My Real Life

December 7, 2009

Should Have Trusted My Instincts

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 10:20 pm
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So, you know how sometimes you just know something is going to be a disaster, but there is that little piece of yourself that says, “It just might be okay…It might!” and then you go ahead and do it and it turns out to be a disaster and you want to kick yourself because you knew all along that it would be?

I had one of those nights.

Tonight was Baby Monkey’s “Celebration” at nursery school.  Basically, their winter concert.

You may remember that at his last Celebration, he just sat and smiled at me.

Somehow, I knew that wasn’t going to happen tonight.  I could feel it in the air.  I even told his teacher that I wasn’t sure I was going to bring him.  He doesn’t really enjoy these things, and I’m not even sure why I ever take him.  I guess for the whole experience of doing it with his class.

Anyway, he was really in a great mood during dinner and seemed to have a good day at school, so I thought, “What the heck?”

May I share with you some photo evidence of his “performance?”

It started out just fine.  He and I sat together in a pew and waited for him to be called.  (Real Man was at Monkey in the Middle’s basketball practice with Monkey Girl.)

Then, he was called up and the singing began.

For everyone else.

For Baby Monkey, however, there was this:

And then he started with the tongue…

And then…they gave them flashlights.

So, I wrestled with myself.

“He’s three,” I told myself.

“Yes, but so were most of the other kids on the stage who were sitting and singing nicely,” I told myself.

“You knew he wouldn’t do what he was supposed to do, but you brought him anyway,” I told myself.

“Yes, but he should participate,” I told myself.

At the end of the day, it is what it is…or I guess I should say it was what it was, and now it’s over and tomorrow is another day.

But next time…I’m going with my gut.  It has never steered me wrong.

December 6, 2009

Carol Sing

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 9:41 pm
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So, tonight was my church’s annual Carol Sing.

There is a dinner from 5-6, and then from 6-6:45, everyone sings Christmas carols. 

I was going to play my flute in the “carol sing band” but then Real Man got asked to go to the Giants game with his nephew, and rather than have my Mom wrangle the monkeys alone, I opted out of the band and sat with the family.

The kids had a blast.  They loved the dinner and loved the dessert.  We shared a table with my old friend, Dave, and his kids, his mom, and his sister.  He chatted with Monkey Girl for awhile.  About what, I don’t know…couldn’t hear the conversation.  I’m sure it was interesting.

Then, we folded up the tables and rearranged the chairs for the singing.

Monkey Girl sang her little heart out.  So did Baby Monkey. 

Except, he decided to sing in Spanish.

He doesn’t actually know Spanish, but he thinks he does.

You’ve never heard Silent Night until you’ve heard Baby Monkey’s Spanish rendition.

He also did a little dance while he sang. 

Seriously, who needs tv when you have kids?

Monkey in the Middle wasn’t feeling the caroling love.  So, he just snuggled up next to me and went to the bathroom about twenty times.

At one point, they call all the kids up to play instruments for two songs.

The monkeys were in heaven.  Baby Monkey, who will grow up to be a drummer…there is no doubt, chose rhythm sticks.  Monkey in the Middle had some other thing that I can’t think of the name for, but it’s the same idea…you hit it to the beat.  Monkey Girl had jingle bells to shake.

Afterward, my friend Julie said that the monkeys had some great rhythm.  I know that to be the truth…if there’s one thing they inherited from me, it’s rhythm.  You should see me dance. 🙂

Julie also told Monkey in the Middle that having good rhythm is instrumental in being a good basketball player.  He chatted about that all the way home.

“Mom…did you hear that lady?  She said that because I’m a good drummer, I’m a good basketball player.  And I am!  I’m a really good basketball player!  I need to drum more so I can get even better at basketball!”

Love that boy.

In the end, it was a nice evening.

Until…

(you knew there had to be an “until”…right?)

…we drove my Mom home.

My parents have a ridiculous driveway.  You not only have to drive down a steep driveway to get to their house, but it also curves in very strange places.  They can’t get a plow guy to plow them out in the winter.  No one can make the turns.

It snowed here yesterday, and although most of it melted, there were some patches of ice on the driveway.

My Mom was worried about falling if she walked down the driveway, which I totally understand, so I drove her down.

And couldn’t get back up.

My wheels were spinning, I was burning rubber, and wasn’t moving an inch.

My Dad came out with the salt and started salting the driveway and we tried again.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Still there.

Baby Monkey said, “This is an adventure!”

Monkey Girl said, “Is that the kind of salt they put on french fries?”

Monkey in the Middle said, “Someone needs to comfort me because I’m scared we’ll have to sleep in the van!”

I explained that Grandma and Grandpa would probably let us sleep in the house if we were stuck and that Daddy would come get us after the Giants game. 

Finally, when my Dad had used the entire bag of salt, I gave it a final try.

I rolled down my window and said to my Dad, “Look…if I get out of here, I’m not stopping to say goodbye…we’ll talk tomorrow.”

He understood.

I gunned it and shot up that driveway like a bat out of hell.

And made it.

Ahhhh…

So, overall, a pretty good evening with the monkeys. 🙂

December 5, 2009

My Addiction

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 3:08 pm

We all have them.   

You know it’s bad for you, but you just can’t help yourself.

That one thing that is your total weakness.  No matter how in control you are, it is the one thing that causes you to lose control.

Are you thinking about yours?

Well, today, I gave into mine.

I went…

to Target.

Oh, Target, how I love thee.

The most interesting thing about my addiction to Target is that I really hate shopping.  I mean, really hate shopping.  I’ll do just about anything not to have to go shopping.  Malls, ick.  Department stores, ick.

But Target?  Yum…

There isn’t a single thing in Target that I don’t want to buy.  I could rationalize the need to buy every single thing on the shelves in that store.  Can I get an Amen?

I actually haven’t been to Target in months and months.

This was a conscious decision.  

Yet, last night at Dinner and Sports Night, my friend, Sharon, had her twin boys in their jammies and they were wearing these cute coats.  She told me that she bought them at Target for $7 each.  Then, we talked about Target in general and found that we share this addiction.

Maybe we should start a recovery program.

Ever since my conversation with Sharon, last night, I’ve been thinking about Target.  It’s been calling to me.

“Amy…” it whispers.  “I miss you…you’ve been neglecting me…come shop!”

So, today I gave in.

I had a reason…I needed to buy a birthday gift, so I went with a goal in mind.  Because, if you don’t have a shopping goal, you’ll be tempted to buy everything.  And that would be bad.

So, after piano lessons this morning, Monkey Girl and I got in the van and headed to Target.

It was like seeing an old friend after a long absence.  So familiar, so comfortable.

Monkey Girl and I were really in control.  We went right back to the toys and found the gift and put it in the cart.

But, you see, the toy department is in the back of the store, and now we have to walk back up toward the register.

And pass things.

Things that were calling me.

So, then I remembered that I had promised to get Monkey Girl a new stylus for her Nintendo DS because hers got lost in Real Man’s truck and we can’t find it.

The DS accessories were right across the aisle from the Wii games.  I’ve been reading up on Wii Fit Plus, and oh, guess what?  It was right there.

Then I remembered that I am hosting the holiday party for my team (about 30+ people) at work and I was in charge of the paper products.  So, I picked those up.

While walking to the greeting cards to buy the birthday card, we passed the art stuff.  Monkey Girl has filled up her sketch pad, so I thought she needed a new one.  She thought she needed two, one for home and one for school.  Ooh, and I saw some neat art pens that would be great for her to draw with.

But, then, we were passing the books and there was a cute Phineas and Ferb Christmas book, which I just knew the boys would love.  Oh, and in the same aisle were some PC games and Monkey Girl was eyeing up a typing game.  It’s educational.

On the endcap of that aisle were cheap, cheap movies and there was a Veggie Tales Christmas movie…they’ve got good morals and the kids love them.

The boys section had cute bathrobes and Monkey in the Middle has outgrown his, as has Monkey Girl, so I found two cute robes for them.

Monkey in the Middle has also outgrown his footie pajamas and NO ONE has footie pajamas like Target.

I knew I had to leave.  I knew I had to break the spell and get out of there immediately.

And I almost did.

I was almost free.

But as I walked to the checkout counters, it kept calling me back.

“Amy…I saw you looking at them.  You know you want them.  You have to have them.  You won’t be happy unless you buy them.”

I fought it.  I did.  I fought the good fight.

I lost.

December 4, 2009

Mr. Basketball

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 11:37 pm
Tags: , , , ,

Yes, I believe I called Monkey in the Middle “Mr. Football” not too long ago.

However, it appears that we have a bit of an all-season sports guy on our hands.  He played fall soccer, plays football with Daddy every day, and tomorrow, he starts basketball.

Tonight was the annual Dinner and Sports Night at my school.  It begins at 6 and from 6-6:30, there is a pasta dinner for the kids and their parents. (You can’t get in unless you are accompanied by an adult.)  Then, at 6:30, we move from the cafeteria down to the two gyms.  In gym #1 is the Student/Faculty Basketball game.  In gym #2 is the Student/Faculty Volleyball game (there are two nets up, so two matches going on at a time in the volleyball gym.)

This is a really special event at our school, and we get a great cross-section of kids participating.  My friend, Tara, and I work the basketball scoreboard, so we always get to see the basketball game.  The teachers play hard and there is no “letting” the kids win.  In the 6 years I’ve been there, the kids have won a few and the teachers have won a few.  Each win is meaningful because it is definitely earned.  Same goes for volleyball.  Last year, one of our 8th grade math teachers was playing volleyball, came down wrong on his ankle and severed his Achilles tendon and was out of work for a few months while he underwent and recovered from surgery.  Again, I say, the teachers play hard.

Anyway, Real Man had to be at work until late tonight, so I brought the monkeys with me.  They had a great time and were extremely well-behaved.  Real Man got there around 7:15 and was going to take the monkeys home.  Monkey Girl and Baby Monkey were more than happy to, but Monkey in the Middle looked at me and said “I want to stay here with you!”

Of course, I said yes.

So, he moved his seat, so he was right in between Tara and I. 

Have I mentioned how much my monkeys love Tara?  She has babysat for them a few times, and comes over for play stuff, and has gone on walks with the monkeys and I.  The monkeys are the founders and official members of the Tara fan club.  Her being there tonight was big stuff, and there were some heated negotiations between the monkeys over how to take turns sitting next to Tara.

But I digress…

Anyway, he sat between us and I let him work the clock.  He cheered and cheered for the teachers and kept giving Tara and I updates on the score, despite the fact that we were the ones updating the scoreboard.  He absolutely loved it.  We need to get this kid to some professional games.  Don’t really think it matters what sport.

At half time, we had a foul shot shooting contest.  The prize was this really cool, solid basketball hoop and child sized ball.  So, one of our students was on fire and was making basket after basket.  He won.  After that, he came over and someone tossed him the ball and said, “Hey…you won!”  He said, “I’ll come back, cuz I’m still playing.”  and off he went to continue playing.

As the second half went on, Monkey in the Middle was playing with the ball, bouncing it on the bleachers.  He just held on to that ball.

When the game ended, the student was talking to some other guys near where we were sitting, and Monkey in the Middle was bouncing the ball.  I said, “Sweetie, give him the ball…it’s his prize.”  The boy turned and tossed it back to Monkey in the Middle and said, “It’s okay…he can have it.”  I said, “I don’t think you understand…you didn’t just win the ball…you won the net, too!’  He said, “Oh, I know…but he can have it…he’ll probably use it more than I would.”  Monkey in the Middle immediately said “Thank you,” and started shooting the ball at the hoop.

Don’t ever let anyone bad mouth middle school kids.  I honestly believe that they are the best kids around.  Trust me, I wouldn’t have spent the last 15 years teaching them if I didn’t truly believe that. 

So, as parents left with their kids, the teachers cleaned up, and Monkey in the Middle started shooting his new ball at the big hoop.

This little tiny guy and this tall hoop, so high.

For 40 minutes, he shot that basketball at that net.

He made about 7 baskets, but every other shot, with the exception of a few, were near misses.  Hitting the rim, hitting the backboard…  He’s really pretty good…we were impressed. 🙂

We were finally ready to leave and Monkey in the Middle turns to me and says, “Hey…that boy forgot his net.”  I said, “No sweetie, he gave it to you!”  He said, “I thought he just gave me the ball!”  I said, “Nope…it’s all yours.”  The smile was a megawatt smile.

So, here he is with his new ball and hoop.  I had to do some fancy business with the seats in order to fit it in the van, but home it went.

We decided to put it in the exercise room (lest you think I have a gym in my house, it’s just a room with my treadmill and Real Man’s recumbent bike) and make a little basketball corner for him.  He is absolutely thrilled because his Little Tykes basketball net is on the deck and isn’t really available to him in the winter.  Now, he’s all set for basketball all winter.

The exercise room is right off of our bedroom, and the last thing that Monkey Boy said to us before he went to bed tonight was, “I’m gonna get up really early to play basketball.  But don’t worry…I’ll close the door.”

I could just eat him up.

December 3, 2009

Nice Afternoon

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 10:48 pm
Tags: , , , ,

I had a nice afternoon, today.

Okay, it didn’t start out so nice, but it ended well.

It started with  my visit to the ENT where she numbed my sinuses and then poked a scope with a videocamera on it up into my nostril until I felt it in the back of my throat. 

Twice.

Then, she stuck a foot long Q-tip up my nose until I could practically feel it behind my eye so she could send it to a lab.

Twice.

(Twice…you know, since I have two nostrils and all.)

Anyway, that lab will come back on Monday.  In the meantime, despite the fact that I just finished up 28 days of antibiotics on Monday, I’m now on a new antibiotic for the next three weeks, at the end of which I will have a CAT scan to see what’s going on with my sinuses.

Good times.  Good times.

However, after my appointment, I picked up my Monkey Girl and we went to the eyeglass store to pick up my new glasses.

I like ’em.  They are brown, tortoise-shell out the outside and pink on the inside. 

I feel fancy in them. 🙂

Anyway, after getting the glasses, Monkey Girl and I were walking down the sidewalk, which happens to pass the local diner and I said, “Hey…you wanna go in and share a plate of french fries?” (No comments, please, on the whole diabetics shouldn’t eat potatoes thing, please…I was bonding with my girl.)

You would have thought I told her she won the lottery.

We went inside, shared a plate of fries and just had some Mommy/Monkey girl talk.

It was just a nice treat for Monkey Girl and an extra nice treat for me. 

I love that girl so much…I don’t think she’ll ever understand how much.

December 2, 2009

Here’s What Happens…

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 11:25 pm

…when you have an 8-year old Monkey Girl who reads way above grade level.

Monkey Girl:  “Hey, Dad?”

Real Man: “Yes?”

Monkey Girl: “What does ample mean?”

Real Man: “It means ‘enough.'”

Monkey Girl:  “Oh, okay.”

Pause

Monkey Girl: “Hey, Dad?”

Real Man: “Yes?”

Monkey Girl: “What does bosom mean?”

Real Man: “Let me see that book.”

Luckily, it was just describing someone’s old aunt and was completely appropriate, but yeah…so it begins.

December 1, 2009

Clarification and Cool Website

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 8:54 pm
Tags: , , ,

Before my daily post, I need to make a quick clarification about yesterdays post.

I was the recipient of some severe “talking to’s” by some of my friends today, after they read yesterdays post.

So, let me clarify.

The street that I followed this guy down was a well-lit, well-traveled thoroughfare.  There were many, many cars going by, people jogging and walking dogs.  I did not follow this man down a dark, deserted alley with my child in the car.  I would never endanger my monkeys.  Ever.

That being said, I called the insurance company today and they gave me the name of the body shop where I need to go to have it repaired and told me they’d pay $30 a day for a rental car if I need to leave the van there.  So, I’ll take it in later in the week. 

Now, onto our story for today.

On Sunday, Julie, a friend of mine from choir, asked if anyone had heard of Sporcle.com.  She said it was a website that had tons of quizzes and games on it.  I’m a quiz and game kinda girl, so I spent the better part of the afternon trying to find the website.  Of course, it didn’t help that I thought she said “Sparkle.com” and my search was fruitless.

I e-mailed her and she wrote back, reminding me that instead of wasting hours searching, I could have just called her.  That would have been the easy way out.  Finding the website was, in and of itself, a puzzle to be solved, and so I worked at it.  And failed.  Luckily, Julie gave me the correct site and I’m in love.

Seriously.

I love trivia and puzzles and games and quizzes.  It’s who I am.  It’s what I do.

Say what you want, but I seriously love that stuff.

So, you can imagine the time I’ve logged in already.

The good news is, I married a guy who loves that stuff, too.  So, I’ll be in the middle of a quiz and I’ll call out “Hey…who was the 14th president?” and he drops what he’s doing and runs over to play along.  It’s a lot of fun.

Now, you may have read that last sentence and thought, “Okay…I’m out.  It’s academic trivia.  Boring.”

Oh, no, my friends!

Last night we took the “Identify the TV Show by It’s Antonym” game.  That was a good one.  “Chaos and Confusion?” Oh, it’s “Law and Order.”  “Alive Yeller?”  Yep… “Ghost Whisperer.”

There is historical trivia, pop culture trivia, music trivia, etc.

It’s a good time.

Check it out.

In the meantime, we’re dealing with a 3-year old with some serious roid rage.  Perhaps roid “Whine and general dissatisfaction with life” is more appropriate, as he’s not throwing coffee tables, but he is miserable.  Three more days and then he’s done.  We can last three days…right?

November 30, 2009

I Should Have Known Better

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 9:43 pm
Tags: ,

It’s Monday.  That alone should have made me know better.  Monday never ends up well.  It just doesn’t.

And yet…

Here I was…7:00 at night, feeling like it had been a pretty good day.  Maybe even a great day.

I got the stuff done I needed to get done at work.  The kids and I hit the library and not only did they get books and dvd’s they wanted, I was able to find the book that I wanted, as well.  I made a good dinner and no one complained, and they ate it happily.  Real Man worked from home today, so he wasn’t late coming home from work and we got to spend some time together.  Really…a darn good day.

Baby Monkey and I had our follow-up appointments at the doctor at 7:00.  Her office is 20 minutes away and we take Route 80 to get there.  Traffic was light and Baby Monkey and I sang together in the car.  While we waited on the couch in the waiting room, we read books and snuggled and had a great time.

Then, we go in.  Baby Monkey was delightful, but despite his fabulous little self, he’s still “musical” in his chest when he breathes, so now, in addition to his antibiotic, he’s on prednisone.  He’s been on prednisone once before.  Roid rage is not  myth.  This should be interesting.

Then, she checks me.  I just finished my second course of 14 days of antibiotics.  That’s right folks…I’ve been on antibiotics for 28 days now.  And yes…I still have a sinus infection.  I’m at the point where I don’t even remember what normal feels like.  The poor people in my choir must be wishing me to go on vacation because I can’t even hear myself sing because my ears are always popped, so I just sing and hope I’m hitting some of the right notes.  Unfortunately, they are all too polite to tell me if I’m sucking up the place.  I’m exhausted all the time and basically just want to drill a hole in my temple, insert a little faucet and let the snot drip out…much like the pioneers did to get sap from a tree.  Okay, maybe a little different…and a lot grosser…but you get the point.

So, she referred me to an ear, nose and throat doctor because she says I have a chronic sinus infection and it’s going to take a specialist to deal with it.  Fine.  I can do that.

Even after the doctor appointment, I was still feeling pretty good about the day.  I mean, I was surprised that Baby Monkey needed the steroids, but I knew I was still sick, so no huge surprise there.

Baby Monkey and I drove home and as we were on Route 80, singing away, I glanced at the spedometer.  Zero.  Actually, less than zero.  Like, the space below zero where the pointer rests when the car is turned off.  What?  Huh?  I’m obviously not stopped, and the car is obviously not turned off, but there it is.  Zero.

So, I freak a little, but then realize that the car is driving fine, the spedometer just isn’t working.  I pull into the right lane and slow down, because I generally have a bit of a lead foot, and that is when I can tell how fast I am going.  The thought of me driving without even having a clue as to my speed even made me a little nervous.

Baby Monkey and I continue on our way.  We get off at our exit and continue the drive home.

We get to a stop light where there are two lanes going each way.  We are in the left lane and there is a car to our right, in the right lane.  We stop.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, this SUV actually drives between my van and the car next to me, taking my sideview mirror with him.  No, there was no lane there.  He literally tried to squeeze his SUV between our two cars.

AND KEEPS ON DRIVING!

Let me tell you a little something about myself.

I have road rage.

Actually, I have Road Rage.  The depth of my Road Rage needs the capital letters.  I have put myself in some pretty dangerous situations before because of my Road Rage.  It is always a reaction to the bad driving of others, but it’s there. 

Since having the kids, I have tempered my rage to the extreme.  The kids would never know if someone cut me off, because I’ve learned to keep the rage bottled up inside when the kids are in the car.

So, here I am…Baby Monkey is in the car, but this guy didn’t just ruin my car, he put my baby in danger with his shenanigans.

I wasn’t having it.

So, I follow him.  And I start beeping. 

Perhaps beeping is not an accurate statement.

I just lay on the horn while following him. 

He keeps driving, but I notice that he’s not really going very fast, and I realize that he wasn’t really going very fast when he hit me either.

But, he won’t pull over and he won’t stop.

So, I continue to leave my forearm on the horn while following him.

Eventually, he slowly turns onto a side street.

I follow.

He continues to drive slowly until he finally just kinda peters to a stop.

I get out, phone in hand, and stand next to my car and wait.

After about a minute, he gets out.  Nicely dressed guy…probably my age or a little older.

I say, “Are you kidding me???”

He says, “Oh my God…I’m so sorry.  My brakes went out!  I couldn’t stop.  It was either try to go between you and the other car or hit you in the rear.”

So, immediately, I’m diffused a bit because I’m glad he tried to squeeze through rather than make a direct hit on the back of the van, which was exactly where Baby Monkey was sitting.

He explains again and so now I feel badly for the guy and I ask if he’s okay.  He was…just shaken up.

He gives me his insurance information and takes my name and number.  Good news…we have the same insurance company.  I’ll call tomorrow.

Bad news…if my car didn’t make me look like white trash before, it certainly does now, as it is going to take some duct tape to keep the mirror together until it gets fixed.

Good news.  Everyone is fine, especially this poor guy who must have been scared to death.

I got back in the car and Baby Monkey said, “Did that guy hit your car?” 

I said, “Yep.  You okay?”

He said, “Yep.  You okay?”

I said, “Yep.”

And we headed to the pharmacy.

Oh, did I forget to mention that I also accidentally erased all of the songs off of my iPhone this evening while trying to download a new song?  Yeah.  I did.

Next Monday, someone please remind me to just stay in bed.

November 29, 2009

Trading Spaces

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 9:13 pm
Tags: , ,

You ever see this show on TLC?  I used to be addicted to this show. 

Neighbors make over a room in each others homes and then there is a suprise reveal at the end. 

They have a $1,000 budget and they try to repurpose and reuse items, rather than buy new ones.

Well, we had a bit of a Trading Spaces weekend here.

Minus the celebrity host.

Minus the paint.

Minus the actual decorating.

But…we traded spaces. 🙂

So, let me tell you a story…

Once upon a time, there was a couple who got married.

In 2001, they had a baby girl.  She was beautiful.

When she was two, she decided she was a big girl and climbed out of her crib and landed right on her head. 

No worries…she was fine.

However, her parents decided it was time to buy her a bed.

As fate would have it, the very next day, the mother’s principal called her into her office and said that she was redecorating her daughter’s bedroom and would she need a twin bed for a little girl?

Um, yes…yes she did!

So, the parents went and picked it up and the little girl loved her big girl bed.

In 2004, the parents had a baby boy.  Ooooohhhh…what a serious little guy he was.  Still…oh so cute!

So, they pulled out the crib and in he went.

2006 rolls around and SURPRISE!  The parents have, yet another, baby boy!  Can’t even talk about this one.  Too much of a character to be believed.

So, the parents borrowed a crib from a relative and both boys were in cribs.

Until the Monkey in the Middle decided he wanted out.

Around the same time, the parents decided they wanted out of their old bedroom set (which was the set that the Mom had used growing up) so the moved the Monkey in the Middle into the Monkey Girl’s old bed (and slapped a cars poster over the flowery design) and moved the Monkey Girl into their old double bed, and then bought a second-hand bedroom set for themselves.

Fast foward to a few weeks ago.

Baby Monkey is definitely ready to get out of the crib, and the parents were looking high and low, trying to decide what to do about a bed for him.

They considered bunk beds and keeping the monkey boys sharing a room, but the idea of those monkeys climbing that ladder, probably in the middle of the night, kept them awake at night.  However, the bedroom wasn’t really big enough for two beds and two dressers.  There was always the option of turning the playroom back into a bedroom (it had been the nursery for Baby Monkey once upon a time) but they still needed a bed.

And, wouldn’t you know it…that week, the mother’s principal (same principal, but now they both work at a different school together…long story…but a good one!) said that she was redoing another bedroom and would they be in need of a queen size bed?

Well, yes they would!  So, they drove up to her home, once again, and loaded the beautiful bed into their truck.

So, this past weekend, the moving began, and here is where everyone sleeps tonight.

Monkey Girl, in her room in her beautiful new (to us) queen sized bed.

(We’ll need to get her a queen sized comforter…her double doesn’t quite fit, as you can see.  However, for now, it works!)

Monkey in the Middle in Monkey Girl’s old (the mothers way old) double bed in his own room.

(If you could just pretend that you don’t notice the lavender walls and pink valences, I’d appreciate it.  It used to be his sisters room before yet another episode of our family Trading Spaces…a more boyish color is coming…eventually.)

…and Baby Monkey is all tucked into his sisters, then his brothers, and now his big boy bed, in his own room.

(Ignore the grump face…he loves the bed and having his own bedroom.  However, right before I took the picture, I had to explain why he couldn’t have ice cream for dinner…I’m a tyrant, I know.)

So, thanks to the continuing  generosity of a friend, my children are all snug in their own beds…safe and warm.

Ahhhh…

November 28, 2009

Scenes from Thanksgiving

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 1:45 pm
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I hope all of you got to spend your holiday with those you love most. 

I certainly did.

So, here are some scenes from my family’s Thanksgiving celebration this year.  Just a great day to be surrounded by family and remember what it is that is most important.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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