Day 29: Curlers

January 29

I bought these sponge rollers quite a while ago, and Lexi's been asking for me to put up her hair in them ever since, but we never think of it until it's too close to bedtime.  This afternoon she remembered with plenty of time, so hopefully she'll have a head full of ringlets for school tomorrow (if she can stand to sleep on them, that is.)

Day 28: A Great Honor

January 28

Ellie really wanted to make a dessert for us this evening, and I happened to have a brownie mix in the cupboard, so she and I whipped up a quick treat before bedtime.  After we put it in the oven, she insisted that it was her privilege as chef to get to lick "the spoon of delicious honor."

Day 27: Waiting for Mom

January 27

There was no school for middle schoolers today, so Vicki went on a "field trip" to OMSI with three of her friends.  She was supposed to walk home afterward, but her foot's been hurting so she texted me and asked if I could pick her up.  I was on my way to the elementary school anyway, and she didn't mind waiting outside a little while on a rare sunny day, so we met up on this corner and I couldn't resist a shot of her chilling with her phone.  She's growing up way too fast.

Day 26: A Daisy Girl Scout was Here!

January 26

Yesterday Ellie's Daisy troop learned about being friendly and helpful.  We gave them each a stack of these little papers that they're supposed to leave behind when they do something friendly or helpful for someone.  This morning when I got out of the shower, my bed was made and this was on my pillow.

Day 25: Biology 112

January 25

My Biology textbook, which I bought new and opened for the first time three weeks ago, didn't last long.  Think they'll still buy it back at the end of the quarter?

Day 24: Mission: Music!

January 24

Vicki's piano teacher is amazing.  Last year she had her students playing a music version of Monopoly as an incentive.  This year they're traveling around the world.  We love that she's made music fun for everyone.

Day 23: Chicken Friend

January 23

I made friends with this chicken while trying to return her to her owners.  She was hanging out in the street in front of their house, and I figured they weren't interested in eating her for dinner if she was run over by a car.  She was super friendly, but a little camera shy.

Day 22: Duckies

January 22

This is a small fraction of the rubber duckies living in our bathtub right now.  Ellie has been slightly obsessed with rubber ducks, so for Christmas her sisters gave her a box full of them.

Day 21: Mythbusters Live!

January 21

Mythbusters is our family's favorite show, so the girls were beside themselves seeing Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman live and in person.  We had a great time and reminded ourselves how awesome science is.

Day 20: Project Runway, Here She Comes

January 20

Lexi designed this dress for herself using a long skirt and a scarf.  Then, when I told her I needed to take a picture, she struck this pose with absolutely no encouragement.  Heaven help us.

Day 19: A Really Bad Photo, Made Worse

January 19

These are the candles on our headboard.  The original photo was really grainy and poorly lit, so I played with it a little bit, and this was the end result.  It looked a lot better on my phone's little screen.

Day 18: Snow Day (not!)

January 18

Apparently it takes more than we thought for the city to shut down.  Despite a remarkable (for Portland) 1.5-inch accumulation overnight, it was business as usual today.

Day 17: Proud Parents

January 17

Vicki was so excited to make the honor roll her very first trimester of middle school.  All her hard work paid off!  Now I guess we'll get to be the target of the "My kid can beat up your honor student" bumper stickers, but we're too proud of her to care!

Day 16: Elf Girl

January 16

Ellie was playing with an old ski hat of mine, and I was playing with the camera.

(As a side note, I took this picture with the new camera app on my phone, but this was before I had it set to save the pictures to the camera roll, so for a miserable half hour I was convinced I had missed a day already.  Thank goodness I remembered to check the app!)

Day 15: Tower o' Books

January 15

I waited all day, hoping to get a picture of the snow we've been promised, but, apart from a few flurries here and there, it appears to be a no-show.  So instead I took a picture of the books that have been scattered in random piles around my bedroom, waiting to be read or moved to permanent homes.