Yuck

More snow today! I am so tired of winter, it needs to move on and let spring have her turn. So much for "in like a lion, out like a lamb", guess that doesn't apply to ND.

Poor Papa, due to our trip to Grand Forks on Friday and losing 2 hours of sleep that night, he's been tired and is now getting another cold (another reason I am not-so-patiently awaiting the end of winter!) and now finds out that they want him to come in an hour early tomorrow and probably stay an hour late. At least he has the weekend off so that he can get some rest. I'm hoping the Olive leaf extract that I've been giving the cubs in their OJ every morning will keep them from getting the sickz (AGAIN).

Grab your floppy hat and follow me!

We are gearing up to start a garden this spring! It is more of a hobby garden for the cubs and I. We tried to stick with things that we knew grow really well up here (and watermelons and pumpkins that the boys requested). We have been saving some egg cartons to start our seeds in.

We are planning on getting them started this weekend when Papa is home. I just cannot bring myself to tackle playing in dirt with the cubs alone.

I even found the cutest little gardening tools at Walmart! The cubs will be so excited. MB even told G&G that he couldn't go stay with them this summer because they were going to be gardening! They are pretty excited!

We are hoping to learn to can if we have anything to can. We want to can some of our apples too. I'm pretty excited about that!

Out on the town

Papa and I decided that we needed to get some groceries in this house before the water got too high and we're stuck here starving (and we wanted to ensure the easter bunny would be making an appearance). Talk about a spur of the moment decision, we were on our way to take the BB and MB to school, pulling up to the drop off point and then pulling away. We hated to take them out of school for something like that, but it is 100 miles to Grand Forks and I hate gambling on being back before they get out of school (I am not a gambling woman and I know my shopping habits!) AND the water is definately a comin'. The boys got to spend the day with G&G and go to McDonalds (what else is there in life?!). I got to go to Target, I love Target and Target loves me (and my checkbook). We got Papa some yogurt (a girl's gotta have an angle!), he loves the Archer Farms yogurt (no HFCS!-it was NOT an easy task finding some that didn't have it). I found my pledge hair thingy for fabrics (love it!!) and the cubs found some star wars legos that they HAD to have (I must subconsciously enjoy stepping on them because I keep buying them). LB is so funny with legos, we buy him a set and the only part he plays with are the guys, but he carries them around for hours just loves them, so its worth it. We also bought some school snacks (BB loves the 100 calorie packs that he can just throw in his backpack). Papa and I returned later to do a little easter shopping and get some cat food for the kitties (I got my hands on some of the $5 Iams coupons-5 bags for $15-SCORE!).

We also stopped at Walmart. I like walmart but ours is always packed, the only time we've found it not packed is at 6am or 11pm (not ideal shopping hours, but I am willing to do it when possible to avoid the crowds!). We did our grocery shopping and snagged a few more bunny items (I love easter, love the true meaning, love the kiddie parts of it too, I just love it!).

We went to Sears and picked up the cub's pics. They turned out GREAT (not a huge suprise, my boys are cute ;)). We were wandering around looking at tools and refrigerators (found the one we want when it comes time to replace ours-it was GORGEOUS!). The we happened upon the bedding section. I forgot to mention that in the time we drove over to the school (3ish blocks) and back, Rotten dog decided to shred our comforter! So, thats a pillow and a comforter in just a couple of weeks! I told Papa that me must have really done something to upset RD because it was his pillow and his side of the comforter. Soo, we were at Sears and decided to look at their bedding. We want to get a new bed in the nearish future (we're hoping to upgrade to a king size bed!) so we didn't want to break the bank on this comforter. We found several nice ones, but as is usually the case, there weren't any in queen size! BUT, I spotted a sign advertising a pillow sale! YIPPEE! It was B1G1 so Papa could replace his pillow and I could continue my journey to find the perfect pillow. We found some that were specially designed for back sleepers (papa) and side sleepers (me). Papa disliked his the moment he laid his head on it. I liked mine....at first. I have had a sore neck every morning since I got it...back to the drawing board. At least they were free (we had a credit on our credit card).

Papa and I went to Petco to try and find a crate for RD. She cannot be trusted. The pillow was a little funny (a little), but she is pressing her luck! We didn't have a whole lot of room in the car anymore and they were quite a bit more than we were planning on spending. So, for the time being she has to stay outside while I do the school running and we will get her something for next winter.

G&G took us out to eat at Perkins! Yummy! This is fine dinning to us. We don't do sit down restaurants often with the cubs. Although, I have to give the cubs credit, they were very good. Papa and I actually got to enjoy our meals! It was a nice meal.

G&G also gave Papa and I their dresser. It is a beautiful old (I say old cuz it is almost as old as I am!) real wood (no cardboard here!) dresser with a big mirror. And it weighs as much as 3-4 elephants right after they eat lunch! UGH! Papa and I had to lug it out of G&G's house and into ours (at 10:30 at night). But, we did it and it is nice to have more space for clothing. We moved our old dresser in to the boy's room for BB and MB to share. Papa and I have plans for all new furniture for the house, but we are waiting a bit longer for the boys to grow up a little bit more (they really take a toll on things). We are very appreciative of G&G's hand me downs in the meantime.

All in all, we had a great time out. It was nice for Papa and I to have some time alone together (even if it was while shopping).

Row your boat ashore!

Yikes! We are getting more snow today! This is not good for the flooding situation up here. I keep hearing of flooding out east, flooding down south and the overland flooding in between. It's coming for us!

My mom said I should have got the cubs waders rather than rain boots. Hopefully we won't need to worry about wading!!!

http://www.justin.tv/gfherald

That is a link to live feed of one of the bridges in Grand Forks, ND. They've built up a temporary flood wall. Pretty neat to watch.

He's looking at meeee!

I cannot get over the things my cubs fight about! LB took a shower with MB this morning. When he got out he ran into the kitchen to see what I was making for brekkie. BB was sitting at the counter and made the mistake of turning around when LB came screeching into the kitchen. LB started screaming "HE'S LOOKING AT MEEEE!!".

Yesterday it almost came to blows at breakfast over a cereal box. MB was looking at the box and BB decided to be a big brother and take the box away. MB was in tears and BB telling him why he can't look at the box, "It's not fair". I hear that phrase more times a day than I care to think about, that, and, "Why does HE get (to) ____ and I don't!". And, heaven help us if one of them gets praised for being good! The other two don their party hats and start with the, "Am I not a good boy?!", "Why am I not a good boy?!".

I am an only child, so this whole sibling rival thing boggles my mind. They have built in friends, why are they always fighting (I know why, but that would have been my thoughts as a child)? I just don't get why if one of your siblings is bothering you, why stay??? Walk away, run if you have to, but just seperate yourself from the situation! That is a HARD concept though. My cubs just do not get it. Why walk away when you can turn and inflict pain on the other guy!

I keep asking Dh what we're going to do when they are older and we can't peel them off of each other. They get pretty vicious now, I can't imagine what it will be like when they have some weight behind them!

I just keep conforting myself with the thought that it is normal for siblings to fight and they will probably be closer for it.

Can't a girl get a nap?

This rainy weather combined with the fact that I have not adjusted to this time change is killing me! I woke up this morning thinking that I had no business doing so. I was EXHAUSTED. But, cubbies must get to school, so I gathered every ounce of energy I had and peeled myself out of bed. I am proud to announce that the cubs were safely delivered to school!

When we got back home I conned LB into watchin some cartoons while I rested my eyes (don't call cps, he is really good about staying where he should and I am a light sleeper). Suddenly I woke up to the doorbell ringing. I hopped out of bed as fast as a tired mama can. I peered out the window when I got to the door and didn't see anyone, I opened the door to find one of our kitties sitting on the step looking at me (he got out when we got home and I just didn't have the energy to chase after him). I'm guessing he was trying to climb the door and hit the doorbell..figures!

Yesterday I was rudely woken by a "TOLL FREE CALL". I'm guessing it is someone who wants to talk to Papa and try and get him to either transfer a cc balance, sign up for some cc protection plan or some other crap like that. I am so tired of these people calling! They call here several times a day and, on the off chance that I do answer, they don't want to talk to me anyway. Why are they even calling us, we don't carry cc balances. They won't be getting any transfer fees or interest off of us, we are no good to them!

I am tired and grumpy today, I need to turn off Family guy tonight and just go to sleep!

It's raining it's pouring!

Spring has sprung! It is misty and cool today, but I like it. I like rain, not so much the dreary days like today, but I like the rain. A day like today is a nice change after months and months of snow, but days like this make me mopy when they come in the middle of summer. The weather people are talking flooding. I'm not looking forward to that. It makes going anywhere a pain and Papa's way to work could be rerouted, turning it from a 1 mile drive to a 15-20 mile drive.

I'm also not liking the wet so much. Make sense, I like the rain but not the wet, right? I like to watch rain, not walk in it or have my kids or dog out in it. Our backyard has become what we like to call "poop soup" it is all of the dog's messes from alllll winter and water and mud. It is a mess.

All of this wet weather prompted me to start looking for the boy's rain boots from last year. I found MB's boots from last year, which are now LB's boots. I also found BB's boots from last year and decided to pass them on to MB and find a new pair for BB. BB did not exactly like this idea. He couldn't understand why MB got to wear HIS boots and he had NONE! They were HIS BOOTS! They still fit, even (and he proceeded to show me that they still fit). I explained to him that if we get him a NEW pair (new here, people, since when is NEW bad?!) then when he outgrows them his brothers can use them. So, I called Grandma and Grandpa Grizzly to see if they could keep an eye out for some boots in his size and send them our way. G&G, being the great grandparents that they are, went to several stores in search of BB's new boots. They called several others and, apparently, rain boots in a size 2y are a hot item! So, I decided to hit the net. I searched several sites and couldn't believe how hard it is to find a pair of boys rain boots that don't have duckies, frogs or trucks for less than $50! I finally settled on a pair from a site that I had a $20 coupon for. I had to explain to Papa that $30 (price AFTER coupon) wasn't bad split between 3 boys, not a bargain, but not terrible. He growled a bit, but then agreed.

I caught the dog chewing on a marble this morning. No idea how she got it OR how she bit a chunk off of it. I guess when we say that she will eat anything, she WILL eat ANYTHING.

OH! I almost forgot the little surprise I had yesterday. BB likes to call his friends on the phone. I don't mind that he does, but it gets a little old that every time he calls someone he asks repeatedly if they can come over. We do let him have friends over, but I like to schedule them for days when Papa is home to help keep the younger two cubs out of BB and his friend's hair. Anyway, BB called his friend saturday afternoon. I didn't think much of it, he had his usual session of begging for his friend to come over, I had my usual answer of "not today". All was fine...I thought. Then yesterday morning I rolled out of bed at 9:30 (still adjusting to time change!). I got the boys some cereal, threw some laundry in the wash, folded 2 baskets of laundry and made beds. As I was making BB's bed he asked if the friend he called the night before could come over. I gave him my , "not today" and went on about my business. I was in the kitchen cleaning up after breakfast when I happened to look out the window and spot BB's friend's parent's truck. They were dropping friend off to play! Did I mention that I was still in my jammies? I ran to the bedroom while yelling to BB that he was in SO MUCH trouble! His door was closed, so when I whipped it open to tell him to hurry up and get dressed that his friend was here, he was a little shocked. I let friend stay because he is a good kid and they played pretty good together (except LB had a couple of episodes over the wii), but BB knew he was in trouble. He is grounded from the phone (haven't set a limit on that one yet) and the wii (for 2 days). His eyes were HUGE when I opened his door to tell him his friend was here, he knew he screwed up! Papa thought it was pretty funny, I wasn't impressed at first, but was able to find the humor in it later on. Thankfully the poor child didn't catch me in my jammies though.

Free to a good home...

2 adorable kittens and a friendly pooch.

Ok, not really, but it is tempting! The dog is really a good girl, but it is spring and she is shedding like nobody's business. She seems to particularly like to rub up against the couch and roll around on the rug...LOVELY! LB was playing by the couch this morning. He suddenly got a disgusted look on his face and shouted, "EWWW!!! Dere's hair all ober the couch!". Well, I'm certainly not blind and I was in the middle of unwinding the vaccum cord at that exact moment. I informed him that it was the dog's hair, that I did not put it there and I was working on getting rid of it. That seemed to be a good enough answer.

This morning LB decided that he wants a squirrel for a pet. He saw one on the playground as we were dropping the older cubs off at school. I was really getting into him being excited about seeing the squirrel (spring is coming!), UNTIL he mentioned the whole pet thing. He tells whenever the dog or cats do something bad that we should "put them back"...yeah, I'm sure there is a momma dog and momma cat out there that might veto that. So, he wanted to "put the dog and kitties back and get a squirrel". I tried to explain to him the mess that a squirrel would make in our house, but in reality it wouldn't be much worse than the kitties.

Ahh, the kitties. We got these two this summer. They were the cutest little furballs at the petstore (I know, I know, never buy an animal from a pet store). They are brothers (the cubs think that is the neatest thing) and part siamese. One of the kittens has an obesession with dumping any liquid that he finds sitting anywhere in a cup (and when I say anywhere, I mean ANYWHERE, I had a glass of water that I sat on top of the fridge that he dumped). Very annoying! The other one likes to shred toilet paper rolls....always nice to use toilet paper with holes in it! They both run through the house at night. It sounds like a herd of elephants but faster and with louder thuds. One of them likes to try and open the cupboards but can't get them open enough to get in, so there is a constant thud, thud, thud of the cupboard door slamming shut. It's no wonder we are all so tired around here!

They say that people who have pets generally live longer and are happier.....

Just another day

I tried a new recipe today. Maple Dijon chicken is definately a keeper! I hope this woman doesn't mind me linking to her blog (which I LOVE). She is AWESOME!! I love my crockpot and am tickled to have found her blog!

Little Brother "broked" his leg last night (not really, but in his mind it was BAD). Judging by the noise that was coming from their room, I'm surprised any of them came out alive, but he really wasn't broken. He then told me that his "broked" leg was going to make him "died". He was so concerned about his impending "died" that he forgot about it 2 seconds later when Papa walked through the door.

Middle Brother came home today and shared his newest wisdom with the family. A little friend of his decided to teach him about flipping the bird. NIIIIICE! Apparently she told him to do it at school (she didn't enlighten him to its meaning though). Thankfully, Papa and I had a talk with them just last week about being gullible (kids promising to pay them $1 for their snacks and other such scams). So Middle Brother was smart enough not to, but he was curious as to what it meant. That was a fun discussion. They just learn those things so early. I don't think I'm ready for this yet!!

checkbook balancing, conferences and phone dilemmas

I am failing miserably at checkbook balancing 101 (I am excelling at check WRITING 101, though ;) ). Some how I found an extra $182.31 in our checking account. I have tried several different ways to balance my checkbook and it all turns out the same. Not that I'm complaining about the idea of having extra money, but just can't imagine how I keep screwing up like this. Every month I'm off over $100 one way or the other (its never the same amount either). Bah! Anyway, I'll just make a note of it and look back at it next month when our statement comes (I've wasted enough time and energy on this already).

Parent Teacher conferences went well last night. We heard from both teachers that the boys are nice little guys and they like having them in their classes (I'm pretty sure they even meant it!).

Papa got things smoothed out with our phones and all in well there (I know you were on the edge of your seat, waiting to hear the end of that story!). He spent quite a while on the phone trying different things only to be hung up on when they tried to "transfer" him to the tech support. He finally got ahold of tech support , they instructed him to take the battery out and VIOLA! it worked.

Mondayyyy Mondayyyy!

Ahh! Monday is probably my favorite day of the week! Why, you ask?

The cubs are off to school (those monday's off about kill me!) so the fighting ends for a few precious hours. Papa usually has to work mondays. So, it is just Little Brother and Mama.

It is nice to have everyone home on the weekend, but after 2 days everything is a mess! I have given in and put off cleaning (for the most part) while everyone is here....its just a losing battle!
Soo, monday mornings LBB gets his dose of Dora, Diego and Kilan (sp) while Mama scrubs the kitchen and bathroom (I cannot believe the places these cubs pee! They just have no control!!-thank heavens for those clorox wipes!) and vacuums and sweeps floors. There is usually a pretty hefty pile of laundry because, as I've said before, Saturday is our veg day and Sunday just doesn't usually feel like a laundry day.

AND today is BEAUTIFUL outside! I even have the patio door open. What is not to love about that?!

Papa and I are off to parent teacher conferences this evening. We really like both of the older cub's teachers and so do they (which always helps). We are prepared to hear that BBB doesn't like to read. We know this. He can read, he can read fast, he can comprehend what he reads...he just doesn't enjoy reading and forcing him to read just isn't helping. We are prepared to hear the MBB rushes to get his work done. Yep, I've talked to him about it, he is his Mama's boy and dislikes cricism, so that talk didn't go too well.

I finally got my new phone activated today. Papa came home early from work and did it for me (my name isn't on the account so they won't have anything to do with me :( ). Well, Mr. Alltel man didn't listen to what Papa wanted. We couldn't understand why Papa's phone wasn't making or recieving calls and why my cute new phone's number showed up as Papa's phone's number on our home phone. I decided to charge my Blackberry and see if that was the culprit. Yep, they cancelled Papa's phone instead of my Blackberry and then gave my cute new phone Papa's old number! Ah well, I'm just glad my name isn't on the account!

Papa bear has the day off!

It is beautiful out today (well, for this area). Papa bear was a little growly when he rolled out of bed this morning. It was largely due to the fact that the cubs were up before the sun was and made no attempt to play quiety in their room.

As soon as I rolled out of bed, I noticed the sun was out!! I had noticed yesterday that the snow was melting and deduced that it must have been warm (saturday is usually our day to hibernate ;) ). I made a promise to myself that I was going to get the Bear family out into the sun today even if it didn't last long!

We got the cub's bikes out and dusted them off (all except big brother bear's, he is still a little afraid of his big bike). Little brother bear gave his all to get his bike moving, but unbenounced to us, he had GROWN over the winter! So we got about a block before papa bear decided we needed to go home and adjust LBB's seat. We gave the family outing one more shot after the seat was adjusted. We got a block away in a different direction when LBB decided he was done riding bike, so BBB took over and ended up lodged in a puddle between two chunks of ice! Papa bears always gets the pleasure of helping in these situations...Mama don't do that. Sooo, Papa gets BBB out of the water puddle (without tipping!) with my instruction (I know Papa always appreciates insight from me ;) ).

On the way home, Papa decides to start throwing snowballs. He hurls the first one at BBB, who laughs and decides to retaliate. He lobbs the next one at MBB, who laughs and falls from his bike to the ground (in a bad attempt at acting). Next, Papa looks at me and LBB. He gets and earful from me and decides BBB is a more appropriate target. Well, BBB decides he isn't impressed and runs to the side of the street to grab another snowball. Something goes horribly wrong and BBB ends up face first in a puddle! Sometimes I wonder if Papa Bear is really out of his cub years yet, because a grown man decides that the minute a cub is crying because he fell is a good time to throw yet another snowball at him!

We eventually make it back to the cave. There are mummblings of a snowball fight in the front yard. I just know this is going to end with one of the cubs crying....it ALWAYS does. I just keep walking right into the house. Shortly after, BBB comes in BAWLING that Papa Bear was on LBB's team and he was on "dumb MBB" team and MBB wasn't protecting him and Papa Bear was throwing snowballs at just him....Do they never catch on?! Seriously, this is not an isolated incident!!

But, the cubs are all happy today because Papa has the day off and we're able to just stay home and enjoy the day!