Little friendships

Alison has a little friend named Miriam. These two are completely cut from the same cloth. Miriam is in kindergarten, and Alison is in 1st grade, but their birthdays are only months apart. They both love to be outside and both are really creative little kids. Their latest venture has been collecting moss. I'm not sure I have the story completely right, but from what Alison tells me, on Easter, the Easter Bunny leave eggs on the moss at Miriam's house. Miriam's family is from Germany, so maybe that's a tradition?? Anyway, Miriam has this adorable little wheelbarrow and she and Alison go to one of the ponds near our house and dig up clumps of moss, take it to Miriam's house and replant it. They are beyond adorable.

8 below

We took the kids to see Eight Below on Saturday night. I really enjoyed the movie. The scenery was beautiful!! Of course, as owners of a Siberian Huskey, the dogs in the movie, I think we enjoyed it all the more because we can really appreciate the behaviors shown by these dogs. They are awesome dogs! Mind you, the dogs in the movie survived winter in Antarctica, whereas Thornton gets nervous if Mia is outside and it's below 30 degrees...but that's just our pampered pooch!

It's supposed to be 55 degrees today and then even warmer the next couple of days. I would love to open up the house a little bit and air it out.

20 oz. soap

I was making a giant soap to cut up into samples to include w/ orders when Alison saw it. She fell in love w/ that giant soap and wanted one for herself. I promised her one, but kind of hoped she'd forget all about it. I was delusional, of course. So, last night I made her a 20 oz. strawberry scented soap. How long do you suppose this soap will last? And how long after Alison gets in the shower do you think it'll take before she drops it on her foot?

Blue citrus?

I just ran into the store to pick up a few things. I needed new glass cleaner and since I've found that they all pretty much work the same, I decided to get the cheapo generic kind. I grabbed the blue bottle and threw it into my cart. When I got to the check out I saw that on the bottle it said Citrus Scented. That's great...I love citrus scented stuff...but why is it blue?? Shouldn't it be orange?? Call me crazy, but I like my stuff to be the color of what they smell like (and no, I don't need any comments about why aren't my tarts colored, then...LOL!).

Gotta go pick Rachel up from dance.

Frustrated

I've been waiting on a shipment of an ingredient I add to the emollient for over 2 weeks now. I can't complete orders until I get this item. Normally this company is a little slow...but not this slow. I'm so frustrated and upset. I know that people hate long turn around times...so do I. I was about in tears yesterday when the UPS guy delivered a package, but not *the* package I was waiting on. Going to call the company again this morning, as soon as they open.

Watched Olympic figure skating last night. The right person won the gold. She really was the skater that skated the best. Sure, I wanted Sasha Cohen to pull it off, but she didn't. You could see in her eyes before she skated that she was questioning herself. I tried to be a bad mommy and let Rachel stay up and watch the performers, but she fell asleep. :-)

I'm so old!

This morning I was talking with Thornton about a new praise song he had written. The band and singers had rehearsed it last night and he said that it went over really well. He is trying to write enough songs to record a CD, so I asked him how many more songs he has to write to have enough. He said that he has 5 done, so he would need a minimum of 3 more songs. I said, "but that would only be 4 songs on each side." Thornton looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "ummm...honey...CDs don't have sides." Good grief....I bet my kids don't even know what cassette tapes or records are!

Forgot to brag!

Patrick got his midterm grades yesterday and he got all A's!!! Since his 2nd quarter grades, he's been under much stricter guidelines regarding studying. You should've seen him yesterday...he was almost crying he was so excited. He even took the printout to The Hitting Center to show everyone. How cute is that? And, he proved to himself that he can do it! So, while he will now be allowed more freedom, the stricter study guidelines will stay. Yea Patrick!

Critical spirit

Dr. Phil was on in the background yesterday as I was working. He had on a husband who was extremely critical of his wife. This guy had a list of 75 things he felt his wife should be able to accomplish regarding housework. If the wife didn't meet his expectations, he'd either verbally criticize her or he'd huff and stomp around, making it obvious to the wife that he disapproved. Dr. Phil tried to tell the guy that he had a critical spirit and that he needed to love his wife for who she was, and not try to hold her to an impossible standard.

Then, last night I watched the Ladies short program in figure skaing in the Olympics. Dick Button, one of the commentators, also has a critical spirit. I know he was Olympic Champion back in his day, but skating has come a long way since then. He continually commented on the skater's "ugly" positions. Good grief, these skaters couldn't look ugly if they tried. I should've muted the TV....he was making me so angry w/ his comments.

So, I'm going to try very hard today to have a loving and accepting spirit.

"I love cleaning bathrooms"

Yesterday the kids were off school because of President's Day, so of course, we put them to work. Alison cleaned the guest room (aka the girl's playroom) all by herself. She did an awesome job...right down to arranging a million pillows on the bed. She needed some help w/ vacuuming, but otherwise did a very admirable job for a 6 year old. Rachel cleaned the sunroom. When she really puts her mind to it, she is such a great cleaner. She loves to organize stuff. She even scrubbed the linoleum by the door to the deck which gets filthy because of the dog. Patrick was in charge of the family room. I wish I had a glowing review of his work, but it was less than inspired. Guess what he'll be doing after school?? Such a mean mom...I know!

Rachel and Alison said that today after school they want to clean the downstairs bathroom. And Rachel actually spoke the words, "I love cleaning bathrooms!" She is certainly not my child. But I'll keep her!

Monday, Monday

The birthday weekend is over...sniff...sniff. It was very nice. Last night we went out to dinner with my in-laws and brother-in-law and sister-in-law. No kids. That *never* happens. It was great. Nice dinner, nice conversation. But, now it's Monday and my birthday is over. And the kids are home for President's Day.

I have tons of orders to fill! That's a good thing, but I always panic because I know I can't possibly get them out as quickly as I'd like.

My sinuses are killing me. My right under eye sinus is so clogged and painful that my eye is watering. Off to find some meds...

Birthday musings

I've never been the kind of person to mind growing older. Some people throw such fits about their birthdays, but I love getting older. I turned 38 today. To me, each year is a chance to grow and become more of who you are meant to be. As I look towards turning 40 in a few years, I'm OK with it. Each passing decade has been much better than the one before. I feel like I'm figuring out who I am and getting more comfortable with myself. So, yeah...birthdays are good. Plus you get presents and you can say things like, "it's my birthday, you have to treat me nice today!" Surely I'm not the only person to do that, right? :-)

Birthday Sale!

I know I said I wasn't going to have more sales...and really after this, I won't be, but I just had to have a sale for my birthday! So, until Saturday at midnight all sales will be 18% off (since my birthday is on the 18th....not because I'm turning 18..LOL).

Another Alison funny: last night Alison, Rachel and I were lying in bed talking and Rachel commented that the Middle School performed part of "Annie" for them (they are performing this musical this weekend). She said that the dog barked while Annie sung "Tomorrow". I said, "really? Was it a real dog?" She said that it was a kid dressed up like a dog (which is funny enough as it is...). I told her that when the Springfield Muni Opera does "Annie Warbucks" this summer (which Rach is auditioning for) they will use a real dog. Alison looked at me wide eyed and said, "A dog that sings?" She's so darn cute!

Comic Relief

I am convinced that God blessed us with Alison to add comic relief to our family. Oftentimes she is an infuriating kid...she is a constant blur of motion and activity. She doesn't listen very well and she questions every decision you could ever make. But...she is hysterical! She brings so much joy to our lives. The other night we were driving home from McDonald's and she had one of the Strawberry Shortcake dolls that have the lipgloss in the hat. Alison says, "This smells so good I just want to rip her head off!" And then proceeded to laugh hysterically. One time Thornton and I were having a talk with Alison because she was misbehaving. It was a very serious talk...but in the middle of it, Alison looked at Thornton and me and said, "Meow, Meow, Meow!!" I just looked at Thornton and told him that he was going to have to be in charge of her punishment that day, because I had to go laugh.

Yep...God knew what he was doing when he added Alison to our family!

Jump Rope for Heart

Rachel is participating in the American Heart Association's Jump Rope for Heart. She's collecting donations and so far she has raised $60. Her goal is $200. If anyone might be interested in sponsoring her, here's her webpage:

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=123051&lis=0&kntae123051=EADB702142AC4CB2A1B46AA6EDC468F6&supId=119007964

I'm so proud of her for taking on this cause!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've never been a big Valentine's Day freak...maybe because my birthday is in a few days and I LOVE my birthday! I actually told Thornton not to get me anything for Valentine's Day. Crazy, huh? It's just that money is a little tight and I just don't see the point. He sent me the cutest e-card and that worked fine for me.

I do love how excited Alison gets over Valentine's Day. We printed out special cards on the computer for her friends that are each personalized. So much better than those store bought cards. Rachel is only in the 4th grade, but they already don't exchange Valentines or have a party in class. She's going to hand out a bunch at recess though...I hope that's OK. Patrick went to a school V-day dance yesterday, but he said it was boring. He doesn't dance and not many of his friends were there. He said he was actually thankful that Daddy had to pick him up early!

Tonight Thornton and Patrick go to the Hitting Center, so I'll take the girls to McDonald's playplace before my Bible Study.

Curling

I'm almost embarrased to admit it, but Thornton is a huge curling freak! Have you caught this Olympic sport? It's like shuffleboard on ice. Totally boring to watch, and yet, my husband adores it. I can think of a better way to spend my time!

I can't get warm today. I think I'm going to go turn up the heat...something I never do!

Snowbunnies

We got about 6 inches of snow yesterday...quite unexpected. Well, at least it surprised the weathermen! The kids have been having so much fun playing in the snow. Rachel and Alison literally have been outside for hours on end, until I make them come in and warm up. They especially had a good time frolicking in the snow with Mia, our Huskey. Mia found her inner snow dog this weekend. Normally when it's a little cold out, she acts like such a baby and doesn't want to be outside. With this snow, she's been in her glory. Patrick has been playing in the "Snow Bowl 2006", i.e. Snow Football. I'm just so thankful that they love to be outside, rather than sitting inside watching TV all the time.

Gotta go thaw some kids with hot chocolate and make dinner...I'm thinking soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Hug them close

I just found out that the 15 year old daughter of one of my past customers passed away yesterday following a horrific car accident. I can't even imagine the pain the family is going through. Please join me in covering the family of Courtney Wilson in prayer.

And today, hold those kids a little closer, a little tighter. They are so precious.

The lion shall lie down with the lamb

...or in our case...the kitty shall lie down with the dog. It's been slow progress with getting the new cat used to our dog, but for the past few days, they both have been sleeping together on the same bed (yes, we are well aware of how spoiled our animals are!). Mia, the Huskey, is still way more curious in Ozzie than Ozzie cares for, but I think they will be fast friends soon.

Last night Alison went to get her jammies on. She came upstairs in a pair of boxer shorts and a fleece winter pea coat that she outgrew last year. Poor child...I just couldn't stop laughing. She is such a free spirit!

Lunchtime with Alison

This morning before leaving for school, Alison begged Thornton and me to come eat lunch with her at school. We agreed, of course! It's such a joy to see her little face light up as she saw us walk down the hall towards her room. As she entered the cafeteria, she sniffed the air and said, "smells like breakfast". Sure enough...they had french toast sticks, sausage, potato smilies, fruit and milk. The teachers and visiting parents, however, get to eat the "good lunch". This fact has not passed by unnoticed by the little ones. Adults get a different lunch and it's so much better than what the kids eat. Today it was pork tenderloin, baked beans, veggies, mac and cheese and a salad bar. So, of course, being the good parents we are....we snuck Alison some of the good food!

I sure wish I could curl up with my snoring dog...but I gotta get back to work!