Quirky

My kiddo is currently in the throes of a bedtime quirk.  She sometimes does this; she has a tendency to overthink and then cause herself hours of distress and inability to sleep.  So she's lying in bed, as I type, unable to sleep because she's worried that she MIGHT end up being the last person awake, and she doesn't like to be the last person awake.  But her concern about being the last person awake is making her unable to sleep, which is making me CRAZY.  Because I love sleep, and I've had a really long day, and all I want to do is go to bed.  But, of course, I don't feel like I can. Because then L would be the last person awake.  She told me that it's  easier for her to fall asleep when she can either see the flickering lights from Stuart watching TV in the living room or hear me typing.  Stuart has fallen asleep on the couch in the living room - but the TV is still on - and I'm typing, so she should be golden.
Yesterday L and I drove to Maize to do a little shopping, and planned to meet up somewhere with my sister and her gorgeous little monkeys so that I could get in some sister time and we could give the kids their Valentines Day presents.  L and I made them each a scarf and a stuffed animal owl, so I really wanted to see their faces when they opened their packages.  Her older kiddos were in school and the little one was napping, so L and I did some shopping while we waited.  We decided to grab some lunch after shopping at Old Navy, and went to the car to find somewhere nearby.  But the darn thing wouldn't start. Not even try.  And it was 18 degrees, with a wind chill of 4 degrees.  And I hadn't brought a coat, because, you know, what are the chances that I'll really NEED it??
Thank goodness for hero husbands, the kind who drop everything and attach a trailer to the back of their pick-ups and drive almost an hour to pick you up from the mall parking lot, without even grumbling in front of you.  The kind who insist that you sit in the warm truck while they hook your car up onto the trailer in the freezing cold.  The kind who, after all that, STILL refuse your offer of half of the cinnamon scone you got at Panera for  lunch.  Now THAT'S a good husband.
(And he spent all day today fixing it, even though he really wanted to be working on his race car.  I'm married to such a great guy!)
So L and I spent the day today in Hutch with my mom.  She said that she was going in to Hutch go buy groceries and that we could come along and get our groceries for the week, too, if we wanted.  We got home 7 hours later.  I kid you not.  I love my mother, and I love spending time with her, but it was a really long day. I am sure that she feels the same way.  Never underestimate the privilege of completing your own errands, and ONLY your OWN errands.
L made a felt stuffed cheetah today.  Yesterday she dreamed it up, chose the fabric, sketched a pattern, and cut it out.  Today she and I stitched it (she had a rather horrible needle/finger poking incident, so I did some of the stitching) and stuffed it.  Her, I guess, not "it" - L named her Chichi.  Which, she informed me, is kind of like a pun - "you know, since chi-chi means kind of rich and snotty and it is also a nickname for cheetah".  :)
I love that kid.

Snow Day, take 2

Lauren and I are at home today, luxuriating in the unusual extravagance of two snow days in a row.  I can't remember if we've ever had a snow day since Lauren started school, until this year...  And to be quite precise, it isn't exactly a "snow" day, it's more of a "cold" day.  The current temperature, at noon, is 9 degrees, with a wind chill of -7.  This morning, the wind chill was around -20.  And it is supposed to be 22 degrees tomorrow, but with a wind chill during the day of around -17 degrees.  We're out of school because of the prevalence of children who have to wait outside for buses - I can't imagine how horrible it would be to wait in -20 degree winds.  We ventured out a couple of times for errands yesterday, all bundled up in snowboots and thick gloves and hats and scarves over our mouths & noses - all I could see of Lauren was her eyeballs.  It was COLD, but I didn't want to cancel my haircut appointment!  :)
We spent most of yesterday cuddled up near the heat vent - one of the pros of living in an old house.  It's rather shockingly drafty, but we do have this ancient forced-air heater, with just one vent, located in the middle of the middle room in the house.  The poor man's version of a fireplace...
When I was tucking Lauren into bed last night, she said, "This is the best day I've had in a long time!" It was so nice to take things at a slow pace - we read books and baked cookies and made chili and watched "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" and did part of a dance video together.  I got all caught up on my grading and started the book "Alice I Have Been".  (However, I'm trying not to read it during the day, because I know I'll get sucked into it, and I won't enjoy the time hanging out with Lauren).
We had a lazy morning this morning; the only thing we've really accomplished it that we went to Nana's so I could run.  I figure that running 2.7 miles is enough of an accomplishment for a snow day morning, right?
My goal is to clean off the dining room table today, roast a chicken for dinner, and do a little sewing.  I really SHOULD be making some flipcharts for class, but I'm just not sure that's going to happen.  Tonight is American Idol night, and I think that vegging on the couch might be in order for that hour.
I just finished re-reading two really good books by the same author: Nefertiti and then The Heretic Queen, both by Michelle Moran.  I am finding out that I love historical fiction, and these were a great blend of that genre and my fascination with ancient cultures.  I saw a review for Alice I Have Been, about the girl who inspired Lewis Carroll to write Alice In Wonderland.  I'm only about 30 pages in, but it's already got me in its grips...yesterday, I had to tell myself "When you finish grading these spelling papers, you can read 10 pages."   I also have the Kingdom Keepers book, which a friend recommended to me about a year ago, and I'd let slip through my filter.  It's about a boy and girl who are in charge of guarding the Disney Parks, which sounds a little iffy, but I trust this friend's judgement, so I'm going to give it a try.