Here are the children sitting on the throne in Cinderella's Palace. 
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
The Story of the Mouse
Some of you have heard this story already. I’m only documenting it here for those of you who have not and because it was a great story- even if it did happen about 3 weeks ago. I will warn you, this is not for the weak stomach among us, so if you think you might need to hug a toilet- either have one nearby, or don’t read anymore. This is YOUR responsibility, so don’t say I didn’t warn you! This is a true story.
Ahem….once upon a time there was a nice lady who lived in the upstairs rooms of a large house. Some kids say she lives in the attic, but she doesn’t really- only next to the attic in a little apartment complete with a bedroom, bathroom, and great room. She’s a really nice lady and she frequently has visitors over for snacks, movies, games, and many other exciting things. She even keeps a box of little toys under a table for little children who come to visit, though she has none of her own.
Well, one day the mouse population got wind of the generosity and hospitality of this woman and decided to impose their great force upon her. When she noticed that they were coming continually without being invited, she declared them rude and sentenced them to death by the trap. Many of the relatives went the way of the trap over the course of the year and by and by the mice stopped coming around and the trap went away. But recently, the mice decided to test the waters again and once more, without proper consent, they began barging in and taking what wasn’t theirs and what hadn’t been offered to them. Out came the trap and things started going snap! Three little thieves were caught one by one and disposed of properly, but one little mouse didn’t use the proper procedure for death by trap and here is where the story takes a turn for the worse.
This mouse was like any other ordinary little field mouse- small, brown, smooth and furry, large brown eyes and a little squeaker that said “squeak” when it was frightened. When he approached the trap- ladened with peanut butter he decided to get at the goodies with a paw instead of his head. Now you may say, “Smart mouse! He was sacrificing a hand in hopes of getting away altogether.” But, my friends, you will see that in the end that poor mouse I’m sure was wishing he had just stuck his whole head in there and had it cracked right away!
You see, the nice lady came into the great room that Friday morning and discovered that the trap was missing. Wondering what could have become of it she glanced around and after a time heard some shuffling under her blue swivel chair. Upon looking under the chair she discovered the mouse stick fast in the trap by the paw. He was frightened, very much alive and surely stuck. Now the lady pondered for a moment what to do. How to kill a mouse that didn’t die by the trap? How to get the trap off the mouse? More importantly, how to get the mouse out of the house? With these and many other questions floating through her mind she walked out of the house and into the fresh air to ponder her dilemma. While she was walking she happened upon two mothers tending their children on the playground and related the story to them.
One suggested a whack on the head with a broom might knock it out enough to dispose of it and the other mother, being more spontaneous in nature and wishing the problem to be solved immediately volunteered to do the whacking. (Ugh! That was me. What a dumb idea.)
Ok, so I formulated a plan- 1) lady tilt back chair so as to expose mouse. 2) I whack it with a mop so hard that it dies. 3) Someone removes the dead mouse from the trap and we all live happily ever after…except the mouse of course.
So up we went, the nice lady and I to tackle the battle of the mouse and the trap. I with my mop- a flat boarded style and she with ummm….I don’t think she was carrying anything. Anyway, she lifted the chair and I immediately realized that I could not smash that creature hard enough to kill it. After all, he was very much alive and wiggling.
I quickly formulated another plan: 1) I trap mouse with mop. 2) I stab said mouse in the head- in the brain with a knife, so as to kill it immediately. 3) Remove dead mouse. Unfortunately, I did not factor in my small amount of knowledge from biology in which most people learn that mice have skulls.
So, on with the plan. I successfully did trap the mouse with the mop. Actually, I trapped the trap and the mouse was completely exposed, but couldn’t get away. (At this point I was shaking from the horror and adrenaline of it all and it only got worse.) I raised my knife and stabbed with full force into the mouse, piercing the neck all the way through. A small “squeak” came from the mouse’s lips and after removing the knife I discovered that even though I hurt the creature I had completely missed ALL vital organs and I was going to have to do it AGAIN!!!! Oh how I groaned!!! The thing wouldn’t be still and by this time I was discovering the whole skull thing and realizing that I was getting nowhere with this tactic.
I took the next step and got a coaster from the end table to hold the mouse still so as to have better aim, but still I could not manage to stab the thing in the head. Finally, I was so horrified that I had tortured the thing so long and I was so anxious to be done with it I hollered to the nice lady (who was bravely holding the mop down on the trap), “Don’t look.” And swiftly I changed the angle of my knife and zip, zip….sawed that poor creature's head off. As I cut he flipped over on his belly and made little gurgling choking sounds as he was dying and I quickly covered the whole thing with the coaster so as not to have to watch the horror that I had just caused. After a few seconds it was all done. The mouse was happily in mouse heaven with its other presumptuous relatives and the deed was over.
Of course this still left step 3 and neither of us wanting to see the thing any more agreed that the mouse, trap and all should return to the garbage. So, I scooped up the remains and the still attached trap with a mound of paper towels and deposited it all in the garbage can. Then I went outside for some fresh air and gradually I stopped vibrating like a tuning fork.
The morals I have gleaned from this story are:
A: Always wear gloves. I had my gloves on from cleaning before I even went up there and I am so glad I didn’t have to touch that thing with my bare hands!
B: Maybe whacking the mouse wouldn’t have been so hard after all.
C: I never want a career in torturing lab rats.
D: The nice lady can take care of her own rodents from now on! Hehe!
E: Always have a shot gun on hand in case you need to shoot a mouse at point blank range!
F: I now have to change my reputation as a creature torturer to a friend of the furry ones lest this carry over and mothers of small children think that I am not safe- or perhaps my own children think I am not safe.
Ok, enough morals. Hope you’ve enjoyed this tale and that you had a real squeal. BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Ahem….once upon a time there was a nice lady who lived in the upstairs rooms of a large house. Some kids say she lives in the attic, but she doesn’t really- only next to the attic in a little apartment complete with a bedroom, bathroom, and great room. She’s a really nice lady and she frequently has visitors over for snacks, movies, games, and many other exciting things. She even keeps a box of little toys under a table for little children who come to visit, though she has none of her own.
Well, one day the mouse population got wind of the generosity and hospitality of this woman and decided to impose their great force upon her. When she noticed that they were coming continually without being invited, she declared them rude and sentenced them to death by the trap. Many of the relatives went the way of the trap over the course of the year and by and by the mice stopped coming around and the trap went away. But recently, the mice decided to test the waters again and once more, without proper consent, they began barging in and taking what wasn’t theirs and what hadn’t been offered to them. Out came the trap and things started going snap! Three little thieves were caught one by one and disposed of properly, but one little mouse didn’t use the proper procedure for death by trap and here is where the story takes a turn for the worse.
This mouse was like any other ordinary little field mouse- small, brown, smooth and furry, large brown eyes and a little squeaker that said “squeak” when it was frightened. When he approached the trap- ladened with peanut butter he decided to get at the goodies with a paw instead of his head. Now you may say, “Smart mouse! He was sacrificing a hand in hopes of getting away altogether.” But, my friends, you will see that in the end that poor mouse I’m sure was wishing he had just stuck his whole head in there and had it cracked right away!
You see, the nice lady came into the great room that Friday morning and discovered that the trap was missing. Wondering what could have become of it she glanced around and after a time heard some shuffling under her blue swivel chair. Upon looking under the chair she discovered the mouse stick fast in the trap by the paw. He was frightened, very much alive and surely stuck. Now the lady pondered for a moment what to do. How to kill a mouse that didn’t die by the trap? How to get the trap off the mouse? More importantly, how to get the mouse out of the house? With these and many other questions floating through her mind she walked out of the house and into the fresh air to ponder her dilemma. While she was walking she happened upon two mothers tending their children on the playground and related the story to them.
One suggested a whack on the head with a broom might knock it out enough to dispose of it and the other mother, being more spontaneous in nature and wishing the problem to be solved immediately volunteered to do the whacking. (Ugh! That was me. What a dumb idea.)
Ok, so I formulated a plan- 1) lady tilt back chair so as to expose mouse. 2) I whack it with a mop so hard that it dies. 3) Someone removes the dead mouse from the trap and we all live happily ever after…except the mouse of course.
So up we went, the nice lady and I to tackle the battle of the mouse and the trap. I with my mop- a flat boarded style and she with ummm….I don’t think she was carrying anything. Anyway, she lifted the chair and I immediately realized that I could not smash that creature hard enough to kill it. After all, he was very much alive and wiggling.
I quickly formulated another plan: 1) I trap mouse with mop. 2) I stab said mouse in the head- in the brain with a knife, so as to kill it immediately. 3) Remove dead mouse. Unfortunately, I did not factor in my small amount of knowledge from biology in which most people learn that mice have skulls.
So, on with the plan. I successfully did trap the mouse with the mop. Actually, I trapped the trap and the mouse was completely exposed, but couldn’t get away. (At this point I was shaking from the horror and adrenaline of it all and it only got worse.) I raised my knife and stabbed with full force into the mouse, piercing the neck all the way through. A small “squeak” came from the mouse’s lips and after removing the knife I discovered that even though I hurt the creature I had completely missed ALL vital organs and I was going to have to do it AGAIN!!!! Oh how I groaned!!! The thing wouldn’t be still and by this time I was discovering the whole skull thing and realizing that I was getting nowhere with this tactic.
I took the next step and got a coaster from the end table to hold the mouse still so as to have better aim, but still I could not manage to stab the thing in the head. Finally, I was so horrified that I had tortured the thing so long and I was so anxious to be done with it I hollered to the nice lady (who was bravely holding the mop down on the trap), “Don’t look.” And swiftly I changed the angle of my knife and zip, zip….sawed that poor creature's head off. As I cut he flipped over on his belly and made little gurgling choking sounds as he was dying and I quickly covered the whole thing with the coaster so as not to have to watch the horror that I had just caused. After a few seconds it was all done. The mouse was happily in mouse heaven with its other presumptuous relatives and the deed was over.
Of course this still left step 3 and neither of us wanting to see the thing any more agreed that the mouse, trap and all should return to the garbage. So, I scooped up the remains and the still attached trap with a mound of paper towels and deposited it all in the garbage can. Then I went outside for some fresh air and gradually I stopped vibrating like a tuning fork.
The morals I have gleaned from this story are:
A: Always wear gloves. I had my gloves on from cleaning before I even went up there and I am so glad I didn’t have to touch that thing with my bare hands!
B: Maybe whacking the mouse wouldn’t have been so hard after all.
C: I never want a career in torturing lab rats.
D: The nice lady can take care of her own rodents from now on! Hehe!
E: Always have a shot gun on hand in case you need to shoot a mouse at point blank range!
F: I now have to change my reputation as a creature torturer to a friend of the furry ones lest this carry over and mothers of small children think that I am not safe- or perhaps my own children think I am not safe.
Ok, enough morals. Hope you’ve enjoyed this tale and that you had a real squeal. BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Fun at Storyland
Diane and I took the kids to Storyland up in Glen, New Hampshire. This was the best picture of the bunch, but I hope to post some more soon. This is just to let you know that I am still around! This is James, Rachel, and Diane on the Bamboo Chutes. James had a "great" time as you can see. He commented later, "I was a little scared."
Thursday, June 22, 2006
The New Release
Some of you might think this is going to be some review of the new movie, "Cars". While I did go see it and it is awesome and I can't wait for the children to see it, this is about a different motorized item.
Future Projections: We are announcing the beginning productions of Aldrich Model 2007 due to be on the floor in February of 2007. Some of the upgrade features we hope to include are the super sonic quiet motor, a new air purifying system, ultra efficient emmissons and exhaust manafold, and easy listening music in the background. This model is predicted to need, use and emit less gas than any other previous design.
In addition, I hope that this ride will be extremely comfortable, with superb suspension as other models that have been tested in the past were known to make me quite car sick.
In short, I hope you will all mark your calendars for the end of February/first of March to come by and see our newest upgrade, and you can revisit the older models as well to check out their feature qualities.
We are still soliciting suggestions for additional special features to add to project. Let us know if you have a bright idea!
For those of you who are confused about this post- please feel free to proclaim your ignorance and I will explain.
Future Projections: We are announcing the beginning productions of Aldrich Model 2007 due to be on the floor in February of 2007. Some of the upgrade features we hope to include are the super sonic quiet motor, a new air purifying system, ultra efficient emmissons and exhaust manafold, and easy listening music in the background. This model is predicted to need, use and emit less gas than any other previous design.
In addition, I hope that this ride will be extremely comfortable, with superb suspension as other models that have been tested in the past were known to make me quite car sick.
In short, I hope you will all mark your calendars for the end of February/first of March to come by and see our newest upgrade, and you can revisit the older models as well to check out their feature qualities.
We are still soliciting suggestions for additional special features to add to project. Let us know if you have a bright idea!
For those of you who are confused about this post- please feel free to proclaim your ignorance and I will explain.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Frank and Roy
Here is an accurate picture of the results Frank and Roy got from their program and I am hoping for equally dramatic results, though more feminine. Oh, and I know the artist personally who did this pen and ink drawing.
Eat, Drink, and Be Sweaty
My latest venture is in the area of exercise. Amy, my sister, and I have been trying to get some regular exercise incorporated into our daily routine. After seeing my brothers results with their program, (pictures to follow) I was sold on the one they use and thanks to Grandmama, we got it right away. We're using Power90, a program put out by Beachbody.com . It's a great workout that mixes cardio, weight training, and ab workout without the confussion of dance steps. The exercises are more military in style rather than incorporated into a routine. We do push ups, curls, crunches, presses, squats, ect. So far we've done 5 out of the 6 days we were suppose to do. The one morning I missed I slept in to catch up on lost sleep in the middle of the night due to a sick husband. Anyway, there are two videos that we alternate between and the first two days I was just standing there most of the time with my jaw on the floor desperately hoping that I wouldn't really have to do what they just told me to do, but once I got into it, I found that I could get through more of the exercises that I had thought. I can't do all the repititions they do, but I could do some of them. Anyway, I'm on my way to being in great shape and if I don't die in the process I think it will be great. I certainly need some extra energy to keep up with the kids! So, one week down... Oh, and we were supposed to take pictures of how we looked to begin with and measurements and weight and all, but I didn't do that, so below was my efforts to let you know my general starting point. (Haha)
Have You Ever Heard?
Anyone else ever had a child say this:
"Well, Mama, Jesus told me I needed a whip. So, I made one and I made the strings the right size for you. They were too long."
(The little miscreants cut the strings to the blinds in their room. Of course, they were up...and I'll let you engineers figure out what that means for the fate of the blinds.)
P.S. I have no idea how they snuck out of their room and got the scissors!
"Well, Mama, Jesus told me I needed a whip. So, I made one and I made the strings the right size for you. They were too long."
(The little miscreants cut the strings to the blinds in their room. Of course, they were up...and I'll let you engineers figure out what that means for the fate of the blinds.)
P.S. I have no idea how they snuck out of their room and got the scissors!
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
We're Baaaaack!
Well, we've made it back to New Hampshire and the home base. We managed the trip in a record 18 hours 35 minutes. So far, the fastest our family has clocked. The children are glad to be back and there's nothing like being away that makes all their old toys "new" again. They are also having a great time playing outside with their buddies and running all over creation.
Amy is with us for the next several weeks, however she's sick today, so we are hoping the illness is short lived and that she can get back to being my slave promptly tomorrow morning around 6:30am...haha, just kidding. I do want her well, but she can take all the time she needs.
She's already been a great help. She really does great entertaining the kids and she does really well in the kitchen also. We've stayed pretty busy since we've been back- that's Monday and today that we've had to be busy, but we've unloaded all the suitcases but one, planted some petunias, made a small herb garden, got some vegetables for planting which Brandon put in the ground this evening, and entertained children. We spent a while with sidewalk chalk this afternoon and I've also been out to the swing a time or two with Rachel and Jeff. This evening I happened to be in the mood for a little volleyball and went up to help make the game more difficult for people. I think I'm a great double agent when it comes to volleyball and I'm glad people factor that in when they put me on a team. I find myself just standing there, staring at the ball when I should be hitting it.
I told one person during the game, that it reminded me of when I was in little league softball, the coach made me play catcher because everytime I was in the outfield, they found me practicing ballet steps, or pulling my loose tooth, or playing with the grass patterns, or...well...anything but catching the ball. So I suppose this is just the adult carryover of the distracted habit. People should just run and hide when I come to play...but I'm glad they don't cause I'm really there for the people, afterall. I could care less about the ball...and I guess it shows...sorry...I do try, and have a good time too!
Ok, enough rambling...good night.
Amy is with us for the next several weeks, however she's sick today, so we are hoping the illness is short lived and that she can get back to being my slave promptly tomorrow morning around 6:30am...haha, just kidding. I do want her well, but she can take all the time she needs.
She's already been a great help. She really does great entertaining the kids and she does really well in the kitchen also. We've stayed pretty busy since we've been back- that's Monday and today that we've had to be busy, but we've unloaded all the suitcases but one, planted some petunias, made a small herb garden, got some vegetables for planting which Brandon put in the ground this evening, and entertained children. We spent a while with sidewalk chalk this afternoon and I've also been out to the swing a time or two with Rachel and Jeff. This evening I happened to be in the mood for a little volleyball and went up to help make the game more difficult for people. I think I'm a great double agent when it comes to volleyball and I'm glad people factor that in when they put me on a team. I find myself just standing there, staring at the ball when I should be hitting it.
I told one person during the game, that it reminded me of when I was in little league softball, the coach made me play catcher because everytime I was in the outfield, they found me practicing ballet steps, or pulling my loose tooth, or playing with the grass patterns, or...well...anything but catching the ball. So I suppose this is just the adult carryover of the distracted habit. People should just run and hide when I come to play...but I'm glad they don't cause I'm really there for the people, afterall. I could care less about the ball...and I guess it shows...sorry...I do try, and have a good time too!
Ok, enough rambling...good night.
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