Seriously?

Lauren got glasses this month. Nine days ago to be exact.

She had complained of having headaches in school. So, through a process of elimination, she had allergy testing, an eye exam, and soon an appointment with an ENT. She's highly allergic to something, but we're not sure what. The tests we did on her shows she's not allergic to the basics like dust, mold, certain grasses or dairy, egg, flour. But she's off the chart for something.

Then at her eye appointment, the optometrist said Lauren's eyes have a hard time focusing quickly from far to near to far--something you do often in a classroom when looking at the teacher and then looking down at your paper. The optometrist recommended a low prescription for glasses. So we got them last Thursday. Today she broke them.

Lauren was busy showing Megan how they bend in the middle. They are a hard plastic frame. They don't bend. Obviously. Alas, there is a one-year warranty so "if they break for any reason" they should be covered. Honestly, this is really not something that should be covered. But it is definitely "for any reason."

We picked up the glasses on a Thursday night just before driving up to Minneapolis to help my Gramma Pat (my dad's mom) move back to Minnesota after a long hiatus in Illinois. After my sister-in-law Jessica and I put the kitchen together as much as we could, we along with Gramma decided she needed one more cabinet in the kitchen for her microwave and other kitchen items that still needed to be stored. That of course meant a trip to Ikea! A good time was had by all.

Then, on our return trip, Emily and Megan stayed at Gramma Barb's house for the week. I'm not sure what all they did, but Emily said, "Can we stay there longer next time?" Hmm. So much for separation anxiety.

For me, it was nice to be able to work Monday-Thursday on projects I needed to get off my desk. Apparently I overcommit. And the house was definitely a lot quieter. We didn't miss the whining and fighting that seems to have reappeared in our home overnight. They'll grow out of it, right?

This month, we also celebrated the birth of another cousin, Olivia Rose.

We also celebrated the artistic abilities of Annika and Lauren at their annual school art show. These are all seen below.

Kid quotes:
Pupcakes--what Megan wanted more of at Dan's birthday (cupcakes)

"I slipped. Good thing I didn't plop. Plops hurt." Lauren

"Somebody made a clock that runs on lemonade and water--no electrocution!" Lauren

Lauren next to her doggy statue

Lauren's tissue paper art is above her head

Annika's jaguar is beside her. You can see her signature.

Annika's still life

Annika's pottery--it's a clown.

Looking at backyard furniture at Menard's

Kicking back at the Menard's showroom

We let our children dress themselves...

Our kitchen furniture being used as the foundation for a fort...

So this is how they improvised for lunch dining.

The littlest princess

Winter Flurries

It doesn't seem we've been outdoors and doing much in the last month. The second biggest news is we got a dog. And, then, after six days, we had to give her back.

The plan was to keep this gorgeous German Shepherd forever, but Sophie wasn't well socialized, and we just have too many people coming and going. She would bark loudly, scare kindergarteners, jump up on other adults and make Megan run the other direction. Somebody had to go; it was either Megan or the dog.

During most of Sophie's stay, Dan had been up in the Twin Cities with his parents. His dad suffered a second round of heart attacks after snowblowing after one of our numerous winter storms this year. Jud had suffered the attack Sunday around 4pm. We found out about 9pm and Jud still hadn't gone to the ER. Finally, he allowed the paramedics to be called to check him out. After the ambulance came, the medics hooked Jud up to a monitor and discovered he was having a second heart attack right then.[Jud had a heart attack in June 2008 while we were living in Chicago.]

Dan left our house around 11pm that night; we didn't tell his mom until he was closer to their house. The roads were horrible and she didn't need more to worry about. He was there until Wednesday.

Jud ended up having some at least one stent put in that night. He's doing well and back home, hopefully taking it easy. That alone is a reason for us to be glad we're back in Minnesota. That was the first biggest news of this month.

Somehow, the message got around town here that it was Dan that had the heart attack. Ah, rumors...

So this 2-year-old doggie was a nice comfort to me and a good heating blanket in our basement as I watched b-rate movies. Annika and I are saddest at her leaving.

On Valentine's Day, Annika and her classmates went ice skating. Dan and I both chaperoned. I haven't been on skates in years. Wow, do your legs get tired quickly! I was glad when the hour or so was up! Annika did well, first with a "walker" and then on her own. Now, of course, she wants to take lessons--she always wants to take up things after experiencing them once. However, I don't know how long she would actually stay with these things.

A nice pic of Annika--not sure which of her sisters took this...

Pics by Emily again...she has a fascination with her feet

If you do read this, please post so I have an idea of whether anyone is reading. Thanks!

Kid quotes:
Fake sauce (what Emily calls A1--steak sauce)

"That floor is all gurgly!" Lauren exclaimed about our downstairs toilet room floor. I asked that that meant since she usually has her own definition for things. "I don't know," she said. "But the floor is disgusting."

"I'm going to be five my next birthday," Emily said. "And then six and seven."
"Stop!" Annika, age 7, replied. "It's so weird to hear little kids talk about growing up."