Quarantine

Strange thing visited our house this week.

Chicken Pox.

Although all of the kids have been vaccinated-
apparently they can still get chicken pox.

No Fever
+
No Itching
+
Just CONTAGIOUS red bumps
----------------------------------------------------
NO SCHOOL



So what do you when you find little red chicken pox all over your chest?

Spend 3 days making DIORAMAS!

Pioneer Trek

Great Wall of China

Battlefield

Totally love this kid!

Squares

We are trying something new this year.



It took a bit of work to get started...
but we hear that it will be

"relatively painless"

from now on.

The kids helped measure and cut the wood.



Hammer everything together.



Paint the boxes.



And finally plant everything.

We just sit back and watch it now... right?

Picking Up My Slack

Here are some pictures of St. Patrick's Day...

LAST YEAR!

For some reason I completely dropped the ball on St. Patrick's Day this year.
We all wore green but that was the extent of it.
No tinsel shamrocks 'round the house.
No Corned Beef simmering in the crock-pot.
No once annual cabbage preparation.
And worst of all, no green tinted milk.
I think I have dyed every dinner ingredient green - every year since I've been married...
So lame of me...

-BUT-

We had a surprise St. Patrick's Day treat delivered from our friends.
And although it was simple-
it sure made the day here for the kids!



If inhaling cookies becomes an Olympic sport,
I have a few kids that would like to try and qualify.

Thanks for picking up my slack!

Passing The Time

The kids weren't feeling well this week...
...Spring Break week.
For a couple of days they
sulked around, slept, watched movies, and played the computer.

Although it was a bummer for them,
I took advantage of the "I don't need to run here and there" time.
I decided to break out my Pressure Canner and give it a try.

With lots of panicked/paranoid phone calls to my
mom,
sister,
and friend,
I have a pantry full of preserved goodness.
Black Beans
Pinto Beans
Chicken
Soup
& Hamburger.

No Flake Left Unturned

We had a rare but fun snow day here in Texas.
The kids came home from school early. After heading to the attic to rummage up some of our "olden-days" snow gear...
...I sent them straight out to play.

The thing I love about this picture is that you can see that
EVERY square inch
of the yard was played on.

No flake left unturned.

She Did It!

After 4 long hard days of intense potty training effort on both our parts, Natalie is finally a Potty Trained Champ! I could not be more proud of her. Now I am in for lots of quick trips to public toilets in the middle of every shopping trip. Yipee!

Gratitude