Rainbow Rock--Will Sell on ebay!

My girls and I loved the beautiful weather that graced the Midwest earlier this week. I reveled in the sunshine streaming through my windows and opened those same windows to let a breeze sweep out the stale smells and lifeless winter air of my house. They, on the other hand, used the good weather as an opportunity to create some art. We call it "Rainbow Rock," and it makes me wonder how many rock paintings there are out there using fingernail polish as the medium. It's got to be rare, right?
I mean, do you have one of these at your house?

Valentine Party

One of the loveliest things about South Bend is the fantastic support group the wives of the residents have here. There are two family practice residencies in town--one at Memorial (where John is) and one at St. Joseph (Hello, St. Joe!). When we picked Memorial to rank first on our list last February (has it really been a year?), I worried that I wouldn't really get to hang out with the lovely ladies from St. Joe. That fear was groundless as all of us meet together once a week as "The Wednesday Wives' Club," which really meets every Thursday at one house or another.
This week was my turn, and I loved hosting a fun little Valentine's Day party. It doubled as a little birthday celebration for Chloe Wheeler, who turned 2. (Can you see that darling castle cake Bonnie made for her? It was awfully cute.)
The kids made Valentine bags for the cards and treats they exchanged. And the moms made these fun little valentine banners. Sara got herself a Cricut at the fabulous post-Thanksgiving JoAnn sale, and she was gracious enough to cut all the banner pieces for me. They say "Be Mine," and I think they turned out pretty cute. Unfortunately, I sent mine away, and I didn't get a picture of a finished one with all the filler ribbon and stuff.
As I reviewed these pictures, I was astonished at how very little of the chaos was captured. (Maybe it's because there isn't any sound with photography?) With nine moms and 19 kids in one house, it's really crazy. Funny then, that this weekly craziness is what helps me keep my sanity.

As an epilogue:
Look what present that horrendous windstorm left us on our porch roof.That large stick (about 3-4 inches in diameter) is actually poked down INTO the roof. . . . . . leaving a large hole. Ahh--the joys of owning a home.

Is there anything cuter than a baby sneeze?

Yes, I may just have the cutest baby in the entire world. This is how she acts at 10:00 p.m. when she is desperately laying on the charm in an effort to not be put to bed. It's obviously successful.

Is the sunshine at your house today?

Oh, I have missed the sunshine.And other things that make me happy:
Valentine's Day Banner. The girls and I had great fun putting this together.
Look who is joining us at the dinner table! I hate high chairs and all the space they commandeer in the dining room, so we are just going to use the booster. It's quite a bit of work for Bella's abs to keep herself upright for an entire mealtime. (And I know she looks like she has a mad combover, but she normally looks much fluffier and less old man-like.)
The Niles Ice Festival was loads of fun. We headed up to Niles, Michigan with the Corry family on the warmest day of the festival (+19 instead of -19--that's downright balmy), and all of us still froze solid after an hour of wandering, but it was fun anyway.This sculpture of a weedy sea dragon was my favorite. Can you imagine trying to keep this thing balanced?And I think Jacob Corry worked for 20 minutes trying to get all the kids positioned for this picture. All of them kept trying to slide down the front while the others were being pulled up. For the record, this little mountain of snow was much taller than it appears.