Sneak Preview of Vivi's Party Next Month...

Can you guess what the theme is?

And yes, there will be a pink candy buffet. :)

Oh Dear Me...

Yep, that's right. My kids will have officially only gone to school one day this week.

I moved here in 1989, and I can honestly say I do not think anything of this epic proportion has happened in my time span living in DFW. Crazy, that is what it is. Why couldn't this have happened when I was in college? That would have rocked!

I wouldn't have sent the boys to school tomorrow anyway because of illness (Isaac did not test postive for strep or the flu...so looks like he should be better by tomorrow!) but it is the fact that schools are closed everywhere for FOUR days in a row that is wild...wild, I tell ya!

So here we sit, ending our 3rd day home and "looking forward" to our 4th. I need to go to the store...despite ice on the streets. We are officially out of yogurt, oatmeal, cereal and pancake/waffle mix. At this point toast is it for breakfast if I can't make it out there when Billy gets home to stay with the kids. Wish me luck!

Oh...it keeps getting worse. UPDATE

The heat is back up and running!! We had a burned out fuse. And my dear friend Lisa called and kept me company during naptime so I would not have to resort to tears. Isaac is on his way home from the Dr. and should be better by tomorrow. And we are praying the little kids stay well so the weekend won't be a tragedy. This Mama has GOT to get out of this house!!!! I am really feeling sorry for myself right now. Since yesterday, our thermostat won't rise above 60 degrees no matter what we set it on. We know this part is working because it is brand new, so it must be our furnace which is running nonstop but not heating up. We have one duraflame log left and a few firewood logs, but I want to conserve them for tonight when the sun goes down and it really gets cold in here. And I am thinking Isaac might have the flu because he is so thirsty and begging for drinks but he throws up even the smallest amount of water.

Can I cry now or should I wait until naptime?

The First of Many Posts Today!!

I cracked up on my last post when a commenter mentioned that i should be updating every minute on here because we are all stuck in our homes going stir crazy!! I agree that we need something to do. Much of the U.S. is iced out for the 3rd day in a row. We are all going BATTY!!! In addition to this, I now have a sick, sick boy with" it" coming out both ends about every 30 minutes. TMI? Sorry. But if I have to suffer through it...I am going to need some moral support! Since I am stuck on the couch holding a puke bucket all day,and my kids will be having a PBS Kids marathon since my Super Boy needs to lie very, very still... I will try to tap out a few blogposts to keep us all entertained. Stay tuned for a sneak peak of Vivi's birthday theme....you are all going to LOVE this one. :)

The game/crafting cabinet is staying busy.

And I paused in my nurse care to build some potato heads for J. Yes, that is Buzz and Woody! We also have pieces to make Jessie and Santa. Random...I know. :)

When he is not playing with these guys, he is using old gift bags to carry toys around from room to room. I guess it makes him feel like he is occupied! Right now he is loading my couch throw pillows (seen in the above photo) into a Spiderman bag. The thing is, the bag doesn't stay open long enough to fit the pillow in there, so this task is keeping him very busy. LOL!

I wish I could shop too, Buddy!

Our Snow Days in Pictures

For two days we have been trapped in an ice storm. Because Dallas is the home of this year's Super Bowl on Sunday, that in conjunction with the ice storm, it is ALL the news has talked about for the past 48 hours. To say that we are over BOTH would be an understatement.

Our roads are solid ice and we are on day 2 of no school, with some predicting tomorrow will be day 3. That would truly be a record around these parts!

I thought you might want to see what we have been up to for 2 days at home (minus a trip to the store for more firewood, lightbulbs, and pullups...you know the necessities!)

Some of us ventured out for a VERY short time.

You can see it is more like frozen sand then snow.

We have baked.

The kids have played hard and look pretty proud of themselves!

We have played lots of games.

Napped....

Constructed things.

And taken stock of our winter hats and accessories.

The kids also did playdough and played lots of Pacman.

Billy and I will enjoy having our evening together, as he usually teaches guitar on Wed. and I am at Awana with the kids. We are SO ready for it to end, though. I don't mind chilly weather, but being stuck at home with no school is not too much fun after the first day.

Goodbye Ice Storm, you can melt now. It was nice knowing ya.

It's February...Our Valentine's Decorations Are Up!

I made some cookies to get in the spirit of things!
I will be writing a different verse every few days that has to do with the LOVE theme.
This one is especially meaningful to me.

I bought these mailbox chair backs for the kids years ago.

When I went to order J his, of course PBKids online was sold out!

So you can imagine my surprise when I walked into our local PBKids store and saw a basket full!

His will have to wait until next year when I can take it to an embroidery shop, but atleast he won't feel left out! I stuff all Valentines that are mailed to the kids from friends and family into their boxes and they will open them up on Valentine's Day morning before school. If you google these, you will find patterns to make them yourself if you know how to sew.

The little kids had fun sticking these window clings on.

And YES it is snowing today!! Actually sleeting is more like it.

Vivi lasted less than 5 minutes out there.

I printed free vintage Valentines online and glued them to red paper that I cut with pattern scissors, then put them in placecard holders on the fireplace.

You could also string them on a clothesline.

I set out photos that depict love, and my Willow Tree figurine.

The kids and I decorated my topiary that I have had since we first got married,

with foam heart stickers that easily peal right off.

And here are a few more decorations around the house

that I have collected over the years!

Happy February 1st!

If you don't have Valentines decor for your house this year, no worries! Make your own and/or buy it on clearance like I do, Feb. 15th for next year!