St. Patty's

On St. Patrick's Day eve I was feeling like I wanted to sit around and cry.  My niece had just gone home that morning, and Kitty was off to her musical practice.  Perfect time to sit around and cry.

But then we were invited to a St. Patrick's day festival and I thought maybe that might be better than sobbing all day.  Maybe.

Alright. We ended up having a dandy time.  Kitty was able to run around like a maniac with her friend, and I enjoyed strolling through the sunshine.

Kitty and Mykey even tried their hand at some Highland games.  Mykey commented afterwards that he was certain he had injured his shoulder tossing the giant boulder.  He was trying to impress the woman teaching him and overexerted himself.  The guy forgets he's nearly 50. And why doesn't he ever try to impress me?!

No matter.  It was a fun afternoon.  The next day we celebrated with steak and green mashed potatoes.  Only I forgot to put the food coloring in the potatoes so...

And I didn't put enough green color in the vanilla pudding so it was sickly looking.  Hey, get off my back!  My husband is nearly 50.

No matter.  It was a delicious meal and a relaxing day all around.  

Happy St. Patrick's day!   

Spring Break

When we lived in Oregon, we would usually have visitors for Spring Break.  When we moved to the other side of the moon, I knew our attendance numbers would decrease.

And then there was a Spring Break Miracle.

My niece called and asked if she and her husband could come to our house for Spring Break.  I was giddy.  I was shocked.  I may have peed in my pants a little.  (or a lot)  Even better, their break aligned perfectly with Kitty's.  

A miracle indeed!  

The week flew by like an inconsiderate jerk and I found myself teary-eyed when they departed. I loved the added conversation and the extra bodies milling about the house.  I loved the late nights and laughter. I loved every bit. It was heaven for me.

And we had so much fun. So much! 

We went for a casual Sunday stroll.

And built a paper airplane launcher.

We had delicious ramen.

And went to Dolly Parton's Stampede.  Kitty was chosen to do a rope trick during the show!

We played in the hotel arcade and earned ten million tickets.

And visited Dollywood, of course.  I even had the chance to ride a big'ol roller coaster! (My neck was not pleased afterwards but it was worth it)

We hit up the aquarium.

And had a zorbing experience.  Well, I didn't have a zorbing experience.  Much like the Wicked Witch of the West, I melt in water.  

We walked through a magical light show in the trees.

And stopped by the Relic Room to poke around.

We successfully escaped a fierce headhunting tribe in the Amazon rainforest.

And ate donuts and pretzels at the best place in the universe.

The week was perfect in everyway.  

Man, I love miracles!

Bee's Knees

Kitty's school recently installed a book vending machine.  As a passionate reader, you can imagine the excitement Kitty felt about this addition.  The only way to extract a book from the machine is to earn an award called the Bee's Knees, and a corresponding token from your teacher. The teachers each decide when a behavior or achievement deserves a token.

Kitty mentioned a few times that she really wanted a Bee's Knees award.  Several weeks passed, and I worried she would never visit the holy land.  And then...

Success!

She earned a perfect score on an important assessment and that award was hers!

Kitty was excited about her vending machine selection.

Although I feel that all vending machines should contain chocolate and only chocolate, I'm a proud mama nonetheless.

Congratulations to Kitty! 

Cupid

Valentine's Day...important or not?  Well, if you've given up sugar in solidarity with your diabetic husband, Valentine's Day seems pointless.  No chocolate, no holiday - that's my motto.

But you gotta celebrate anyway.  You know, for the children.  

I made cards for Kitty and Mykey - but I didn't photograph Mykey's.  It's private. (Not really.  I just forgot)

Kitty also made a card for her old fogey parents.  She was still jazzed from the Lego convention.  

And then she made the ultimate nerd declaration with her valentine collection bag this year.  It looked pretty darn good.  

Baby got into the spirit with heart jammies.  She specifically requested I dress her in them for the holiday.  

We had a lunch date.

And blew up ginormous balloons for the girls.

And ate steak for dinner. 

It was a nice day all around.

And then Mykey ripped down the stair railing.  Here we go again...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Lego

Kitty is enamored with all things Lego.  She delights in building her own creations, she saves her money for sets and minifigs, and she frequently has landmines of Lego bricks scattered on her bedroom floor. 

I don't know how she does it - I can only build a tower that goes straight up in the air.  Obviously when they were handing things out in heaven, I didn't get any of the genes that allow you to grasp abstract shapes and building concepts.  My body was already overflowing with all the good looks and charm genes.  Look it up - they're real.

ANYWHO, a Lego convention was coming to Knoxville so naturally we had to go.  Kitty's cousin is also a Lego superfan, so we invited him along for the adventure.  It was a fabulous day!  Those two bounced around like balls in a pinball machine.  I was glad Kitty had someone to run around with.

They built race cars and raced them down a track, they colored with Lego markers, they shopped in the Lego store, they dinked with Lego at different stations, and they were able to meet one of the builders from the Lego Masters TV show.  It was Wayne from season 2 and he was incredibly kind.  He autographed a Lego brick for each of them.  At some point in the chaos, Kitty lost her autographed brick. She was devastated. We scoured the venue and looked between the thousands of feet that were clomping around.  We couldn't find it anywhere.  I offered to go back and stand in line for another autograph.  When I arrived at his table, he was gone and wouldn't return for an hour and a half.  I settled in for the long wait.  After a few minutes, Wayne emerged from behind the curtain to grab his coat.  I asked him if he would mind quickly signing the replacement brick.  He graciously agreed and all was restored.  It was a Lego miracle!

The only downside was that we had to walk in the pouring rain to and from our car without hoods or an umbrella.  Someone didn't plan for inclement weather.  (I didn't get that gene in heaven).

What a great way to spend a Saturday! 

Storytime

I used to take Kitty to storytime at the library every week. Kitty is such an intelligent girl that I decided to continue the tradition with Baby so she can be smart also. 

Baby wasn't as excited about it as I thought she would be. She was mostly just curious about all the other babies and sat quietly staring and gathering data.  I was hoping she would laugh and be animated during the songs, but she really just wanted to observe. 

Here's the thing about this particular storytime: I had to sit cross-legged on the floor.  For 30 minutes! I looked around and realized I was the only mom seemingly having an issue with this contortionist pose. I also realized that I was at least 10 years older than all the other moms.  This is my life now.

Now that I think about it, maybe Baby wasn't interacting with me because she didn't want the other kids to know that she came with the senior citizen.  I'm sure that's it.

It wasn't all bad. I did have a nice conversation with the woman sitting next to me.  I had to limp back to my car when it was over though. My poor old legs.

Sheesh. All this so my kid can learn to read good.  I sure hope it works.

Smiley

Baby has a special way of smiling.

It involves her tongue poking out.

It's pure joy for me.