Wednesday, January 30, 2008

No School

Tuesday and today were both days with no school for the kids. The storm that was rolling over the country scared us so much that just the possibility of a storm had the administrators call off school for Tuesday. It was warm enough that day that all of the snow (and there was plenty) melted. Tuesday night was wild and we had blizzard conditions.

We spent today cleaning up and straightening up the house. Ordinarily when we clean we are doing the superficial every day stuff. Due to the fact that even Amber was home we took it to the next level and basically did a Spring cleaning in the middle of Winter.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

A Dental Event!

Allen has a loose tooth. It was discovered on Friday night. He is excited and Ashton is now interested in what the Tooth Fairy is going to give him.

Tonight I was at a company Christmas party. I won these. I am a lucky duck.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Let's Read on the Couch

Tonight was yet another whirlwind once I got home. I made a frozen pizza and the consensus was that it was too spicy. Play time followed and we rotated from throwing the football to playing with Dora the Explorer dolls. It always seems like our fun time flies by really fast. The kids all chose books to read and Abby fell asleep leaning against me. I heard a faint snore and looked at her and Ashton announced that she did not have a nap today.


Also, I bought a new DVD today.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Too Much Snow

It has been snowing pretty steadily for the last few days. The drive to work for Amber and I has been challenging at best. Yesterday I helped to Reeds get their van out of our plowed driveway. I have had enough of the weather events.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Martin Luther King Day

Today was a typical day off for me. The kids were also home because of the holiday. It is great fun to hang out with the kids. Days like this are filled with moments that make us laugh.

Abby and Ashton were with me in the living room and I started to tickle Ashton. Reflexively, Ashton dove away from the tickling hands but Abby wanted in on the action and dove head first at me. The top of her head hit my mouth pretty hard and I got a fat lip. Abby got up and looked at me and then wandered off. I felt silly that I was injured and a two-year-old went on with her business.

Allen is enjoying his DS. He and I linked up for some Pictochat which is always fun. We ended up playing catch (yes, in the house) for a bit after that.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Working

My new position is really tedious. I have much more paperwork and time spent dealing with details instead of other people. I didn't realize this position was so drastically different.

Amber and the kids had a late start this morning and I helped load kids up for church. It sounds like Ashton had some trouble with another little girl today in primary. I guess the little girl in question was being rather bossy and possessive with other people in the class Amber was teaching. Ashton had her feelings hurt but one of her little friends came over and helped her feel better.

Amber also did some big time cleaning around the house today. She is good people.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Let's Play Catch

I was the first parent home so it was up to me to get things moving for the evening. Ashton stayed home from school and actually looked worse from being sick when I got home. She still had a temperature and was acting very tired.

Just like every good father should, I initiated a game of catch with Allen and Abby before bed. Everyone had a great time Abby laughed more than anyone else. Allen is getting really good at throwing and catching.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Spinning My Wheels

This morning I waited at the bus stop with Allen and Ashton. I know later on I will look back at this time fondly. Allen always sits on the front seat on the bus that faces our side of the street. He also always waves goodbye. Ashton barely can climb up to the first step on the bus she is still so small.

Abby was very mad that she tore off the tag on her favorite blanket. I couldn't help myself from smiling as she tried to reattach the tag as if just putting it back on the spot it came from would solve the problem.

I got home from what felt like a long day at work and tried to park in the garage. Note that the snow is melting a bit and the ground is very wet and soft. The ground around the garage is dirt. I backed into the spot as I have many times before but this time I got stuck just outside the garage. Amber came home and I tried to push the car out as she applied gas and turned the steering wheel as the front end of the car sank deeper and deeper in mud.

After spraying mud all over the place we finally got the car free. Of course, it took about 15 minutes and pulling out a shovel. Yay.

Part of my promotion at work included a book and online evaluation to determine my top five theme strengths. They are: 1) Strategic, 2) Analytical, 3) Intellection, 4) Competition, and 5) Activator. Sounds impressive, eh?

Monday, January 14, 2008

You're a Coconut

This morning Abby decided that the best insult was to call me a coconut. She said it with some defiance but she thought it was funny enough to laugh at her own joke. I called her a coconut and she laughed more and continued to insist that it was me who was in fact the coconut.

Ashton stayed home from school today and she made quite a drawing of zoo animals that included an elephant, zebra, monkey, and even an alligator. I was impressed (honestly) as it was the best drawing I have seen her do to date.

Allen got home after school and was run down. He needed a snack and wanted to just relax even though I was looking forward to throwing a ball around with him. He and Amber are getting way into playing Zelda: Phantom Hourglass on the DS.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Friday Night is Alright for Cuddles

We now have a tradition of getting everyone on the couch to watch some Avatar on Friday night. As we all grow (yes, including me) the couch feels smaller and smaller but we still get blankets and pillows to cuddle up. We also did partake in some pizza and it was surprisingly good tonight. No new episodes of Avatar have been on since the writers strike so we threw in a DVD of previous seasons.

As the night went on, the kids get put to bed one by one. Abby fell asleep on Amber's lap and Ashton told us she was too tired and wanted to be carried to bed. As of right now, Amber and Allen are playing Phantom Hourglass on the couch. I have never seen Amber play a Nintendo DS before but there is a first time for everything.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Rainy Winter Day

I went in early to work today for more training for my new position but I was able to take the kids to the bus stop. Allen had a rough morning and Ashton took her time to get ready so Amber and I had to work together to get them ready and out the door.

After work I got home to some grumpy kids. We ate dinner and cuddled up on the couch. Abby fell asleep in a matter of minutes in my lap. We did the bedtime routine and read some stories and then I tucked the kids in. It always seems to move so fast once I get home to the time the kids go to bed.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

I am an Old Person Masquerading as a Young Person

This morning I sat with Abby in front of the television when I had a realization: I have the tastes of a senior citizen. I changed the channel to Matlock and was excited to see that Don Knotts played a cameo role. Then I remembered that just a few days ago I had to explain to Amber who Jonathan Winters is because she had never heard of him. That's when it occurred to me that I love watching the Golden Girls and the Lawrence Welk Show whenever I can.

It's official: I have the same television watching habits as 82 year-olds.

Monday, January 7, 2008

At Home Fun

This morning was filled with rollicking fun with Abby. I chased her around and we played some active games pretty much after breakfast ended. It was a great time. Ashton came home and we went to take care of some errands and then we grabbed some lunch. We came home and the fun began again only this time dad got a knee to the face and a fat lip.

Allen came home and we played some Monkey-in-the-Middle for a bit. He is a funny guy because he lets his sister get the ball if she ever gets to be the monkey.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Promotion

I got a promotion at work in another department and the position change starts tomorrow. I admit I have been slacking the last few days. I am recovering from the holiday and just was taking some time off. I should be back to the consistent posting from here on out.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New Year!

It's official.

We celebreated with a breakfast feast together as a family.