Kitchen Towels

I have had people question my use in paper towels.  Yes, I use them, I use them more frequently than others.  If I dry my hands, I get a paper towel, and I may save it on the counter until the next time I use it. I do like to use sponges for cleaning up spills and regularly sanitize them. 

I would like to point out, I am SO not a clean freak.  Simon does about 80% of the cleaning in the house.  I can't quite figure out if it is because I am lazy or he is a clean freak.  He accused me the other day that our shower was turning into a camp shower.  Ummm, you SO know what he is talking about!  Literally the man just steam cleaned the dining room for the sake of it!

I stand firm and true though on my use of paper towels.  I have a drawer of black kitchen towels that I wash and use regularly as long as I pull it out of the draw and smell it first... you see, here is my dilemma.

A kitchen towel in this house is used for MANY things...  We have a towel rack on our oven and many a time one (and I use that term to identify anyone in the house other than ME) will grab that towel to clean up spills.  Whether they are on the floor, the counter, wherever.  Then if someone (ME) is not looking that towel gets placed back on the rack.  I have seen the towel be used for the floor, wiping a dog's foot, wiping a nose, and then put back on the rack.  I swear, I constantly am hiding towels so that they can be washed and not re-used dirty... But today takes the cake.

We have a ton of snow, and the girls were loading up the car to go to our friends house.  The garage door is up, and the car is running.  You know how dirty and wet a garage floor can get, well Lucy is getting loud and agitated in the garage and I go out to look....  There she is with a black kitchen towel  wiping up the puddles on the floor of the garage.  Yep, the garage door keeps dripping since it is up and she keeps getting annoyed that there are more puddles to clean.  With that, she storms in the house, puts the towel back on the rack and gets into the car.  On one hand you want to be proud (lord knows Simon is..)  since she is cleaning up puddles in the garage.  But of course, I can't help but shake my head, because there is the good old use full kitchen towel. 

And that is why I use paper towels.  Lord knows where that towel has been.


***  Earth conscious friends.  This is for humor purposes only.  I don't mean to offend anyone by not saving the world, one skanky towel at a time****

Brunch with Santa

We went to Brunch with Santa at the club last weekend and the girls LOVED it!  The food was fabulous as it is our favorite meal of the day!  Santa's attendance at the breakfast was of course the biggest hit!

Getting Ruthie to put a dress on was a large fight.  I negotiated with her a "cool" dress and the fact that I never make her wear what she doesn't want to wear and she could take one for the team by dressing up.

I told her that I wasn't like some moms and I don't make her wear huge frilly dresses with fake flowers and bows, and that I know she doesn't like to be girly so I chose a dress that fit her style.  I made her laugh by saying that there would be plenty of girls dressed like frilly princesses in dresses that I would NEVER make her wear.  I told her that whenever she saw a dress that was a little too girly and she was glad her mama didn't make her wear that she could look at me and wink.

I am pretty sure that most of the people at the brunch thought she had Tourett's ...  we definitely saw alot of girls in dresses she would rather die than wear.  Turned it into a fun game, and now, I think she may put that dress back on for Christmas mass. 

Thanksgiving

Is one of our favorite holidays to stay here and do nothing.  We were joined by our wonderful cousin Harper and had a lovely time doing nothing.  It was so much laying around doing nothing that no pictures were really taken.

Here is the girls and Harper in front of his welcome sign!

Here are some of our place cards for dinner, and the cards we made for people to write what they were thankful for.

The turkey's were toxic.  They actually had to be kept in the garage they smelled so bad.  So note to self, Styrofoam is an angry art supply that doesn't like to be painted with washable paint.  You would have thought I was trying to poison the house with the smell.  That and it only took 6 days for them to dry.  We painted them, and then left them in the garage for days, then we brought them out for dinner, and back to the trash.  I didn't want the girls to be discouraged and not use them but man, what a disaster!

Parade and Cosmic Bowling

We are back in action after a horrible cold took us all out.  I was in bed for 3 days, Simon missed 2 days of work, and the girls were sick too!

This weekend we enjoyed our local holiday parade.

We also enjoyed some Cosmic Family bowling.  Check out Ruthie's form, Lucy's bowling outfit and Simon's strike dance.

Good Times!

JUNGLE - JOE'S

Is our favorite place.  We haven't been there in forever.  When our friends wanted to go on a school night, I figured it was just the thing to get us over missing Simon, and break up the day!  It was a fun treat, although, nobody ate dinner, and they fell asleep in the car on the half hour ride home then everyone was grumpy!  But from the looks of the pictures a fun time was had by all!

Took a few video shots on my camera.  Please make sure your volume is down, Ruthie still has that ear piercing scream!

Ten on Tuesday

1.  It seems like whenever I don't post for a while there is always alot going on and now is no exception!

2.  Simon was averaging 3 nights out of town a week for the past month.  It is rather difficult with him gone.  No matter how long we have been doing this, it always seems to rock our world.  The girls miss him tons, I miss him tons, and it is hard to juggle everything.

3.  Ruthie has been having stomach pains, the doctor had her get an ultrasound to check for possible hernia.  She was such a trooper when she had a pelvic ultrasound and abdominal. We are still waiting to hear what is going on but are hopeful that she is fine.

4.  Lucy has been complaining of headaches since the end of camp.  We had her eyes checked today and she was so great, no glasses needed and so we will continue to search out a reason for the headaches. 

5.  I have been SO SICK for the past few days.  I was in a Nyquil induced comma this weekend and am still suffering, but life goes on and we are powering through.  The nasal congestion, cough is yuck and Ruthie now has it!

6.  We are excited for Thanksgiving and staying home for 4 days.  I love to cook Thanksgiving dinner, I have incorparated alot of English recipes into our Thanksgiving and it is always funny how the Americans insist on the same stuff yet LOVE the roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings!  We also love to use the time to decorate for the Holidays.

7.  I am in desperate need of some good book selections, please send them my way!

8.  The girls are getting excited for christmas.  The word out of the street was that santa had already selected their presents and will be wrapping them this weekend.re hope they behave and Santa doesn't have to unwrap their gifts and give them to someone else!

9.  Speaking of being on task, I already have all of my christmas cards ordered and printed and almost addressed.  I am just waiting for Simon to finish his ever so cheesy, everyone loves to get...Christmas letter.  Amy - the best photographer/friend ever did an amazing job this year.  She took the picture on the welcome page.  I will post the other picks but want to  keep the ones on the card a surpirse.

10.  The girls love halloween but have yet to ask for any candy.  The other night I offered up a chance to have a pick from the halloween candy and neither of them wanted anything seriously!  Anyone have any idea of what to do with the candy?  Other than me eating all of it?

Update:

Song Number 8.  Is Never Grow Up TaylorSwifts  on her new album.

It is the song that goes with the slideshow. 

Still crying listening to it.

My Work Here is Done......

Today was Ruthie and Mommy day.  I have been trying to set aside some time every week where it is just Ruthie and I doing something together.  She is extremely jealous of all the extra time that Lucy gets to spend with me.  I think it is really affecting her getting comfortable in school where Ruthie goes to school from 8:20 till 3:40.  Lucy is only half days Monday through Thursday.  I have been trying not to make it too much fun as Ruthie really feels like she is missing out.

So today, we set off for the mall.  First stop Gap.  She wanted to carry all her own clothes as she goes to the dressing room to have a fashion show.  She picks out tons of new tops, and fleece outfits, socks, tights for her sister, even wanted me to get a few things.  We had a blast.

Next stop, she wants to go to the Merry Go Round.  Where she insists on paying all by herself and climbs up to the top of the 2 story Merry Go Round and picks out her animal while I watch from the gated area for spectators.  She even asked a dad near her to help her strap her safety harness.  She rides and enjoys herself, and I have to yell to her to make her wave to me.  As the ride comes to a stop I go to the exit where I am greeted by a huge smile and a running Ruthie with a jumping Hi-5 that is so loud people start to stare.  "That was totally awesome Mom!"  she screams  Honestly I think she was thinking the Hi-5 was Awesome because it was so loud!

Now we are off to Red Robin for lunch.  Her choice.  We sit down and she immediately goes to the back of the menu pics out what she wants to eat.  When the waiter comes by she politely asks for water and a basket of onion straws.  When he brings our water back she looks him in they eye and asks for Chicken and French fries, please.  After he leaves she says.... "Mom, I ordered all by myself!  And look, I am even sitting like an adult".  She had her legs crossed!  We sit and discuss school, friends, people in her class that are not nice for no reason, (she doesn't like that) and how she just wants to be nice to everyone.  She likes to learn and to count and to even try to connect with the kids in the class that other people don't like.  (yes, imagine, she is in Kindergarten and 5 and people already don't like people - although that is not my daughter!)  When done she even passes on a hot fudge sundae!

Next stop Target....  We pick out slippers for her and pink ones for Lucy, and the new TaylorSwift CD.  She also askes for a Hot Pretzel.  We were in there for a while! 

When we get out of target we put the CD in and start our 25 minute journey home.  We listen to the songs and talk about if we like them or not.  About song number seven she begins to fall asleep.  There I am driving down the highway listening when song number eight comes on.  At which point I listen to the words and I am sobbing!  Sobbing so hard I am fogging up my glasses.  Crying so hard, I am wondering if I need to pull over.  As I look back in the rearview mirror and see my beautiful, wonderful happy little 5 year old Ruthie, holding her balloon she got at lunch fast asleep,  all I can see is this movie of pictures in my head to go along with the song that is playing.......

Perhaps, we are all suffering from this adjustment period of starting school and growing up. While I have always played the tough Mom, and have always tried to make them independent and strong young ladies.  I am realizing that maybe I am doing too good of a job at times and now they no longer need me like they used to.  I guess my work here is done.....

Halloween

The girls really loved Halloween!  Ruthie made a Great Fire Fighter and Lucy was a fantastic SuperGirl.... Pink Supergirl as she kept saying.

The house looked great, the weather was perfect and we had an all around fun night.  The best part is.... the girls haven't even asked to have any candy since that night.

Ruthie had a Halloween parade and it was so fun to see all the kids.

Cooking Show

Lucy and I love to watch cooking shows.  We watched our fave (Ina) the other day and then Lucy wanted to make everything on the show.  The particular show we watched was where she made a cheese danish, a chicken salad sandwich and chocolate ganache cupcakes and sent them to her office and she had 2 different samples with a special ingredient and asked the ladies to say which one A or B they liked better.  (The secret ingredient one always one).

We like to prepare dinner in the afternoon so that we have time to go out and play.  And lately, we have made our own little cooking show out of it.

The other day we made Beef Brisket (family favorite) broccoli, and rice.  We just measured and cut the broccoli and prepared the pan and measured the rice.  She loves having her cooking show and we even have an audience.

Then she was upseet because we didn't make an A and B version, so we had a taste test for lunch..  A - Strawberry jelly versus  B - Grape Jelly.  We are so living on the edge.

And that is about the most excitement from here!

The Strawberry Jelly won!

Pumpkin Patch

My all time favorite fall activity is pumpkin patch.  I was totally disappointed this year as the orchard we typically go to didn't plant their HUGE patch that goes for as far as the eye can see.  So we were stuck with a small patch of pumpkins to choose from.  And, to make matters worse they didn't have any HUGE ones.  I feel like I need to find the biggest pumpkin in the patch and bring it home with me. 

So this year, the girls somehow decided that they wanted to find as many small pumpkins that they could.  Have I not taught them anything?  They had a good time, and this was for sure the first time I have ever gone to the pumpkin patch in t-shirts and shorts.  We all did not stay very long because it was so hot!

Family Sleepover

Bisson Family Fun Night had to be moved to Saturday night this weekend.  While we tried to pack tons of stuff into the weekend, we were left to just Saturday night.

We decided to watch Camp Rock and have a sleepover in the family room!  The girls totally loved moving our beds into the family room and having a fun sleepover. 

And the last day of spirit week was a purple day!

Take That June Cleaver

This picture always makes me laugh...  why didn't this make the christmas card?

Yesterday was one of those days..  Hopefully the kind of day that only follows a full moon, the kind of day I can at some point laugh about and not scream obscenities.  I have a sign that hangs in our kitchen that says:  "Just do your best".  Well I thought about that sign alot yesterday.... and if yesterday was my best, then we are all in for a world of hurt.

It started out at 7am with the girls playing happily, but unloading ALL of their toys into the Family room.  I know this is where it all got derailed.  I was trying to get them to redirect to say the toy room on the first floor, or say the basement which is filled with their toys or perhaps their bedrooms.  Nope, they wanted to play where Simon and I were of course in the middle of everything because their was no room in the other rooms.  That's great just take over the house.  More for me to clean later.  No big deal.

So I go upstairs to get their clothes and make beds, where I notice a large stain in Lucy's room on her sheets, so I get the clothes, and Ll the sheets off the beds.  While I bring everything down I notice that Ruthie is sitting at the kitchen table doing homework while eating breakfast and junk piled up everywhere, as I panic as she is doing homework in green marker, I say... "RUTHIE WHAT ARE YOU DOING?  YOU CAN'T DO YOUR HOMEWORK IN GREEN MARKER, AND BESIDES WHY ARE YOU DOING IT NOW AND WHY DIDN'T YOU ASK FOR HELP?"  When what I should have said, according to Simon was.....  "Ruthie great job on taking the initiative to do your homework on your own, you are doing a great job."  So Simon and I "discuss" the merits of the way that goes down, and Ruthie begins to cry, saying she doesn't want to go to school and she is extremely upset.  Great!  mark one in my column, make that 2, because I am now mad at Simon and blaiming him for me being flustered. 

Finally get Ruthie to decide she will go to school, take Lucy, and Ruthie to school, Great start to the morning!  I am cleaning the kitchen and crying, as this is the way to start the day when I go to the laundry room to change the sheets and literally inside the washer is a bottle of shampoo!  Seriously!  Where in the heck did a bottle of shampoo come from between carrying the sheets downstairs putting them in the washer?  Take out the shampoo, wash the sheets again.  Empty dishwasher, clean up all toys (6 trips) up the stairs and move to the toy room. Where I notice.. Oh great I left the cover off the grill last night.  Go to put the cover back on the grill on the deck and realize... Not only did I leave the cover off, I left the grill on the entire night and now the propane has run out. 
** forget to mention while I realized all this I was talking to my neighbor on the phone, at which point she accuses me of "BECOMING MY MOTHER"!  Great!!! More choice words for her and we decided to go for a walk and get out of the house!

As I am walking out of the house, I notice Ruthie's Library book and it is Library day at school.  Take the book on our walk, swing by school.  Great!  She is soooo going to be pissed off at me!  Redemption for me by bringing the library book!

The rest of the day goes by well with nothing much to report other than the first thing Ruthie says to me when I meet her outside the school..  "I HAVE AN OVERDUE LIBRARY BOOK"  Which for a Kindergarten child is pretty upsetting, or maybe just a Bisson drama queen!  I guess even though I ran the book up to school by 10am I already missed library.  I also guess you don't get points for trying!

I wasn't even going to try and make dinner last night.  Chinese take-out!  While I know these things are not life altering or earth shattering, all together they can bring you down, and make you think that the only job you have in life, you are not doing very well. 

Today's events.....

**Breakfast playdate at our house after I drop off Ruthie.  2  Moms, 4 kids  (already made half the breakfast stuff)
**  Lucy playdate at her friends at noon
**  have to go to the store in the hour that she is at her friends
**  Come home make appetizers for beer party for tonight at neighbors.
**  Pick up Ruthie from school take everyone to after school birthday party.

**  Babysitter at 6 for beer party

**  tomorrow soccer game at 10am

**  Pumpkin Patch after game before party

**  Football party at 2pm

** Bisson Family Fun night.  We are all moving our beds into the family room and having a sleepover with movies!  Yippee!  And nothing is planned for Sunday but a big brunch and sleeping in!

Wish me luck, if I can't get through the mundane this should be a real interesting 48 hours!

Take that June Cleaver

Ruth Catherine

Is really starting to get into school.  She is enjoying her time and loved the spirit week activities this week.

Tuesday was pajama day...

Wednesday was crazy hair day.

And me... my biggest accomplishment is my fall decor.  We are getting pumpkins this weekend.

Lucy Martin

Lucy had a field trip with school this week and she had a lovely time.  She really enjoyed playing with her friends from school.  My favorite part was the yummy doughnuts and cider!

All day my focus is trying to keep Lucy occupied, if it was up to her, she would come home and take a nap and watch tv all day.  We have a pretty rigorous schedule of activity, workbook/education time, etc.  I literally left the room for 5 minutes and I come back to this......

10 of Tuesday

1.  Lucy is sick, with what I thought was a sinus infection, but it could be something else.  She is on Amoxicillan, but still had 103.2 fever last night.  Looks like another day on the couch today.

2.  She cried so hard when I told her she had to miss school again today.  That is the best news of the day.  Wierdly, this means that she really does like school and thankfully was sad when she couldn't go.  Let's keep up that momentum.  I hope that she is able to go some point this week.  But another day on the couch for us!

3.  Ruthie is really liking school and is making friends and having fun.  I heard from another mom the other day while standing outside school....  "Your daughter is Ruthie.  My son talks about her all the time, wants to make her an art project and plans on marrying her".  Great sir get in line.  When I asked Ruthie if she knew who said boy was she looked at me and was like NO, never heard of him before in my life.  It did make me want to interrogate someone.

4.  Ruthie has a fieldtrip and is terrified to go on the bus because she got sick on all the busses at Disney.  She has requested her father to attend the trip and ride the bus with her.  The teacher said that was fine, that he could attend, that she wouldn't make him do any work and that it wouldn't be that bad.  I had to control myself when I told the teacher... "This is my husbands dream, I am surprised he doesn't sit outside the window at school all day and watch".  He would be at school all day everyday if he was able.

5.  Lucy went to the doctor and our favorite doctor is moving to Alaska for 2 years.  So bummed she so awesome.  She will call us on the weekend from her cell phone to check on the girls.  It is so hard to find someone you really truly love and trust with your family.  There are a bunch of other doctors in the practice, but we will really miss Dr. Sarah!

6.  She measured Lucy because she felt that she had grown so much at camp...  Well she did, she grew 4 inches since May.  Holy Smokes.  That is crazy!

7. I really need to find some time to get out on my road bike.  Simon has been putting more miles on my bike lately than I have.

8.  Fall is my favorite season.  I love the way it smells...  well that and the smell of new shoes..  Who is with me?

9.  Speaking of shoes...  It is UGG time.  yahoo.  Bring it!

10.  Go Buckeyes. 

Apple Orchard

We headed to the apple orchard yesterday.  Tons of fun.  Not at all crowded and after much pressure we got Lucy to go on the zipline, and then we couldn't get her to get off the zipline.  Success!  Now today decorate our front porch and make some apple pies!