Two Words

School's cancelled.

Everyone doin' their thang

We had just finished up painting. Uh, painting that started out nice and well thought out, but then it turned into Jackson Pollock meets Pig Pen. So, while I cleaned up accidental painted toe marks off the floor and paint splashes on the table, chairs, and baseboards--what was I thinking? I told them they could do anything as long as it wasn't watching TV. This is what entertained them for hours.

She was covered in paint so this is where I stuck her and then she didn't want to leave.



Gretchen had her favorite fort made out of ..ba, ba, ba, the COUCH cushions no less! Every morning I have to catch her before she rips off the cushions--this day was the exception.



And Becket, he was content pretending that he was a fox in a hole. He was calm, quiet, he wasn't asking me a bazillion questions and he only came out at night. I was good with that.

Andrea--here's to your 61!

Andrea:

Last year we had a bash
We rang in 60 with a smash

Today your older, 61
Hope you'll find a little fun

Although, it is impossible without us
Fun, excitement, and joy = Harris

So, try to cope and act like it's great
If that doesn't work, than have another piece of cake

Sit back, relax, even recline,
Bob don't forget to wine and dine!

We've been thinking of you all day
We'll call to say we love you in 61 different ways

Here's a birthday greeting that I hope will last
Micah in her sleeping positions past

Love,
Our Family

Who knew beans were so comfortable


Fresh out of the bathtub she crawled into a ball and went to sleep. I didn't think I took that long getting the other kids out of the tub.



The perfect spot to squeeze into and put your feet up. I actually left her there to sleep for the night, I figure there was no point in dictating where she sleep anymore.

Happy Birthday Moothy, Matty, Mat, Dad, Daddy, Dude

Today is the MISTER'S birthday. Hmmm, what to get him for his birthday, what to get, tap, tap, what to get? Funny. He came to me and suggested that I get him a road bike for ME. Read that twice to be sure you got it. He bought ME a road bike for his birthday. Sweet spokes a mighty! When does this ever happen on someone else's birthday that you get to be the beneficiary?




I've been wanting one before road biking was even cool! I took it and ran, or should I say biked?




He deserves a big day of wows! I'll try to make it happen with all this snow. Tradition for the past three years has been "bring the eclairs to work day" for his birthday. We will have a lovely dinner tonight with squealing kids, because they like any kind of party they are involved in.

To Mat:
I love how you sleep with your arms tightly pinned to your sides at night, kind of like a nicely posed corpse. Erie, but true.

I like how you get up and do he dishes immediately after we are done eating. I am too tired to get up, so I just sit there and pretend I'm helping the kids finish.

I love watching how you do your nightly routine to set up for the morning. You get out your pan for eggs, set it on the burner and then set the turner beside it, pack your lunch, you set out your running shoes by the door, your running gear on the dresser, set out your work clothes, all in the name of efficiency.

I like your contagious laughs during shows. It makes it all the more hilarious, even when it might not be that funny.

You've got great teeth. A girl in high school pointed that out to him once and it was sorta weird to him, so I like to make remind him of it at least twice a year. He really does have nice teeth.

You never complain. How do you do that--is that because you are married to griper?

Happy birthday Mat!



We got you a light weight helmet (with research help from Dannielle) so you can keep up with me on the road. Enjoy! Light weight helmet will be here next week!

1 day of school, we need a vacation!

After being out of school for seven days, Becket went back to school yesterday. It was totally weird and unwelcome. I found myself having to pack a lunch again, hurry the kids along in a mad rush and return to an efficient routine. Gretchen refused! Instead of getting dressed, she laid on the bathroom floor crying, causing Beck to almost miss the bus. We were so grouchy! Darts and daggers were flying everywhere. It was so not the norm. I needed a vacation!

Well, I got one. Smile. The snow came in heap loads as I was driving to the school to help with the postponed Valentine party. The old van was slipping and sliding everywhere (don't worry mom, we're fine--she stresses about these things for everyone)And you guessed it, school was cancelled today. And, if you were to look out my window right now, you would have zero visibility. School might be cancelled tomorrow. I need to go to Pittsburgh, so secretly I hope it is and I secretly hope I can make it up my hill. I know it's a crazy thought to drive in this weather, but 37" of snow in February alone, it's becoming the norm.

Our Valentine Tradition

Have a little cookie with that frosting?


He would rather make his own cookie cutter using his knife


Happy as a lark!


Delish

Dear Mr. Groundhog

Dear Mr. Groundhog,

You weren't A kidding when you said six more weeks of winter! Now, I have a question, if I go out and by a snow shovel, will it stop snowing altogether? Usually, this pattern happens in my life when I try to do the responsible thing. That's why I thought I would ask you first, before I purchased.

Thanks. Your dear friend and long time fan since February 2nd of 2003,
Micki

Take a Guess

Tonight for FHE, I was trying to have the family guess what special world-wide event was opening Friday night. The Olympics was the keyword, but in our home the guess was not so much. Here's a listen:

Mic:" What event is taking place Friday night? It brings all the countries together to do this one thing and you can watch it on TV?"
Gretchen: "Countries like, Poland, France and Spanish?"
Mic:"Yes."
Gretchen: "Um..My Ballet Class? It's on Fridays."
Becket: "Another earthquake?"
Gretchen:" Becket's Valentine party?"
Mic: "No, it's the Olympics."
Mat: "I had no idea what you were trying to get me to guess."
Mic: Sigh.

Mic: "All these athletes come together to compete in a winter sport. Now, to be an athlete you have to take care of your body. What foods should you put in it?" (It's health awareness month btw)

Becket: "Uh..Chicken, maybe some carrots, some bacon, and some pig."
Gretchen: "I like bacon and chicken too, and maybe some tuna. Just a little bit."

Mic: "I challenge you to come up with your own Olympic sport and then tell it to us Friday night."
Gretchen: "I think you could do some twirlies on the ice or something." (Then she demonstrates)

Mic: "Let's pray."

Healthy practice

To teach kids about the heart, use a turkey baster to describe how the heart pumps the blood in and out.


Good oral hygiene, cut an egg carton in half and tape bottoms together. Use a toothbrush to practice:


I don't know why she is looking like Popeye in this picture, but she is.

And then there is the classic snack that makes you SMILE:



Apple slices, peanut butter, and marshmallows.

"The Blizzard of 2010"

To hear the news anchors talk, we have just gone through an apocalyptic event the likes of which the east coast has never seen. To those of us from the Rockies it was just another snow storm. Either way, we are enjoying about a foot of the white stuff and have made the most of it. The kids, along with Jared and Kelli Manwaring, got out yesterday and made a fort with tunnels, then decorated them with colored water (we decided that blue would look better than the yellow they wanted).





Overnight we got another inch and decided it was time for a snowman. Gretchen suggested a snow-woman, so we went in that direction. Just a few hours of work and some help from our neighbor Grace, and we had an 8' Valentine themed monstrosity gracing our front yard.



And Gretchen is still eating snow.

Blog, meet Dr. Scott. Dr. Scott, meet the blog

Dr. Scott has been a friend of the family since September. He comes over at least once a day at 2:30PM and sometimes in the morning at 9:30AM. My kids are so delighted to see him that they start an ascending squeal at ear drum breaking levels, then it turns into a scream of "MOM DINOSAUR TRAIN, MOM THERE'S DINOSAUR TRAIN!" It's a show on PBS. Dr. Scott comes on twice during the show to report the dinosaur facts.



We were ecstatic that THEE Dr. Scott was coming to the Natural History Museum in Pittsburgh this past Saturday. When we got there, it seemed that Dr. Scott was awaiting our arrival. It's as if he knew we Harrises were coming! He was out in the hall dying to answer all of my kids burning questions--BUT then Becket and Gretchen froze, they shied away. I think this was the first celeb they have come in contact with, besides their mother. Nonetheless, it was cute to watch them get all jittery, giddy and then,so chatty, that they wouldn't SHUT UP!




We listened to his lecture on dinosaurs. He said that dinosaurs actually stem more from birds instead of lizards. He also talked about the way Utah used to look, to quote, "It was a paradise--an island like the Caribbean." Hard to imagine now, but I guess it's true with all of the dinosaur findings they found particularly in Southern Utah--Escalante area.

As Dr. Scott would say: "Get outdoors, get into nature, and make your own discoveries."

Your #1 fans!



Oh! I forgot to mention that during the lecture Micah got her leg stuck in those foldy, theater chairs. She screamed and I pulled, she screamed, and I pulled. She wailed and I yanked! It was bad. Those seats and two year olds, don't mix. Not the highlight of the trip.

Bring Me Some Figgy Pudding

I had some dried figs stare me down in Kroger the other day. I had never had a plain old fig before. Have you? I hadn't noticed them on the shelf until now or I would have tried them sooner. After all, they are THEE biblical dessert! I like Fig Newtons and I would actually prefer them without the cake, so why didn't I just buy the fig itself? Turns out they have lots of fiber too! Little trivia: 2 dried apricots contain 1.7g of fiber, 1 tbsp of raisins contains 1g of fiber, and 1 dried fig contains 3.5g of fiber. There you go--try a fig!