Spring Break

My goal is to clean the house and not tear my hair out this week. That can be achieved simultaneously, right? I did myself a favor and created a list, afterall, what are goals without lists?
Essentially the list is what I can get the kids involved in to keep them busy and not fighting.

This morning we cleaned the basement. I really wish I had a before, during, and after picture. The before and after might not look much different, but we were able to fill up a trash bag (small) and a donation bag (big).

It did cost me a dollar a kid, but that was cheap at the price. They are HIGHLY motivated by the thought of earning big bucks this week. Maybe I should price my jobs accordingly. I wonder how much Spring Break is going to cost me.

Pinewood Derby

After many an hour spent on a block of wood, Jack is the proud winner of not one, but two trophies. He won second place for his den and second overall for the pack. AND he did most of the work.
Jack's design, the blue truck. It was almost dayglow orange, but a paint malfunction resulted in a last minute color change.

Art by Lily

Lily and I have lots of time to ourselves when the big kids go to school. Lately we've been playing ALOT of "Guess Who" and "Guess what I'm drawing". She is getting really good about staying in the lines and switching to more than one color per picture. Here she is perfecting the rainbow.

Blue And Gold

If you have a scout, were a scout, or ever hoped to be a scout, you know what Blue and Gold means. Yes, it's that time of year again, the Blue and Gold Banquet. All the families attending were asked to bring a "scout" themed dessert. I think ours qualifies. There will be judging, I'll have to post later with the results.

Emma's Baptism

Emma was so excited to get baptized today that even with the power outage and the slightly cold water, we were able to get her baptized and confirmed.

Spectacularly Bad

I've determined that I should NEVER be my own child's teacher. They are never well behaved in a group setting. They've got you in a game of Survivor; outwit, outlast, and outplay. Today was the day that I lost all three.

What should have been a simple hour of Activity Days turned into the "Survive Emma's Antics" hour. There was boredom in the first five minutes, mouthiness the next ten, pouting for five, crying for fifteenish, and sulking for twenty. There may have been a few good minutes mixed in there, but I'm not sure. She was so SPECTACULARLY bad that she's sitting in time out until I'm not frustrated with her. She may be the until she's 18.

The Spare Oom

What was once the spare oom upstairs is now Emma's room. I've been thinking about putting the room to use, but was disinclined to actually move Emma's stuff in there. We've gone through a great shuffle of stuff lately and it was time to get motivated. Nothing like a day off from school to get me motivated to put the kids to work. I know that Spring is a ways off, but it felt like a Spring clean with all the stuff we cleaned. Now I just need some designers to come "finish" the rooms.