Smoking, etc.

School took a weird, rather psychedlic twist today.  We did our normal things early and then had some wrestling

and went outside to enjoy the last perfect day of fall.  Had a picnic on the trampoline, and Sarah came in to get dessert. [A little aside here: when we were in Wisconsin, we visited an old fashioned candy shop that had all the old retro candy, and Noah bought some candy cigarettes.]  She returned and yelled (as loudly as only Sarah can) across the yard, "Hey, Noah!  Can I have one of your cigarettes?"  Noah yelled back, "Yes, but don't forget to smoke it; don't just chew it!"  I glanced around to see if any neighbors were out.  Didn't see any.

[A big aside here:  Several weeks ago, the principal emailed me some information to share with my students on the harmful effects of smoking cigarettes.  I've had it in my inbox ever since, trying to figure out how to work that naturally into the school day.]  While they were smoking their candy cigarettes, I seized the opportunity to regale them with tales of black lung, wrinkles, cancer, and emphysema.

It seemed like a natural segue to move on to drying weed.  We've been growing catnip all summer, and today was the perfect day to harvest the crop and start drying it.  Jason was very much into this project.  He got totally intoxicated.

Bald girl

My daughter decided to use a hairbrush as a curling iron and got it completely entangled in her hair.  It took me a long time to pry it out, and of course she was not happy about it.  I had to place my thoughts elsewhere.  I had a fantasy about shearing all her hair off and making her bald.  That would save me so much time and effort.  But in the end, I decided her hair is too remarkably beautiful to shave bald. 

Crazy Thursday

So after disposing of the mouse, we went to CBS, and a realtor showed our house. We went out for lunch and then met our realtor, who showed us six houses.  On the way home, Sarah had a massive tantrum.  After she stopped speaking to me, she passed me a note that said, "Mom is horable."  I sent her a note back that said, "I love Sarah."  Her next note said, "Mom is even horabler."  When we got home, it continued (and even escalated).  That child can sure throw a spectacular fit!

With the screaming beast sequestered in her room, I played the answering machine message, which was a realtor wanting to show our house in two hours.  Sarah finally got a grip on herself, and we went to Kroger to eat food samples for dinner, because I didn't have time to get any food together before we had to abandon the house.  The food samples didn't cut it, so we went through the drive thru at Taco Bell.  Feeling like a bad mom.  Laundry is also piling up on me, but I haven't had time to get it done, so I just stash it during showings. 

When we got home, there was a message from another realtor.  Another showing on Saturday.  I sure hope someone buys it soon!

If mice freak you out, don't read this...

As I was scurrying around early this morning, getting ready for a showing of our house, Jason brought a mouse into the garage and was playing with it.

The poor thing tried playing possum, but that didn't work.

Noah's tender heart was moved with compassion for the mouse, so he scooped it up and put it on Sarah's scooter.

He thought it would be more fair if he gave it the advantage of wheels.  Jason chased Noah and mouse around the garage.

Noah cried and begged to keep it for a pet.  I said no way.  People are coming to see the house in less than an hour, and I have two kids and two cats, and I cannot deal with a mouse pet.  

Sarah cuddled the mouse too.  I can just hear my mom saying, "Don't let them touch that dirty rodent.  It probably has diseases!" 

Here's Sarah pretending to be the mouse:

We ain't no slaves!

On the very day that I blogged about my house being hit by a filth tornado, I got a call that a realtor wants to show our house Thursday morning.  We had been outside all afternoon enjoying this beautiful weather, but then I started feeling a tiny inkling of stress.  Not too bad, since we had all day tomorrow to get ready for the showing.  I started cleaning up in a fairly relaxed way.  Then the phone rang.  Another realtor wants to show the house...tomorrow.  Now I'm in full-blown stress mode.  I start marching around like a drill sergeant, barking orders to the troops.  They worked fairly quietly for awhile (too quietly, as it turns out), but then they came marching out, holding up protest signs and chanting, "We ain't no slaves!"  Secretly, I was a little proud that they had spelled and punctuated everything correctly and their writing was legible. Still, I think maybe we should stop reading those slave books.  :)
Here are some pictures of our fun, lazy afternoon, and then the protest march.

They're sled dogs taking their stuffed animals for a ride.

One of the sled dogs gave up and got in the sled.

Jason had a good time chasing birds and leaves.  Here he is chewing a leaf off the branch.  Then he chased it to the ground and carried it around in his mouth.

Early dismissal

The first grader showed up for class, and everything went pretty smoothly.  When the third grader showed up, I realized I wasn't prepared for his lesson.  I usually look it over the night before and make sure I know what I'm talking about and have all the materials we'll need.  I didn't do that last night and was just going to try to wing it today, but I could tell that wasn't going to work.  So we just did a review of things he's already learned, and then I let him out early.  It's so beautiful outside today that we had a picnic lunch in the back yard. Noah kicked off his shoes, immediately stepped on something sharp, and said, "Ow!"  I said, like a true mom, "That's why you need to wear shoes."  He said, "Yeah, but I feel so wild without them!"

Filth tornado

Yesterday I cooked in a hurry, which always means a big mess, and then left the house in a rush.  We got home just in time to put the kids to bed, so I couldn't clean the kitchen.  This morning, Sarah made breakfast for her daddy all by herself.  Big mess piled on top of previous mess. When I came into the kitchen today, it looked like an F4 tornado of filth had hit it.  I looked around and thought how disgusted my mother would be.  This is not the way she raised me. She's the opposite of the disorganized pig I turned out to be.