Owie

You may not want to read this...It is really here for the journal aspect of my blog.  Read on if you must, but feel free to abort at any time...

I had a toenail issue.  (Leaving yet?)  A yucky thing of which I will not speak led to having the nail fall off (which, remarkably, doesn't hurt at all).  Bandaid, bandaid, bandaid (repeated daily for about 6 months) and the nail is growing back nicely.  Yay me.  I see toe polish in my summer's future. 

WRONG.

A week or so ago, I noticed the toe around said nail was red.  Hmmm.  Then it started hurting.  Uh oh.  Then it had some other issues, again of which I will not speak because it is a bit ooky.  DANG it.  You see, I have sort of chubby toes.  The skin likes to "hug" my toenail.  Gotta be careful how I cut them so as to not get one in-grown.  Sadly, when the nail grew back it did not follow the directions about not being pointy and such.  So it grew into the chubby toe skin.  Today, I took toe to the doctor.   MUCH discussion ensued.  She wanted to take the whole thing off.  I countered by asking, "Won't it just happen again when it grows back like it did this time?"  She doesn't think so, but obviously there is no guarantee.  We decided on a compromise, which without too much detail is that some nail remains and some is gone. 

It hurts, cuz this time it was a nice healthy nail that was attached properly.  Poor toe.  And poor arm, where I had to get a tetanus booster (which is actually the most sore part of me right now).  And poor bo-hiney, which had to get an antibiotic shot.  And poor wallet.  $227.  Ew.

Sorta missed it...

Valentine's day, that is.  Not that it is a hugely important holiday in my opinion.  I'm not as cynical as some who talk about it being just a money-maker for florists and chocolatiers, but let's face it, it's not a big deal to a single gal who is as busy as a one-armed paper hanger (my mom's quote).  Usually I do something for Kendra, and this year wasn't different except that she has been sick and so she got her small gift a day early to perk her up.  With Valentine's being on a Monday and me needing to desperately have an academically focused week for my kids, we had our school party on Friday afternoon instead of having it on the "real" day.  Then today, Kendra was still sick and my awesome sister-from-another-mother (Sherry) took care of her so I could avoid missing another day.  So I didn't even see my own little sweetie most of today, until I picked her up, took her to the doctor, found out she has bronchitis, went to the pharmacy, picked up Subway, and finally dropped on the couch.  All that adds up to a very non-Valentine-y day.  But hey, I wore red.  That counts, doesn't it? 

I don't think we're in TEXAS anymore, Auntie Em!

Let's see.  My zip code still says Texas.  So does my license plate on my car.  So why does it feel like we've been transported north? 

We woke up to more winter goodness (read a TINY bit of sarcasm there).  Big HUGE flakes falling from the sky making a lovely cushion of 2-3 inches of fluff on top of the ice.  It was actually quite beautiful coming down. 

Being an only child who doesn't go to the school in her neighborhood makes these kind of days a bit of a bummer for Kendra.  Add in the fact that all of MY snow gear is in Michigan and I'm a total wimp about cold and you get a bigger bummer plus a momma guilt trip (self imposed---she never makes me feel bad about it!)  I helped her bundle up and she went out armed with a plastic Gladware bowl and and big plastic spoon, ready to build a wall o' snow on her own. 

The snow is BLINDINGLY white!  Sunglasses necessary!

In a short while, some of the neighborhood kiddos came out and they started a snowball fight.  They were so nice to invite Kendra, though she is a tad younger than them.  Snow wall construction abandoned in favor of flinging snowball fun!

Kendra was proud to tell me that she could throw farther than our neighbor friend, K, who is four years older than her!

Seriously, now.  I'm ready to get out of my house.  I've enjoyed the rest, gotten a lot of things accomplished, and I'M DONE!  Forecast says 41 degrees tomorrow.  Everyone and their brother will be out tomorrow but I DON'T CARE!  I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE!

Still iced in!

I can hardly believe it, but we just got the call for the fourth ice day school closing!  No school for FOUR days in a row!  I'm blessed to have the job I do in a district that keeps our kids (and their staff) safe.  It is still an ice rink out there, and FREEZING!  Hasn't been over 20 degrees since this whole ball o' fun started on Tuesday morning.

Kendra decided to brave it and go out for a bit this afternoon.  This is her "ARRGGG!  Gonna tough the cold!"  face:

Are you as enamoured by her choice of ensemble as I am?  Striped fleece nightgown, green teddy bear/polka dot pj pants, black and pink boots, brown plaid jacket.  Wow.  That's some fashion sense right there.

She originally went to get the mail, then she decided to try to help with the driveway.  She started lifting three inch thick sheets of ice/snow from the top. 

Then, she spied it. 

 Yes, IT. 

The green pool floatie. 

She ran inside and asked if she could slide down our ice-hill of a driveway on it. 

Of course she could!

 You can see the ice rink roads in this shot!

Gotta give her props for ingenuity!  She had a blast!  It looks like snow, folks, but that stuff is rock solid! 

The good news is that the temp is supposed to climb above the freezing mark tomorrow so with any luck, we can get out of here for a time!  I just haven't been willing to risk a large car repair bill to venture out when I didn't need to!

But....I just now heard it is supposed to snow again tonight.  Sheesh.

Starting February with snow!

We knew it was coming.  A lovely mix of sleet, freezing rain, thunderstorms, and then snow.  Around here, you never know if people are in panic mode or just cautious, so I believe it when I see it.  I always think it is hysterical that the masses rush to the grocery store because, heaven forbid, they might not be able to travel the roads for ONE WHOLE DAY.  In Texas, a snow event stops life, sure.  But only for about a day until it warms up.  MAYBE two days.  That's it.  Definately my kind of winter!  :-)

Many school districts cancelled last night, but ours did not.  A small part of me was hoping for school...I have SO much to do with my kids and our first state test is in a month.  Also, we don't have any weather days built in, so a snow day means I have a make-up day on a Saturday down the line.  At about 3 a.m. I was awoken by the sound of ice balls pelting my windows.  I woke up several more times in the next two hours to the same consistent sound, thinking that surely I would not have to drive in that!  When the phone rang at 5:15 I was thrilled!  Kendra shot up out of the bed, did a fist pump and shouted, "YES!"  I'm so grateful that they made the call before my shower this time! 

Unfortunately, it is pretty but bitter cold outside.  Currently it says 17 degrees on my computer screen, a far cry from the 78 degrees we had on Saturday.  So Kendra has only ventured out for two minutes to do a measurement of the snow. 

 Not nearly as much snow as our record breaker from last year, and it is clearly drifted here...you can still see grass in the background.  The issue here is that underneath that snow is crunchy ice!

Kendra is so much more prepared for our once-a-year snow events because of Papa Terry!  He sent her these cute boots last year after our big snow event.  They are a couple sizes too big, so they will last for years!  You can see the tag still on them...first time for these bad boys and they were awesomely warm!

Plans for today?  Fireplace, maybe some hot chocolate, a bit of school work, and snuggle time!  Yay for an unexpected day off!

Raisin' her right...

Kendra wanted to take a relaxing bubble bath in the big tubby tonight, so I taught her the way she should do it. 

Bubble bath by candlelight is the ONLY way to go. 

First school dance

Our school hosted our second annual 4th and 5th grade dance as a fundraiser for our fifth graders to go to science camp.  Being a fourth grader, Kendra went to the dance.  I went, too, as a teacher/parent chaperone (of course I did---she wasn't going to a dance without me at only age 9!!!).  It is a very, very innocent affair.  As a matter of fact, it is pretty funny.  The kids start out as a huge pack walking around in a gigantic circle.  And when I say walking, I do not mean a casual, hanging-out-so-we-can-chat walk.  They walk like they are in a foot-race!  Crazy stuff.  I made a point to tell my class to PLEASE break up the walking herd, but most succumbed to the swirl of humanity.  Eventually the DJ played some stuff that got everyone out to dance (the cha-cha slide and the cupid shuffle) and they sort-of stayed and semi-danced. 

Kendra looked adorable for her first dance...although after taking these shots I was a LOT sad about how old she is starting to look!  Our thanks to Aunt Jena for the hair waving iron that makes Kendra's hair look so cute! 

Note the lack of makeup.  I was stunned to see how many parents allowed (even encouraged!) the girls to spackle their eyelids and lips.  Sheesh.  Why mess with natural beauty? 

 Kendra with her bestie, R, who is also cute as a bug.  They get prettier every single day! 

Kendra with another awesome girliefriend, K.  They hung together much of the night and had a blast.

The PTA had a little booth where the kids could make these fancy rings out of pipecleaners for $1, which also went to the fifth grade science camp fund.

There are no shots of me at the dance, but may I remind you that if I hear music, I HAVE to move.  Luckily, Kendra is still at the age that it is ok for her mom to hang out on the dancefloor and shake her groove thing.  Actually, I wasn't with Kendra all that much...being a teacher, I had a ton of kiddos to embarrass hang out with and cha cha!   Hey, at least they won't ever forget me!  :-)