Saturday, December 18, 2004

The Gang's All Here

Time for the first nightly report. Yes, all the Hoyt siblings are home. We only had to wait till about 6 p.m. for Ardith to show up.

Today we went shopping, because Ethan's birthday was today and to be celebrated tomorrow, and he requested pizza. So we got out to the van and had to move the four mousetraps baited with peanut butter. I'm not sure mice are still living in there. . . the one I saw was the little guy that ran underneath the accelerator and Ardith's foot, when we went up to visit Daddy and Mommy over Thanksgiving.

Ethan wanted pizza for his birthday, and I planned to make spaghetti pie for Ardith's first supper home. Unfortunately, the oven wasn't working. I found this out when the second batch of cookies started smoking after about 4 minutes. Fortunately, Jason enjoys getting his daily dose of carbon from burnt cookies. So much for a baked supper. . . we just had spaghetti with cheese instead, and applesauce and beans. To round out this lovely Italian theme meal, I gave them all a Ghirardelli's Dark Chocolate (my college friends have figured out what to get me for Christmas). We ate supper out in the living room while watching Ethan's birthday movie, Robin Hood - the Disney animal version. During the exciting first climax scene of the post-shooting match ruckus, most of the kids were yelling in loud hoots at the ridiculous escapades, underscored by Trevor's steady drone of "ooww.... ooouwwiieeeee....", probably in sympathy for the rhinos that Lady Cluck was tackling.

I tried mopping the kitchen floor today. My conclusion: Swiffer mops aren't magical. Except in the commercials where dirt doesn't get slowly ground into the tile because the ever-vigilant mother whips out her handy Swiffer every afternoon (and apparently doesn't have to put ten chairs on the table first). It does look better, but I think hands + soap + hot water will be necessary for a deep clean.

That's all, folks. Two little girls are reading up in their double bed, waiting for me to pray with them. Everyone sleep well and think warm thoughts, especially if you're in slightly underheated bedrooms.

3 comments:

Ma Hoyt said...

You're right, Sharon, the Swiffer is passable, but nothing works like hands and knees and soap and water.

Too bad the oven konked with your first dinner responsibilities. Might have had something to do with the water that was thrown on it before, to quench the flames......

ANYWAY, half of life is scrambling in a pinch, as you well know. Votre chère maman :-)

Sharon said...

Oh yes, I know. I think it'll be a delightful challenge to cook without an oven.

Thainamu said...

Sharon,
I'm sorry you need to stay home from school for a semester, but it sounds like your previous hard work puts you in a good position to do so. And I know the rest of your family really appreciates it. I hope you all have a good Christmas in spite of the fact that your mom and dad won't be there. We thank God for giving your dad a new heart and a new chance to see you all grow up.
Merry Christmas!
Linda