Pencil Grips

The Silly Bandz fad seems to have ended just as abruptly as it began, only to be replaced by a new trend in Trevi's class - pencil grips. Trev has some that he calls his "bumpies", but his favorites are the "fuzzies" (which aren't fuzzy, technically, but are nice, soft foam rubber). And, even though his teacher has instituted a one-pencil-grip-on-your-pencil-at-a-time policy (which makes me laugh, because it's the exact same kind of thing I would do in my class, in an attempt to avoid fad chaos), at home Trevi likes a whole pencilful.
I've also been meaning to take a few more pics of Clara's purple room, now that her stuff has been moved back in and rearranged a bit. It's looking pretty good, but another trip to Ikea is on the horizon....
P.S. Pencil grip collecting, thankfully, has not hit my class yet. *fingers crossed*

The After Party

Trev did a great job of hanging in there this weekend, surrounded by crazy girls. He relaxed this morning (after all the girls were pancaked and then picked up) by building a large-scale structure. Both Clara and Trevor are so symmetrical in all that they do. Nature or nurture?
Grammy and Grampy came by for Chad's fabulous quiche and salad dinner. (thanks, Hun!)
Weekends, I love you so.

The Slumber Party

Clara decided long ago (maybe the day after her ninth birthday party) that she wanted to have a slumber party for her tenth. It was actually incredibly mellow and easy, as parties go. She invited her three besties, we took them out to dinner, and then an evening of makeovers began. Chad, Trevor and I were treated to several fashion shows, my favorite of which being "The Nerd Show":
Clara requested a cake with a purple peace sign (not my best effort, to be sure, but it looked peaceful enough...)
And then there was nail polish and eyeshadow to the moon and back.
Good times. Happy Birthday, Clara! May you never wear this much makeup in public. :)

Roses are Pink

Nana's tradition of one pink birthday rose for each year of Clara's age is starting to make for a pretty substantial bouquet. My grandma did the same thing, but with dollars instead of roses. As I remember it, the tradition lasted until all seven grandchildren hit our twenties....

Tahoe!

What a great weekend. Even hanging out locally with our good buddies is wonderful, but when you mix in some snow, there's all kinds of fun to be had. Pictures will do the talking just fine...

Practice

We're on our way to Tahoe this weekend for some winter fun, and the kids will be taking their first ever snowboarding lessons. So today we've got a couple of kitchen boarders.....

The Stable

Cool digs for Ari and his new friend, Blackie:

10!

There are countless moments when our parenting falls short of award-winning, but today, today I think we might be the best parents in the entire universe. Seriously. Because Chad and I both played hooky from work and other responsibilities (bad teacher=good parent), to do this:
And here is the happy double-digits girl, arriving home to the big surprise. The paint wasn't even dry, but oh well...the overall effect was there.

Instead of our traditional birthday dinner out, we picked up some fast food (a rare treat around here), and dined at home. School night, after all....homework doesn't take a holiday on birthdays....
A hastily-prepared angel food cake was for dessert - ya, I was a bit too busy painting to make anything remotely elaborate.
(And check out the birthday crown that Trevi made for his big sister. Awww.)
(Notice Clara's mattress in the hallway....I wasn't kidding when I said the paint was still wet.)
Our beautiful girl is ten. She's a tween. Heaven help us. :)

Unpack your Adjectives

I totally recommend Funglish for your next family game night (or, you can sneak it into your school bag and use it with your students). The version we have (thanks, Grandpa Bob and GrAnne!) is even bilingual, so we can brush up on our French adjectives while we play. Next time I need to describe a souffle or a croissant, I'll be all set. :)

P.S. I am a teensy bit puzzled that the name of the game in French is still "Funglish". Shouldn't it be "Funçais"? * snicker*

More things you can make with Tinkertoys

An old-school phone:
A clock with working pendulum, that tells the correct time twice a day: