Not so smiling

If you are reading this, say a little prayer for Mr. C. One of his ear drums burst yesterday. The other one is still clogged up. He went to the doctor this morning. He's scheduled for the ENT this afternoon. His trip to Idaho (he's supposed to fly) is probably canceled. He may even need tubes in his ears.

But the funny side is that maybe we'll get him an ear horn. He's like a slightly deaf grandpa at the moment. WE HAVE TO SPEAK LOUDLY for him to hear us. So, we'll see how that all works out.

Lots of Little Lights in the Darkness

182. Chinese New Year. A couple of weeks ago, the high school Chinese students held a dinner and cabaret for Chinese New Year. They performed this dance, called the Lotus Dance. Two of those globes are our own sweet unnamed oldest.

A Satisfying Day

Except for the part where Lou kept complaining that her ears hurt. I couldn't do anything but give her Tylenol, popsicles and hot packs. We went to the doctor already and found out she doesn't have an ear infection, she has a virus and the ears are probably referred pain from her throat. That's not fun when you feel icky and have to wait it out. Everyone else, of course was thrilled because they got popsicles anyway.

179. Playing OUTside. It was 37 today. It's been so cold, that it felt much warmer. As the lady on TV said, "37 is the new 70." (On a side note, it has been 111 days since we last saw 70 degrees!!! It has been a long COLD winter this year.) So we took our soccer ball to the tennis courts and played. We kicked the ball around without getting the shoes muddy and had a great time. Beautiful Day.

Another digression. There was a great song on "Prairie Home Companion" last week. It was a beautiful soft melody. The words were something like this, "The winters are long..... In Minnesota. And then it comes.... the first warm day. And by warm we mean..... 30 or 34. Which is a great change..... from 10 below."

This year we all relate.


180. Finished Projects. The article is done and sent off. The bag for the auction is done and sold. And the volunteer calling/coordinating is done. Primary (I think) is set for tomorrow. The activity for next week has lots of planning done. Baths were done by 8:00. The antibiotics only have a few more days. And now I'm ready for a nap. Or an evening watching mindless television. Which is about the same thing.

181. Dinner Appreciated. Made yummy omelets for dinner. Got lots of compliments from the junior crew. I love being a star in my own home. Everyone needs someone to compliment them. It makes life happy.

Yesterday, I shot an elephant in my pajamas....

178. Culturally aware children. Yesterday was Zeppo Marx's birthday. Sue's fifth grade teacher shared that with the class. Apparently I've done my job well enough. Sue was the only one who raised her hand because she knew who the Marx Brother's were. Her teacher shared a scene from a movie with the class. It was from one we've actually watched at home. After her homework was done, Sue spent last night watching 'Animal Crackers' on YouTube. And cracking up. And coming to retell us particularly funny scenes. (She gets it from me.)

More chances to show love

177. Children who want to go to school. This morning, Lou sounded like this.
"Cough Cough Cough - Oooh. Cough Cough Cough - OOOooh. Should I get ready for school?"
?
"No. I'm not going to send you today."
"Why not? Cough Cough Cough - OOOooh."
Just because.
Her ears hurt too. Poor baby. Her eyes have that sick look. We'll take her in when we take the S-Train in for his recheck this afternoon.

Exciting Evening Events (to me anyway)

175. Dreaming in Chinese. Yep. I've still got it! Had a dream last night where some guys were doing yard work next door. They were speaking Cantonese and I was translating for Mr. C. Then I started to talk to them. I was trying to remember how to say something and then figuring it out While I was Dreaming!! They even complemented my accent. I'm sure they were just being nice. I could hear how bad it's gotten.

176. Longer Days!!! Sunlight!!! It was light when we got to writing group last night! And yesterday was sunny. A record low temperature. But sunny. And of course it was a happy beautiful time together. Sometimes it's affirmations and life help on top of the writing. And that's so nice. It's nice to have a meeting you GET to go to.

While the weather outside is frightful....We'll stay in. Thanks. And be creative. And give each other cool presents.

172. Ice Glazing. Sunday we came out of church and the car looked like it was covered in raindrops. No. It wasn't water. It was ice. It looks so cool. There were even icicles hanging from the side mirror. The next day driving around the trees had glittering spots, like diamonds, up in their branches. They caught the sun as I drove under them. It was like fairy land over my head. As long as it doesn't cause power outages, and the roads aren't awful, a little ice is a pretty thing.

Between that and sickness, numbers at church were down by half. Our daytime highs are half of what they should be.

In other news, we tied the most days ever with an inch or more of snow this year. One more day and we have the record. It's not even March yet. I bet we can do it!

173. The Cowboy Camp Cafe. That is what is replacing the Rainforest Cafe. And how I know the S-Train is feeling better. The creativity has started again. And there is color in those there cheeks! Yea! School tomorrow I think.

174. Valentines that make you think. I haven't posted about it because I haven't taken pictures. But it's somewhere between a Jacob's Ladder and a Chinese finger puzzle. It made my brain hurt to figure out how it works. Family Fun is always good for supplying my children with ideas!