Fire Station Field Trip

Last week, Elisabeth's class took a fieldtrip to the local fire station. Julia and I met her there. Ebeth was excited to see us.

I always enjoy going on Ebeth's fieldtrips because I get to see her interact with her classmates. She has a sweet personality and it's nice to see that she doesn't become someone else at school (like a nasty little punk). I also find it amusing to see how many parents show up for fieldtrips. I don't remember having that many chaperones when I was in grade school, but maybe I just ignored them all.

Did you know they don't really push the whole "Stop, Drop and Roll" thing anymore? And that they only were telling kids that in the 70s because their pajamas were not fire retardant? Turns out that kids were stopping, dropping and rolling when they saw smoke or weren't on fire but saw fire instead of trying to get out of the house. Now they encourage kids to get out pronto. See, you learn something new every day.

One of the kids asked if fire stations ever need to call another fire station because of a fire in the building. Turns out, fire stations were often frequently in need of help putting out fires in their stations because they'd all leave for a call and leave their stoves on or the grills or whatnot. Now they have timers for their stoves and grills and other things so that they automatically turn off if they all leave in a rush and forget to turn it off themselves.
Julia did a great job participating. She was a dog toward the end and was crawling around and barking, but we were outside, so it didn't matter.

Getting to go on fieldtrips is just another reason that I enjoy staying home with the kids. I like being able to help out with school functions and not having to use vacation time to do it. Speaking of, Evan's taken the day off for Elisabeth's next field trip to see Disney's Big Cats. Ebeth is sooooooo excited that Evan actually gets to come and meet her class.

Virtual Coffee

Hello! I am posting these lovely flowers this morning because I woke up to 2 inches of snow on the ground and I want to look at something that is solid proof that it really is spring.

It just super likes to snow in the spring here in Colorado.

So, what are you up to today? We're heading out to the Y after our coffee date here. I've got some miles that need to be logged and Julia has some kids to play with. I really hope that the Y we join in San Antonio has just as friendly and nice of a staff as this one does here. Julia loves her teachers in the kid area, which says a lot since she's so shy and timid.
I feel productive today. I've checked off lots of things on my to-do list and still have more to do and I don't feel overwhelmed about it. I've mentioned before how much I hate errand running and phone calling, but today it's not bogging me down. We'll see if this productivity lasts all day or not.
Tonight we are going skating with the church the girls go to on Wednesday nights. Their Wednesday night program is done for this school year and they're having a last hoorah at Skate City. Evan and Ebeth will be skating while Julia and I play a few serious games of skiball. I have my quarters ready and everything. They'll have face painting and whatnot there, so the girls are super pumped. I won't lie, though, I am kind of sad that Evan and I's Wednesday date nights are done. It was nice have 2 full hours to ourselves. Sometimes we'd go out to dinner or go to stores we wanted to visit kid free, but sometimes we'd just go home and hang out.
Well, Julia is literally trying to pull me out the door. She has some playing to do at the Y.

Swing by Amy at Lucky Number 13 if you need some more coffee! I'll see you next week!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

It's time to show you what I found this week for Scavenger Hunt Sunday!

This week, I made sure to actually keep my list with me to actually hunt throughout my every day.

1. REFLECTIONS

2. GUESS WHAT THIS IS...(it's how it looked this morning when we woke up...2.5 inches...ugh)

3.WHAT'S INSIDE?

4. PLAYTIME

5. LAWN & GARDEN

Virtual Coffee

Good morning, friends! How is it in your neck of the woods?

It is sunny and in the 50s here. It smells like spring! I always forget how much I love the smell of spring until it starts wafting in through the windows. And rain! I love the smell of rain, but it's not a smell we get very often out here in Colorado. The smell of rain instantly makes me think of Illinois and then I get a tiny bit home sick.

This week is a lovely week because we have nothing pressing. I enjoy weeks where we're open for nothingness. I have the usual errands to run and things to do around the house, but no appointments, no extras.
Today is laundry day for the girls. That means that they have to dump their dirty clothes baskets over the railing to be cleaned.

Then they come downstairs and put it in the big dirty clothes basket for me. It's one of the only times they'r allowed to throw things over the railing and they like it. It makes laundry a lot easier for me too.

This weekend, Evan and I are going to see David Sedaris at the Pikes Peak Center. I've read his books "Me Talk Pretty Some Day" and "Naked". I am so excited. I've heard he's hilarious live and I super enjoy his books. He'll also be doing a book signing, and you know I'm going to stand in line to meet him! I'm also stoked to have Evan come with me! It's been a while since we've gone out to something other than a dinner with just the two of us.

Well, I have laundry calling my name. Then I think Julia would like to take a walk to the park. It's kind of hard to pass that up on a gorgeous day like today.

Please stop by Amy's Lucky Number 13 for the other virtual coffees happening today!!!! See you next week!

Virtual Coffee

I know, I know. It's Wednesday and our coffee dates are scheduled for Tuesdays. I do apologize.

But, I'm so glad you could make it.

Yesterday, I spent the day in Denver. I went to a new-to-me book store called The Bookies. My friend Rachel has talked about this bookstore for ages and how I'd love it. She, of course, was correct. If you get a chance to check out their website, please read how The Bookies started. It's such a cute story.

So, we browsed the books and oohed and ahhed. Then we ate at a lovely Thai restaurant. It was a nice day. I love nice days.

Now, I'm going to sit back and listen to you for a while. What are you up to? How is the weather where you are? Any flowers on the trees yet? In your garden? Whatcha reading?

I don't know what it is, but I'm feeling bleh today. Not motivated to do anything. Frustrated with my weight loss journey. Feeling grumpy. We all have these days and I'm not going to apologize for it because why should I apologize for how I'm feeling? I can't control it and as long as I'm not slapping you (my guest) in the face and calling you names, there's no reason for me to apologize for feeling bleh. And why do we need to apologize for grumpy moods anyway? As long as you warn the people who live in your house (which I definitely try to do) and you aren't mean and rude on purpose, then you should be allowed to wallow in your current grumpy state until it passes. I always tell the girls that it's okay to be mad/angry/sad/frustrated/grumpy, but it's not ok to be rude or disrespectful while in those moods (something I am also working on, thankyouverymuch).

Now, I am going to try to bring myself out of the bleh-ness by getting out of my house and enjoying the outside. It's hard to feel bleh when you're sitting in the sun, you know?

Thanks for stopping by. And please stop by the lovely Amy at Lucky Number 13 who is so kind to host us all every Tuesday for coffee.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

I'm posting two posts today!!!

It's not only Ten on Ten, but it's also Scavenger Hunt Sunday! So exciting.

Here are my finds this week!

1. MOTION (note: Evan took this picture because I was cutting raw chicken, but someone needed to take pictures of Juju feeding her Pink Baby!)

2. "WAITING TO CLICK"

3. IN FASHION

4. ANIMAL'S PERSPECTIVE (Can you see what the neighbor's dog is looking at? I'll give you a hint--it's Julia's BFF...)

5. MANY

Ten on Ten

Today is Ten on Ten.

Ten pictures taken on the tenth day of the month in ten hours and today happened to be a Sunday.

Sundays are my favorite day. They involve sleeping in, big breakfasts, lots of coffee and pajamas till noon. Usually, we have no plans but today was an exception since Ebeth had a tea party with her Girl Scouts troop. Evan, Julia and I decided to browse an antique store for the 2 hours Elisabeth was busy sipping tea and eating cucumber sandwiches.

My ten on ten: