"I didn't know you were so tricky, Mommy!"

Liam was convinced he was going to trick me on April Fool's Day. He made several valiant attempts, including "Mommy, there's a dinosaur in the living room!" and "You've got something on your shirt"... but the smirk always gave him away. Even if I didn't see his face, I could hear it in his voice.

So I decided that two could play this game. I found a recipe online for a dessert that looks just like baked potatoes. It's a scoop of vanilla ice cream rolled in hot chocolate mix, with a dollup of cool whip (sour cream) and a yellow Starburst candy (butter) on top.

John got Liam out of the house so I could create these, and warned him that he'd need to eat his baked potato if he wanted any dessert.

When they got home, Liam was grumbling about having to eat baked potatoes. I let him pick out which one he wanted, and he picked the very smallest one... still not noticing that it wasn't what he thought. So I asked him to pick up the one he wanted and put it on his dinner plate... this great look on his face came when he touched the very cold "baked potato".

We filled him on the joke, and then suddenly he wanted to switch to the biggest potato...

Favorites

I love when someone tattles on my child, and it's actually good news.

Liam rode in the car with his Uncle Josh the other day, and Josh shared the conversation with me later.

Josh: What's your favorite toy, Liam?
Liam: My sister Sara.
Josh: But she's not a toy. She's your sister.
Liam: (convinced he can argue his way into being correct) But she's my favorite thing to play with. So that counts.

Settling In

As promised, here are pictures of the new place.
We just finished emptying out the big storage container yesterday, and are now in the endless process of sorting and unpacking.

We're claiming one of the three garages as Garage Sale Central, and will be emptying it out one weekend during garage sale season. Anyone need a room full of kids toys? Treasures left here by the previous owner? :)
The kids are sharing a room until we build a third bedroom this spring, but it's going so much better than I'd anticipated (or feared). Other than Sara's nighttime chatter and Liam's sometime early mornings, it's actually going really well.

We've got a big kitchen with nice newer appliances, and windows that actually look directly outside. More importantly, we're just minutes away from family and friends.

And John's finally got his man cave. There's a big shop with a wood stove, where's he's already hooked up his stereo and my old college mini fridge. He can escape the craziness of kids, and not freeze his buns off. :)

We're all happy to be DONE moving, and are now just crossing our fingers that our old house finds new owners soon.

Happy New... House Day!

New Year's Day is supposed to be a mellow day of reflection, sleeping in and spending quality time with family.
We've chosen to torture our family this year by making New Year's Day our moving day.
John's rationale is that it's a three-day weekend, so we'll have more time to unpack and get settled in. And hey, our helpful family members won't be working, so they can all come and help us move, right?
The beauty of this weekend of moving? My mom planned our annual girls' shopping trip smack in the middle of it. I'll disappear Saturday to the world of retail therapy, and leave John with the kids and a few dozen boxes. I'd feel much more guilty about this if John had packed more than two of them himself. (Love you honey!)
We'll be getting a new address, new home phone, and new email address in the new year (and all within the next week!)... so if you try to reach us and we don't get right back to you, please have patience with us. And then try our cell phones.
I'll put up pics of the new place after we get settled. So hopefully sometime in 2010. :)

Ready, Set, Go!

We've been keeping an eye on the real estate market, looking for a deal in our budget. Our budget, which is one that we plan won't vastly increase our little mortgage, is not huge.

One week ago today, we took a look at a house for the first time. We wrote up a low offer (double-digits less than asking price, which itself had just been dropped) and our realtor sent it in. Surprise, the sellers accepted it. And now we're moving... in just over a month!

The new place has a great open layout, lots of storage including a man-cave John's excited about, and is so much closer to our family & friends.

I made my first attempt at packing up some of the kids' toys today. My mistake was that I did it while Sara was awake and not otherwise distracted. I think the trick will be to pack quickly, and then seal up the boxes. We're having a Big Steel Box (aka giant moving container) dropped off next week, so we'll start emptying out the house.

So if you know anyone who's looking for a big home with a huge garage, in city limits but with a country feel, let me know! We'll be listing it at an incredibly reasonable price, so it'll move quickly.

In the meantime, wish me sanity as I pack everything into boxes, hopefully faster than the kids can empty them. :)

If You Insist...

I love my Type A first-born child. As a rehabilitated Type A myself, I completely get his motivation for good behavior, and use it to my full advantage. Most days at home I'm outnumbered, and need any advantage I can get, right?

He also loves to be helpful, but even above and beyond how I remember myself at his age.

The other night I was scrubbing away at the bathtub, trying to get it back to its original white color instead of the dirty-child shade it had become. Liam came into the bathroom just before his usual bedtime, begging, "Mommy, if I hurry and get my jammies on, can I stay up late and help you scrub?"

Hmm, let me think...

Well, it wasn't a school night. :)

"Tub, mommy? Peese?"

How messy can one little child-sized chocolate cone be, really?

Hint: see below.