a day with GI Kelly

Not sure what was wrong with me but it definitely related to the GI area and was very uncomfortable but has improved a bit today. Hopefully another good night's rest will do the trick. It's almost10pm now, not too much time left to still make an early night of it but I'll give it a shot... definitely going to bed on today's date though!

I was still feeling pretty tired this morning & not up for anything too complicated or requiring much energy. Since it was freezing cold outside, I immediately ditched any thought of getting them dressed to go out. They wanted to play school today so we did that for quite awhile. I'd tell them to sit at their "desk" (aka kitchen table) and work on their "spelling" (aka drawing random figures that are supposed to be letters of their name). Every once in awhile I slipped away to gather laundry or put something away. Every time, my apt little Honey pupil would track me down and say 'why are you're not at the school teacher?" Dang. busted by a 3½ year old! So we did "art" and "math" and reading. They must have been at it for over an hour. Good thing there are lots of subjects in school!

After lunch I thought it would be a good idea to make Christmas cookies and decorate them. Somehow I strayed from my "KISS" plan (keep it simple stupid). They were keen to get their aprons on. When I told them they'd need their little rolling pins, they almost tripped over each other to get those from the closet. I gave them each a little ball of dough & tried to show them how to roll it out into a flat circle so we could use the cookie cutters. They were avid rollers and I don't think there's ever been a thinner sheet of cookie dough. It was so hard to keep up with each of them & restrain them before they beat the dough into a slimy pulp and got it wrapped around the rolling pin 17t imes. I'd add icing sugar to one to keep it from sticking, clean off the rolling pin and get them started, only to find the other two right back in the same predicament. I stopped Honey from pulverizing her pile further & took the rolling pin to clean it off and she started to cry and said "You're not being very nice to me, I'm going somewhere else!" and ran off sobbing. I felt bad since this was supposed to be a fun activity but I hadn't yelled or beaten her with the pin or anything! I talked her into coming back and finally put away their rolling pins so we could actually cut out some cookies. This didn't go much more smoothly than the rolling out. They kept stamping the cutter into the same spot over and over, making it impossible to actually get a cookie out.... after one sheet went into the oven, I'd had it. No more of that type of cookie for a looooooooooooong time! I remember making them with Pat-rick when he was a toddler and it wasn't anywhere near this nerve wracking or frustrating. I was younger then though and only had to keep track of one set of hands! Nancy, let me tell you right now, I think you're crazier than a bag of hammers to be looking forward to this activity with the girls over Christmas!!!!!!! Let me know when you're going to do it, I'm getting out of there, I don't even want to watch!!!!! ; )))

So, what I thought would be a fun little activity, turned into an all day project. I forgot that the dough is supposed to chill overnight so I put it in the fridge while I gave the girls their bath. I brought my Christmas card stuff in with me & started working on addressing the envelopes and got most of those done. The postage I ordered online arrived today so I can hopefully get my pictures printed & start getting the cards out in the mail sometime soon!

After the bath we went back to the kitchen & the dough was chilled, it just didn't stay that way with all their manhandling. By the time I lost patience with the whole plan, it was almost supper time, not even half the cookies were baked & I had to turn the oven off to cook the meal. Between all the craziness, I ended up overcooking two of the batches (still edible just browner on the edges than I'd like) and had none of them frosted. I'd thought we'd get icing on them & maybe add sprinkles etc. I quickly dropped the sprinkles idea & settled for just some icing. After supper, Murrray helped clean up so we could decorate. (oh yes, I let them get into the icing an hour before bedtime........BAD BAD BAD idea). We had to let them bounce off the walls for about 45 minutes after we were done decorating the cookies. The good news is that there is so much icing on them that lifting the cookie to your mouth a few times is enough of a workout to cancel all the calories of the treat itself. : )

Murray read them several stories to try and wind them down but as soon as the books were put away, they went right back into hyper overdrive. At 7:30 we decided to just proceed with bedtime preparations anyway, hoping the routine would soothe & settle them... they didn't immediately become docile & quiet but they did get ready & go to bed without a fuss. They just insisted on travelling in style!

Somewhere in the midst of getting changed & washed up, Sweetie had an accident on the floor.

Murray: Sweetie, what's this on the floor? Pee?

Sweetie: of course!

Murray: did you do that?

Sweetie: of course! you can pick it up.

Murray: no YOU can pick it up.

and she did. Do you suppose she learned her lesson???????

Away in a Manger

the Sunday School class & the toddler room kids. You can see Sweetie's profile, the red sleeve of Lovey's dress & a glimpse of purple for Honey just behind the blonde in the red.

This was the song the girls' Sunday School class was supposed to sing in the Christmas Pageant today at church. Once again we have to go with our standard "2 out of 3 ain't bad" stance. Can you guess which two? Lovey & Honey were the best at singing it at home but apparently that doesn't mean anything! LOL I almost fell over when I saw Sweetie piping up and singing out strong. They were tucked in behind some other kids so I couldn't see anyone else but assumed the other 2 were singing along as well. Murray had a different viewpoint as I'd gone up front to take pictures and he says that Honey didn't let out a peep but Lovey sang along just fine. You just never can tell! At the very end of the show, the entire Sunday School was singing Joy to the World but the girls never wanted to sing this or practice it so never learned any really. Lovey went up anyway & stood with the kids but Honey & Sweetie boycotted this number. Darling angles that they are...

the entire Sunday School & Youth Group teens

I am so impressed with the kids at our church, their numbers seem to keep growing all the time. The girl in the green pants behind Lovey comes with her 2 older sisters, on their own. Their parents don't come, they just want to be there & come for Sunday service & to the youth group events throughout the week. They also came & volunteered for the week at bible school this summer. Very nice to see!



I asked Honey what happened to her song & she said there were too many people so she must have gotten stage fright. I know all about that but usually in a group I'm ok. It's a solo that will crack me! (although I think the choir director learned her lesson as she's never asked me again!)

wheeeeee! we're outta here!!!!

After each class did their part, they got little snack bags with marshmallows, goldfish, pretzels, chocolates and a candy cane. These kept the little ones busy & quiet as the rest of the show continued. Last year I remembered our youth minister telling me that she & her husband had left that to the end and had been up til 2am putting those together. This year I thought I could help her out with them & then decided that Murray & I would just do them for her as she has a fair amount on her plate and is recovering from surgery. Murray was thrilled with this opportunity to serve the Lord... or maybe those weren't quite his words but he did fill over half those bags in no time! Anyway, the bags were a big hit again this year and did what they were intended to do.



Everyone thought the girls were lovely in their "baby prom" dresses and I was explaining how I'd foolishly splurged on these outfits to another mum and she told me they were worth it & that it wasn't the least bit wasteful as they'd be enjoyed to the hilt. (she also has young daughters who like to dress up so she knows what she's talking about I guess!) I did get quite a chuckle out of the people who asked if I'd made them myself. Anyone who saw my grade 8 home ec project that would only have fit a severely disfigured Frankenstein and required a week's worth of repair by my seamstress grandmother would understand how funny this question was. I'm well aware of my weakness in the sewing department and promised my Grammie never ever to venture there again. I wonder where that sweatshirt is now??? I know I decorated it beautifully with puffy glow in the dark paint a la 80's style.....


This afternoon was a little colder than yesterday but we went out to play anyway. The girls wore their new boots and it made a big difference in keeping the legs down on that one piece snowsuit. Hooray! The kids showed Murray the igloo they're working on (humour them if they tell you or show you ok?) and also made snowcakes and some other little snow houses. I worked on clearing out a little space in the garage so the carpenter can have a little more room in there.




With everyone still in their snowsuits, we piled into the car & headed to M&D's for supper. Mmmmm mmmmm beef stew & biscuits! My mumma is a fine lady & a good cook too! (must be where I get it...) She had a surprise for them when they got there that was a big hit. She's taken up beading and is turning out some fancy creations these days. The girls all got new clip on earrings. They immediately ran to the mirror to check out their jewelry and were quite in awe of them. Unfortunately we were only able to find 3 of the 6 earrings before we left tonight but I'm sure they'll turn up under a cushion or something (I forgot to look in the couch Mum or under the ottoman).




I'm not feeling so hot, so I'm headed for bed. If you're a regular blogfan, you'll notice this is a highly unusual time for me to be turning in. With all the craziness of the holiday season, I'm not taking any chances & getting some rest. I don't want to be sick for Christmas!!!!

Slip Sliding Aaaaaaaaaaaawaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

most of the time, Sweetie was a straight shooter, she only had a couple of wipe outs, once when I tried to "help" redirect her back into the main section of the path, and another time when she tried out Boo's sled and did a faceplant. She immediately popped up & said "Do it AGAIN???"

Teena was supposed to drop Dale & Boo off, then go run errands but she wasn't able to tear herself away from all the fun & stayed with us the whole time. As a fellow mum, I know how precious 'free time' is so for her to give it up to hang out with us is pretty darn flattering!

Sweetie recovered quickly from her faceplant & was ready for more!

Lovey hitting some of the speed bumps. I think these ones actually made you go faster instead of slowing you down!

Boo quickly decided that the wooden sleds are the way to go so they took turns for awhile but they all wanted to go all the time so eventually we started doubling up. I overheard Boo tell Sweetie, as they were launching off, "we're really gonna have fun now!"

Kelly & Teena & the kids.... oh wait a minute, what's wrong with this picture? Who are those two jokers in there?!?!?!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!



5-4-3-2-1... Blast Off!

Murray hates to be left out...

We took the girls sliding this afternoon and was it EVER a big hit. Lovey & Honey were a little hesitant about going down on their own and wanted Murray to run alongside them holding the tow rope. Sweetie, on the other hand, hopped on her toboggan, pushed off & never looked back. One run each for the other two & they were converted.

The weather was perfect, a bit of sun & not too cold. Murray & I were plenty warm pulling those kids up the hill time after time. Sometimes Murray pulled 2 at a time. I tried that once & only got about 3 feet. Things really picked up when Teena, Dale & Boo joined us. The girls were thrilled to see their buddy arrive!

This was a fast flying hill & many unexpected twists and turns. It was hard to gauge where those sleds were going to end up. We unfortunately guessed incorrectly once & ended up with a 3 sled pile up which resulted in some damages. One sled ended up with a detached rail on one side which made hanging on a little tricky but Sweetie managed well! The damage is repairable, we just have to get around to doing it or hope that Nanny comes to visit soon! ; ))))) I think those rails are meant to come off once the kids get bigger anyway, but we weren't planning to do it quite this way.

Tonight my cousin came to hang out with the kids & spend the night. After my choir gig, he & I watched Ocean's 13.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Got our first major snowfall this week! Sweetie phoned her Grammie that morning and asked "does it look like CHRISTMAS at YOUR house????" They've been very keen to play out in in the fluffy white stuff. An igloo is in progress and we've been making trails all over the field.

Yesterday, I was digging a hole, minding my own business while they wokred on their igloo. Lovey saw what I was doing and told me not to do that. I decided she wasn't the boss of me and kept working away. She looked at me and said "Mumma, if you do that, I'm NOT going to play with you anymore!" She's a tough negotiator!

Although they can still get their feet into last year's boots, I think they need new ones that are taller or snowsuits that are longer maybe... The pant legs keep riding up over the short boot & they fill up with snow. The first day we were out there awhile before I noticed the strip of bare skin peeking out and boy was it red! Since then I've been tucking their pants into their socks before putting the skipants on so that the bares skin doesnt' get exposed. At the fall clothing sale, I found a wonderful Columbia one piece snowsuit, it's really lightweight, not all that bulk and they can jump into it themselves and zip up, leaving me one less to dress! BUT this one is the worst offender for not staying down. Is that just the way it is with a one piece? everytime they lift their arms, the legs come up? if I had a larger size, would that solve the problem? I have a feeling these aren't cheap suits but they are nice & so much easier for them to move around in & get in and out of. It'd probably be cheaper just to buy new boots though so maybe I'll try that first : )))

2 more for Teena

as my cousin Shawn once said (yes, he really did!): "Hot Teena!"

Monday Highlight!!!!

Although the housework thing was a bit of a bummer today, there was something good going on here! Teena & Boo came to visit!!! The girls were just about jumping out of their skin when they saw the car pull in. They were instantly wound into a shrieking, spinning, dancing tizzy. They were so excited, they didn't know what to do, they ran up & down the hall squealing the news that Teena & Boo were here, the car was here, hurray, wheeeee etc They zipped from window to window trying to get a peek of her getting out of the car. It reminded me of when the Queen comes to visit (well not here here of course!) and everyone jostles for position, trying to get the best view of the arrival.

For one reason or another, Teena & I got out of our usual Monday visiting routine and I have definitely missed it! The girls all play pretty well together now, the occasional squabble over a toy but definitely better than it used to be. Teena commented today "remember when they were 8 months old & we used to say 'wait til they can just run around and play together'.. well, we're HERE!!!!!!!" Soooooo true! Sometimes we got together just for our own sakes back then, how much socialization does an 8 month old need anyway?? It was a great comfort for me at the time, to just have here there to commiserate with a glance, since we couldn't really talk over the crying & fussing of all those babies. I remember many times saying 'whaaaaaat???? I can't HEAR you!" and she was almost sitting right next to me! So now we can sit back, relax, eat bon bons and chat while the children play happily in my neat & tidy house (well I can dream a bit can't I???)

The girls kept pretty busy playing for awhile but about every 3 minutes, Honey would come ask if it was time to go out to play in the snow yet. After a snack (thanks Teena!) and a bit more play time, we finally decided to venture out. They made snow angels, they played tag, they went on the swings & slide & had an overall great time out in our new winter wonderland.

It's such a process to get them ready to go out but once we get there, we all enjoy it. Boo was having such a great time that she had a hard time leaving. "I'm not DONE PLAYING yet!!!!!!!" were her exact words I think. Very flattering when kids freak out because they don't want to leave your place! I take that as high praise, although it's probably her 3 little friends that are the real draw.

How neat is it for them to have someone that they're going to know their whole lives (assuming Teena & I don't break up of course!), that they've known from birth??? They will never remember a time that they didn't know Boo, she'll just always have been there! I'm sure there will be upsets over the years, girlfriends are tricky business! But hopefully they'll have some great stories & memories along the way!

It looks like somebody THREW UP in here!

ahhhhhh childhood memories! wait. what do you mean you've never heard that before? Your mother didn't tell you this on a regular basis?????? My parents are neat & tidy people, they like things orderly, dust & clutter free. Three cataglogues piled onto the buffet was enough to prompt the above quote from my mum. I distinctly remember my father forcing me as a teenager to reorganize the inside of a cupboard that I had in my bedroom that was apparently in enough of a state to cause him great distress. So as you can see, I wasn't raised to live in a pig sty! I don't enjoy mess & disorder, it just seems to follow me everywhere! Today I got three loads of washing & drying done (done, but not put away mind you), cleaned the upstairs bathroom, baked a banana bread and a coffee cake. The living room is still somewhat orderly from my cleaning fit & carpet shampooing session last week. The rest of the place had clearly gone to he!! in a handbasket. How does this happen?????? I'll tell you how, between all 6 other beings that inhabit this house with me, I figure at least 4 of them are working against me at any given time. : ))))

The girls like to change their clothes at least 2 or 3 times a day EACH. And they don't bother to put in a request, they just run into their room, fling open the closet door, reef with all their 36-38lbs of might on the garment on the hanger, hoping against all hope that it will snap under pressure. They manage to free the desired item from it's plastic prison about 95% of the time, discard the hanger & boring 2 hr old outfit, scatter all pieces of it to the four corners of the earth and be back out to play in about 30 seconds flat. They're like freaking wardrobe Houdinis. I turn my head for a few seconds and their clothes are completely different...

I manage to make headway in one area of the house and then as soon as I walk into another room, I'm totally disgusted. One night Murray & I spent close to 2 hours each, siding things up, putting away toys, gathering laundry etc with almost no noticeable improvement. I'm considering re joining Fly Lady but the last time I did it I got really annoyed. If she'd told me one more time to shine my sinks I thought I was going to track her down and shine HER. (to the MOON!).

Anyway, that's my rant for today! : ))) and if you come over and the place is a disaster, it's not my parents' fault. They did teach me better than that and can't be held responsible.