Happy Hallway

This week is crazy. In addition to my usual Tuesday/Thursday night teaching, I took students to the theatre last night, which meant I got home at 11:30 pm. It's the middle of Read-a-Thon, we have rescheduled Hog Day, and I'm co-chairing a three day conference next week. Thank goodness for a supportive husband and a crockpot.

In the midst of the crazy, my hallway is making me very happy. I started redoing the photo well during the hurricane, and I love it:

I reframed the kids' first years so they actually match, and then I ordered the Mixtiles to fill in the middle. They are fabulous and so easy to hang! Issa helped, and we even broke out the measuring tape and level instead of my usual hammer and pray method. I have some big plans for the other side of the hallway, and we will eventually be painting, but in the meantime, these photos make me so happy everytime I walk down the hall.

So Fun but So Tired

We finished celebrating Issa's birthday this weekend. She invited these two over:

 They spent the afternoon wandering the neighborhood taking very cool pictures of each other! Maybe she will let me post them eventually.

After the photo editing session, we girls headed to the mall. We started by having dinner at Maggiano's:

 Apparently the best part was when they made me laugh so hard I almost spit water across the table just at the waiter was walking up. We did laugh, but we also talked about the future and some tough stuff. I just love these girls.

From there, we went to Lolli and Pops before taking yet more pictures around the mall. They were most proud of their firebirds by the Firebirds sign.

We made it back home just in time for more cake:

 Please notice her friends' faces:

It took her about six times to get all of the candles. It was hysterical.

They ate more than I could have imagined, laughed more than I could imagined, and finally fell asleep at two. I might recover in time for Issa to turn 13.

A Very Happy Birthday

Right before all the crazy, our sweet girl turned 12. I don't know how that's even possible.

Every year, I do something in their doorframe for when they wake up. Since Issa is in love with fairy lights, I decided to make a light-up 12 for her! My idea was strong but muscles were not. Daddy came in for the save and helped form the numbers from hangers:

 She was quite tickled!

I supposed to travel to DC on her birthday for a conference, so we had promised we could do cake and presents in the morning. My travel was cancelled for the storm, but Issa would hear nothing of postponing cake and presents!

Daddy and I have her a subscription to Headbands of Hope:

 This organization is close to Issa's heart. She loves the idea of children in hospitals receiving headbands and scarves. She has donated headbands in the past, and she is thrilled to see the pictures arrive every month of kiddos smiling in their new gear--and she like wearing her own.

Evan stole the show, though:

 He adopted one of the Outer Banks dolphins in her name:

 Issa will be getting monthly update about Rainbow, and she loves knowing that the dolphin research will continue.

Evan lit the candles:

 And we all ate chocolate cake for breakfast:

 This kid:

 I don't have the words for how much I love the girl who made me a mother.

Further evidence that Issa has the coolest friends:

 Yep. The got her pegacorn footie pajamas. She wore them for her birthday dinner and second lighting of her candles. I really worry she will never come out of her shell:

 The pose everyone hits while being sung to:

This weekend we will celebrate with some friends, and then we will put a pin in a very fabulous twelvth birthday.

Hurricane Florence

We have had a lot of excitement in the past week, but I wanted to begin by thanking everyone for all of the texts and calls during Hurricane Florence. We were incredibly blessed! We saw some good wind and rain but nothing like what was predicted and certainly nothing like what our friends to the east are coping with right now. 

We only had one hurricane related glitch:

That would be a jenga pile of gallons bags of water all frozen together in our deep freeze. Oops. I was so worried about losing power, I filled the deep freeze with the bags to take up space to help keep things cold. In the unlikely event that something happened to our water, we could thaw them and have fresh water. One problem: I just stacked them in there, seal side up, when I filled them. as they settled, they kind of melted into each other. When I went to take them out last night to get the dinner ingredients, they were very stuck together. When Brad tried to lft them out, the deep freezer came off the ground. Oops. So...he took a hammer and chisel to the top layer. I was able to cook, and we will literally chisel away at the situation over the next few days. Live and learn.

We are so lucky, though. Our nerves are a little worn from waiting for the worst, but we are so grateful that the worst never came.

We Are Ready

Well...it appears Hurricane Florence is on her way, and we are pretty much ready. We will move the patio furniture in tonight, but aside from that we are stocked, flashlights have been checked, and candles are in place.

Hog Day has been postponed from this weekend, and I am not going to DC for a conference as planned. We are hunkering down.

We've been in NC long enough that I have healthy relationships with hurricanes. I've been stalking my favorite weather sites, and we are pretty sure we are going to see something. I would be lying if I said I wasn't anxious, but I also know we are prepared as we can be and there is nothing indicating that we will need to evacuate.

So...we wait. It's a little surreal to be waiting on September 11. For the first time, Issa came home with an assignment about 9/11: she had to interview me about my memories of that day. What I remember most is the waiting. Sitting with Tay on our couch, unable to turn of the news. Waiting for the helicopters to land on the football field after security knocked on our door to tell us Wright Patt was evacuating them there. Waiting to see what would happen.

This is a very different kind of waiting for us, but I know it's not for those evacuating the coast. Please say an extra prayer for them and a little prayer to help us all turn off the news for a little while.

Further Evidence...

...that Buddy is his dog:

I got up, and I returned to find this cozy cuteness this morning.

The Birthday Celebrations Begin

This weekend officially kick-off the birthday celebrations for Issa! 

Aunt Shannon flew in to town Thursday night, and she and I enjoyed a sister day (even if we were working on our respective laptops) while everyone else was at school Friday. The kids enjoyed a slumber party with Nana and Aunt Shannon Friday, and then Saturday started the celebrating.

We all went to watch Evan at the dojo, and then we went to Maggiano's for a birthday lunch. Issa was all to thrilled to blow the candle out in her tiramisu. As soon as we finished, she and Aunt Shannon began the great birthday shopping trip. They covered the whole mall, and Issa thought she was pretty big stuff with all of her purchases--especially the shirt that Aunt Shannon bought one of, too! We all met them again for dinner, saw the fashion show, and then collapsed into bed. Of course, I took pictures of none of this.

I did take some pictures Sunday! We all went to church and brunch together before we tried our hand at homemade gummy bears:

They are not terrible. The second batch was much better! We reduced the juice, which gave them a stronger flavor. We all cooked dinner together, and then I got to hang out that night for some grown-up girl time before Shannon flew home yesterday.

Issa and Nana made their shopping trip yesterday, and Issa was over the moon that she got to keep her treasures. She was a smidge afraid she would have to wait until her actual birthday, but Nana is too nice for that.

Now we are all back to school and work after a perfectly perfect weekend.