We didn't throttle him

 Paul was working on a Collections merit badge, and needed to bring in his Pokemon Card collection. (Yes, more Pokemon).  His collection is admittedly kind of neat, because Steve and I refused to buy any of the silly cards, so most of collection came from friends giving him cards.  His collection, a deck of card about the size of an Uno deck, suddenly went missing.  He was dedicating 3 Saturday mornings to working on merit badges, and without the collection he wouldn't get this one.  

Over the course of a week we all checked his room, and his backpack, and cupboards, and every drawer in the house, and his backpack, and closets, and under beds, and his backpack, and places I haven't looked in years.  Nothing - except renewed inspiration to declutter and downsize.  Friday night, after Paul had gone to bed and 9 hours before he needed to walk out the door with his collection for the merit badge class, Steve dug though Paul's backpack one more time and found them in a small side pouch.  And I didn't kill him.  Yay me.

This is what happens

This is what happens when Julia finds her grandmother's curlers

This is what happens when the curlers come out

This is what happens when Paul has to make cornbread by himself, and can't find the baking soda

Poor Paul

This is what happens when Petra decides to make her Valentine's Day box look like a cupcake factory

This is what happens when Nathan asks for a shark car boat for his Valentine's Day Box

This is what happens when Julia goes for gold in a Best Valentine's Day Box  competition

This is what happens when you tell Nathan that he can only color on the dry erase workbook sheets if he holds his marker properly

This is what happens when Nathan has to sit through a parent teacher conference and is given markers and paper to entertain himself.  He likes drawing monsters.

The highs and lows of Petra age 7

Petra was sick this week with a fever.  She came down with it on Sunday.  Tuesday I thought she was fever free all day because her temp stayed below 98.9, so I sent her to school.   Her temp spiked up at school Wednesday afternoon.  Oops.  Apparently 98.7 should still count as a low grade fever for my children and they need to be below 97.9 for 24 hours before I send them back to school.  

Before she got sick, she and I had a really good time this weekend.  After a couple months of her asking me to get Pokemon Go, I put it on my phone last weekend.  She and I went to town Saturday afternoon in the unseasonable warmth to pick PJ up from a scout event, and we walked around town getting Pokemon and Poke balls, and incubators and all kinds of good stuff.  She was gleeful: skipping and dancing and playing the game, and I made sure she didn't walk into traffic.  We made a good team.

Paul took this shot making it look like there was a Pokemon in Petra's lap

Telescoping arms

Nathan has been getting himself in trouble over fudge this holiday season.  He couldn't resist the temptation to take some without asking.  The last time he took fudge, I guess he had technically finished his lunch (3 hours later) and "earned" a treat, but he helped himself to a chunk of fudge worth about 5 normal servings.  After that, the fudge was moved to the top of the fridge.

We still have some leftover fudge in the house.  Last night I told Nathan that if he ate his apples slices, he could have a piece of fudge.  I then left the room.

A little while later, he wandered into the living room.
Steve: Nathan, what are you eating?
Nathan: Fudge.  I at my apples, like mommy said.
Steve: Okay.  Did mommy get you your fudge?
Nathan: No I got it.  I know where it is, Daddy.
Steve: Oh, I see!  You reached the top of the fridge??
Nathan: Yeah, I used the step stool.
Steve: Uh-huh. I guess that's an okay piece of fudge.
Nathan then reveals that he has a second handful of fudge.
Steve: Whoa, buddy.  That's too much!
Nathan: But it was all one piece.  See?  Nathan fits the 2 pieces back together.
Steve: That doesn't matter.  That is still too much fudge. Steve appropriates the second piece of fudge for himself.

So Nathan had finished eating the food I told him to eat, got out the step stool, and my precious little 4 year old stretched up to reach the top of the refrigerator and serve himself some fudge.



The fudge has now been moved to the top of a tall tin on top of the fridge, rendering it, at least for the moment, out of Nathan's reach.

Who's in charge?

When you are the 3rd born child, 7 year old, 1st grader, you don't get to be in charge very often.  What set of circumstances have to come together to make being in charge possible?

In the wee early hours of Sunday morning, mommy has to come down with a vicious stomach bug.
Daddy needs to be at church early Sunday morning for music rehearsal, as well as announcing events for the weekend's mission conference.
The 1st and 2nd born leave with Daddy for church.
Before leaving, daddy sets you and the 4th born up with some TV shows and gives you... (drum roll here)... The Remote Control.  This is an awesome day.

You might even get a solid hour of being totally in control before mommy drags herself downstairs and asks you to surrender the couch.

In addition to being keeper of The Remote Control, your duties include getting juice for yourself and the 4th born, helping the 4th born get dressed when mommy says so, and handing stuff to mommy when she asks.

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Best line from the morning?  "Nathan, if you don't apologize to Petra, you are going to be in big trouble when I eventually get off the couch."
Very convincing.