I found this taped to Calvins bedroom door. It says 'NO ELLERY ALLOWED', I am not sure why he made a road with a car on the bottom, maybe he was planning on running her over...those two have their days. Days when they just can't seem to get along at all, and then we times like these....



...when they get along beautifully, okay with maybe a few reminders to get along.

I am pretty sure I always got along with my brothers and sisters. I do believe we were model children! Please do not verify that with my mother...

Nine.

She officially turns nine in 20 minutes. She is sound asleep in her room as I type this up, in a few short hours she will get up and get ready to go to hockey, but not before she wants to open up a few of her birthday gifts. What can I say about that girl she:

loves school
likes to be organized, yet hates to keep her room tidy
dislikes breakfast
loves to read
likes her brother
dislikes combing her hair
loves her nails painted
likes wearing hats, even to bed
dislikes me blogging about her
loves baking with grandma
likes hockey
dislikes being late
loves her cousins
likes sleeping in
loves learning to play the guitar
likes playing the recorder
and I know she will love being nine!

Here is to another fun filled year with my sweet Ellery!

Who drinks wine.

I am not sure how this conversation started, but it had to do with wine...and here was Ellery's input:

Hey mom, guys don't drink wine, well, I mean they do, but only at church!

Good observation I would say, as her dad has probably never had a glass of wine in his life. Me on the other hand, well I am off to book club...to have some wine!

Found these on my phone.

All photos taken by Ellery:

Wanted: Red Ryder BB Gun

Calvin comes running in the house the other day, tears streaming down his face, holding what looks like the bottom quarter of a pumpkin. Through his tears he is trying to tell me that yes in fact that WAS his pumpkin. My first thought. That damn black squirrel. So we go out to investigate. Where the pumpkin once sat, there is now only a stem and some seeds, oh and the base of the pumpkin to which Calvin is still carrying around crying about.

That damn squirrel will sit on our ledge of the front porch and stare us down, he brings all his nuts and such back to our porch and eats them there, our porch is a mess. Now he is messing with our pumpkins. I had the kids bring the pumpkins to the enclosed porch until I can kill that squirrel. We all know that Brian shouldn't be allowed to carry or shoot a fire arm, so I guess that leaves it up to me. HA just kidding, I think I better call my dad. Damn Squirrel.

Chores.

So it is high time the kids start helping around the house. I bought a wipe erase calendar board, at the beginning of the week I write down one chore for them to do each day, this is above and beyond the normal pick up clothes, brush your teeth, etc., by now those just come as habit..sort of! So I am having them do some actual housework, like helping me fold laundry, sort and match socks, vaccum, sweep or even put away the dishes.

The other day I had them both on put away the dishes duty. This is what my cupboard looked like when they were done:






I love that the plastic kids plates are stacked on the very top shelf of the coffee cups, when clearly they go on bottom right shelf where the rest of the kids plates are. Or that fact they they put cups inside the bowls. But hey who am I to complain, I didn't have to do it! So it went fairly well last week, but Ellery already asked if once a week they could have a 'free' day. I told her not until I get a 'free' day!!

It must have been a full moon, or the planets must have been aligned because last night my children were so kind to each other. Now don't get me wrong they do get along on a pretty regular basis, but last night, they got along for about 3 full hours.

First Ellery helped Calvin with his homework, then they took a good long bubble bath and then she read books to Calvin (as seen on the above picture, I know it is blurry, but I didn't want them to know I was taking it).

They are both doing the Book-It program at school. Ellery has to read 200 minutes per month and Calvin has to have 10 books read to him. Ellery has already read 50 minutes on Monday and then she read another 50 minutes on Tuesday, so she is five days into the month and has half of her reading done oh and Calvin is done too because on Tuesday she read the 10 books to Calvin so we killed two birds with one stone.

These are the days I LOVE LOVE LOVE. I told them that too. I told them how much I appreciate when they get along and are kind to each other. They looked at me like..yah sure, don't get yourself all excited because tomorrow is a new day, a new day that I pray is the same as today!