and then there were three...

Remember this little chickadee?

Well today she became an official member of the "egg laying club." As LB calls it.

Can you tell that the egg is a blue/green color? We knew Lucy (aka Peep) was an Easter Egger and could lay colored eggs. But there was no guarantee. So we were really jumping for joy when we discovered the extra egg in the nesting box today. And it wasn't brown.

We feel like proud grandparents over here.

The Big Ballerina took her new role very seriously. And babysat all afternoon. Sending birth announcements to all her friends.

And now we can definitely say she's a hen. Not a rooster.
•••

I want to thank all of you for the wonderfully supportive comments on my last post. They all felt like a great big hug! I'm going to continue with the class. I will keep you updated as to how it's going.

While the Cat's Away, the Mice Will Play...

I spent this week visiting with my mom. It was good to see her, help her out a bit and spend some quality time together. She continues to be a medical mystery as she is surviving the unsurvivable.

These doctors don't know who they're dealing with when they tell my mom she's terminal. It's just not a word the women in my family understand. They've said the same about my 97 year old grandmother multiple times yet she just keeps on truckin'. My mom has obviously been taking good notes and is determined to follow in her footsteps. Go, Mom!

 (my mom's version of thumbing her nose at the doctors)

While I was gone, BSD was home alone with the girls. I warned both of the ballerina's teachers that things might not be quite normal this week. I jotted down a few instructions. A few directions. A few phone numbers. Then I left.

And the party began. 

Thursday turned out to be a snow day. A REAL snow day. With REAL snow. The kids all tried to sled on the dunes again, but I guess there wasn't quite enough snow. So instead they all wound up at our house. And this picture popped up on my cell phone. No better lunch on a snowy day than grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. By candlelight no less. Go, Daddy!

Friday there was a two hour delay. A pancake breakfast with Christmas movies was served while they waited out the morning. Life with Daddy sounds pretty darn fun. N'est-ce pas?

Well, let me back up to Wednesday. The half day of school. The ballerinas were treated to bento lunches at our favorite sushi restaurant. And that evening, I received this picture on my cell phone. Can you figure out what's happening here? It's kind of hard to tell when you're looking at this picture on a 2x2cm screen. 

Here's a better view. 

And an even better view...

Dear Santa, can you please bring me an iPhone for Christmas so I can keep better tabs on my peeps while I'm away? 

P.S. - I apologize to all of you for not being able to keep up in blogland. I miss hearing what's going on with everyone. Thank you all for your support and friendship. I hope to catch up with all of you soon.

If I Bring Home a Ping Pong Table Will You Sell it on Craigslist...

Sounds like a country western song, doesn't it? Actually, it was a text I sent to BSD yesterday. He's working out of town for the rest of November.

His return text: As soon as I got home.

I wish I could say it's because he's afraid I'd turn into Monica on Friends in that famous ping pong game episode. But no, he's seen my hair like that before and it still doesn't turn him off.

 No, it's because...
When he goes out of town, that's when I buy new pieces of furniture, have the house painted or try to sneak things into the garage. It may take him months to figure out there's a new chair in the living room or the walls are a different color, but sneak a tiny weight bench into his garage and he's got it listed on Craigslist before his bags are unpacked.

BSD and I went out and got new phones this summer with full keyboards and upgraded our 400 free shared minutes, dinosaur days plan to one of the hip, new unlimited texting packages. We also just learned how to Skype (but that's a whole other post). Yes, we were living that deep under the technology rock. Shameful, I know. 


Anyway, we're having lots of fun with our new toys. We send each other random texts throughout the day "just because" or to relay important info that is better remembered via text than a phone call. 

The Big Ballerina loves to use our new phones to text too. And, she's more willing to text us her deepest thoughts than to express them verbally. For example, at her Nutcracker auditions this year she found herself trying out for a bigger part than she expected. That night, she texted me,  "I really, really hope I get to be a Party Girl!" I knew she was excited about the prospect. I had been explaining to her that it was a long shot, but I didn't realize how much she wanted that role until that text. 

She didn't get the part, but I was glad I knew ahead of time how much it meant to her. She also sends us random texts of "I love you, Mommy (or Daddy)!" If she continues to text this openly when she's in her teens, it will be worth the extra monthly fees we're forking over to Verizon each month.


So...what @ u? R u a textaholic? Or maybe a non-texter like we used 2 be? Any great text stories 2 share?