COLOR ME MINE - Spring Break Day 5

Okay, this really isn't a theme day, just an activity. The original plan was rollerskating, but the last thing I wanted to do was take the girls somewhere they could fall and get hurt. So rollerskating was out and painting was in.

The girls were happy to accommodate the change of plans. They are always asking if we can go to Color Me Mine and the answer is always, "no" for two reasons: 1)It's expensive 2)It brings out the worst in their mother, as you will soon see.

Color Me Mine is an art studio you go to, pick a ceramic piece to paint, pay an exhorbitant price, leave your finished product to be fired in the kiln, and then pick up a few days later.

The girls have actually done this a couple of times before. Once they decorated plates that we actually use and the other times they have picked random decorative statues that are pretty much useless. This time, I asked them to do plates again, so at least we can add to our eclectic collection. They agreed, so when we arrived they picked out some cute dinner plates to paint.

Going into this activity, I kept telling myself that I was going to "be good." You see when you paint at Color Me Mine the "paints" aren't what my girls are used to using. You have to put a good solid coating on and paint the whole piece otherwise you have a bunch of unpainted white spots and very faintly colored finished products. For the most part, what the girls expect is not usually what they get.

So we sit down to paint and Paige immediately becomes fussy and obtuse. She pretty much dips her paint brush in the paint and uses it to scribble all over the plate, putting about three dry strokes on it. Right then and there, I knew it wasn't going to be possible for me to "be good." I really did want to be the mom, that just sits back with a smile on her face, calmly watching her child paint, without worrying about the finished product or whether it's worth the money. But seriously, here is Paige who has begged to be here sitting down and absolutely putting no effort into her $25 plate.

So, here I go telling Paige, "to slow down, use more paint on your brush, make sure you paint the edges, don't leave any white spots, stop being so grumpy, do you really want to be here?, would you rather go home?, don't rub paint in your hair, etc. etc." Now I am not taking total responsibility for this, Paige was being a big pain but still I didn't really notice any other parents "directing" their children. Fortunately, about half way into it, Paige seemed to get over her little temper tantrum and was able to finish up with little interference from her mom. I didn't tell her what colors or designs to use, but I just couldn't help myself when it came to quality control---oh well.

After we finished up at the studio, we went right next door for ice cream, mom needed some sugar, bigtime!

BEAUTY DAY - Spring Break day 4

Day four and due to injury from the previous day we stayed close to home. We decided to go for a beauty and pampering day that began with the team effort of helping Ashley to shower and wash her hair without getting her leg wet.

After that we lounged around a lot, played with friends, made cinnamon bread and the girls had a lot of fun playing with the new laptop.

Then the beautification began. First up: nails. The girls got manicures and mini pedicures courtesy of their wonderful mother :)




Then we moved onto hair and brought out the hot curlers. Both girls got a "fancy" hairdo with big curls.Once we were all dolled-up, we went to a fashion show, sponsored by the girls at our church who modeled formal prom dresses. The show was very cute and the girls were great models. Ashley and Paige really enjoyed themselves in the audience and I was very grateful to have many more years before I have start worrying about prom dresses!

SWIMMING - Day 3 Spring Break

You want to go swimming but it is only 50 degrees outside, it's not enough to stop us---that is what indoor waterparks are for! I had a free day pass to the local indoor waterpark, so we headed off for a fun day at the pool.

Unfortunately, the fun only lasted about an hour and I don't have any pictures, which is a good thing because they might have blood or unconscious girls or even the paramedics in them.

Ashley slipped while walking on the deck of the pool and fell on the side of her thigh. I have no idea how she managed it, but instead of a scrape that you would expect from that kind of fall, she comes over to me with a 2 inch gash on the upper, backside of her thigh. Basically, the fall caused her skin to just split right open. Of course, it was bleeding so I signaled to the lifeguards that she was going to need first aid. I took Ashley to the first aid station, while a friend Ashley had invited to come with us brought Paige along.

In the first aid room, they start trying to clean up the cut, when Ashley tells me she feels like she is going to pass out, and then promptly faints in my arms. So then we have to lay her down and she doesn't come to right away. In the meantime, I hear a commotion outside the door and turn to see Paige, who has seen all the blood, faint herself. At this point, I have to leave Ashley bleeding and unconscious while I go help Paige. Paige has bonked her head but is conscious and crying. She can't stand on her own, so I have to lay her down right on the pool deck and try to get her calm.

Finally, Paige seems to be okay so I leave her lying down and go back to Ashley who has come around a couple of times, but keeps fainting, then starts to hyperventilate so she is now on oxygen and the pool staff has called 911. Of course, by the time the paramedics get there (less than 5 minutes) both girls are okay. Ashley is completely awake and they have stopped the bleeding on her leg.

In the end, the drama was high, but everyone was okay. Ashley's poor friend was a little bewildered by it all but she was very helpful with Paige. Ashley's cut didn't extend into the fatty tissue, so she did not need stitches. The paramedic suggested I just get some surgical tape and tape the wound closed on my own.

Of course, don't forget we are all wearing swimsuits during this whole thing, so I can't just walk out the door to go home. I had to take three pretty wobbly girls into the locker room and help them get dressed.

Ashley was pretty woozy the whole way home but we made it. Then I had to go about the business of cleaning and closing her wound. I will just say that I didn't like, it wasn't easy, but Ashley was a good sport as I tried to squeeze her skin together and tape it shut. There are definitely no future medical professionals in our family!

CANTIGNY - Day 2 Spring Break

Dave wanted to try and spend one day with us this week and Tuesday worked best for his schedule. In the morning, we went out to eat for breakfast. We love breakfast food!

We also wanted to do something we hadn't done before, so later that afternoon we went to Cantigny. Cantigny is in Wheaton, IL about 10 minutes from our house. It is the former sprawling estate of Robert R. McCormick, most notable as the owner of the Chicago Tribune. After his death, Cantigny was converted into museums and gardens open to the public.

The property is huge, but we hit three main areas. We toured the main house/mansion which is now a museum, very interesting. We also visited the other museum on the grounds---The First Division Museum, which for me was the highlight of the day. This museum is dedicated to the 1st Infantry Division of the US Army and basically presents its history from the Revolutionary War to Desert Storm. I was very impressed by the exhibits; they are top-notch. The girls had a great time and everything kept their attention.

The exhibit that made the biggest impression on Paige, was in the WWII period in which you sit in a landing craft, watch actual footage from D-day, then the front of the landing craft opens up and you walk onto a replica of Omaha Beach. It's pretty dramatic and amazing.

Outside the 1st Division Museum is Tank Park. The girls loved this. There is a big collection of tanks from WWI to Desert Storm. The tanks are spread around outside and kids are allowed to climb up and play on them. It is really quite amazing to be up close to these huge vehicles.

I can't recommend Cantigny enough and am glad that we didn't wait any longer to visit.

SCRAPBOOKING -Day 1 Spring Break

For the first day of Spring Break, the girls worked on their own scrapbooks. I found complete scrapbook kits on sale at Target for $3 each. Each scrapbook was 40 pages long and came with sticker, paper and a bunch of embellishments. The girls spent all day working on them. They spread out all over the floor and were busy, busy, busy for hours. They went through one glue stick, 1/2 jar of rubber cement, a roll of glue dots, and some Elmer's glue.

Paige made a storybook, writing her own stories to go with each page she designed. Ashley created a more traditional scrapbook with photos and short journal entries. They were both very proud of their finished products and couldn't wait to show dad.

Spring Break 2010

For Spring Break this year, we decided to stay close to home. Dave, of course, is so busy at work that he really can't take a vacation this time of year, plus with our upcoming Thailand trip we weren't about to "go big" for Spring Break.

SIDENOTE: I mention Thailand, hopefully. Our plan all along was to piggy-back a family trip to Thailand with Dave's business trip to India. Unfortunately, right now there are work visa problems between India and the US, which means there is a possibility that Dave will not get his work visa approved. If that happens then we have to decide what to do about Thailand, do we go anyway or do we wait until his visa is approved, which in order to accommodate everyones' schedules would most likely mean postponing until next year? To be continued...

Okay back to Spring Break. I have actually been looking forward to Spring Break. I really do enjoy having the girls home. I'm going to have a hard time when they are both in school full-time next year!

Anyway, for each day of Spring Break, the girls and I decided to choose a theme and do activities that went along with the theme. Stay tuned, the next few blog entries will be about our Spring Break "theme days."

I gave my blog a template face lift to represent my excitement now that I no longer have to blog using my 2003 desktop computer. Yep, that is not a typo--2003. In computer years, I was using a dinosaur! Now I don't want to disparage my old computer, because it was very reliable, never needed repairs and any quirkiness experienced was usually due to the user. It is now being completely turned over to the girls, so I am sure it's days are numbered.

Meanwhile, I have been liberated and will be using a brand new Dell Studio laptop. Hurray!!

We are also going completely wireless at our house, love it so far and am thrilled to say, "adios" to Comcast.