Day 59

The weathermen have all promised (and swore on their barometers) that we will have no more freezing weather this season - which means we can pretend it's really Spring! The trees are blooming and everything is turning green again. Even though it causes my allergies to careen out of control, I love all the little buds. I hope all my trees survived the snows - I don't know if a couple of my palms or my fruit trees survived. We will see in the next few weeks. I can't wait to get into the dirt!

Day 58

Too young to go camping? Scared of bears? Try an indoor campfire! All you needs is some sticks, red and orange card stock, and some campfire food and you are set. Oh, we also made a tent with a king-sized sheet. The kids even took a nap by the fire while Mama and Daddy rested on the couch. What a great way to relax after a fun time at Chloe's school festival!

Day 57

Here in Houston we love our Rodeo and every Friday during rodeo season it's pretty much a fact that folks can dress Western-style at work and at school. Last weekend at the garage sale I picked up this adorable dress from my friend, Leslie, just for this purpose. My poor girl doesn't have any boots, so she had to make do with her trusty (Velcro) shoes. Bradley let her borrow his Woody hat, and her outfit was complete. Isn't she a sweet little cowgirl?

Day 56

I love my Katie-girl, even though she drives me crazy. She called me the other day to see if she could BORROW some craft supplies for a project. Tonight she drove to my house (from College Station, mind you) to do the work. I always forget that "coming over to borrow something" is translated to "oh my gosh, Leah, I completely need your help with this because I'm going to totally panic." So, we stayed up entirely too late (on a school night) to work on her project (which is due Saturday). Good times, eh? Just like when she was in high school. (Memories....) She'll head back to Aggieland tomorrow and hopefully get good points for her (our) hard work. I should totally claim her on our taxes.

Day 55

Chloe is so proud of herself - she can now tie little knots and bows. It will only be a matter of days until I am tied to the furniture because if there are any loose ribbons, strings, or laces nearby, Chloe will find them and tie them. She came downstairs after she was supposed to have been in bed for over an hour just to show me her grand work of art on her pajama tie.

She hasn't worn shoes with laces since she was two, so we never really sat down and learned how to tie shoes. A note came home from school a while ago that said that the teachers were no longer going to help tie shoes after Winter Break. Can you believe that? I guess the teachers are pretty tired of bending over by this time of the year! We had a moment of panic (and guilt!) because we've never taught our kids this important skill. So, we practiced for a while and now she's a pro. We're still sporting the Velcro shoes, though, because Mama cannot stand undoing all those tiny triple knots!

Day 53

Mike has been working some late nights since he has a huge project in the works, so on those nights I don't feel as driven to make a big family meal. (Is that bad?) The kids LOVE having picnics in the living room, so I don't mind letting them every now and then. We made peanut butter sandwiches together and then sat down to watch some Gabba. Is there a party in your tummy?

When I was a little girl, my mom used to make elaborate picnic parties for us complete with basket and blanket. I need to get one of those baskets. Did you ever have picnics like that when you were young? What are some of your best picnic memories?

Day 52

Today we were privileged to attend the Naming Ceremony for darling baby Matthew. His mama, Sharon, and I have been friends since way back in 2003 when we were both struggling through infertility. We were blessed to be pregnant with our first two AND our second two kids at the same time. She got to do number 3 as a solo act!

Matthew is an absolute doll and it was fun to finally hold him. My kids (and Sharon's girls) behaved well and it was a lovely way to gather their family and friends together to honor their heritage and give the baby a blessing. We feel honored to have been a part of it.

Day 51

Y'all, this dog is huge. The vet said he'll continue to grow (slowly) until he is around 2. That would be 17 more months of growth. It's a good thing his manners are improving!! I'm not sure how much he weighs now - we'll have to take him in a couple of months to find out. He is nearly too big for the garden tub so looks like he'll start taking showers soon. I think he needs a saddle.

Day 50

Today Alyssa came over for a bit while I was hanging out with my mom and we spent some time outside so we could all get some fresh air. I gave her those little music shakers to play with and she decided that it was grand fun to shake her booty to the beat of the music. Then, she kept looking back at it as she was wiggling around. She's ready for Soul Train and my sister is completely doomed.

Day 49

The kids are always exhausted on Thursday nights because they dance until 7:30 and we don't get home until around 7:50-ish. They are usually in bed with lights out by that time any other night! Tonight I told Bradley to go to his bed, then went to go get Chloe's medicine and when I came back to tuck him in he was already sound asleep. Doesn't he look like an angel? All sweet, innocent, and happy to be cuddling his lovey dog.

That little red dog has been his obsession for the past couple of months. He named him "Barfy." I asked him what "Barfy" meant (because I don't think he's ever even heard the word "barf" let along know what it means) and he said, "That's just his name. He needed a name and that's what it is!" He gets that skill from his father.

Day 48

I got out of class early tonight (always a happy thing) and went to James Avery to pick up my Valentine's Day present from Mike. I've been wanting a charm bracelet for many years now, so I was so excited to get this one. He started off with three charms - one for Chloe, one for Bradley, and one for teaching. Didn't he do a great job? I wonder what other ones he'll get in the years to come. I love it and can't wait to add more charms.

Day 47

The Functional Math class at my school made dog treats for their fundraiser and Zeke LOVES them. (This one is peanut butter and they also made oatmeal. Buy some today!) But, he's such a good dog and is really learning to "leave it" on command. He left the treat while I went to get my camera, waited while I took his picture (several times what with his blinking and such), and even waited when I forgot to tell him to "take it" when I put my camera away. Sweet boy! Of course, there was a rather large puddle of drool near the dog treat. Yuck! (He's 7 months old now, by the way.)

Day 46

Today Alec let Bradley borrow this vehicle which he has dubbed the Rocket-truck-train. It is, of course, unstoppable. There are two buttons on top - one makes it rev (loudly) and light up the flames on the back. The other screeches, "Start your engines!" and then actually makes the car roll for a few feet. Bradley told me it is his favorite and his best and, "it's super fast, faster than lightning, so it's always Right on Time AND Really Useful and never cross." Watch out, Thomas, you're in trouble!

Day 45

206 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies - that's how many Chloe sold. Today we put all the orders together and she went out with Lexi to deliver the ones to the folks in the neighborhood. We have a ton for my work and my sister's work, too. We'll be delivering them this week -so have your money ready! Thanks for supporting this cute little Daisy.

My mom is feeling better and I'll take her to the doctor tomorrow (thank goodness it's a holiday and I'm off of work). She asked for her cookies and I told her she couldn't have them until she promised not to scare us like that again! What a weekend.

Day 44

Today has been a day of recovery for everyone - Mom is resting and Erin is taking care of her. I have some sort of stomach bug (probably picked it up at the hospital last night, I'm clever like that) that is making me miserable. Thank goodness my kids are good at entertaining themselves.

Here's a picture of my Hippo collection that I mentioned the other day. It started off with a big red hippo my cousin, Debra, made for me when I was a baby. Then I got a squishy purple hippo when I was like 7. That was pretty much it until Mike started buying them for me. Then, everyone started getting them for me. The big one on the right was bought at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans the summer of 1993 - we had to carry it back to St. Charles on the Street Car. The huge one in the middle was from my brother a couple of years ago for Christmas - he somehow got it into a tiny box and when I opened it it just burst out all over. I have quite a few and I'm running out of room for them!

Wouldn't it be great if that was all I had to worry about?

Day 43

I only took two pictures today and both were with my cell phone camera at the hospital, where my mom spent her evening.

My sister called me around 4:30 and told me she thought Mom was having an allergic reaction - she was complaining of swelling so she was going to keep an eye on her and she gave her some Benedryl. I stopped at a friend's house on the way home from work so Bradley and I could pick up Chloe's boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. I heard my phone ringing, but ignored it so we could get the car loaded. When we were ready to go, I looked at my phone and my sister had called 9 times. I called her back and she said she was taking Mom to the emergency room because she had started complaining of chest pains and difficulty breathing. Her blood sugar had jumped from 91 to 195 in less than 20 minutes and her blood pressure was high. She gave her an aspirin and they were en route - and she left her kids at her house. I quickly picked Chloe up from extended day and dropped her and Bradley off with Mike and then left to go get Erin's kids. I got there quickly and took the three of them back to my house and started getting dinner ready for everyone when Erin called again.

My Mom had started slurring, drooling, and couldn't move anything on her left side. She stopped at the Missouri City Police/Fire headquarters and they called for transport. The fire fighters worked on her until the EMT pulled around from the back of the building and then they took over. They all thought she was having a stroke and took quick action and headed for the ER. Erin was on her way and told me I needed to come immediately. I told Mike what was going on, told Lexi to help with the kids, and rushed to the ER, too. It's about a 20 minute drive and it was crazy rush hour traffic through Sugar Land, but I got there in about 15 minutes. On the way there I got hold of my brother, Matt (who was at work), and told him what was going on. Meanwhile, Erin called her husband at his work and he was on his way to pick Matt up.

We all rendezvoused at the ER and just waited. They made us wait for over an hour before we were allowed to see her. It was incredibly stressful and frustrating because my Mom doesn't know all the meds and such she is on so we were worried that the doctors and nurses wouldn't have complete information. Once we were finally able to see her someone in scrubs came in and was very short with us and didn't introduce herself or anything. The blood they had drawn when my mom first arrived was still sitting on the counter. It turned out the rude woman was actually the attending MD. She insisted it was nothing to worry about - a reaction to her blood pressure medicine (something about ace inhibitors?). We had more questions and she just cut us off. She mentioned getting more tests, but they never did because the blood was still there. She also told us that my mom's blood pressure never got over 120. Oh. Okay. Check out the screen, lady. It's funny how it seemed that the hospital was going to run more tests until right about the point we told them she didn't have any insurance. Then everything was fine and we could just sign right on the line.

She released Mom with orders to stop taking her blood pressure medicine. Tonight Erin, Matt, and I will stay up watching her because her bp is already high. We'll try to get her another appointment on Monday. I have to go to bed - I am completely exhausted.

Day 42

I just can't enough of Chloe and Bradley's art work. This morning before we left for school, Chloe was working on this little guy. Isn't he cute? It's the first time she has drawn ears like that, where they actually look more real rather than just two circles on the head. Wouldn't he make a cute stuffed animal? He kind of looks like some sort of koala. Mike thoroughly believes that Chloe passed him up in artistic talent a while back. He's probably right - if you ever come over to play Pictionary you don't want to be on his team. Trust me.

Day 41

What could be more snuggly than a big ol' hippo hug? I have this collection of Purple Hippos - I don't know what it is about them, but I love them. Did you know that real hippos are the most dangerous animals in Africa? It's true - they kill more people than any other animal. Crazy, I know! This hippo, though, just wants to smooch on cutie Alyssa. I have very tame hippos. I'll have to take a picture of them soon. :)

Day 40

Chloe has been trying to work on her Take Home Science project for several days - but it's all about shadows and it has been nothing but overcast and gloomy (if not raining) for the past several days. This afternoon when we got home from school we took a quick picture so we could get the "afternoon" data part of the project done. She was quite impressed with how big she could make her shadow stretch. (Please ignore my crazy, messy patio!) Hopefully we'll have some sun tomorrow morning so we can do the "morning" part.

Day 39

I think my kids are on to me. This morning they were arguing over who was going to get their picture taken for the computer! They decided to share the limelight this go around.

This is them right before they got on their jackets to leave for school - Chloe's hair is already escaping the braid it was in, Bradley has who-knows-what on his shirt. But, they are all smiles and ready to have a great day. Let's hope it lasts!!

Day 38

While watching the pre-game stuff today there were some shots of Rabid Crazed Fans all decked out in face paint and such. So, Bradley drew his own version - meet Rainbow Head Man. He wants the Saints to win, by the way.

Day 37

How cute is this? Alec and Chloe are both sporting some big ol' gaps through which to slurp macaroni. Both of them will need braces in a couple of years - at least they can be awkward together. They love each other dearly and I'm glad Chloe will have her cousin to look out for her since Bradley will be two grades behind them. I only wish Chloe had some of his darling freckles!

Day 36

Tonight we had one of our Family Dance Parties and wore the kids out before bed. Bradley is so much more dramatic with his dancing than Chloe. She is still pretty impressed with booty shaking and is starting to do more "real" dancing with her chassés and little primitive leaps. Bradley throws himself into his "moves" and it's hilarious to watch. I think his expressions says it all, though. Lost in dance. I can't think of a better way to end this crazy week!

Day 35

I try not to let the kids drink too much water at the dance studio or their class time gets interrupted by frequent potty visits. Tonight, though, Bradley was already done with his classes and we were hanging out waiting for Chloe to finish hers and he was SO SO thirsty. "My tongue is so sad and thirsty," he wailed dramatically. Who can argue with a sad tongue?

The problem is, Bradley is not quite yet an expert at using a water fountain. He inevitably gets soaked and really doesn't imbibe much water. That doesn't change his love for that big, loud fountain of fun, of course. When he drinks from a fountain, he laps at the water like a puppy. I've tried to explain how to kind of suck the water, but he insists that his way is best.

And so I had to change his shirt, clean the floor, and clean the wall after he was done. But at least his tongue was happy.

Day 34

Chloe's love for Zeke is true love - no matter what he does, she loves him unconditionally. Bradley, on the other hand, is much more sensible. If Zeke does something wrong, Bradley will let him know it was dumb. He's not afraid to discipline him, and will let us know if he needs to be in time out. But, they also play differently. They are rough and tumble with each other and enjoy romping around together. I think they will be grand friends as they grow up together.

"The dog was created specially for children. He is the god of frolic." ~Henry Ward Beecher

Day 33

Today was the Big Day! During Circle Time (on the big rug, no less) Chloe "wiggled and wiggled her tooth until POP. It just came right on out." She got a special little tooth-shaped box on a string to wear and keep her tooth safe. But it seems there was a box malfunction and my poor girl LOST her tooth during Extended Day. They searched and searched, but couldn't find it. Chloe is, of course, quite upset about everything. But, she wrote a letter explaining the whole situation. So, hopefully the Tooth Fairy will be okay without collecting the tiny white gem.




She also drew her a couple of pictures. The first one is "Of the Very Day My Tooth Came Right Out of My Mouth at my Favorite School!" And the second is "A Picture of the Famous Tooth Fairy on a Rainbow." (click on them to open in a new window)





I still can't believe she's old enough to be loosing teeth. You can see in the top picture that the tooth next to the one she lost is about to come out, too. Her first two precious tiny baby teeth. The ones that bit me (only once) while nursing one morning before work. The ones we used to clean with a teensy soft finger brush while she sat in her bath seat. Those sweet little nubs that caused such gassy agony when they were trying to come up. And, oh, the drool that gave her a rash on her chin for weeks. How on earth has time gone by so quickly?

Day 32

I've mentioned before that we are a book reading family - we read together every night for 20-30 minutes. This is such a special time and one of my favorite things that we do together.

My kids are on a Mo Willems kick right now, and I love it because his books are so much fun to read. We have all of the Elephant and Piggie books (looks like there are several more coming out this year!), almost all the Pigeon books (we are missing The Pigeon Gets a Puppy), Edwina, Knuffle Bunny, Knuffle Bunny too, and Time to Pee. The kids have all the Elephant and Piggie books memorized and act out the scenes from them - it's hilarious. My favorite is probably There is a Bird on Your Head because I love the way the kids act it out - they use funny voices and move around the room pretending to be the characters. I think Bradley could have a career as a cartoon character some day! :)

I'm going to start doing a Monday Memories Link on here every Monday so we can maybe have some audience participation. :) So my Monday questions are:

What books do you like to read with your kids? What was your favorite book to read as a child? Join the fun and share your memories!

My favorite books that my dad read to me were the Shel Silverstein poetry books. I memorized most of them when I was really young. Later, I read and re-read all the classics (I had a large collection that someone had given us - hardbound with 2 novels per book, one on one side and you flipped it over for the other one. I wonder where those are now.). As a tween I fell in love with Anne of Green Gables and still enjoy snuggling up and reading them again. I don't really read as much now for my own pleasure (other than craft magazines!). Can anyone recommend something good that doesn't have sparkly vampires in it? :D