eternally chaotic

Sitting at the island while I poked around on the laptop the kids were playing in front of me in the living room. They were all edgy after doing homework and getting a snack and had not really settled into any type of comfortable evening routine. Anytime one of them did something another did not like, a wartime skirmish would break out on the living room floor – Lego, PlayMobile and horses be damned.

It was during one of these particularly conversational skirmishes that I intervened, trying for the sake of sanity only to add some sort of reasoning to the seeming mindless bickering so it could be solved in a civilized manner – silly me. Piper stood up and said, “Daddy, I am not whining. I am debugging.” The statement was said with direction, strength and finality, as if there was no further explanation necessary and this was not only a sufficient response but obviously the only one required.

Carol and I couldn’t help but turn our backs and laugh quietly to each other. The debug system (love it or hate it) is something they teach kids in school these days as a way towards conflict resolution without resorting to the sticks and stones that we grew up with.

A much anticipated trip to the fair today.  One of my favorite events to look forward to each year growing up.  Granted the fairs in Franklin were a little more focused on 4-H, but there was still fun to be found (and had).  We have been talking about this trip with the kids for the past few weeks and they were all very excited about getting to ride the rides and play games (even Carol but I think she was interested in the naughty food….).  Earlier in the day we took them to the grocery store along with three jars of change we have been collecting all year long – this was our spending money for any and all the goodies the fair could offer – plus it was a good way to show them that saving could add up over time.  Before cashing in the coins we all took turns guessing how much we had.  I asked them to pick a number from one to one hundred – while we were watching the coins drop in and the total go up we had to stop and make new guesses (much to our surprise).  In the end we turned three jars of change into $172.02 (woo-hoo !!!)  and the kids were able to see the coins turned into bills (what is it about $20 bills that even kids find appealing).

Once we arrived the fair was happy to relieve us of much of our hard earned loot.  Tickets run about one dollar each and each ride takes between three and six tickets OR you can purchase a stamp for twenty-five bucks that covers all the rides, kiddie and adult.  We opted for the stamps for the kids and a few extra tickets in case we needed to ride with one of them – seemed like a good deal and the kids certainly took advantage of it by riding everything thing they could, sometimes a few times over.

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Today Isaac participated in his first Cub  Scout outing, Rocket Mania.  He is just getting into the groove of being a scout and the outing could not have come at a better time to show him some of the fun stuff they get to do while learning.  Part of the day was dedicated to learning about various physical and mental exercises that had to later be demonstrated before one of the instructors.  He learned all about kickball, including some variant rules the scouts follow, a little geography including the important elements of a map, in particular the legend, as well as how to find a point on a globe using latitude and longitude.  He also had to learn about and demonstrate five manners that were important in everyday life – things such as not interrupting, and saying please and thank you – it was interesting to watch him walk around with instructor (Southern Mrs. Manners) and introduce her to random people with polite sincerity.

After all the learning bits were done and lunch was in our bellies it was time to get out the rockets.  These were the hard core, no nonsense  liquid propellant type – water rockets.  There were rockets of all shapes and sizes, some with nose cones, other without, a few with fins and others with wings – some with nothing at all.  The rocket was put onto the launchpad, filled about half way with water and then pressurized to around sixty psi before the safety was removed and the trigger was pulled.  Isaac was one of the few that had a weird fitting bottle (thanks dr. pepper) and it did not fully clip into the launch pad so guessing when it would release was somewhat tricky since the release was not fastened into place – once the pressure was just right it would literally take off whereas the other rockets would sit there until you pulled the trigger.  His rocket flew pretty well, no nose cone or fins, but it went high and far – I wouldn’t have wanted to be a passenger in it though.

Great day!!!  He is looking forward to whatever comes next.

I was enjoying some quite time watching a chick flick – Last Song – when the house started shaking and music started thumping from the second floor.  I figured Jacob was just jamming out to some music but after a while I decided to head up and see what he was up to.  I peaked into the room only to find Jacob dancing like Vanilla Ice and M.C. Hammer.  I went in to be supportive (he could be up to worse things…) and danced with him for a few minutes.  I left to grab the camera and ninja’d back up to get a video hoping he would not stop or get embarrassed.  Instead he got cocky and danced harder (just like his mother….grandmother!!!).  I did get a good video from the door and another from his room (after editing supporting cast out of the video) of him jamming to his favorite tunes….High School Musical 2.

Sea World here we come!!!  The kids were very excited to be headed out to their adventure “under the sea”.  The drive was about one hour and they kept themselves busy doing what all twenty-first century kids do in the car – watch movies and play games.

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After a day in the car the kiddos were revved up to get out and burn some energy.  I think they would have been happy doing anything but we decided that a good dip in the ocean would do them all some good.  It takes a while to get us all lathered up in sunblock and out to the sand but we eventually made it right around the time the sun was a massive ball of fire directly overhead.

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We had a great time this past weekend spending some time cooling off at the Duluth Town Center Fountain.  The Sun was blisteringly hot and the air might as well have been dripping water, but the water coming from the fountain was refreshing and cool.  We grabbed some Chick-Fil-A along the way, ate on the curb, and headed in.  Once they all got used to the water they had a great time.  Isaac didn’t need any warming up and was racing in circles as fast as he could swallow his chicken and fries.  Piper was on his tail but needed her hand held for the first few minutes – that was until she got wet and started play.  Violet needed a bit more prodding and she wasn’t having anything to do with me taking her through.  Carol grabbed them all took them on a few laps to get them all good and soaked – that’s all it took to get Violet all revved up as well.

Jacob received a remote controlled car for Christmas this past year.  One that can drive over nearly anything, spin in circles, do wheelies, and glow in the dark.  Piper loves this car.  She has only just started learning how to drive it with any control, but half the fun is figuring that part out.  Her and Violet both took the car for a turn around the house.  I followed them around with the camera while they had a blast.  One turn for Piper and one for Violet.  About a week after this we saw the same car on Woot and decided to get one for Piper as an extra gift for her upcoming birthday.

Two Jamaican Brides and One Curly Headed Princess — 45 Min of tortured fingers
Three Times My Little Pony — Russian roulette with a fairy wand
Hungry Hungry Hippo Marathon — One Mommy with a Migraine
Barbie Bath Tub Party — Barbie needs a maid
Pedicures All Around — Toenails on ground
Snacks at 10:30pm — Energy before bed
Tucked into Bed — Tiredness still forthcoming
Hugs all around — and around and around and around…..

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