I should know better

I should. If I start to exercise - I will get in a few good days, start really getting into a groove AND get hurt.

This time, it's a broken pinky toe. Not much they can do, but does put a crimp into most of the easy "at home" exercises.

But, I'll get back - I was feeling better with it.

I do have to take it easy this weekend.

Worst yet, I broke it running into a backpack and a pair of skates.

Did I mention they were my skates that I hadn't put away yet? I can't even complain at the girls.

Oh well. At least it's not my sewing foot because I've started the quilt for my daughter's bed. I'm hoping to have it finished in time for the fair in August (including ripping out seams that didn't work).

The surprise

I decided that today was the day. I told the girls I had a surprise for them. BUT, before they could get the surprise, they had to do their chores.

Chores were complete, surprise was granted.

My girls now have earrings.

Sarah chose blue topaz since it's close to turquoise (her favorite color).

Sydney chose garnet, which is the girls birthstone.

They look so cute!

Pictures tomorrow.

Generally ramblings

Things have been pretty quiet this week. Monday was a bit insane while I tried to desperately gather all the marketing materials I was in the middle of developing before she left for Puerto Rico. It was a bit crazy because in the middle of it, I got a phone call that Sydney wasn't feeling well and needed me to pick her up. It really wasn't anything and soon she was feeling better and wanted my attention.

But, since I was working so hard on the stuff for work, DH and I both getting sick, and the things for birthday parties, the house (which has been so nicely cleaned up before Syd's party) was a bit trashed. So, I've spent this week getting the house picked up AND playing on my Wii Fit.

I'm watching one of my favorite West Wing episodes. It's something that bothered me during this past election and is something I might have the class watch and discuss this next semester. It deals with a democratic convention where there are three viable candidates --

(although I hate the camera angles where they spend the entire time with cameras doing a 360 spin around the room - it' makes me dizzy)

-- this past summer, there was a lot of pressure for Hillary Clinton to step aside for the 'good of the party' so that when we arrive at the convention, we have 'party unity.' I always wondered why we needed to have party unity prior to the convention. What was the point of having a convention where we stand up in the first minute of the convention and say "oh, by the way we only have one candidate left, so we don't need to vote. But, since you are all here, let's spend millions of dollars and 5 nights listening to speeches from the people who might be contenders in the future.

Why do we need to pressure our candidates to drop out of the race mid-primary so the 'heir apparent' doesn't have competition. I guess this way the politicians get to decided who are candidates are, not the public.

This episode covers the issue so nicely.

But, I need to get back to cleaning and I'm going to re-caulk the shower stall this weekend, so I need to remove the old caulk.

And, this weekend I need to create two lists of school in wisconsin and minnesota that I would potentially visit, the cost to visit these school, and then chat with my boss and department chair next week to decide which loop I should take first.

The party cake

In some ways, parties are getting a little easier. The kids just played in the pool - we set up the food, watched to make sure no-one drowned, and corraled them later for cake and presents. We had a few no-shows, but just sent their bags home with a couple of kids with siblings.

Everyone had fun, and I'm really pleased with Sarah's cake. I made this myself. I used a metal bowl for the top, licorice for the eyes, and fondant for the spots.

If I were ever to attempt this again (or another tiered cake), I'd do a few things differently. But, all in all I'm pleased.

I give you the Mario Bros "1-up" cake (and for those of you not involved in playing Mario Bros (which would have been us at Christmas), the 1-up is the character that gives you extra lives

The party!

Yesterday we had Syd's birthday party. One little girl commented several times that "it was the best party ever." While everyone arrived, they just played and my friends helped me finish getting everything together.

Then, once everyone arrived, it was time to decorate the fleece pillows I made. One little girl decided the pillow was so nice, she didn't want to add anything to it.



Then, as the girls finished their pillows, we painted nails, had a snack, opened presents, and then it was time for the cake. I was pretty impressed with how well the cake turned out. I've never tried some of these frosting techniques. The base coat didn't quite come out the way I wanted, and so the rest wasn't quite as pictured - but it tasted great.



Most importantly, Sydney thought her party was a success!

Up late/Up early

Today is Sydney's "Fancy Nancy" Soiree.(I'll leave it to you to google her name if you don't know her. And, if you have little girls, you MUST buy her books. We are having an 'at-home' party. The girls are all coming in their fancy clothes. (I just hope I have enough time to get dressed myself.

I decided to go to bed early and get up early in the AM to clean the house. Needless to say, that just as I was trying to fall asleep, Sydney woke up crying because her ear hurt. I gave her motrin and a decongestant to clear out the pressure and sat with her while I waited for the meds to take effect. She whimpered and told me how much it hurt. I kept counting the minutes until the meds would take effect. She fell asleep 21 minutes after she took the Motrin.

She lost her 2nd tooth at school yesterday. Good thing the Tooth Fairy remembered to come.

So, I got up early today and I'm working on drinking some coffee and having yogurt before I start the intensive cleaning of the house so I can get the food ready and set up the play centers.

I'm so excited for the party. The cake is decorated - not bad for a first attempt with some of the cake decorating techniques. I've also made 11 crown shaped pillows out of purple fleece. I've written each girls name on the pillow with fabric paint. Later today, each girl will decorate the pillow with ribbons and buttons.

We are also going to paint their nails and have a dress up area. A bit of the time will be spent just playing whatever they want.

I will post pictures later.

But, it's time to get cleaning!

For love or money

I just got done spending a half an hour in 3 degree weather digging up my front yard to locate my daughter's glove (all because we didn't want to spend the money to buy a new one).

Do you remember my front yard?

Brut Force

I wish I had a picture of me working the snowblower Monday - in our 18-24 inches of snow - but alas I can't quite manage to show you that. Surfice to say, I'm sure it was a pretty amusing sight.

But, after all this snow, here is how our house looks:

Here is the backyard. You can see the height of the snow piles from the grill on the patio.


Here is the front yard. This was before I cleared a path. The front steps were completely invisible.


And the measure of how much snow is on the front path. This is just what fell between 8:00 am and 3:00 pm


As for the brut force - it's what it took to run the snowblower.

Some dates you just remember

Last night, as the game was ending (great last quarter), I looked at DH and asked him if he knew what today was.

DH: Feb 1st.

Me: No.

DH: Sunday

Me: No.

DH: Feb 1st

Me: No, it's an anniversary of sorts.

DH: Yes, the first day you doubted me.

You see, we'd only been dating exclusively a few weeks and seeing each other a couple of months, when he told me he loved me on Feb 1st. I didn't think it was enough time for him to develop real feelings and not just infatuation. I guess I was wrong.

And DH remembers!