Mastercard

Diva Girl Outfit:

Black Polka-dot dress: $14.99
Silver Shoes: $14.99
Purse: $12.99
Headband: $7.48
Earrings: $1.98 (yea, clearance)
Bracelet Set: $3.99 (yes another clearance)
White Sassy Sunglasses: $5.99

Spending quality alone time with your dad: Priceless
Like they say, for everything else, there is Mastercard.
How fortunate we are to still have time to spend with Michael.
A year ago, we were so scared about not having that time.

Valentine's Dance

Well, let's just say Lucas threw me for a loop on this one. I didn't think he was really interested in girls yet. I was hoping I had a few more years before I had to deal with this. Anyways, one day I pick him up from school and you can tell he is day dreaming about something. I jokingly ask if it is about a girl and he said yes. He has had a crush on this girl since the summer. He decides he wants to ask her to the Valentine's Day Dance that Friday. So he spends the next few days getting advise from his buddies and his "Dangerous Book for Boys" (Thanks Sharon!) on girls and how to ask them, etc. The next few days were just hysterical (at least for me). He tried talking to her alone at school but that wasn't happening, so he remembered hearing her and her friends talking about going to the library. So mom drops him off at the library so he can get his chance to ask her. Finally after being there awhile, she was alone and he asked her. She said "she didn't know". He was satisfied with at least getting to ask her. I can't believe he had the courage to do that. The next few days were filled with waiting and sneaking his phone number into her locker after school. Unfortunately she never gave him anymore of an answer. I'm so proud of him though, he decided to still go to the dance, which on Thursday evening he decided he needed new clothes for, and by the way mom, you are supposed to wear red. So off we trotted in search of a red dress shirt. We ended up with a pink dress shirt (another surprise for mom, her son wearing pink willingly) and a $35 red tie. Can someone tell me why a little piece of material called a tie is so expensive? So we get the clothes, he goes to the dance and then call not even 10 minutes after he is dropped off and wants me to pick up his tie from him, as no one is wearing a tie. He seemed to have a good time, even without a date.

The Diva & The Paparazzi

Well another year, another Father-Daughter Dance. This year's theme was costume couples, so Hannah went as the Hollywood Diva and daddy was the paparazzi. Great idea for the scrapbooking mom who wants lots of pictures to an event that she can't attend. I gave complete instructions for 2 pictures I wanted from the dance, so we will see what he comes back with. These photos were taken at home before they left. It was odd to think about last year's Father-Daughter Dance that Michael was barely able to attend since he was still recovering from his heart attack. What a year it has been. (See last February's blog for more.)




This last picture was thanks to Parker jumping around but funny it turned out cute and goes with the theme.

P is for Parker & Pretzels

Parker's preschool was studying the letter "P" and took a field trip to
"Auntie Annes Pretzels". It was an interesting trip to learn how to make
pretzels and their history. Did you know a monk first invented pretzels?
Did you know that the 3 spaces in a pretzel represent the Father, the Son and
the Holy Ghost?

Pretzel making was not easy. It is all in the wrists. All the kids got to try making a pretzel and then later got one to eat. I tried too and mine didn't come out too good. I think I will leave the baking to someone else.

Reason for my lack of blogging

I have felt bad lately about not blogging much, so I figured I would let you know what I have been up to. The kids as usual are keeping me extremely busy and I hope to blog about all their exciting adventures in the near future. The following though is what has consumed most of my time lately. Check it out at www.hanbyarts.com. This is a big event at Hannah's school that I am coordinating. It is forcing me to go way out of my "Comfort Box" and ask for donations. That gets me all worked up. Thankfully I do have good people working with me, who without, I would be a total basket-case.

If you are in the area on April 13th, please stop by. It is a great event, at least I hope it will be this year. If you have a business, are an artist, or would like to donate, please let me know. Every donation we get is much appreciated and goes a long way to support arts in education.