The Things I Deal With When Andrew is Out of Town

Sadly, we have to report that Madison, the goldfish, passed away late Friday evening. She had been a little sluggish for a few days and was found belly up on Saturday morning. As is customary in cases like these, Madison was flushed away to the great beyond. Tears were shed and Liam spoke at the services by proclaiming, "Fishy dead", over and over. Before the tears even had time to dry the question was asked if we could now get a dog.

We anticipate looking for a new fish over spring break. Since our luck with Wal-Mart fish is awful, we will try the local PetCo. We are also suggesting that the names of friends not be used for pets.

Sellers Beware: My Kids are Smarter Than You

We tend not to watch the main tv networks so we get to see a lot of interesting commercials. Colin has decided he wants a Hoveround and a collapsable grabber so he can travel to the Statue of Liberty and never have to bend to pick up anything again. He also knows all the words to the freecreditreport.com commercials. Eva asked me several times if I had any gold to sell until I told her that those ads were a scam. Adria likes to sing along to the Pep Boys commercials and has a little, bouncy dance for it. And whenever Liam sees any toy he likes he yells, "That's mine!".
Adria has been learning about the techniques that advertisers use in her graphic design class. She can't look at a commercial or ad in a magazine the same way.
As for me, I love that I can watch shows on Hulu without all the extras.

Miscellaneous Happenings

Lately, my blog posts have been spotty. We are in the busy part of the semester and the school year. Andrew left on Friday for Argentina. He'll be there for ten days leading a group of students around the main province.

Eva woke not long after 7am this morning and by 8am was out the back door playing. It was in the 60s and just a little overcast. From the smell coming though my bedroom window, I can tell a neighbor is grilling. I am glad that spring is on the way. The cold makes my bones creak.

I cut down a small tree/oversize bush from the corner of the house yesterday. The branches are in the back yard waiting for me to chop them. Eva and Liam have made a game out of playing in them. Each has there own 'house' complete with bedrooms and kitchens. It's better than having them build forts in the dining room. Soon I'll be able to send them outside every day.