Tooth Fairy Chronicles

Turns out our tooth fairy is WAY less generous than all of Eli's friends' tooth fairies. I am shocked by how generous other fairies are and by how frugal ours is! (good thing we set up the 'motion detector camera' to catch her

Hocking Hills

I think we picked the hottest day of the year to go hiking at Hocking Hills. We had visited there for the first time when my sister, Cindy, and her husband, Ryan, came last month. It was nice to be able to take the kids there for the day. Abby is usually very cautious, so it surprised me to look over and see her standing at the edge of the cliff overlooking a BIG drop off. The kids had a wonderful time. I came home with poison ivy rashes up and down my legs. Nice!

Sunday Smiles

Minus a few teeth!

Dear Locks of Love,

Please take this from Abby. She has been working on getting this to you for over a year.

I could not be happier to see it go!

Best,

Abby was lucky enough to spend a week down in Georgia with her cousins Chloe and Phoebe last week. She hadn't been home in more that ten days and was completely fine with that. She is quite and independent little girl. Chuck and Eli went to pick her up on Saturday. They took three days to drive down to Tennessee where they were meeting Uncle Ryan, the girls and Abby at an ice cream factory. On the way down they stopped in Virginia and in the Smoky Mountains to camp, hike and fish. I was sad to miss out on such a great adventure, but it was nice to have a small break to work on the house and read before I started my summer school courses.

Soccer Pics

Green Eye Shadow

Abby got off of the bus on Tuesday, and I noticed she had pretty green eyeshadow on. The thing was, it was only on one eye. I know that she loves to chat with the big 5th graders on the bus, so I was sure that they had put makeup on each other on the way home. I mentioned it to her and told her to quickly go and wash her face before she had to get ready for soccer.

She said that it wasn't eyeshadow but a black eye. So, last weekend she was upstairs building some giant something out of tinker toys with Eli and she got hit in the eye. She came down stairs saying that her eye hurt, and like any good mom would, I told her to get her rear end back upstairs and go to sleep.

I had sent her to school for two days with a black eye without even noticing it. Apparently all the teachers at school and Brenda, her piano teacher, even asked her about it.

So please hold your applause for my brilliant display of mothering.

22 Days and Counting!

(photo courtesy of www.velveticecream.com)

Signs of Spring

We finally woke up to sunshine this morning. When I got home from spinning class we loaded the kids in the car and drove towards Zanesville to go to a little bulk food store. After we filled up on goodies, we headed to Dawes Arboretum for their Maple Syrup Madness. We knew we were getting close when we could smell the sugar in the air.
It was our first time going, and we will definitely be making it a tradition. We went on a short walk through the snow covered woods where we read markers about the history of tree tapping. Our walk ended at a cabin where they were boiling the syrup down. The kids had a wonderful time, and it was great to be out in the sun. Of course we had to swing by and pick up maple syrup candy.
When we got home I was excited to see that my hostas and daffodils are starting to appear around the house. I am looking forward to spring!

It's Been Fun,

but I am more than ready to get these kids back to school, not to mention Chuck. I had hear legend that if children wear their pajamas backwards and dance outside after dark they will surely have a snow day the following morning. I told this to Abby and Eli and they quickly dressed accordingly last Thursday night. Sure enough we have been blasted with snow. After the first 12 inches Eli declared, "I am never doing that again. It made a blizzard."
Tomorrow is the Valentine's party, so their pj's are on the way they are intended to be. Does anyone have a legend that I can try, for keeping them in school?

Virtual Recital

I'm Published

So it's just a recipe, but this might be the only time I get to say that phrase, so let me enjoy my moment, okay!

(photo from www.gooseberrypatch.com)

For those of you dying to try my Peach Ice Cream recipe, you can order a copy
HERE.

Weekend is here!

If weekend wasn't a synonym for laundry day in our house, I might be more excited.