College Hockey It's A Whole New World

It's hard to say if we've become College Hockey fans or if we just enjoy being a part of such a great atmosphere. Either way, we had a great family outing watching a local college hockey team win. Not even the fact that a minor snowstorm caused it to take twice as long as normal to get to the Arena could dampen our fun.
.
Here's a few of the fun/ funny moments from the evening....

.

Dad dropped us off at the hotel across from the convention hall as someone in our car had needed to use the "facilities" for over an hour. We have this family trick of using the bathrooms in lobbies of fancy hotels. We just act like guests and no one is the wiser.

.

While Miss A was washing her hands, she said; "I love fancy hotels. This might be my favorite part of the whole evening."

.

Taking the crosswalk later to the game, Miss M decided to take it up a notch and pretend to be from Minnesota. She even had the "long oooo" accent from Minnesoooota. That way if anyone asked if we were hotel guests, she could say, "Why yes, we are from the Twin Cities ."

.

We arrived in our seats and had just sat down when Miss A announced, "OK, what shall I have for my snack?" I asked if maybe we could at least wait for the game to start and she said, "Oh, I thought it had." Guess the fact that there were no players on the ice didn't really bother her too much.

.

Miss M announced that she really liked hockey. It's loud, the action is fast, and she really likes it when they slam each other against the glass. She was, however, grateful that they have the glass and net up, she'd hate to take a puck to her face. Yeah, me too M.

.

Mr. C was really the only one who really got into the actual hockey game and didn't seem like he was there for the snacks. He was high fiving the guys around us when we scored, he was "hoop and hollering" for the team, and even yelled "fight, fight" when it looked like two players might duke it out. Thankfully, college hockey is too refined for actual fights!

.

Don't worry, Mr C did finally get a snack. In fact, there was evidence of his snack for hours later. Who thought powdered sugar was a good idea for a teenage boy? What a mess. Thankfully, he said it looked like snow.

.

Miss A and I scooted out a few minutes early and sat by the fireplace at the hotel while the rest of the family insured victory for the team by waiting till the bitter end. Considering it was way past our bedtime, Miss A announced maybe we should just get a room and spend the night. I said our home was only 20 minutes away.

.

Her response: "That's what you said when we came here and Mom we both know it took much longer than that to get here. Let's just be real and spend the night. It will look better in the morning."

.

Who does she think she is; Eloise!

Miss Piggy proves to be a Top Dog

Friday was a top ten day in Miss A's world. First, it was her first ever Musical program at school and a day the entire student body looks forward. Second, it was her day (finally) to be the "top dog" and share her photos and special things. Miss A woke up with the biggest smile on her face and it lasted the entire day!

The music teacher at our elementary school is fabulous. Each year's program really knocks your socks off. This year's theme was TV shows and each grade sang a theme song from a different television show. The kindergarten classes sang the theme songs from Arthur, The Muppet Show and Scooby Doo. Adorable. Miss A even sang. Usually, she is a bundle of nerves and doesn't really sing the songs or do the actions, but on stage next to her kindergarten buddies, she was an all star.

A few weeks ago, some of moms from Miss A's class got together and we made the t-shirts for the performance. All the girls were Miss Piggy and the boys were Kermit the Frog. Thankfully, the art teacher made up the stencils and all we had to do was paint and glitter. The kids looked so adorable on stage in their shirts.

For those who have told me that it sounds like I'm on a crafting roll, realize that all I did on this project is follow directions and get glitter all over my clothes.

After the morning performance, P and I signed Miss A out of school and took her to lunch at Red Robin. A few of A's friends and their moms were able to join us which made it extra special. Since A has been to a few of the bigger kids performances and knew of this "lunch out" practice, she was thrilled to be the one at the center of the action!

Then between lunch and the afternoon performance, Miss A had the chance to be the Top Dog and share her pictures with the class. Because she was sick last week, her board ended up being up for nearly two weeks.

Really, can it get better than this?

Well stayed tuned because our day of fun was only beginning!

Mismatch and Hodgpodge it's how we roll

Mishmash. It's been a crazy week thus far, two days off school, three projects I'm working on for school or church, and a dinning room that has been taken over by Girl Scout photo boards and now Girl Scout cookie boxes, a bunch of hodgepodge.

.

As a result, I'm going to summarize this past week in bullet points. A little bit of this and that so as to free up some space in my brain and to remember these days in the years ahead.

.

1. Amazing Race started on Sunday and we are pumped for a great season. We will be picking our teams after this week's edition and I already have my restaurants in mind. I'm thinking this could be my season! It's redemption time for me as none of my old teams were even invited back to race in this season of unfinished business. I'm not even jealous that Mr. C has six former teams in the race, not me.

.

2. Roller skating: When our plans for a road trip last week fell through, Miss A was heartbroken so off we went to roller rink to recover a little fun. The girls were having a blast and Miss A finally thinks she can go to the monthly class skating party. Mr. C is not so convinced that racing around a rink with skates on your feet is such a great idea. He told me that once he's old enough to start dating (age 21), he won't bringing dates to the skating rink; it's too expensive and probably dangerous.

.

3. Decorating Family Room: The painting continues and now it's time to think about the style. I think I've finally found some fabric for the IKEA fabric squares I'm making. I love the colors, but not sure what all goes together without looking too matchy matchy. Any suggestions?

.

4. Daisy Troop Goes High Adventure: Miss A' troop had a field trip to a local inflatable playzone and even though Miss A is still recovering from pneumonia, she scaled the "heights" and made it to the top. This girl has no fear. I loved how the girls cheered and clapped for each other regardless of their success; what a great life lesson.

.

5.Girls Plan Fundraising Adventure: Miss A and Miss M have come up with a way to pay for Mr. C's high school years. They want us to buy a vending machine. Miss A thinks we could set it up in our front yard. Talk about classy. Miss M and Mr C think that the Lake might be a better option. We could put it on the dock and catch boaters as they go by. Imagine all those hungry and thirsty waverunners. We might need to invest in both the beverage and snack unit. Genius.

.

6. The CSN giveaway winner is commenter number 4, Heather. I'll email Heather and let her know how to redeem her prize. Random number generator picked the winner. I'd love to show you the proof, but I don't know how to cut and paste on blogger. I know, what a good blogger I am.

.

See our life really is a bunch of mishmash, but I guess i can't imagine it any other way!

GS Crafting: Over My Head and I'lll Admit It!

Sunday afternoon was Girl Scout crafting at our house. A few weeks ago, I'd taken the Girl Scouts fabric shopping for photo boards and it was now time to make the boards.

This is where I admit I'm craft hindered. I love the idea of a great craft, but the reality of carrying out the finished project leaves a little to be desired. The Girl Scout Photo board is a prime example. My plan was to make a sample photo board last week and have all the kinks worked out before the girls arrived.

.

Reality proved that I didn't leave the house for almost five days and that meant the sample board was made on Sunday afternoon; just hours before the big event. It also meant that the project was much more difficult than I had originally thought. The staples were hard to put into the plywood. The process of ironing the fabric, stapling the quilt backing and fabric to the board, and then to get enough ribbon cut and ready was hard.

.

The boards are adorable, but the plan to have the girls walk out with finished projects was soon abandoned when we needed to make a run to Michael's for more ribbon (4 rolls per girl) and we needed much more than 1.5 hours to finish.

.

Thankfully, these girls are saints, as is my husband for bailing me out of stapling and figuring out how to get these projects done. I've learned that I need to do a better job of planning crafts out step by step. I can't wing it. While the girls had a great time and it was fun to see how the fabric creations are coming together, its disappointing that we didn't finish.

.

The finished projects will be great. It's just going to take a little while to get there.

On the Road to Recovery

Today is day five of Miss A's bout of pneumonia and it appears that we've finally reached the end of the line. Today, she woke up with a normal temp. After days of 102 plus, it's nice to see a low number.

We have high hopes that, if we keep her nice and calm today, she'll regain some energy and start to feel more like herself by tomorrow. Just in time for two days off school and some cold temps and snow. We missed all the nice weather of the past few days, but we did get some great snuggling, reading books and watching movies in.

I'm thankful that Miss A had the strength to fight the pneumonia off and that there were some strong drugs to help her battle. I don't take that blessing lightly. I'm grateful to God.

On this Sabbath day, I'm reminded of a verse from my BSF lesson a few weeks ago. Whatever you are facing today, I hope you will have the wings of eagles.

Isaiah 40:29-31 (NIV)
He gives strength to the weary, and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Don't forget my give away. It ends tomorrow!

Early Spring Means it's Giveaway Time

It was 67 degrees today. We all know it's only February and we'll still have days of subzero temps, inches of snow that will fall on our driveway, and the sun that will be absent for days on end. But for today, it's spring! To spread the spring fever, I'm hosting a giveaway with the help of CSN Stores for a $15.00 gift certificate that can be used at any of their over 200 online stores. From swingsets (perfect for spring!) to cute cookware to fitness equipment, you will find just what you are looking for at CSN stores!

If you'd like to win this gift certificate, just leave me a comment and I'll draw a winner at random on Monday.

Next week, you could be buying some new wall art or an adorable pitcher for Ice Tea on the patio, or maybe a birthday present for someone special. Just leave me a comment and you could be the winner.

Thanks CSN store for allowing me to pass this special blessing to on my readers.

This Top Dog is a Real Trooper

Miss A is Top Dog this week at school. She has a display board filled with 15 photos of her life, thus far and three special items that represent her favorite things. We spent most of the weekend going through photos of Miss A as an adorable baby, toddler, and now kindergartner.

Deciding what 3 favorite things to take was certainly a process. She finally decided on American Girl Ruthie, her soccer medal, and a favorite new barbie doll.

Friday is suppose to be Show N Tell Day. Miss A gets to stand in front of her display and share all the pictures and things with her friends. She was psyched.



Instead, here is a picture of Miss A from yesterday morning; hospital mask and red glassy eyes. At about 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning, Miss A ran into our room screaming, crying, and gasping for breath.

After we got her calmed down and stripped out of her flannel pj's, she started to breath easier, but with a temp of 103 we knew what we were dealing with. When I mentioned to my husband that at least we know what she's got, Miss A cried "am I gonna die?" No sweetie, it's just another case of pneumonia. A doctor's visit later that morning only confirmed that I should have gone to medical school and saved myself the co-pay.

Thankfully we caught it early (again) and she's on some great drugs that should get her on the road to recovery. Of course, Miss A is devastated about her Top Dog week. Plus, it was cheese breadsticks for lunch today along with gym class. Who cares that she's still running a temp of 101, she wanted to go to school.

Miss A's teacher has told us not to worry. Next week, they have a few days off so, since it's a short week, no one is top dog. Miss A can show off her pictures next week!!

Now, we just need her better by Saturday for a Daisy outing.



I'd say the patient is in much better spirits today. Either that or she was thrilled the I substituted cheese breadsticks (school lunch) for homemade tortilla pizzas. Can't get better than that can it.

Miss A is quite the trooper, no wonder she gets to be Top Dog for two weeks. She'd definitely a top dog around here.

Valentine's Day Recap

Valentine Boxes. Those two words put fear into the hearts of most elementary school parents. I've told my husband that some of the people at our school must spend countless hours and lots of money making elaborate Valentine boxes that are ripped to shreds in five minutes once the party is over.

My clever husband has made five boxes over the past eight years for two children. How you ask? He's convinced our children to use the same box for numerous years and we always make the slot big enough to shake out the cards and goodies.

This year's box for Miss A was her choice. An Ipod. It was according to P the best box ever and was easy to make. It's really just gift wrap, a few paper plates and some paper. Miss A picked the songs for her playlist and I printed them off. Total price about $5.00; Thrill of the box: Priceless.

The kindergarten party was according to Miss A "the best ever." We had nearly 12 moms volunteer to help in the classroom and lets just say the energy in the room needed all hands on deck. Miss A's class is so fun. Every time I walk into the classroom at least five little voices say, "Hi, A's Mom" and I get at least 10 hugs from little girls.

Thanks to a little "home improvement work" this weekend and the fact that Valentine central was no longer taking over the dining room we could have our annual Chinese Valentine takeout extravaganza. Miss M created a hidden note "under glass" reveal moment for our secret valentines. The only one who was really surprised of course was Miss A who was convinced that I was her secret friend. In reality, I just shopped for her secret valentine!

P was thrilled with his gift of new struts for his car and I'm loving the new garbage disposal I got!! Really, P and C are headed to the Texas basketball game this weekend and I got a new printer for my laptop! Who said romance was dead.

Love you honey!

We're not looking for a Lightning Bolt anymore

We know where Mr. C is going to be starting his high school career next fall and, though we didn't need a lightning bolt from God to confirm our decision, we can feel it in our heart that this is the right choice for our family.

C will be going to an all boys college prep school that's small and, while it allows boarding, we've opted to have C as a day student only. When it came right down to it, we just really liked the boys we've met who are current or past students. They are gentleman who love to learn and the environment at the school really encourages boys to become men.

As we watched the young men from this school coach C's basketball team, we've seen their commitment and been thrilled with how mature and encouraging they have been to C. We can see C thriving in this kind of environment; a place that's it cool to be smart. While he could probably go to our local neighborhood school and get an education that's similar, I think at this school he'll push himself even harder as he'll want to compete with the other boys.

C is thrilled. Not only does he know four boys from his school who will be going, he knows three other who are in his boy scout troop. When the scholarship arrived in the mail on Saturday, we told him it's a done deal. It will be a sacrifice for our family to send C to private school. I might even need to get a small part time job to help with the extra expense, but it's a change we are willing to make to give C every opportunity to become the man that God has planned.

I guess you could say that deep down it came down to a mother's and father's heart wish to give the world to their son. We want to open doors and let him develop his mind and skills in the best possible place. C would achieve much anywhere, but we are praying that at this school he'll soar.
.
Now, we just need to teach C how to tie a tie. The uniform is dress shirt, ties, and slacks. Thankfully, they give us until October 1st. Until then, he'll be wearing golf shirts and khaki shorts.

Happy Birthday Mr. President

It's not often you get to celebrate a President's birthday with real cake and a party. But that's just what we did on Saturday afternoon when we celebrated President Abraham Lincoln's 202nd birthday. Our local history museum was sponsoring an all out Lincoln Birthday Party in honor of a traveling exhibit they are hosting about Lincoln.

.

Mr. C is in the midst of a Social Studies report on Jefferson Davis (the Confederate President) and his best buddy is studying Honest Abe. What better way to get a feel for the "man behind the beard" than to see some of his memorabilia up close and personal. Poor Mr. C said there wasn't much about Davis, but what would you expect we live in the midst of Lincoln Country, the North.

.

I joked with P that even though he's a Civil War buff and a good old southern boy, he really should not call Jefferson Davis a President. I think he still calls it the "War of Northern Aggression." Hello, have you heard the north won!
.

Miss A was far from thrilled with the Lincoln exhibit, but did enjoy making a Log Cabin out of Popsicle sticks and eating fabulous white cake with real frosting. OK, the cake might have been my favorite. I'm a sucker for "wedding cake." She was, of course, thrilled to ride the Street Car, walk through the trains, and just wander about with Mom and Dad.

.

Mr. C and Miss M were busy trying to win the scavenger hunt for Lincoln facts. What a great way to learn while having fun! We didn't win the prize, but you can ask us anything from where did the phrase "with malice towards none" come from to how many states Lincoln's funeral train went through on the long trip back to Springfield. Important things to know and they might come in handy next time we play Trivial Pursuit.

.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President. Now, we just need to go to your hometown and we'll feel like real Lincoln buffs.

Reality Not Always Pretty

I'd love to say that I'm sitting in my totally cleaned family room, surrounded by fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, and the smell of a simmering pot of soup on the stove.

In reality, I'm sitting in the my family room surrounded by a stack of photos from 2008 that I'm trying to organize for scrapbooking. My dining room table is filled with valentine cards in the middle of the personalization stage, and a blank box that needs to be turned into a ipod valentine box by tomorrow. In addition, there are multiple bags filled with "stuff" for the kindergarten valentine's party on Monday and I still need to make samples of the craft for all four classrooms. (Say a prayer that I can make these clay pots and suckers into a flower arrangement)

.

Paint cans, rollers, and drop cloths are in the other corner of the dining room as the painting continues in the kitchen. I'm giving myself until Valentine's day to get this mess picked up, as we'll be having our favorite Chinese Dinner in that room come Monday!
.
There are no fresh cookies in the cookie jar (we miss you Nana) and there is nothing cooking on the stove because P is out tonight at an office event, M is at a overnight slumber party/swimming party and that means it's just C and A and I for dinner. I'm hoping they will like cold cereal or frozen waffles tonight.

Reality is not always pretty. I don't have it all together all the time. In fact, not even most of the time. I'm fine with that.

Time Spent with Girls

It was a girls' weekend. Really, it was a Girl Scout weekend. Due to snow storms and sickness, we've not had a Girl Scout meeting in two months. In February, we are making up for lost time. In the next few weeks, we'll have had three special events.

.

Saturday, I took the girls to a play on Bullying at our Children's Theater. The play was advertised as for the "10 and up" crowd and they weren't kidding. Knowing that the subject matter was on bullying, I thought it was perfect for our girls since they've just entered the junior high years.

.

Girls bully too. In fact if you listen to my husband, he thinks girls are even "meaner" than boys and their feuds last longer and are more personal and destructive. Boys just hit each other, girls use their words.

.

The "Misfits" dealt with all kinds of bullying and name calling, but focused a lot on the "labels" we give each other. My only qualm about the play was that it went into the issue of sexual orientation a little more than I was expecting for the pre-teen crowd. One character was "gay" and was interested in another character. While I do not in any way condone picking on someone who lives this lifestyle, I'm not sure that 10 year old girls are ready to watch a play about a boy "liking" another guy in that way.

.

After the play, we headed to a cupcake shop for some girl talk. While at first the girls said that bullying is not something they have dealt with or think happens at their school, once they got a little sugar in them and relaxed a little they really shared. We made a pledge to each other not to bully and to be the person who steps in when others are bullied. Each girl promised to tell an adult if they see it happening or experience it themselves.

.

We decided that a lot of the bullying happens when girls/boys who are not happy at home or going through a lot of junk and take it out on others. I really like these girls. They are mature and caring, but know how to giggle and have fun too!

.

Then to add to the fun, Monday, after school, our troop headed to Hobby Lobby to pick out fabric to make Photo Bulletin Boards. Watching seven girls try to find the perfect colors, designs and style is a lesson in patience.

.

When we get together over President's Day weekend and create our masterpieces, it will be a whole different lesson. Hope I catch the craft bug by then!

Making Progress

My blanket is coming along. It's starting to look more like a blanket and less like a scarf or washcloth. I'm loving the pattern, but it's something I have to concentrate on while knitting. This is not something you can do when you are tired.

.

The Super Bowl was an excellent time to get a few rows done. A few snow days thrown in helped too. I'm hoping to have it completed by April 1st. It's a eight skein project and I'm about to start my fourth soon.

.

I love the yarn I'm using for this project; Berroco Comfort Chunky in bulk weight. It's a soft yarn that does not pull or scratch and I think it will be great to snuggle under. Of course, first I need to finish.

.

It's fun to see the blanket taking shape and I can't wait to have a project to keep just for myself.

Can't wait to take this to knitting group tomorrow and get a few more rows off the needles!

Observations from Panera

I love to people watch. After three days of barely leaving the house, I was thrilled to go "out" today. Just me. You know that winter blahs have hit when it's exciting to go to Target. Running into a good friend and chatting at Target makes it extra special.

Today was my day to be artsy-fartsy as my dear husband called it. I packed up my laptop and planned to settle in with a cup of soup, my new buddy, and get a few projects done for the hospitality committee and girl scouts. Anyone have a great idea for Teacher Appreciation week? I still need a theme!

In my little corner at Panera, I've noticed a few things about people and myself....

Some people talk really loud. Loud enough that you wonder if maybe they are so congested they can't hear themselves. Maybe they have hard of hearing family members.

Spouses having lunch together rarely talk. Sure they share the same booth, but at least three "couples" I observed looked at their phones, talked on said phones, and one lady even pulled out her Nook to read. Why even have lunch together.

Having a laptop is like a security blanket. No one thinks its weird that you are sitting all by yourself eating lunch as you must be so busy "working" on the computer.

It's funny how Panera has become the "new" main street coffee shop. I've noticed that the wait staff even calls some people by name so they must be regular customers. When I use to travel for politics, I loved going to the small coffee shop early in the morning and seeing all the farmers sitting around just "chewing the fat" as they call it.

Guess as connected as we are all to the world around us, sometimes we still need that personal connection. We still need to talk and laugh and just hang out with each other.

Speaking of chatting, it's almost time for me to head home and catch up with my favorite 5th grader. Her brother has jazz band so she's all mine after school today. Fresh brownies and a glass of milk and I'm sure she'll be chatting away.

Who needs to go to Panera to connect, I can do it right at my kitchen counter.

Though sometimes it's nice to just get away from the house and see the world.

Funny Things I've Heard

Even in the midst of a winter storm, there are things to smile about around these parts. Especially when we've had two snow days in a row!

Church is for the Birds:

On Saturday, the girls and I were out running errands and drove by a church with a huge slanted roof. It was a nice, sunny, and relatively warm afternoon (where did those days go?) and sitting on top of the roof were probably 75 birds. I pointed this adorable sight out to the girls and asked what they thought the birds were doing.

M quickly said it looks like they are having "church." One bird even seems to be sitting off my himself. He must be the pastor.

I commented that it was only Saturday. Weren't they a day early for worship?

A quickly said they maybe the birds gathered on Saturday's because all the people in the parking lot "clicking" their cars locked might scare the birds. "You knowing that locking beep that cars make is really loud!"

M added, "yeah and too many birds on the roof on a Sunday morning might result in lots of bird poop on church goers too!"

Snow Day Excitement:

Yesterday, in the midst of blowing and drifting snow, Miss M asked if she could invite a friend over to hang out. A friend who lives at least 5 miles away. I said that I doubted we could have friends driving over to play when we couldn't go to school. Miss M said, "I knew there was a downer to a snow day, you can't leave home."

Today, with school cancelled yet again, but the roads much better we ventured out to Piano lessons and to run a few errands. Of course, that meant we had to celebrate with "Happy Hour at Sonic." I even splurged on mozzarella sticks which caused much cheering from the girls.

As we drove forward to get our drinks, A noticed that no one was sitting in the Outside Eating Area and said "guess nobody wants to sit outside in this lovely weather." Let's remember, it's 12 degrees!

Essay's and lessons from our father

Finally, Mr. C has been asked to sign up for a Rotary Club Scholars program. He needed to write an essay and fill out an application and turn it in tomorrow. I suggested that we review his private school application notes and rework a 500 word essay he'd written as well.

C looked at me and said "isn't that cheating?" I went on to say, we didn't need to reinvent the wheel here, we had already done the work and could just "re purpose" the material for what we needed for school. In just a little bit of time, we had a completed application and a great essay.

Now, of course, I had to explain that you can't do this for research papers or book reports. This is unlike his father, who due to moving across country, used the same book multiple times for book reports. Just saying.

Borrowed Shoes Shine Bright

Who is that sharped dressed young man? Mr. C all ready for his High School Private School Interview in dress pants, a tie and a great pair of loafers. No one even knew he was wearing borrowed shoes. It's getting hard to keep this kid in clothes and shoes; he's outgrowing everything. Dress shoes are not something C wears enough to justify buying so we went in search of shoes to borrow.

.

Our kind neighbor just happened to have a pair of Johnson Murphy loafers in a size 10A, a size he no longer wears. He couldn't believe he hadn't throw or given them away and that they were just sitting in his closet. I think it was a God thing that they were just sitting in the closet waiting for Mr. C to need them for the interview.

.

The interview went great. The admission counselor was very impressed with C's resume and transcript. He said that C was exactly the type of young man they look for at the school. The only interview question he flubbed was the "one" that I had prepped him for; "What book are you currently reading?" Yep, the one I knew they would ask and told C to get started reading. He is just not a reader. Sometimes I wonder how he is my son!

.

The best part of the interview by far was when they gave C his test results. C rocked the entrance exam in fact he raised his score five points from the practice exam in December to the "real" exam in January. I have no idea how he does so well on standardized tests, they make me sweat just thinking about them. He even did well on the reading. Remember, this is the kid who doesn't like to read.

.

Mr C is fast becoming a young adult. When he's all dressed up like this, my heart aches just a little bit knowing that the years are really flying by. I love the man he is becoming, but just a part of me misses the little boy he used to be.

.

Really wasn't it just yesterday.