I Live at The Zoo

My children are animals or at least they were tonight. Kieran and Steff kept running around the house playing tag and Sadie kept crawling all over really fast and shaking her head up and down...kinda like she'd listened to too much of Ryan's music.
It was all quite funny but it strangely reminded me of a bunch of wild monkeys at the zoo. I honestly felt like I was living in a zoo.
I like it when my kids are full of spunk and get along. Of course, they need to get along or it's not cute at all.
Sadie is in bed and Steff is sitting on my mom's lap and Kieran is chillin on the couch and we are all watching the Berenstein Bears. It's nice and quiet and I couldn't be more happy for the down time.
Okay, so it's not that quiet...Steff is banging this plastic thing against the tv tray in front of her. She's annoying the pants off my mom and Kieran and I think it's still much quieter than it was so this is still bliss to me.
I wonder what tonight is going to be like when I try to put Steff to bed? I dread putting her to bed. She usually throws a wicked fit and wakes Sadie up. Then to top it off, falls asleep in the hallway. I had to move her last night and much to my surprise she actually cooperated. I almost didn't believe she was going for the transfer. I kept waiting for her to wake up and scream some more but she didn't....I hope tonight is that easy...I am thinking positive thoughts that it will be...I think I'd better say a nice, long prayer just to be safe...

Spending The Night With Ryan

I was able to spend about 1 and 1/2 hours with Ryan last night. So, the headline is a little misleading...we only spent a little time together but it was nice. All we did was sit and watch the news together but we rarely have time alone together so it was a special treat. We cuddled and just all out enjoyed each other.
He needed to get to bed and I was wide awake so we kissed and I tucked him into bed and I went back into the living room and watched some more news.
I eventually fell asleep and didn't wake up until Steff was in my face telling me she wanted to watch Sprout. It was a nice rest for me and I think it's because I really enjoyed spending that short amount of time with Ryan...
Steff has been 50/50 with being whiny and not this morning. I have been using negotiation skills to stop her from whining and they seem to be working well.
The newest thing she does that drives us all nuts is asking to watch a DVD and then saying she wants to watch Sprout and then switching back to wanting a DVD and back again to Sprout. It takes 10 minutes of switching the tv back and forth to finally get her to decide what she wants. It's maddening...
Sadie has been a cutie this morning. She's just been crawling around, following her sister and playing with whatever toy she comes across in her journeys...
She is so cute, sometimes she will just sit and watch the tv for a few minutes. It's so cute to see her sitting there with her little legs crossed, watching the television...
Oh, she always crosses her legs when she is sitting. It's so cute and makes her daddy happy that she's such a little lady...
Kieran wore his snow pants to school today. I had to remind him to wear a pair of jeans underneath them though, cuz I'm sure he would have just wore them if I hadn't said anything. The funniest part is that we only got about 2 inches of snow...He's such a kid. I'm not complaining about him being a kid, I'm just saying it's funny how kids think....
Ryan crashed his machine at work last night so when he got home he really needed some TLC from me. I can't say I blame him for feeling that way. I know when I'm having a bad day it always feels nice to have him hold me and show me he loves me. The world just seems to go away when I'm in his arms and I'm sure it's the same for him...

Household tips for today...
1. Disposable Diapers: Keep a plant watered longer...before potting a plant, place a clean disposable diaper in the bottom of the flowerpot-absorbent side up. It will absorb the water that would otherwise leak out the bottom and it will keep you plant from drying out too fast. Plus, you'll have to water less....
2. Duct Tape: Hang glue and/or caulk tubes...Cut a strip of tape, several inches long, fold it over the bottom of each tube, leaving a flap at the end. Punch a hole in the flap with a paper hole punch and hang the tube on a nail or hook.
3. Aluminum Foil: Sharpen your scissors....Fold a piece of foil into several layers and start cutting. 7 or 8 passes through the foil should do it.
4. Aluminum Foil: Clean your iron...just run your starch ridden iron over aluminum foil several times...make sure your iron is hot though.
5. Aluminum Foil: Use as a heat reflector for ironing boards...just place the foil along the length of your ironing board(shinny side up)and underneath the cover and it will reflect the heat back up and cut your ironing time.
6. And, the coffee related tip of the day...Fertilize plants...use used coffee grounds in the soil around plants. They have nutrients that acidic plants love-ie. rosebushes, azaleas, rhododendrons, evergreens and camellias.
And, as an added tip to #6...Grounds from drip coffee makers are better than those that have been boiled in a percolator because the grounds are richer in nitrogen.
I tried #6 over this last year and it worked really well for my roses...
I haven't tried any of the others but I just read about these tips and tricks so I will be trying them soon...I'll report back on their effectiveness too or you can report to me if you've tried them and what your results were... tkelstrom@comcast.net .

He Got 100%!

I almost forgot to share the great news. Kieran did a state report on the state of Oregon. He did an excellent job. His Gram helped him print all sorts of neat facts and information and then they glued each piece of info onto a black piece of paper and made it look great...Well, the great news is that he got 100%!!! He worked so hard on this report that I am very happy for him...He really deserved the grade and as I said, we are so proud of him....