Happy November! Today I am thankful for my funny, smart, clever, crafty, amazing children who keep me guessing every day.
November Thankfuls
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Monthly Archives: November 2012
No more reading at the table – An update!
After a month or so of my “no reading at the table” plan I figured I’d post a quick update. I know how much you all are concerned with the dining situation at my house.
Overall the plan has been a success! Lex’s table manners have improved and he is no long as sloppy and disgusting to eat with. He thinks and plans and joins in the conversation. He laughs and participates. This evening I decided to start our annual “thankfuls” at the dinner table. With no fuss Lex jumped right in with a thoughtful thankful.
That said, there is one down-side to the plan… Lex no longer eats!! That’s maybe a slight exaggeration, but in the past he would plop down with a book, check out, and eat whatever you put in front of him (with some limitations, of course). Now he bounces around in his seat, chats, laughs, gets up, sits down, fidgets with whatever he can reach and doesn’t eat! (that doesn’t actually sound like very good table manners, does it?!) Sometimes I have to set a timer for him or take his food away at a certain time, just so we can move on with the day. I swear his calorie intake, and books read, has been cut in half!
Sigh. I guess you can’t win them all. But at least he’s less messy and gross to eat with. :)
Tricks
After filling up on treats for snack, the kids spent the entire afternoon creating tricks. It started as a whispered plan in the office. A plan to play a trick on me. Then they asked if they could use the cotton balls and when I asked why they said, “Just to play a little trick on you.” They promised it wouldn’t hurt and that they would clean it up (that’s the real trick on me!) so I said sure. They were thrilled. As often happens with games in this house, what started as a simple trick ended up being worked on for hours and blossoming into a full-fledge Haunted Office! The prep work took so long that I didn’t even get to go through it tonight. I agreed to leave it set up for the morning and promised Alan and I would go through it together. Lex wants to set up scary lighting and Eve has plans for sound effects.
Since the element of surprise was already gone, thanks to very loud whispers, I decided to take a sneak peek.
HAUNTED OFFICE (in haunted lettering)
Open door all the way for a surprise!
BOO (with a ghost in the first O)
This is Lex’s trap. When you open the door all the way, guess what happens?!? It took him several tries to get it just right. The door kept bumping the bucket and knocking it down. He was frustrated, but kept trying and finally got it positioned perfectly.
The view from the other side. Pretty tricky, eh? There is an orange note tucked into the bucket, along with cotton balls and scraps of paper confetti. I haven’t peeked at the note, but I’m curious what it says. :)
Eve’s trick. Hers involves you standing still while she pulls the rope. The element of surprise with her was completely lost when she told me all about it at dinner time. :) She also has a series of other “traps” that involve you standing still while she wraps a string around your wrist and captures you.
I will practice my surprised face for the morning. Rosy, the kids don’t read the blog (yet!) so you may want to practice your surprised face too, just in case the office is still haunted when you arrive. :)