Want to meet our friend Katie?

Skippy likes to decorate for holidays. Sparky does too but not as much as Skippy does. You see, decorating takes a lot of energy and after a long day of kindergarten, Sparky only has time to grump and complain. The kid is exhausted. So, while Skippy and I stuffed the scarecrow that we named after our own Katie Leach, Sparky sat in a chair and tried to supervised. Sheesh that kid needed a nap. I finally had to tell her that she couldn't complain about our scarecrow not looking the way she wanted it to if she didn't help make it. That zipped her lips for about a minute. I also got a dirty look out of her but that I'm used to...silence, not so much.

Anyway, we wanted a scarecrow but we didn't have the clothing to make one. I ran over to the Salvation Army Store and found the jeans for $3.oo, which still had the tags on them and the shirt for $4.oo. It was more than I wanted to spend but the colors were fun for out fall decorating. I had purchased a burlap bag at the local flower nursery and a straw hat on sale at the craft store. I had a skinny board that I hammered into the bale of straw so the Scarecrow would sit up straight, then I cut a hole in the seat of the jeans so the board would act as a spine. I didn't paint the face on "Katie" until the following morning...because grumpy needed to go in the house and relax. She wouldn't go by herself...go figure. We attached the yarn hair with safety pins as well as the hat. I think she looks pretty good. We tossed on a few crows that we bought at the dollar store for added amusement.

I think she turned out great.

Sparky is an actress!

Sparky has a cold. No biggie, just a little cold. She also loves to watch TV. We have a strict 1/2 hour a day policy here. Now on the weekend when she is being a pain in the you know what, she seems to get away with a couple hours added to that limit. It's not on my time, so I don't really care what goes on...but I run a tight ship. Anyway, She was bouncing off the walls the entire weekend. I guess she also was enjoying her extra viewing time. She had asked her Mom if she could stay home from school if she was really, really sick. Of course the answer was yes. We don't send kids to school if they are really sick. You just can't function if you are feeling so poorly that you can't think straight.
Well, Monday Morning, Sparky was mad at me because I had the nerve to wake her up. She was moaning more than usual...she's not a morning person lately. She told me that Mommy said she could stay home. I felt her head and she wasn't running a temperature. So I asked her what was making her feel bad. Did her tummy hurt, her head, her throat...ect. Nope, none of those she just didn't feel good and wanted to stay home. I told her I would call Mommy and let her know...but I thought she should know that if we stay home sick, we don't get to watch TV all day. When we stay home sick, we relax in bed and look at books if we are bored. She tried to tell me that she was going to watch TV and I told her in no uncertain terms that she would not be watching TV, she would be in bed, getting better. That is what sick people do after all. I then told her I had to go make Skippy's breakfast and call Mommy to let her know that Sparky was sick and that I was going to make a doctors appointment for her. I hadn't even finished making Skippy's oatmeal, when who bounds into the kitchen, completely dressed and looking for breakfast. Yes, all the moaning and groaning was a thing of the past. Sparky recovered in less than 3 minutes. She announced she was feeling better and was going to school.

Hmmmm, I guess she wasn't sick after all.

Sad news

Today, my Mom's little brother lost his battle with cancer. He's no longer in pain.

Uncle Richard is now in a better place.
I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa Slater will be glad to see him.