It's A First

It's official. Melissa is the first Linford to earn a master's degree. She graduated this weekend from BYU with her masters in education. It is a great accomplishment, and one in which the Pearson clan is very proud.

I myself have never had any desire for education beyond my bachelor's degree. I figure I have been educated in the school of hard knocks (or the school of too many children, you take your pick). I am always in awe of those who willingly submit themselves to ongoing torture to get some more learnin.

Of course, like all hypocrits I do expect my children to do more than I did. Maybe it is not hypocritical, just a motherly desire for my children to achieve more than I did. After all, they have the best mother in the world!

Louisiana Landscape and Crawfish

I have spent the week going from one end of Louisiana to the other. I was with two collegues, and visited three prospects. It was a great week work wise. I met with one library who LOVED what we had to show. It was so fun to be in an environment which was so positive. It was fun, fun, fun.

I went out with one of the prospects on Wednesday night, and we had crawfish. I had always avoided crawfish since it seemed a little weird. After eating them, I can say they are tasty. The only problem? They are a LOT of work for a little bit of meat. All in all it was tasty food and fun times.

I will now be home for 10 whole days. It is a festivus miracle.

Crazy Life

Do you ever feel like your life is spinning out of control, and the best you can do is hold on tight and hope not to fall off? Welcome to my world. With all the travel, big projects for work, and a weekend trip to Dallas for a baptism, life is just crazy.

We ended up driving to Dallas on Saturday morning - in time to make the 10:00 AM baptism which meant a 5:30 departure, and a 4:30 AM wake up call. It was a fun weekend with family and friends. We drove back yesterday at 2:00 PM. (No pics because I forgot the camera!!!)

Eric has this love for the road trip. Me, not so much. It was OK until the last hour when the four girls decided they were not going to watch any more movies, but were going to be loud and crazy. I don't care how big your car is, four girls+loud noise=headache for mom. We made it home in time for Ryan to watch the Mavericks lose their first game. The boy's mood seems to revolve around how his teams do. The Stars won over the weekend, so that kind of evened things out.

Off to the great state of Louisianna this week. I leave tonight and will return Friday afternoon. It will be a long week with driving from one end of the state to the other. Oh well, as everyone knows my job and the travel is glamorous, right????

My goal this week is NOT to let the blog die down all week. We will see how that works out.

I Am An Old Woman

When I was in college, my roomates and I would comment on how old woman would talk about stupid things. How firm the peas are, how the azaleas are in bloom. We made a pact never to become weird old woman.

I am here today to break that pact. I have spent many hours driving across Texas the last few days. This is wildflower time. Right now the

wildflowers are BEAUTIFUL!! The contrast of the bluebonnets, indian paintbrush, green grass and blue sky is amazing. I liked to just look at the flowers and be amazed at the beauty which is Texas (Ok so that is going over the top, but oh well).

So, I will embrace my age. I will own that I am a weird old woman. I will enjoy the fact I can wax poetic about flowers at a time I should be working on a big proposal I need to get done. Anything to keep procrastinating....

Take a drive, look around and enjoy the flowers because they will be gone in a few weeks.

The Beginning of the next 30 Days of My Glamorous Life

My husband let me in on a secret. I will be gone 20 of the next 30 days. Then, we will be gone on vacation for a week. I know you are all jealous of my exciting life. It was at a high yesterday, when I had pulled up the carpet in our booth, on my hands and knees pushing an extension cord under the carpet so we could have power where we need it.

My ever so supportive husband called me on Tuesday night and asked what I was doing. Here is a playback of our conversation:

Eric: What are you doing:

Me: Folding laundry, getting the kids ready for bed.

Eric: Well, lucky you to tomorrow you get to go on vacation.

Me: Excuse me? Working 13 hours a day, standing in the booth real vacation!

Come on now. He was kidding (wasn't he?). I am leaving my room at 8:o0 am and I will not be back until 9:30 pm or 10:00 pm at which point I need to write a cover letter and do an executive summary for an RFP I am doing. This is after standing in a booth with NO CARPET PAD (pad costs more money you know) on the concrete floor for 7 hours, taking clients out to dinner, and going to a TLA bash. Vacation??? I don't think so.

What I Hate About Easter

There I said it. I HATE the aftermath of Easter. The eggs strewn all over. And the grass. Who invented this stuff? It had to be someone who was trying to torture moms everywhere. It does not help that the people who live here are slobs. They throw their candy wrappers, and any garbage, right on the floor.

This causes me to wonder where I went wrong as a mother. Are there not children out there who will all clean up their own messes? Are there not children out there who would not think of throwing the wrapper to their Reeses Egg on the floor? There sure seem to be some moms who tell me their children are very responsible. They would never do such a thing. So, where did I go wrong?

Am I not mean enough? I tend to think I am pretty mean, but maybe I need to be meaner? How do you instill a sense of responsibility in a six year old? Especially one who is the baby of the family, and is "too little" to do much of ANY work. If it were only the babies, it would be one thing. This conspiracy goes deeper than that -right up to the top.

Oh well. I have confiscated the easter baskets, the grass and most of the candy is gone. So, I guess I will call it a wrap on another easter.

On to the next mess.

Easter - 45 Degrees?

What? Is this Houston? Why was it so cold? The low on the night before Easter was in the 30's. What is going on? It is supposed to be nice at Easter, not freezing. It snowed just north of us. Crazy weather.

We had a nice easter. The kids enjoyed their baskets and candy - that is unless you are a teenager (or a wanna be) and you thought you were too cool. All in all, a great day.

Crazy week ahead - travel and lots of work.

Have a great Monday.

Oil Ranch

There is a place just north of us, the Oil Ranch. It is a field trip dream. They have a train, a cow you can milk, a pony you can ride, a petting zoo, etc. You get the idea.

All of the kindergarten classes go to the Oil Ranch. Many of the preschool classes go to the Oil Ranch. Till now, I had avoided going to the Oil Ranch. Since the elementary school will not allow younger siblings to go on field trips, I never had the chance. I always had younger ones.

Well, that ended this year. I was lucky enough to just go - not be an "official" chaperone. This allowed me to go, spend some time with Allie and Caroline, and then get home and get some work done! Win/Win for everyone.

Here are the city gals, remember they really want to live downtown by Uncle Mark, showing their country side.

Thank Goodness!

We went to see Wicked last night, and it was WONDERFUL. If you ever get the chance to go and see it, do it. It was Kelsey, Sohphie, Rachel, Becky and me. We went out and got some dinner, and then saw the show. Our tickets were great. The show was great.

After the show we had to pass backstage to get to the car. The girls got the autographs for the Wizard, Galinda and Elphaba.

Everyone is tired today, but it was worth it. Now I am off to the Oil Ranch with the twins. The being a mom thing really gets in the way of me having fun!

Fashion By Caroline

Caroline marches to the beat of her own drummer. We know this. She is now, even more, expressing herself in her fashion choices.

This outfit is one she put together and is one of her favorites. She added the belt the other day. She decided she needed this belt - Kelsey did not use it enough so it was now Caroline's. Sophie was mortified that I let her go to school like that. What is wrong with me? In the grand scheme of things, what is a silvery, sparkly belt?

She has also announced to me that she does not like pants. "That is just not my fashion." She likes shorts, skirts, dresses and short pants (capris).

So, there you go. Fashion by Caroline. When she is a great designer some day, that can be her label!

From Mud to India - a Great Saturday

Yesterday was the Lakewood Elementary Carnival. This the big fundraiser for the school, and the kids get all hopped up to go and play and spend mom and dad's money.

A few weeks ago, the PTO president asked Eric and Ryan to come and be clowns and do balloon animals. Eric said sure, then he let Ryan know. Ryan, being a good sport, said OK. Fast forward to two weeks ago when Eric decided to go to Utah. He talked Ryan into still being a clown, and decided we would work and make a ton of balloon animals to bring up there, which Kelsey and Sophie did, and Ryan could just hand them out.

When we arrived, we found out there was another clown - a "profesional" clown who was paid by the carnival committee to make balloon animals. Ryan was a good sport, stood there and pretty much did nothing because the "professional" clown was handling it. And as for the animals the Pearson Family contributed, no one wanted them. The "professional" clown made what you wanted onsite. That was more appealing than the ones Kelsey and Sophie had made.

Ryan proved he would follow through when he made a committment, and I was proud of him. I am much more bitter than he is, but isn't that how I am? Bitter old woman?

Add to that the fact it had been raining alll day and the playground at the school was a MUD PIT. No, really. Before Caroline even got on one ride, she fell, was stuck in the mud and I had to take her home,clean her up, and go back and try to get our monies worth of our ride bands (another source of bitterness since the prices were set high assuming each family had two children. What about all those mormon families with a ton of kids. Well, one official was heard to say, "You should not have had so many kids." Bitter, Bitter, Bitter.)

I tried to swallow my bitterness, and the kids had a ball. Allie thanked me this morning for a great time yesterday. So, I guess it was worth it if the kids had fun. Of course, I did not volunteer my time to go and plan and put this party on, so I should just keep my bitterness to myself (and anyone who reads this blog).

After the carnival, I went to see The Namesake with Sarah. It was only playing in one theater in Houston, the River Oaks Theater, so off we went. It was a great book and I was hoping the movie would be as good. It was. We had a really good time, and were very proud for getting out of our comfort zone.

At the end of the day, we all had a great day. Busy, crazy, muddy, a little bitter, but fun.

Mission Reunions and Strep Throat

Caroline has strep throat. It took me two days to take her seriously. She told me her throat hurt, I gave her tylenol. She told me her throat hurt, I gave her tylenol. (I am a BIG believer in drugs - both for me and my kids).

When she woke up today crying because her throat hurt, I decided I needed to take her seriously. One trip to the doctor later, and she has strep. Lets hope the antibiotic kicks in soon.

Eric left at the crack of dawn today - 4:30 AM - for a trip to Utah. A few weeks ago he found out they were going to have a mission reunion, and he decided he wanted to go. He is having a nice fun weekend in Provo and SLC, visiting friends and enjoying the scenery. I hope he has fun.

Me, I am here with Caroline - who, have you heard, has strep throat.

A Little Bragging

I am not really a bragging parent - at least I don't think I am. I love my kids. I think they are beautiful, brilliant and wonderful. But, I don't feel the need to tell everyone how wonderful they are. We all know braggers, and it is not a good look.

Well, I am going to make an exeption to that rule today. I got a phone call yesterday from the principal of the elementary school that went like this:

Mrs P: Mrs. Pearson this is Mrs. P from Lakewood Elementary

Me: (thinking to myself, what did Allie do now? As we all know, a call from the principal is not usually a good thing)

Mrs. P: The reason for my call is a good one. Sophie is our 4th grade A+ student for this year.

I was shocked. I was thinking, did she mean for her class? No, for the entire fourth grade. There is one for 2nd grade, one for 3rd grade and one for 4th grade. She went on to tell me about a special dinner in May for all the district A+ students.

Now, I am not sure if this is based soley on grades, or if citizenship plays into it. I will have to get clarification. It does not really matter. Sophie has worked hard, and this is her reward.

Of course, when we told Sophie she did not believe it. Her response? "But Rachel is smarter than me." Classic Sophie. That is what we love about her.

We could not be prouder! So, excuse the bragging just this one time.

Allergy to Thursday Rears It's Ugly Head

Remember my rantings about my allergy to Thursday - what do you mean you have not recorded to memory each and every post of Real Life? Well, today it was back.

The alarm went off. I could hardly roll over to turn in off thanks to my nazi aerobics instructor at the YMCA (I am sure she has no feeling in her thighs) Anyway, in my "got to make the dounts" stumble, I went downstairs and made the lunches. All five. Of course an integral part of that is my first glass of diet coke of the day.

Since I had not read a single blog in over two weeks, I told you I was busy, I decided it was a great time to get caught up. I now feel like I know what is going on in my friends lives, and I was just going up to get in the shower so I could go to the bus stop looking like a real person instead of the "mom" I am right now. I open the fridge to get my second coke of the day, yes it was only 6:50 AM, and that is when I saw it. Four exploded cokes. All over the fridge.

Now, the question is did I miss it earlier? Was I so asleep that I missed the coke splattered fridge? I don't think so, but can't be sure. I avoided my first thought which was shut the fridge, go back to bed and boycott Thursday. The reality is it would still be there when I opened the fridge again. So 45 minutes later I have a clean fridge.

Instead of showering and being a real person, I will go to the bus looking like a hag. Just thought I would share. When your day is not going great just think - at least I did not wake up to four exploded cokes in the fridge!

March 28, 2007

A day Kelsey has been waiting for. Why you ask? Because last year some time, I am sure when I was out of town - all "fun" things happen when I am out of town - Eric and Kelsey made a contract. This contract stated that on March 28, 2007 Kelsey could get a cell phone. The one and only catch was that she had to be able to produce said contract on March 28th.

Well, against all odds she kept the contract safe. True to his word, today was the day she got a cell phone. I just want to go on the record as saying I don't think she needs one. But, as I said, it happened when I was gone.

The good news is she is aware that this is a privilege. The violation of any number of rules will mean the phone is taken and she needs to earn it back.

What is this world coming to when a 12 year old has a cell phone. I blame my sister. She allowed Hannah to get a cell phone at 12 and that spawned the great cell phone contract. Oh well, she is on my plan and I can closely monitor what is going on.

I am guessing she will call her aunts and uncles a lot since they are all on the same plan as she is. The girl who can out talk Melissa is now armed with a cell phone. Linfords beware!!!

A few photos from Nevis. The island was beautiful. The one on the left is the view from the water of the resort as I was leaving. The monkey on the right is one of a group of monkeys who live on the golf course, 15th hole. They come out in the evening and wreak havoc on the golf course. After all the attendees had left, I got to go out and get a tour of the golf course and see them.

Last week was hectic, but great. But, as always it is nice to be home!

Yes, I Am Still Alive

It has been a CRAZY few weeks. I have been travelling, working like a dog, and completely OUT of my schedule. So what happened? No blog - a point which has been made by MANY people. I am back and I hope to be able to get caught up since I know everyone is dying to know what has been going on in the Pearson household.

We were blessed with the visit of both Uncle Markie and Uncle Patrick - or Rich Uncle Mark and Crazy Uncle Patrick, on Saturday the 10th. Patrick was here for spring break and to attend the wedding of his former roommate and that brought Mark and Jen out for a few hours. They spent some time with the kids, watched Sophie play soccer, and of course were used as a human jungle gym. Allie and Caroline think that is Mark's purpose in life - human jungle gym. He is nice enought to appease them! It was great to have them.

Patrick came back the next week, when I was gone, and I am pretty sure there was more playing and fun. He put together Eric's new model airplane - I guess Eric has decided to get a new hobby. Anyway, it was great to see both of them.

I spent last week in Nevis - a sister island to St. Kitts in the British West Indies. I will post some pictures later. I went to help Pia out with a show. She ended up stuck in the Charlotte airport for two days, and I got to jump in and be in charge. Not usually a problem, but that also meant I had to do two peoples work for a few days. It was a great week, a beautiful place, fun company, but very busy.

So, now back to real life. Soccer, house, grocery shopping and a ton of work to do. I guess it is better to be busy than not - isn't that what they say?????

Happy Birthday Allie!

It is hard to believe my baby Allie is six. (OK so she was six a week ago and I am behind!) Allie is our resident Drama Queen. Really - we only thought Kelsey was full of it.

From the time Allie was a little girl, so was full of it. You can just look in her eyes and see that she is thinking of the next thing she can do to wreak havoc on the rest of us (except for her twin of course, because she will defend Caroline until she dies).

When Allie was 12 days old, she stopped breathing in her bed. She was blue, stiff and would have been a SIDS baby, but something prompted me to get up and check on her. I can't imagine our life without this little imp in it!

She continues to make us laugh. This is a conversation we had just this week:

Allie: Mom I want to go to the YMCA

Me: You can' t go to the YMCA until you are done taking your medicine (for her strep throat)

Allie: All my medicine?

Me: Yes

Allie: Even my issues medicine?

Me: What are you talking about?

Allie: You know the medicine I take because I have issues??

Me: (knowing she was talking about her Claritin) No, you don't have to be done with your issues medicine.

So, there you have it. Allie has issues and she is not afraid to talk about it. She has her father wrapped around her finger, and tries to manipulate him ALL the time. Most of the time she is successful. When she gets in trouble and he is not home, she will start crying that she wants her daddy. When I tell her he is not coming, she will stop crying because she knows it is wasted on me.

She is my only child with her dad's beautiful green eyes. She looks even more like he did as a little kid than Ryan, and that is saying something.

She was named after her grandfathers. Both of our fathers are named Alan. She has now taken on my dad's nickname Big Al. She does not like to share it with him, too bad it was his first. She will allow him to be referred to as Big Al, but only because she loves him. (they had to have a talk about it) He is nice enough to let her think she is in charge.

We are grateful for our Allie, Big Al. She makes us laugh. She can melt you with her smile. Now, is we can just harness the dramatics....

Sweet Caroline

I have not taken the time to write my "birthday" post for Allie or for Caroline. So, today it is my sweet Caroline (sing it like Neil Diamond).

Caroline is a sweet and fun child with big beautiful blue eyes. She has historically, stood back and let her sister move forward and take the lead. She was fine to follow. She still does, somewhat, but I have been glad to see her taking the lead more often. I think as she gains more confidence, she will continue to put it out there.

She lives in her own world most of the time. She will come out with the funniest things - and you think what is she thinking? She is usually happy and smiling, so it must be a fun world she lives in. She loves to play imaginative games. She creates these elaborate stories to set the stage for her playing.

She loves to go outside and play. She is like Sophie in that regard - she can't get enough of outside. Now that she has a bike and a scooter, she is set.

Caroline loves school. She told me she does not want to have spring break because she will miss school. She loves learning, and is doing great. She is starting to read and her writing is great. She puts periods at the end of the sentence, and starts with a capital letter. She is good about putting her finger spaces in between words, so I can usually figure out what she is saying.

She loves to help fold clothes, but not put them away because that is not fun. When she is in the mood, she can clean her room in no time - it is the in the mood thing that gets her. She also loves to swiffer vac the floor. That is not a chore, but a fun thing!

Caroline is our baby - since she is 2 minutes younger than her sister. She loves to snuggle and hug, and I can never get enough of that. She loves her family, and in her prayers she has to make sure and name each one in case Heavenly Father forgets who we are.

She is funny, quirky, and loving - and she is all ours. We feel very blessed she is our baby!

Birthday Party Wrapup and Allie has Strep

Well, the babies had their party, and fun was had by all. The thing that is the saddest is that I did not get any good pics. Although, I will admit, I did not try very hard. It was very kicked back and easy for me. The only stress was when we opened presents and it was chaos. The two teenaged girls who were running the party for us got overwhelmed and there was no order on the island. Besides that it was six year old bliss.

I should not just say six year old. All three of the older ones wanted to come to the party and not just come, but come and jump. Ryan was out there playing with the kids the entire time. He did such a good job that the owner of the Jumpin Party has given him an application for a job there. See - when you help out and have a good attitude, great things can come as a result. We have to see if his not working on Sunday will be an issue. If it is, then oh well.

Allie kept coming to me with tears in her eyes over stupid things during the party. I chalked it up to being overwhelmed with all the love. You know, it is always the birthday girl or boy who is HORRIBLE at his/her own party. This is just one of the many reasons we don't do parties very often (At age six, this was the first one for Allie and Caroline).

Back on track. One time when she came to me in tears, she felt hot and had the sick eyes. I could not do anything about it, and pretended it was because she was out jumping (plausible I think). Anyway, we came home, took her temp and it was 101. She went to bed. Sat morning she was just fine. Sat night, fell apart again and told me her throat hurt. I looked and the mess of swollen stuff and pus was gross.

So, Sunday morning we were off to the Dr. Yes she has strep. She will not be a school today, but can go back tomorrow. For anyone who was at the party whose child later develops strep - sorry. I am hoping no one will be affected. I am also hoping it does not run the course through the family. I don't have time for strep!

My Babies are Six

I will post more later - but wanted to get a pic of them in their NEW birthday clothes. These were the only ones that fit them - I bought everything else too small. I guess I can't accept them getting big.

Off to have lunch at school - of course they requested McDonalds! Birthday party after school. All in all a fun day if you are six.

Caroline's Treasures

I have five kids, and they are all different. I thought I had seen great trash collectors before. When Ryan was little, you had to shake him down when going from playground to class because his pockets were ALWAYS full of stuff. Sophie never wants to thrown anything away.

However, I think the winner is Caroline. She moved into the space once occupied by Sophie. When I redid Kelsey and Sophie's room, I made these boxes which are used to display stuff - specific stuff not junk. She does not get that. She thinks she should be able to put whatever suites her on display.

This is what she chose to display. Now, what is more concerning - the McDonalds cup or the headless Ariel? Ariel had no head when she was put up there. That was fine with Caroline, because even headless Ariel suited her aesthetics. I am not sure what it all means. She has always marched to a different drummer. This is just one more example. Let's hope she just liked the colors and this is not the beginnings of a fascination with all things headless!

77 Sunny in February

Sophie had skills camp soccer practice last night. The house was a mess. I had a ton of work to do. So, what did I do? Took the twins to the park for soccer practice, sat in the sun and read my book for a little bit. Then we went out and looked at the duck, beavers, and other wildlife out and about. My house is still a mess, I am so behind, but it was fun!

Allieism

With the impending wedding of Megan, we have had non-stop talk about love and marriage and what it means for the girls, because as you know it is all about them. This is no lie what happened at the dinner table a few days ago.

Allie: I don't want Megan to get married and have babies.

Me: Why not? Don't you think Megan will make a great mother?

Allie: Yes, but if she gets married and has children she will love them more than she loves me.

That about sums it up, doesn't it? Never was there a more perfect example of how this wedding is not about Megan and Blake and their life together. It is about how it impacts Allie (and all the rest of the girls for that matter).

So, Michelle and Melissa hear this. You are never to get married or have children because it is too traumatic to my kids and, ultimately, it is ALWAYS all about ME!

Rockin Robin

When you have four girls, or any number more than one for that matter, you will end up sitting through many a "show" or "presentation". This week it was Rockin Robin, and as you can see the twins are the birds. This vegas type extravaganza starred Sophie, and the twins, with Kelsey on vocals in the background.

The great thing about a show is the prep time is a good one to two hours, for a 3 minute show. What this means is people are working together in a productive environment and they are entertaining each other! Win win for me.

We had stake conference this weekend, so much of Saturday was taken up with meetings, but the good news was Sunday was only 10:00-12:00 instead of the horrible 1:00-4:00 which we have. It was stake conference for all Texas, OK and NM live from Salt Lake which is cool. Sophie did not feel well, so Kelsey stayed home with her. I think we have picked up a little bug - just enough to make you feel a little yucky, but not enough to really be sick. After reading what my other friends have been suffering with, I will take a little yucky because everyone is at school!

I watched Gone with the Wind for a while yesterday, and it once again made me want to be Scarlett O'Hara. I could have been a southern belle, should have been a southern belle, and I am sure many would argue try even now to be a southern belle. I have always had the Scarlett fantasy ever since my youth. Strange but true. So, for all those who have STILL not seen the movie, rent it and watch it. It is a classic. Now you can think about me as Scarlett and it will make you laugh the whole time!!

Off to sell some stuff, clean some stuff, and get everyone going where they should be. Enjoy Monday!

Thursday Allergy

I have diagnosed myself with a new allergy - Thursdays. I don't know what the deal is. I can NOT get going on Thursdays. Even Friday is better. This morning I felt like I had been run over by a truck! Of course, I did not get home until after 11:00 last night, maybe that had something to do with it.

I would blame it on the travelling this week, but I felt the same thing last week. So, what is the deal? I am going to go with the allergy. Do you think that should mean I don't have to participate in life on Thursdays? That would work for me. Maybe we could all just strike on Thursdays? We could create a society with no Thursdays. Then, I am sure the allergy would move to another day.

Obviously the picture has nothing to do with the post. I just got this recommendation to put more pictures of Megan on the blog - I wonder who that came from?

President's Day, 2007

I am going to go on a rant, so if you are easily offended, or don't care, you should logoff now.

It is President's Day. My kids have school. They do not get President's Day as a holiday. Why do you ask does the school system in Houston not celebrate the births of our early presidents? Well, you see, they celebrate Martin Luther King JR day in January, and don't have any other days to take.

Here is my problem. I do not have a problem with my kids being in school today - as a matter of fact I am glad they have school. I do have a problem with Martin Luther King day taking precedence over Presidents Day. What message does that send? Who is the wing nut who made that decision? Why? Why? Why?

OK, rant over. It just, as my husband would say, chaps my hide. As the kids go to school today, I have two days worth of things to get done in one day. I am going to Dallas tomorrow, and back on Wednesday night. Should be fun.

On a brighter note - it is warming up. It will be in the 70's this week, and even in Dallas it will be beautiful. This is the time of year it pays to live in Houston. Remind me I love it here in August, because I will be cursing the heat and humidity.

Enjoy your holiday - I hope someone out there gets to celebrate!

It's Official

Megan called me last night to tell me she and Blake are officially engaged!! Although she did not give me all the details, they went for a hike in St. George and somewhere along the way he proposed. She is supposed to send a picture of her ring, "perfect" was her description. There was much rejoicing by all the girls in the house. Although I have heard some concerns that now Megan won't talk to them, just Blake. (I have assured them this will not happen) Oh it is hard to have your Aunts grow up and move on! So, August 10th we will all be in Dallas celebrating the marriage of Megan and Blake.

I guess Blake called my dad to ask for permission, and they had quite a "long" conversation. He said dad was tough. This made me remember when we got engaged. I was in Provo, and Eric was in Dallas, where my family was. He went over to my parents house to talk to them about marrying me. I don't know everything that went on, but you have to have Eric act it out to get the full effect. First my dad had to go and get his Diet Pepsi, they were a little confused back then and drank Pepsi. He then sat down, popped open the can, and gave him the "I dare you to convince me" look.

I guess they went through a long list of what my father expected and did not expect for his daughter. The thing that is funny is as time marches forward, and Eric is closer to being the father giving away his daughter, and not the prospective groom, the story changes a little. I think he can relate much more to my father's feelings now. I will admit at the time Eric was enrolled in his first semester at Tarrant County Junior College. He had not gone to college before his mission, and he was taking his first classes. He planned to transfer up to BYU, which is what happened, but at the time he was just a punk kid with 1/2 a semester at a junior college, working at the airport fueling airplanes (this was a step up from his previous job where he made swimming pool rocks).

I think everyone will admit, he worked out well. Now we get to be in the fun position of watching others squirm and watching my dad torture these young bucks. Eric will have to take notes - before you know it he will be the torturer.

Welcome to the family Blake. It will get worse - you have not met all the boys yet...

Enjoy the Silence

Allie made it back to school today!! Lets hope no one else gets sick, as those things tend to move from one member of the family to the next. I am sitting here, working, and enjoying the silence of my house.

Since Allie had to miss her party yesterday, I decided to be a good mom and make sugar cookies with her. Now, up to this point in my life I only ever used the Pillsbury dough. It worked. It was easy. But I made the mistake of going to Walmart on Tuesday evening - yes the night before Valentine's day. You would have thought it was Christmas Eve. The place was packed and they were out of everything, including sugar cookie dough.

I mentioned this to my sister, Martha Steward Wanna Be that she is, and she gave me two different recipes and told me to make it myself. So I did, and not only was it not hard, but the cookies were tasty. I must admit, by the end I had the same feeling I get everytime I do sugar cookies - will this ever end? Allie did the sprinkles and we chatted, or I listened to her go on and on, while we decorated the cookies. It was nice to spend time with just Allie. With twins that does not always happen. Even when I make a point to try and do someone with just one of them, they always invite the twin.

Now, if I had been a good blogger I would have taken a picture. But, not so much. So you will just have to imagine for yourselves tons of heart shaped sugar cookies laying on the counter.

Valentine's Day, Sick Child

Allie still had a slight fever. Since I am sure if I sent her to school with her 100.9 degree fever, she would end up a the nurse, and I would face her disapproving look as she told me Allie was sick again. So, even though it made her sad to miss her Valentine's Party, she is home with me today. It should make for yet another fun and exciting day for me.

My husband surprised me with a wonderful valentine. I had looked at an ad from Ann Taylor and pointed out a dress I liked. He remembered, went to the mall got the right dress in the right size. It was very thoughtful, and it fits. Just when I think I have him figured out he surprises me. I am lucky to have such a great valentine!

Give hugs to the ones you love and enjoy your valentine's day.

Love At Home

Yesterday morning I walked up to Allie's room and found this note on the door. In case you can't read kindergartenese it reads, "I hate you. You are a ____(she can't remember). You are fat. No No No. Yes Yes. Go Away."

This was a note written to Kelsey. As Robert would say, Nice. I am not sure the cause, but even yesterday she got very animated and said she was so mad at Kelsey. It is so nice to see the love at home.

She had a total freak out on Sunday evening. We were sitting down to watch Nacho Libre as a family, I made it through 10 minutes. She was told all day her room had to be clean. Of course it wasn't, and I told her she could not watch the movie. She was MAD - storming around, slamming doors. Telling me it wasn't fair. All I could think is "I can't take another one." Then this note. She may well replace Kelsey as the drama queen.

Allie, of course, is home sick today. She has a slight fever, and they made me come and get her at 3:10 yesterday (30 minutes before school let out). Why? She had a fever of 100.3. This morning in one ear it is 101.4 and the other is 100.5. What is up with that? I will have to watch it, but I have tons to do today. Major shopping at Wal Mart and Costco. I wanted to get my oil changed, but that will have to wait. And I have tons for work to do. I hope the Tylenol kicks in so she can be the go along girl. How is that for a compassionate mother?

Brain Tumor

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OK - the picture has nothing to do with the post. I have just not posted pictures in a while, and my rants are not as fun without a cute kid to look at. Kelsey took this of her favorite subject. I don't know if Allie just naturally has a hoochie look, or if Kelsey brings it out.

I have my brain tumor pain again. I am not sure what the deal is, and clearly it is not a brain tumor, but I get this shooting pain through my skull. It seems to go hand in hand with a sinus infection. I am taking drugs trying to pretend I am not that sick. We will see how long this can go on. Last night I went to bed at 8:00 (not all that unusual). The reason was I thought I would die when I moved my head. This morning it is not as bad, so life will go on as usual.

Sophie has started back up with soccer, so our lives start to get complicated. I know - stop complaining it could be worse. All five of them could be involved with lots of stuff. Since I was out last week I am driving the after track carpool all week, and the soccer carpool all week. I really don't mind because I am so grateful that I have people who can fill in for me when I am gone, but it will make for many hours behind the wheel.

I will just bring my bookclub book, Devil In The White City, and finish it. How about that? Bookclub is not for another couple of weeks, and I will be done. This is non-fiction, so I was skeptical. I read trash. Not real bodice ripper trash, but easy fiction of the James Patterson, John Grisham type. Being in bookclub has made me read some different things. This is one of those types of things. It is about the World's Fair in Chicago in the 1890's. Who would have guessed I would read, finish, and like non-fiction?

Well, we are expecting wild and wacky weather this afternoon which may preempt the long driving mentioned above. Since it is going to be 70, it looks like a real spring thunderstorm with large hail, damaging winds and tornados possible. (can you tell I am a weather news junkie?) NY is under ten feet of snow, and we are have tornados. Global Warming or end of the world? You pick.

Still No Coke

So, I have been in Syracuse all week - it is a blue city. By that I mean, Pepsi is king and let me tell you this southern Coke loving girl has had it. (Yes Laurie I will complain about lack of Diet Coke FOREVER in case you are wondering) I am on my way home now, stuck in the Pepsi enthralled airport in Dallas having missed my flight to Houston.

Why did I miss my flight? The plane, which clearly goes back and forth from Dallas to Syracuse, could not land in the blizzard which was Syracuse. They had to go somewhere else, refuel, and then land. We then boarded the plane, got de-iced, and took off for Dallas. We were already late and then faced strong headwinds, causing further delays. So, now I have a flight which leaves in a little over an hour. This will put me home around 11:00 pm, just in case you were wondering.

I think I deserve kudos for posting this week even while away from home. I know I had nothing of importance to share, although when do I ever share anything of importance? Next week I am home all week!! Yeah for everyone. It will be nice to have a "normal" week again. Although that does beg the question, what is normal? Clearly, not one I can answer.

It's Cold Baby

OK - it is really cold here. It is such a winter mess that Sam Champion of ABC's Good Morning America is here reporting. One of my colleagues was not able to come to the training since she got 3-4 feet of snow in the last few days at home.

Lucky for me I am inside all day, and have not ventured outside yet. Being trapped inside all day also causes me to get a little stir crazy, but it is better than the alternative. My boots have been helpful - I tried to wear real shoes yesterday and my feet got really cold. That was inside!!!! I had to move to my boots.

So, I saw the high was 71 degrees at home. Enjoy it. The high here today is 15...

Two Hour Layover, Pepsi Only Terminal

I don't think Dante could have more aptly described hell. I mean what is going on? Pepsi only? As I was getting something for breakfast I casually ask the nice lady making my breakfast, is there any Coke in this terminal at all?? She says, yes there is a McDonalds but it is way at the other end of the terminal. What would a rational person do? Just stay put and drink Pepsi. Lucky for me I have never described myself as rational, at least where Diet Coke is concerned. So I high tailed it to the other end of the terminal, and I am not happily sipping my truck driver size Diet Coke. Nirvana.

I am on my way to Syracuse, and since the high this week is 15 degree, yes that is the high, I went out got a coat and some Ugg wanna be boots. Now I am waiting in DFW and all this running around has made me hot. This is why I hate coats and the such. I have to either sweat or lug this thing around with me until I make it to the frozen tundra they call Syracuse. I know I will be glad to have it there.

I was supposed to have read a book for my sales training (yes two solid days of sales training You can insert your own editorial comment here). I am on chapter 12, and not thinking I am going to make it. I would much rather read my book club book. I have a long flight coming up, so I might have to alternate between the two.

I almost missed my flight this morning. I overslept. That never happens. Overslept may not be the way to describe it since I needed to getup at 3:30 am. The alarm did not go off. It always works. I could now go into a Seinfeld discussion of am/pm, volume, etc. I don't know what happened. I just know that I rolled over at 4:06 am to see that I was late. It is a good thing I am a low maintenance kind of gal, or it would have been bad.

Maybe that was why I had such a bad reaction to this Pepsi only hell I have found myself in. Or maybe, I am just not so low maintenance after all. Either way, I am here. I have Diet Coke (the good McDonalds kind). I am chillin. Life is good.

Saturday Is A Special Day

It's the day you get ready for Sunday - or so says the song. For me, today, it is the day I get ready for the rest of the week. I leave for Syracuse on Monday and will not return until Thursday, so I need to get on top of the lack of groceries, laundry etc. I am going to crack my mother whip and get these kids on it. It is a new month, and a new chore chart.

We are now into month two of the chore chart, and all in all things were better last month. The wheels did fall off this last time I was gone, but we are going to work on keeping the wheels on this week.

I hope everyone has a happy and productive Saturday.

It's Groundhog Day

In the Pearson house, this day is also known as Eric's Birthday. So, in tribute to Eric here are 41 things, to celebrate his 41st birthday, I love about Eric (with some help from the kids)

1. He is funny.

2. He is a great dad.

3. He was the first to introduce me to Survivor and The Office.

4. He likes reality TV as much as I do.

5. He is a great runner.

6. He will take the kids to see scary movies.

7. He likes Haunted Houses.

8. He likes Diet Coke even more than I do.

9. He is a great uncle/brother in law.

10. He is always up for a road trip.

11. He likes to play tricks on people.

12. When you open the door of his car, a coke can will probably fall out (much like the car of my father).

13. He sings the little mermaid song (that was from Allie)

14. He is a very hard worker. (even getting a part time job over christmas break during our time at BYU).

15. He lets us go to Sam's house (that was Caroline).

16. He is very good at his job.

17. He is very honest.

18. He is always the first one to volunteer to help someone move/clean the church.

19. He does not mind eating cereal for dinner.

20. He is always thinking of ways he can get closer to his kids.

21. He does projects around the house.

22. He tells it like it is.

23. He ran 40 marathons before his 40th birthday.

24. He drives Ryan to seminary every morning when it is our turn.

25. He likes to read books to the kids.

26. Caroline says he lets us drink coke.

27. He is friendly.

28. He is a sun worshipper like me.

29. He is always there to talk to me about work issues.

30. He gets us donunts (from Allie).

31. He likes dessert with every meal (I can support that).

32. He eats cereal with penut butter (that was allie).

33. He lets me do whatever I want (also allie).

34. The girls have him wrapped around their fingers. He loves his little girls.

35. He also loves his son, and loves and go and do things with him like football, skiing, movies, etc.

36. He will watch "chick flicks" with me.

37. He can help the kids with math homework, because heaven knows I can't.

38. He has no problem taking care of his children. He does not freak out when I am gone, but makes it a fun game for all.

39. He is supportive of my career.

40. He is not afraid to show his feelings.

41. And last, even at 41, I think he is pretty cute!!

Happy Birthday Eric.

(picture of Ryan and Eric in front of St James Hotel - said to be haunted)

What are the Chances

I am in DFW at the airport trying to get home after a frustrating day. I am on the edge, and the snow if falling from the sky like a winter wonderland. Sophie would love it. I am thinking, what is the chance I will make it home without killing someone?

Days like this make me ask myself, what in the heck am I doing? I guess I am lucky. I am close to my mom and dad's house. If we don't get out of here, I can probably go there. If my dad will come and get me. Which I think he would, but you never know.

So, here is to hoping that something goes right today.

Angel Fire

Eric and Ryan went on a weekend trip to Angel Fire for some skiing and male bonding. They stopped in Dallas and picked up my younger brother Steven, who is 17, and they headed out for some good 'ole male bonding and skiing.

Since I was not there, I don't know everything that happened. This much I know. 1. Everyone had a great time. 2. They stayed in a haunted hotel in Cimmarron, NM close to Philmont. 3. The Dallas Cowboy's Cheerleaders were there for an appearance. 4. Ryan now wants to become a skier. 5. Everyone made it home in one piece.

For a boys weekend, I think that spells success.

Happy Birthday Melissa!

It is just birthday central around here. It is Aunt Melissa's birthday today, so in her honor here are the 26 things, since she is 26, we love about Aunt Melissa :

1. Her bright smile.
2. Her dark hair and blue eyes.
3. Her kindness.
4. She is a great teacher. Even though this is her chosen profession, she was a great teacher before then.
5. Her willingness to come and babysit so Eric and I could go on vacation (twice!).
6. She is a great aunt. The kids love to spend time with Aunt Melissa.
7. She looks like Snow White.
8. She does not mind eating at McDonalds with the kids.
9. She is very crafty - she does not even have to steal ideas to do a scrapbook layout.
10. She is very organized (what do you mean you don't date your spices???)
11. She is very conscientious about the kids in her class at school.
12. She has a cool car.
13. She remembers everyone's birthdays - and then reminds all of us.
14. She has smaller feet than Kelsey (she can still buy her shoes from the Nordstrom Kid's Dept)
15. She does not wear alot of makeup (so maybe this is what I hate about her she does not NEED to cover much up).
16. She has a masters degree - the only one in our family with one!
17. She is a true Linford - she loves Sonic.
18. She still watches Saved By the Bell.
19. She makes great cards - all handmade.
20. She is proud to be from Texas.
21. She is working in the Provo temple now - you rock Melissa.
22. She is a country music fan.
23. She likes reality TV - something that is near and dear to my heart.
24. She likes to take pictures - as a matter of fact she copied me and bought the same camera I have.
25. She has a heart the size of the state of Texas and doles out love to anyone who needs it.
26. Her family is very important to her - and she shows it.

Have a Great Day Melissa!!!!
(you have ten years to find the fishnets and the cheetah print shoes!!!)

Happy Birthday Sophie!

It is hard to believe Sophie is 10. She has moved into the double digits of life. There is no going back now.

Sophie was, by far, our HARDEST baby. She had colic that lasted all day for the first six months or so of her life. I remember I was nursing her, and took everything fun out of my diet trying to help. It did not. She cried morning, noon and night. Ryan and Kelsey were not so sure why we thought it was good to bring this crying thing home.

I had to go to ALA when she was about six months old. Since she was so little and nursing, Eric came with me and he stayed with her all day. He would give her soy formula during the day and she was great. I would nurse her at night and she would cry. That was it, on to soy formula we went. She still was very temperamental, but we could handle it because it was better than she was before. Even her one year old portraits contain a red faced, crying Sophie.

As she got older, and moved from toddler, to child, she has become my easiest child. She is a very easy going, helpful, friendly kid. She works very hard in school and for the moment has the highest GPA of the Pearson kids. (That may change in time, but right now the title is hers). She is very caring and wants to make sure everyone has a friend. She does not get caught up in the "girly" wars, and wants everyone to get along.

Her one downside, if I had to find one, is her sense of style. She has one, I suppose, but it involves tee shirts and jeans. I will get her cute clothes (not girly because we can't have that) but cute outfits. She still comes down in jeans and her favorite tee shirts - her Lakewood Elementary Shirt, her Diabetes Halloween Party shirt, and her Turks and Caicos shirt. Those are three staples to the wardrobe. If that is my only complaint, I am a lucky parent.

She is our athlete. She is on the verge of moving to select soccer, and I am sure all our lives will change. She is also pretty good at tennis, softball, and football. Pretty much anything with a ball is hers.

She claims to abhor all things "girly." However, I have found her watching Kelsey put on makeup with a keen interest. Trying to find church clothes is nothing short of torture, but we keep trying.

She has the most beautiful blue eyes. They are crystal clear, and I am sure will drive the boys crazy when she gets older (she now wants to die a thousand deaths for me mentioning that to the world).

Here are a list of her favorites right now:

Food: Apples and Grapes
Restaurant: Pei Wei
Movie: Benchwarmers
TV Show: Suite Life of Zach and Cody
Song: Daughters by John Mayer

We love Sophie and are grateful to have her in our family!

Idiosyncracies

OK, so I was tagged by Sarah to list my idiosyncracies and I have not complied. Sorry I have been busy. I know, no excuse so here we go.

I have no mother guilt. No guilt of any kind really. I do not go for the feeling guilty thing. It is sad for my kids because they can't get me. Every once in a LONG time I might feel a little guilt, but for the most part no.

I am always cold. Don't ask me why. I don't do well in a cold climate because of it. My hands and feet are always cold. I have to go to bed at night with socks or slippers on. The rest of the family will be sitting here just fine, and here I will be freezing. I also have to sleep under blankets even in the summer.

I love Diet Coke. I love it to the point of an obsession. I can tell you which fast food restaurants near my house have the best coke mix. I know which fountains at the Costco put out the best coke. I wake up to a Diet Coke each morning. It is a little sick.

I drink a lot. If you add up the Diet Coke, and water when I am trying to be good, I could float away. I always have a drink going, and I have to keep it with me at all times.

I don't obsess about my house - which is code for we are all slobs. I have no problem sitting in the middle of a huge mess and watching TV or reading a good book. Sometimes I wish I could be a little more obsessed, but no. I am trying to keep up with it right now, and with the no TV we are all doing better.

That is it for now. I am sure that is by no means a complete list, but that is what I have for today. Enjoy your Thursday!

Wednesday

It's Wednesday, and I am back. It feels like Friday. This is the one problem with ALA. You work all weekend, come home dead tired, and still have half the week left!! I had a great show, and now back to life.

You will all be glad to know that the chore/quarter system is still in place, and the house looked pretty good when I got home! I guess all that challange to Eric helped, so thanks to you for that. Ellen is coming today, so everything will be sparkling clean. Yeah.

I am off to workshops in Caroline's class, massive grocery shopping (I am thinking the flatbed at Costco), and work followup from ALA. Add in Football carpool, Sophie has yearbook and New Beginnings for Young Womans and that makes for a full day.

I know I have been tagged and will get on that later. I will have to think - do I have any idiosyncrasies? I know you are all saying, YES. So, more later.

Happy Hump Day!

The Floor is Done

Yes, the floor is done. We are all so happy. Even though I hate to admit it, Eric was right. It does give the room a whole new feel. The rug on the floor also helps. Now we just need to find another chair, and that coffee table has to go. Or maybe I just need to paint it or something, I don't know. That will have to wait for a while. I need to have some normalcy back.

We had not put things back together from Christmas because we went right into the floor. So, it is nice to have the living room and dining room back to normal! Now if I could just get the kids to be normal. But, based on who their parents are, I don't see that happening anytime soon.

A Little Late, But It's Here

Well, the ice storm did make it last night and this morning. As you can see, there is a sheet of ice on everything, including some of the roads. This is Houston, TX. We don't do ice. Therefore, all the schools are closed, most of the businesses are closed or opening late, and it will be a good stay at home day.

So, here is the question of the day. If you work from home, and the city is shut down due too ice, does that mean you can't make it to work? I am guessing not, but it will be a crazy day for sure.

The Snowstorm That Wasn't

When I was in high school we lived in New Jersey. We did get snow, and it was cold. I can remember when the news would predict a big storm coming, and warn that school would probably be closed, it hardly ever materialized. It was when you were not expecting it that it happened.

I tried to impart this wisdom to my young yesterday, as they kept chanting, "We are not going to school tomorrow, We are not going to school tomorrow..." I told them, when you expect it, it won't happen.

We woke up to cold - bitter cold for Houston (31 degrees) but dry as a bone. No snow, sleet, ice or any other school closing precipitation. When I woke Ryan and Kelsey up this morning they were not happy, but the grumpiest by far was Sophie. Oh well, maybe tonight we can get some of that much anticipated ice/sleet/snow.

It is not going to get any warmer today, in fact it could get even colder. As someone who loathes the cold, just ask my colleagues in New York, that does not make me happy. However, I have the opportunity to sit here in my nice warm house, drinking hot chocolate and pondering my work day while listening to the wind and cold outside. Not such a bad vantage point. It could be worse.

No Pictures Today

Of a grouted new tile floor. As I thought would happen, Eric was too wasted to do the floor. I knew that. Who can run 26 miles, and come home and grout a floor? He is superman, but come on. So, now it is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the kids are out of school, I need to work and the house is still upside down. There is some prep work Ryan can do to make the grouting go faster when Eric starts. So, that will be his job today.

Keep you fingers crossed that by Wednesday I can post a picture of my new and improved family room. Of course, if the weather reports hold out and we have sleet/snow/ice we may be hunkered down for a few days. Let's hope for the best.

An Active Saturday

It does not involved one child in an activity, but I have been on the move since I left here at 7:45 to run. It is not 4:00 and I have sat down for the first time! Nothing that exciting, just this and that. The best news is Eric is working on the floor and we are hoping it is all grouted tonight! Since Eric is running the marathon at 7:00 am I am not holding out a lot of hope for much work happening tomorrow...

Scratch that. Eric just came in and told me that he can't grout today because the tiles he and Robert just cut are wet. He says tomorrow... Well, we shall see. Robert has been a big help to get these cut and down today.

So, our construction zone will live on. It has not bothered me as much as I thought it would. I am not sure what that says about me, but how about I can adapt?

I did find a rug I liked at Home Depot. Of course our store did not have the size we needed, but there are some in the aread who have it. Why is it all home improvement projects include multiple trips to the Home Depot??? I think it is a master plot against us by Home Depot.

11/2 teaspoons Twice a Day for Ten Days

Directions which strike fear and loathing into the hearts of mothers everywhere. OK, at least this one.

I took Caroline to the doctor on Wednesday because her ear hurt. We have the WORST ears in the history of america at chez Pearson. Sophie has even had TWO sets of tubes. But, when Caroline first told me her ear hurt I told her we would deal with it later. If I ran to the doctor each and every time someone told me somthing hurt I would live there. So, the next day same thing - my ear hurts. Let's talk about it tomorrow was my response.

So, day three I decided maybe we need to go to the DR. Can I just say here that I LOVE the after hours clinic? I called while bringing the older ones to YM/YW and they got me in by 8:00. While sitting in the waiting room I asked Caroline, which ear hurts? Her response, "I don't know." What do you mean you don't know? Does it hurt now? Her response, "No."

I then ask, "So why are we here?" Her response, "I don't know, because you brought me?" I think to myself, if I am wasting time here I am going to kill this child. But, I don't say that because I am at the DR office and they have a direct line to Child Protective Services.

Needless to say, she does have a RAGING ear infection, which does prompt a little of "the look" from the doctor. You know the look - why did you not bring this child in sooner? Then came the medicine. 1 1/2 teaspoons, twice a day for ten days. You have got to be kidding me. With all the advanced in medical science can we not come up with a patch for this stuff? You can control conception with a patch, get rid of nicotine cravings with a patch, why can't you cure an ear infection!!!

The good news, Caroline is quite taken with the medicine, so she reminds me. To date, we have not missed a dose. Check back on day seven...

Getting On Track

So, it is January 11. It only took me 11 days to get into the swing of 2007, and feel like we are moving in the right direction. Getting all seven members of this family focused on what needs to be done, and then getting action is an amazing feat!

In a fit of rage that would make the hidden cameras, if they were in my home, blush I unloaded on this family of people who never seem to want to do anything, and thinks I am their personal servent. It has been a long time coming, but the volcano blew and it was not pretty. Why my kids don't snap to action PRIOR to the complete rage is beyond me.

I decided at that moment that I needed to take the bull by the horns and get these people doing something. I created a very detailed, and somewhat elaborate, chore chart, banned TV from the house on school days, and instituted the quarter program.

One of the kids big beefs was that they felt they did their chores(debatable at best) and did not get allowance on a regular basis. The discussion of should you even pay allowance for family stuff aside, they were right. We have NEVER been good about accounting and payment of allowance. With the quarter program, each child has a cup filled with quarters (see pictures of the bright and cheery quarter cups). They start with their full amount. They lose quarters for not doing chores, fighting, or in any other way just making me mad. They can earn quarters for going way above and beyond.

So far, there have only been a few quarters taken. Of course, the amount of work on my part to remind about chores, making of the bed, etc has been pretty big. However, for the first week I think we are doing pretty great. Each kid has the chore to fold and put away one load of clothes one day during the week. Since that is one of my endless battles, it has been nice to have the help.

Now, the real test will be when I leave for a few days to Seattle next week. Will things still get done? Can Eric take on the job as taskmaster and keep it going? Will it all fall apart in a period of a few days? Only time will tell.

It is Wednesday

It is the middle of the week. It is a crazy hectic week, pretty much the norm for around here. When you add in the floor project, it makes everything so much more fun. Eric has all the tiles to put in that require cuts. Then it is grout, clean and we are done. We should be back to normal by this weekend.

New Year, New Project

What would the new year be without a construction project? We have been lax, read that as lazy, about doing things around the house lately - and with five kids this house takes a beating. Eric has been wanting to redo the floor for a while. Our carpet, while not that old, was full of kid, and many dad coke, stains.

Since we were waiting for Ryan to finish his ONE last project for his Family Life merit badge (his last before his Eagle project), I got the idea for him to help Eric and have this count. Brilliant I think. It has caused the two of them to work together, taught Ryan about how to lay a tile floor, and I think they have had fun with it.

This picture was taken after day one - much of which was spent driving to not one, but three Home Depot stores to acquire the correct amount of tile. It is much further along now - in fact the computer has been disabled leaving only my laptop as the working computer in the house. That should keep everyone motivated. Tonight we take apart the TV, but need to figure out a way to keep the satellite and DVR going. Eric said to just put it on a card table and he will work around it. Good plan, I just need to do that. Since Mr. Dish Network came and installed the thing, I have not really looked at how it is put together. I just need to make sure I can get it all correct later this week.

Off to get the kids out the door, run my 30 minutes, shower and be ready for my 9:30 conference call/training. Happy Monday!

This is What I am Working With

So, Blake was coming to meet the family. People were thinking, "What practical jokes could we pull on him?" This is Eric's idea. To get a temporary tatoo, and see his reaction. I guess this was not so much a practical joke, but a test. The thing is, with the facial hair, jacket, etc it was a little too realistic for my liking. He wanted to get the Henna tatoo and write love on the fingers of one hand, and hate on the others. I think those might have been harder to wash off.

Of course, Blake was not going to come and meet everyone and geek at the tatoo. He did see it, and said he thought ok wild youth, now he has settled down. The thing that is funny is that Eric went and washed it off while we were at dinner so Blake looked up and said, didn't he have a tatoo? It is a good thing he took it off because a family we knew from the Colleyville Ward walked in right after that. I guess they could chalk it up to a midlife crisis. Who knows.

So, Blake passed his test and Eric had his fun and no one was hurt in the process.

Megan and Blake and Wii Oh My

While we were in Dallas, Megan's boyfriend, Blake, came to visit and meet the family. They have been dating for a while at school, and I am not going to give any kind of an editorial comment here other than to say he came to meet the family.

While he was there, we decided to take him to a North Texas Fav - Babe's Chicken House. They make, as you might guess, chicken. Fried Chicken. The only other thing on the menu is Chicken Fried Steak (do you see a theme here?) The sides include homemade biscuits, homemade mashed potatoes with gravy and homemade creamed corn. It is North Texas healthy eating at it's best. But let me tell you - it is tasty. It is a small place, and people wait for hours to get in. The decor is redneck chic, and the sites and tastes can't be duplicated.

Blake received a coveted Christmas gift this year - a Wii. While I had heard of them, I thought OK another video game big deal. Oh was I wrong. He was nice enough to let everyone play, even the babies. They thought it was big fun to try and play tennis, baseball and watch all the action. Blake even sat there and taught them what to do showing his extreme patience with five year olds. I took a turn at the tennis, and lets just say the only person I beat was Allie. But, it was a smashing victory!

We enjoyed meeting Blake and his Wii. He was even a big sport and played Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture with us - we always play boys vs. girls. We won't say who won because I think the game was fixed, but it was fun.

Back to Real Life

I am back from Dallas, and now just trying to do my best to catchup. I have to de-Christmas this house, work, get my last expense reports done from last year so they pay me, get us food, run, and all the other various things required to keep this family moving forward (that is code for laundry and all other yucky stuff). Maybe I should just go back to bed!

We had a great time in Dallas with the family. The kids were very spoiled. There was someone there ALL the time to play with them, and many times cater to them. Now, back to reality. There will be no catering by mom, but the trip has given me lots of fodder for the blog. Stay tuned for more Linford than you ever wanted to see.

On Friday, Aunt Melissa took Allie, Caroline and Sophie to McDonalds. It is amazing to me that with all the things we have done for them, the places we have taken them, McDonalds is still the most exciting place they can go. Melissa even let them get ice cream cones and McFlurries. You know mom would not do that!

Tomorrow is school!! I have enjoyed having the kids home, but we need to get back on a schedule. I have a crazy week with a day trip on Thursday, so we need to get back in the swing. It is going to be bitter, however, since it is 7:50 am and not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse (OK, maybe the cat).

Here to getting my list knocked off!