But I just got up!

Rion fell asleep early tonight because he stayed up so late last night. Usually when he falls asleep early he's down for the night. Just as I was getting Torii ready for his bath, Rion woke up. I asked him if he wanted to go in the bath too. "Why," he asked. "It's time for bed," I said. He looked up at me with sad eyes and whined, "Again?"

Explosions

I wasn't going to buy any fireworks this year, thinking the boys are still too young for that sort of thing. I don't know what I was thinking. Of course they would like fireworks. It's something you light on fire, makes a loud noise and explodes. Auntie Vicki gave the boys some money for fireworks so we picked some up yesterday. We got a variety of things. I haven't bought fireworks in so long I didn't really know what to get. I did get four boxes of snaps, which were a big hit. At first I held the snaps in my hand, but then the boys started grabbing at the snaps so fast they made me nervous. I thought they were going to explode them all in the palm of my hand. The other big hit was the parachutes. The wind was perfect. I lit them on the road and then the parachutes floated into the yard and the boys chased them until they landed. We had a few night fireworks which the boys also liked. Next year I will have to get a bunch more. They were disappointed that we didn't have any more to shoot off.

Quiet

I work in an office that doesn't get a lot of foot traffic. I used to turn on the radio because it gets so quiet. Lately, however, I haven't turned on the radio. And it is really nice. It is so quiet. Today I could hear birds chirping outside. At home, the TV is always on, the computer is usually on, and the kids are yelling. It drives me nuts. It's so nice to be at work and be able to hear my own thoughts. Some people don't know how I can stand the quiet all day, but with three kids at home, it's easy.

Shop til mommy drops

The other day I had to go shopping with all three kids. I love the Wal-Mart Supercenter because I can get just about anything there in one stop. We did have to go there, but first we had to go to Target. I had to pick up one thing that was only available there and I had to get it that day. I love Target, but don't go there very often anymore. The new location is so stupid. The parking lot is such a mess, that I find I don't go there just to avoid having to drive through that lot. Target is in the mall, but I can't remember the last time I went shopping at the mall either. So we went to Target, got my item and left. Torii was extra grouchy that day and was mad that we weren't getting a cookie at Target. Torii likes to shop with me and when it's just the two of us, we get a cookie there. As we were leaving Target, Rion spotted the big red balls they have in front of the store. Most people see the red balls as a decorative piece, but my boys see something to climb on. Rion ran towards it, giving me a near heart attack as I watched him run towards the street. He dove on top of the ball as I then pictured him falling off and cracking his head on the cement. I should have just gave up on the Wal-Mart trip and ordered pizza for supper. Happily, they were pretty good at Wal-Mart. Cordelia, who should fuss the most on shopping trips, is always the best behaved. While getting groceries, she let out a happy shriek. Until then I had forgotten she was even with.

Don't embarrass me

Usually I am in the office at work, but today I was on the front lines. A lot of people came in, it was so busy. One group of tourists consisted of a grandpa and grandma and a couple of their grandchildren. As I greeted them, the grandpa said, "where's the liquor store?" I knew he was joking so I played along. At one point I looked back and the granddaughter was looking so embarrassed. She must have been about 13 years old and she had a look like she wanted to get away. This grandpa reminded me of my own grandpa and the things he would say to "embarrass" us. Looking back, of course, it wasn't that bad, but at the time it was mortifying. Now we smile and laugh at the good memories that once were so embarrassing. I wonder what things my kids will find embarrassing about their parents and grandparents?

Funny quotes

I've been writing down funny things the kids have been saying, but haven't gotten around to posting them yet. I know I'm missing a lot because a day doesn't go by that they say something funny. By the time I have a chance to write it down, I've forgotten what they said. So here's some of the things they have said lately.

One night at the campfire the boys were going to walk someplace with their lanterns, but Rion was scared.
Rion: "I need someone to go with me."
Me: "Torii will go with you."
Rion: "I'll be right behind him."

When Rion was sitting at the computer after it was taken away from him as a punishment. Rion: "The computer turned on all by itself."

Rion always drinks Torii's glass of milk if his glass is empty. Then Torii gets mad because he doesn't have milk. When I asked Rion if he drank Torii's glass of milk, this is what he told me: "Cordelia drank Torii's milk."

No news is good news

I like to be an informed person and I like to keep up to date about current events, but I'm getting sick of the news. I've never liked to hear stories about crimes against children, but now that I have children, it's even harder to hear. I have cried after reading stories about crimes against children. I know bad things happen and there are a lot of bad people out there, but I don't want to know about it. Therefore, I'm just going to stop watching the news and reading the paper. It seems like I see one these horrible stories everyday and I don't want to anymore. I know there are a lot of bad people and that's all I need to know.