Virtual Coffee

Hi! It's Tuesday!!

What'd you say? Oh...it's Wednesday...hm...

Hi! It's Wednesday! Time for a belated virtual coffee.

I'm sorry, but I totally forgot about it being Tuesday and then when I did remember, I felt that I had nothing to say so I just didn't post. Today though, I feel more chatty.

So, if you were really having coffee with me today, I'd be shocked that you could see the streets to get to my house because it looks like this outside:

It's freezing fog and it's bone chilling. I know this because (of course) I had to go out and take some pictures. Look at my poor tomato plant.
But, it really does make it all so pretty and wintery.
If we were really having coffee today...I'd tell you that I've struggled parenting this past week. I had a total melt down over the weekend due to the sibling bickering and the sullen pre-teenager that is my 8 year old and the tyrant that is this child:
Sure, she looks all sweet, but dear lord, that girl is going to be the death of me. So, after losing my ever-loving mind and crying and telling Evan that we either need to have a solid game plan for how to deal with them over Christmas break (and even afterwards) or I was shipping out, we brainstormed and came up with some new expectations about how to deal with each other (softer voices, nicer words, compromising) and new stricter rules about tv time (2 half hour shows a day with the ability to trade a show in for computer time for the elder tv addicted child), I feel better. And the girls were better. Yes, there's still fighting and there always will be, but I feel like I have a few more tools in my parenting tool belt. I also feel like that them seeing Mommy lose her mind and cry into a Mommy puddle might have also been a bit of a wake up call to them...or a definite trip to the psychiatrist when they're older.

We'd talk about how Christmas is in 3 days. We've wrapped up all the school Christmas parties and extravaganzas. Ebeth had a Christmas party for her dance class and parents were asked to come in a watch them perform.
She also had a Girl Scout Christmas thing. They decorated cookies and made ornaments. I swear this child does not make normal faces any more.
She was super excited to dress up for it though.
I would totally have to show you our finished gingerbread house if you were here! I will be showing it off in a different post, but as will always be the case, Evan did all the main planning and constructing while I did all the baking and decorating.
Did you watch the lunar eclipse the other night? We woke ourselves up at 1:00AM and then got Ebeth up to go and see it for a while. If you click on this picture and make it bigger, you'll be able to see what we saw:
Thanks for stopping by for coffee today. I'm sorry I was late. Have a fabulous weekend and hopefully I'll be ready next Tuesday when it actually is Tuesday. :)