345 Bleh Blue Blahby Blah

I am hoping it is the season. Or I am hoping it is the fact we have all been a little under the weather. Or even that I have been too busy (ha). Whatever it is, I have been feeling blah. I haven't picked up a paintbrush. I didn't take a picture for almost two weeks. I haven't been able to come up with a decent blogpost. It will come back to me. The weather is improving and we have been able to spend a little time in the backyard. The fresh air is niceIt is still impossible to get Katie to sit still for more than a few pictures. I re-dyed my hair. Not that I showed y'all a pic of the other hair, but I was a true brunette for a little while. It felt weird. This is still darker than I like, but it is closer to what my "natural" color would be. And the actual haircolor name was "Natural Blonde" so I am absolutely claiming it for my own. About six or so months ago we traded our old BowFlex for our friend's hot tub .... and this is how far Chip has gotten toward preparing our yard to receive our end of the deal.

.....Yeah ... that is EXACTLY what I was thinking ... And not to beat a dead horse, but toward the end of last year Chip decided to take a weed eater to the corner flower bed. I do use the term flower bed loosely. I was very lax in its upkeep. However, it does have some plants from my grandfather's garden. One of which is my peony. It took THREE years to coax a single bloom out of that plant. I was so happy, I took a picture of it everyday from the time that bud appeared until all the petals fell off. I oohed and aahed over it. Chip claims he had no idea it was special to me. Well, he whacked it to the ground. I was worried I had lost it since it wasn't dormant yet, but while we were out back I started poking around. And I found this! Wonderful little red bits of happiness! My peony looks like it is going to make it.And granddaddy's irises .... need to be thinned! They too were chopped to the ground. We have taken advantage of the good weather to toss the football and play in the yard. Connor is really enjoying the playhouse this year.And now that the weather has warmed up, we are discovering more victims of the serial killer that is stalking our house.

The sky is blue. The weather is warming. The trees are thinking of budding. Little new life is peaking from the ground. Good times will return. The BLAHs will go away... I hope....

344 Connor's First Haircut

Too tired ... words later ....

343 Valentine's and the DDD

Katie had school the day after she became nearly toothless. And not only that, it was her Valentine's Day Party. Poor girl was worried about being able to eat her lunch, and she begged me to bring her some soup. Well, we were all out of soup, and when the time approached for me to go to school we all decided to go. We grabbed some Chinese takeout. Egg Drop Soup is a family favorite, and what better for our toothless wonder? Connor loves being surrounded by all the kids. Of course that also means he wants to run around. Luckily I had Chip along for this outing. Really helps to have the extra adult!!We headed home after lunch, and then I had to turn back around for Katie's Valentine's Party. What better to give a bunch of 7 and 8 year olds right before sending them off for the weekend than massive amounts of sugar? ESPECIALLY the diabetic child. Okay, so her sugar was fine ... but MAN! They loaded these kids UP! Scoops and scoops of ice cream. Sprinkles and chocolate chips. Three kinds of syrup. Oreos and bananas. Funny thing is ... the kids NEVER eat everything. Katie threw most of hers away, and that was even after I took a few bites. Oh well, the kids love participating and making their own decisions when making sundaes. It worked out well and no one cried. I guess that is truly the sign of a good party ... no tears.One of the boys brought these little Olympic pandas for everyone. Mrs. Young and Ms. Byrum squeezed each one and gave it some love to take with it. She said the kids could hug the bears when they felt like the world was getting them down, and they would be loaded with love from them. It was a sweet gesture. Katie absolutely loves her teacher! And she is amazing with the kids. I just don't know how teachers do it! I have no patience, so my hat is off to those that can put up with a classroom of annoying children all day. And that night, the infamous Father-Daughter Dance. Katie insisted that I curl her hair. Which, for a girl that fights and cries everytime you try to curl her hair, was NOT fun! I don't know what magic abilities she thought I would possess, but I am just not made with the girly gene. I can do my own hair, just never really care enough to put forth the effort. I am even worse at other people's hair. And once again ... I HAVE NO PATIENCE! It was destined to not end well. Katie has a LOT of hair ... and it is really, really thick. It took FOREVER! And Katie wouldn't let me dry her hair all the way, so the curls barely took. And everytime I sprayed hairspray you would think I was poisoning her. But eventually it was time to slip on her dress and head her off to the dance. I, of course, had to snap a few pics. The lighting was terrible and the shutter speed slow, so forgive the pics. Katie and Chip looked wonderful! They had a great time. After the dance they went to eat at Red Lobster. A perfect little Daddy-Daughter Date.

342 Wearing Out the Tooth Fairy

S far behind ... these pics are from February 11th ... her teeth are coming in pretty well, but hadn't posted pics for the grandparents. So, nothing long ... She lost another tooth ...

Oh, and apparently the Tooth Fairy is taking a page from Santa's book. We stayed up too late that night and she passed right over our house. Luckily she did come back the next night. Katie is saving up her money for American Girl stuff, so it would have been heartbreaking if the Tooth Fairy had not returned.

341 White Death 2010 Take 2 ... B

As you can see from this first picture, it was imperative that they have another snow day. CLEARLY there was no way we could have made it to school! And yes, there is still snow caught in the spokes of her bike. But the best part is that I somehow ended up in charge of sledding. Sure, we are the only schmucks that actually own sleds (thanks Mom for stocking us up) but I would gladly let other people BORROW them along with my kids. Well, at least with Katie. As it was, Connor was on my hip because he refused to walk through the snow and mud.
Ohhh, how I miss the days when snow days were the best thing EVER!

340 The Tooth Fairy Cometh!

Monday night I was tucking Connor in when Chip came in to tell me that he would finish up because Katie had something to show me. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I suspected she wanted to read me a book. She is really getting into reading now, and I am so excited! But alas ... it was only a tooth....

A TOOTH!

I am not sure why, but Katie's teeth DO NOT want to fall out!! She has been working at this one for a good month. She apparently had it turned completely sideways, so Chip had to help her finish the extraction. I was in charge of finding the tooth pillow and proper photographic documentation.

Lucky for Katie, she didn't threaten to punch the tooth fairy. Unlucky for me, The Rock didn't actually show up in a tutu. The tooth fairy did pull through, and Katie woke up to a five dollar bill under her pillow. All is right with the world ... for now.

339 White Death 2010 - Take 2

Mom insisted that there be pictures for her to look at....