A Long Week

That is my excuse for not posting for a very long time.  Some important points to note:

• The kids tested for and passed their latest Taekwondo test.  IJ is now a Danbo (the last belt before black belt)  and Shane is a brown belt.  That was two round trips to our hometown, one of which saw me sitting in the dealership waiting for a new set of brakes with four kids.
  
• The cats are living outside full time.  Finally.  Cat peace.  Now comes the hard part of cleaning up what they left behind in their "cat room."
• We now have a baby gate and can lock the kids, specifically F, downstairs and out of trouble.
• We took the kids to see Santa Claus at the mall in our Hometown, where S had the quote of the year:

"Mom, you are the opposite of Santa Claus.  You never want us to have new toys and you are always trying to throw them away."

That is what my week has been like.