meanwhile, back at the ranch....

I'm due for a good catch-up post. Bullet style.

Wendy

• Wendy had an extremely busy weekend last weekend.  A sleepover on Friday night (I'm told they stayed up until 2:30) her last soccer game at 1:00 Saturday, and swimming from 4-6:30. She was in bed by 8:00 and felt so punk the next morning that I let her sleep and she slept until nearly 11. I was actually worried that she made herself sick with her schedule, but she was fine after 15 hours of sleep.
• However, in this house, if you can't get out the door for school or Sunday school - you remain friendless for the rest of the day - so she had to turn away all the door knockers that day.  She was fine with that.
• A real punishment for her would be to tell her that she can't listen to anymore books on CD.  She has just about exhausted the library's juvenile selection.
• She enjoys soccer enough that she wants to pursue it a bit more even though the team she currently plays on is done for now. We'll sign up through the rec for the spring and maybe MAYBE try out for more in the summer. She's not quite sure yet, and either am I.
• She took on a role of peacemaker during recess.  It's an assigned position and they help resolve conflicts amongst the younger set.  This position apparently leads to some teasing from the older set, but that doesn't seem to phase her.  This is all new to her dad and I - they didn't have peacemakers when WE went to school.
• We haven't had any more issues with her foot - it seems to have healed fine
• She's been doing a lot of sewing on her sewing machine, a lot of drawings and seems drawn to fashion. She likes looking for fashion idea books at the library and drawing out sketches of outfits.  Meanwhile, she wears her boots that are almost worn through to the point of embarrassing to school, even though she has much classier choices sitting at home. Go figure. 
• She Still leaves a trail.  I'll never lose this girl.  She leaves doors open, lights on, mittens on the floor, boots in the foyer, papers on the table, never unpacks her overnight bags and the list goes on and on.  I could harp on her 24 hours a day and it still doesn't change. 
• That's Wendy. 
• She has a huge sweet tooth, and I need to find a new dentist for her pronto (I stopped going to ours due to insurance. She was complaining of an ache this week.

• She's still our biggest snowbunny.  
• She has a big heart. I found out last week that she's been writing kind letters to the teachers. One of them stopped me and told me to tell Wendy that she made her day with her kind note. I told Wendy then on our way home, and she was a little embarrassed that I found out, but happy that her words made someones day. She also sent a valentine to a new girl in another classroom 'because I want her to feel welcome and like she has a friend'
• She tears up easily like her mother
• She has a strong dislike for men's bare bellies. But she loves fart jokes. Go figure.

Allan

• Oh Allan.  He can have me pulling out my hair and banging my head against the wall one minute, and laughing and hugging him the next.
• He's 14.
• I don't share as much about him as I used to out of respect for his privacy as he gets to the age where more of his peers are reading/have access to what I write. But oh, the things I'd love to share.
• He began confirmation this past Saturday and he really enjoyed it. There are 42 kids in his confirmation class (they go every Saturday for five Saturdays, and then one full week over break)
• He loves to draw, to read, play Nintendo, and ski.  He would enjoy more soccer, enjoys floor hockey in gym, but has never been much for team sports.
• He's got a great sense of humor.  An example:  Yesterday he was spending the snow day with a friend and I had him call before he went over there to find out if he needed to bring snow pants. He knew before he called that he wouldn't, but he called anyway. Off the phone he says, "he's a bit of a pansy when it comes to snow" But we both agreed that we could overlook this because he's really a great friend otherwise.  Allan says, yeah - and it's good to spend time with the flowers sometimes too (Pansy)   It took me a second, and then I roared.  He says it so dead pan.
• He's still walking his dogs everyday after school.  It's been a wonderful blessing of a job for him.
• He's not a big spender.  He has never spent on small things/candy/nonsense.  He saves at least 1/2 in the bank for a car some day, and the other he tends to save for large expenses. He's currently saving for an ipod. 
• He likes when I play the same games as him on facebook so he can beat me, but he stopped playing Phase 10 with me because I beat him.
• He can start drivers ed in April. After we know that routine/schedule - he'll walk the town and see if he can find some more work.
• His stitches are healing fine.  We have him putting Bee Secret and Lavender on it everyday.
• He needs a haircut.  Again. I'm ready for this long hair style on boys to be done.

Mark

• He's had two ear infections now that his tubes have fallen out. I think he's in line for another tube surgery in the future. He inherited my ears.
• Potty trained! Yes!  And dry at night too!
• He loves the snow much more this year than he has in the past. He'll play out there for awhile now, sometimes outlasting Brian (which is saying something)
• Still a complete and total goofball.
• Daddy's boy
• And still doesn't sleep worth a lick. I don't feel like Greg and I can leave the kids to get away ourselves for a weekend until this kid really sleeps. 
• His pronunciations are off - a direct result of his bad ears, I'm sure.  It's mostly his R's that are off.  Mark is Mowk.
• Loves story hour and swimming.
• A bit high maintenance when his siblings aren't around to entertain him.  Brian going to school next year could be interesting.

Brian

• Just a couple weeks shy of five
• Kindergarten round-up is coming up quick.  We're really hoping that our school offers half day again this year. (It changes yearly) I think he'd be a perfect candidate and I think I'd like the routine of daily. Driving one way wouldn't be a hardship for us since the school is a walk for us. Fingers crossed.
• He drops the S's on the beginning of his words, just like his dad did.  What a weird thing to inherit. Scrap is Crap. Scream is Cream. Scoop is Coop.  Sometimes I have to think for a second and figure out what he's really saying.  He can say them correctly if I have him do it slowly. We're working on it.
• Loves story hour and swimming, and we'll see how he likes boys baseball in the spring. We're also debating about signing him up for rec soccer along with his sister.
• Still a snuggler
• Went to the barber for the first time with his dad this weekend. (There's a place in town doing kids under 10 for $10) He was nervous, but did well and came home looking quite respectable. He has such a bushy nest of hair, it was well worth the $10.
• He often mentions missing his grandmas and grandpas
• Loves to color, play Play-Doh, cars, blocks and practicing his letters. 
• Another snowbunny. That snowsuit was by far the best thing I purchased at last years garage sales.
• He can throw a temper like our other kids couldn't. It worries me sometimes - and it's one of the reasons I'd like to get him into soccer - just to get him in more team environments and learning team skills.  He's gotten better, but can still throw a pretty impressive fit.
• If you ask him what he wants for his birthday - he'll tell you a skateboard.  This is the same thing he asked for for Christmas and didn't get.  There weren't any tears on Christmas morning, but he would still like a skateboard.  I'm debating.
• He's recently begun blaming things on magically appearing and 'that must have just slipped there' and oh, I didn't mean to say that.  We're working on it.
• He falls into the middle child trap a bit...competing for attention with his younger brother and fighting for rights with his older brother.  He'll stand up to his big, 10 years older, brother and throw a punch now and then - which infuriates the older brother to no end.
• He also gets his younger brother pretty well riled. I'm thinking within five years I'll have to remove all breakables. Last week was the first big shattering of glass when they hit a frame on the wall.
• He's the easiest of the kids to take on a tag-along trip to the store. He doesn't beg, loves the one on one attention, provides some good conversation and is all in all and enjoyable partner.
• Loves Uncle Scrooge

• And he loves his dad. Dad gets very little peace on the weekend.  (Brian's got a fresh haircut in this photo)

Dad

• Still carving
• Anxiously waiting for me to get his Etsy shop up and running (it's that whole resizing of five photographs per item that is slowing me down)
• Getting busier at work again. Two days after I made a plan for this coming Saturday he told me it looks like he might have to work.  Plain and simple, I can't make plans while we have kids at home to take care of.
• Rarely gets any peace from these two, and is thankful that he has a garage to escape to when they go to bed
• Constantly listens to books. Santa brought him a new mp3 player and he's a happy guy. He listens to books on his commute, and he listens when he carves at night.
• has on  his Tuesday honey-do list - Fix. The. Stove.

Our stove broke yesterday. I'm hoping that it's just a burnt out element, easily fixed.  It cooked pizza on Sunday, but yesterday it wouldn't preheat. I was making snacks for the kids lunches and nada. pfft. nothin'.

Which means I have to revise this weeks menu plan.  The red skin baked potato dish I was planning to have this evening just isn't going to happen.

And I think I keep you pretty updated on me. 

:)

Happy Tuesday that feels like a Monday!

Comments

[Lara]

Wendy and Bria are a lot alike. They need to be friends. :)

[tania]

is wendy at all interested in a pen-pal?

[Summer]

I loved this post! :)
I do have a question though- how did you manage to get Mark to stay dry at night? Caden is four- has been potty trained during the day since right after his third birthday- but still will NOT stay dry at night! I don't know if he won't or can't, but man I am getting tired of buying pull-ups for him AND diapers for Paige. Meh. If you have any tips I'll be glad to hear them. Oh and Paige isn't really the best sleeper either. We finally got rid of her nighttime bottle and have been letting her cry through the time she wakes up, and it's getting better, but she still wakes up way more than I think most year olds do. I Know it sounds bad but we just turn the monitor off. ;0

[Auntie Barb]

Tell Allan he better not be talking about pansies when he reeks for lavender.

[Michelle]

Love the post Sharyn thanks for sharing so much! My youngest's chin looks like your oldest's but with glue instead of stitches :-)