School Valentines and Other Things.

Yesterday, my computer gave me the black screen of death. So I asked for Carlo Acutis' intercession and decided to clean my desk out while I waited. 

All this paper was just wasting space in my desk. Or on my desk. I took it to the recycle bin myself! 

And look how nice and clean my desk looks now! 

Brick House in the City reminded me of this. 

And if not, He is still good. God answers prayers in a lot of different ways. 

At C's voice lesson we were waiting and the sun was beaming in just perfectly. I basked in it. 

As you know, I am indoorsy, and these 5 minutes of sunshine were exactly what I needed for my soul. 

Last night we also finished the classroom valentines. 5th grade is really the last year with a party. So M went out with a bang. 

A whole Banana Themed Goodie Bag: Banana Stress Ball, Banana Baseball Keychain, 2 Banana Vinyl stickers, and 2 Banana Laffy Taffy. With some Savannah Banana fun. 

Also of note: having already secured my Bananaball tickets for this summer as a member of the K Club is delightful! 

C's class is having an ice cream party and we signed up to bring marshmallows and chocolate chips. But then someone asked if they could still pass out valentines too... and the teacher said yes. 

Well actually she said: 

But C was all about it. So we came up with the most Teenager Valentine ever. 

As it happens, the kid loves minty gum himself, so this is a great indicator of his own interests while also getting the stinky teenager smell under control. 

Truly. I know the middle school teachers, and they often pass out Lifesaver Mints to the class when people are particularly stinky to have the room smell of mint instead. Genius. 

I had to tell C to shower this week because he stunk. And he didn't believe me but after a short argument took one anyway. Then later told me another boy in his class did smell. And he was thankful that he wasn't stinky. Hey, at least we try. I bet the other boy yelled at his mom that he was fine, too. 

Tomorrow's plans really derailed. We have 2 different funerals to go to. One is for a very sweet old man who died at 91. C is altar serving and I am live-streaming. M is coming along for the ride. 

Husband is working a funeral too, for our former Mayor. He is having a big reception at Husband's museum because he was on the board. It will be a long morning and afternoon for all of us. But hopefully we can find something fun to do in the evening. 

Have a fabulous Valentine's Day! 

Olympics! Crafts! Shows!

 Happy Olympics! 

It is well documented on this blog that I love the Olympics! And never fear, even though we are still down an oven, I made our Olympic Ring Cookies here at work! 

I truly forgot there was a Super Bowl this weekend too until I read my friend Colleen's post. Beat the other team! We will very likely not watch at all. I have no interest in either team or the halftime show. Besides... the Olympics will be on. 

I went to a Porch Goose string art class this week. It was a nice time. 

This probably sounds strange but I have been so enjoying some solo craft time lately. There's just something about creating. I am grateful for it. 

In Olympic-like binge-watching fun... I loved Finding Her Edge on Netflix. 

Husband and I watched the whole thing in 2 days, and I liked it so much I am doing a rewatch now. 

Is it teen-y and dramatic? It totally is. 

Is it incredibly predictable? For sure. Especially if you've seen The Cutting Edge. And the characters totally watch that movie in one of the scenes. 

Does the main character, Adriana (Madelyn Keys), kind of look like Jennifer Lawrence, and therefore I referred to the two love triangle skater boys as Peeta and Gale instead of Brayden and Freddie the whole time? This is all true. 

Has it already been renewed by Netflix for Season 2? It has, and I can't wait. 

To be fair, I do not think Husband enjoyed it nearly as much as I did, and he snoozed through most of it. 

That is, really honestly, all I know going into the weekend. I hope you have a good one! 

Happy News, Groundhogs, The End of an Era

 This past weekend was open house. So we went to see those school projects in person. 

And middle school choir performed at Mass. 

This was during the prelude and NOT during the Mass. 

In happy news... C was cast as Colin in The Secret Garden. 

It's his first BIG role in a show with grown-ups. Like it's him and the gal playing Mary (who I think is roughly just a bit older than him) and that's it. 

He auditioned the day we were home because of cold. And he was ready. He had been working on his audition piece for weeks with his voice teacher and he went in and truly just sang the heck out of it. Husband could hear his last notes from outside in the lobby. 

Then we didn't hear anything. At all. For 3 days. So we assumed he didn't get it. And that was okay. 

But then last Monday night we got the email offering him the role! Yay! And we were told not to tell anyone until it was public. And that finally happened! So here ya go! His first big real show. We are so proud. 

And today it FINALLY got above freezing. For the first time in 282 hours and 20 minutes. That's not a short amount of time. 

Let's not go so far as to say it's warm but at least it's not freezing. 

Happy Groundhog Day. The kids aren't in school today because it's a teacher's in-service day. Which does mean I wouldn't mind repeating this over and over again.

This made me smile. 

I do think I would thrive with working just one day of the year, being incorrect most of the time, and people still making crafts about me anyway. Alas... I was born a people and not a groundhog. 

Sae this today... and I am actually really sad. The news on Friday about Catherine O'Hara really broke me. And this just feels like more childhood slipping away. 

There are several recipes I make that ask for orange juice concentrate so not sure how that will go! 

M was so excited because her Pink Palm Puff sweatshirt came today. 

Did you know that these are THE thing in 5th grade?! I didn't either. 

Friday Check In

Hello! I have some interesting news that I can't completely share yet, so let me just say YAY! And I will tell you more when I can! 

For Christmas, my parents got us each a $30 mystery gift. AKA... they told us to send them a link with what we wanted for $30. Husband picked this double griddle pan. 

It came. He loves it. 

It's been Catholic Schools Week. I have taken no pictures. It's been fine. Open house is this weekend. 

Here are the things that made me laugh this week. Perhaps they will bring a smile to you as well! 

 

There's a theme, obviously. January was long. And Cold. And I am not terribly sorry to put it behind us. Have a great weekend! Hopefully I can tell you the exciting news next week!

Ecosystems Diorama and Other Fun

We made it! 

We had no school last Friday because of the cold. So last week was a 3-day week with the MLK day on Monday, and it was glorious! January with 3-day weeks is my jam. We got up, did the thing, and then had 3 days to recover. I wasn't mad. 

Highlights from the last bit here: My Porch Goose arrived. Her name is Gretchen. I have ordered just one outfit at this time but I look forward to a collection. 

Our 5th Grade Ecosystems Diorama was turned in today! 

Not even going to lie. I love projects like this. We had so much fun. And I am a little sad that it's not in my house anymore. 

C's science fair project also got turned in yesterday but I didn't take any pictures of that. I will when it's actually time for the science fair. 

M went to a birthday party for her friend Grant. I love the card she made! 

So we had a parish celebration event and it was Rock n Roll Bingo. It was a lot of fun! 

Anyway... it's a little peek into what we've been up to! 

You Made It!

 We did it! 

I saw this today, and it instantly lifted my spirits! I hope it does the same to you!

A Tuesday That Feels Monday-y

It's cold. Like super cold. And I am not a fan. It's also a Tuesday that feels like a Monday. The good news is we are one day closer to a weekend. (And I am really hoping it gets as cold as they say it will on Friday and we don't have school!!) 

But that doesn't mean we haven't had a little fun. 

Friday night, I took M and her friends to a Sleep Under at the Museum. We had dinner and watched a Chemistry demonstration, then we got to do some activities before watching A Night at the Museum on the Giant Screen. 

This is Beth. Otherwise known to the girls as "Flappy." And she will be the thing of legends for years to come. We've all had those moments we will look back at and talk about with our friends. It wouldn't shock me AT ALL if in high school these three still say, "Remember when A was scared of Flappy?" 

Our Lady of Guadalupe was NOT on the scavenger hunt but these little Catholic school gals saw her and demanded a picture anyway. Which... was actually kind of awesome. 

I really enjoyed taking these ladies to the event and spending time with them. We, for many reasons, took this year off from theater, which is where all the good carpools go. So my little social butterfly doesn't see her friends outside of school often. 4 was the exact right number of kids to take. No one was left out and there weren't too many! 

Plus, we have all kind of agreed to be a "no sleepovers" community. So a sleep under, getting to go hang out with friends til late, and then all going home to their own beds, was such a nice compromise. I mean, M and I didn't get home until 10:45, which is crazy late for her. 

It was a lovely time!