Pink eye in da houzz

Mia had only one plan for spring break:  Go to Yaya and DD's house for a really, really long time.  So off to Yaya and DD's she went.

The first day she woke up with pink eye.  She kindly passed it on to DD.  A phone call to the doctor and a couple of trips to the pharmacy and they were back in business. 

And then I received the most unusual phone call: Mia is crying and wants to come home NOW, we will meet you in 30 minutes.
I was baffled.
On the way home I found out that my parent's cat, Jazzy, was sick and was going to die that day.
Mia was beside herself.  Every attempt I made at a consoling death talk failed miserably.  She cried giant, pink-eye infested tears all the way home.

As soon as we arrived home, Mia went straight to her room to see her beloved fish, Rainbow.  And as luck would have it, he was deader than a doornail.

I completely forgot to feed that thing while she was gone.

And now I have pink eye.

Once again, my kid beats me at my own game.

 Recently, Mia started homeschooling this kid:

 I know what you're thinking: uphill battle.

But only Mia could convince The Bodester to sit at a tiny desk for hours regurgitating random facts and useless {to him} information.

It's conformity at it's finest, people.

And look, a homework folder:

She demands parental involvement. We comply.

Tuesday was "learning your vowel sounds"day.

Wednesday they planted seedlings.

He also completed a unit on the history of Saint Patrick's Day while I took a bubble bath.  

I see this new endeavor as a win-win.

He sees it as just another way to make himself awesome.

Eight years ago I would have considered this lame.

Eight years ago my Saturday nights generally consisted of friends, food, and fun.  And by friends, I mean people that we had uninterrupted converations with.  And by food, I mean eating at a place that does not have a playground.  And by fun, I mean doing whatever-the-heck I wanted whenever-the-heck I wanted it.

Now my Saturday nights consist of, well, this:

(In case you think I am at a rave, this is actually glow sticks in the bathtub. This little idea bought me almost 20 uninterrupted minutes on Pinterest.) 

Do I miss the conversation (and the food)?  Sure.  Would I go back?  Never.

Whenever my kids start to get a little too Edmondish, I'm totally sending them here for the weekend.

Yesterday, our Missions Sunday planning committee headed here.  The HUT is a simulation camp where people can go to train for (or just experience) life on the mission field.  You can live in the slums of Port a Prince, Haiti, an African tribal village, a remote farm culture in Asia, or even in a poverty stricken American community.  

It. Was. Humbling.  The toilets were...well, nonexistent. Some villages have latrines.  Some villages have ways to purify water.  Some have neither.  And sure, you can eat dinner.  You just have to go to the market, figure out how to communicate to people that speak no english, take back whatever is available to your village, and then figure out how on earth to cook it.

It's called perspective, people.  And I gained a little.  I think this is where my future teenagers are going to spend a couple of weekends a year.  Who's in?

Ignore my face in this picture, please.

But this is how my sister showed up at my house the other day.

I have long since resigned to the fact that I will never be as tall and naturally adorable as her, but thank heavens I have at least some of her sense of style.  

(And considering almost everything I wear is something she has bought me or handed down to me, I should certainly hope so.)

Love you, Aunt Sesa!

Cat in the Fancy Nancy Hat

This was a busy week in the Lashley family.  I usually don't like busy weeks.  But when they revolve around reading I really can't complain.

Mia was thrilled to get to meet the illustrator of all the Fancy Nancy books, Robin Glasser (thank you, Oakdale).  Like, she really, really cared, because "being an illustrator is one of the three things that I want to be when I grow up, duh."  

And Bode didn't care at all that is was Dr. Seuss day at Sonshine School because, "The Cat in the Hat isn't a Jedi and I'm a Jedi so I can't be the Cat in the Hat."  He's quite the philosopher.

Seeing Mia standing at her vanity getting ready for her day makes me quit breathing for just a minute.  She is supposed to still be this little girl.

Whether Bode cared or not was irrelevant.  I cared (and thankfully so did Yaya and Ahmo, who made this adorable costume and then drove it all the way up here - THANK YOU!!!).

Mia had several questions prepared for Mrs. Glasser.  Sadly, she didn't pick her so Mia didn't get to ask them.  She did, however, get to dress herself, in case you can't tell.

Now, if you don't think that is the cutest Cat in the Hat on the planet, then you either have your own kid that dressed as him today(in which case I understand that you are biased), or you are just plain crazy.

Valentine's Day, the crafty post

I allot myself one crafty day per year, and it's almost always Valentines.  In my next life I will keep little antique bell jars filled with adorable craft supplies, ready to create something beautiful at a moments notice.  My next life also includes an unlimited supply of time and energy.

Thankfully, this life does include Pinterest, which assures that I don't have to have a single, original creative thought.  It's awesome.  For example, check out these adorable iphone valentines:

And this evil deliciousness:

(Why, yes, I do consider jelly beans a staple.)

Unfortunately for my arteries, I don't need a recipe for oreo truffle:

Throw in some almond bark,

some sprinkles, 

and two strange little children

and I'd say you have yourself a crafty holiday.

What 10:00 PM looks like:

How anyone can fall asleep in a room with three lights on is beyond me.

And this sweet girl is reading a book about snails.  

I don't know which is more surprising, that they made an entire book about them or that my child is reading it.  

But according to Mia "snails are fascinating creatures."
I'll take her word for it.

Valentine's Day, Part Moi

That's french for "me."  I'm cultured like that.

It's always a welcome surprise to see a cut-out of your husband's head on your computer:

 My own personal scavenger hunt took me to back to the OC campus where we met, dated, and blah, blah, blah.  It was so fun to go back to all the places we made out studied together.

 Thank goodness he understands that behind every great woman there are great amounts of caffeine.

Per his request, I am sparing you the notes with all the little inside jokes and dating memories, but you get the gist - after all these years he still thinks I'm a "great catch."  

How blessed am I?

Valentine's Day, Part Bode

Because Spiderman is soooo six months ago, Bode has been begging for a new lunch box.  A Star Wars lunch box.  So, guess what was inside his spiderman lunch box when he opened it up at Sonshine School?  Well, this, of course:

(Please ignore the smeared peanut butter)

And under his carseat in Andy's car:

Bode is the easiest person on the planet to please.  He keeps a running list of things he wants in order of importance in his head at all times.  Thankfully, it just got a little bit shorter.

Valentine's Day, Part Mia

This year I am breaking the Valentine's Day post into three.  Naturally, Andy felt the pressure to up the ante a bit so he gave each of us our very own, unique scavenger hunts.

Mia's hunt started when she opened her lunch box at school.  Inside she found a huge chocolate apple with this note:

Lo and behold, the man had actually snuck out to Mia's school in the middle of the night to bury her a treasure.  How cool is that?

(The note got a little "mulchy" after being buried all night)

And under her seat in Grammy's car she found these:

It wouldn't be Valentine's Day without a video clue:

And finally, her very first ITunes gift cards.  Her world is about to change for the better.

This man will do just about anything to hear his daughter squeal with sheer delight. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside just thinking about it.

Next up:  The Bodester's special day...

Our Valentine festivities have been interrupted by more puking.

Early Tuesday morning I was awoken to the sounds I know all too well.  

It was Andy.  For the second time in two weeks.

 When I knocked on the bathroom door to ask what was going on he tried to tell me he wasn't sick and he was just hanging out in the bathroom for a while.

Apparently, he thinks I'm a moron.

 He wanted so much to feel good so we could all have a great Valentine's Day.

Instead he spent the rest of the day on a pretty intimate date with the toilet.

And then I tried to get some pictures of my kids in their cute Valentine's outfits and they came out looking like this:

After which Mia started bawling, vowed to never eat another piece of Valentine candy for the rest of her life and begged to go home and lay on the couch.

That is the sure sign that disaster is upon us.

I'm off to sanitize myself.

I think we will do Valentines tomorrow.

Remember when dinner with friends actually included grown-up food and grown-up conversation?

Yah, neither do I.