Ouch!

So, the girlie who was so excited yesterday to be getting brackets on her front teeth is not so excited anymore. She woke up this morning hurting horribly! Even with Advil, Harley couldn’t make it through the day at school, she was hurting too much. I felt so bad for her because I’ve been there, and I know exactly how she feels. Unfortunately I couldn’t do anything for her except snuggle down on the couch and give her lots of loves!

Snow Day, Smiles, and Comfort!

Monday was a snow day for us, which was fun! Bailey & Karsyn came for the day, and Katelyn and Bailey played outside in the snow with big-kid, Aaron. Katelyn rolled a snowball so big she couldn’t roll it anymore! Bailey and Aaron built a huge snowman! He had carrots for his eyes and nose, raisins for his mouth and buttons, a couple sticks for arms, and one of Aaron’s gross old hunting hats to top it all off. He was absolutely adorable! Unfortunately, the weather warmed up quite a bit today, and he’s looking a little pitiful now. I’m glad I took the time yesterday to take a couple of pictures!

Today, Harley had an appointment at the Orthodontist. We thought it was just to have her expander looked at to make sure it was working correctly, but she ended up having brackets put on her four front teeth to start straightening them out. She got to choose what color ties she had on them, and she chose blue and yellow which are the colors of her school. Harley’s pretty excited to have them because she’s pretty self-conscious about the crooked teeth – we’ll see if she’s still excited the first time they get tightened down! So, here’s my dimpled girl, brackets and all!

One of my favorite comfort foods growing up was Chicken Bisque Soup with home-made noodles. It’s a perfect dish for cold weather, so that’s what I made for dinner tonight.

Like my custom-made noodle drying rack?

And the end result . . . . Yummy!

I’m off to snuggle down in my pajamas to have a warm, cozy evening.

The Storm

We had a storm today. Actually, it started last night with a TON of freezing rain. Then, today, around 10:00 it started snowing and snowing and snowing, and then it snowed some more. All said, we have about 8″ at our house, which is more than twice as much as we’ve had before. Snow in Irrigon is just unheard of – we’re too close to sea level. I love it! It’s like winter in the Grande Ronde Valley all over again!

The downside to all this snow and ice, though, is that the power was out for over 8 hours today. By the time it came back on, our house had started getting pretty chilly and we had decided to stay the night at Aaron’s Mom & Tom’s house. When the power came back on, Aaron & I came home, but Katelyn decided to stay the night with Grandma & Grandpa.

During the day today, Katelyn and I took a drive around just enjoying the scenery and all the beauty. We had a great time finding neat things to take pictures of and just hanging out for a couple of hours.

The best part of the storm? Tomorrow is a snow day for school! Yay! I don’t know why, but I sure feel like I need that extra day before going back to work.

I hope everyone is well and safe! Have a great week!

Special Girls

We have four special girls, but two of them were recognized at school today for their achievements. Katelyn and Reagan both received Student of the Month Awards today. We are so proud of both of them!

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get a picture of Katelyn at her assembly, but we do have a picture of Reagan.

Way to go girls; we’re very very proud of you!

I have loved

being home for the break, and I used it to the best of my ability. I relaxed. I rested. I had fun. I visited. I had quality time with my family. I was a couch potato. I spent time with friends. I slept in. I stayed up late. I ate too much. I didn’t exercise enough. I made messes. I cleaned. I loved.

I am ready to go back to work! I love routines. I love having structure. I love knowing I have a short amount of time to get things done – it helps keep me from procrastinating. So as wonderful as this break has been, I am really looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. I am excited about being back into a routine.

I wish everone a wonderful New Year!

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On a side note – this AWESOME piece of metal art is hanging out in my house until the Knights Pride Booster Club annual Dinner & Auction on March 8, where it will be auctioned off. It was made and donated by Steve Myren. This picture hardly does it justice; it is BEAUTIFUL!