Regular Crest yoothpaste and a soft flannel cloth will get "permanent" marker off of a flat screen monitor without ruining it, just in case YOU ever need to know.

Let's see, it's 11:45, and we've complete Patrick's schooling for the week including science, did an artsy-craftsy thing involving PAINT for MIL for mother's day, feed everyone two meals that included a vegetable, gotten everyone dressed and relatively clean, put away a load of laundry, made pizza dough for tonight, and not yelled at my children ( Read more... )

Friday we had five minutes of just about perfect homeschooling. Patrick made this spinning wheel thing out of construction paper that had the life cycle of a frog on one side and the life cycle of a butterfly on the other. He was spinning the wheel when Joseph brought me the Hungry Caterpillar to read. So we all three read that book, Patrick ( Read more... )

Once upon a time there was a little cat named Tommy ( Read more... )

I'm kind of annoyed that the top story on the news this morning is that the president is going to stop saying "Stay the Course." Like this is some huge policy change. No, wait, this change does not indicate some change in policy; it's just a change in the way they're talking about the same policy ( Read more... )

Last year, some lady was arrested because she kicked her 4-year-old out of her car and left him on the side of I-495 in the middle of the night. I just hear on the new that she was just acquited of child neglect by reason of insanity. I'm finding this funny this morning probably because every mother of a 4-year-old that I know has been driven at ( Read more... )

Baby's "due" this weekend. Not that this seems to mean much in my family, but I really do hope it arrives sometime in July. Patrick's getting very impatient waiting. He's taken his baby doll out and is now carrying it everywhere. I'm asked to change the babies clothes and diapers several times a day. I've also had to nurse it, swaddle it and ( Read more... )

One good thing about pregnancy insomnia - when you decide that the new Ben & Jerry's ice cream sitting in the freezer is just the thing for you grumbling tummy, you don't have to share it with anyone. I've been up since 2 am for anyone keeping track. Hopefully, I'll be able to take a nap this afternoon. Supposed to go to the park with Patrick ( Read more... )

Patrick's humor has moved beyond knock-knock jokes. Last night M comes into the bedroom while I'm trying to get Patrick to bed and tells me some joke from a popsicle stick "what did the bug say when it got stepped on? nothing. Bugs don't talk." So then Patrick speaks up, my joke, my joke. Okay, Patrick. Tell us your joke. What did Buzz and ( Read more... )

Today is Patrick's fourth birthday. Not sure how that happened, but it did. We actually started the celebrating yesterday. When I came home there was a box from his favorite pseudo-aunts waiting on the door step. Patrick knew it had to be for him and opened it right away. We had cake after dinner, and then he asked to open another present. So ( Read more... )