For Re and Meg --- I miss you girls! Aww Yeah!

Into the land of the living

On Friday we made the three hour drive to Des Moines, Iowa. Scottie needed to get his military id card, and Gracie and I needed to go somewhere other than Wal-Mart. It was a really good trip. I think it was something we all needed. Although Grace wasn't too thrilled with the length of the trip. Hey- that's what happens when you move to the middle of no where; it takes forever to get anywhere exciting. Ok, normally I wouldn't say the Iowa is exciting but after living in Kirksville any city with a population over 20,000 is exciting. So after Scottie got his id card, which took all of five minutes, we went to my favorite place in the world. That's right --- TARGET!! I don't know why I love it so much. Maybe because it has so much stuff you don't really need, but somehow it draws you in and you think you need all of it. We didn't go too crazy since we are leaving for Florida next weekend and we need to save all the money we can; just so we can spend it down there. :) By the way, that first picture shows that I need some Florida sun asap! Gracie went nuts shopping for clothes in Target. She is starting to take a real interest in her appearance, to the point where she is refusing to wear some outfits because she doesn't like the way she looks in them. I almost cried the first time she did it because it made me realize she isn't a baby/toddler anymore. Gone are the days when you could grab anything out of the closet and slap it on her without any input. :( So she got to pick out her Easter dress and she vetoed several shirts I picked out. It didn't matter because I was in Target and I wasn't in Kirksville. After that we went to the mall just to walk around. Gracie rode the carousel in the food court. She picked to creepiest cat to ride on. I found it a little disturbing for the cat to have a fish dangling out of it's mouth and it's giant yellow eyes. (It made me think of Micheal Jackson in Thriller when he turned into the werewolf, ok now I'm just dating myself) It didn't matter to her, she loved riding on the cat. In fact she cried all the way out of the mall because we wouldn't let her ride it again. It was getting late and we had a long drive ahead of us, so we didn't get to eat anywhere fancy. But it wasn't a big deal because we got to eat at Arby's, which is something we haven't done in probably a year. I have to say my experience in Kirksville has taught me to appreciate a lot of things I took for granted in Indianapolis. It also makes things like shopping and going out to eat seem like a real treat. So there are some positives to living in no where's ville. (I'm sure every English teacher I ever had would be screaming at that last sentence. I don't care, I like making up words like no where's ville!)

A Visit From Nana

Nana came to visit last weekend, and Gracie was so excited! She loves when Nana is here and she cries so hard when she leaves. She is so excited about living closer in the fall, and hopefully we will get to see everyone more often. Grace and I were kind of in shock because we got to go out to eat and spent time outside of our house. We don't get out very much. The first picture is of Grace and Nana at Il Spazio, the only decent restaurant in town besides Ruby Tuesdays. Do you see the blond streaks in her hair? She has been wanting this hair accessory that has crimped blond hair and butterflies throughout it, then you attach it to your ponytail. She looked like a little tween girly girl. She had gotten some money for Valentines day from Grandma and Grandpa and also some from Nana. So Gracie used some of it to pay for her hair piece. Then we went to the nail salon and her and mom had their toenails painted. I didn't do it because I had busted my pinkie toe on the couch right before we left and didn't want anyone near my foot. The nail lady painted a little flower on each of Gracie's big toes. She loved it!! The polish is starting to come off and she wants to go back before we leave for Florida so she can have new flowers painted on. If she's already accessorizing her hair and nails at the age of four, then I don't even want to think about how she will be at 13!! The last picture is of her listening to her "new" IPOD shuffle. (Please do not look too closely at my kitchen in this picture. I had been sick with the flu all week and didn't do much to the house. Sorry!) Nana got a new one for her birthday, so she gave Grace her old one. Grace was so happy. She said "I've always wanted my own IPOD!" It has Wizard of Oz and Wicked music on it, so she is happy. But she wasn't happy when it was time for Nana to leave. Mom came with me to drop Grace off at preschool and then left for Indiana. Gracie showed her around and then cried when mom started to leave. Ms. Krystal felt bad for her so she asked Grace to be the calendar helper. That made her feel a little bit better. Now we are just counting down the days until we are closer to Indiana!!

We're Still Here...

I haven't been on the computer much lately because the sick bug doesn't want to leave me alone. I have felt crummy off and on for the last week. It probably doesn't help that I go into different schools and classrooms 3-4 times a week. Teachers and students are getting sick left and right here in Kirksville. Which means I have been pretty busy for the last month. While this is nice for us finacially, it has been hard on me physically. I keep getting sick, but our need for money makes me take jobs even if I'm not feeling well. The flu finally hit me Friday night. I have been in bed all weekend. I was scheduled to sub at Gracie's school today and I knew they wouldn't be able to find anyone in the last minute so I went. I am totally wiped out! I came home to find Scottie laying in bed and declaring that he too has been hit with the flu. Then to top it all off, I find not one but four puddles of dog vomit and one big pile of dog poop scattered throughout the house. So now my dog is sick on top of everything else. I'm sure Gracie will be coming down with it as well. I wanted to post something that wasn't related to anyone feeling sick. So here is a random picture of Gracie I took a few weeks ago. I heard her messing around in the bathroom and she came out with all these velcro curlers in her hair. My life would be so boring without her! Ok, I off to my bed now. Goodnight! (Yes, I realize it's only 5:30 but that's how bad I feel)