All Dressed up for Madi's Party

Sweet, adorable Madi (Um, I mean, Ariel) turned five last week!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADI!

To celebrate this momentous occasion, her mom and dad threw her a huge party. And you'll never guess who showed up!

Sponge Bob, The Cat in the Hat, Captain Hook, Woody and Jesse from Toy Story...there was a silly nerd who kept picking her nose (ew!), an escaped convict, a cowgirl, a blind referee, a graduate (but we're still trying to figure out whether the graduate was a guy or a girl), a 92 year old hippie (yes, I said 92!) ...even George W. Bush made an appearance!

I'm telling you...Madi must be pretty special for these important people to show up at her party!

Check it out:

GEORGE TAKES A MOMENT OUT OF HIS BUSY SCHEDULE TO POSE WITH A NERD. BUT WHICH ONE IS REALLY THE NERD?

IT'S DORK! ER...DAN...ER...SPONGE BOB!
(The question on everyone's mind is, "how on earth did that sponge squeeze into those tights?")

MATT & KRISTI? OR WOODY AND JESSE? YOU MAKE THE CALL.

FLASHBACK TO THE SIXTIES...
NANA MAKES ONE GROOVY FLOWER CHILD...

THE CAT IN THE HAT STOPS TO POSE

BLIND REF, ROB, WISHES HE COULD ACTUALLY SAY HE SAW THE PRESIDENT

HMMM...CONFUSED GRADUATE, JEFF (or is it Jeffina?)

LYNDSEY AFTER HER EXTREME NERD MAKE-OVER

COWGIRL VONNIE / FLOWER CHILD, ELEANOR / ESCAPED CONVICT PAULIE & his accomplice, ZSA-ZSA

WHO IS THAT MASKED WOMAN? Oh! It's PHYLLIS (with adorable CHLOE)

CHLOE WONDERS WHICH ONE OF HER CATS TOOK THE HUMAN HORMONE PILLS.

CAPTAIN TRYING TO "HOOK UP" WITH THE LADY IN THE POINTY HAT

PUMPKIN PAINTING

SOCIALIZATION OF THE MISFITS

Captain Hook took the prize for BEST ADULT COSTUME. Nana came in second for the hippie costume (but she has since said she really was hoping to WIN! She is a competitive chick, isn't she?)

We had a great time. Madi's 5th birthday party was a huge success.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MADI! THANKS FOR LETTING US SHARE YOUR EXTRA SPECIAL DAY!

WE LOVE YOU!

Goodbye Sandy!

Well, we started out with two guinea pigs. Buddy died last winter. And now, our beloved Sandy has joined him in that Timothy Hay haven in the sky.

Sigh.

It was a very sad couple days. We found her two days ago, laying in her cage, unable to move and not looking too good. We didn't think she'd make it through the night. But yesterday morning she was still alive! So there I was, bawling at 5:45 A.M. because #1, she'd suffered through the night and #2, the kids were going to wake up soon and would be mad at me for allowing her to suffer through the night.

At 6:00, I called my sister-in-law (thank God for Kristi!) who is an animal lover, has a bazillion pets of her own, picks up strays on the side of the road, and works for a vet hospital. After dropping her daughter off at school, she came right over and put Sandy to sleep and out of her misery. (Sniff.)

Now the kids are left with the misery. Sandy was such a sweet pet and we're thankful for the time we had with her.

So goodbye, Sandy. You'll be missed. I'm pretty sure the kids will even miss cleaning your cage (okay...maybe not that).

We Cleaned! We conquered! And Yes, Someone Whined.

Well, the dust has been annihalated. The toys have been shoved back in their places. The carpet has been vacuumed. The toilet has been scrubbed.

And the whining could be heard for miles.

Okay, maybe not for miles. But it sure was loud and clear. And annoying, I might add.

It wasn't me - despite a couple of spiders that reared their ugly legs. Still, I refrained from whining. Aren't you proud?

So that leaves...the children.

Which one, you ask? I'd better not say. But he or she definitely showed off his or her whining expertise on Saturday.

If you had been there, you'd have been convinced I was inflicting torture on this child. Making him/her do unspeakable things. Things like remove all nick-nacks from the window ledge and dust. GASP! Clean out clothing drawers - HORRORS! And, worst of all, pick up miscellaneous riff-raff from the floor. Stuff that, according to him/her - wasn't theirs. Hmmm.

Ask my son/daughter, and he/she will say with the utmost conviction that I gave Mommy Dearest a run for her money this past weekend. Luckily for him/her, I held back from using those wire hangers.

However tempted I may have been.

But we got through those grueling hours of agony. And we ended up having a really nice evening of church and a bon-fire with friends. Best of all, I now have a clean basement. At least for the next day or so.

So we didn't win the war on whining. And no, I won't say which of my children lost it for us.

Geesh. You'd think an 8th grader would be past this stage. (oops...did I say that?)

Cleaning Day!

The kids are whining already.

The truth is, I'm not all gung-ho, either. Although I'll be glad when it's over.

What am I talking about?

Cleaning the house...or, more specifically, the basement.

Ugh.

Today is the day we conquer the mess, the dust bunnies, the - gulp - storage room. Can anyone say, "disaster area?" If you don't hear from us in a couple days, please come looking. We're probably buried underneath the rubble of games, toys, and other junkabaloo. Or there is the possibility that we've been bitten and paralyzed by giant basement spiders. Shudder...

So the plan is Rob will be working outside, mowing and weeding, and the kids and I will be busy little beavers inside, picking up, vacuuming, organizing, and keeping a close eye out for bugs.

I'm trying to figure out how I can get the kids excited about this overwhelming project. But honestly, there's nothing exciting about it. Except the sense of accomplishment we'll feel when the bathroom sparkles, the television screen is clearer, due to no more layer of dust covering it, and we will actually be able to walk without tripping over video games, fort blankets and other miscellaneous items.

But somehow, I doubt the kids will consider "sense of accomplishment" a good trade for their sweat and tears.

Hmmm. Maybe a couple bucks will do it.

Wait a minute. Earth to Lynda! The kids are part of this family too! (duh) Cleaning is part of their "job" description. Especially when most of the basement mess is theirs! Hello! What was I thinking? Of course they shouldn't get paid to help out around the house. It's not like we're slave drivers around here. Really, my kids are pretty spoiled. It will do them good to put aside their fun for the day and put forth a little manual labor. It'll be great for their characters and their bodies.

Yeah...preach it, girlfriend!

But that's not to say we won't reward them for their efforts with a trip to Speedway for some frozen cokes. If they do a good job. And if the whining is held to a minimum.

And...sigh...I suppose that means I need to set the standard and refrain from whining too, as difficult as that will be. The true test will be when we start disturbing those spiders from their hiding places.

Will I be able to keep a whine from escaping?

Stay tuned...

The Things We Do for our Kids

So have you yet seen the one piece of evidence that shouts to the world that school is back in session? No, I'm not talking about big yellow buses on the roads, or crossing guards at every corner, or the ransacked snack aisle at the grocery store.I'm talking about.... FUNDRAISERS!

OK, so it's for a GREAT cause. The school needs new science lab stuff and materials for the library or a new overhead projector. But let's face it. It doesn't matter. Nobody's really thinking about the fact that we'll be helping out the school - and, ultimately, the kids that attend that school - by participating in these fundraisers. No. We're thinking..."Great. There's another twenty bucks I have to shell out." Maybe you're one who steers clear of all school aged children and the parents who have them, avoiding that inevitable moment when they pull the order sheets from their back pockets and say, "Do you want to buy some cookie dough? It's only $15 for this tiny container. You may even be able to squeeze two dozen cookies out of it."

Do you turn off all the lights and hit the floor when you see children walking up your driveway with a wagon full of Girl Scout cookies or a gigantic box of candy bars? Or let the answering machine pick up...in case it's one of your nieces or nephews calling?

Hey. The fundraiser organizers are brilliant! They have a little secret. And the secret is...CASH. For the kids! Sell items and get a cash pick from the box. Kids will sell their little hearts out to get the chance to pick a twenty dollar bill from that box. Only, what they don't tell you is that there is one twenty among hundreds of ones. Chances are pretty slim you're going to pull out that twenty.

My kids have won plenty of cheezy toys and a few bucks from these fundraisers. And even when they see, firsthand, how cheezy those toys are, the next year, they still HAVE to win that fuzzy green hat with the propeller on the top. And they work like crazy to earn it.But wait! Do they? I mean, who really does all the work? I will say I do make my kids call a few people - like Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt and Uncle. But I'll admit, I sent out two emails during the FIRST week of school, soliciting the friends and family I love, begging them to dig deep into their pockets for my son and daughter. It doesn't matter that it's for magazines (and renewals do count, so you don't even have to buy anything NEW) or for Preferred Vendor KeyCards that have TONS of great deals on them and I am actually very excited to get one myself because my other one recently expired. No. It doesn't matter how great the product is. Begging for help is not high on my "fun" list. Knowing that when people see your email, they roll their eyes and think, "Oh, no. Not another one." Ugh.

But guess what? I do it anyway! WHY? Because I love my kids and want them to get stuff. My son earned a Cedar Point Amusement Park trip FREE last year for selling magazines. This year, we're going for the cash prizes - come on. He's 13. He needs cash for important stuff like paintballing and slurpees. If my daughter sells twenty KeyCards, she will earn 2 FREE cards (for Mom and Dad), plus a $15 gift certificate to the mall (for her!) Claires, here we come!

I want to end by asking forgiveness and understanding from all my friends and family who will be receiving pleas from us this year for fundraiser help. And I am probably speaking for thousands of people just like me when I say we really don't want to BUG you or force you to spend money you don't have. We just want to help our kids. If you can order something, great! If not, we totally understand. But, because we're good parents, we have to ask.

Currently, Lyndsey's selling cookie dough, wrapping paper, and all that good stuff. Hey - the stuff might be expensive but there are some great gift ideas. Plus, remember - it's for a good cause.

So...wait for it....

Cookie dough anyone?