Paige and Jason have left for Phoenix for 2 weeks leaving the children to care for Kuma. Mazie commented that for the next 2 weeks Kuma is all hers! She has been spending lots of time with the dog and caring for her. I am not so sure the dog is too happy about this. Remember that cartoon that featured Myra the little girl that terrorized all the animals? Yep. I wish I had batteries for my camera because I would take a picture of their living room. Good thing they aren't expected any time soon. I'm trying to explain to her that there is a reason that the food and water dish go in the kitchen but she isn't having it. She's trying to make some sort of pet spa for the dog, including lots of various candles surrounding the dog bed, pillows and blankets. I keep removing them explaining why it isn't such a good idea but she so desperately wants to have this clubhouse for the dog. Sigh!

Saturday was the first Saturday in forever that I think we had absolutely nothing to do. It sounds good in theory and Leo was thrilled that he could stay home all day and watch tv and play but that quickly wears off and the children begin to tease each other for entertainment and enjoy driving their parents crazy. I made breakfast in the morning - who knew Leo would become addicted to egg sandwiches? He told me yesterday "you are just like grandma." I guess I have managed to perfect the egg sandwich! We headed to the grocey store and I screwed up royally when I promised leo a hotwheel. See, they cost about $1.50 which is no biggie. However, there is nothing equivalent for girls and Mazie wanted a barbie. i remembered that I saw some in the past for about $5. Unfortunately it wasn't at this store. She threw a fit when we couldnt' find one that was reasonably priced. This was all my fault so luckily I saved the day when I found $4 flip flops that were sparkly pink. she needed flip flops anyway so we all won. Mazie didn't eat the corned beef dinner that I made which I don't understand at all. She was starving before bed since I made the dinner early. I took off the afternoon and didn't make lunch. Normally the rule is nothing before bed if you don't eat your dinner. Well, I felt really bad for her so I made her sign a contract and gave her cereal before bed with a promise she will eat her dinner tonight. I hope she likes teriyaki chicken on the grill! I've never made it but can you really go wrong with teriyaki chicken? Back to the corned beef - this was the first time I've made it on the stove in a pot. Afterwards I baked it with a glaze tha twas to die for! This was a keeper and I'll definately be doing this again for St. Paddy's day.

Drew is at church all day today working and since there is no Sunday school (tomorrow is a holiday - Victoria Day) we opted to stay home. We went to the park to ride bikes. Mazie has finally learned to ride a 2 wheeler - albeit a bit shaky. I had a blast watching her run after her brother while acting like a cat and thinking she could actually chase him on his bike. All the while pulling up her pants becuase they are 2 sizes too big but she thinks she fashionable. She looked like the biggest goof but what can you do? Then Leo busted his balls when he tried to slide down the pole. He was in a lot of pain and we headed home. After putting Mazie in time out because she screamed at me when I insisted her socks were wet (remenber the clubhouse for the dog upstairs and the water dish?), we walked to the mall for some McDonald's. I was afraid Mazie wouldnt' make it because she was obviously tired. However we had a good time. On the way we were discussing retirement and Leo said it is so lucky that grandma and grandpa are retired so they can do fun things all day like watch tv. Sigh. Then he said I should become a grandma so I could do that too. I informed him that would involve that he have a baby and under his breath he said something like, "darn it, I'm not havin' a baby." Too funny. When we got home we did an hour of quiet time. I am quite impressed with myself. Leo read books for an hour in his room and I had a nap. Thankfully Mazie is still sleeping.

Tomorrow we have friends coming over for a bbq. Hopefully the weather will be much warmer than today. The wind is freezing!