Weekly Update - January 4, 2008 (for lack of a more exciting title)

One more day until the kidlets are back in school. Can I hear an "Oh yeah!"? I've enjoyed our holiday time together, but quite honestly have exhausted every means of entertainment at my disposal and am more than ready to get back to some routine.
We played board games, did puzzles, crafts (it'll take me all of January to get the dried glue off the kitchen table) and went bowling.
Saw two movies -- Bedtime Stories (highly recommend!!) and The Tale of Desperaux (meh - visually lovely but the story was all over the place), went to Chuck E Cheese, and played hours of Wii -- in fact, yours truly won the 2nd Annual Wii Olympics, I'll have you know, which is a total joke if you could possibly fathom how unathletic I truly am!!

In terms of my resolutions, I've made positive steps on # 5 & #6, which were, respectively, to shed some weight and exercise more. I joined Weight Watchers *little groan at the thought of chocolate depravation* and bought an exercise bike.
I enjoyed the WW meeting -- sort of like going to my monthly RWA chapter meeting in terms of boosting confidence and motivation, but my bike clicks when I ride, which means I need to take it back. But hey - if you're savvy, you've realized that I must have USED my bike to know it clicks, so that's good, eh??? ;)

Writing has been placed gently but firmly on the back burner during the holidays - aside from the contest entry - and will hopefully get back to a boil come Tuesday. I look forward to those few hours in the afternoons when I can hide away in the library with my laptop and iPod...

I leave you with...
Overheard at the Kinsons:

Sweetness (aka 4 year old): Mom, who's cuter... me or you?
Me (surprised by question): You are, buddy.
Sweetness: I knew you'd know the right answer!

Overheard at the Kinsons, Advice welcomed!!

This is a personally upsetting version of 'Overheard at the Kinsons'. Read on and you'll see why...

I picked up Sweetness (aka 3 year old son) from a preschool program and we walked out at the same time as another little boy, whom I shall call P, and his father. We got in the car and
I say: P seems like a nice boy. Did you play with him?
Sweetness: Well, I don't really like P. (this shocks me because Sweetness loves everyone)
Me: Why? Is he not a good sharing buddy?
Sweetness: Um, no.
Me: Does he play rough?
Sweetness: Um, no.
Me: Then why don't you like him?
Sweetness: Because his face is not bright like mine.
*JAW DROP*

P is black. I was absolutely horrified that Sweetness would judge on skin color because he surely doesn't get this vibe from home! At all! I can't stress this enough.
Goodness - we're Bermudian - so many many many friends are of African-Bermudian or Caribbean descent.
Needless to say, I was shocked to my core and had to resist the urge to shout at him for saying such a thing. I calmly explained that people come in all shades... etc etc... but I'm not sure this was/is enough.

Any suggestions out there? How else could I have handled this?

Grammar Lessons

I had a bad day yesterday.
Well, technically, it was my 3 year old, Sourpuss (previously known as Sweetness), that had a bad day therefore, by association, so did I.
He was a terror. Just would not listen. At all. Naughty, naughty, naughty...

My 7 yr old, Light, came home from school with grammar homework, 'Place the proper punctuation at the end of each sentence - question mark, exclamation or period.'
While he's busy scribbling away, I'm at my wits end with Sourpuss who had just put the cat in the garbage can.

Light: "Hey mom. How come everything you say ends with an exclamation point?"

Grrrr!!!!!!!!!!!

15 Hours and Counting, and Oh Nuts!

It just dawned on me that school starts tomorrow...
*guffaw*
Seriously, I've been counting down since July 3rd or thereabouts. Now that we're down to less than 15 hours, I'm practically vibrating with anticipation. My oldest son will begin grade 3 and my baby boy, who's not such a baby anymore *sniff*, will begin Montessori preschool 3 precious mornings per week. But young Sweetness doesn't begin until next week...
WAHOO!!
If I seem a tad excited it's because I'll have roughly 7 hours per week of dedicated writing time. SEVEN! That might not seem like much to you, but to me -- every minute of that will be golden. And quiet. And productive (hopefully).

My sister and brother-in-law left yesterday. We had such a lovely visit -- I was a very sad bear when they left, knowing that I probably won't see them again until next summer :(
I shall dedicate this week's TT to things we did on our visit.

Here's the latest conversation overheard in the Kinson household:

Sweetness (aka 3 yr old boy): My nuts hurt.
Light (aka 7 yr old boy): Do you have to go pee?
Sweetness: No. There's no pee in my nuts. They just got stuck in my willie.
Light: Pee doesn't come from your nuts.
Sweetness: ye-es!
Light: No it doesn't! Pee comes from inside your tummy. Nuts just hold the ingredients for when you and your wife want to have your own kid. When she goes to the hospital, your nuts crack open.
Me: (trying to quell my silent but hysterical laughter) Honey, I don't think they crack open exactly...
Light: Well of course not. They're not really nuts like peanuts. They're made of soft stuff, like boogers...

Welcome to my life.
I wonder what it would be like to have girls *takes a moment to imagine a quiet game of Barbie-dress-up...*

Overheard

Sweetness (aka youngest son) has almost mastered THE POTTY. We shopped for big boy underwear today. To encourage him along with his progress, I let him pick out which design he preferred, thinking surely Diego or Scooby Doo would get the honor of adorning his bahookey. But no,... his brothers latest obsession obviously influenced his choice...

Sweetness: "Daddy, look at my big boy underwear!"
My. Wylie: "Oh, wow! What's on the picture?"
Sweetness: "That is Carrots of the Pirabbean!"

Overheard

Overheard at the Kinsons:

Conversation between me and my 86 year old mother:
Her: "I think I'm getting Alzheimers"
Me: "Again?"
Her: "Don't joke. I'm starting to forget things."
Me: "Like what, your car keys? Name your grandchildren in chronological order."
Her: "Don't be silly."
Me: "So what's the problem."
Her: "I was thinking about France's presidential election and I can't remember the name of that woman. I wrote her name out ten times so I wouldn't forget, but now it's not coming to me."

Does anyone else see the humor in this? My sweet old small-town Ukrainian-Canadian mother is upset over forgetting the foreign, unfamiliar sounding names of the candidates in FRANCE??
I'm 40 years old and on my brightest day call my kids by each other's names, forget some important family members birthday and search madly for my car keys.
Without googling, or clicking this link, can you name the candidates in France's election? Go on... I'll give you a cookie if you can name just three of the bunch (I think there's about 11 in total).