y*IKE*s

Well, Ike has been at our house all day long. I met up with him first thing this morning when I went to volunteer at the Crandall Alumni breakfast. He did some damage to my appearance, I'm sure. He also made sure I stayed under the speed limit, both eyes on the road and off of the cell phone.

He must have followed me home ... stalker. So, here is what a rainy day holds at our house. Feel free to use any of our ideas and apply them in the comfort of your own home.

If you are Jared:
* Called in to work (this plan was made yesterday when they predicted much worse conditions).
* Home from work around 4:45.

If you are me:
* Completed 3 of 4 loads of laundry
* Got into my comfy pajama pants so that I could enjoy the couch's company
* Started shopping for a new car (I am very impulsive and if Ike had not been visiting, I probably would be driving something new right about now. Maybe not brand new - but new to me). Thank goodness for carmax.com to allow me the convenience of online shopping. Ike could not stop me from that.
* Debated on whether to clean the house. It still looks good from last weekend. I cleaned the toilets, the kitchen and dusted the living room. Will get to the rest later.
* Speaking of rest, I laid down and took a very short nap.
* Realized the family was hungry - after all the snacks of rice krispy treats, crackers & cheese, brownies and the need for cereal. So, I cooked up some chicken parmesan and used some almost-t00-hard-to eat hamburger buns for garlic toast and now the brownies are baking.
* Cleaned the kitchen.
* Now, back where I started this rainy afternoon - on the couch, watching Ike on TV and out the windows and browsing the net.

If you are Clayson:
* Your parade, football game and hanging with friends at the Cotton Fest are all canceled.
* Invite a friend over.
* Tape up your brother's room with masking tape.
* Play in the rain with your friend, despite your mom's instructions not to.
* Become disappointed when your dad comes home and tells you that no, we are not car shopping tonight.
* Fight with brother and sister.
* Finally settle down to play Wii with your friend and get along with brother and sister due to threats made by both parents.

If you are Trey:
*Cry because you did not get to have a friend over.
* Become very angry about the tape on your walls.
* Continue wearing school shorts from yesterday.
* Lock yourself in brother's room while they are away.
* Must eat more spaghetti in order to get a brownie.
* Sneak downstairs to get pillows for brother and friend.
* Can't go outside because flip-flops have mysteriously disappeared from closet (where he is certain he put them up).
* Shop online for mom a car.
* Check emails.

If you are Ashlyn:
* Change clothes (again), fix hair, put on jewelry.
* Find shredded paper and baby shower plates for a baby doll birthday party.
* Fill a syringe (no needle included) and give all babies their vaccinations.
* Watch a movie.
* Clean room, well most of it.
* Ask to change clothes. The answer is NO!!
* Must eat two more bites of plain spaghetti in order to get a brownie.
* Go upstairs to entertain the boys through a concert.
* Come down and ask for pillows for the boys. (Mom then yells at Clayson to find out the need for pillows...)

So, yIKEs, it has been quite a day. Why haven't kids learned the value of rest on a rainy day?!