"Copper, Television, and {Improbable} Signs of the End Times..."

This has been another week of mostly the same stuff for the Hull family...with the exception of a few very exciting things!

The first of which is that we added a new furry family member to our brood!  He is an eight month old basset hound and we re-named him Copper.  

Isn't he absolutely adorable?  He has the best personality and is a very snuggly little guy.  He has fit in beautifully with us and we are so excited to have him!  

Another exciting thing was that Jeff and I actually got to go out Saturday night!  We picked up our friends and went to see the movie Thor!  Got off to a bit of a rocky start when we accidentally backed into someone (who was parked mostly in the middle of the road...but oh, well...) but what's the point in dwelling... It was an accident.  Nobody was injured.  We have good insurance.  It's already taken care of.  

The movie was pretty good.  Getting out and getting to spend some time with grown-ups was even better!  It's really nice to have friends who have similar interests and who are very loving and kind and terrific people that you enjoy spending time with!  In all fairness, I don't get to spend time with adults very much....I might have talked their ears off.  I spend so much time dealing with small people who always want something from me...it's a little difficult to transition sometimes.  Thank God that I didn't speak about myself in the third person.  I would have been mortified.  

I have been reading books like crazy.  Books that I bought for my birthday... books on my NOOKcolor...I need to get my priorities straight as I have now not crafted for like two weeks.  *gasp*  I know I just caused several people who know me to pass out with that sentence.  Me...not crafting....?!?!  It is sure to be a sign of the end times.....Honestly, I have just been really busy.  And if I only have 20 minutes or so, I won't pick something up because then I won't put it down and get done what needs to get done.  I promise after this week is done, I am not so crazy busy and I will post some pictures of the things that I have been working on.

We have also been spending as much time as we can outside!  It's been a bit difficult lately, and I would like to complain about the rain, but it's making our flowers bloom so beautifully!

The kids and I only have three weeks of homeschool left after this week.  Maybe another week to finish up some projects, but we are nearing the end.  Hayden has earned himself some summer school this year with Math because he is really slacking off.  He hasn't dropped below a B grade...he is still doing well.  But he is definitely not applying himself or doing his best.  Cebelle will be practicing her reading all summer.  She is reading some pretty big words now!  I'm very proud of her!  I am very proud of both of them for working so hard this year and accomplishing all that they have!  But, as their teacher, I am also very definitely looking forward to some downtime!  

I had to call and make eye doctor appointments for both of the kids.  There has been a lot of squinting going on here.  I am guessing that Hayden needs a better prescription for his glasses and I will be very surprised if Cebelle doesn't end up with glasses.  I had hoped that they would be spared that, but I guess they didn't have very good odds considering that everyone in the family has glasses!

Jeff and I have been using the evenings after the kids are in bed to try and catch up on our shows.  We have this new policy where we record almost an entire season of a show and then wait to see if the show is renewed before we watch it and get involved.  I know...its awful...but I would rather not waste my time watching something if it's only going to last for a few episodes and never a finished story.  I find that unbelievably obnoxious!  I can't tell you how many times we would watch a show and love it and then the show would get cancelled.  I hate that.  And it's a waste of time to watch something that goes nowhere.  So there really aren't many things that we watch on TV now.  (One of the exceptions is a show on ABC called "Better With You".  It stars one of Jeff's former students, Jake Lacy, who we have always loved and adored.  I hope his show stays on the air because Jake deserves to be really successful!)  And we are watching Stargate: SG1 from the beginning on Netflix.  

Jeff's last play will be opening on the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend.  I love what he does and love that he is able to offer so many kids the awesome opportunity to do work in theatre....but I am definitely looking forward to having him home with us for a couple of months!

Well, that's about all the excitement that has been happening here!  Not actually exciting by nearly any standards...Just a normal, everyday life filled with lots of ups and downs.  But by the grace of God, the downs never last long and they teach me valuable lessons.  I wish the same for you!  God bless!

March 4-6 or "The weekend we got everything done....mostly"

We had a very good weekend!  Jeff came home Friday afternoon and I was able to get a bunch of my cross-stitching worked on while he and the kids played games.  I didn't really feel very much like making so we had some Mickey Mouse Chicken Nuggets and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.  Not my finest nutritional moment-but I was exhausted and pretty much done for the week.  I was so looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday-and of course, Hayden got up at 7:15.  I find it perpetually annoying that he sleeps AFTER 8 on the days that I get up at 5:30 and on the days I can sleep until 9 or whenever I want- he is up with the sun.  It's just one of nature's cruel jokes, I guess.  Jeff and I tell him that we can't wait until he is a teenager and wants to sleep because then we are going to roll him out of bed every morning at 5:30.
Saturday we just hung around the house.  I did a bunch of stitching and knitting, the kids got to play their video games, Jeff played with his phone...we all watched "The Wizard of Oz" together because the kids have never seen it.  It was really funny because they kept asking what was the matter with the color for the first thirty minutes of the movie.  Then when Dorothy arrived in Oz, Hayden said, "Oh, there it is!  It finally fixed!"  Which of course, we all found pretty funny.  Mom decided to make some cinnamon rolls that evening so I made some orange cream cheese frosting to go on them.  Then I scrambled some eggs and cooked some bacon and that's what we had for dinner on Saturday.
Jeff and the kids and I got up and went to church Sunday morning.  I'm always excited for our Sunday services.  Even though the weather was really rainy and nasty.   Jeff and I are starting a marriage class through our church and I'm really looking forward to that.  It's always nice to spend time with people who help lift you up.   After church, we had to make a run to Rutland because Jeff needed some last minute stuff for his one acts this weekend.  We picked some stuff up at Wal-Mart.  I got a new workout dvd.  It was only $6 and it has three 10 minute workouts for abs and cardio.  I did one of them after we got home and it was really awesome!  We also stopped off at Home Depot and ate lunch at Burger King and filled up the van with gas.  All the while, the weather was deteriorating rapidly.  The loads of rain started turning into a nasty mix of sleet and freezing rain and snow.  The temperature dropped, so the water that was on the roads started to freeze.  By the time we got home, there was about an inch of snow and it has kept going all night.  We are supposed to have two feet when its all said and done.  It's pretty much a mess.
However, because we were home and tucked safely away we were able to get SO much accomplished!  The kids cleaned their rooms, we cleaned the whole rest of the house and vacuumed all the rooms, the dogs got dry baths and their teeth brushed, and all the laundry got washed.  We even had time to watch a movie at the end of the night.  We had "Case 39".  It was creepy, but pretty good.  Or, I guess, not as awful as I expected it to be!  So, despite the nasty weather, we had a really great weekend!  I'm hoping that it moves over into the week because Jeff has his shows this weekend, so there are still many things to get done!

March 3 or "Playdate mania"

Cebelle woke up at 7:20 this morning.  She was so excited about her playdate this afternoon that she had to get up and tell me how excited she was.  She got in bed with me and snuggled up and was almost back to sleep....when Hayden came in at 7:35.  Hayden is anything but quiet in the mornings.  He has this thing where he shouts.  Constantly.  Even if you are sitting right next to him.  Or even if your ear is right by his mouth.  I have had his hearing checked multiple times, but there is nothing wrong with him.  He only has one volume:  obnoxiously loud.  So of course Cebelle did not go back to sleep.  It was mostly impossible, considering that Hayden was shouting at her about the book that he is reading ("Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief") and that she can't read and then he proceeded to tell her about everything he had read thus far.  Cebelle was not thrilled.  She is very much like Jeff and she is NOT a morning person.  She said, "Hayden!  I don't care!  Stop shouting and trying to be smart and leave me alone!"  Which then caused a fight because Hayden felt the need to explain that he wasn't TRYING to be smart because he was IN FACT, smarter than most adults and he was DEFINITELY smarter than Cebelle because mommy said yesterday that age brings wisdom and he was almost two years older than Cebelle.  So, I diffused the fight and got into the shower, hoping to brighten my day a bit.  Turns out I had to shower with my eyes open while staring at the light/vent fan in the shower because a wasp was in there and trying to get out.  In case you have never tried it, showering while keeping eyes open and tilted upward is not an easy task.  You are, in fact, more prone to get shampoo, conditioner, and face wash in your eyeballs while showering this way.  Even when your head is tilted upwards.  I don't know how it's possible, I only know that it is.
So we had our breakfast and did our school work.  Cebelle had a phonics assessment and a math assessment, both which she scored perfect on.  Hayden had a Language Arts test, which he scored 87% on and a Penmanship test, which he scored a B+.  That's the first time he has gotten above a C on Penmanship and I'm very proud of him.
After lunch, I was able to work on my cross-stitch.  I actually finished 3 sections of it and started the next section up.  I was really excited.  Cebelle played "Eye of the Tiger" very loudly on the stereo and danced and sang.  My favorite part is when she sings the lyric "rising up to the challenge of our rival" because she says, "raisin up to the chillin of our rye-ho"  I have no idea what that even means, but I find it hysterical.
It was finally time at 2:30 to pick up Cebelle's friend from school.  The kids who are here during the week are all younger than Cebelle, except for the boy who is Hayden's age.  So, Cebelle ends up playing either tiny girl stuff or big boy stuff if she wants to play with someone.  She doesn't really have someone her age to play Barbie or Littlest Pet Shops or Zoobles with very often.  Of course, she was unbelievably excited to have her friend come over. They have been doing girly-girl stuff all afternoon.  And Hayden has been...complaining.  I tried to explain to him that Cebelle doesn't really like to play all that other stuff like LEGOS and Bakugan, she only does it so she has someone to play with.  He just doesn't really get it.  So I had him do homework and his reading for his book report while the girls played.
We are getting ready to have some pizza for dinner and then we are running our friend home.  Hopefully, I can get my kids in bed a bit early because they got up so early.  Jeff has been texting me all day that he isn't feeling very well, which is very unfortunate because he has parent/teacher conferences tonight until 8.  I hope that he isn't coming down with something.
Once I get the kids down, I will either watch some Netflix until Jeff gets home (probably "Secret Life") or I will read my book ("The Queen of Attolia").  I haven't really decided.  Not sure what I'm in the mood for.  Whatever it is, I will most likely be curled up on the couch with the dogs at my feet and enjoying the life that I have.  Despite the daily ups and downs, not a moment goes by that I am not thankful.

March 2 or "The day of the squalling...kids and snow!"

Today was one of my 5:30am wake up days.  I really don't mind getting up that early.  It's another chance to enjoy blissful quiet and a great time for reading.  I actually spent most of the morning watching Disney Junior, as that is what my daycare girl loves to watch.  She sings the theme songs from all the shows, which I find totally hysterical.  She cracks me up, especially when Special Agent Oso comes on and she sings, "He's Oh So Special!"
Hayden woke up at about 8, after a really restless night.  Jeff and I gave him Claritin last night because I think his sinuses have been bothering him.  Hayden isn't really terrific at pinpointing a problem when he doesn't feel well, so most of the time it's a guessing game.  But he was up three times last night after we put him to bed, so he didn't get a good night's sleep.  Cebelle finally got out of bed at about 9:15.  I really think she is in the middle of a growth spurt, so sleep is exactly what she needs!
Everybody had breakfast and we started schoolwork.  It's actually the first day this week that I haven't had to fight or argue with anyone about school.  And...it was the only thing that I didn't have to fight or argue with my children about today.
Lately, my children have been obsessed with a book that Hayden got two years ago for his birthday that shows you how to make all kinds of paper airplanes.  So, my house is filled with paper scraps, staples, tape, scissors, and rubber bands.  This book also teaches how to make slingshots out of paper and rubber bands.  So for the last three days, my kids have been folding, cutting, stapling, taping, flying, flinging, and running all over the house.  Normally, this would not bother me.  But the airplanes are getting bigger and more dangerous (we have already slammed several into the television and computer and glass cabinets in the kitchen and dining room), the supplies are a total mess everywhere (I stepped on a staple, caught a dog chewing on a rubber band, found a wad of paper in my bra because they had been aiming the slingshots at me, and ran out of tape when I needed it in school because it was used for the 300 various airplanes that are lying around my house), and the kids are fighting and whining constantly.  Over paper airplanes.  In addition, I have repeated the phrase, "No running in the house!" about five million times because they are barreling through the house at ninety to nothing with the stupid airplanes, thinking that it will make the airplanes go farther and fly faster.  We have had several near mishaps involving airplanes and cooking food in hot pans.  Needless to say, I am nearing the end of my patience with this latest fixation.  I threatened to throw all the airplanes away if Hayden and Cebelle didn't start listening better and they bawled and squalled and threw fits.  And now...Hayden is making some MORE airplanes.
The weather today wasn't very helpful, either.  We went from having a beautiful, sunny day to experiencing snow squalls on and off.  So it's not like I could bundle them up and send them outside to run it off.....though I was seriously considering it at one point, squalls or not.
I was able to finish a book today.  "The Thief" by Megan Whalen Turner.  Its the first in a series.  I started the second this afternoon while I was showering the kids.  It's called, "The Queen of Attolia".  I am really enjoying her writing.  I borrowed the ebooks from the library and I am waiting for the third one to be available.  Barnes & Noble has been offering some great NOOKbook deals. I got a couple of books I had been wanting to read for 99 cents.  They feature different authors every once in a while and make their books a little cheaper so people will read them.  This is one thing I love about my NOOKcolor.  I can always find something interesting to read!
I was also able to get some more of my cross-stitching finished today.  I have learned that I can only work on it during the daytime.  There is a lot of natural sunlight in our living room during the day, but we don't have a ton of lights in here for evening.  If I try to stitch all those tiny squares or read the pattern at night, it makes my eyes cross!  So, I work on it during the day and I work on knitting or crocheting in the evening while I am watching television with Jeff.
I put a pork roast in the over for dinner.  We are having that and some mashed sweet potatoes and salad. I didn't feel like making too much of an effort and mom and dad and I had big salads, baked potatoes, and garlic bread for lunch so I really am not very hungry still.  I thawed out some zucchini bread that I baked this summer with zucchini from our garden and had a slice of that with my coffee this afternoon.  I will probably have some with a cup of tea before bedtime tonight and I will very likely eat some for breakfast in the morning.  I went through several different recipes of it (our zucchini plants went wild this year!) and this one is definitely my favorite.  It's moist and delicious, and not overly sweet.
I am once again looking forward to putting my kids to bed.  I assume that all parents get to this point in the day.  I know that once my kids hit about 6pm-they are pretty much done for the day.  The listening doesn't work, they are crabby, they are just irritated by everyone and everything.  I have come to realize that it's probably genetic.  Jeff and I hit about 8pm and we are pretty much useless for the rest of the evening.  Sometimes I feel awful for being so glad that my kids are in bed and I can enjoy the peace and quiet with Jeff.  But on the other hand, it's probably not good trying to interact with them when they are done for the day and my patience is at its limit.  So I will put them to bed tonight and I will be glad that I made it through one more day without clotheslining someone for running in the house, or throwing someone outside in the middle of a snow squall, or burning that damn paper airplane book and all the stupid crap that goes along with it.  And I will go to bed tonight and get up tomorrow, ready to face all of  it again with a little more patience and able to appreciate my children's joy in something so simple before it starts to drive me crazy again.  After all, snow squalls don't last forever.  And paper airplanes will eventually be recycled.  And a child's life never stays simple for very long because they grow so awfully fast.

February 16

So, I'm feeling much better today.  Much more calm and relaxed.  Daycare kids got here at 6:30 this morning.  I was able to start and finish a book that I borrowed from the library on my NOOKcolor  (I honestly cannot explain to you HOW excited I am about this newfound option)  It was called "Stange Angels" by Lili St. Crow.  It was a really good story.  Meant primarily for young adult readers, but as I have said before.....I enjoy reading those type of books because the writers have to be better to hold the readers attention!  I finished it and started another book called "Wildwood Dancing" by Juliet Marillier.  I'm on the fourth chapter and I'm really enjoying it as well.
We had a mostly laid back day today.  Hayden and Cebelle did their school work (and after a long talk with Hayden this morning...)  They both did a remarkable job.  I have decided that it's my goal to get Hayden to do his absolute best everyday.  The approach I am taking to this is not discipline of any kind or loss of privileges if his work isn't perfect.  The approach is about me reminding him how special he is and how right now he has the potential to be anything and everything he wants to be.  But if he starts thinking and acting like a loser (slacking off, not caring about his work, not being proud of how smart he is, complaining that he has to learn) that he will probably end up that way.  The flip side is if he starts thinking like the winner he is (doing his best everyday, being excited to learn new things, thinking that he is awesome for being so smart, taking pride in how well he can do work that is way above most kids his age) then he will always be a winner.  Clearly, my other tactics weren't working very well, so I thought it was a good idea to switch it up.  I started pressing those ideas on Cebelle today, too!  I want my kids to believe in their potential and to know how terrific they are.  This world knocks us down often enough-they don't need me to join in and beat them down.  It's my job to build them up.  So that's what I'm going to do.
Right now Hayden and Cebelle are watching Veggie Tales.  I love these shows.  First of all, they are completely hysterical.    Secondly, they are really terrific at explaining how important it is to be a good person so that kids get the message.  And third, the musical numbers are really great!
I am sitting here at the computer with the dogs underfoot and texting three people at the same time.  What can I say, I'm a multitasker.....
I will put the kids to bed when their movie is over and watch a couple of episodes of "The Secret Life of the American Teenager"  It's my newest guilty pleasure.  Jeff is at opening night of his show.  Mom and Dad should be home just about anytime now.  When Jeff gets home we plan to eat some cheesy breadsticks and watch "Glee".  Since I have been up since 5:40 am, I have consumed a Diet Mtn. Dew in order to prepare me for these extremely late evening plans.  Otherwise I will be dozing on the couch in about an hour.  
Today is our cousin Molly's birthday.  She turns 1 today!  She is such a beautiful little girl.  Since she and her family live in Missouri, we don't get to see them as often as we like!  But we are wishing her a very happy birthday and many more to come!  And we are so looking forward to spending some time with them in June!
Well, I think I'm going to go snuggle on the couch with my little monkeys.  The day is coming too soon when they will wipe away my kisses and be embarrassed by my hugs.  But right now they are my little snuggle bugs and they are freshly showered.  So I'm sneaking those kisses and hugs while I can.

February 14

Happy Valentines Day,  everyone!  We have had a pretty laid back day here at the Hull household.  We slept until a little past 8 this morning, which was really nice.  We brought the kids downstairs and gave them their Valentines.  Jeff and I got them cards and some candy.  Ninny and Papa bought them some new hooded sweatshirts and some more candy.  We did school, though Hayden had quite a bit of difficulty today.  He usually does on Mondays.  He is not a big fan of getting back into school and he was supposed to have this week off, but we are two weeks behind our schedule.  I didn't feel like doing school at all the week that my Aunt Skeeter passed away.  I was in so much turmoil and suffering from so much heartbreak that I just couldn't focus on teaching.  Then a few weeks ago Hayden and I both had strep throat which put the both of us out of commission for another week.  So instead of having a break, this week we are trying to get back on track.  We are still going to be finishing a week later than we planned, but that's no big deal. I won't get rid of any more breaks or anything like that.
Jeff has a show going up at the Paramount Theatre this week in the Brick Box.  It's a small venue that seats about 50 people.  He is directing a one act.  They are doing a series of them by Alan Ball ( the guy responsible for "Six Feet Under", "True Blood" & "American Beauty")  So even though he is here every day, he has to be gone in the afternoon and evening.  Mom and Dad left earlier to get their car serviced in Burlington and decided to go out to dinner, so it was just me and the kids this evening.  Our fancy Valentine's dinner was leftovers.  They had macaroni and cheese and I had some potatoes and some kielbasa.  Barnes and Noble also offered a free NOOKbook today even though it's not Friday.  "Pride and Prejudice: The Wonton Edition".  I guess they took the original and added in steamy love scenes...I suppose that it's appropriate for Valentine's Day.  And I'm just curious enough about it to probably read it at some point.  And it was free.  I rarely turn down anything that's free.....
So now, Hayden is finishing up his homework.  And Cebelle is playing with the dogs.  She keeps running through here and giving me kisses and telling me that she loves me so much.  I suspect that's because I gave her chocolate this morning and then let her eat candy most of the day.  I know that it's awful and I really don't do that kind of thing very often.  But most of the fun of being a kid is those days when you get away with things that are definitely not allowed in a normal day.
I put five seasons of "Secret Life of the American Teenager" in my Netflix instant queue.  Unfortunately, "Dawson's Creek" is only available on disc.... I figured Jeff isn't going to want to watch too much of that show, so I'm probably safe in enjoying it while he's off doing what he needs to do.
First I need to get around and get my kids ready for bed.  Which I suspect is going to be extremely difficult considering all the candy that I let the both of them consume today.  I  have a dentist trip tomorrow to get a couple of cavities fixed.  Luckily for me, my dentist is big on early detection, so we caught these tiny little blips before they even gave me any discomfort.  But they are on opposite sides of my mouth-so I am betting that my entire face will be numb when I return home tomorrow.  I'm sure that my children will find that hysterical.  But for tonight, I'm going to tuck my babies in and tell them on this day of love (just like I do every other day) how much I love them and how special they are and how blessed I feel to be their mom.  Then I'm going to curl up on the couch and wait for my Valentine to come home.  And I'm sure on this day of love (just like every other day) he will be glad to be home and talk with me and we will feel blessed to have found each other and to be spending our life together.  I hope that you are all snuggling up with your loved ones and counting your blessings, too!

Weekend!

We have had a really nice weekend.  Yesterday we didn't have to go anywhere so we spent most of the day just laying around and reading books and spending time together.  I'm proud to say that the television didn't even get turned on until last night after the kids were in bed.  It might surprise people to know that we really don't watch very much television.  Most days, unless I have daycare kids that really want to watch cartoons (and those are carefully picked and chosen), our television doesn't come on until after the kids go to bed. And then Jeff and I either watch a movie with mom and dad, or we catch up on a couple of shows on our dvr.   Last night we watched Inception.  I really liked it, though I was a little bit disappointed.  There was so much hype about this movie and its twists and turns and how people couldn't figure out what was going on that I guess I expected too much.  However, I did really enjoy it and it's nice to see a movie with orginality because that is so rare these days.  Everyone is taking old ideas and trying to make them new again, and I imagine that I am not the only one that finds this annoying.  Doesn't anyone have original ideas anymore?
Anyway, I got some new books for my NOOKcolor and I read one last night/today.  "Dead in the Family" is the latest installment of the Charlaine Harris written Sookie Stackhouse series.  I love this series.  Its original and funny and full of thought provoking ideas.  I have only seen the first season of "True Blood" and would like to watch the rest because I really love the characters.  Maybe I will get to that this summer.  The next book that I will be starting on my NOOKcolor is "Awakened"  which is the 8th book in the House of Night Series by P.C. and Kristen Cast.  I love reading series of books because I really like seeing characters develop.  I love vampire stories, too.  Ever since Ann Rice and her vampires and witches, I love reading about the supernatural.  I think if you are going to read and suspend disbelief and immerse yourself in a different world for a while, why not make it one where just about anything is possible and the characters are larger than life.  I also loved the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.  My sisters got me reading those.  Actually, there isn't very much that I won't read.  I love stories of just about any kind.  I just love reading.  I always have.  I still own books that I read and treasured as a child.  Most of them are worn from so much reading.  My copy of "Charlotte's Web" is barely held together and if you opened it, I think that most of the pages would fall out.  I hope my children will treasure their books as much as I have every one of mine.
We were eating dinner last night and the kids were talking about stuff that they learned, especially about monuments around the world.  We were quizzing them about famous landmarks and monuments and Jeff asked them what was in China.  Cebelle shouted very enthusiastically, "Food!"  I guess that since we are fans of Chinese food and she hasn't gotten to that part of the world in her history yet, that was the first thing that came to her mind.  It was pretty hysterical.  We finally got them to say the Great Wall of China after referencing Mulan.....
The kids are mostly just running around and enjoying being kids.  Jeff is out of school this week for break, so we are all happy about that.  It's unfortunate that he has to be gone every night this week because his show at the Paramount goes up on Wednesday.  But we are all happy to have him here during the day.
I finished knitting the two wristers that I was working on and I had enough yarn left over that I decided to make a matching cowl to go with them.  So that's what I'm working on now.  It's about a third of the way finished.  I'm sure I will be able to complete it in the next couple of days since we don't have much going on.  I've been looking at some new patterns and I ordered a couple of new books.  I always love to learn new techniques in knit and crochet.  And truthfully, I use patterns mostly like a recipe...as a kind of guideline.  I take something that I like and usually make something different out of it.  I just like to be inspired by other peoples' creativity.
I'm getting ready to put some dinner on the table.  Kielbasa and macaroni and cheese for dinner tonight.  It's pretty much the kids favorite.  I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes last night for my dad.  He's a big fan.  Then the kids are off to bed and I think that Jeff and I are going to watch "Going the Distance" with mom and dad.  It's the last Netflix movie we have here and since Jeff will be gone every evening this week, we need to watch it tonight.  I was watching an episode of Fringe a few nights ago and Joshua Jackson had this line that reminded me so much of his Dawson's Creek days that I was thinking maybe I should get all the seasons of that on our instant queue and watch it while he's away all week.  Should be good for some laughs at the very least!  Anyway-I will let you know how it goes!  Have a wonderfully adventurous week!