Devious little minds

First Act

Lights out at 8 tonight, so that the children’s heads aren’t spinning on their necks tomorrow. See? We actually like their teachers! All electronic devices were to be turned over before the cut off, so there would be no shenanigans.

I went upstairs to do the kiss-goodnight-thing, and there is Beta, all tucked into bed, looking absolutely adorable, and like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. Her DS was prominently left on our bed.

You can already see where this is going, right?

When I leaned over to kiss her goodnight, I put my hand on her bed. Just slightly under her pillow.

Which was where she’d stashed the iPad.

The look on her face when I pulled it out was priceless, as was her reaction of, “Oh, man, NOOOOOOO!!!!” and banging the bed with her fists in a fine expression of anger.

Queue 10 minutes of frustrated whining/screaming/etc. Not that this did her a lick of good, but hey. She’s tired. I’m thinking acting lessons may be in her future. Or the CIA.

But wait, there’s more

The second act begins with Beta singing “Let It Go” from Frozen at the top of her not inconsiderable lungs. And then coming downstairs to ask me to play it for her on my phone because it was stuck in her head.

It is not long before I figure out that she is hoping I’ll bring my phone upstairs, put the music on, and then leave the thing up there unattended so she can play with it. The air doesn’t get old in her oxygen tanks. Or mine, either. I put the song on, sure. And I pumped up the volume and left the phone at the bottom of the stairs, so she could hear it.

We think she’s asleep now. There was a little more singing, but no longer at the top of her lungs.

From now on – we search her bed. 🙂

Aquarium ho!

Beta has been begging to go to the Aquarium. So, we gathered up the Sleep Over girls, crated the dog, and headed out.
First, LUNCH!

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Alpha and Rho having lunch on the bench. There were no tables available.

Then, the Aquarium!

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The girls had a great time. I had a great time. Dad had a great time. We messed with our camera settings. We swapped kids (once without either of us realizing), and just generally had a blast. Did the gift shop, and escaped without buying anything. Still happy about the lack of new stuffed animals.

We stopped off at Quincy Market, and Beta picked up a pair of bracelets. After that back to the car. Which is when we saw this lovely lady:

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Yes, that’s a wild turkey. In Boston. On India Street. She’s a pretty ballsy bird.

All in all, a wonderful day.

Alpha is eleven? When did this happen?

So, our darling Alpha Child is eleven years old today. We pretty much let her plan her day however she wanted it. Donna’s Donuts for breakfast. The Dover Tent Sale after that. And then to Strongwater Farm to pick up the clothes she needs for the show next week. A quick stop in the park, and then back home for the afternoon.

And that’s when the real fun started. See, we spent a couple of hours last night coming up with clues. Things like:

Once upon a time you kissed her, / Now its time to ask your sister.

or:

Look next to where you wash your faces / You’ll find something to take you places.

and so on. We had a blast, and I wrote the clues on cards, and then hid them all around the house.

Alpha found the nerf bow and arrow. Then she found the skateboard (what was I thinking?). And finally, she found the big one. The Bike. Its a black and orange Trek 3500, and is great for getting her around town, or light trails. Her eyes were like saucers, and Dad and I both got huge hugs. Then she was on the bike and riding off down the street.

I think she liked it.

And now, we’ve had her birthday dinner of hot dogs and Gramma’s Mac and Cheese, with s’mores for dessert. We’re all curled up in the living room, and watching Star Wars. A fantastic day, by any measure.

We love you, darling girl. You are amazing.

I’m gonna hide under the covers

I made bacon and eggs for breakfast on our awesome cast iron griddle. It works wonderfully well, and the eggs are delicious.

I had an egg flow right over the side of the griddle. My stove is now covered in raw egg. I can’t clean it until the griddle cools enough for me to move it. sigh.

Not an auspicious start to the day.

My Dream App

So, you may know that I’m a knitter. And I’m addicted to my phone, tablet, etc. These things are largely compatible.

As a knitter, I print many patterns. Patterns from Ravelry. Patterns from Knitty (did you see that the new issue is up? YAY!). I think my pattern printing is responsible for at least one tree. And the only thing I really need the printouts for are the charts. Those lovely, complex lace charts. Set up, transitioning, number of repeats, all that can be found online, anytime. The charts must be printed so I can track what row I’m on. I usually use a highlighter, but any writing instrument will do in a pinch. And if I forget my chart? Forget any knitting until I get home. ARG!

There are many fine apps out there as row counters. That’s not what I want. I want an app that will display my chart, with the rows I’ve already done, highlighted. Just like my lovely paper chart, but less likely to be left at home.

So, I have the Android SDK, Java 7, and no real idea what I’m doing. This is going to be great. 🙂

More pictures from the Harold Parker State Forest

I know that Dad just posted pictures from our walk, but I had a couple he didn’t. There was a beautiful, fast-flowing stream that Alpha and Butter had to check out. Poor Butter almost fell in when the ice shelf collapsed under her, but she only got a little wet. Dad went down there with them.

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It was a gorgeous day. Perfect blue skies, warm weather, and lovely scenery.

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I am really looking forward to checking out this park again. Just not when the trails are frozen solid.

Vignettes from OSV

Today, we went to Old Sturbridge Village. They do Dog Days the first weekend of the month during the winter. There were tiny dogs, medium dogs, and this pony. His name is Kloofbear’s Skipjack. Or just Skipper. If you want to drive his parents nuts, call him Skippy.

Skipper looking dignified. It didn't last.
Skipper looking dignified. It didn’t last.

We got to spend a long time with the cows. The oxen were very friendly, and the cows are just starting to show (calves due in just 6 weeks). Very fun.

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And, finally, at the gift shop. Alpha, Beta, and Tangent each grabbed a book and settled in to read. All they needed was some hot chocolate.

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And then we went to dinner at Cracker Barrel. The food was okay, but the company was awesome. And as we were ordering dessert, Beta came up with this jem:

> Beta: Do you have sprinkles?

> Server: No, we don’t.

> Beta: You should stock up on them. They’re awesome. nods wisely, and wanders off.

Thank goodness we weren’t drinking anything, because that would have been a spit take.

Veteran’s Day

It was a little crazy to figure out that as a family, between Dad’s family and mine, we’ve been involved in almost every conflict (good and bad) that this country has been in. So, the girls and I are going to go through the stuff brought back by my great-great-grandfather’s brother from The Great War, my mother’s Uncle from World War 2, and even some stuff my Dad brought back from the Invasion of Grenada.

Pictures to follow, hopefully.