Mess Makers

Seth & Sam have a big sticky mess to clean up after school today. Elf made a mess. He set out their toothpaste and brushes, along with a Dino-floss and cup for each. Brushy, Flossy, and Spit written all over the sink.

Seth brought the picture to school for show and tell.

Nick has stated that Elf needs to be grounded. He probably will be saying that often over the next 27 days.

Girl Scouts

I recently took over as Girl Scouts Brownie Troop Leader, which is 2nd and 3rd grade girls. We have four, or five, girls so far and are hoping for a successful fall sign-up. We had our first meeting where the girls learned the GS hand sign, GS Promise and earned their first badge, Playing Fair. We had a fun meeting.

Today we had Emma Dibble, Isabel Siple, McKenzie Farrington, and Sam.

Potty Dance McFluffy Pants

Our fifth trip to the doctors in a week and a half. It's Seth's turn to get checked for pneumonia. Last night he developed a fever, chills, headache, stomach ache and nausea.

While waiting for Seth to be called they were reading magazines. Both got a kick out of the cat doing the potty dance.

Between the cat and Mr. McFluffy Pants, the squirrel, running around outside, we were kept pretty entertained.

Elf must be feeling under the weather too.

He's Back...

Last year Elf joined our family. He flies in on Thanksgiving and hangs out until Christmas Day to see the children's faces as they open presents from Santa.

Sam found him yesterday morning sitting on Adelynn's crib. She covered her mouth with both hands and started jumping up and down. Once the excitement passes, she began to look closer. "Why does he look so fake?" "He's made out of plastic!" "He even has a tag!" The tag is for note taking I said.

This morning as I was trying to sleep until at least 9am, Sam peeked her head into our room and asked if we've seen him. "No, babes, I haven't been out of bed."

A half hour later when I crawled out of bed, she pointed him out. Seth woke up at 6am from his alarm to get ready for trapping with Grandpa Jim. He hung out in the dining room for an hour and didn't see him. But on his behalf, I'm sure he was still sleepy and too excited about trapping to think about the search.

Not a goodbye, instead, I'll see you later

Indy is a wonderful dog for the kids. He's incredibly mellow and seems to enjoy being an oversized pillow for the kids. During the day we've had to kennel him because he'd chew around the house. He's since outgrown that puppy phase, so we allowed him in the basement when we're not home. Then came Belle. She hated the kennel. After trying a few things, we ended up realizing that Indy soothes Belle. When we are not home, the two kennel-up together.

During the fall we picked up a 6'x12' outdoor kennel. Perfect option we thought. Until one day we came home to find the dogs out of their kennel. It didn't take long to determine the escape artist was Indy. He pulled the fencing apart so his head could stick out. He would move the kennel off the pad, which would allow the door to swing open easily, and eventually, he became so talented, he could open the door with a quick jerk of the neck. Nick built a nice insulated dog house hoping that would calm Indy. The panel with the door was flipped around so the pre-cut hole now lined up with the dog house and his last hole was now 5' off the ground. After one eight hour stretch while we were at work, Indy pulled the fence apart enough to make a hole big enough for all three of them to escape.

Grandma Lorraine has been looking for a dog to keep her company since Pups passed away not too long ago. Their first attempt was a failure. The dog bit Grandma and one of her caretakers. On Thanksgiving, Nick mentioned to his mom that maybe Grandma would want Indy as a companion. Today, Linda stopped by to pick up Indy. Wait, what? We only asked Seth once what his thoughts were around having to find Indy a new home. His response at that time was "If we have to, then okay." I wasn't ready for this decision to be finalized, nor did I feel Seth was given enough time to really think about what this meant. I was taken back that this was happening so quick after being just a brief two minute conversation with Seth.

I asked Seth if it was okay for Indy to go live with Grandma Lorraine at her farm. Amazingly, Seth was completely okay. Not a tear, not a fight, just a big boy saying it would be okay. "As long as I get to see him all the time." At 11:30am, Indy rode off to his new trial home. At 5:00pm we pulled up to the farm and visited Indy. It was like he was at home. He stretched out under the table and enjoyed the warmth of the home. With the number of caretakers that Grandma has, he will have to earn his right to stay. No forms of aggression. Although we heard he growled at one of Nick's aunts, we don't know what exactly happened. It's unheard of for him to show any signs of aggression. The closest is that he stands a few yards off the sidewalk and barks at people walking by.

I'm not sure who was more saddened today. Seth, or myself. We have had Indy since he was a puppy. He became Seth 's dog within a year. Slept at the foot of the bed and all-in-all has been a great dog for Seth.

Another Level of Trust

Sam's sick with pneumonia.
Addy's sleeping.
Nick's repairing the kennel from Indy making a hole through the fencing.

I was in need of newspaper for Black Friday and Nick wanted some caffeine.

Solution: Pull out Seth's bike from the shed, give him $5 and send him a half mile away to the gas station in town.

This school year, Seth and Sam walk to and from school by themselves. He's done great, so why not up that level of trust.

He was back in 15 minutes. What a big boy :)

Box Thief

Grandma Linda bought Adelynn a new car seat. Adelynn loves her new box. As soon as Seth saw the box, he tried to declare it his. The whole time Adelynn stood by the side of the box trying to get him out.

In, out... In... out. That has been her routine for the evening.