Brrr...

It's not cold enough to snow... But, isn't it freezing?

Here we go again...

Last fall, all 3 of Maddy's good friends got head lice. They struggled in Sept, Oct, & Nov. We used these products as a preventative measure. We washed the girls clothes/coats in tea tree oil with no fabric softener. We used the Circle of Friends Lice shampoo to prevent the Lice/Nits/Eggs from attaching to the girls hair and sprayed their hair/neck with the Leave-In conditioner as a further deterrant. Then, we used the Lice Ice as a preventative gel that left their hair "crispy" and pulled the hair up and into bun-buns. Once they were all dressed and ready to go...I sprayed them with a concoction of 1/2 cup water with approx. 14 drops of tea tree oil. I went a little overboard. I even got their hair cut short! I told the girls no hugging friends, no sleepovers/playdates and I kept their coats in my classroom so they weren't "exposed." Every night, I washed & dried their coats and clothes. Turns out, I don't know which is worse...getting head lice first or being one of the last. After so many weeks of this, I was worn out. I told the girls one Friday night in mid-November that I needed a break. They were having a sleepover at the girls' school (which I told them "no" b/c of the lice) and I told the girls' they could have a camp-out in our living room with special snacks and pizza. I gave the girls one final head check and since they were clear...I announced, "No head checks for the rest of the weekend!" There were lots of squeals! It was a fantastic weekend! Then, Sunday night came. It was the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I had let the girls stay up a little later than normal and I gave them a shower about 8:30pm. I told them that I really should check their heads before we went back to school on Monday. Guess what I found...Maddy had 2 live louse. I think they must have crawled onto her clothes on Friday...and by Sunday, they had found her hair. I was devastated. The girls cried. Of course, Kevin had an FCA event and didn't get home til about 10:30pm. So...by the time, I gave them a treatment, changed their sheets, vacumned their beds/room, and bagged up all soft items, it was after 11pm. They were exhausted. After they went to bed, Kevin returned and the fun started. We were up til 3am bagging stuff/vacumning/etc... Kevin made a Midnight run to Walgreens and got trash bags & more Lice Ice, and he even took both cars and vacumned them out. It was a nightmare. I slept for one hour and then got up at 4am. I felt like I had things crawling on me. Maddy had a very mild case. I think all of the preventative measures helped. It was still awful. We didn't go back to see our families for Thanksgiving. Even though, Maddy was fine...only having a few unattached nits and Elly & I never got it. Thank goodness. I was a fanatic until Christmas break. I made the girls undress in the garage and go straight to the showers upon returning home after school. We did treatments every Friday night. Kevin thought I was INSANE. I had hoped after the 16 day break (essentially 2 life cycles for Lice) that all of the Lice in our Lower Elementary would be gone. The classroom that had it from the first day of school in September STILL had it after Christmas break. I was so mad! I knew it would just be a matter of time before it had spread to every classroom again. Ugh. Maddy's two friends had it again in February. We did a modified prevention plan. But...I hadn't heard any rumblings whatsoever since February. Yesterday...I saw Maddy itch her head at the grocery store. I had an errant thought... I checked her last night after her shower. Guess what I found? 3 live louse. Here we go again... Good thing we were planning on staying here for Easter... :(

a performance by the Wade Girls

Elly taught Maddy a song that they have been singing in her class...

we all need love...

My blog needs some love. I think about it, but...I get frustrated with my header picture, so I just ignore it. I have been ignoring a lot of things lately. I think I am more like my mother than I will admit. :) I could elaborate, but will not. Let's just say that 2011...kind of sucks. Here are a few new pics of my sweet girls. Love them the most. The girls got hair cuts today b/c we have pictures at school on Wednesday. They love to get hair cuts b/c Ms. Kris does cool braids & ponies. :) Dutch Braids... Our teeny tiny Downtown has a new cupcake bakery. I took the girls today to get a cupcake for them... Maddy chose the Cookie Dough Cupcake...so Elly chose that as well. Poor Maddy. Elly worships her. :) I got 2 for the Wade Guy in our house. He is umpiring a college baseball game today so I got 2 for the # of sore feet we will have in our house tonight. :( Poor guy...what he does for us. They are his favorite...Red Velvet! :)

Dr. Barnes

Our beloved doctor is battling a 2nd recurrance of his cancer. He was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2006 and had a relapse in 2008. He found out about a month ago that it had returned again. He will be receiving chemo for the next 2 or 3 months and then will be preparing for a bone marrow stem cell transplant. He will be off for at least one year. Won't you please join me in praying for this sweet, kind man whom we love. He delivered both of the Wade girls...and is all of our doctor. He keeps Kevin calm, treats me, and charms the girls. We will miss him terribly, but know that he is battling for his life. I have added his caring bridge site to my list on the lower right if you would like to read about his journey...

cake.

I made a special dinner for my family tonight. Kevin really wanted my lasagne. I don't make it very often (that is an understatement! :P) It takes a long time to make the homemade sauce & assemble the cooked noodles & ricotta filling. But, he loves it. So, I made it for him. I was sick on Valentine's Day weekend (and our plans got ruined) so this was kind of my peace offering. :) Part of my Valentine's Day gift for my family was a cake. A homemade chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. :) The Wade girls (and Kevin!) always complain that I never make cake. And, I don't. I don't like cake. Unless, it's those fake Hostess Cupcakes. Ha! :) So, I made them a cake. A week late because like I said...I was sick with the flu. And, I couldn't bear to do it last weekend.

Here it is frosted...

I wanted to buy some little red heart sprinkles, but they were over $5 for a little bottle! So...

I put some little pink sugar sprinkles on. Elly said, "Ohhhhh! You put sprinkles on?!!" She was thrilled! For dinner, I put the roses that Kevin got me for Valentine's Day on the table. Aren't they pretty? Love flowers. They make my heart happy. :) We used fancy glasses & the girls used their new cups that light up (Thanks, Grandma Vicki!). Maddy said, "I feel like royalty!" And, Kevin laughed. Stinker. ;) They loved the cake. And, I'm so glad. I made it for them.

My little cake loving family. :)

Happy Valentine's Day. A little late...

i heart V-day!

I just love Valentine's Day. I love making handmade Valentine's. It is one of my most favorite things. :) This year, Elly picked out clay hearts to give to her friends. It was really easy...and so cute that I made them for my class, too.

She worked hard on writing her name on the tags. I only wrote a few...

Maddy wanted to make little cell phones. I wrote down a few little text messages & she chose which one to put on that friends' phone. XOXO, u r gr8, Happy V-day, BFF, and u make me :) Things like that. :)

She made a kitty cat Valentine holder for school. She is such an animal lover...it suited her well.

The teachers got cute little socks this year. All except Joe. We gave him a box of chocolates. I didn't think he would like little socks. Ha!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Christmas Eve...

Christmas Eve was a little different for us this year... The blizzard had arrived so we did not get to drive around in our jammies & look at lights. :( We did go the night before in anticipation, but it was not the same. We had several inches of snow by 6pm. The girls & I didn't even get dressed that day. We all wore our jammies...here are the girls feeding the reindeer a mixture of oats & glitter. Oats for nourishment & glitter to guide them to our house. ;)

Look how big the snowflakes are! It is the first Christmas Eve that the girls have had to get all bundled up & wear boots! They loved it!

Kevin asked me if I was going to make them wear their snow pants. ;) I thought about it. Ha!

They were so excited for santa to come!

Here's Kevin shoveling for the 1st of 4 times with this snow storm. He decided if we were all going to be outside then he would get a little work done.

This is the only picture I have of the girls in the jammies that santa dropped off about 5pm. Twinkle is in the background. Elly was a little sad to see him go, but they were not as dramatic about it as last year. Ha! I think Elly just enjoys the game of finding him every morning. :)

keep your fingers crossed...

When we purchased our camera, Kevin was wise enough to spend an extra $44 for a protection plan that covers accidental droppings! Unfortunately, it was only a 2 year protection plan that expired on 11.30.09! And, I dropped our camera on 12.24.09. :( But, he called & they said if we faxed them a letter and sent in the paperwork (receipt, p. plan) that they MIGHT make an exception. Keep your fingers crossed for me! We should know in the next few days...

busted.

Minutes after I took that last picture in the previous blog entry, I raced inside & dropped my camera. :( Oh. My. Word. I was ticked. I have not been so mad at myself in years. So...no Christmas morning pictures, no nothing. Sad does not even begin to describe it.

a Christmas Eve blizzard

On Christmas Eve, we were in a blizzard warning! Let's just say that I have lived in this state for 34 (yikes! almost 35 years!) and that has NEVER happened! Here is a picture of our front door. Kevin's FCA supervisor sent us an L.L. Bean wreath. It smelled heavenly! :) Thanks, Ralph & Judy. It is gorgeous!

Kevin got a great picture of our home in between bands of snow... I captured one minutes later...look at the size of those snowflakes! We ended up getting about 10.5-11.5 inches of snow. Then it snowed on & off for 4 more days. Wow. Simply amazing.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

"Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people." The Savior-yes, the Messiah, the Lord-has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! Luke2: 9-11

Festival of Trees

The Festival of Trees was so beautiful this year. This is a tradition that really kicks off the holiday season for us. :) We ate at Noodles & Company and then walked over to L. Hall for the Festival.

Different organizations decorate Christmas Trees to be auctioned off for Charity. The girls picked out some of their favorites & we snapped a photo in front of them. Check out Elly's face...she looks like she is having a GREAT time. ;)

This "tree" was made out of a Diaper Genie with size 1,2, & 3 diapers surrounding it. How awesome is that!

It was so CUTE! The girls both liked this santa.

A K-State tree even found its' way in... ;)

A tree inspired by the game "Candyland."

I LOVED this gingerbread tree. I think I have outgrown my snowman collection & want to start collecting gingerbread now. They are so cute. :)

A picture from the balcony. Isn't it beautiful? Love this. Downtown L. is so lovely this year. If I closed my eyes when we stepped out that night...it reminded me of Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Such happy memories there...thanks, babe. :)

coming soon...

We always kick off the Holiday season with a visit to the Festival of Trees. :) This year we ate at Noodle & Company before and then walked over to L. Hall. I will post more pictures soon...

PS~ Twinkle is Back! He was here when we returned home from Thanksgiving. ;)