Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Coughing in a Winter Wonderland....

Well, I solved the grout problem - I went out and bought plastic shower curtain liners and spread them all over the eating area and some throw rugs and threw them (that's what you're supposed to do, right?) over the work area; so now I can stop carping at my kids about their food-dropping habits. And the shower curtain liners are transparent, so you can still see the pretty new tile. Maybe I'll use the liners even after the grout is sealed, and just throw them out and replace them when they get dirty - I've always wanted a disposable kitchen floor.

Let's see....health update....Susie all better, Rachel better except that she starts coughing and cannot stop, and now Brian is coming down with whatever lovely virus this is that we've been passing around. Good Lord, I'm tired. The problem with head colds is that you need to sleep to get better, but you can't breathe if you lie down. I really like to breathe. So I sit up and surf the blogosphere, or I try to learn Spanish with the free Rosetta Stone program from the local library. I can now say, "The man has blue hair" in Spanish - pretty good, huh? Of course, I'm not sure how useful that sentence would be if I were lost, say, in Colombia. Maybe it would be better if I said, "The horse is jumping!"

Maybe not.

Perhaps my time would be better spent figuring out how to get Theo's MP3 player to work. Frankly, it's hard to believe that this little red plastic doo-hickey that is the length of my thumb and only twice as wide is truly a "skip-free MP3/WMA player, FM radio with 32 preset stations, voice recorder, stopwatch, clock." It looks like something my kids would get out of a gumball machine (if I let them have the quarter) (which I don't). I think I've been had.

Anna is pitching a fit as I type. Don't ask.

We are full-swing into the sugar-overdose segment of the holidays. Let's see - there was the church Christmas party last Friday, and the boys' CCD classes had a party this evening (because that is just what kids need on a school night at 8 PM - lots of candy and cookies), and tomorrow is our annual gingerbread house decorating extravaganza. It's embarrassing how much money I spend on the candy for that. But the kids need the Twizzlers so they can cut them into realistic-looking shingles for the roofs, and they need the gumdrops and skittles to decorate the walls; and of course the mini-marshmallows are required to build "snowmen" in the "yards"; and then there are the gummi bears which have no apparent purpose, but I bought them one year and now they are tradition. And don't forget the 6 pounds of confectioner's sugar to make the "glue" and the fake snow.

It makes Halloween look like a nutritionists' convention.

Well, to sleep, perchance to dream, before someone wakes up coughing.

10 comments:

  1. I finally put plastic under my son too as scraping the food out of the cracks in my floor with a knife was getting old. I LOVE your line about Christmas making Halloween look like a nutritionist's convention - very good. My kids make candy this weekend and boxed it all so that I wouldn't get to it. Ho Ho Hum. Hope you got some sleep!

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  2. You know, when you mentioned the grout thing, I was thinking, someone should come up with something that lets the grout dry completely while still protecting it. Voila! And there you are! Clear shower curtains. In my mind though, I would peel them up at night so the moisture has a chance to evaporate and the grout to completely dry before you seal it. Just my thoughts.

    I love your blog...I check every day because it almost always makes me smile and laugh. My four are almost grown...and I have to tell you, there is a light at the end of the tunnel! They are so much fun now. But reading your posts reminds me of what it USED to be like!

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  3. I love the floor protection system! It's like the plastic over the couch method! And a great idea, come to think of it...

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  4. Very clever solution to your grout problem! Are you going to show us pics of the new tile?

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  5. My mind went blank when I was looking for candy to assessorize the gingerbread (read: graham cracker) houses. I'll have to bookmark this post for next year (how could I have forgotten the marmallow snowmen!).

    Congrats on the finished floor--shower curtains. Brilliant!

    Hope you're breathing again soon!

    And thanks for your comment on my sad ole blog. :)

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  6. We caught stomach virus at our house. That takes care of the sugar overload. However, our house now stinks! I wonder if colds wouldn't have been better? I know, I know, "The grass is always greener" syndrome.

    Loved the shower curtain idea. You had better patent it quick before someone else makes the money you should have.

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  7. The shower curtain is a wonderful solution. I love keeping up with you and your family. Never, never a dull moment.

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  8. Your up with sugar and coughing, I'm up with acid reflux. It's that point in the pregnancy, and there aint no relief like whatever it is the doctor prescribed.

    Must remember to take that at least 2 hours BEFORE I go to bed!

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  9. Ah ha! I think your solution to the grout problem is genious!!
    Did you find gumdrops?? I have to take them to my son's class party on Thursday and I can't find them anywhere!! Did I miss the memo that said "sweetarts are the new gumdrop!?!"

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  10. Your comment about making Halloween look like a nutritionist's convention is CLASSIC.

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