New Headquarters

Not so shabby!

Point Pleasant Photos

Photos from our friends who have a place in Point.

Sea Bright Beach Club

Some Sweetness

...to help with Sandy's bitterness !

Henry:)

Extra hands...

Would send out another , but he's on a complete absolutely no clothing strike..maybe potty training has back fired!

Sending in Relief

Going in to help cut up down tree next door

Outside of Headquarters

It's eerie out here. Cold. And Smells like camp.

Tree at the end of our road...

The Sun Comes Up!

Here at headquarters- we are lucky lucky. Besides a blanket of branches on the ground- we still have power and no further damage . Wind has come to stand still.

The wind slowed down enough that we moved camp to our room. Some still sleeping!

What's the word out there folks?

StationI-Rumson

Barnacle Bills in Rumson.  Also, sounds like the ocean is getting close to overrunning Pier Village. in Long Branch!

 

 

Headquarters-Update

Maybe I shouldn't have announced ourselves as headquarters, as it has been reported, Frankenstorm , has increased in strength and is headed to our front door. As we await the unknown, we bake. Also, as long as   impressive achievements in the potty training department continue, we will withhold any photos of Bare Bottom Boy for the present time. Big plans for lunch when our Daddy cook returns from the office.

 Banana Bread Preparation.

Now out of the over, and really yummy!

Oh Sandy! Sandy!

Dear Faithful Brittain Barn Readers and Welcome Any Newcomers,

We are back for what I am hoping doesn't turn into an annual occasion. As with our old enemy, Irene, the Brittain Barn will work as hurricane headquarters for our new enemy, Sandy.

I will also reiterate that I understand the potential of the severity of this storm , but with school already canceled for two days , it is best for my sanity to keep things light for now.

If you plan to follow our hurricane adventures , subscribe to the Brittain Barn on the right hand column. This will update you automatically of any new posts.

Stay dry,

The Keeper of the Barn.

Salon MMB

While sitting at the dining room table working on some projects:

P: Mom! Look, its M's hair.

Mom: Nah, it's probably from one of her dolls.

M: ( No words. Just eyes getting really big)

P: No... it's her's alright. There's more! ( Climbs under the dining room table. When he returns to the surface he has a fist full of those same blond curls that were lost to Lighting McQueen last winter.)

Mom: Is this your hair!? ( Now remembering I mentioned to her yesterday, while having the art bin out... to get the scissors away from her hair!)

M: ( Again, no words. Just eyes overflowing with tears of pure guilt.)

Mom:  MMB!!

M: ( Her silence is broken through the huffs and puffs on the brink of an emotional explosion.)
                     But Mommy I can grow more hair!

*She doesn't look half bad with bangs. Of course, this is after a clean up with my scissors!

Getting to the point

After about 2 minutes of arriving to our house for a playdate for the first time, P's little friend, a little girl, asked " So , are you going to show me to your room?"

Personal Request

A couple months ago, M expressed her request for, "5 brothers and one remote boy."
In other words, Q isn't following his big sister's orders as much anymore. So maybe, just maybe, if there was a sibling controlled by a remote, life could be really good as a girl who is surrounded by brothers.

The Name Game

PWB: When I have a boy, I am going to name him Nas. Like after Nascar. Then I am going to make his middle name our last name, to remember our family. ( PWB's middle name is my maiden name)

Mom-Well, your son would probably have the same last name as you.

PWB-Why, did Daddy get to pick my last name?

Mom- No, its just that most of the time, you use the man's last name.

PWB- Well, aren't boys supposed to be nice to girls? Did Daddy say thank you?!

Mom's "Homemade" Recipe

For Mother's Day, Pearce brought home his classroom cookbook. Each child picked their favorite "mom" recipe and wrote down the ingredients and instructions. One of the sweet girls in his class wrote the following:

Mom's Recipe for Cookis: 
Ingredients: Dowe from the stor
1. Get the cookis out of the bag
2. Put the cookis on the pan
3. Put tum in the ofin
4. Then its rety!
5. Then et it!

* I did receive permission before posting this "homemade " recipe:)
Thankfully, Pearce's recipe for "Sim Rls"(Cinnamon rolls) skipped over the "take out of the package," step! 

Mother's Day Continues

After a thoughtful Mother's Day, I picked P up from school the next day.

While walking to the car, we had to go through a field of clovers, that M was unhappy about.

P said, "It's just a patch of flowers for all the moms."

Thanks Sweetheart:) 

Sweet Tooth

Mom-Are you ready to go? ( From the ice cream shop)

Sister- No, I want to finish my ice cream.

Brother- If you really want to finish your ice cream, then let me have some.

Who's the boss?

Not the pick up line I was thinking of...

5 year old who is ALL boy-

" There is a girl over there I would like to meet.
  Do you think she likes ninjas?
  I'll have to ask her. "

heckin'

heckin'-

An Interjection

(used as an expression of curiosity, confusion, surprise,  thrill, dislike, etc. ) 

(euphemism for heck.)

Ex: What the heckin?

Most effective when combined with ," ...in the world." 

Ex:

  

"Why the heckin' in the world is Quinn standing on the picnic table ?!" 

Modern Day Sacagawea

Mom- "How did you get those holes in your tights?"
Daughter- "I was fighting a tiger."

Motivation

P's reason for wanting to start his summer job at the family company:

" Because when Papa Pete and Daddy dies, who is going to the be the boss?"

180 Days of School

In every kindergarten class across America they celebrate the 100th day of school. 100 out of the required 180. My kindergartener had a wonderful week in school. He had the 100th day head banner, 100th day party etc etc etc...

But the days that followed 100th day, he seemed almost depressed.  To the point that he said he didn't want to go to school. Are you sick? No. Is there a bully? No.

Two mornings post 100th day, he finally confessed what was bothering him. Now that they got to the 100th day of school and were able to count from 1-100, they were going to have to start counting backwards from 80-1,...counting backwards!!

Best Behavior

Before visiting pretty much any public place, I remind the children before we get out of the car, that I expect best behavior. Today we were heading into the doctor's office. So I asked them to list some actions that are excepted as best behavior. Pearce, a studious as can be, rambled of the obvious best behavior that would be asked of most families. But to customize this to our barn occupants, he finished with, "And no tackling and no pulling the fire alarm." 

That's a good question.

Pearce is currently into his future life with a wife, a family and a dog. He asked  if anyone ever had 10 kids. I said, "Sure." He replied, " They must have a lot of fun." Then just when I thought he was ready to move onto another topic , he asked, "But what if they were all girls?!"

So Proud of You Great Grandma!

During a lovely visit with the children's Great Grandma (GGB), I was passing them the subliminal messages that, we treat our elders with respect. McCullough really seemed to pick up on this surprisingly quickly and with great enjoyment. She was getting GGB a drink and bringing it to her, getting her some lunch and bringing it to her, setting a blanket over her lap to keep the chill away etc...

So at the end of GGB's visit, she got up to say goodbye. As she walked towards McCullough for a hug, McCullough, with the joy of a proud mother of an infant, screeched , "You're walking!!!!"

Positive Association

After Pearce heard a gun shot in the distance ( during hunting season!) he took a long sigh, looked up to the sky and with a twinkle in his eyes, gently let out the words through his slight grin, " The sound of a gun reminds me of Grandpa."

Mom M.D.

My "Mom M.D." advice to any mother whose child is starting to verbalize their ailments. Here are a few per-translations that may prevent an ER visit:

* My Brain Hurts= A headache, not a brain tumor
* My Neck Hurts= A soar throat, not meningitis
* It Feels Like Someone put Wood in my Throat- A severe soar throat, not a need for an xray
* T-Rex Bit My Ear= An ear infection, not the return of the dinosaurs
* My Knee Hurts= Something probably does hurt.  But at the age of 2 or 3, most likely this is not their knee. They just want to use the word, but don't have the correct body part to go with it. So ask for a finger point in this case.
* I Need a New Stomach= A belly ache, not a need for a transplant
* It Hurts as Much as Getting Struck by a Tornado= A severe belly ache, not concern that your child is out in the middle night hanging with storm chasers. 
* Like an Alligator attacking= Again a severe belly ache, no need to change his name to Steve Irwin.

Birthday Manners

While celebrating Aunt MaryAnne's 23rd birthday, Q did his best to gobble down a candle as fast as he did the cake. Aunt MaryAnne kindly told Q, "No we don't eat the candles." Offering an appropriate alternative, M exclaimed, "We just lick them!" And of course, continued to demonstrate.

Cully Sweetheart

For the past 3 months, M has preferred to be addressed as Sweetie Pie
( "Because that's what my daddy calls me" she says.)
This was really cute, when she told Santa that was her name. But recently, when she told the dentist to call her Sweetie Pie, I feel she crossed a line.

Baby bump?

While chatting with her babysitter, McCullough asked her if she had a baby in her belly. Politely, her dear sitter said, "No I don't have a baby in my belly." McCullough furthered asked, "Is your baby in your back?"

When Pearce was bummed that basketball was over for the season, I told him that maybe he could go to basketball camp in the summer. Very concerned, he followed my suggestion, with, "Does that mean I'll have to sleep outside with the coyotes?!"  No that's only if you're Labron James trying to play basketball for Cleveland again.

Across Enemy Lines

  On a cool evening of February in the year 2012, the troops were settling into camp. Before signing off for the night, General Pearce made one last visit to the outhouse. Unfortunately, it was during this time of weakness, that Admiral McCullough made the historic move across enemy lines.
  Earlier that day, the General's soldiers had seized the airplane trinket and it was now under his possession. Despite this victory, the Admiral was not ready to fully accept defeat. So once the General was clear of the premises, she made her move in what we now call today, McCullough's Crossing. With no discretion, she ripped through the General's camp, leaving debris tossed throughout the property. After realizing the cache was not to be found she hastily sought refuge back in her camp.
  Because of the  General's experience, he was prepared for the amateurs' predictable plan of action. It was said that the trinket never left his person. So after returning to his shelter, he was not surprised to find it completely ransacked and knew exactly who was to blame. When Private Quinn was approached the following morning for any further eyewitness accounts, he had no comment.

A dose of your daily chuckle...and it wasn't my kid!

I can not claim the following incident...though I don't put it past my second born son.

If you have seen this in the past, it is good enough for an encore!

Where's your sister?! 

Click above for the link...

Lenten Sacrifices - Overheard

While sitting in church on the first Sunday of Lent, I overheard the following conversation:
Grandma- What do you love to do?
3 year old Grandson- Go to Elmo's place
Grandma- Do you think you give that up till Easter?
Grandson- Sure!
Older and Wiser Sister- No Grandma. That's Sesame Place. And we don't go there till summer anyway.
Grandma- Okay. What else do you love that you could give up?
Grandson- T-shirts. Ties.
Mom-( from under her breath) - He said earlier that he was going to give up church.

And he wasn't joking...

During our week and half quarantined indoors and in which Lysol could pretty much sum up our life during that time, I asked Pearce when he thought he would be able to return to school. With a response so quick that dismissed any doubt on his end, he moaned, "Saturday."

A Bite out of Crime

After frantically looking for the Lobsters library book that was due back that morning in school, I asked Pearce if by chance he remembered the last place he read it. Of course! It was under his pillow because his dear sister wanted it , but he saw the look on her face and knew she wanted to take a bite out of it. Why didn't I think of that myself?

Phonetics

PWB's Kindergarten Science Test:
Q: What planet do we live on?
A: Rf

A Day Off

After running multiple errands through the Christmas season and attending and dressing for multiple Christmas festivities, McCullough took a deep sigh as we trudged through a store and let out, " I need a day off."
"From WHAT?!" I questioned.
"From Christmas."

Table Manners

One evening while at dinner, everyone was taking turns sharing the events of their day. The second Pearce completed his loquacious run, Quinn, with eyes as wide as the Pacific, let out a record breaking burp. His timing was impeccable.  It was as if he was summing up the day in the life of a 1.5 yr old.
Then not a moment too soon, with a smirk as mischievous as Dennis the Menace, he responded to his belly belch with, "Uh-oh!" Again, reiterating a day in the life of Quinn.

The Name Game

A recent car conversation from the second and third row drivers:

M: Ok Bud.
P- Don't call me Bud. I don't like nicknames. Call me Spiderman, Superman or Optimus Prime. Which one do you want to call me?
M: (In all effort to say it clearly) Optimus Prime
P: That's too hard for you to say. Call me Arrow.

*Fast forward 5 minutes.
Quinn did something that Pearce liked.
Pearce then said to Quinn. "Good job Bud!"

Lighting...Lighting McQueen

Preface: One piece of furniture we added to our new family room has been a 3 drawer dresser. One drawer is filled with some of Pearce's toys that he would rather his little sister and brother didn't play with while he is away at school. He was actually onto something in thinking about the safety of his toys while his siblings played with them. What he didn't think about was the safety of his siblings while playing with his toys.
And so begins the scripture: 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While standing at the kitchen sink I heard McCullough's, " I need help but can't put it in words right now," cry. I turned  around and saw her holding up Pearce's new Lighting McQueen remote control car against her blonde curls. The car that was in Pearce's coveted toy safety drawer. Then I heard the sound. The sound that a remote control makes when stuck up against the wall. That 2 wheel drive , stuck in the snow, and nowhere to go, sound. In McCullough's other hand she held the remote, and continued to press it in the "Forward," control position . "McCullough drop the remote! Drop the remote!"  The wheels stopped. But it was too late. McQueen had already won the race against Cully's golden locks. Her hair was tightly wrapped around the front two wheels that sealed the car against her head above her left ear.

Man, did I wish I had the insensitivity to take a picture at this moment.  Priceless.

Once McCullough calmed down we cut McQueen free. I asked her if we could save the hair so we could laugh about it when she turns 18. With her trademark eyebrow move, she declared, "Me no laughing now."
With that, I dropped the curls into the garbage and left the room to control my laughter. All while thinking, Quinn stay out of Pearce's drawer. Dear God, stay out of the drawer.

It's a Woman's World!

McCullough often hears her big brother spit out generic commentary like, "Oh boy and oh brother."
So naturally, McCully has adapted such phrases to make sense is her world as a female. "Ooooh girl and ooooh sister," can now be heard throughout the day in our home. 

Thanksgiving

Around the time of Thanksgiving, I had been pointing out to Pearce that we have a lot to be thankful for. Even simple things we never to stop and think about...eyes that see, feet that run, legs that walk etc etc etc... Maybe I went overboard.
Because after coming in from the cold air one afternoon, Pearce was complaining about how cold his hands were. My only response to that was going to be-put on gloves! But without a beat, he proudly answered his own question, " I should be lucky they are still here, right?"

Project Manager

During our recent home renovations, McCullough would ask Peter every morning if he would be working on her "new house."  One morning , Peter answered a simple yes. Not explaining to M that he had plans to work on the addition, then take P to soccer, then come back and work some more on the addition.

Well, as Peter was heading out the door with P to soccer, McCullough, in her most authoritative voice, stopped Peter is his tracks and asked, " Aren't you supposed to be working?!"

Karate Kid

Is 1 too earlier to start Tae-Kwon Do? Because for the past 3 months , QPB's clearest word yet has been , "Hiiiiyyaaahhhh!" And yes, "Hiiiiyaaaahhh," is spoken simultaneously to a karate chop motion.

Oral Fixation

We are constantly reminding MMB, to her get her thumb out her mouth!
So at one point , in a sad and hopeless rebuttal she slowly muttered, " That's my problem." 

Scardey Cat Cully

Setting- Almost every night after McCullough is snug as a bug in bed.

Act I: 
MMB:  Me Scared!
MHB;  What are you scared of?
MMB:  Thunder
MMB; Don't worry its not even raining sweetheart.
PWB- ( From his dark corner across the room) Well, actuuuallly. I think the radar showed a storm coming.

Act II-
MMB- Me Scared!
MHB- What are you scared of?
MMB: Bears
MHB  : Don't worry honey, there are no bears around here.
PWB : ( From his dark corner across the room) Well, acctuuuallly, the guy on Daddy's job said he saw a bear by the excavator the other morning.

Act III-
MMB:  Me Scared!
MHB: What are you scared of?
MMB: My shadow
MHB: No comment
PWB: No comment ( finally!)

I Love You...You Love Me...We're a Happy Family

As M and Q were enjoying an episode of Barney, P stomped out of the room.
I asked what was wrong. He said, " Barney. There is too much singing and the songs are giving me a headache."

Hmmmm...maybe he is ready to watch Star Wars.