Weekend

In a weak moment, David told Charlotte he’d give her an American Girl doll if she could keep her room clean for one month.  I’m sure he didn’t think she’d take the challenge, and even if she did, he didn’t think she’d actually be able to do it for 30 whole days.  You see, Charlotte’s our collector, creator, and generally “a messy room is a happy room” girl.  What my dear husband forgot, however, is that once she sets her mind to something, she accomplishes it (hmmm, who does she get that from????).  She not only took the challenge, she excelled at it, putting up signs warning dire consequences to anyone who messed up the house.  Many a child has been intimidated from even looking into her room this past month, much less enter it.  I knew we were in real trouble when she’d spend her 20 minutes of computer time looking solely at the American Girl Doll website.  So, because we are parents who keep our word, we took Charlotte on Friday to the AGD store at the Mall of America (MOA) and bought her the doll of her choice: Chrissa, doll of the year.  Charlotte brought her own money to purchase two additional outfits.  Laurel and Mary were thrilled that Mom and Dad were

in a buying mood and started picking out items as well only to be reminded that they did not keep their rooms clean the whole month.

Tears and almost a shoplifting incident followed.  Luckily we avoided too much commotion by allowing each child one ride at Nickelodeon Universe.  Jacob purchased a Bionicle at the lego store and another one the following day at Target.  I got sucked into Nordstrom Rack and David found the TV of his dreams in the Best Buy.  Yes, I believe we are the only people on the face of the planet who do not have a HD flat screen yet, and David would love to  alleviate our suffering, but we can’t really justify it . . . so we wait :).  Despite coming home without a TV, it was a relaxing way to spend Friday evening.

Saturday found us at another graduation party for lunch (in Minnesota, everyone celebrates graduation with a big party, lots of food, and a 

huge cake) and I was able to attend a baby shower which covered dinner.  Quite the day.  We needed a fun weekend after surviving the first week out of school if you ask me.  Although I am very relieved to not have a daily deadline and the nightly homework burden, it has been hard thinking of ways to keep my kids busy.  More ideas are starting to flow so hopefully, this week will be better.  And as I promised, I made progress on my family reunion.  Life is good.  As always.