Pinewood derby

This year for the pinewood derby Alyssa decided she wanted to make a butter car. So with Paul's creative help they make a great looking butter mobile.

Xander wanted something sleek and fast looking. I dubbed it the silver bullet.

His car came in 4th place but he won the Sportman's ship award for clapping and cheering everyone on.

This is his serious loot that he received for the award. Way to go Xander. Of course in true sportsman ship manner he shared with all of us.

He also did a great job earning belt loops. He got 6 that night to make 11 total!

We had a fun night and my favorite part was seeing the kids have a great time. Oh and I have to rave about all of the wonderful desserts my friend Laura made. I am so grateful for people who work so hard to ensure that the kids have a great time and adults have yummy dessert!

Bored?

How Lola solves her boredom issues-

she goes into the pantry and gets the recycled paper and chews it into a zillion pieces!

Really how could a face like this

and this

create such a mess?

Oh well I'd rather her destroy paper than furniture, pillows or something really important.

1. oven is fixed!

2. getting out for a run in my new shoes

3. happy kids

Today is a the Price is Right day. Whenever the kids are home sick I turn on the show. They enjoy guessing the prices and playing along with the contestants. For me it is nice to watch (or listen) to something other than cartoons or the Disney channel for a bit with them. I have always watched it in the past when sick or recovering from surgery.

Poor Lissy came into our room last night at 3:00 am and proceeded to throw up every 20-30 minutes like clockwork. She kept saying, "Why does my stomach hate me?" Thankfully she is feeling better and hasn't thrown up since 7:45am. I think almost 5 hours of barfing is more than sufficient!

Paul and Xander were taking guesses as to whom is going down next. Xander thinks it will be me since I took care of Lis all night long. Paul held the dog in the bed so she wouldn't "join" us in the bathroom. Who knows who'll be next....only time will tell. At least Alyssa is over the hurdle and Paul will be home ALL WEEK LONG. Maybe unfortunate for him, but very fortunate for me!

1. old memories

2. my car getting fixed for under $400

3. so looking forward to my bed tonight hopefully I'll get to stay in it ALL NIGHT LONG!

True"man" vs. Food

Tonight in the Trueman home we did it Man vs, Food True"man" style! We have been watching the show Man vs. Food where the host, Adam, goes all over the US to different cities trying out the food in restaurants and also does eating challenges. The kids love the show. I like it, but it makes me hungry and want to EAT! Paul likes it since he has been to most of the cities. I want to check out some of these places. I like the fact that they are normal, regular priced places that we would go.

On the Minneapolis show Adam went to two restaurants who claimed to have the best juicy lucy. A juicy lucy is a hamburger with cheese in the middle. So basically 2 patties sealed together with cheese in the middle. The kids begged to have it for dinner this week. Alyssa was even asking this morning that if we ever to go Minneapolis if we could go to dinner at the 5-8 club and try it out. Too funny.

Ours is a bit different since we are using turkey meat instead, but DELICIOUS none the less!

Here is the finished product.

Oozing with cheese

fries on the side or on top- YUM!

So True"Man" vs. Food family what was you thoughts on the dinner?

Paul- "That didn't suck!"

Xander- "It was better than in-n-out." (Sorry Xander- nothing is better than in-n-out)

Alyssa- "The best burger!"

Lisette- "The cheese on the inside makes it sooo moist inside!"

Positive Reinforcement

Enough already is the way Paul and I have been feeling just before the kids bedtime lately! As soon as it is time to go up and brush they have to

• pet the dog,
• hug the dog,
• complain about how tired they are
• and don't want to brush,
• slowly take o- n- e s -t -a -i -r at a time
• only to get upstairs and argue over who brushes first,
• argue about just anything
• jump on my bed
• run around like spazzes
• and become so wound up it is hard to calm them back down

It is painful and aggravating and we are fed up with the who thing! By the time we are back down stairs my blood pressure is much higher and I am SO glad the day is over. It just puts a bad vibe to the end of a usually good day.

For video go here: http://truemantwins.blogspot.com/2009/06/brushing-teeth.html

My sister told me about how my brother in law brings up 2 quarters each night for the kids and if they do a good job they get to put the money into a jar. When the jar is full they get to go out to eat, the movies or something fun like that. I loved the idea!

We tweaked it a bit for Xander and Lissy. Each week they have the potential to earn $1.00 more than their allowance. They will earn 10 cents each night and if they do a good job EVERY night they get a 30 cent bonus. Since we started last night towards the end of the week I told them they could each earn a quarter. I tell ya it worked like a charm! It was such a pleasant wrap up to the evening- no frustration, no yelling, or threats just peace and harmony.

Some may call it bribery, but I choose to call it positive reinforcement for good behavior. While it lasts I will enjoy it. Each and every peaceful minute of it!

1. Paul making it safely home this morning

2. Friday

3. Juicy Lucy's for dinner tonight

Enough already!

There are SO many reasons why it needs to STOP snowing for the rest of this season:

1. I bake when it snows and then I eat what I bake.

Today it was banana bread which sounds healthy but I think the 2 bananas are outweighed by the 1 1/2 cups of sugar. At least I used applesauce instead of butter, but 3 pieces later....

2. I am sick of sludge, sand and grit!

Swept out the basement and garage too many times to count. And need to do it again.

3. I want to lounge by the pool and be HOT enough to jump in. Not look out and see this-

4. I want to be outside for longer than a quick walk or 40 minute run.

5. I almost have forgotten what it is like to wear short sleeves without a sweat jacket.

6. I am sick of my winter clothes!

7. Sadly 45 degrees feels really nice. Just when we were finding our grass on Monday here were are again buried in snow.

8. Did I mention sludge, sand and grit???

9. It really stinks to take the dog for a walk in the sludge.

10. I miss these-

Okay now I am thoroughly depressed that winter is still out my window at least it is pretty. Until mud season is here. Oh can't we just skip it until June?

Note to self- NO MORE BANANA BREAD. Do cookies count?

Okay now for a few good snow things-

1. it's pretty

2. school was delayed and thankfully NOT cancelled today

3. the kids really love to play in it.

Preserving Sanity

Yes, this is how I felt the first 2 days of vacation when A & A were arguing about E V E R Y T H I N G!!!!

A little something every day on winter break= SANITY SAVER

• Monday- Movies with cousins- Percy Jackson and the lightning thief- great movie
• Tuesday- sledding and snow boarding with cousins and lots of friends at school
• Wednesday- 2 hours of swimming (wear 'em out!)
• Thursday- roller skating and Xander has a friend sleeping over
• Friday- friend over until after lunch- then grocery shopping

Lots of whines about grocery shopping. Really I must get something done at least one of the days. It cracked me up this afternoon Xander was SO MAD at Alyssa because she wouldn't listen to him. TOTAL payback for the first 2 days of this week where they felt no need to listen to ME!

A good vacation all in all, but it will be just fine for them to go back tomorrow!

1. a week of fun

2. not having to do homework, lunches, rush

3. friends to enjoy it with