helpers

The excitement of the day was that Elijah was the helper in school and Ben and Ariana get to be tomorrow. That is a pretty big deal I guess. Ben said he gets to do something with the calendar. I didn't catch the deets on what the other two do when it's their turn but will post about that tomorrow after the event :) It was a cute conversation, Elijah was talking about being the helper today and Ben got real excited and said "Lijah, I get to be helper toMORRow!" (emphasis his).

Ariana told me that her and her friend Paije wish they offered water and coffee at lunch along with the milk. That hit me pretty funny. I don't know many 8 year olds who want coffee with their school lunches. Understand, she and I enjoy a decaf now and again and I guess she has a taste for it. She said Paije likes water. Sounds like a down to earth kind of girl, wouldn't you say?

Wil has been very busy with his trucks and cars. He drives all day long. Lij came home from school crabby (growth spurt--will get to that in a minute) and was telling William that he (William) does NOT have a green hotwheels truck. A few minutes later William came driving in with his transport semitrailer that he got from Grandma for Christmas and said "Yes, I do, Lijah. See?" And he unloaded his green hotwheels truck. Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Lij HATES to be wrong, almost as bad as I do!

Ben spent the afternoon making a mailbox out of a cereal box. It turned out pretty cool. When Ariana got home she said she wanted them all to make mailboxes for themselves so they could leave each other mail. I actually looked one year for toy mailboxes for them for Christmas but they are no longer made. I was so bummed; Hans and I used to have a lot of fun with "speedy dewiveries". I made myself a mailbox and put it outside my bedroom door, and he would make me something, put it in my mailbox, knock, say "Speedy dewivery!" and run away. So, I imagine we'll have a mailbox making day sometime soon.

Now, about the growth spurts, I think Ben just finished one and Lij is in the middle of one. The reason I suspect that is because, first of all, they've both been cranky as all get out; second, this morning they put their pants on--the RIGHT pants, I made sure of it--and they both had 2 inches of leg between their feet and their pants. They looked like a pair of spongebobs. So tonight we had to dig out our stash of growing-into clothes and now they are all set. They have some nice new Christmas clothes too.

We have a chore this week; we are feeding Lynn's animals while she and Dale are on the vacation. The funny thing is, I have no idea where they are. She travels so much I never have a clue where in the world (literally) she is. We have been doing this for years and in the beginning I did all the work, I think it started with me holding baby ana and cleaning the litter box with one hand; it has evolved to a big team effort and goes really fast. We take care of two big dogs, a bunch of cats (I have no idea how many are in the house because they never appear when I'm there with my own litter of kittens), a tank of fish, one plant, our own donkey, Lynn's pony, and her horse. This time all I had to do was the kitty litter, the kids did the rest. To be honest, Ben did most of it, while Lij farted around. Ana did help, but at a slower pace, and Wils was sticking close by because, you know, this was serious horsh territory.

Ariana is getting impatient for Zac to talk. I'm just hoping he'll grow! He pulls himself up to stand, but not, as I had to tell Mom, on furniture, because he can't reach it. So I lay on the floor and he pulls himself up to stand alongside me. Ana told me she holds him and says "Speak!". I wonder if she will ever get results. I picture him barking back at her. Speaking of barking, one of Lynn's dogs is extremely hard of hearing (late deafened, really) and barks with a deaf accent. It's pretty funny. It's too loud and nasal. I sign with her and she seems to understand (she is very smart, this is Missy). I did have to have a talk with the dogs about having parties when their mom and dad are gone, though, because their neighbor Gunther was there when we got there.

Well, I better get myself to bed. I'm off work from now until Sunday because I took vacation for Saturday's bakery Christmas party. This year we are actually going; it's been a few years. We have a sitter lined up for the kids and can't wait for the free booze. As I said, it's been years!