What I Do

My siblings have been posting these, so I had to find one for me:

Some day we will laugh about this...right????

So tonight we had an episode that can only be filed under "Some day we will laugh about this, right??"

Katie & Megan were upstairs taking a shower together in our bathroom, and Jessi was curled up on the couch downstairs between me (watching TV) and Chris (working on his laptop).  We started hearing dripping.  Where was it coming from?  Then we heard a pouring sound.  And found out where it was coming from - THE CEILING!!!  Water was pouring out of the ceiling right above the computer!!

Chris ran upstairs to turn off the shower - we figured a pipe had burst or the drain had a crack or something.  I ran into the kitchen to grab bowls and buckets to catch the water and towels to clean up the desk and computer.  Then I went upstairs to survey the damage.  It was not pretty...Chris' language, that is!  The girls were both crying their eyes out by the time I got upstairs.

It seems they thought it would be fun to plug up the shower drain with their washcloths, so the water would get higher.  But the shower basin is only about 2" tall, and they didn't think about what would happen when the water got up to that level.  They just kept happily splashing around in the shower, oblivious to the fact that water was pouring out of the shower, onto the carpet of our bathroom floor, through the floorboards, onto the drywall ceiling of the family room, and eventually onto the family room desk/chair/floor.

Neither one would fess up to whose idea it was, or who started it, despite Chris' intense interrogation.  (I figure it doesn't matter, they didn't do it on purpose to cause a mess, they did it to have fun)  The computer, desk, chair, and carpet are all fine, but the ceiling has a lot of damage to it.  There is one big soft spot about a foot across (see below), and the drywall tape line is bulging for about 10' long down the seam.  Guess we're calling a drywall guy tomorrow!!

I just keep repeating to myself, "some day we'll laugh about this!"  Please tell me I'm right!  (and don't tell me if you're laughing right now!)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!  Thank you for all of the cards and fun little gifts for the girls!  They love everything you sent/emailed them.  Thanks for thinking of them on Valentine's Day!

We had a lot of fun today.  Last night I decorated the kitchen with all of our V-Day decorations (since I never got around to putting them up any earlier).  So the girls were surprised to come downstairs this morning and see the kitchen all decked out in pink and red!  I got them each a cute card, and a Reese's PB heart.  The hearts were gone before breakfast!  I made them pink heart-shaped pancakes topped with strawberries, and pink strawberry-banana smoothies for breakfast.

At school they each passed out valentines, and brought home gobs and gobs of candy.  They were excited it was a non-uniform day, so they wore pink (Megan) and red (Katie) to school today.  For dinner, I made a new recipe - lobster and shrimp pasta with sherry tomato cream sauce.  Fancy schmancy!  And delicious!  For dessert, we made chocolate-dipped strawberries. 

Katie & Megan worked hard on a secret project upstairs last night and tonight - a V-Day banner and homemade presents for each of us.  So much creativity in two little kids!  I got a necklace made out of hospital gauze, with bits of yarn and ribbon tied all along it.  It's...interesting...and colorful.  Chris got a 'man' made out of a paper towel tube, wearing a vest and tie and a nametag "Mr. Lovey Dovey".  Jessica got a little doll that is a cross between our two presents!  My favorite part is that we had to pay a penny to go upstairs (Megan gave us each a penny, then took our collection back at the top of the stairs), and they had music playing for the presentation of gifts.  They really plan out every single detail!

After getting the kids in bed, Chris and I did a mountain of dishes, watched some TV, and filled out the school registration forms for next year.  So romantic!

Jessica's face after eating a Fun Dip candy.  What a mess!  Her tongue was bright green!

Girls showing off the chocolate-dipped strawberries.  Notice Mr. Lovey Dovey on the table.  Also notice Jessica's sourpuss face and her plate full of food.  She decided she didn't like dinner tonight.  And she refused to try it.  So she sat at the table while we enjoyed the strawberries.  She was mad, but not mad enough to eat a single bite of dinner!

Daddy Daughter Dance

Yesterday was our gym's Daddy Daughter Dance.  Chris has taken the girls to it the past few years, and they really look forward to it!

Chris with his princesses.

I told everyone to turn around to show off their beautiful hairdos.  I put the girls' hair in french braids for school yesterday, since I knew I wouldn't have much time to do their hair before the dance.  I didn't braid Chris' hair, it's always that gorgeous!

Party girls on the dancefloor after dinner.

Jessica wore her Belle dress to the dance.  She was so thrilled to meet the 'real' Belle at the dance!

The girls each got fancy princess crowns, necklaces, bracelets, etc.

The best part is always the balloon drop at the end of the night. I can't even imagine how much screaming there is in a gymnasium chock full of little girls!

February Fun

The first few weeks of February have been jam-packed with fun!  The first week was Catholic Schools Week at school, which meant lots of special events and dress-up days.  The week ended with a family movie night at a local church, where we watched Gnomeo & Juliet with 100 of our closest friends.

Katie had 'Wacky Clothes' day at school, and Megan had pink day at school

All three girls had pajama day at school on the same day!!

Chris was in Turin, Italy the first week of the month, so when he returned we had lots of surprises for him.

We got him Texas Pete-flavored chips!  His favorite hot sauce!

Katie & Megan decorated this half of the driveway for him.

Jessica colored in Welcome Home Dad!

 He didn't have bad jet lag this time around.  I think it really helped that it was so sunny and warm when he got home, and we went on a long walks on both Saturday and Sunday.  We all enjoyed the sunlight and fresh air!  On Superbowl Sunday, we went to a fun little gathering at a friend's house.  We love friends with finished basements...we just throw the kids downstairs and close the door!  :)

A few days ago, Katie got her brand new glasses!  She is twins with Jessica now!  They have identical frames, but Katie's is adult-sized.  Katie is mildly far-sighted, and has bifocals to help her with reading.  She adjusted well to them right away.

Today we went to the DIA to see the Rembrandt "Faces of Jesus" exhibit.  It was spectacular (but very crowded).  I think the girls really got a lot out of it, since they are familiar with many of the bible scenes that we saw.  The exhibit showed how Rembrandt changed his painting style over time, from traditional European views of Jesus (blond hair, chiseled body, grand gestures) to more realistic views of Jesus (dark hair, Jewish features, gentle and contemplative gestures).  The exhibit was full of studies of two of his paintings/etchings of the same scene, side by side, one from early in his career and one from late in his career, and the differences were explained.  We all learned a lot!

We wandered around most of the museum, and the girls loved the eye-spy clues in each room.  Our favorites were the knights of armor, the Rivera mural room, the impressionist paintings, and the modern art rooms, but we enjoyed everything.

We posed outside the museum after enjoying lunch in the DIA Cafe - my favorite place for lunch!

 After the DIA, we walked across Woodward to the Detroit Historical Museum.  I got a family membership from Groupon - a real steal!  We enjoyed the miniature train exhibit and the streets of Detroit exhibit the most.

Girls driving a Model T.  They each got to crank the engine to start it up!

The dress-up clothes in the toy exhibit room were also a big hit!

Jessi the butterfly peace cheerleader!

Katie the jester!

We had a busy day, but two museums weren't all we did today.  We came home to have an afternoon of sledding in our backyard with our neighbors!  And we had movie night at home tonight, too.  The Smurfs movie was much better than I had expected!  (though I had low expectations)