Lincoln Center

Nicholas has been playing with a youth symphony orchestra this year. Yesterday, they performed at Lincoln Center.

We brought Nicholas in early for rehearsal, then went to an early dinner at an Irish Pub, and saw Bruce Willis and his new wife!

After dinner we went to the concert. We were not allowed to take pictures, but the youth orchestra had hired a photographer to take pictures during their rehearsal. Here are a few of them:

Let it Snow, let it snow, let it snow!

This is the snowiest winter we've had since I was pregnant with Nicholas 14 years ago. I so wish I could put my boots on and play in the snow. As it is, I can sit on the porch and enjoy the view.

Michael is loving the snow! Nicholas is not loving it so much, now that he's old enough to be shoveling it.

Happy Valentine's Day

I've been having a lot of pain in my left foot, and my podiatrist told me that I would have to have a 2nd bunionectomy to fix the problems I was having(I had a bunionectomy about 14 years ago in both of my feet). So I scheduled my surgery for February 9, and I had plans to be home for recovery for four days of school, then we would be off for winter break.

Two days before that, Michael woke up with a raging fever, and had to stay home from church. Tony brought him to the doctor, where he got some medicine. Our school district's policy is that children should stay home for 24 hours after a fever breaks. I stayed home with Michael the next day, and was also able to prepare for my surgery. He was an adorable little mush, and we spent the day watching movies together.

Nicholas and Michael spent the night before my surgery at Grandma's house, because I had to be at the hospital at 6 a.m. the next morning. My surgery was successful, and I came home to recover.

There was a winter warning for the next day, and late that night, both Tony and I got a call from our school districts telling us that school was closed the next day(whoopee!). So my first full day of recovery was going to be with my whole family. It was really nice!

I like any opportunity to be crafty, and there is a website that gives me lots of great ideas. At http://www.familyfun.com/ , Michael and I found a neat valentine card to make for his classmates. It's called the "Magic Message Card". I cut out the hearts and strips of paper, and Michael helped me weave the papers through. It took some doing, but we figured out how to make them work.

Once we were finished with the class valentine cards, we worked on his teachers' valentine cards.

For his classroom teacheer, Michael made a popcorn holder and we taped a package of popcorn to the back of it. You can't see the message, but from what I remember, it says "I don't mean to be corny, but you're the greatest!".

Then for his music teacher and the classroom helper, Michael gave them a hot drink cup with a packet of hot cocoa and a heart with the message "Valentine, you warm my heart!"

Our winter warning turned into a blizzard warning, so school closed for a second day. It was really nice to have my family home with me for another day, but I had planned to watch girl movies. Oh well, it would have to wait for another day...

Family Life Merit Badge

As part of Nicholas' Family Life merit badge, he was required to complete two projects that benefit his family. The first one he completed last summer, and it consisted of spreading mulch all through the garden beds. I'll try to remember to post a picture of it soon.

The other project Nicholas chose was to bake a meal for the family, which he completed back in January. He decided to make meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and a cake.

He had to peel all of the potatoes - which you can see he thoroughly enjoyed doing(not!).

He was also going to bake a loaf of bread, but thanks to my visiting teachers, who brought over a loaf of home-baked bread for us that day, he got out of it!

I think his favorite part of preparing the meal was baking the cake and decorating it.

At the next Court of Honor, when he received his 2nd class Scout badge, Nicholas also received his Family Life merit badge. We're proud of you, Nicholas!