Quote of the Day

I really should keep a journal and write down the quote of the day in my house. Today that honor would go to Zachary.

Mario leaves on Saturday for 2 weeks to Norway. So we decided to celebrate the boys birthday on Friday before he leaves. They have been talking about Chuck E. Cheese so I said we could go there if they want. They asked Mario to make them ice cream cake for their birthday. So I told them we could have ice cream cake on Friday after Chuck E. Cheese and then I would make them homemade ice cream on December 1 for their real birthday. All the plans were set and I thought everyone was happy until Zach came into where I was running this morning (at 5:00 am-why in the world was he awake at that time?) and started asking when he could hand out birthday invitations to his friends. So as I ran, I tried to explain that we were having a family birthday party this year and that we had a friend birthday party last year. We can't have friend parties every year. Needless to say, he didn't take this news well. It reminded me of a previous blog from March 4th where I posted letters that Zach wrote in school last year about how I always say no. In fact one says, "Its my birthday my mom says I can't have friends over."

On to the quote...so in the car as we were driving home from picking up candy for the pinata and the ingredients to make ice cream cake, Zachary said that I didn't care about his birthday and "it seems like my birthday is just air." I have to admit, I did feel a little bad. But not bad enough to throw together a big party.

Black Friday

I have been looking forward to Black Friday for a couple weeks now. I have been checking out all the leaked ads online and planning my shopping trip.

I changed my mind today...

Zach has been begging for a digital camera for months. I suggested he wait till his birthday or Christmas, but that seemed so far away. Finally today I saw that starting at 3 pm Toys R Us would have one for ten dollars. I asked Zach if he would like to do some extra chores around the house to earn the few extra dollars he needed. Of course he did everything I asked him and earned the money. Then I checked out the reviews on the camera (my fault, I should have done this before telling Zachary about the camera). It got horrible reviews so I tried to talk Zach into saving up his money to buy one with better reviews. He couldn't wait. So we drove all the way across town for this $10 camera. I knew we were in trouble when it was hard to find a parking spot. The store was packed and nothing in the ad was left. Customers were lined up at noon to purchase things at 3 pm when they went on sale. I was so upset. I thought we were in a recession!

Anyway, we finally found a $15 camera and I told him I would throw in the extra $5 since we had already driven all this way. But I did try to tell him it was cheap and wouldn't last so he would be better to save his $10. Long story short, the camera didn't even last an hour before Zach was crying. Now I have to make the long trip back to return the piece of junk (Not a surprise at all...I even told the kids to be careful opening the package because it was probably going to be returned.)

While at Toys R Us, I decided no sale was worth the frustration I felt today (and it wasn't even Black Friday.) So goodbye Black Friday...I am sleeping in.

Mario's New Digs

We used to feel so sorry for the locals in Guam who lived in containers. We would scare Eric and tell him that is why it is important to go to college and get a good job. Mario's been to college, but now we have to explain to the kids why he has to live in a container. Fortunately for him, he will have heat, AC, and hopefully internet access. He will probably have a roommate or two (which means he'll only have half or a third of a container.)

Nathan

I was reading with Nathan this morning when he told me that he wants me to have more babies so he can be a big brother. Before I could say anything, he continued that he wants me to have a baby boy, no 2 baby boys. Then he started counting how many people would be in our family. He said 2 girls and 6 boys. Then he laughed his cute little laugh.

I told him that he is a big brother to Zachary. It may only be by 13 minutes, but Zach uses that 13 minutes to his advantage. Nathan may as well too.

Then after school, Nathan told me that he wishes I wasn't his mom because I am mean. I started to feel a little sad until he finished his thought..."I want a mom that will do my homework for me."

More Bad News

Just when I think it can't get any worse, I found out today that not only will Mario be gone for 6 months to Afghanistan, but he will have to go to Norway for 2 weeks in late November and then to Wyoming for 2 weeks in January. His report date to Afghanistan is Feb. 13. So he will probably have to leave a week ahead of that to get there in time. I think he has to spend a few days in a country (that I have never heard of) nearby until he can catch a flight into Afghanistan. Plus Mario wants to stay a couple weeks longer in Afghanistan so he will get a year's remote credit out of the trip.

Unfortunately Mario has to cancel his trip with Nathan to visit Abuela December 2. Nathan isn't going to take that news well. I feel so bad for him. Plus Mario will miss the twins birthday, but I guess that is only fair since he will miss mine, Eric, and Erin's next year.

I am excited (and jealous) that he gets to go to Norway. That sounds pretty awesome. Wyoming, we've already seen that state once driving through. Wyoming in January doesn't sound the least bit fun. Maybe that is true for Norway in December too.

Now I get to see what life is like for all my Navy, Army, and Marine friends. I have tremendous respect for the wives who handle their husbands being gone all the time. They will be my inspiration. I just have to tell myself, if they can do it, so can I. Saying it will be easy, but believing it will be the challenge. Thank goodness for 4 awesome kids to keep me company.

Kindergarten Spelling Bee

Nathan came home yesterday and told me he had won the spelling bee in class. I thought he was making up the story since I didn't think they would have a spelling bee in kindergarten. But Nathan's story was confirmed when I asked Zach about the spelling bee. He was all bent out of shape because he said his word was "said" and he spelled it "said" but his teacher told him it had a "y" in it. I think he must have misheard the word, maybe "says" instead of "said."

Anyway, I was proud of Nathan. He is an excellent speller. It is hard having twins because when you congratulate one, it makes the other feel like they aren't as good. We all have our different strengths. Right now, Zach is excelling at reading and Nathan at spelling. I wish they could just be happy for each other.

Nathan gets to move on to the next round in December for the spelling bee. Since this is the first I have heard of it, I am guessing that he will be going up against other kindergarten classes.

Found Money

Since Mario got home early from his trip to Dominican, Eric asked if they could go help with road cleanup early this morning. He is looking for service hours for Boy Scouts. Before leaving, the kids were discussing what would happen if Mario found $20 while cleaning up the trash. Mario said, I guess I could take the family out to lunch.

Two hours later, Mario came home with a crisp $50 bill. Now we get lunch and a few extra bucks for Christmas shopping. How cool is that?!

It is not the first time someone in our ward has found something while doing road clean up. My 68 year old neighbor, Sister Park, found an assault rifle once. There had been a robbery and the robbers were running from the police. They threw their gun out the window and then several hours later, Sister Park found what the police had been searching for. She says that she found the gun and just put it in a bag and continued picking up trash. Then the police pulled up a few minutes later and asked if she had found anything unusual.