Frosty Knows...

Less than 24 hours later...

Frosty sure knew what he was talking about when he told the kids that he hates red thermometers. He was wise to want to skip out of town and head for the North Pole. Too bad our snowmen were not as knowledgeable about such things. Or maybe, they suffered because we don't have a thermometer outside for them to watch as the red climbs...Could we be guilty of snow-manslaughter? Just in case, I took this picture for any SCSIs out there. That would be Snowman Crime Scene Investigators, in case you were wondering.

This is what is left of the 3rd snowman's body. You can still see his sweet little arm trying to remain intact with the body. So sad...

And just to be perfectly clear, the kids did not tackle the snowmen and destroy them. Near 70 degree weather today is the culprit. It got to them before the kids could.

Fun in the Snow!

We have some crazy weather here in the Texas Panhandle, but sometimes it works out so that the day after a big snow, the weather is fairly nice. That's what happened this time. We had warm weather all week through Thursday, got a lot of snow yesterday, and then today, the snow was all melted off the roads and sidewalks in our neighborhood. It was still a bit cold today, but it was nice enough to let the kids go play in the snow that remained (thanks to the winds yesterday, we had some decent drifts that haven't melted away yet). So, that's exactly what they did, and they had a blast! We built 3 snowmen with the kids from the neighborhood. Here are a few pictures:



A fun snowball fight w/ one of the neighbors. Aaron had just hit her with a pretty big one, and was walking away laughing (when I say hit her, I mean dropped one on her back as she was bent down making her own snowball). I'm hoping that since you can't see her face, her parents won't mind that I put this photo online.

Sadie enjoying the snow. She had so much fun :)




This one is Sadie's snowman. She was so proud, and wanted it to be just like Aaron's




Here's Aaron's snowman that him and one of the neighbors worked on together. It took all my muscles to get the middle snowball on! After completing the snowman, Aaron yelled "Hey mom, look!" And this is what he was doing. Crazy kid!
Monkey see, Monkey do. Since Aaron thought it was funny to pretend to eat his snowman's carrot-nose, Sadie had to follow suit. This was then followed by all the kids pretending to lick their snowmen.

More snowball fights and snow-wrestling followed the completion of the snowmen. All the kids wanted to tackle their snowmen before we went inside, but I talked them into waiting until Toby gets home to see them. Sorry I can't show pictures of all 3 snowmen, but there are other kids in those shots, so just use your imagination :)

Both kids thanked God for the snow and for getting to make snowmen in their prayers tonight, and asked for even more snow. Both kids also fell asleep very quickly tonight. I wonder why???

Snowed Out

For the past several days, the weather people have been predicting a blizzard for us for today. Not a huge amount of snow for where I live (3-6 inches), but with 25-35+ mph winds, even that amount of snow makes driving hazardous.

Now, keep in mind that our weather people seem to have a hard time getting things right (maybe that's true everywhere), but they especially have a poor record when it comes to snow. Usually when they predict a dusting, we get close to a foot, and when they predict a lot of snow, we are lucky to get a dusting.

Knowing this, I was EXTREMELY surprised that the local school district AND the college I work at made the decision last night that they would cancel classes/close all campuses for today. That worked out great for me and the kids! We have enjoyed staying home, playing games, watching TV, and just relaxing. We did get some snow, and I've heard that some of the roads are bad, but the snow isn't even sticking to the residential street outside our house. We do have enough snow to *almost* cover all the grass, and quite a few good drifts, thanks to the wind. Aaron has made several trips out to get snow and icicles for him and Sadie. Maybe tomorrow it will be warm enough for both of them to actually go out and play in. We'll see.

Although our family is enjoying the day off from school, the weather has not been as welcomed by the whole neighborhood... Our tulips that bloomed last week are very put out by this.

Aaron's Homework

Today, Aaron completed the part of his weekly homework assignment where he has to write at least 3 sentences about a topic of his choosing, and then draw a picture. Here is what he wrote (using his spelling):

I do not like to do home woke. It is boring. It wast my time.

He drew a picture of a very unhappy boy in front of a book. I made him add the following sentence to the end of his:

But my mom says is good for me.

I wonder what sort of comments we may get from his teacher. I think Aaron is mostly just bummed out about having to go back to school and get back in the grind of things since being home for spring break...

Calling All Techies

Okay, so we got this new computer last month, and I copied all the files over from the old computer to our external harddrive, and then over to this computer. But, low and behold, that doesn't work for all those songs I've downloaded from Walmart. When I try to play them, it says that the license is only for one computer. So now what? How do I get back all those songs?

Don't Let It End!

Today is Friday. That means that there are only 2 more days after today left of our spring break. I have REALLY enjoyed being home with the kids, sleeping in every morning, lounging around in my P.J.'s, getting caught up on some projects at home, etc. I don't want to go back to work next week. And actually, I have some work stuff I need to get done before going back. I have some papers to grade, a test to make, and a project for a task force I'm on. The paper grading and project can be done here at the house, but our testing program can only be accessed from the campus. So sometime in the next few days, I'll have to make that dreaded trip up to work. UGH!

The kids are feeling it too. Aaron has had tons of fun playing outside everyday with the neighborhood kids. We've had nice weather, and he has taken advantage of it. He did (reluctantly) get some reading in, and has practiced his guitar, but mostly he has been outdoors. I think he will be pretty disappointed to go back to school next Monday, and to start having homework daily again. I don't remember having daily homework in 1st grade...

Sadie...well, she kinda feeds off Aaron. She really likes school, but has been hearing Aaron say he doesn't want to go back, so she mimics him and says the same thing. I think we better get up early on Monday because I may have some battles...

Sadie's 4 Year Check-Up

Today was Sadie's 4 year check-up. She weighed in at a whopping 32 pounds, and was 40 inches tall. That puts her in the 10th percentile for weight and a little above the 50th percentile for height. Everything looked good with balance, coordination, and brain development. She does have some sort of lesion on her cheek. The pediatrician thinks it is most likely going to be a mole, but said that he can't see well enough anymore to be certain (in fact, he is retiring in a few months because of his eyesight). I am hoping that it will just disappear in the same way it suddenly appeared a few weeks ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if it does turn into a mole because I have several of the beastly things on my neck. He said he doesn't recommend removing it until she is old enough to not pick at it, so that it doesn't scar. He also said that if we wanted to, we could take her to a dermatologist to make sure it is just the beginnings of a mole and not something else. We'll see...I'll probably talk to a few of the nurse practitioners I know and ask their opinion on the matter...

Then came the part of the appointment I had been dreading. Those evil 4-year boosters. All the other vaccines are tolerable because the kids are young and don't really "see them coming." But a 4 year old knows what a shot is...it wasn't pretty when Aaron got his. He started crying as soon as the nurse walked in with the shots. He wiggled and writhed and tried to escape the impending doom. It wasn't a pleasant experience for either of us.

So, in walked the nurse, and she informed us that they did have the combo vaccine for the DTaP and the IPV. So that meant only 3 shots instead of 4. I held Sadie's hands (partially for her comfort, partially to keep her from grabbing at the needles) and told her to look at me. As I stared into her eyes, I could tell exactly when that first needle went in. She didn't cry, or jerk, or flinch, but I could see in her eyes the shock and pain. Then the next, which was only about 3 milliseconds after the 1st (thank goodness, the nurse was really quick). Then, before the final injection, she warned Sadie that this last one would burn. As she injected the vaccine, I could see tears well up in Sadie's eyes. It broke my heart. But Sadie was a trooper and didn't shed a single tear. She came very close, but never actually did cry, which surprises me because she can be a bit of a drama queen.

This afternoon, she has been very tired, and keeps telling me that she can't run or walk because her legs hurt where she got her shots. She ran perfectly fine at the park, so that just proves that she can still be a drama queen :)

I am very glad that today is over. No more shots for a while...until Aaron is 10 (I think that is when he'll need his tetanus booster). And even then, it will only be one shot instead of 3!

Luring Leprechauns

One day after school last week, Aaron informed me that if you catch a Leprechaun, he has to tell you where his pot of gold is. He also told me that one of his teacher's kids caught one last year. So of course, he wanted to catch one this year.

Luckily, while at my mother-in-law's house, I found an article in a magazine with directions for how to build 3 different Leprechaun traps. Aaron saw this one, and selected it:


The instructions mentioned that Leprechauns hate to follow rules, so by putting the sign up "Do not climb ladder," you were almost guaranteed to catch one. The top of the hat was a trap door, with a fake piece of gold sitting on top, to tempt the unsuspecting Leprechaun. Aaron came up with the idea to paint an old, stale mini-marshmellow yellow and cover it with glitter. He worked hard making the trap, and it all paid off, sort-of.

This morning, we woke up to a letter from a Leprechaun named Keegan O'Leary. He reported that he had indeed been lured to the top of the hat in an attempt to get that faux-gold, and he had indeed fallen in. Then he told us that because humans are always trying to trap Leprechauns to get their gold, Leprechauns always travel in groups. Seems his buddies, Patrick O'Malley and Sean McKeckney, were there and quickly pulled Keegan out of the trap.

Because Aaron got close to trapping the Leprechaun, Keegan left him some loot...a few gold coins and 17 gold-wrapped Rolos. In his note, Keegan said that he hoped this treat would be enough to keep Aaron from trying to trap anymore Leprechauns in the future. I don't think it worked, though, because Aaron said next year, he would have to come up with a better plan...

What to Do?

What do you do with...

...a boy who hates homework? Even though it isn't difficult for him?

...kids who don't understand the word "hurry"?

...a house that is always messy, even after spending hours cleaning?

...other people's kids?

...a Catholic who hates fish?

...a job that you mostly love, but has 1 or 2 things you absolutely completely totally hate?

...kids who are growing up way too fast?

...people who don't value your opinion?

...kids who complain about chores?

...enforcing rules that other parents don't enforce?

...students who don't listen because they're too busy texting?

...the realization that you're not living up to your potential?

...getting old?

These are just a few things I've been pondering lately, some much more than others. Any profound words of wisdom out there?

A Conversation with Sadie

On our way to gymnastics just now, I asked Sadie about her day at school. Among other things, she mentioned that the librarian came and read them two books (this is way more information than I have EVER gotten out of Aaron about any of his days at school). Anyways, Sadie told me about the first book: "Frog's First Day of School" and describe the story to me. She then told me that the second book was "Edwina's First Day of Stink." This is what she told me:

"Edwina is a dinosaur. Dinosaurs don't live here anymore. But Edwina didn't get 'stinkted. She made cookies. Then she found out all the dinosaurs were stinked, and she didn't care anymore. She made chocolate chip cookies with a boy. Not a boy dinosaur because they were all stinked. A boy people."

Sadie's birthday

My baby turned 4 today. I know that she is extremely excited about it, and about all the attention she has gotten today, and about getting bigger. But I don't want her to grow anymore...

She started the day with muffins and juice, which is what she had picked out for breakfast. She was so excited about her birthday, though, that she only ate a few bites. She then got to open her birthday present (I think that's part of why she was "full" so quickly for breakfast). She got a crawling, talking Pinkie Pie My Little Pony. She loves it...played with it all morning until she had to leave for school, and has played with it continuously since she got home.

She also got to take birthday cookies to school, and got a birthday pencil from the Montessori director. Her name was listed on the school-wide announcements, too.

This evening, she has had a quite a few visitors, calls, and e-mail birthday wishes. Thanks to everyone for making this day so special!

The Evils of Leotards

Today was Sadie's gymnastics, so as we usually do, we got her ready and all dressed up in a one-piece leotard-type thing. Because we are strongly encouraged to take our "little ones to the bathroom before class," I took Sadie. While Sadie was taking care of her business, another little girl came in to the bathroom. This little girl had to be in one of the dance classes that was going on at the same time, and was probably around 4 years old, estimating based on the little bit I could see of her under the stall divider. She enters the stall next to ours, and pulls off her skirt. The next thing I see under the stall divider is a trickle of yellow beginning to run into her little tap shoes as she was standing there (I am sure she was trying to get that darn leotard off). I guess once the dam broke open, there was no stopping the flow, because then the trickle became a forceful stream that splattered onto the floor of both her stall and the stall Sadie and I still occupied. We're talking a yellow version of Niagara Falls here. At this point, Sadie notices and chimes in "WHAT IS THAT?" I quickly "shhh" her, and try to get her hurry up and focus on her own business. My attempts were futile, because the next words out of Sadie's mouth were "Oh, that's gross...Someone had an accident...Accidents happen, and that's okay...mommy, who was that?" All the while, I'm shushing Sadie, who is completely oblivious to my attempts to get her to stop yapping. The poor girl grabbed her skirt that was on the floor and very quickly left the restroom.

This just serves as a reminder to me not to dress Sadie in too many layers, or in a leotard that will be too difficult for her to rapidly shed in a bathroom emergency.