We're Free, Free at Last!!!!

This is the way we feel!!  Free!!!  This was our first "free" week from the bike shop.  It was, in a word, G L O R I O U S!!  We raked leaves, I cooked dinner, we played card games, we went for walks, I scrubbed my bathroom AND my bedroom.  My baseboards haven't looked so good for, well, a long time.

Tuesday night was Ethan's Christmas concert - and let me tell you - he did fabulous.

Saturday we walked in the park waiting for the play to start.  (Saturday - can't believe it! First free Saturday in FIVE years)

Ethan loves the theatre - and he is becoming something of a theatre critic.

The Velveteen Rabbit was put on by Arkansas Children's Theatre.  It was pretty good - the best part were the live rabbits the last scene.  That excited the audience full of 5,6, and 7 year olds!

After the play we went to the Big Orange, which is supposed to be gluten friendly, but....NOT!  Yes, they have GF hamburger buns but that is it.  We won't be back.  We could have grilled our own burgers AND included french fries for a fourth of what we spent there.  Can you tell I was extremely disappointed??

What am I doing now that my class is over and I don't have to work late each night????  Finally getting to some of the reading that is piling up by my bed.  I even cleaned off the chaise lounger and won't the dog back on, just so I have a comfy place to read.

So.....next up is a trip out West to see ALL of our kids and grandkids for Christmas!!

"Copy that"

Oh, Ethan.  He keeps me laughing.  And crying.  And pulling my hair out.  As I type he is pulling everything he owns out of his bedroom to decorate the living room - Christmas style.  He is singing Bill Nye-style about his digestive system, and is loving to explain to me where his mashed potatoes are going after they enter his mouth.

 Maybe it is all this talk of what he can and can't eat.  However, we did find some gluten-free pizza at Brick Oven - yippee.  It is cost prohibitive, so we won't eat there a lot, but it was a nice treat. And yes, he did eat the entire 10" pizza.  If there is one thing the McGraths do well, it is put away the food.

On another note - Ethan has a new phrase.  He still says "Trust me" and "That's more like it!" but thanks to his favorite show,

(I know, I am a bad mother, but I blame it on his brothers!) he has developed another phrase he loves.

"Copy that"

"Ethan, it is time to clean your room."

"Copy that"

"Ethan, you need to get ready for school!"

"Copy that"

"Ethan, it is time to eat (or shower, or brush your teeth, or leave for school...)"

"Copy that"


Another phrase he uses all the time now as well, even though it is not on his favorite show, is:

"Okay, pops"

Obviously he only uses it when he is talking to his dad, but he uses it all the time.  It really cracks me up.  He doesn't say very many things clearly, but when he gets attached to a phrase it comes through clear as a bell.

"Ethan, put your clothes away."

"Okay, pops."

"Ethan, feed the dog (or cat, or chickens)."

"Okay, pops."

You would think this would make him a very compliant and obedient child, but remember - he is a McGrath - and that just isn't the way it is.  He was upset about something today after church and stormed off to Sunday School.  I had to chase him down and tell him to pull himself together or he was in real trouble.  LOL.   He wrote me a note later telling me he was "happy now".

"Copy that!"

Thank You....

For Brick Oven gluten free pizza. Life is somewhat normal (yummy) tonight!!