We bought our camera when Joseph was a baby and it was pretty fancy then.  Now it simply devours batteries.  2 brand new batters MAY get you 1 picture.  Suffice to say, we haven't taken too many pictures lately.  (I spoke with a guy in Best Buy yesterday about new cameras.  He was very nice and when learning that I was looking for something to replace my 7 megapixel camera with a 256MB SD card, he very politely said something to the effect of, "Whatever you get will be way better than that."  And also that our SD card is probably not compatible with the newer cameras.  It seems much has changed in 8 years.)

Charlie likes to sing.  Lately he's been singing as follows:  "Do you wanna build a snowman?  Do you wanna play outside?  I never see you anymore.  Because I am poor.  But I am only 5!"  I like it.

Mom fails from last week:
1.  Realized Joseph's towel was still neatly folded on Mon morning--exactly as I'd put it there from the laundry a week before.  So, that meant he hadn't bathed in over a week.  (They NEVER use anyone else's towel--except maybe to stand on.  Cooties, you know.)
2. (A) Got to church last Sunday and realized Elisabeth had no shoes. (B) Her socks had a hole in them large enough for her to poke out her big toe. (C) And her hair was still in braids from Friday.  Yes, Friday.  And for a bonus, she announced (rather loudly) that she'd had Peanut M&M's for breakfast.
3.  At Joseph's Open House on Thurs, I read his "Where I'm From" poem, which talks about how things around us shape us and make us who we are.  The line where the kids were to write about what they often hear.... Other kids had "Share and be kind"  "We are all in this together" "Work hard and try hard"  Lovely, uplifting, empowering.  Joseph's line, "Shut up and are you lost?"  Ouch.

Scouts hurts my head.  Too many ranks.  Too many badges.  Too many various options and assignments.  And the "Turkey Cheer"--are you serious?

We have a chipmunk.  He likes the cover for our propane tank. We lifted the cover to check the gas level and found the whole thing filled with sand.  We removed the sand, plugged the plunge hole and bought a cover for the tank lid.  More sand a few days later.  I bought super stinky dryer sheets (you should have seen us testing them in the grocery store!) and filled hole with them, lined the inside of the tank area, and layered them under the blocks around it.  (I bet the little bugger is using them for blankets right now!)  This weekend we covered the area, inside and out, with castor oil repellent.  He's still hanging out.

I blame the loss of our neighborhood cat.  I miss her.  Maybe we need a new one.  I'm sure we aren't the only ones with chipmunk problems.  It would be a community service.  :)

We've changed our phone service.  Saves $45/mo.  I guess that's worth the pain of notifying everyone of our new phone number.  Nathan did the happy dance last night when he hung up with the phone company after cancelling the service.  Email me for the new number.  :)

Lil'Nathan bought himself a phone in August.  No service, but it works as a tablet and he can call with Magic Jack if he's in WiFi.  He used his phone camera to take some pictures for us yesterday.  I wanted a shot of all the kids together, and all smiling.  (It could happen.)  I shamelessly promised each of them a Klondike bar if they cooperated.  Lookie this:

And, coming soon to a Christmas Card near you...