35/365 Bribery

I had to bribe the kids to pose for me this afternoon. Our current storm was blowing away and there was beautiful light coming out, but they were not feeling it. Luckily, School Store is open tomorrow, and they were seriously lacking funds. Models can be SO difficult.





(Texas winter doesn't necessarily require shoes)

(At least not rain-appropriate ones)






(I love this face!)

31/365 Just What the Doctor Ordered

When one is sick in this household, a snooze in the big green chair with copious stuffed animals, after downing Diet Coke and losing oneself in a trashy romance novel, is just what the doctor ordered.

And it worked! Two days later, I'm only coughing when I breathe deeply, so score!

31/365 At Least We're Using It For SOMETHING

It does my heart good to know the formal dining room table is finally being put to good use.**

Sparse posting the next couple days. We're out of school until Thursday, which involves a lot of sleeping in and napping. Not sure what the kids will be doing while I'm occupied thusly.

**(Legos not included with purchase.)

30/365 Unexpected Visitor

We had an unexpected visitor on Saturday. Our cousins were going out of town for the day and didn't want to leave their dog outside in the cold weather, so Louie got to come visit us for the day. We pretty much exhausted him, and ourselves, playing ball all the livelong day.





Loodle, who had to leave for a sleepover, actually cried because she was going to miss him. Loodle. The one who's been bitten by a dog. Twice.

However, I still don't think we're ready to have one of our own. I don't know if I want the extra work, and after my dear friend's loss this past week of their beloved pup, my heart's just not ready to take that leap, no matter the joys that come along with it.

We'll just have to make due with visiting canines.

29/365 Girls' Night Out

Boodle made a special request to have dinner with her Dad Friday night, so Loodle and I were on our own. First up, fish tacos, because DUH. How ELSE would one start their evening?

We set out for the mall in search of Webkinz, but I brought us to a Webkin-free mall apparently, so we hit up Claire's because DUH. Seven-year-old girl. She found some scented lip gloss thingys, and saw that they were 4 for $10. She had leftover Christmas money from her Great Grandpa (Thank you Papa! We're still working on that thank you note!!), so she chose them, along with a couple pair of earrings.

The cashier was studying her screen intently as she was scanning our items, and finally figured out her issue.

Cashier: "Oh, I thought these were part of the buy 2, get 1 free, but they are not. Instead of them being $4, though, they are $2.50 each."

Me: "Oh great. My daughter said they were 4 for $10, so that works out."

Cashier: "No, they're $2.50 each."

Me: ...

Me: "Okay great!"

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Later, I decided to test Loodle's math skills. I asked her if they were 4 for $10, then how much was each one? She quickly replied $2.50, and told me she'd heard the cashier say it.

Before I could ask her how she knew the number was correct, she said "But it's easy to figure out because you just drop one of the zeros from $10.00 and there are 4 quarters in a dollar."

Um, yeah, she's in first grade. I'm not sure I could have made that leap until middle school.


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28/365 Homework

Thursday is our standard "holy crap we haven't done homework and it's due tomorrow and did you study for your spelling test and where are those division math fact flashcards?" day. Bonus for today, we didn't have as much of the frantic because Boodle conveniently left her homework at school. So much for THAT spelling test. I tasked her with reading instead,


and got Loodle going on her homework. She was supposed to go to Worldbook Online to look up pics of butterflies, so I set her up and went into the office to clean. Next thing I know, Obama is talking in my living room. I came out to see this:


I asked her what she was doing, and she said she was done. Sooooooo, what's with Obama, then? Without turning her attention from the screen, "He's having a speech." Huh. She then went on to listen to audio info on FDR and Teddy Roosevelt.

Did you know that Loodle has a fascination with the Presidents? She's got a place mat from which she periodically quizzes us, and even went so far as to buy a book with her own money about all the Presidents. She quizzes us from that one, too. Do YOU know which President was nicknamed "Old Hickory"? Or which President signed a bill that let female lawyers argue cases in front of the Supreme Court? Or which President never married?

No? Well, thanks to a 7-year-old nerd, I do.


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27/365 Kids

We had a half day today, so we took a couple friends with us down to the library/outdoor mall/hill-on-which-we-run for the afternoon.

High point: Frozen Yogurt! Yay!

Low point: Allergy induced bloody nose. Boo.







There's something about this pic that speaks to me. If you don't know her, Boodle's face seems to speak of sunlight in her eyes and annoyance with her mother. I know her, though, and it really reflects where she's at right now. Her mind is turning, trying to figure this life out and how she fits into it.



Then there's this one. Latest Report Card: Inability To Share Limelight




PS - what were they doing on the water's edge so industriously? Scavenging for pennies. We scored 11 cents! I didn't even make them throw it back. What? I was in a hurry to get the yogurt. You got a problem with that? ROLL UP.