It's a Lazy Day

Well it's rained all day here in Port Chester. My big accomplishment for the day was walking 40 minutes before it started to rain and going grocery shopping (BY MYSELF!!!!!). The kids have been stuck inside watching TV, playing games and napping. Francesca fell asleep sitting up on the couch, her head leaning on the arm. We had a 2-hr. stretch of no whining, so peaceful. Gav was awake of course, because they haven't both fallen asleep at the same time in about 3 years. At 4 and almost 6, they don't routinely nap anymore, but if they happen to fall asleep we don't complain. Finally, Francesca woke up and Gavin eventually fell asleep. I was downstairs folding laundry and Scott calls me upstairs because "I have to come see Gavin". There he is, asleep, with a smile on his face...his little hand in his pants. No wonder he is smiling. :)

Family Movie Night

We just (barely) survived our first "Family Movie Night" at F's school. Ugh...For $10 for the 4 of us, we got to sit on hard metal chairs, or the floor, if we choosed. We watched (really didn't) "Game Plan" with The Rock. With all the kids, including my own, running around and screaming I could not for the life of me tell you one iota of what went on in that movie. Admission got us 4 free small popcorns, which satisfied the kids for about 30 seconds. Then they moved on to the real good snacks, in their opinions. Ring Pops. Twizzlers. Cotton Candy. Hey at least the popcorn was not too bad for them. Plus, they opted for bottled water over soda. You know, for a school that has a "Healthy Eating Initiative" they don't give a crap about nutrition as long as it is after school hours. Oh well, I guess Ring Pops sell alot better than bran muffins. They did have coffee for sale for the parents. I found myself wishing that someone had a bottle of vodka stashed in their purse; a shot or two would have made the evening WAY more bearable. Gavin, once again, was trying to sweet talk the ladies. This time it was the PTO moms. Here's how it went:

"I would like 2 Twizzlers please." (Twizzlers were a dime each)

"Here you go, and here's your change." (He had a quarter.)

"Oh no. Keep the change!" (He's obviously trying to get in good now, knowing once they get to know him next year they'll be calling him the kindergarten's Eddie Haskell.)

Thank goodness we don't have another nighttime school event until April. I think it's BINGO. I'll pack my BINGO markers and pray for no Ring Pops.

As-Seen-On-TV, Part 2

For those of you who know Francesca and Gavin, you know that they are OBSESSED with "As-Seen-On-TV" and all of those lovely products that we can buy on TV. My mom broke down and bought them the "Pancake Puff" for Valentine's Day; boy were they excited. I tried to make Pancake Puffs that weekend but had run out of Bisquick. I had to improvise, and well, mine were not what they saw on TV. Gavin tried a few but Francesca refused to eat them.

"Mommy, those DO NOT look like the Pancake Puffs on TV. Maybe you should have let Daddy make them."

Whatever. The cat had no problem eating them. Scott made them the next weekend and the kids raved about his ability to make a perfect Pancake Puff. Well he was lucky, I had just gone grocery shopping and had a new box of Bisquick.

This morning, as Gavin and I pull into his school parking lot, I realize that my iPod is not in my purse. So as I am rumbling around my big Mary Poppins bag, Gav looks at me with his big blue eyes and says:

"You know, Mommy, if you had the 'Buxton Organizer' you would be able to find your iPod right away. You could even find your cell phone blindfolded. It comes in black, red and tan. Plus, you get a free 'Memory Mate', you know...you talk and it remembers what you say. Milk, bread, eggs...your whole list! Mommy, you really need the 'Buxton Organizer'.

My children are walking advertisements for infomercials. Yesterday Scott used "Mighty Putty" on a crack in the basement. You would have thought it was Christmas, for all the jumping around that was going on in our house. "Mighty Putty" is their favorite As-Seen-On-TV commercial. They are convinced that they can find a use for it everywhere in our house. Gav has already asked me to please tell the Easter Bunny to bring him some.

Dancing Queen

She's at it again. All weekend Francesca has been walking (or dancing) around the house in a leotard and ballet slippers. At the library she insisted on finding books about ballet, gymnastics and Irish step dancing. Today she comes downstairs in a black leotard, a top hat and red ruby Dorothy-in-the-Wizard of Oz shoes. She proceeds to tap tap tap throughout my living room all over my wood floors. This is not a child who takes dance classes either. We signed her up at 2 for pre-ballet and at the recital she sat her fat baby butt down on the stage and refused to pirouette. She did however smile and wave at the crowd. So today she is bopping all over the place, saying "Mommy don't I look great??" I had to stifle a laugh because she looked like a 5 year old version of Liza Minelli in Cabaret! Last night she even dragged out a kilt my mom brought her back from Scotland to put on during her step dancing routine. She is too funny. Thank goodness tomorrow is school. The dancing queen will be put to rest until next weekend (we hope!).

Sneaky Francesca

Scott and I were cleaning the basement today (BIG HUGE CHORE, way past overdue). Anyway, I was in shredding and throwing out mode, tossing things left and right. Mom, don't worry, I DID NOT throw anything important out. So we were almost at the end of our cleaning for the day when I find a small handmade "coupon" book hidden under many pieces of paper. Now I know what you may be thinking (or Mom, what YOU may be thinking) - I stuck it in a big pile of stuff and missed it entirely. But NO, this is not the case. This was a coupon book made by Francesca in school around Christmas. It includes coupons for things like cleaning her room, setting the table, sleeping late (that one is almost impossible for us to redeem) and leaving us alone for a few minutes. There is no way that I would ignore something as valuable as that. Either Scott or I check Francesca's backpack or folder every day when she comes home from school so there is no way we missed it. I am betting that she purposely put it in her pocket and hid it in the basement. She's no dummy, why give Mommy and Daddy another reason to ask her to clean her room or set the table?? She probably thought "why do it for free when I could clean my room and then get something in return for being so helpful". Anyway, now that my basement is clean I am sure my living room is a mess since the kids have been playing there all afternoon. I think I need to go redeem a coupon!!!!

Who is Funnier??

Well, that is a tough one. They're both funny, in their own ways. Gavin is all boy, you know, thinks the sounds and smells that his body emits are the most hysterical things he has ever heard. Francesca, well, she is funny when she thinks we are not listening. The moment she thinks we have heard her conversation (usually with herself) she screeches at us and runs away. So readers, based on what you have read so far, tell me what you think. Is it Checka or Big Guy that keeps us in stitches on a daily basis?? Visit this week's poll at the bottom of the blog.

Weekends at the LaDore's

Francesca is on a ballerina kick, last night she dressed up in an old leotard and ballet slippers and decided to put on a performance for her brother. Gav could have cared less about watching her, but the good brother he is, he sat down and watched. So right as she was about to turn off the lights, she looked at her audience of 1 and said, "OK sir, sit down and please pay attention to the ballerina; and TURN YOUR CELL PHONES OFF!" That just struck me and Scott as funny.

The cat threw up a hairball at 3AM this morning. I know this thanks to Gavin, who apparently heard Picky Picky hacking at that hour. He claims that he told me at 3AM to clean up the cat's mess but I did not. I don't remember hearing this, but then again I don't remember being awake at 3AM either. The final straw for Gavin was when he stepped in the hairball. He started yelling at both the cat and me. It was not a good start to the morning. Oh well, we still have another day and a half before school starts again!