Yesterday, we had ballet pictures. Issa loves her new costume, and she was thrilled to get to wear it for more than the five minutes it takes to try it on in class. Add a special hair twist and a little bit of make-up, and she was one elated girl...
I love that smile!
This pitiful boy decided to get all four two-year molars at the same time. This little face just breaks my heart. I think I will let him live on popsicles and juice and extra mommy love. Off to snuggle...
After school yesterday, the kids convinced me to get out the gel icing pens and let them go to town on some left-over sugar cookies. I thought we had more cookies, but there was only one and half left, so we got out a few Girl Scout Shortbreads, too.
They started very simply...
blank canvases...
...please note the pile of icing on Evan's. By the time they were finished decorating, they ate the plain shortbreads and went to watch the frogs. I wouldn't eat that much gel, either, but it sure was fun to watch them put it on and giggle!
You may remember my external brain from an earlier post. It's a bit cluttered these days, but I can now see in pink and white that I should be able to finish my first draft of my dissertation by June 3!!!
As a ginormous step, I finished all of my data collection this week! See all that pretty yellow? That yellow indicates completion; I love seeing that much yellow! (Please ignore the post-it; it's covering my participants' names.) There is a definite light at the end of the tunnel!
What do you think is in that bag and who do you think took the picture? You can probably guess Issa took the picture, but only the title of the post might give you the hint that there are frogs in that bag! Let's start at the beginning....
And this is Papa. Yep...Evan named them Papa and Nana. The snail is Happy...
...and Evan is beyond happy! The tank started here, but it later move up to his room. Last night, being me, I started researching African dwarf frogs. And although they can live in that little tank, they wouldn't be super happy. And because that's just how we roll at the Bowers'...
...we upgraded to this! We had toyed with the idea of an aquarium in Evan's room, and we decided this was a perfect excuse. I set it up today, and next week we will add a couple of cat fish. (African dwarf frogs are highly social and thrive with fish in the tank.) In case you are ever in the market for an aquarium, PetSmart is awesome! The people there are really knowledgeable, and they don't over sell. And...I swear Harry Chapin sold me pet supplies today. That voice could sell me anything.
This is Nana and Happy in their new home! Papa is much more adventurous and hard to photograph in the new home. Here's the little secret: Nana should really be Papa. Evan named the big one Papa, which makes sense since the people Papa is bigger than the people Nana, but female African dwarf frogs are larger than the males. Who knew? This is what happens when you turn me loose on the Internet!
You may remember that we have the world's most spoiled fish. Instead of doing the writing I really should have been doing yesterday, I decided to give Bow/Bubble an early summer look. Please notice the green plants and pink accents. Issa doesn't think there is enough pink, but Bow/Bubble seems very happy. And now I should probably get back to writing.
Both kids made some coffee filter flowers to add to my collection, and Evan made this little pot and planted the begonia for me!
As promised, here is the recap of Evan's birthday adventure. He started his day by opening our gift...
...a brand new Thomas engineer cap. He was already beyond excited, and then we told him we were going to go ride a train! If anyone is around NC and has a train lover in the family, the NC Transportation Museum is a must see. It used to be a functioning rail yard, and now it is a museum for all things train. They also have an impressive historic view of all types of transportation from canoes to planes, including cars and motorcycles. 
Then, we got to ride the caboose train, a train made of one engine and four cabooses. It only comes out for special occasions! We rode in the little red caboose, and I think I sang the song about a million times. Daddy and Issa sat on the top...
...but Evan and I took the lower seat.
After a lovely picnic, we headed to the round house. Evan and Daddy checked out all of the engines (I think there are twenty in the round house), and Issa and I made masks from Dinosaur Train. We also got to watch a brand new episode...
...and pose with the characters...
This sweet little boy is two! I love how he nibbled his cupcake at school yesterday. I do not love that I probably need to stop calling him my baby. He really is my big boy now (who will in some ways always be my baby--just saying). We've had an incredible day, but I thought I would save the big adventure for tomorrow's post and focus on his cakes today. It seems appropriate for the official big day.
May all his wishes come true now and always...
If you are looking for a warm fuzzy post about the kids, you might want to come back tomorrow. It's Evan's birthday; I promise it will be wonderful. Today, though, I need to talk about a dissertation.
The singing puppy was a huge hit...
And then there was the giant box it came in. Apparently a big sister is a pretty great gift, too.
Look at those two. Makes my heart melt.
It is raining here. Correction: it is pouring here! I am usually against umbrellas on the way to school; we're not going that far and it takes more time to get them up and down than to get to the car. This morning I had to make an exception, though, or my children would have looked like drowned rats by the time we got to school. They were thrilled.
I launched eight more fabulous middle school teachers into the real world last night. (Technically, they have one more year of classwork, but I launched them from my classroom.) Our final was last night, and it was a celebration of how much they have developed this semester. They presented their units, and we talked about how much they had evolved--become more nuanced, differentiated, and realistic. We ate together, and we laughed about how much they learned in the field. And I read them Hooray for Diffendoofer Day--my little reminder to stay true to yourself as a teacher.
Happy birthday to Rhiley! She is one of Issa's ballet friends. They had the cutest garden party. Each girl took home a little garden tote with tools and seeds, and they planted lots of seeds at the party. There was also a lot of dress up and giggles.
And...Evan got to tag along. Rhiley has a big brother who was so wonderful with Evan. They played ball and car--big fun! As a bonus for mom, we went with Shelbey and Crystal--woohooo!
...and we have labor....
Management...
Labor. 
They are both pretty cute if you ask me!
Even Issa and I can only watch replays of the royal wedding so many times (at least without a break), so we decided to plant the rest of our garden yesterday afternoon. A few important notes:Let me explain. The kids and I went to pick up the plants that we don't start from seed yesterday. We ended up getting tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, peppers, and mint. We pot
the tomatoes and mint, but the rest go straight in the garden. We were able to get all of the plants in the plantable pots, and Issa decided she really wanted to take the plastic off herself and plant them. My job was to dig the holes. As I was digging, I looked up just in time to see a pot explode in Issa's hands. I have no idea what happened, but the whole bottom was shredded, she was covered in dirt, and the plastic was still in tact. I looked at Evan, and he cracked up, which meant I cracked up, which meant we had a very unhappy Issa. She alternated fussing at the pot and us. We finally did get all of the plants in the ground, though, and Evan watered them in--and watered us in, too.
Issa remembered Papa Rich gave us a bee house at Easter, and she was a little sad Daddy wasn't there to hang it that moment. I said I could hang it, to which she responded, "But we need a drill and you're a girl." I will not have that! I found the drill, the bit, the screws, and up it went! We are waiting for our little Mason Bee friends to move in and pollinate, and Issa was impressed!
Here is the finished product. We already thinned out the peas and beans, and the potatoes and carrots are growing really well, too! Here's hoping everything else takes off. Just after we finished admiring our handiwork, we walked into the kitchen and realized Evan had left a trail of dirt from the garage to the back door--a large trail. Issa got the brooms, and as we were all sweeping Evan managed to spill his juice in the pile of dirt. Ug. As I was trying to decide how to tackle that little mess, I hear Issa pray, "Jesus, we're okay. But I think we might need a little help because I think Mom might be about to lose it." From her lips to God's ears! It was just the laugh I needed at the moment.
In case you haven't heard, there is a small wedding today. Issa, Evan, and I are having a stay home day to watch the festivities, and Issa chose these hats for the two of us. (I got the white one; the pink one matches her sun dress better.) We are loving the pomp and circumstance. Issa is far more interested in the flower girls than the bride: "I could do that, you know." Where was her phone call? Evan is most interested in the horses. In case you are wondering, there were roughly four million in the procession. I know this because Evan shouted, "HORSE!" every time one appeared on screen. When a row appeared, you can imagine the volume and the repetition. I'm loving it all.
A few weeks ago, Issa brought home my Mother's Day gift from school. They had planted a bulb in a little pot, and the teachers realized they wouldn't bloom by Mother's Day so they sent them home early. That was their story. The reality is they didn't want them to die on their watch. Every year, they plant some seeds and a pitiful little something comes home and promptly dies two days later. I sneak it out in the dead of night and all is well.
A few important notes about my keys:Yep...I locked my keys (and my phone) in the van when I took the kids to the library yesterday. Of course, I didn't notice until after we had checked out. Lovely. Librarians are notorious rule followers, so I had to plead to use the phone to call Brad, but they took pity on me and let me use the "Library Use Only" phone. Brad came to rescue us, and there are certainly worse places to be stuck. We sat outside on the big rocks and read stories and walked the tree-lined streets. It could be, and has been, worse: last year I locked my keys in my running van at the grocery store while Brad was in California. Fortunately, the kids were at school, I did have my phone, and we have AAA. Perhaps my next car should be one with the key pad on the outside...or perhaps I should just remember my keys.
Issa had a dentist appointment this morning (no cavities--yeah!), and it started to pour on the way to school. They were unexpected showers, and the following conversation ensued: