Yard Work

Not that you can see it in this picture, but it has been raining here all morning. My plans of epic yard grooming have been quashed by bad weather. Guess I'll have to stay inside with the family all day instead.

Big Week for a Little Girl

Next week Ruby starts back to school part time and is switching from dance classes to gymnastics. Last week her teacher came and visited. Ru is really excited, filling her school bag with books and toting them around the house.

Saying she is excited about gymnastics would be the understatement of the century. The school's class roster was full so she had to be on a waiting list. We told her that we had to wait on the lady to call us and let us know that she could go. Ruby asked several times a day if she had called. One day, out of nowhere, she even went as far as to tell us that the lady had called her and said it was ok to go now.

Kids are smart...sometimes I think a little too smart.

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The juice is loose...

The documentary "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" inspired us to get on the juicing train. It didn't take long for the train to jump the track. Bed, Bath and Beyond carries the documentary on DVD but not the juicer from the film. We special ordered one through their website. It came damaged...
We ordered another and once it got in, we started juicing. I was immediately unimpressed with the quality of the juicer. It constantly spit chunks back out of the chute getting little bits of this and that all over the counter. Cleanup was a nightmare. I was literally scrubbing bits of fruits and veggies off of the plastic walls and that was just before putting it in the dishwasher. The other big disappointment was the amount of waste that was generated. Each time I used it I was throwing away more pulp that I was getting juice. I just mentally couldn't get past it. Yesterday we took the juicer back.
Our friend who also just started juicing has a VitaMix and loves it so we are saving for one. Really just an untra-powerful blender, there is no waste and cleanup is a breeze. I've seen his machine and tried his juice and I think it will fit our needs and lifestyle much better.

Taking a week off...

Happy Thursday

     It's been quite a while since we had any real action around here. I should have known we were overdue.
All was well Thursday morning: the girls were up and eating breakfast, my wife was getting dressed and I was packing her lunch. Ruby wanted oatmeal, which I made and gave to her, and Sailor was working on the first half of a banana.
     It was quiet...too quiet. I went in the next room to check on them and this is what I found.

Yep, that's a bowl of oatmeal spread all over the couch. It was also on the throw pillows and all over Ruby (and some on Sailor too). I yelled so loud that the sonic boom actually knocked the kids off their feet.
     Ruby got a spin in time out and a shower. Sailor got a thorough wipe down and the other half of her banana. My wife feels like it was our fault for not watching them. I told her Ruby, who was the obvious culprit as the oatmeal was places Sailor can't reach, knows better and could not resist the temptation of spreading her bowl of breakfast greatness all over the place and playing in it.
     To be honest, the things the kids have done that were destructive and made trouble for us actually seem like they would be kind of awesome to do. Who hasn't felt like ripping things out of the wall or coloring on the TV? I guess that is the difference between adults and children...they can get away with it and we can't.

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