And now, a picture blog. Sara, knowing my power-hungry son all to well, bought Ethan this cardboard throne. Isn't it the bomb?! Snap! (love my inability to use lingo?) Ethan informed me and the rest of the neighborhood with his booming voice, that he is King Triton. Laina is the little mermaid. And Austin is Sebastian, the crab. They all seem content with their lots in life, so I let them be. You can't see, but Ethan made a trident out of tinker toys...the most versatile toy on the planet. (you can see part of it on the top right of the throne.)

Here is my sweet Laina. She was watching me ice my chipmunk cheek after the tooth extraction and when I put my ice down, she quietly picked it up and put it to her cheek. Empathetic or stealing my thunder? You choose.

After going mad with the constant complaints about dinner, I took matters into my own, crafty hands. We have now followed this new plan for over a month so I hope I'm not jinxing myself by posting it. I made magnets of fruits, meats, veggies, dairy, grains and a dessert marker. I used that modge podge, gouey, gluey stuff and painted over the top. Every Saturday everyone gets to pick one veggie, meat, fruit and dessert marker and put them on a day of the week. I fill in the rest. Then I shop for the items I need and we use those ingredients for dinner. Dessert can be anything from cookies to fruit (today it was grapefruit.) They don't get to choose what it is, just that we get something sweet. We've followed it pretty well and it has really cut down on the whining. It also has eliminated the 'what's for dinner' nagging. And my schedule-loving-boy is in heaven.
the mini board hides behind the big one and holds the extras we don't use. The big board goes over the fire-place. During dinner we quiz the kids on what belongs to what category.
And lastly, here is a picture Alaina drew on the white board. Doesn't it look like an old lady? I'm not sure if that is what she was trying for or if she was drawing me. Hmm. Let's go for old lady.