MP3 Players

This is what I hear from the back seat of the van: "...you got spud on your face, a big mistake...I'm kickin' your chair all over the place... we will, we will rock you!"
Next child: "You are sooo lucky, Joe - I LOVE BON JOBY!"  Wish I had that on my ipod... oh, well - I guess I have to suit my self!"
Hmmm...

Silver Lining: I was so mad at them (children) after an afternoon of Christmas "joy" grocery shopping together - I think the MP3 players actually saved their lives.

Snow

So I am picking up the kids after school and they are both announcing what their activities will be when we arrive home - such as - snacks, drawing and then playing in the snow.  I suggested maybe they would like to help me shovel.  No response.  I drive in the garage, and go inside to get my winter gear on - then the phone rings and then I decide to look at the mail quickly.  The kids are outside - haven't come in yet.  I look out the window to confirm their location - I am thinking they are on the side yard with their sleds.  Wrong.  My best Christmas present ever:  Joseph is shoveling the drive - AND using the ice chip intermittently to scrape where the tires have packed the snow down.  Maya has no shovel - so she is out at the end of the drive with her purple plastic, kid's sized rake trying to break up the area where the snowplows (ever-so-politely) deposit street snow as they are clearing the cul-de-sac.  No one is arguing or yelling - only working.  Then - and here's the part that almost moved me to tears - I step out into the garage to start helping them and this is what I hear: "Maya, let's sing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer now - you will like that one better!"  Yes - they are shoveling and singing Christmas Carols as they are working.  I'm pretty sure it doesn't get any better than that!

Sliver Lining:  Need I say more? 

Christmas Lists

Ok - so I peeked at what the kids wrote to Santa.  The letters were very conversational - as though they were talking to a really good friend.  They both asked for items I know they have wanted to quite a while - but here's the funny part.  Independent of each other, they both asked Santa some general questions like: "Is it too cold up there for you?  Do you like Kringla?  Do the elves really know how to make a DS?  If you send me a spy kit, I don't really care what kind it is.  Could you send the doll WITH the puppy - so the puppy doesn't get lost. Do you really know Jesus? - Mom says you do."
Interesting.  I think my list as a child went something like this:
Please bring me ice skates.

Silver Lining:  Joseph has been showering properly this week.

GPS

Happy 40th, Julie - here's the GPS you've always wanted!  Translation:" Happy Birthday, Honey - I know you've been whining about getting lost ever since the winding up at the 'Big Tent Big Knife Sale in lieu of finding the violins' incident - now I don't have to worry about you getting lost in Godforsaken parts of the city anymore!" 
Now the kids want to ride only in the car that has the GPS so that they can watch the "movie" or check to make sure the driver is obeying the speed limit.  Since when has it become more interesting to glue your eyes to a little car on a little screen and watch it follow a little purple path - than to watch the world go by out your window - or play the license plate game??  I guess it's the same argument for why watch 3 channels plus UHF - when you can connect to a satellite and watch 6 kajillion channels!

Silver Lining: I haven't gotten lost recently... this week.

Showers and Macaroni

If anyone's still out there - here's the deal for today: So the kids are taking showers upstairs while I am finishing the dishes last night.  (One at a time)  Can hear the water running for the appropriate amount of time - then I hear normal getting dried off sounds - so I know one is done.  Then I hear: "Ok, now you go Maya - just turn on the water, wait for awhile, stomp around - then put on some lotion. - It works for me - mom just tells me how good I smell."  So I ask myself, "Self, I think you should be providing more diligent supervision - your current level of supervision is just producing lotion covered dirty kids."  Wise up, Mom!!

Silver Lining: Turns out the vacuum DOES work!  Just had a piece of construction paper with glued on dried macaroni twisted up and around the beater bar.... which begs the question: "Which kid was trying to get rid of the other kid's art work?"