Morrill Hall and Planetarium

One of the many things we love about Lincoln is the Morrill Hall Museum and Planetarium. New York's Museum of Natural History it is not, but it's a gem all the same.

The kids had to have a photo with the bronze mammoth, of course:



Who doesn't love looking at dinosaur bones? Interestingly enough, many of the bones we saw last summer in the natural history museum in NYC were dug up in Nebraska and the surrounding states.







Sidenote for this photo: Soren, who loves dinosaurs, is not in this photo because she was too scared to stand by these bones.



There is even a little dino dig for the future archaeologists and/or paleontologists:





We went to the planetarium show and learned a little bit about the night sky. We hit up the gift shop for some freeze-dried astronaut ice cream (gross). Then, we headed home, tired from a morning of eating at a buffet and an afternoon of hunting dinosaurs.

It Doesn't Lose Suction!

I spent a little bit of tax money and bought a new vacuum cleaner to attempt to manage the vast amounts of pet hair in my house. I bought a cheap vacuum last year, and it just didn't cut it. So, after pondering reviews from friends I bought the Dyson.

I went to try it out, and of course it was in a bunch of pieces. Sigh.



I waited for Colby to come home to put it together because I am inept at assembling anything besides ingredients for a recipe.

So far, I am quite please with the performance of the Dyson. What pleased me most is the great deal I got on it: free $125 Target gift card with purchase, it was on sale, and I got 5% off using my Target debit card. Heaven help me if I'm ever more than 15 minutes fro a Target store.

What a Week

So, I taught my first solo yoga class on Monday, and it was fabulous. Although I'm just a substitute, I so thoroughly enjoyed teaching the class. I have no idea why I wasn't doing this years ago. While I was teaching class, yoga was like my baby. When class was over I felt like I had given birth to a little miracle - and that miracle was me working out in front of a class without any makeup on while wearing tight pants. Me, this woman who hasn't really ever felt comfortable in her skin, standing in a room full of mirrors with all eyes on me. And it felt amazing. The next step is for me to box up that feeling and take it home with me so I can stop standing in front of my bathroom mirror taking notes of all my flaws.

Tuesday came and brought with it some good news in the mail: Dade is on the Honor Roll and the Character Honor Roll for the semester. So, my bragging about my good kids can continue in earnest.

Today is Wednesday, and I got to help out a friend. Her sons couldn't go to daycare because one has a fever, so I am watching them for the day. I had to miss yoga, but I got to earn some extra money and Soren got to have some playmates for the day. Plus, since I am blessed enough to be able to be a stay at home mom, I figure I owe it to working parents to help them out. And the extra money I earned today will get Colby and I a delicious sushi meal later in the week. It all works out in the end.

Well, blog friends, I'd say this week has been pretty good, and it's only Wednesday. Parent-teacher conferences are tomorrow, so we'll see if the streak continues.

Happy Valetntine's Day!

There are a lot of people that hate on Valentine's Day saying it isn't a "real" holiday. It's just about buying something for people. It's commercial. Face facts, people: every holiday is commercial. Duh. That doesn't mean that we have to spend a lot of (or any) money to let someone know we care. I, however, love V-Day because Colby lets me go on Etsy, put a few things in my cart, and then he picks one to order for me. I always know I'm going to get something I like for V-Day. We spend all our money on presents for the kids at Christmas, and there usually isn't much left for the grown-ups. V-Day is my chance to get a nice gift from my hubby. This is what he got me this year, and I LOVE it:



I picked up these gems for Colby at the coffee shop:



The kids all got movies and a box of Girl Scout cookies. Dade was excited to get his gift, but when I asked him if I could take his picture he said, "No thanks." He's so funny.





Grandpa and Grandma Vesely, thanks for the valentines. Soren opened hers and said, "Five bucks! I got five bucks!" I was so happy because she can read and interpret numbers now! She didn't just say she got money, she actually said the amount!! My girl is so smart. :-)

Snow Days (Finally)

It's snowing again today, which reminds me to write a post about the 13.5 inches of snow we got last weekend. After a pretty much snow-free December and January with temperatures warmer here than in parts of Texas (no lie), we finally have a winter wonderland. The streets were quickly cleared of snow thanks to diligent snow plowing and the warm temperatures before/after the big snow fall. It looks like we were blanketed with a few more inches overnight, but sadly the snow plows won't come to my neighborhood for only a few inches. I'll have more trouble driving around in two inches of snow than in 13.

Snowy weekends are always better than snowy weeks because there isn't anywhere to go, and there's lots of time to play in the snow. Snowy weekends always lead me to endless baking, as well. The kids came inside from building snow forts to enjoy fresh hoagies, still-warm Chex mix, and hot cocoa:



Soren had a cute little cocoa mustache:



We also had some snow ice cream, although it was a little too cold outside to truly enjoy ice cream:



Of course, Mo Beans refuses to come inside despite the fact that it's cold and snowy...



...and so Dade has to chase her down in the yard and force her to come inside. Than he gets to dry her off.

Pinteresting

Good lord, I've caught the Pinterest bug. As if wasting time on Etsy wasn't enough (thanks for introducing me to that Sassafras Mama), I'm now on Pinterest on and off throughout the day.

At least I've found some relevant and helpful ideas while Pinteresting (when I should be folding laundry/scrubbing toilets/homeschooling my child). For example, these no-sew flowers that I turned into pins for Evelyn's Girl Scout SWAP:





You can make them, too, just by following these simple directions. Seriously, if you have a glue gun, some buttons, and some fabric scraps you are good to go. Chardonnay is optional but always helpful.

My next Pinterest project is a menu planning board which I hope to start tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll have photos soon.

Wearing a New Hat

I'm a mom. I'm a wife. I'm a great friend. I'm a baker. I'm a maid. I'm all that and more. Now, I am officially a yoga instructor in training!!!

I have been working hard over the last year, and yoga has been an amazing and empowering activity for me. I want to shout from the roof tops: LOOK AT MY ABS! HAVE YOU SEEN MY SHOULDERS? THEY'RE AWESOME! I am in seriously good shape, probably the best of my life. Not only that, but I am flexible. I am strong. I am, well, enough about me.

Let's talk about my new shirt. I wore it to my "job" interview at the YMCA:



'Nuff said.

Playing Chess

Soren loves more than anything to play games: Go Fish, Old Maid, Candyland, and Sorry. Lately, she's been really interested in playing "chest" - chess. Thank goodness Colby plays games with the kids because I hate playing games. To put it mildly, I'm a sore loser. Even losing to a little kid pisses me off. So, I leave the game playing to my better half. I know Colby will hate me for posting an unflattering photo of him, but too bad. I think it is unbelievably sweet and awesome that he is teaching our 4-year-old to play chess. Even if it means she bitches at him the whole time for "doing it wrong" because she obviously "already knows how to do it." She is her mother's daughter.

Girl Scouts Update

Have you all bought Girl Scout cookies?? I sure hope so! Selling cookies is the main way troops make money, especially Daisy troops like mine who can't take money from anyone besides troop parents. Girl Scouts Spirit of Nebraska is having a phenomenal year of cookie sales, so thanks to anyone who supported a local troop!

Last fall my troop collected coats, hats, and gloves for the neighborhood elementary school and the community center. We also collected new packages of socks and underwear for donation. Those in need often have lots of opportunities to purchase used clothing at a reduced price, but no one wants used scanties. No one. The troop's efforts earned them a patch for community service and a little time as local celebrities. Here's a page from this month's community newsletter featuring some of the girls in my troop donating socks and scanties to Dayna (the director of the community center):



Charity is a big part of Girl Scouts, just one more reason I love the GS organization. Giving to others, accepting others, accepting yourself, and promoting sisterhood...2012 marks the 100th year that GS has been promoting these ideals. Now, if we could just get the Boy Scouts to drop the homophobia and the complete disregard for those who aren't religious, we'd be really excited!

One of the projects we worked on was making a flower pot with each of the flowers the girls read about to earn their petals. Each flower represents a different part of the Girl Scout Law, and each petal the girls earn as they learn the GS Law forms a complete daisy on the girls' vests. The flower pot is just a reminder of all the important parts of being a Girl Scout. In case y'all don't know, here is the Girl Scout Law. And here is a photo of Evie's flower pot:

Kid of Character (Again)

I don't like to brag (yes, I do), but Evelyn received the kid of character award at school again this year. I joke that she's learned how to channel her bossiness in a positive direction, at least at school. And I joke that she turns her need to be right into a need to make sure everyone else is right so they won't make her look bad. Honestly, she's a pretty great kid. She's helpful. She's funny. She loves to do chores. She plays endlessly with her sister. She loves babies and little kids.


While my daughter is most definitely my daughter, I always find myself claiming her good traits and passing her negative ones off on her Daddy. Problem is, I think she's pretty good at making those negative traits work for her. That's something I haven't yet mastered. You go, girl!


Having a good kid is supposedly a sign of good parenting. I'm suspicious that it might be a testament to a child's ability to overcome his/her parent's screw ups. Either way, I'll brag about my good kids as much as I can.