2017 Week 11

Sunday, March 12

One of  the ways Josh occupied Ellie as they waited for me to retrieve Elaina from the Fairy party, and one of the ways we distracted Elaina from her upset tummy on the way home, was a Strawberry Shortcake app on his phone where you get to help her make a smoothie. They had such a good time playing the game, we decided to make smoothies for breakfast. They were a big hit--especially with the sprinkles. Later, we headed to the mall in search of new shoes for the girls, where they found some fun in a cutout at Claire's.

Monday, March 14

In true Midwest fashion, because we relatively little snow all winter, we finally got a decent amount just as I was beginning to daydream about open windows and short sleeves. On the bright side, we finally got to take the girls sledding with the new sleds Santa brought them for Christmas. It wasn't a ton of snow, and it was all but gone two days later, but we sure enjoyed it while it lasted.

Tuesday, March 14
To commemorate Pi Day, and to save myself from more ribbing from Josh's boss, I made a blueberry pie when our sledding festivities ended on Monday. Tonight, Josh and I enjoyed some of the leftovers after dinner.

Wednesday, March 15
Today was a day that, for a couple of reasons, I had been dreading. First, I had to go to a meeting downtown, which is always intimidating, and I had to present during that meeting to a group that can be somewhat intimidating. Thankfully, it went well, and my host and friend, Mark, took me out to lunch with a couple of co-workers. Second, Ellie's accident happened one year ago today. 365 days later and I am still haunted by that night, but thankfully, our little girl has been so resilient. Not a day has passed where she hasn't smiled or lost herself in a fit of giggles at least once. I am so proud to be her mama.

Thursday, March 16
Work has been pretty busy lately. I've been given new responsibilities, and it's exciting, but it can be a little overwhelming, too, and sometimes, the 8.5 hours I'm in the office just aren't enough to get done what needs to be done. Today was one of those days. So after working all day and then going to Pearce to blow off some steam, we came home and had dinner and I got back to work. Thankfully the girls were happy to watch some old episodes of Press Your Luck while I worked, and about an hour and half after they went to bed, I finally finished for the day.

Friday, March 17
Today our little sweeties were festive for St. Patrick's Day (thanks in part to an awesome clothing ad-lib for Elaina that Josh pulled off in the morning). In the evening, we headed back to school for Family Fun Night. The girls had a great time trying out the different games, seeing their friends, and buying goodies with the tokens they had earned.

Saturday, March 18
Today was BUSY. We went to Pearce, then took the girls out for lunch to Chic-fil-A because it had been awhile. (And it will be a while yet again--Ellie doesn't really like it, and whoa, that play area is a madhouse of unsupervised children!) Then we went to Carters, where I found shoes, tights, and a few other goodies for the girls. Then off to 3030 for coffee and to the grocery store to stock up for the week, and finally to Friar Tuck's to get some Guiness for a brownie recipe I wanted to try as well as the makings for a martini at home. Because that wasn't enough fun, I started the process of making rainbow cupcakes. I've made them almost every year since Elaina was 1, and every year they are just as tedious as I remember. While Josh and the girls watched Finding Dory, I listened along and filled 24 cupcake liners 6 times with layered colors. It was pretty exhausting, but you can't argue with the results.