Well, I guess that is one use for that

When we were house hunting and we looked at this house, the first thing I said when I walked in the kitchen was "Well, we'll never be able to put anything on those shelves at the end of the island"...................and this is why:

I know my Jackson too well!

Dear Toothfairy,

One of Garrison's bottom baby teeth should have fallen out months ago. The permanent tooth that replaces it has been in for months but that little baby tooth just didn't want to fall out. He went to the dentist on Saturday and the dentist said (to Conal in "code") that if the tooth hasn't fallen out by next month then he will pull it out. Since the thought of that grosses me out, I told Garrison that he has to wiggle his tooth 10 times a day so it will come out.

When I went to pick him up from school today the first thing he said was "Mom, my tooth fell out at lunch........and I'm pretty sure I swallowed it. Don't worry though, I wrote the toothfairy a note. Do you think she will still give me a dollar?" When we got home I found this in his backpack:

It says:" Dear Toothfairy I lost my tooth at lunch at school can I get a dollar anyway? Love Garrison.

Well Garrison, you are in luck. I happen to personally know the toothfairy and she is awesome...........so no worries.

SNOW DAY! (ok actually just a cold day.....but they did cancel school!)

Let us reminisce. Didn't you just LOVE snow days! It was so awesome to get an unexpected day off from school. Garrison and Hailey have been off the last two days. I guess you could say they called a "cold day" and cancelled school. I'm sure that was a wise decision as the windchill was at times, 35 degrees BELOW zero. BRRRRRR. I've never seen this before:

It may look like the ice is on the outside of the window, but no, it is on the inside. We took that picture for some of our El Paso friends who didn't believe that there is ice on the inside of the windows. ha ha

So, to keep ourselves entertained, we thought we would do some cold weather experiments and debunk or prove some cold weather myths.

First, we tried the yarn trick. Here is the before picture:

And here is the after picture, meaning after we soaked it in water and I stood outside with it for about a minute:

I know, I know. You are SO impressed.

Next, we have the freezing water trick. Before:

And after: Have you ever wondered if it is true that if it is super cold outside and you throw water in the air that it will be frozen by the time it hits the ground? Nope. Sorry folks. Maybe it has to be colder than -17. I was pretty disappointed. It did however start to freeze with in a few seconds of being on the ground.

And that is where our experiments ended. Why you ask? Because I asked Garrison to gently toss the water in the air for the experiment so I could take a picture, but instead he accidentally threw a bunch of it in my face and hair. Well, air and hair do rhyme. I guess that is a mistake anyone could make. Anyway, I didn't think it was such a good idea to be outside with water on my face and in my hair. I have heard that if you have water in your hair and it freezes that your hair will break off in your hand. Sorry people---I'm not willing to go that far in the name of science!

Oh and by the way, Conal and I tried the water in the air experiment last night too. It didn't work then either. We did feel a little crazy and wild though since we went out to do it in our shirt sleeves and Conal even had bare feet. What can I say? We like living on the wild side.

The total package

All parents know that a lot of times, a kid will find the box that their toy came in more fun than the toy itself. They will actually play with the box more than the toy.

Last week I was upstairs paying a bill on the computer and I heard one of my kids coming up the stairs. I was concentrating on what I was doing but was somewhat distracted as whoever was coming up the stairs kept running into the wall. Alexia came around the corner like this:

I said "Hey Alex! Whatcha doin'?" Alexia replied "I'm Buzz Lightyear!" LOL!

This box has been well used. However, this is an exception to the rule. The toy inside has been well used as well. It is a Barbie head. Ya know..........the one where you get to do her hair. Not that I as a grown woman have been playing with it or anything........

Happy 6 Months Macy!

Just keepin' it real

I love New Years resolutions! I love making goals and then actually achieving them. That's why this year I'm not making any resolutions that I have no chance of keeping. For instance, I wanted to make a resolution that I wouldn't complain about the cold here in Chicago. We all know that one would be broken within 5 minutes of me waking up. So hopefully these are a little more realistic.

1. Take more pictures. See post below.
2. Post more on my blog. Hopefully I will be able to get back into some sort of routine and have some more free time. Did I just type "free time"? What is that?
3. I've got to get a better handle on food storage. I have a basement now (WOOT!).
4. I want to learn how to make EDIBLE homemade bread. Anyone have a good receipe? Did I mention that I've never made homemade bread that turned out good?

Wish me luck!

Christmas in Carolina

I decided to hire a professional photographer to document our family's time in North Carolina with the Tremaynes so that you could all have some nice pictures to compliment my exquisite pros. OK.....really the truth is that I didn't take ONE picture in North Carolina. Not ONE. What was I thinking? Good thing Mandi is around. I will just have to steal her pictures. Maybe I should just post a link to her blog and be done with it. ha ha!

It was so nice to be back in decent weather. I do have to mention though that it got to 61 degrees in Chicago while we were gone. I also have to mention that I am pretty mad that it happened while we were gone. grrrrrr.

Anyway.........what a nice Christmas for us. I'm so glad we were able to go. I've really missed the Tremayne Three (My new name for Jamison, Jace and John. It's between that and the Three J's but I can't decide which I like best). The kids were shy with each other for about 5 seconds and then it was non-stop playing from then on out. My kids LOVED it. The other day we were loading up the van to go somewhere and Alexia said "YES! We are going to my cousins house." I didn't have the heart to correct her and was relieved that she didn't mention it when we reached our destination.

I was also anxious to meet the North Carolina girls. We had such a fun time. However, is it considered unprofessional for a waitress to tell you that she is so sick that she wanted to call in sick that morning? I hope none of us ticked her off bad enough to get a "sneeze burger".

Here are a couple pics that Mandi took that I love:

Oh and by the way.......thanks Jennifer and Mandi for the girls tutus. They turned out so cute!

Thanks to the Tremaynes for being such great hosts! I know that the Tremayne Three are on a count down for when they can come here to visit their cousins. They told Mandi that she has to bring them here in 30 days. Since they don't actually have a trip planned, Mandi hopes they will forget but I don't. 25 days and counting! See you soon boys!