Gonads are NOT a type of socks.... A McDonell Moment

As any Non-McDonell can tell you, dinner at our house feels like a NC-17 variety show most of the time. Here is just one sample of a conversation: (I will completely understand if you never accept a dinner invite...)

Riley: I am cheif of the gonads!  

          

Mom: (choking on the dinner...)

Riley: What? They are like stockings right? 

Mom: Um. No Riley. They are testicles. 

Riley: Oh! Then I am DEFINITELY the chief! 

Jensen: I'm the princess then! 

Mom: Oh dear god! We are so wrong!!!!!

So if you need dinner conversation tips... don't call us. 

Mom is ALWAYS right! Boredom is good for the soul!

It took a while but inevitably the dreaded words all parents hate to hear, "I'm bored", will spew from the lucky youngsters who have the LUXURY to be bored. Perhaps that is why we as adults hate to hear it so much? I would LOVE to be bored! But I don't have enough leisure time to actually be bored so perhaps I resent this? Yes. Definitely.

It happened very recently at the McDonell circus as there is also a "screen time" moratorium from 10:00am-4:00pm which is horrifically UNFAIR and borderline abusive according to my children.

Anyway, I digress. My response to the curly-headed child who will remain nameless was, "Great!"

"You want me to be bored mom?" (please insert whiny voice when reading)

"Yes! Once you are REALLY bored, you will find something amazing to do. If not, please feel free to go be bored away from me." (Yes, this is what I said VERBATIM. I am a great role model!)

Fast forward to Ta! Da! The Carnival! Yes it is a potential mess that won't be cleaned up to my standards but it took a LONG time to create and they made some cash! ($.50 as of this posting). It's a win-win!

Call for tickets! 10 for a mere .$25!

Featuring: The Shooting Gallery

 An actual ticket booth with little shredded paper "tickets"

 Skee-Ball-Like-A-Pirate

 Ring toss and a bouncy ball toss

And now they want to go to Costco because.... they are bored again. Sigh. 

The (apparent) hardship of owning rental properties...

I'm not the only one in the family with some sarcastic bite. I found this on the kitchen counter. Toby sent it off to our insurance company. They are very concerned that our current umbrella policy isn't adequate for our additional property. If anyone can help us locate this second property we own, let us know! We are super excited to see it!

Another McDarwin Award moment

Of course this was caught on video by Bailey, who only saw that it was funny that his youngest brother had been taped in a box and never cared that Jensen might get hurt. Riley (who is inexplicably wearing bubble wrap pants) was oh so caring to want to add breathing holes, until it was obvious he would also be ventilating Jensen in the process! And where is Toby while all this is happening and I'm yelling and slapping at the box containing my youngest child? Chuckling in the corner and not a at all concerned. It's like a live showing of MTV's Jackass. Thank goodness Riley couldn't actually get him over to the stairs! I am surprised Bailey didn't offer to help at that point. The family take away from this: "Mom does not let us have fun". Fine. Next time I will bring the machetes and the poison darts. Now THAT is fun! Just another night in the land of Team Testosterone.