Girl Scout Cookies

It's just about Cookie Go Day ~ a little over a week to go, and then the madness begins!

We start selling Girl Scout Cookies on February 5th this year. Girl Scout Cookie selling is officially done by Kelly and Paige, but it is a whole family event. For one, Mikey loves to help - he want to ask people if they'd like to buy Girl Scout Cookies and talk to people too. And DJ and Dad are invaluable, since they are the ones moving tables and transferring cases of cookies around constantly (and driving us to booths and the bank and meetings...)

Kelly loves selling Girl Scout Cookies. LOVES it. She plans it, practices it. Makes signs. Gets sparkle shoes to wear, so people will notice her. She was thrilled to earn going to Horse Riding Camp last year by herself and plans to do the same this year.

Paige earned her trip to London and Switzerland last summer.

So yeah, we are kinda into it.

This year - one of the top prizes is a PS4. So the boys have been very enthusiastic to help as much as possible.
In fact, DJ offered to wear this:

We will see how much he wants that new game console....


*see Kelly's sparkly boots?

We are also very excited that this year we will be getting to sell ONLINE!!!!!

Each girl will get their own ID (so you still need to know a Girl Scout) But then you can have cookies delivered to your door -- and be able to use a Credit Card
Yay

Exciting times right around the corner!

mama is a nut-case, day 1

So, yeah. Paige is on her trip.
Her school takes this trip every year. There are two other trips the kids can go on, one to Yosemite and one to Washington DC. I think the one for DC is only for 8th graders -- and the one to Yosemite has a ton of kids that go.
She went with about 30 kids up to Olympic National Park in Washington. They are staying in cabins, but will be hiking out to stay for two nights in tents.

We had to bring her to the airport super early, so Mike just didn't go to sleep Friday night and woke us up at 3:30. I had slept maybe 2 hours. We left DJ and Kelly asleep -- they had a 'sleepover' in Kelly's room and we brought Mikey with us. (Grandpa was home)

We got her to the airport Saturday morning. She needed to be there at 5 am, so of course WE were there at 4:30. That was even after stopping to get me coffee --

They were allowed to bring one bag, a sleeping bag and a backpack. Paige and I had her bag completely packed the Sunday before. (you know I don't like to do anything last minute) She had one extra of everything they said to bring -- shirt, socks, etc. She packed it all into a pretty big duffel bag that she borrowed from Grandpa and I had her do it all herself, so she'd be able to repack it on the return trip home.
We are at the airport and I am looking around, I am amazed at how HUGE these other bags are! I can't believe these kids are bringing them. I wish I had a picture of some of them. They are easily 3 times as big as Paige's bag. What the heck are they even bringing? I can't even imagine. Don't they realize they are camping!?

Paige is excited, but nervous. I want to wait with her, but I need to get back home too. So I left her. At the airport.

I held it together. I didn't even cry.

She sent me a text before we even made it to the freeway.

I thought texting was stupid when it was first out. I mean, who would write something out on your phone when you could just talk? Duh.
Paige and I text each other ALL THE TIME. It's crazy. It is so convenient. It allows her not to have her mom calling her constantly, but it allows me to know what is going on.

They ended up waiting there for another hour before getting on the plane. After the flight they had a three hour bus ride to the camp. It was such a long trip that all the kids were tired and she was bored from texting me, that she even did some homework.
(can you believe they got homework!)

I, have not slept this entire time, mainly because Mikey is awake, but also, Mike is asleep and Paige keeps texting me...

She called me right before they had to turn in their phones.
Yes, they have to turn in their phones and get them back for about 15 minutes at night.
(grrr)
When she got her phone back she called and got to talk to everyone. She called on the house phone, because sometimes my cell doesn't work in the house. We have  'dead zones'. I can have my phone right next to me and it won't ring -- but it will beep to check voice mail. So weird.
She sounds tired, but it seems like she is having a really good time so far. They have changed the plans a little and will be staying in tents two nights instead of one.
It's cold there. And raining.

I'll admit it, as I hung up the phone, I did tear up a little. But I am sure she couldn't tell.

I mean come on. I had never even left her (or any of them) with a babysitter --

After she called, we were downstairs for a bit. My cell phone was upstairs charging, but when we went to bed, I saw that she had sent me a text.

"Don't cry. I'll call tomorrow night. Love you guys"

I sure miss that girl.

dinner

Let me start by saying, yes, I know I am spoiled.
One of the reasons being, that my husband makes dinner every night.

Mike is a great cook. The man can make anything. He is the guy that everyone says should open his own place -- mainly so they can eat his food whenever they like, I'm sure. Seriously, we invite people over for a kids birthday party and the first thing they ask is "What is Mike making?"
{sigh}
That alone could make the argument for me not to make dinner.

Me, I like to bake. I like following instructions and measuring ingredients and having it all come out great.
I do not like having to guess when a hamburger or chicken or steak is cooked through. I can do it, but it's mostly just comical because it really stresses me out. It's even funnier watching me attempt to flip an egg, but I don't even try that any more.

Mike makes things like ribs (with his own BBQ sauce) and garlic bread. Tacos and Mexican casserole. Prime rib and roasted potatoes. He makes turkey in a citrus brine that is the best ever. He makes burritos. He makes shrimp salad with his own Louie dressing. Oh, and he makes his own mustard.

I can't compete with that.

I make pasta.

I do have to give myself a little credit and say that when I do make the things I know how to make, they come out pretty good, but the list is short and it does contain mostly pasta dishes.

None of this is why he does all the cooking.

This is why:
Me, chopping basil or something.
Mike, leaning on the counter watching me. You can tell he wants to say something, but being a thoughtful man, he doesn't say a word -- for a full 30 seconds.
Mike, "Do you want me to do that for you?"
Me, "Am I doing it wrong?"
Mike, "No, not at all. I just want to make it easier for you."

Imagine years of this. I'm not doing it the wrong way, but I don't believe he thinks I am doing it the right way either.

So yeah, the kids never ask me what's for dinner. They do ask, "What is Dad making for dinner?" the minute they get home from school and even though it's not always ribs, all of them are usually happy about whatever he makes.
Well, except Paige, but that is another story.

Kellyisms age 4

It seems that I use a lot of quotes from Kelly as my status on Facebook! I have a couple of friends that tell me all the time that I should write them down and put them in a book for her. Well, I went through my FB Wall and found as many as I could and just copied them here -- I stopped at Feb 2010.

My friend *S* has named them Kellyisms!

"We fit together don't we Mama? Everyone in our family is like a puzzle piece."

"How old do you have to be to go to Wipeout?"

"Dad?"
"Are you picking me up from school?'"
"Oh"
"Can you Pick me up at recess and bring Mama so you can take us both to lunch?"

"You are in big trouble Dad! No football for a week!"

New Years Eve: ‎4 minutes until midnight... "can I just please go to sleep now?" yes, Kelly

"So, you can call 911 if you are close to a cliff and about to fall into hot lava, right?"

"fleas la de dah, fleas la de dah, fleas la de dah..."

"I love you more than birthdays."
(she didn't say more than HER birthday....)

 "Mama, have I met Lady Gaga?"

"Mama, why do you have cracks on your eyes?"

"Lets pretend Mikey is a helpful man today. Mama, do they even have those?"

"how to make a human: they get the gooey stuff and mix it with sugar, then they put the skin on and push the eyeballs in -- I guess the have to use glue to get the hair on top"

"I love you mama. I like you dad. I love Paige and DJ, but Mikey is the best!"

She looks at her dad and says, "I love Mama the best."

Is it really all that wrong not to correct her when she says "ramaca"? <maraca>

Boys are having fist fights over Kelly at her school!!! "she's mine"

‎"My baby never cries Mom. Even when I drop her. Isn't that good?"

told Miss Kell that if she wasn't still when I brushed her hair, I wouldn't let her imaginary friend Olivia come with us today... and it worked

"I will love you even when I am 17"

"I wish you'd just let me grown up myself."

"Mama, can you buy me an arrow so I can teach myself how to shoot things?"

Miss Hognhog's visit. She is an astronaut who studies volcanoes. She has no siblings, is an orphan and comes from the planet Hognhog. She likes to make cake. You can call he Liberty for short, but don't say the "for short" part.

Miss Liberty Hognhog

My sweet 4 yr old has traded places with an orphan named Liberty Hognhog from the planet Liberty Hognhog. She wears big dark glasses and is really bossy, but likes to make cakes for everyone. For some reason, Kelly's older brother is really upset by all of this...
Oh, and this is Day 3.

"Why are there so many people at the zoo?"
"The zoo is a super fun place."
"Actually, Disneyland is funner."

"I love Disneyland, it's the Happiest Place on Earth! But you know, Auntie Kenya said the happiest place on earth is Target, isn't that funny Mama?"


"I didn't know she was older than you, Mama."
"She looks newer though."

"daddy does all the hard work, you do all the soft work and all the rest of everything"

Me: "You can be a mom too someday."
Kelly: "Will I get to say grownup words then?"

Liberty Hognhog has returned....

"I'm awesome." says daddy -- Kelly answers "Not really, you're old and your foot hurts."

Dad, how old are you?" "38" "Wow! That's a lot." "Yeah" "Can you even count that high?" "Yes I can" "It would probably take all day huh?"

"My eyes are hot, so I can't close them. I need to stay up a little while until they cool off."

Is it wrong to laugh when the 4 yr old forgets to keep looking for the 10 yr old when they are playing hide and seek, and the 10 yrs old stays hidden and never seems to catch on?

"Mama, I wish it could rain popcorn."

"I know you'll miss me, but I'm having fun and I know you will always come for me"

...and she always wants to be The Boss!