(Sorry, sending this out late since my technical support AKA Tom was out of town and I was not able to download a new photo).
Another busy week. Just watching the Super Bowl game. I Miss the Ravens playing. We still have lots of Pittsburgh fans here in Baltimore though. Most of our time was spent at home last week with snow and ice. Tom was off to work for the week in Charlottesville VA. The kids had their first snow days of the year, but it was mostly ice that kept us off the roads. Not as bad as Kentucky or Alabama. At least we didn't lose our power. The kids just loved not going to school and sledding on the ice. I enjoyed a few days off work to clean out closets and study with the kids. Not enough time off though; I am sure I will still have plenty to do for spring cleaning. Good start though. And it warmed up enough this Sunday so I could finish cleaning my dining room windows and front storm door on the outside.
I also signed up to make a jello salad for Teacher's Appreciation Week and ended up making a taco salad for a funeral. All of the programs for Catholic School Week were cancelled last week due to a tragedy at the school. One of our 4th graders, a 10 yr old girl was killed in a car accident on her way to school Monday morning. It certainly left a great sadness on all the families and kids this week.
We cancelled many activities at school last week, including GS meetings on Friday. I relocated my girls to my house for our meeting and we made 150 thank you cards to attach to our 150 boxes of donated cookies for the US military. Thanks to anyone who purchased donated cookies by the way! We hope to travel to the BWI airport next month to hand deliver our cookies to returning US troops. We were able to experience this activity last year and it was very moving to have the chance to personally thank our soldiers for all they do and their sacrifices. As well as give a little something back to them as a token of our gratitude. You'd be surprised how much they all love our cookies! And during our last visit, my girls were asked to join the welcoming committee to lead us all in the pledge of the allegiance. What a great experience for the kids too!
I also had to take my girls to a late night meeting to discuss the details on our upcoming Up All Night at the Mall GS activity. When we were younger, we attended the Columbia Mall Sleep In where we stayed up all night at our local mall completing crafts and badges and just having a great time. Now that the girls are older, it is their turn to run the activities. Last year we were in charge of making pom pom caterpillars-not very stimulating. This year the girls will be assisting with running a badge station-a little more challenging. They also get a chance to earn a few patches of their own(and eat chinese food at 2am). What could be better.
Saturday we finally celebrated Scott's birthday with his school friends. We tried to schedule a party in Nov and Dec, but with his birthday falling on Thanksgiving Day, it didn't leave much time for fitting in a party. The one day in Dec that was free and we had tickets to the BSO Christmas symphony. So Jan it was and it worked pretty well. I think more kids were available to attend. Scott wanted a gymnastics party. He wanted to spend his time jumping and flipping(and he did!). The kids all had a great time and agreed that 1hr was not enough time! As a matter of fact, Scott wants to try his hand at gymnastics and will be taking a class in February.
Sunday we all gathered for the 9am Scout Sunday mass, both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. It's fun to see all the kids together in uniform. Next week is Scott's Blue and Gold banquet and cake making contest, as well as the Klondike Derby. Sunday was also a nice day to shop for a new car. I have been agonizing over a replacement for my minivan. Ford and GM decided to stop making minivans(big mistake) but they didn't bother to check with me. Anyhow, I guess I decided on the GMC Acadia-part SUV/part station wagon. It claims to have about as much carrying capacity as my Buick Terrazza minivan. But my van has reached the 85000 mile mark and I am afraid important stuff will start falling apart. And my extended warranty runs out at 90000. I already had it in to the dealership for about 2 1/2wks trying to fix the heating system, so I can't afford any more breakdowns. Looks like my new vehicle will be delivered to the dealer on Monday. Then we will just have to sell my minivan. I don't think I am quite ready to give up my minivan, but the car companies have not left me with any other choice(except to go foreign which is pretty taboo coming from Detroit). I will let you know how I like the new vehicle.
We were out of the dealership in time to attend dinner at our neighbors while we enjoyed the Super Bowl. Looks like lots of PA fans will be happy this week.