Some misc. cute pics taken recently.


Sunday was wonderful. I actually missed most of the service since I chose to spend some time outside with Charles instead. I pushed him on the swing for some time. We stayed late because the yougth group was holding a pancake brunch to raise money for a trip. It only cost $12 per family so how could we resist a great big lunch for only $2 per person? There was fresh fruit salad, homemade pancakes, wonderful smoked sausage, bacon, oj and an assortment of fresh muffins and scones. It was lovely and we stuffed ourselves. So, needless to say, we abstained our tradition of eating pancakes for dinner on Sunday evening. :D On the way home we had to stop to get milk, and then we took an extended bike ride. The day was beautiful. Since the girls were asleep when we arrived home, we all stayed outside and read to Sunday paper while the boys ran around and had fun. I also went to the library with Charles and we had a nice time. We got a lot of great books and he even behaved himself. He also put his great brain to use. Normally, when we go to the library he makes a beeline to the fountain and then whines quite loudly because there's no stool. This time, he chose to get some water when I was checking out books, but he didn't come back asking for help or start whining. When I went to find him, I discovered that he'd hauled a nearby chair over to the fountain and was standing on it.

On Monday I chose to not go to my group because of the children's behavior lately. I had to straighten up anyway since James' service coordinator was dropping by today. Carey had his first simulation with the WASU vetrinary school and from all accounts did very well. These simulations are run for the students benefits to help them learn how to deal with their patients owners. Carey is an actor and depending on his role, he can be very nice or rather mean. Today his character actually made a student cry. I'm so thankful that Carey landed in this second job. It's only part time; he does several simulations a semester. But $16 an hour is nothing to sneeze at. While he does have to take time off from his other job to do this, this one pays better so he isn't losing any money. He's cleared it with his bosses, which is good. While the University doesn't pay the greatest, I would hate for him to lose this job since the hours are flexible and this is the one job that understands his student status and is willing to work around it.

The only bad thing was later in the evening, the boys got into a lot of trouble. They lost all toys except one stuffed animal and all movie priveleges for a week. This isn't easy since Deedee didn't lose these priveleges but how do I let her watch a movie and keep the boys away? James also got his first taste of soap. He has resorted to biting again lately and is leaving some nasty marks on Charles. Carey had him stand with a cake of soap in his mouth for five minutes. While I thought this extreme, I must admit that he hasn't bitten Charles at all today.

Last night I got to bed late because Kitty was fussy. So I got Charley, our ADF, transferred back into the larger tank since it's getting cold enough that he needs a heater now and our heater is too strong for the little tank he's been in since the move. He's a strong little bugger and we've now had him over a year. All of the other fish, including all replacement fish, that we bought have all passed on now. I was planning on buying some more replacement fish this week, but James hasn't even noticed that the other fish are missing. He's perfectly happy with Charley. Since it was late that I got to bed, I wasn't happy that Carey woke me up at 3:30. This really wasn't his fault and now that I think about it, it is funny. The kids had gotten a hold of his clock, and reset the alarm to go off on EST so instead of going off at 6:30 PST, it went off at 6:30 EST. LOL It's still dark here now at 6, so he thought nothing of it when he got up and it was still dark. He had even completed his shower and was dressed when I asked him what the hell he was doing up so early. I asked him if he was sneaking out to see his girlfriend. :D He informed me that my alarm clock was wrong (it read the correct time) until he got to looking at his and realized the error. Bleh, what a night.

Today went pretty well. There were some upsets when the boys attempted to put in a movie only to be reminded that they didn't get to watch tv at all for the next week. This made them especially unhappy when they weren't even allowed to watch Veggie Tales Sing Along Songs or The Wizard of Oz, their current faves. I did corral them in the dining room for a while when Deedee watched a little movie, but this was such a pain that I nixed the tv for the rest of the day. I got Charles signed up for a preschool class once a week only to realize that the time conflicts with James' first speech therapist class of the morning so I'll have to see how this works out. I had a lot of fun with the kids this afternoon. We actually sat down and I tried to teach them Go Fish with a deck of cards made specifically for the game. LOL What a mess. Kitty wanted everyone's cards and wasn't content with the card she was given. Deedee got very upset when she had to give up any cards and would throw a fit every time. We finally dealt her out of the game when she threw her set of Angel Fish cards at Charles when he asked her if she had a Shark. Sigh...... I also attempted to take the kidlets outside but it didn't happen. Everyone was ready with the exception of Kitty and all she needed was some britches and a coat but the kids got ahead of themselves and went outside without me. When I asked them to come back in for a few minutes, they told me no that they were going on a walk. So the boys were hauled back in and poor Deedee didn't get to go out at all. I had promised them all hot chocolate as a treat when we came back in but since the boys were in trouble, only Deedee got some in her favorite dinosaur cup.

The visit from James service coordinator went well and she filled two pages of notes. James has been acting out a lot lately, so she's going to see if she can find some local programs that might get him out of the house more and involved with activities that would interest him. Cub Scouts might be good, if I can find a good local troupe. We also pulled out James' lesson books to show her and she was impressed with his work.

Dinner was interesting. Carey picked up a pizza on his way home which in itself wasn't very interesting. But everyone decided to have a roaring contest and because I lost, they actually had the nerve to attack me and tickle me! Bleh After dinner, since there was no tv allowed, we occupied the time by reading books to the kidlets and they got sent upstairs 15 minutes earlier than usual, each with the book of their choice to read until lights out. Carey and I then finished watching The English Patient, a sad movie I thought although, it was pretty good.

No comments: