Cute

John was digging through our little junk-cabinet a bunch today. Adam found a flashlight in it at one point and asked if he could play with it. john said that he could. Later today John opened the cabinet and Adam peeked in pointed at the flashlight and asked, "Is this a flashlight that doesn't light because it needs new batteries?"

Wishful Thinking

Gramma Pardon decided that turning ten is a big deal and bought Ruth a Nintendo DS for making it to the "double-digit-midget milestone" of life. Tonight Ruth was talking about turning ten and the things that her DS can do. John said, "In 6 years your birthday will be a much bigger deal because that is when you can start dating. Well, that is when you can start going on group dates." Ruth said, "I saw a girl with three boys in the store. Is that what you mean by 'group date'?"

Short Story Day and the Results

For spring break fun and education I told Ruth and Kate that we were all going to write a short story in the afternoon. Much to my surprise and pleasure Ruth, Kate, and Johnny wrote stories, and Adam even told us a story. So here are the results.

KATE'S STORY

Two Funny Tales: 1. I'm Not Short Compared to a Fairy

Ha! I'm Kate. I'm in third grade, but there is one problem with me. I am SMALL! But there is one good thing about my bad thing. I'M NOT SMALLER THAN A FAIRY! So whenever I am teased I remember I'M NOT SHORT COMPARED TO A FAIRY!

2. Lemonade in Winter

Ha! I'm Kate. I want spring to come, so I got an idea. I set up a lemonade stand. 25cents a cup. WHAT..............NO ONE'S COMING??? It's still winter?? I Guess I will have to wait until spring.

ADAM'S STORY

There was a monster in my bedroom. When I woke up it was there. It had creepy claws. It was under my bed and under Johnny's bed too. When I ran from him he went on the bookshelf. That made him disappear. When I came back he was gone. He was missing. He had creepy claws on his feet too.

RUTH'S STORY

Tina the Naughty Fairy: When Tina became Nice

Once upon a time there lived a fairy named Tina. Tina was a naughty fairy ever since her parents died. She was very lonely. Everyone at Fairy School hated her. One thing she didn't know was her luck was about to change. When a new girl came to school Tina started to tease her, but she stood up for herself. So Tina became very curious about the new girl. The new girl said her name was Terry. From Terry, Tina learned to stand up for your self. A trick is to ignore them. Tina learned a great deal from Terry. An important thing she learned was always stand up for your self even when things are hard. They became the best of friends. But one day Terry was moving to Utah. Utah was very far from Africa. What was Tina going to do when Terry left? Finally, it was moving day. Tina and Terry were very sad. It was a dark day for Tina. Six days later something wonderful happened. Tina was bored listening to her fairy school teacher.

"Class," said the teacher, "We have a new classmate." Tina peered at the teacher.

"Say hello to your new classmate, Tetra," the teacher said. Tina had a new friend. Now Tetra and Tina became good friends. They both looked out for each other just like Terry and Tina. And they lived happily ever after. The End.

JOHNNY'S STORY

The Legend of the Hero

Once upon a time there was a little town. One day a monster of great evil came. A hero came and fought the monster of great evil. The hero killed the monster of great evil. But one day a man of great evil came. But a hero appeared and destroyed the man of great evil. The end.

A Place For Everything

We painted my bedroom yesterday (YAHOO!!!) Normally we keep the Game Cube in my bedroom, but we moved it into the living room for the night. This morning John found the games to the Game Cube lying on the living room floor. This is dangerous in our house because Rachel loves discs and seems to watch for a chance to get DVD's , CD's, and Game discs. Of course when she gets them they get dirty and scratched so we attempt to keep them out of her reach. After church today Johnny said, "I can't find the games we like. They are not where I put them." John said, "I found them on the floor." Johnny replied, "That's the best I could do."

Experiment

As usual we were late and rushing to get Ruth and Kate ready for the bus on time. I had poured every one's cereals and milk. About 30 seconds later Johnny spilled his bowl of cereal all over his lap, the table, and the floor. I was VERY UNHAPPY!!!!! (Fortunately I refrained from yelling) I did however say, "Johnny why did you do that? Get into the bath IMMEDIATELY!" Johnny replied, "It was only an accident." So I said, "That may be, but it only spilled because you laid your arms on the table. Go to the bathtub and get cleaned up." Johnny looked longly at his spilled bowl of cereal that I was mopping up and then dripped milk all the way to the bathroom.

I got the mess cleaned up and the girls onto the bus. I then placed a bowl of dry cereal and a cup of milk onto the table for Johnny when he finished his bath. I did not wait for him because I did not want to forget to give him breakfast. After a while Johnny came out washed and dressed. He sat down at the table and looked forlornly at his dry bowl of cereal. He then flopped his arms on the table the same way he had earlier and spilled his dry bowl of cereal all over himself. Rather surprised he exclaimed, "Oh!!!" I informed him that this mess was his to clean up. But while Johnny did not say anything I got the impression that he was testing to see if his arms on the table was the true cause of the spill. I think he decided that they were and he has been a little (I stress the word little) more careful since then.

Rewarded

When I went to the store with my daughters and no sons I was able to talk to my girls a lot. It was nice to hear what they had to say and they were eager for my listening ear. Kate started talking about how a lot of the kids in school get to watch a lot more television than they do. Ruth agreed and said that most kids watch Cartoon Network for two hours everyday after school. (WOW!!!) Kate said that her friend Kalli gets to go home and watch TV even before she has to do her homework. I said, "Well it's too bad that you guys got stuck with this mean old mom," (I was just playing with them.) Then out of curiosity I asked if they would like to watch TV everyday after school. To my utter surprise they both said absolutely no. Then they said that I was a good mom and that they liked the way our family is. Kate even said that she does not mind doing her homework right after school. The both expressed wishes for more playtime, though.

On the way home from this same shopping trip Ruth and Kate started talking about how everyone is crazy about K-State football. They each had a lot to say about how people watch football. I then offered to watch the University of Michigan football games with them next foot ball season because that is what I watched when I was a kid and the University of Michigan is the school we have in common with many relatives. They both said no thank you. They like the way our family does things and they don't want to change it. I am just shocked at how sweet and kind Ruth and Kate were, and I am also very pleased that at the ages of 8 and 10 they do not have a serious interest in following the crowd.

Some Things

I have been a negligent mother today. Adam has a very bad cough so I have set him in front of the TV all day. The most I have done for Rachel is take her potty, give her meals, a bath, and buy her candy at the store to make up for me being too lazy to take her on a walk and read her stories. It is 7:15 and I have no idea what to do for the kids for dinner. John and I are ordering out for a date so I don't feel too rushed to feed myself. Now I am writing a blog bouncing the baby with my foot instead of holding her. After i have done this I think I will go and play Mario Cart with Ruth, Kate, and Johnny to make up for my neglect. Them I will have to spend about an hour cleaning up Rachel's mess because I have neglected her too much. I guess dinner will be around 9pm. Ain't I a good Mom!!!!

Here is what I really want to blog:
1. Rachel said, "I mum nannnie" Translation: I Love Candy; and "I wan war" Translation: I want water. What she actually meant was that she wanted to play in the rain. i think she is just darling!!!

2.While at the store Kate said to Ruth, "When I passed gas I said, 'excuse me', and that is having good manners." Ruth replied, "I farted and said, 'Pardon me' instead." Kate smiled and said, "I never say, 'Pardon me' when I fart." (I love listening on the girls conversations. They are SOOOO FUNNYYYY!!!!