Can't argue with this logic

Little Sister has an interesting way of coming to conclusions.
This morning she asked me if she could watch "Little Einsteins". I don't have a problem with the show, but I think it is a little young for her (she's 7 1/2). I told her that she wasn't a little girl anymore and the following conversation took place:

Me: "You're not a little kid anymore"
LS: "Yes I am"
Me: "No, you're a middler"
LS: "But I'm not a large, I'm a medium which makes me small."

The conversation ended at that point and I told her she could watch "Little Einsteins". I can't argue with that kind of logic. :-)

Getting Fit on the Wii

We are an electronic family. When our XBox started dying last summer we wondered what to replace it with. We considered the XBox 360, but it didn't offer games that we could all play as a family. We pressed our luck and went in search of the illusive Wii. We figured almost a year after it was first released, it shouldn't be that hard to get. We were so wrong! I was amazed when in store after store (and on line too) I heard the same thing, "We don't have any and don't know when we will get any in". One day I was in the mall looking for something else and just for kicks I asked in the local Gamespot and they told me that they heard a rumor that EB Games in the mall had just gotten a shipment in. I rushed across the mall and asked about it. The folks at EB were shocked. They had only gotten 4 in about 10 minutes before and I was the second person to come asking about them. I quickly snatched up what I needed and began on a very interesting journey into Wii land.
Our family has had a lot of fun playing the Wii and now we are going to work on getting fit using it too. When I heard Wii fit was coming out, I made sure to be at the store when the doors opened. We got the game 2 days ago and have not been disappointed. From Little Brother and Little Sister up through DH and I, we all have burned more than a few calories on that little board.
We have done Yoga, run in place, checked our balance, ski jumped and put little balls in little holes, just to name a few. I would recommend this anyone who hates exercise but knows that if they don't they won't be healthy.
I only wish they had come out with something like this years ago. I would probably be in better shape if they had.

Stupid Kid Tricks

Well, Big Brother, my 14 year old son, has been having trouble lately with doing things before he thinks (typical 14 year old boy). Today he was mad that I was making him show his work in Pre-Algebra course. He is a good math student and it has come very easy to him. I know that he will have to show work when he takes Algebra at co-op next year so I wanted to get him used to it this year. He was being stubborn and took his book to copy. I let him go do that because I knew that it wasn't going to make any difference because he was still going to have to copy the problem and show the work. What I didn't count on was that he was going to think sticking his middle finger into the hole of a cast iron reloading set up that we had to move into the downstairs' living room when we put in a new window in the back hallway this weekend was going to be a good idea. The finger went in well, but didn't come out. He was complaining that it hurt and that is was getting cold.
The reloading set up was connected to a small stand and the hole was on the top, so the blood was rushing to his finger, making it swell. I tilted the table over and unbolted the piece from the table. I then held the piece upside down (holding the solid metal shaft that is designed to go into the hole his finger was in) trying to get the blood to drain out and shrink his finger. I got mineral oil (we had tried baby lotion and soap already) and poured it by the finger. Finally it came loose enough and popped out. I was not fancying calling the doctor to tell him that my son was a real redneck and that I was coming in with a reloader stuck to his middle finger. I wonder if he said "Hey Y'all watch this" before he did it????

Bad News, Good News

Bad News: On Friday morning I went to the dishwasher to get some clean dishes out. Much to my chagrin, the dishwasher hadn't been set off the night before, so I closed it and pushed the start button. Even more to my chagrin, nothing happened. I tried closing it again, but still nothing. This was not what I wanted to see with a family of 6 on Easter weekend.
Good News: I called the company that has our extended warranty (Thank God for those extended warranties).
Bad News: They told us they could schedule someone to come out on Monday. I was totally unthrilled about that prospect, but it was what I expected.
Good News: Later on I got a call from the local company and the nice lady told me that they could get someone out that day. OH JOY!! I would have my dishwasher for the weekend, or so I thought.
Bad News: We had no idea what the problem was and thought it might be that a mouse had bit through the cord. When I mentioned this to the lady from the local company, she said that wouldn't be covered by the warranty. Oh well, I didn't have a choice but to have it fixed so I told him to come over anyway.
Good News: When the tech arrived, he took apart the front of the dishwasher and found that it was a problem with the computer in the touch pad and would be covered by warranty. I was glad that it seemed like a small problem that needed a piece replaced. I am old enough to remember when a repair man would come with all the parts he needed to fix the appliance in his truck. He would figure out what piece wore out and he would fix it. With today's appliances, there are so many parts and there are so many different brands that it is impossible to carry all the parts they need, thus leading to...
Bad News: He needs to order a part and it won't be here for 7 to 10 days. UUGGHH!!!

Good News: I have 2 older kids that can clean, dry and put away dishes by hand, so it isn't all bad :-)

We all have our talents

The other night our next door neighbor's daughter was staying overnight. After dinner I told the girls to do the dishes. Our friend offered to help Big Sister. Little Sister wanted to help too.

Little Sister-"What can I do to help?"
Big Sister- "I don't know. Stand there and look cute."
Little Sister- "Oh Great!!! That's what I do best!"

This is ridiculous!

I am a born and raised New Englander and can handle snow, but this winter has been dowright ridiculous. Concord, the official measurement place for New Hampshire, has registered over 102 inches before the snowstorm we had last night. Where we are usually gets about 1.5 as much snow as they do. If they get 5 inches, we usually between 7 and 9, so I bet we have had 150 inches.

Here are some pictures to give folks an idea of what it is like around our house

Here is a picture of how high the snow is next to the driveway. The van is a 15 passenger and about 8 feet high.

This is our Jeep Wrangler which has been in the yard all winter. Yes, the snow is up to the bottom of the door windows.

This is a frame for a archery target. The target is 3 feet square so the frame is about 5 feet tall.

This is the top of a tomato plant which we planted last Spring. The plant is in a 5 gallon pail with the tomato racks around it.

This is the "Magic Garbage Box". I put bags of garbage into the box and every Wednesday it disappears :) The snow on the top is just since last Sunday. We are hoping to dig out the front since if you can't get the door open the garbage elves can't take the garbage away.

This is our mailbox. It is a white box on a black metal post. Can't see it??? Neither can I.

Can you see the big green cover it? We haven't since the middle of December when it collapsed. Under the tarp is a boat that we hope is still in good shape when the snow finally does melt.

I am very glad that no one was near the barn when the snow came crashing down. This must be a huge weight of snow.

Our kids have a tree house which is 10 feet above the sand pit. The railings are 3.5 feet high and the floor is slatted. This is how much snow has stayed up there.

I can't believe how much snow we have gotten this year and they are saying more snow is coming. Thankfully we should have a couple of days that are in the 40s and most of this should melt. I can dream can't I?????

From the mouthes of babes

We have often thought that Little Brother was born for comic relief and today was no exception. He isn't feeling well (he has a cold) and wanted to eat lots of bananas (one of his favorite foods).
Little Brother: "Mom, can I have another banana?"
Mom: "How many bananas are left?"
Little Brother: "A bunch!"