Pokey Little Puppy goes to Basha's

So Kenz slept over last night. We started our morning off with chocolate chip pancakes and bacon, closely followed by a session of sidewalk chalk art outside. Kenzie drew Aunt Shanni with a mustache, and Shannon maturely retaliated by sketching Kenz sitting on a toilet. I drew a kite...

I visited mom in the hospital (day 3 of what's looking to be a long stay, thanks to a severe UTI and all its ugly side effects) while Shannon graciously grocery shopped for Mom and Dad and us. When all the to-do's were done, we headed across the planet to Peoria for Crimson's 3rd birthday - a Littlest Pet Shop bonanza. Festivities included party games, ball throwing, a 6 foot sub, and face painting. A good time was had by all.

The real fun, however, came after the party when we had to stop by Basha's real quick to grab a few items Walmart didn't have earlier. Nothing like two adults buying tortillas and a 10 pack of Ramen soup, one with peeling face paint that once resembled a kitty and the other in full puppy makeup, floppy construction paper ears and all. Shameless.

Sorry, Kenz

A phone call from my niece Mackenzie...

K: Hi Waya.

A: Hey Kenz. What's up?

K: If I sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa's tonight, will you take me to The Roomstore tomorrow?

A: Sorry, where do you want to go?

K: The Roomstore

A: (laughing) Why do you want to go to The Roomstore, honey?

K: Cuz I want a bigger bed. Mine's too small.

A: Aw, Kenzie, I can't take you there. You'll have to talk to your Dad and Stacy.

K: I did, but they won't take me.

A: Sorry babe, but I can't take you out and buy you furniture. That's Daddy's job.

She's 8. I'm used to her wanting to shop for clothes, earrings, nail polish, lip gloss... but bedroom furniture? That's a first.

I hate my tonsils

It's a dreary Friday, rain has been falling nearly non-stop for 3 days, and it's cold. Typically, these are my favorite kind of days because of their rarity. I'd be at school, enjoying an indoor recess with my students playing Chess or cards, watching them perform at our first class Toastmaster's meeting. It was supposed to be a great Friday.

But I have strep. Again. For the 3rd time in 6 weeks.

Seriously, I'm ready to peel these cursed, infection-riddled, pock-marked tonsils out of my throat with a straight razor. Gruesome, I know, but true. But I suppose the better idea is to wait until my appointment with the ENT surgeon next month. In addition to the sensation of swallowing shattered glass and thumb tacks, and the body aches from the fever, I'm just so frustrated. Please, Germ God, leave me alone. Enough is enough.

Bleh

No pics, no projects, just some brief whining. Our Monday trip up north spontaneously morphed into a visit to the zoo, which was really fabulous, because I was feeling a bit under the weather. Yeah well, under the weather turned out to be strep throat. Again. 3.5 weeks after just having it!! And the non-penicillin antibiotics I had to be on didn't agree with me; neither did the pain pills. Miserable. My doctor is going to refer me to an ENT to *hopefully* get these &$#@ing tonsils out once and for all. I LOATHE strep. I've probably had about 25 cases since first getting mono when I was 19. Fourteen years later, I'm soooo done with it! Bleh.

Camera of my Dreams

Shannon and I are heading up north today, the last Monday of our vacation, to enjoy some actual winter weather. You know, sweaters, jackets, the whole nine. But before we do, I wanted to share a little project I made last night in honor of my fabulous new Nikon. It's coming with us on today's trip, of course, so I'm sure I'll have a few pics to share later. Clearly, the pictures of this LO were *not* taken with the new cam .

This one includes all my faves... Bazzill cardstock, some Sassafras, some Cosmo Cricket, Prima flowers, a JB journaling card, a snippit of a Hambly transparency, letter stickers, border punches, ink, pleated ribbon, floss, and markers.

No-Snow Man

Happy New Year! It's off to a delightfully relaxing start. Wanna know a secret? We didn't shower today, didn't even get out of our pajamas. Slept until we naturally woke up and guiltlessly wasted 5 hours playing Super Mario Brothers on the Wii. Now *that's* what vacation is all about.

Last night we babysat our friends' 5 month old for about 6 hours while his mamas went to the Suns game. Overall, I'd say it went very well. Minimal fussing, he played with us in his bouncy seat for over an hour, he ate all 6oz of his dinner... Everyone tells us the first 2 months are hell, but if Shanni and I survive that I think we'll be pretty good at this mothering thing.

I finally got brave enough to play with my new camera Friday. It's so super cool, and I am not familiar with 1/10 of what it's capable of doing yet, but I printed this handy cheat sheet from Creating Keepsakes magazine and took some shots out in the yard. They're pretty damn sharp - I'm thrilled.

But the best one are the no-snow man. Twopeas has been bombarded lately with all these serene, tranquil layouts of snowscapes or playful photos of kids frolicking in drifts and banks and building comical snowmen. Well, it was 71 and sunny here in good ole Az today, and it's been hovering right around there for days. Gorgeous to some, maybe, but pretty a-wintery by average standards. I can't take pics of newfallen snow or us constructing a Frosty of our own. So Shannon and I improvised, in her silly way...