I freaked out a little. Which you can read about here.
But now I'm just trying to take advantage of what may very well be the last papal conclave I'll ever see on this side of life, and teaching the heck out of it in school. Kelly wrote a phenomenal blog post about the subject, complete with educational links galore, so thanks to her, my kids are getting a top-notch unit study, rather than the normal Google-image-search-and-destroy lesson plans they're usually subjected to.
My kids thank you, Kelly.
2.
Theme Thursday- did you check it out? If not, click on over and see a posse of really beautiful trees and/or leaves. Add your own if you have one.
Next week's theme:
3.
There are some truly amazing Valentine cards out there now. Like this one:
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| h/t Amy |
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| h/t Dwija |
Luckies.
4.
Speaking of the most awesome childhoods ever, did you see Lisa's stuffed monster she made for her son? WITH HER OWN TWO HANDS?As soon as she puts an order form up, I'm getting in line for one of these. For me. Back off kiddos. Y'all have wicked awesome valentines. Mama needs a stuffed animal monster.
People who can make beautiful things with their hands are amazing to me.
5.
Ken's leaving on a week-long business trip soon, and we haven't told the kids yet. They didn't take his last one very well, and that was only 3 days long. Does anyone have any ideas on how we can break it to them in a way that's not going to result in hysterics? Seriously, I need help on this one, since I'm tempted to just have him drive himself to the airport, say nothing to the kids, and wait for them to notice that Daddy hasn't been home in a few days. Maybe I'll pretend like I didn't notice his absence. You know- just for fun.
That's probably not very healthy, so any tips you could give me would be appreciated.
6.
I want a root beer float all of the sudden.
7.
If you like Harry Potter at all, you've probably already seen this, but it still oozes awesome. Ken and I lost interest in the movies with Azkaban, but since we've started reading the books outloud with the three big kids, I'm excited to give the films another chance.
Now off to Jen with you.
Countdown calendar? Til Ken gets back. Special treat of the day...make it special until he comes home, then back to the nothing...they'll want him to go again!! LOL!! Skype??? Or just pull an ostrich... Good luck to all!!!
ReplyDeleteSkype is a good idea. They love Skype. And a treat of the day is another good one. Man- I want to be the one going on the business trip, and have Ken figure this stuff out.
DeleteI don't know how you come up with what you do...my five year old has a crush on a boy in her class (WHY? because he is tiny and cute, just like a little bitty baby), and she is treasuring the Valentine she got from him, a ninja turtle that says, "You are awesome, dude!" Nothing compared to the polar bear.
ReplyDeleteAs to breaking it to the kids, how about a good news, bad news, good news thing, like, "Guess what, kids, good news! You'll be doing the laundry all by yourselves for a week! The bad news, your dad won't be here to appreciate it. But just think if the fun you'll have with the non-edible Tide pods!" I don't think you could go wrong. Good luck!
Aren't kids and Valentine cards funny? I gave Lotus a card with the 10th Doctor Who on it (who she has a crush on), and she's since laminated it and carries it with her everywhere.
DeleteAnd I like the good news/bad news idea. And access to the Tide pods is huge around here. Who knew their staggering drawing power?
My dad used to travel a LOT when I was little and it was hard on all of us (including my mom). One thing we did was give him a special stuffed animal to take in his suitcase. While he was away, he would take one or two pictures of the stuffed animal on the trip with him. My favorite is my sock monkey taking a shower in Germany :). Maybe your kids can vote on one to send with him, if sending one per kid is too many. Another idea is to have him write them each a short letter that they open halfway through the week, and they do the same for him.
ReplyDeleteUmmm, when is said trip? You can all come here and visit!!! Or just drop the kids off and go on Ken's trip with him!
ReplyDeleteYes, the stuffed animal thing! But it can be just one or two small things. Friends of mine did that when they left their nine @ home to fly to Russia for three weeks & leave their others @ home. We saw the animals looking out the airplane window, riding in a taxi, sitting on their hotel bed, and sightseeing & spending time with their new sister. The kids loved it!
ReplyDeleteStuffed animal thing = done. The kids are going to love it. Now to convince Ken not to have the stuffed animal in precarious positions.
DeleteCari, it's 7:43am and today already sucks. But then I saw your Ood in the 7QT link-up. I actually smiled, which probably won't happen again today. But I'm so glad for the Oodles Valentine.
ReplyDeleteYou just made. my. night with that video. Makes me want to go re-read all of the books and re-watch all the movies for like the 20th time. I'm a sucker for a hero story. Also a nerd for YA fiction.
ReplyDeleteKen going away: I like all the other suggestions, especially the stuffed animal one. Skype always helps with long distances, and the treats seem good, too. Except my kids would be asking all day long every day: "When's the nest treat? Is it now? How about now? Nowwwwwww????"
Mike travelled a lot when they were little kids and I jus always planned something super fun while he was gone - like a zoo trip! or dinner out to Chili's cuz dad hates CHili's and we cant go when he is here, business trips rock, chin up, kiddos!!!
ReplyDeleteI do rememeber Daniel being about 3 and weeping in the bathtub because he heard me on the phone tell Nana that " Daddy was Lost in Vegas" and figured he'd never come home now. A quick geography lesson and a phone call fixed that right up!
Pam
I honestly, honestly think think that for the week Ken's gone, you can switch your Lenten sacrifice to "not having a husband". I know that's not the advice you asked for, but won't it make it much more bearable, those hysterics, if you aren't ALSO dying of insert-great-thing-here-deprivation???
ReplyDeleteI don't a one single piece of advice....I'd be crying in hysterics myself, wondering why I wasn't going away too.
ReplyDeleteHave a great Friday!
Baby don't herd me. Seriously hilarious!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw the post title I thought it was some foreign language-I was impressed. Lol.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is also going away for work next week, no fun.
It's the worst, isn't it? Oh, I mean, "Yay! He has a job in this economy! Hurray!"
DeleteMaybe I just show up while Ken's away and administer a pop quiz on papal conclaves? Total distraction. Or it could make the situation much, much worse. I think you know I spend any time my hubby's away curled up in the fetal position so I have no solid advice to offer. Only my prayers...and this link to a spiked root beer float recipe.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.foodchannel.com/recipes/recipe/spiked-root-beer-ice-cream-float/
Those Valentines are great. The sheep is killing me. Hilarious.
ReplyDeleteI might be the worst commenter (not a word) on your blog (meaning every one else has a heart and I don't) but I'm kinda liking the idea of seeing how long it takes them to notice... Then years later Ken could say things like "I was gone for 4 whole days before you even noticed my absence, how do you think that makes me feel???" and probably get some sympathy vacations or fancy vehicles out of your obviously genius children. Guilt, it's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI'm just so happy I found this blog through 7 Quick Takes! I came here because of the Ood image:)
ReplyDeleteHahaha! Terri, lots of times I pick which Takes I read based on the thumbnail alone, too! I'm glad you visited.
Delete1. I really liked your ‘freak out’ post. You put a lot of what I was feeling into perspective. And I really liked Kelly's too.
ReplyDelete2. Think I’m gonna link up with a shot of the pine trees I got last week in the snow storm.
7. Wow….that was truly amazing!! I am a big HP fan but had never seen that before, it exemplifies what HP is about, Love. Wow, I can’t get over that video, it makes me want to re-read the series for like the eighth time. The movies do a good job of capturing most of the important things in the books, but there a few great pieces of the story that didn’t make it into the movies. Like almost all adaptations, it’s always best to read the books first.
Praying for a uneventful week for you and the fam!
Oh my gosh - just getting around to this post now and thanks for the love.
ReplyDeleteYou could do a Flat Stanley that the kids make if Ken doesn't want to cart around a stuffed teddy bear?? Unless you don't want him to get hit on during his week away. Then definitely a YUGE stuffed animal!