Logan and his buddy Dallin played Batman today in his room while I put up some Halloween decorations.  As I tuned in to what they were saying I heard the following;

D:  "Logan let's play something because my Mom and Dad will be back soon, and I will be so sad if we don't play."

They started a battle with Batman toys.....

L:  "Dallin, you be a 'psychiologist.'  A psych-i-ologist (not a regular psychologist) is a person who rescues animals."

Hilarious.

Reality hits

*Big Sigh*  Back to the same old routine today.  Reality actually hit last night, after the Mister and I got back from our weekend away, when it was time to feed the family dinner.  What?  You mean I couldn't just walk with my Man to a take-out place of our choosing for dinner?  I had to provide a meal for more than the two of us?  It was a wake up call that our lazy weekend was over.  So I did what any recovering Mother that wasn't quite back into Mom-mode would do and laid out the cold cereal for dinner.  Mr. Cooper actually asked for chicken soup instead.  Figures.   

I did miss our young-ins though.  I don't know if they missed US much.  They all had wonderful weekends at Grandparents/Aunts and Uncles houses.  We heard about finding a snake in Grandpa Dave's backyard, Jessie's manicure with Grandma Grace, crafting with Grandpa Bob, a pizza party, watching cartoons, sleeping in Aunt Tori's old room, playing with Uncle Sam, pillow fights, movies, and yummy food.  They had a great weekend too.  Syd seems older and sassier after being away from her for two measly days.  They change so fast it's really not fair.  

Syd has a special place in her heart for Grandma Evie.  She didn't look back when she drove away with Grandma Evie on Friday afternoon.  When we got home yesterday Aunt 'Nisey told us just how much Syd likes Grammy Evie.  Syd stayed with 'Nisey Saturday afternoon while Toby and Grandparents N were at Nutcracker rehearsal.  Syd looked at 'Nisey while they were hanging out and exclaimed, "I'm going to call you Grammy Evie!  Grammy Evie, will you get me a drink of water?"  It was Gramma Evie this and that the rest of the afternoon until Syd fell asleep under baby Maddie's play gym.  

Last night while I was tucking Syd into bed she looked at me sideways, paused, and said, "Mom, I'm going to call you Grammy Evie, okay?!  G'night Gramma Evie.   Wait, can you get me a drink of water in a sicky (sippy) cup with a lid on it, please?  Thanks Gramma Evie!"  The girl is pure entertainment.

We had a short Family Home Evening lesson, caught up on what everyone did over the weekend and then split up to get ready for bed.  My little chef, Logan, and I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies while everyone else showered and jammied, and then it was off to bed for the chillies.  

You caught that right?  Cold cereal and cookies for dinner.  The kids want us to go away more often. ;)

They say it's your birthday

Yep, the fam all wished me Happy Birthday this morning.  It's a good thing I don't get too hyped up for my own birthday because it's not going to feel much like a special day.  Don't get me wrong.  It's gonna be a good day, but I'm fighting "why does this have to be done/have to happen ON my birthday" grumpiness.  There are loads of laundry to put away, a dirty house yelling at me, and oh yeah, CRAMPS!  Aaargghhh!  Even Mother Nature, Tampax-style, couldn't pass up breaking her usual schedule so I have something else to worry about.  Not to mention the extra kick in hormones that are making it really hard to be happy.  I just want to punch something.  It wouldn't be as big of a deal if the Mister and I hadn't planned a getaway for this weekend.  Now I get to enjoy my time alone with my Man, cramps, headache and bloating.  Blech.  Blargh.  Blah.  I know it's a trivial detail in the big scheme of things, and I feel slightly lame for complaining about it.  We've been looking forward to this little vacation for awhile, so the ideal weekend I had pictured in my head is now crowded by an unwelcome third party!  

Okay, it feels better to have that off my chest.  I'll stop whining now and get to work.  Gotta go pack everyone's bags for our weekend adventures, get the birds ready to stay with Grandma E, and clean up the house with the time I have left.  I really am excited to get away for awhile. 

Making snickerdoodles into the wee hours of the morning for Logan to take to school.  Look, I am exactly 30-something years old!

Speaking in code

As parents, sometimes we find it necessary to speak in code so the offspring doesn't know what we are talking about.  Pig latin worked great until Jessie figured it out at age 7 and taught the boys how to understand it.  We don't know another legitimate language to speak freely, so we have started talking in code.

Since Christmas is coming and we have a few surprises up our sleeves for the family, we have been talking in code a lot lately.  Sometimes we slip, but thankfully, it's either not heard or no one within ear shot catches our slip.  The Mister and I sound like computer geeks (no offense Grandpa, we really appreciate your computer prowess and expertise) talking about "software, software registration, items to go with the software, those things with round shapes attached, etc."  The older kids are smart enough to figure things out soon, so we can't speak openly around them too much.  Fun stuff though.

Stay tuned for software updates to come.......

A preview of lots of vacation pictures to come. Hopefully soon.