Hannah and Lilly

(NOTE: This is my third blog in the past three days, so if you haven't been here for a while, please scroll down to get the FULL Raz Report!!)

Hannah got her new glasses this morning! She loves them! There is peace again in the world! Well, maybe they didn't go that far, but she really does like them and reports that she can now see much better when she's reading. They are bifocals because she has trouble with focus so she needs them for both close-up work and to see the television ... I mean blackboard. Here she is as we've always known her:

And here she is with her new specs ... they are from Lilly Pulitzer kids eyewear and she picked them out all by herself ... they were the first pair she tried on:

Side view of the funky pink with blue seashells:
The best part? The totally cool glasses case. This was a surprise since we didn't see it when she selected the glasses and Hannah has been dancing around the house all morning because it's just so darn cute (and I agree!) Here she is with the glasses, the case and the giant smile she's been wearing all morning:

Oh, Snow!

Mother Nature decided to stop with the drips and drabs of snow that we've had since the day after Christmas and finally just dumped 16 inches of snow on us here in South Coventry on Wednesday. Here we are BEFORE the snow at my Happy Place (dunkin' donuts). We visited DD on Sunday after the girls and I had spent two hours selling Girl Scout cookies outside in frigid weather. They needed hot chocolate! And donuts!! And Rob needed to drive us there. :)

The day after the snow things were actually pretty warm -- just above freezing -- and the sky was beautiful and the sun was shining. There was though, a LOT of snow.

This is the table on our deck. We didn't measure it this year because we don't have a ruler larger than six inches. We used to have larger rulers, but as with most things in this house, the rulers became part of some art project or school assignment, never to be seen or heard from again. So I'm estimating somewhere between 12 a lot of inches. Cash really loves the snow. I mean REALLY LOVES THE SNOW. He wants to be out in it all the time and he jumps all over the place and sticks his nose in it and flips it up and tries to catch it. It's pretty funny to watch.

Lizzie was also pretty hysterical in the snow. Here she decided to go down the slide full of snow:

Snow piled up on the birdhouse, too. Luckily there are no birds living inside:

More pretty trees:
Lizzie and dog running around the backyard.
And taking a break to look at something. If you look closely at Lizzie's gloves you'll see that she's actually wearing latex gloves OVER her regular gloves. Despite the fact that I JUST bought her these fancy schmancy ski gloves, she was unable to find them in her moment of need, so we created our own:
Hannah made an appearance or two, too. From inside.
She did go out and play a bit, but was more interested in her DSi and books than in the snow.

10 things

Here are 10 things I was planning to blog about but didn't get around to it because I'm a slacker. They are in no particular order -- I don't want you to think they are building to a spectacular ending or anything....

1) Hannah needs glasses. I think I mentioned before that she failed her eye exam at school. The note came home in November. So being the incredibly involved Mom that I am, I made her an eye doctor appointment. For January. I wasn't entirely sure that she needed glasses because she seems to have excellent vision when it comes to spotting the last chocolate chip cookie on the shelf or a cherry chapstick that I've hidden for the next time the tooth fairy needs to come. And I was sort of right. Hannah doesn't need glasses, she needs BIFOCALS. Seriously. The doc said it was pretty rare and he expected her to grow out of it, but she has trouble focusing so she can't see far away nor can she see close up. We got her a pair of Lily Pulitzer glasses and now Lizzie wants glasses, too.


2) The school bus never came last week. It was the coldest day of the year and we were standing at the bottom of the driveway for 20 minutes before we decided to wait in the car. Then one of my neighbors drove by and told me that someone forgot to start the school buses early that morning so they didn't start and we were all left out in the cold. So I drove the girls to school only to wait in a line of about 125 cars to do the drop off. It turns out that 20 of the buses didn't start that morning. Luckily my car did. Here's the bus in happier (warmer) times:




3) Lizzie came in fourth for the district PTA Reflections Photography contest. We were supposed to go to the awards ceremony last Tuesday but it snowed and it got canceled. To which my ever-optimistic daughter replied: "The worst things always happen to me!" I'm sure the event will be rescheduled for the spring sometime.



4) I want Colin Firth to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. I have a crush on him. I have no idea why but I think it has something to do with the accent. I'm planning on bumping into him when we go to London in two years. Cute, isn't he?

5) I have discovered that the trick to a successful playdate is to have Hannah and Lizzie EACH invite someone over. I actually spent an afternoon with NO FIGHTING when both girls had a friend over. Even the dog seemed happier. Here's Hannah, Marley, Lizzie and Keira enjoying the snack I made for them:

And Hannah and Marley enjoying the gazillion different dress-up outfits we have in the playroom:

6) Cash does not mind losing a his hair. In fact, he loves running around in the snow without his coat on. Just like Hannah and Liz.

7) I made tofu brownies the other day and they were very very good. They also prove that not everything made with tofu is healthy as they also contained butter and chocolate chips. No eggs though, so no chickens had to die for the sake of my chocolate fix.

8) And speaking of chocolate, it's Girl Scout Cookie time. If you're reading this and I've forgotten to bug you and you WANT to be bugged let me know and I'll have Hannah and/or Liz call to get your cookie order. This year you can also donate your cookies to the troops and we'll send them to Iraq or Afghanistan. Oh, and Hannah and Lizzie each wanted to sell 300 boxes this year and so far they have each sold 14 so we have some work to do.

9) I was looking for my Equal Rights Amendment bracelet for a school project for Hannah and while I didn't find that, I DID find my college tuition bill from 1979 where tuition AND room and board came in right around $3,500 or about $7,000 for the year. Just for comparison I looked up what it would cost my parents to send me to Simmons today. Room and board for students at Simmons now is $44,700 GULP!

10) We have about 15 or 16 inches of snow in our backyard and I took photos. YAY for photos! I'll post them tomorrow or the next day. Promise! (Unless I forget...)

Before and After

I have this (obviously misguided) idea that I can do just about anything I set my mind to doing. I wanted to play guitar -- I taught myself. I wanted to make a quilt for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary -- I borrowed a sewing machine and got to work. I wanted to design and redecorate Hannah and Lizzie's bedroom for under $500 -- I scoured ebay until I got it done. I wanted to save the $70 or so bucks it cost to get my boy Cash groomed -- I got myself a grooming kit and ... well, did THIS to my dog:

Can't you tell how ticked off he is just by looking at him? I tried to cut his fur, but it was all matted, so I figured I just shave him down. Only I couldn't get my clippers through the mats on his fur. So I gave up. Only I gave up after I had shaved down part of his back, one full leg, one partial leg and then cut the mats out of some of his hind quarters. Then I had to hide all the mirrors in the house, so he wouldn't see what I had done, but here he clearly got a look at himself in the reflection on the door:

Luckily there are many groomers in town, so I took Cash to one very far away who wouldn't know me and she was able to not only save the hair on his ears and tails (no top knot, but that was my fault for over-shaving his face...) she didn't laugh at me or my attempts to groom my own dog. At least not to my face. It's kind of like the first time I decided to color my hair myself and ended up begging the stylist to PLEASE get my hair to look LESS orange and MORE brown.

Anyway, doesn't he look handsome?

And yes, I got him a coat -- go ahead and laugh if you want, but I think it's stylin' and he loves it. At least I THINK that's why he keeps biting at it. And just so you know, Hannah and Lizzie wanted to get him the totally adorable boots that went with the coat, but I had to draw the line somewhere. We also got him a soft bed in hopes that he wouldn't spend all of his time on the couch with me, making it nearly impossible for me to take a nap:

Although as you can see, that didn't really work, but he WILL use his dog bed if I'm in the kitchen or something. If I'm already napping on the couch before he jumps up, he usually just jumps on top of me.

So with his new haircut (and I will be grooming him more regularly -- who knew you had to comb a dog's hair every day?? Certainly no poodle owners that I know...) I took some dog-model photos of him:

Can't you just tell he's saying thank-you?

Simple Woman's Daybook

For January 6, 2011

Outside my window... It's C.O.L.D. But sunny, so I'm grateful for that. We're expecting snow tonight or tomorrow morning, but just enough to probably cancel school since the buses can't get around the hills and mountains of Chester County if there is more than 1/4-inch of precipitation on the ground. Of course we need milk so it will probably be a blizzard.

I am thinking... about buying a wood stove. Or long johns. Or both.

I am thankful ... that Cash seems to have recovered fully from his recent surgery. Although we all did kind of like the quieter, not-so-jumpy version of our dog. It's possible that the blessing that Hannah gave him with my holy water from Knock, Ireland helped speed his recovery. I don't know what would have happened if I had let her baptize him, as she first requested.

From the kitchen... POT ROAST IN THE CROCKPOT. There is nothing I like better than having dinner nearly all done by 10 a.m. Today I think I may toss some small potatoes in the gravy and let them cook for a little while. Usually I just serve the pot roast with egg noodles, but I've got these tiny taters left over from Christmas and I want to use them before they grow eyes. I love potatoes in all versions except when they are looking at me.

I am wearing... black track pants, blue shirt, maroon big shirt and SOCKS -- which shows you just how cold my house is.

I am creating... essays. One of my New Year's resolutions was to have an essay published in a major magazine or the NYTimes Modern Love section so I've been working on that.

I am going ... to write a story about an ABBA tribute band. Seriously, did you know that ABBA is the top selling international band of all time? So they have tribute bands, one of which is coming to Reading in a few weeks. I actually talked to one of the musicians from the original ABBA (not the singers -- they don't have anything to do with ABBA anymore), so this is sort of the BIGGEST tribute band. But I have to be honest that I thought I was talking to one of the members of the REAL ABBA. It helps to read the emails before the interview.

I am reading... "Little Earthquakes" for book club in a week or so. So far it's okay, but I'm barely into it.

I am hoping... to find out what is wrong with my Achilles tendon on my right foot. It looks like tendonitis, but since that is usually caused by overuse in runners, the orthopod may go in a different direction (too tight shoes, perhaps?)

I am hearing... a commercial on television that I swear just said, "If you know someone with schizophrenia who was just released from prison within the past six months, have them call this number to participate in a research study..." I am very happy that I don't know anyone like that.

Around the house... laundry, laundry, laundry!

One of my favorite things... Lizzie's sense of humor. On New Year's Eve we were telling each other what resolutions we thought they should make, and her resolution for Rob was: "Get better jokes." It still makes me laugh when I think about it.

A few plans for the week ahead... Nothing big for the weekend which is just fine by me.

A picture I am sharing... Aunt Tina stopped by on her way to NY for Christmas so she, Aunt Terry and Shelby and I all got together for a pre-Christmas lunch at the Coventry Tea Room. A good time was had by all -- the cream puffs guarantee that!!

Happy New Year!

I'm having a little trouble adjusting to the fact that it is now 2011. Probably because I spent New Year's Eve at Monkey Joe's, place that is loud, crowded and contains hundreds of unsupervised children. But MY loud children love it there so every once in a while when I'm up-to-date on my medication and Jupiter aligns with Mars, we go there. So on Friday we went to celebrate Noon Year. At MJ, this basically meant that at 12:10 or so they pulled out a huge wad of bubble wrap and had the kids jump on it. In their socks. It was like listening to bubbles pop with a pillow over your head. This should have been a nice addition to New Year's, but the kids went crazy because it wasn't LOUD enough and a started screaming.
They also had limbo (both girls won a bracelet) and had free face painting and I sprang for soda (we never have soda!) and pizza (we always have pizza!) and then ICEES because I didn't think they'd had enough sugar, and a good time was had by 2/3 of of. Here they are enjoying their lunch:

Lizzie's face painting. In typical Lizzie fashion she waited a LOOOONG time to have it done and then proclaimed to me that it was lame because the face painted couldn't do a star or a reindeer head, so she had to settle for a glittery butterfly.

Hannah went for a rainbow, which in typical Hannah fashion, she loved, but had rubbed half of it off after about 10 minutes:

The rest of New Year's Eve was uneventful. I almost missed midnight though because I took a little nap during the Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block's performance. I woke up in time to eat some sour cream and onion dip and drink some water and ring in 2011. New Year's Day we went to Terry's house for brunch, which was tasty as always, but had to leave early because these guys were coming to our church:

These are the Three Kings made famous in the song, "We Three Kings of Orient Are.." They arrived with their trusty llama and gold, frankincense and myrrh and their entourage. They actually marched through a field while the kids were inside the church singing songs. Then someone yelled "The kings are coming" and everyone ran to the back of the church as they came through the field and parking lot. It was kind of cool to see them arriving:

Once in the church the Kings introduced themselves (in their native tongue which sounds like French, Hebrew and maybe French with a not-so-good accent) and told why they were there. Our priest did the gospel reading about the three kings arrival, and then the floor was opened up for questions. It turns out that two of the three kings know how to swim, one of them has 300 camels and 15 castles and one of the others has only one cat. Also in his country it's apparently bad luck to go swimming so no one ever does:

After the Q&A the kids each got up to give the Kings a letter to take to the Baby Jesus, asking for a special gift from him (Hannah asked for a rosary and Lizzie asked for a crucifix for her room -- although I'd be lying if I said those were their first choices of gifts) that is supposed to be delivered to our home (ala Santa Claus) on the Epiphany. Here's Lizzie getting her blessing:

And Hannah getting her blessing when someone mistakenly bumped my arm:

The three kings presented their gifts to the Baby Jesus in the creche in the church and then exited to more singing from the kids. Then all the kids and their parents got to have refreshments in the social hall. Since it was so soon after Terry's brunch the kids and Rob only had a couple of hot dogs, lasagna, cookies, chips and a fried plantain. It really was a nice program and taught the girls one more piece of their religion.