Elephant

We got Winnie a new toy today. It's a stuffed elephant. Benny and I guessed that it wouldn't take long for him to rip it apart and take out the squeakers. Well, we were right. It took about ten minutes before he had pulled out a good deal of stuffing and got the first squeaker out. It doesn't matter, though. He loves his new elephant, even without any stuffing or squeakers. 

Field Trip

Today I was fortunate to be able to go with Benny and his class to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. What a cool place! Aside from the amazing artwork and beautiful exhibits, I learned so much and gained a new understanding of and appreciation for the history of African Americans. Our tour guide, Jonathan, did a wonderful job keeping a group of 10 and 11 year olds engaged the whole time. I especially enjoyed the message he shared at the end of the tour about the dangers of greed and self-limiting beliefs, and the power in each one of us to rise above them and make the world a better place. A great message for our youth. A great day. 

Spelling Bee

Today was the second grade Spelling Bee. It was optional to participate, but many of the students did. They did a great job! I thought it was going to go on forever. Maelle was doing very well. She got "their" and "different," but she was eliminated in the sixth round. The word was "don't." She spelled it d-o-n-t. I could tell she was confused, and then the judges ruled that was incorrect. I knew she'd be sad, but also to leave her alone. She came over to me about 20 minutes later and whispered, "I didn't know you were supposed to say the apostrophe." Live and learn, I guess. I am just so proud of her and everyone else for participating. 

Dining Room

There are so many things I love about our house. The long process we went through to buy it as a short sale three and a half years ago makes it all the more sweet. One of the things I love is our dining room. We lived in two houses prior to this one, but never had a dining room before we moved here. My mom bought us the table and chairs in an antique store downtown and found the hutch that holds Grandma's dishes at an auction. There are often random things on the table that have found their way to the nearest flat surface, so to see it looking so neat and tidy in here is a rare treat. We don't eat in here much, sometimes on Sundays or for holidays, so it's definitely special when we do. The cozy chair in the corner that we inherited from Chris's parents is perfect for reading and for watching for the arrival of friends out the front window. This simple space really makes our house feel like home. 

More Piglets

It was another exciting day on the farm. Miss Piggy (or Missy as she's lovingly called) had her babies, eight adorable piglets. They are 100% Idaho Pasture Pigs. They are all pink and black spotted and, of course, super cute. They were very lively, romping all around the barn with the other piglets despite the fact that they were merely a few hours old. Missy seemed to be very pleased with herself and her new role. 

Chores

Sunday is often the day that we clean and catch up on chores like laundry. The kids take turns vacuuming the rugs and the wood floors. Today it was Maelle's turn to vacuum the rugs and carpets. Chris was in the kitchen making bread and hard boiling eggs. He helped her hold down the rug so she could vacuum. It was cute watching them work together to get the job done. 

Band Practice

Benny and his buddy Sam came in today announcing that they are starting a band. Sam had his electric guitar and his amp, and Benny was on his drums. They were using Bluetooth to get Garage Band to play on the jukebox. It really sounded like band practice. I told them I would take a couple pictures to commemorate their first practice so that when they are famous there will be some shots of the early days. Sam didn't want to be in the picture. It would be fun if they continued playing together, though. 

Sock Hop

Tonight was the many-annual Herrick Park PTO Sock Hop. It is always one of my favorite events of the entire school year. I love seeing all of the kids getting dressed up and having so much fun. And I love dancing with them. We all had a great time tonight. It is hard to believe this was the last Herrick Park Sock Hop. My kids have been coming to the Sock Hop with me their whole lives. It's the end of era. Farewell, Sock Hop. 

National Puppy Day

This picture is really from yesterday and doesn't have anything to do with our day today. However, evidently it is National Puppy Day! I didn't even think of taking a picture today until I laid down on my bed for the night. That is when I usually post my picture of the day. We didn't have much time this evening to do anything but make supper and clean up the kitchen before we had to leave again. Tonight was our last Financial Peace University class. It's hard to believe it's been nine weeks since we started. I remember thinking it would be spring by the time the class was over, and it is!  Anyway, we learned a lot and would highly recommend FPU. 

And we love our puppy! 

Close-up

We checked on the piglets this afternoon. They are all so cute and seem to be doing well. Audrey also seems to be doing a good job as their mama. This is very encouraging. We were reading about a family farm on Instagram. Their pig had six babies and only two have survived. I feel for them. I know it can happen, but it would just be so sad. We are praying that all these little ones continue to thrive. 

Bed Time

Around this time every night, Winston goes into his bed and lays down for the night. It is so nice that he doesn't mind his bed/cage. 

In other news, the piglets seem to be doing well. We peeked into the barn right before dark and Audrey was lying down with her babies. We have a couple of chilly nights coming up, and then, thankfully, the weather looks like it is going to be nice for a while. Then we won't have to worry quite so much about them. 

Piglets!

We had some excitement on the farm today. When Chris went out to the barn to feed the girl pigs this afternoon, he found six baby piglets in the barn. They are so cute! Their mom is our American Guinea hog, Audrey. We are not sure exactly how "motherly" to expect a pig to be, so hopefully she knows what she's doing. Our other gilt, Miss Piggy, is out in the barn with Audrey. We are hoping that she will have her piglets any day, too. Although she is so much bigger than Audrey to begin with, it's hard to tell if she is actually  expecting. I hope so, because those babies are just so sweet! 

Party!

Maelle invited a few friends over for her birthday party. She really planned the whole thing. They did origami and a scavenger hunt that she designed. They had fruit, veggies, and cupcakes with paper cranes as toppers. They played, and laughed, and had a great time. She got some very nice gifts too. The best part was just spending the afternoon with good friends! 

Happy Birthday, Maelle!

We celebrated 8 amazing years with our sweet girl today. It's hard to believe that Maelle is already 8. She is becoming such a special young lady. We couldn't be prouder of all of her talents and her caring nature. She spent the early afternoon at a friend's birthday party. Then she came home and helped get ready for her party tomorrow. After church we went to Chomp Burger, where she ate an entire plate of loaded nachos (nearly) by herself, and got a complimentary Oreo milkshake, which she shared with Benny. When we got home, she opened presents and ate a few bites of delicious fruit tart. All-in-all, I'd say it was a pretty great birthday for a super special girl. We love you, Maelle Jeanne Francis. I hope you enjoyed your day! ❤

School Birthday

For Maelle's non-food birthday treat, she wanted to share her new puppet, Larry, with her class. She was really excited! I am thankful that her awesome teacher took a picture of her with Larry and sent it to me. It made my day. 

Bennigan's

This is one of those picture-of-food posts. We went to dinner tonight at Bennigan's. They had an amazing-looking Mac and cheese. I asked if they could put Buffalo chicken on it. It was delicious! I am going to try to save it so Chris can finish it on Saturday. 

Mount Pleasant

This is a terrible picture, but it was an afterthought as we were driving by Central Michigan University. I am in Mount Pleasant for the last two days of the four day Adaptive schools training. The first two days were really good, and I'm looking forward to learning a lot more these next two days. 

Pi Day

We are not huge mathematicians, but we certainly do like some pie, so we thought we ought to celebrate this very unique and special number: Pi. We needed milk, so Chris and I stopped at Busch's after dropping the kids off for piano lessons and bought two mini pies and some milk. (They were apple and cherry, in case you were wondering.) When I picked up the kids, they somehow guessed what we had done. I guess they expected that we wouldn't miss the opportunity celebrate this special holiday. 

Reading Olympics

In February, the second grades held a Reading Olympics. Students were challenged to read as much as possible at home throughout the month and record their time. Maelle was very into it and racked up a lot of minutes. Today her class celebrated by passing out medals to all those who participated. It is great to see so many students so inspired to read so much! 

Vacuuming

Our power came back on today around noon. We spent the afternoon catching up on laundry and other chores. It's the kids' job to vacuum on the weekend. Benny likes to listen to his book on his Kindle while vacuuming. He used to hold his Kindle in one hand and vacuum with the other. This was not very efficient or effective. I finally put a stop to that, and he came up with the idea of putting his Kindle in this bag and wearing it while vacuuming. It works much better now. In other news, we moved the girl pigs back to the barn today in hopes that we might have some piglets in the next couple of weeks. 

Pierced

Maelle got her ears pierced today. When I was growing up, it was customary in our family to get your ears pierced when you turned 8. We decided to do the same. This girl is turning 8 one week from today. We were at the mall picking out her running shoes for Girls on the Run, which starts on Tuesday. We stopped down at Claire's and they were able to pierce her ears right then and there. She chose some very pretty sapphire earrings, her birthstone. She was very brave, even though one of the piercing guns got stuck in her ear. Thankfully it only took a minute to get it unstuck. She seems very pleased with her pretty earrings. I think she looks very grown up. 

Big Boy with Our Girl

Benny was invited to sleep over at a friend's house. Chris and I took Maelle out to eat at Big Boy. She ordered pancakes and Chris and I got the seafood buffet. Still no power at home or at school today. 

Power Lines

Power has not been restored at home or at school yet. Our home restoration estimate is now Monday. I'm sure there is a lot for the linesmen to do in the wake of yesterday's windstorm. This is likely the culprit of our power loss at school. This is just a few doors down from the school. It doesn't look good. I feel for the people who live in this house. I'm hopeful that everything will be fixed overnight so we can get back to work tomorrow. Sending out prayers for everyone affected be this storm, including the men and women who are working hard to get us all back in the grid. 

Power Outages

It was very windy today. So much so that we lost power at school just after 2:00. Thankfully we were able to teach through it. The teachers and kids all did a great job adjusting. We also lost power at home, so Chris hooked up the generator. We can pretty much do everything we need to do and be quite comfortable, as you can see. Unfortunately the estimated power restoration for our house is not until Saturday. Hopefully, with school being in the city, power will be restored there before morning. 

Science Olympiad

Today was Science Olympiad. I was very proud to be there with my Herrick Park teams, as well as to cheer on Benny and his TMS team and all the Tecumseh teams. The kids all did a great job, and we had several teams that placed in their individual events. Our third grade team took home fourth place overall. It was a lot of work and preparation, but it was definitely worth it. I hope the kids had as positive experience as I did. 

Pork Chops

I got home from work a bit earlier than usual today. After sitting down for a little while, I made a delicious supper including pork chops, salad, Lima beans, apple sauce, and cottage cheese. It was a special treat for a Monday night. Yummy! 

Splash Universe

Maelle was invited to a friend's birthday party at Splash Universe, so she and I spent the afternoon there. She had never been there before. She and all the girls had a great time. It was nice to be in a place that felt like summer for a few hours. 

Music

We have a free trial of Prime Music. Last night we spent a few hours listening to music and reminiscing about our favorite songs. I made playlist of 45 of my all time favorites. It reminded me of how we used to make mix tapes. When I first started making mixes it was right off the radio using the pause, play, record buttons on my tape recorder. Now we have access to virtually every song ever made and can download a song or whole album. with one click. Apple has truly created the ideal listening experience. Where was MP3 when we were growing up?

War Paint

After work the kids and I went over to some friends' house. I hung out with the grown ups, and they played with the kids. When it was time to go, I noticed their faces. Maelle told me it was war paint. They were gearing up for a pillow fight. I'm not sure exactly how war paint got involved, but it seemed harmless. I made them wash it off before bed, though. 

Conference

We had parent-teacher conferences again tonight. Chris and I went to Maelle's conference and we got to hear all the wonderful things she is doing in school. We are so proud of her accomplishments in all areas. She is such a good student and a great girl. When I got home she was waiting up for me. I got to tell her how proud I am to be her mom. 

Memory

I didn't take any pictures today. We had conferences at school, so I got home after the kids were in bed. However, I had this picture come up in my Memories on Facebook last night, and I took a screen shot with my phone. Maelle was two years old in this picture. She was counting some fake coins. She was so cute! Such a feisty little girl!