Mama On The Move

The girls got an early Christmas present from Kerry's parents! Now they each have a puppy of their very own!  Both male Shih Tzus, which Emily is not allergic to! They were promptly christened "Leotus and Asparagus" or "Leo and Gus" for short. Yes, there's a story behind that. When the kids were little, Kerry would make up fairy tales for them to keep them entertained.  One day he made up a story about a clam named Leotus and a fish named Asparagus.  The kids never forgot that particular story and it seemed like a great fit for our new family members. We are not used to having puppies and we have laughed and laughed at them.  They suddenly leap up and run around like mad, lose their balance and tumble head over heels.  They battle each other with their tiny barks and their tiny teeth.  Then they collapse on each other and sleep all snuggled up. Leo is quickly establishing himself as the loud, hyper one.  Gus is the calm, sle...

My girls made an apple pie from scratch! I know, not their sort of thing, usually.  Even they thought the idea was ludicrous.  They even made the crust from scratch.  Rolled it out themselves.  Pondered the implications of knowing how to cook something that I might now require them to make on a regular basis because now I know they can.  Peeled, cored, and sliced a whole lotta apples.  I helped with that part.  Added cinnamon.  Added sugar. And voila!   It was absolutely the best pie ever!  Making it from scratch really makes a difference!

Katie was in the play "Get Smart" this past weekend.  She played "Princess Ingrid", a Scandinavian princess.  We had to put her in a blond wig and high, high heels to make her look a little more Scandinavian. Everyone said she looked like she was going on an episode of "Toddlers and Tiaras".  Princess Ingrid was being guarded by Agent 86 and Agent 99.  No she did not sing or dance in the play, despite what this photo is telling you.  Princess Ingrid is brainwashed by "Mr Big" and winds up holding her guards hostage. Katie loved that she got to play a sweet beautiful princess and an evil kidnapper all in one play. The princess' brain was restored, she released the good guys, and they saved the world. All in a good days work!

My best good friend Mary popped up and surprised me this week! I was at a play rehearsal and turned around to find her sitting in one of the seats! Talk about a shock!  She lives in Alabama and I certainly wasn't expecting to find her here!  Turns out she and Kerry had been in cahoots and cooked up this plan.  So, do I post the photo that a good one of me, but Mary's eyes are closed? Or do I post the one that's better of Mary, but the rainbow glow shining off her face pretty much obscures me?

One morning this past week I woke up early and headed downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs, on the wall facing me, was a poster which had not been there the night before.  I was looking at it sleepily, thinking, "E 2?"  Obviously the girls made a poster after I went to bed.  I assumed the "E" was for "Emily" but how did the "2" stand for "Katie"?  I started looking at the other things written on the poster and suddenly it hit me:  Emily had gotten her ACT scores back and she had made a 32!!  We knew the scores could be posted as early as the 11th but they also could take up to two weeks to post them.  Emily had clearly stayed up until midnight to see if her scores were posted, and yes, they were (one of the benefits of having a last name that starts with a letter close to the beginning of the alphabet)! Emily was still in bed but she said she heard me come out of my room, she heard me walking down the stairs, t...