Busted!

They appear to be trying to get up and over the roof of the car because once they achieved that goal they came into the house.

Our first blizzard.

The snow started during the night but was light when we woke up.  By 11:00 this morning it was really coming down! 

Early release day.

The high schools let out at 10:30 today - only one mid-term on the schedule.  After Jordan and I checked out new cell phones, we picked Maddie up from school early (at her lunch time).  After lunch, they played and crafted the rest of the day.  What fun!

P.S.  I'm not blind.  I realize I am on a roll with the blurry, over (or under) exposed photos.  I need to take a class.  I'll look into that after this trip we have coming up next week.

They found another use for the jump rope.

This is one the many things I am so proud of with these two girls - they genuinely love to play with each other. 

It's how much?

We make frequent trips to Walgreens for prescriptions - mostly for Jordan.  Today we picked up three of them.  If the doctor would have called back with approval on the test strips we would have had a $160 bill.  Whoa!  Fortunately we usually only have to pick up one of these at a time.  It was a fluke that four of her prescriptions needed refilling at the same time.

Still studying.

Mid-terms all week.  Maddie has one each day and Jordan has two.

Valentine Decorations.

Sweet Gum Seed Pods.

There are some rural streets here and there between the subdivisions in our area.  The girls and I enjoy driving down these roads because we always find something interesting (like a propane tank painted to resemble a watermelon or a haybale painted to look like a pumpkin).  Today we found these seed pods.

Jumpin' rope.

No, it wasn't a nice warm day.  The forecast high was 46 degrees - though it didn't feel like it was even 40 degrees.  I was the other rope holder and I was dressed in my winter coat wishing I had put on my gloves while my two children thought it was springtime.  They had a fun time jumping rope and roller skating outside this afternoon.

Still plugging away.

I'm still trying to finish my December Daily album.  I'm currently working on the snow storm of December 18th, 19th, and 20th.

Keeping Warm.

Hippey and Cliccady come with us almost everywhere.  They were cold so Maddie warmed them up!

End of Semester.

The end of semester means exams, which also means lots of studying.

Most Principled.

Jordan's fellow ninth grade classmates awarded her the honor of "most principled". She has been awarded this honor each year for all of her school years in the IB programme. To be principled is to act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of an individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.

All IB learners strive to be inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced, reflective, and principled.

The aim of the International Baccalaureate program is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world.

I personally think all students K-12 should be afforded the opportunity to be a part of an IB program.

The third cat.

Another day of watching squirrels. However, we can't figure out if she's being lazy by not lifting her entire body off the ground or if she's actually getting more of the workout she needs.

More fun at the feeder.

The squirrels have managed to move this ground feeder up to our back door under the eaves. Is it possible they were preparing for today's rain? This is good news for me because I can get slightly better pictures.

Chipotle.

I tackled another room today - the play room. I pulled out everything that didn't belong in there, moved every piece of furniture so I could vacuum, dusted everything, put everything back, sorted through what seemed like 5,000 bags and boxes filled with toys and garbage, and then (with help from Maddie) put everything in it's place. The room looks great, but I am exhausted. I really don't like fast food or take-out, the thought of eating food from a restaurant usually makes me gag, but I didn't have the energy to make dinner!

The great cleanout!

I spent nearly six hours cleaning Maddie's room today. There isn't a nook or cranny that I didn't clean out. The biggest challenge was her closet. She has a built-in closet system with eight drawers, nine separate shelves, and three hanging bars. The drawers were packed so full some of them wouldn't close and the floor was piled with more clothes that wouldn't fit in the drawers. There were things hanging on the bars that I had never seen before (hand-me-downs from friends) and the shelves were packed with Maddie's treasures. I first pulled everything out of all of the drawers, checked sizes and removed anything that I knew wouldn't fit her or that I knew she just wouldn't wear (usually Jordan's hand-me-downs - they're not always Maddie's style). I then sorted everything by article and then color. After replacing the well-liked items that actually fit her and piling the rest in the hallway (for the Salvation Army), I could tackle the multitude of bags and boxes filled with treasures. If you know Maddie, you know she's always carrying a bag or a purse, sometimes both. I filled three bags with trash and donated 165 articles of clothing. The room looks great.

Keep watching the show Hoarders - in about 15-20 years, you'll see Maddie's story. Most of the clothes in the pile are things she wouldn't part with at the end of the past few seasons or things she insisted still fit her (she wears a 12 and some of those things were size 6).

Waiting for the bus.

I hadn't found my picture for the day yet so when it was time for Jordan to get home, I thought I'd take a picture of her walking home. While Maddie was waiting in the yard, I went in to get my jacket. When I came back out, this is what I saw. I did take the photo of Jordan walking home, but -as usual- her eyes are half closed.

The cats like the squirrels, too.

You can't tell by the look on her face, but she's enjoying the squirrels right outside the back door. She had been watching them for quite sometime before she decided to stand up to get a better look.

The hub.

I dropped Jordan at the hub this morning. We're usually running late and we miss the bus at the hub. When I don't have to drive all the way to school, I have an extra hour on my hands. This morning I used that hour to take my computer to be repaired.

Computer virus.

At least I can blame this one on the 5th grade science teacher, right?! We googled one of the questions from the worksheet and my computer was infected from a site that actually answered the question quite well. The worksheet was supposed to be 'read the passage and answer the question' only the teacher added some questions that didn't pertain to the passage; hence the need for google. My Norton anti-virus was only outdated by a month, too. I'll never let that happen again! Oh, by the way, installing Norton after a virus attack is like closing the gate after the horses escape. What do I know?!

At the park.

It was 32 degrees this afternoon and Maddie insisted on playing at the park.

No Drama.

It's a happy day when Maddie chooses to hang out with one of the boys! This means no drama. They spent most of the day playing Just Dance on the Wii.

First footprints.

What is it about a new patch of snow?

No bath for our birds.

I even bought a bird bath heater a couple of months ago. I bet the birds wish I would have actually installed it.

Tomorrows Schejule.

The spelling errors might be enough to make this list/oath amusing, but I found the fact that she wouldn't take my "maybe we'll go to the mall tomorrow" as sincere even more funny. She needed me to sign off on that possibility.

Good use of time.

Getting some homework done while waiting for her ride home from Key Club.

Mega Smarties Lolly.

This is a luxury treat at our house. We don't find them very often and when we do . . . oh the joy!

Brownie Sundae.

Still not feeling well. I made these chocolate chip cookie brownies hoping they would help.

Beef and Potatoes.

After a long day (we left Minnesota at 10:30 a.m. yesterday) and night of driving (18-1/2 hours total) we finally made it home sometime around 5:30 this morning. I succumbed to the cold virus Maddie was kind enough to share with everyone and was feeling too ill to make dinner. Since Jordan likes to peel potatoes, I put her to work.

Happy New Year.

It's a good thing I took a few pictures of these goofballs after midnight. They're the only pics taken today.