Boobie Traps

Two nights ago Collin is tying pink ribbon all over the mud room.  "Collin it's time for dinner." The response I get it "Just a second mom I've got to finish making my boobie trap".  Ok - Whatever.

Finally finish dinner and everyone goes to the office.  Craft time - Riley has some project at school that she has to make a bunch of stuff to sell.  She leaves an open bottle of glue in the middle of the room on the floor.  Of course - You guessed it - Collin spills it and gets glue all over my floor.  "Ah, sorry mom"
Me: "Could you guys go play in the other room please"
Collin: "Come on Ben"
Ben: "Where are we going?"
Collin "To make a potion."
Ben "Ok" and they leave.

Enter Wyatt into kitchen "WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING!!??!!"
Collin: "Making a volcano."
Wyatt: "Mom!! They have water and soap all over the kitchen table and freezer door."
Me: "Could you please go get a towel and wipe up the water.  I don't even want to go in there right now" as I'm hot gluing pictures to pencils for Riley's craft project at school.

Now it's bedtime.  I ask the kids to go downstairs and get in bed while I finish cleaning up the messes.  You know the usual - pouring wet soapy newspapers out of cups and throwing out the left over noodles from dinner because they have dish soap all over them.

While I'm doing this Riley and Wyatt are reading the littles the riot act downstairs.
"HOW COULD YOU DO ALL THAT!" "DON'T YOU KNOW THAT MOM IS JUST ONE PERSON TAKING CARE OF ALL 4 OF US!" yada yada yada.  I go downstairs.
Riley: "Mom, I'm sorry.  I'm just so frustrated with them."  I get it.
Goodnight Riley.
Goodnight Wyatt.
Me to Ben and Collin: "Boys, why do you do these things?"
Ben: "We're making traps to catch the leprechauns."
Me: "Really? I think that we are a little out of season for the leprechauns."
Collin: "Nope.  They're coming."
Me: "Ok.  Goodnight boys."

Jason gets home and I share the night events.  He's cracking up.  "I know this is going to start something but I have to leave a note."
NOTE: "I've disarmed all of your boobie traps.  HAHA - The Leprechauns." With pieces of ribbon and newspaper all around it left over from the boobie traps and volcano.

Morning - The note is read.
Wyatt informs the boys that their plan was flawed because you have to leave gold if you want to trap a leprechaun.  Riley asks me if I wrote the note.  I can honestly answer no.  I had to rewrite the note to show her it wasn't my handwriting.  Then it was dad.  Wyatt answers "no - go get my journal.  Dad's handwriting is in there and it's way messier."

Conclusion: IT HAD TO BE THE LEPRECHAUNS!

How NOT to pay for your lost library book

Wyatt came home with a note on Monday saying that he still has a book out at the library.  I asked him to go look for it, but he never did.  I followed up with him later in the afternoon and he was going to look for it a little bit.  He NEVER went to look for it and that was the last on heard.

..... UNTIL .....

Wednesday afternoon when I receive this email from Wyatt's 1st grade teacher:

Hi Erika,

Wyatt is upset he can’t check out a library book and is working hard to problem solve the issue.    The book he owes is Let’s Mix.  It costs $6.00 if it is lost.  He asked me if I could take the money from his lunch money account on Tuesday and brought in gift cards today to pay for it.  I told him to put the gift cards in his backpack and told him that I was sorry that the gift cards weren’t for the library. 

Now let me add to this.  The gift cards he brought in were cards that my kids took from the cash register counter at the Goodwill Store and pocketed without me noticing.  None of the cards have any money on them since they are STOLEN. Normally I catch my people doing this, but apparently missed this one.  (Just another perk to taking 4 short people to the store with you.)

Now put yourself in the teachers shoes with this child giving her Goodwill gift cards to pay his library fees.  You can just imagine what was going through her head.  

Conclusion: Wyatt spent 3 days thinking of solutions to "how not to look for my lost library book".  I'll give him resourceful, but add LAZY to it.

My question really is: Wouldn't it of been easier to just look for the lost book????

At The Movies

Saturday I took all the kids to the movies for a birthday party.  (PADDINGTON for those of you who are curious.  I give it a B.)  When the movie was over the littles go sprinting out of the theater. I get out there and hear them laughing and yelling but don't see them. Then I spot them running around and around this man just yelling and laughing. He's standing there smiling but looking around like "who do these children belong to?"  Then his wife came over and they started laughing. Collin kept running around him. When we got in the car I asked the boys why they did that and Collin said "because running around people is funny."  He's right. It was pretty darn funny.

Toothpaste in the tub.

Well my boys are minty fresh after their bath thanks to Collin putting a tube of toothpaste into the water. Walk out for a second and that's what happens.

Better than the roll of toilet paper he put in the last bath.  

Before this happened I poured a cup of water on Collin's head to wash the soap out of his hair and he then through a cup of water at me. I guess my shock therapy to Ben at dinner when he was whining so bad I through water on him back fired on me. Collin always has Bens back. 

Buffalo Bills - Me and my bright ideas....

Thank God for the loud atmosphere at Buffalo Bills (a.k.a Buffalo Wild Wings).  Tonight I had the bright idea to take the kids out for dinner by myself.  While sitting at the table this was one conversation that we had.

Wyatt (very calmly), "Mom, Collin just said f***er."
Me, "No he didn't.  Collin, what did you just say?"
Collin says something and all I understand is something ending in "ER".  I ask again - same thing.  One more time I ask him as he says, "I'm just saying a Mickey Mouse word."
Me, "What is your Mickey Mouse word?"
Collin (very clearly), "F***er."
Me, "Collin, that's is not a nice word to say.  Don't say that."
Wyatt, "See Mom, I told you."
Collin, "F***ER!!" really loud (this is where the loud atmosphere really came in handy.)
Me, "Collin, Don't say that word."
Ben, "Yah Collin, You shouldn't say that word because that's a very strong word.  Right mom?"
Me, "Yes Ben.  That's correct."

This conversation never phased Riley in the slightest.  She just kept on coloring her picture waiting for her food to come.

Remembering 9/11

Where were you? I was sleeping and my friend Mary Goodman called me to wake me up and told me to turn on the t.v. My dad, brother and I watched as the second tower was hit. I went to school at the College of Lake County where they had big screen t.v's set up in the common areas so students could watch. And in my class a girl cried and asked to go home because her dad worked in Chicago and that was a possible target. Thank you God for keeping us safe. Bless those that gave their life and helped to save others. Thank you God for letting us go through this. It was horrible, scary, but taught us so much. We can't go through this tragedy for nothing. Let us always remember and be humbled by our experience.

Family puzzle night

This happened yesterday. Was it perfect like the pictures show - No. I had so much stress in my shoulders that I had to take Ibuphrofen afterwards. I said to Wyatt at bedtime - "we had fun tonight". His answer " really???"  - looking back though - we had a family game night, overall it was a good time, and we'd do it again.