Me - "Really, Zachary, why do you think that?"
Zachary - "Because I spied it with my little eye!"

Kitchen Renovation, Day One

Yesterday:

Today:

Sharks and Penguins and Turtles, Oh My!!

A couple of weeks ago Grammy and Grampy, Daddy and I took the kids to the New England Aquarium.  Lexi had heard a presentation at school about penguins, and was excited to see some, and Zachary has been very into sharks lately, so it seemed like a good place to meet for a visit.  Unfortunately, we were not the only ones who had this great idea, as the line when we got there was at least one full mile long.  I know people say that when they are referring to a long line, "Geez, this line has to be a mile long!" but this was no exaggeration.  If anything, I am underestimating.  At first we stuck it out, but when we got to the door after twenty minutes and discovered more line, three times as long as what we just stood it, it was time to take action.  While we wove back and forth and partook in the snacks they provided (the line was really that long...there were aid stations!!) I whipped out my iPhone and speedily purchased our tickets "online".  Once I had a confirmation number we ducked under the ropes and went to the "pre-paid ticket line".  There was only one person in front of us.  One.  Clearly many other people did not have this idea.  Good for us.

Once we were finally in we had an absolute blast.  I was concerned at first because it was so crowded, but we made it just in time to watch the penguins being fed, which provided a few minutes of great entertainment for all of us.  As we were looking at all of the different penguins, Grammy pointed at one and said, "I wonder what that one is called."  "Rock Hoppers" Lexi replied.  We all chuckled and wandered off.  Later Grammy wondered aloud about the name again, and Lexi again repeated, "They're called Rock Hopper's, Grammy."  More chuckles from the adults, and more wandering.  Finally we passed a sign and I laughed out loud.  "Rock Hoppers".  Of course.  Why do we ever doubt Lexi?  She is really almost never wrong.

Lexi with her penguin buddy.

After awhile we made our way up and around the enormous center tank.  We found an empty window and parked ourselves there for at least 30 minutes.  The kids never stopped exclaiming or laughing at how huge and awesome all the fish were - the enormous turtles, the giant manta rays, and the SHARKS!!  They were simply thrilled, as were we.  After about twenty minutes I watched a diver jump into the tank.  I was excitedly telling Zach to look behind him to see the diver.  He wasn't looking in the right direction, but still asking me where he was.  Suddenly the diver swam right up behind him, tapped on the glass, and waved to Zach.  We all laughed, and then had fun watching the divers feeding all of the animals. 

Zach loved the touch tank, and got to feel lots of manta rays!

We had a lot of fun visiting the aquarium.  After our visit, Auntie Kae joined us for a yummy dinner.  The kids were exhausted after a long, fun day and were very happy to find their beds ready for them when we got home.

Lexi made friends with the seals

 (Somehow Ahren and I both managed to forget the camera so I only got a few with my phone.  Grampy had one, and promises to send the pictures soon.)

Magic Hands

Lexi to Zach - "Zachary, can you please go get me some underwear?"
Zach - "Sure"
Lexi - "And can you try to make them princess, please?"
Zach - "Well, I'll try...but I don't have magical hands, you know."

Snow, Finally

We've had very little snow this year. It's actually quite odd. In October we had a huge snow storm that took down trees and closed schools. But since then we've had nothing more than a dusting, until today. Yesterday afternoon it started snowing, and over 30 hours later it still has not stopped. Despite the mess it's caused, I've been glad to see it. But it was an eye opener as to how little snow we've had this year when Zach, while pointing to the snowflakes falling from the sky said to me, "Mama, what are those things? Are those things mosquitoes?" Yea, it's been a quiet winter. And I've enjoyed it.

Lexi and Zach are less than impressed with our "pile" than they were last year.

We had a short amount of time to play in the snow after picking up the kids from school and daycare. Lexi and Zach went off to play in the yard while I shovelled. A few minutes later, Lexi came running over to me with a football, laughing hysterically. She said, "Mom, I saw this in the snow and first I thought it was a rock, but then I looked closer and thought, 'what the heck is an armadillo doing in our yard??' then I realized it was a football."

My kids crack me up.

Adults Are So Confusing

I've rarely if ever used "baby talk" to talk to my kids.  I might change my tone, or spend a little more time explaining things, but I typically use the same words to talk to them as I would use to talk to any (intelligent) adult.  I always used to think that my kids understood pretty much anything I said to them, until recently.

When we went to the BVIs, we told the kids that even though we were going to be really far away, if they looked up at the moon in the sky, they would be looking at the same moon we were looking at.  We even planned to all look at the moon at the same time one night (we remembered, the kids forgot!).  Zach didn't seem phased by our trip, but Lexi seemed happy with the moon thing.  Last week we told the kids that Miss Melissa was coming to babysit for them.  They were very excited, as they love Miss Melissa.  Zach asked us if we were going out to look at the moon.  I thought it was cute, so I told him that we were, at one of our friends houses.  When the night came and we were saying our goodbyes, Zach said to Miss Melissa, "I'm not going to be scared of you when my mom and dad leave.  But I might be a little shy of you."  I laughed and assured him he would have fun, kissed him on the head, and left.  The next morning I heard Zach get up in his room, but he never came in to wake us up.  About twenty minutes later, Lexi came him and woke up her Daddy.  Before they went down stairs I asked them to check on Zach.  When they opened his door they found him sitting on his bed, and he exclaimed, "DADDY!!!  You came HOME!!  Did Mommy come home too????"  It was at that moment that we realized that he thought we were leaving him for a week with Miss Melissa.  We never said, "See you in the morning." or clarified that we would only be out for the evening.  I just can't imagine what he thought about that!

A couple of weeks later I was fed up with the kids one morning because they were not doing what I had asked them to do.  I told them that if they didn't start following my directions that they were going to be grounded, and lose all of their privileges (cartoons, play dates, Imajine That trips, etc.).
The kids settled down, and a few minutes later Zach came to me and said, "Mommy, am I being a good boy?"  I said that he was and he said, "But are you still going to put me in the ground?"  After we laughed about the misunderstanding, Lexi told me that the first time she heard the term "being grounded" (not by me) she thought it meant being put into the blender and ground up!  My goodness.  I'm going to have to be much more careful about what I say in the future!