Earrings

Emily finally got her ears pierced a few weeks ago.  Both girls faced the same requirement for piercing - they had to be able to read.  Well, Emily's reading has come on like gangbusters in the last couple of months and a week cooped up at home after the blizzard really had her reading a lot.  With all of us home one day, we decided that it was time.  Emily was terrified of the pain and Elizabeth was terrified that a teenager would do the piercing - remember, we took Elizabeth to a tattoo parlor to get her ears pierced (Emily wanted nothing to do with needles, so we figured that we had go the more traditional route).  I have to say, the woman who did the piercing did a great job - and Lee and I also refused to let Emily walk around with just one ear pierced, despite the loud screaming after the first ear was done.  She was hurt and mad once the deed was over, but about ten minutes later, she wanted to check herself out in the mirror and once she saw her reflection, proclaimed herself "even more beautiful than before."  Now, the long countdown until the studs come out for the first time.

Excited - but more scared.  You can see that Lambie, who no longer leaves the house, came along for moral support! 

What exactly is the lady doing?  That looks like it's going to hurt!! 

Even my phone captures the crocodile tears running down her cheeks as she thinks that maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. 

That hurt!  That hurt!  That hurt! 

Still crying as she shows me her new earrings. 

Still crying....and mad. 

She won't even pose for a picture.

After the ordeal was over, we lunched at Panera Bread, our favorite chain restaurant, where she quickly got back to her old self.

Our Valentines

We always get the girls something for Valentine's Day and this year, I'm glad that we stayed away from sweets and focused on activities because they needed the distraction (as the holiday fell in the middle of 10 days off from school).  Excuse the crummy phone pics, it was late and I didn't feel like hunting down my real camera.

Emily made Lee and I this beautiful card.  She also made her sister a lovely card (which is highly unlike her). 

I didn't have time to wrap..... 

Totally psyched about receiving Legos! 

They also received matching Angry Birds pajamas, which they loved!

Blizzard Busy

Due to the snow and the road conditions in town, the girls were home from school for more than a week.  I was also home for the first five of those days.  It was a long ten days, but we did our best to keep busy and not go crazy!!

Fashion plates. 

Napping. 

Elizabeth had a friend spend the day on Friday - they spent a good 90 minutes outside, playing and building huge snowmen.

They needed Lee's help lifting a huge snow bolder at one point. 

Sitting pretty. 

Watching the Cooking Channel. 

Elizabeth reads while Lee and I watched the news.

We did a lot of cooking and baking!

Reading.

Sewing

The final product, which she gave to her BFF as a Valentine's present.

Puzzles with Daddy.

Watching a hair styling video and doing Emily's hair.

Neighbors

Our street was "plowed" - a single pass of the plow around 10 am on Saturday morning, creating one narrow travel lane - but the cross street did not see a plow until Monday afternoon, more than 48 hours after it stopped snowing.  On Sunday afternoon, while Lee and I were clearing the roof, some of our neighbors on that street decided to take things into their own hands and clear enough of the snow so that their cars could get out.  It will come as no surprise to most of you that our back neighbor Peter, who basically built our front porch with some assistance from Lee - was leading the charge!  He is such a go getter!!!  This was such a great example of neighbor helping neighbor!

Here they come!! 

You can see Lee on the roof of our porch, looking down at them (I'm pretty sure he was yelling at them!). 

Making Valentines

The girls spent part of their crazy week off making Valentines for their classmates - and thankfully, both of their classes had Valentine celebrations on Monday!  We found a great idea on Pinterest and they ran with it.

Butterflies.... 

Father Daughter Dance

The annual Father Daughter Dance was held at the end of Catholic Schools week and Lee and the girls both had a great time.  The organizer of this event really puts a lot of thought into it and makes it really special, for girls from preschool to 8th grade.  I am the co-president of the HSA, so this year I worked the event and it was great to have a little sneak peek into Lee and the girls spending time together.

All of the girls and Mrs. Peck, their principal, who dropped by to check in on things....

We hire an official photographer for the event - this is a download of another person's photo of the girls and Lee - I can't wait to get the actual image from the photographer.