When I woke up this morning, then there was snow.

And a lot of snow came so I could get to play outside.

I played outside with Dad. We built a snowman.

But the snowman falled down. When he falled, it was a bad time.

We putted marshmallows in our hot chocolate.

Tad was on the table eating the marshmallows and he putted the marshmallows in his cereal.

Later, I went out and built another snowman, but the other one was BIG … like THIS BIG.

Tad bit his lip.

Why did the snow come today?

Why didn’t you build a snowman with me, Mom?

Why did Dad wear my hat that Heidi made me?

Why was there only a little bit of vanilla wafers?

My mom loves me.

The end.

At church on Sunday, Tad was creating quite a stir. And I’m not just talking about the loud, piercing screams that he loves to produce at the most inappropriate moments. I’m talking about the MANY people that stopped in the hall as they walked by us and commented on how long Tad’s hair at gotten. The remarks ranged from the blunt “You’ve GOT TO cut that kid’s hair!” to the more subtle “Oh, look at that cute little mangy mullet he’s growing.”

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I KNOW that he needs a hair cut. But the thing is, I don’t know HOW to cut a little boy’s hair, and I’m NOT about to pay someone to do it.

Thankfully, a dear friend, Cheryl Underly, came to my rescue yesterday. Her husband had been standing near me and the Tadster in the hall and overheard many of the remarks.  He proactively suggested that his wife call and help me give little Goldilocks a trim.

I’m loving his new “little man” do, but I’m not ready for him to grow up.

He looks a lot like pictures of my dad when he was this age, I think …

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I KNOW that if I’m not complaining about how much trouble the little guy is, I’m complaining that he’s growing up too quickly. 🙂

My supremely talented sister, Heidi Ho, recently crocheted a darling little hat for Miss Vivi. From the moment that the hat came out of box, it has been a favorite of Tad’s.  Ho, here’s the picture I’ve been promising you:

I recently received an email from a friend requesting help in supporting Pediplace, a local non-profit organization that provides health care to children from low-income families.

Pediplace needed volunteers to create little Valentine Treat Bags to provide to the hundreds of children they would treat over the coming week.  This project brought back memories of a sweet care package we received from the Junior League of Plano when Baby Tad was in the NICU following his birth.  It was a draining time, and the thoughtfulness of unseen angel volunteers was touching.  Seeing this as an opportunity to pay-it-forward, I signed up to make 30 little goody bags.

I am not a fan of store-bought Valentines … especially not for this type of project … so I set out to design my own. I created the file in Adobe Illustrator and then cut it out of cardstock on my new Xyron Wishblade (a GREAT find at http://www.tuesdaymorning.com).  The scalloped heart is “sewn” with red and white baker’s twine, a new favorite of mine. The white scalloped heart is then layered on top of a larger red scalloped heart and attached to the top of a small treat bag containing a few pieces of wrapped candy.

And now in the spirit of full disclosure, here’s the rest of the story …

It’s past lunchtime.

Baby Tad is awake from his nap upstairs and wants to be rescued.

Cold cereal is scattered all over the kitchen floor.

I am still in my pajamas.

I haven’t brushed my teeth.

Vivi has reminded me that I “don’t look pretty.”

Speaking of Vivi, she is running around in her underwear.

Speaking of underwear, if I want to wear clean underwear today (assuming that I actually get a shower) here’s what my next project needs to be: