March is Reading Month Poster

Sarah told me Wednesday night at church that the poster for the "March is Reading Month" contest was due the next day. I thought it was due on the 28th (apparently, that's when they announce the winners!) So we worked on the poster for her to bring to school on Thursday. Thankfully, I already had an idea of what I was thinking we should do!



It said it could be a family project, so all the kids helped.



Cutting:





























































glueing:













































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All finished.














The kids with the finished poster (Andy wouldn't stay put!)

Hollywood Day

Friday was "Hollywood Day" (dress as your favorite celebrity or like you're on the red carpet)

Since Sarah doesn't have a clue who any Hollywood celebrities are (unless you count WordGirl or the Electric Company), we went with option 2: dress like you're on the red carpet (although she thought she should bring a red carpet to walk around on!)

I had her wear the dress she wore for her Christmas program and added the tiara and "glass" high heels for added flare (she loved that I let her wear the shoes since I normally don't let her wear them anywhere but at home)

Throw in the paparazi Emily, and you have a Hollywood celebrity!

I'm MELTING!!

We had been having below normal temperatures for quite awhile, but the last few days have been warmer (~40-50°) and the snow is melting!


This is what the "Mommy" snowman looked like yesterday morning.



Here is the post about when we made them.













And this is the "Daddy" snowman.

Sarah made me add snow to round them back out.
















but, this is what they look like today!












Just 16 days after the Blizzard of 2011, this is what we have left of our snow...






Front yard....




























Back yard....














Here is our picnic table with its snow hat mostly gone.

Hawaiian Day

Today was Hawaiian Day. I had bought things at the dollar store this summer specifically for Hawaiian Day, but I can't figure out where they went! So Sarah suggested this shirt to go along with the lei we did have. I added the flower to round it out!

Hat Day

This past Friday was "Hat Day" for Sarah's school. It was also her Valentine's Day party.

More Recycled Longies

Andy was outgrowing his wool longies and I found I had a few sweaters left over from William that I never used.



Before









After












This pair is made out of the body of the sweater and uses the neckline as the waistband.



















































This pair is made from the arms with elastic in the top.

















The two pairs don't look that different when he's wearing them!

Happy Valentine's Day!

The weather has been a bit warmer the last couple of days which makes for perfect snowman snow, so we had to make some!

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William went inside because he didn't like the wind.

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Here Andy and Emily pose next to the 4 snowmen we made (there is a small snowman on each big snowman's left arm)

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Emily with the "Mommy" snowman

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Andy with the "Daddy" snowman.

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I made heart shaped cakes

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and a new batch of homemade bread.

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Here is a picture of Andrew and me from yesterday at my niece's birthday party.

And... More fun facts about Valentine's Day

• In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark, and Italy.

• The most fantastic gift of love is the Taj Mahal in India. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan as a memorial to his wife.

• Every Valentine's Day, the Italian city of Verona, where Shakespeare's lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet.

• About 3% of pet owners will give Valentine's Day gifts to their pets.

• In the US, 64 percent of men do not make plans in advance for a romantic Valentine's Day with their sweethearts.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Greeting Cards

• Approximately one billion Valentines are sent out worldwide each year according to estimates by the U.S. Greeting Card Association. That's second only to Christmas.

• Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all Valentines.

• Teachers will receive the most Valentine's Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets.

Flowers

• 73% of people who buy flowers for Valentine's Day are men, while only 27 percent are women.

• 15% of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine's Day.

• The red rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love.

• Red roses are considered the flower of love because the color red stands for strong romantic feelings.

• 189 million stems of roses are sold in the U.S. on Valentine's Day.

• California produces 60 percent of American roses, but the greater number sold on Valentine's Day in the United States are imported, mostly from South America.

• Approximately 110 million roses, mostly red, will be sold and delivered within the three-day Valentine's Day time period.

To Knead or Not to Knead!

The other day, my sister posted on her blog about the recipes they use for pizza and bread. The pictures made me hungry for homemade bread. It was almost 5:00 in the evening and I debated whether to make some or not. Making some won out!
















The kids helped make the bread.













































































































I couldn't find my 2nd bread pan, so I used a heart pan instead!













Yummy!

Chocolate

• Casanova, well known as "The World's Greatest Lover," ate chocolate to make him virile.

• Physicians of the 1800's commonly advised their patients to eat chocolate to calm their pining for lost love.

• Richard Cadbury produced the first box of chocolates for Valentine's Day in the late 1800's.

• More than 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold for Valentine's Day.

• Over $1 billion worth of chocolate is purchased for Valentine's Day in the U.S.

Andrew is 18 Months Old!

Andrew was 18 months old yesterday. Man does time fly!


Andrew's photo shoot:



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The other kids had to get in the picture (Sarah was at school)

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Emily took some portraits, too.

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I went and sat down so she could take my picture and William came to sit with me, but he stubbed his toe on the way. I kissed his toe, but apparently, I kissed the wrong one and he pointed out the one I was supposed to kiss.

It got him to stop crying and I ended up with this cute picture!