We have old off-white formica countertops that were getting pretty beat up and stained. And everything else in our kitchen is bright white! So I decided to re-do them myself. I used faux-stone spray paint and an epoxy varnish on top, and they came out great! For about $100, my counters look like polished stone, enough that they fooled Chace, who came home and said "you got granite counters?" In a few years we might put the real stuff in, but this will work nicely for now.
We sent off for caterpillars for Chace's Butterfly House. They came while we were on vacation, so by the time we opened the box, they were pupae. I wasn't sure they would be any good, but they hatched! Chace has 5 butterflies, which are now his new favorite animal, in addition to penguins.
Alana spent the week with Nana and Grandpa, and they put her to work! Here she is raking leaves with Nana.
Alana and Chace played for hours at the Children's Museum in Chattanooga. Chace played for a long time with a little girl named Anna that he met there. First they played house in the river boat area, catching and cooking fish, and then they played dinosaurs for about an hour. When it was time to go they hugged and hoped they would get to play together again someday. It was very sweet!
We had an exciting Spring Break this year. For the first part, we went to Sevierville, TN to an indoor waterpark called Wilderness at the Smokies. This turned out great, since while it was cold and rainy outside, we were having a blast inside. We stayed in a brand new condo, and just had to walk down one long hall and downstairs and there we were! There was a wave pool, surfing area, play area, tube slides, everything. We had three fun filled days. Check out the movies! Chace's favorite part was the wave pool. It was a lot like being in the ocean, minus salt water and seaweed. It took a while for Alana to find something she enjoyed, since she doesn't like getting her head wet. Her favorite thing was playing with the tubes in the wave pool.
The kids were excited to find the Easter bunny brought them baskets today. Aunt Corie also sent them some goodies from Italy. Alana loved her puzzle and care bear, and Chace was excited he got a legendary Pokemon. Here they are playing.
Everyone got a haircut today. Alana was very good and sat still while her hair was being cut. I went and bought trimmers to do Newton's and Chace's hair. Chace watched me cut Newton's first, and decided I didn't do such a bad job. His hair came out a little shorter than he liked. Plus, I kept getting hair all over his DS. Note- don't let the kids play video games while getting their hair cut. Afterward, Alana looked at Chace, then looked at me and asked "Mommy, name?" "That's Chace" "Oh, Chace. (giggle) Oh no, Chace." She keeps pointing at him and saying "Oh no, Chace" which is not helping at all. Well, Newton will let me keep clipping his hair anyways.
Chace was recognized as a birthday celebrity at the Morning Roundup at school today. Why they are recognizing him 1 1/2 months before his birthday? That I don't know.
Alana is getting pretty good at this Easter Egg Hunt thing. I think this will be our last for the year. All the other kids let the teachers take the eggs and baskets away until after school. Not Alana, she knew what was inside those eggs. "Mommy, open!" We negotiated to open one egg and save the rest for later. Then it was back inside for a special snack time. It's amazing, the kids all eat quietly, and when they're done, they bring up their plates to the teacher.
Today we went to an Easter Egg Hunt at Covenant Methodist where Alana goes to pre-school. They also had a puppet show and crafts. The kids were very excited to see the Easter Bunny. Alana wore the Easter dress made by her Nana which got lots of comments.
Phyllis and I went to the Triad Pottery Festival at the Greensboro Farmer's Market today. We didn't bring the kids, so we had a relaxing time looking at all the displays. I found this pretty mix and pour pitcher. This area has a lot of potters, since if you want good clay, you just need to go out to your backyard and dig it up. I've filled a few holes with clay to keep Tony from digging up the yard. Once the sun bakes it, he can't dig it anymore. Of course, grass won't grow there either.
Today we went to an Easter Egg Hunt at the local farmer's market. The kids liked visiting the Geiko Gecko and getting balloon animals the best. We missed the egg hunt for the 2-3 year olds, and the hunt for the 7-9 year olds lasted approximately 30 seconds. Still, Chace did get a few eggs, and Alana was given some extra eggs, so we feasted on Tootsie Rolls on the way home. Alana, always the individual, took the gecko mask she got and stuck the handle down the front of her pants. That got us a few looks and comments- "Do you know she has a frog on her stomach?"
Alana and I went to the pet store today to get crickets for the bearded dragon. She carried the bag around through the pet store and to the animal shelter where we were dropping off some cat food. I loved the puzzled expressions on the volunteers faces as they talked to her and asked what she was holding. "Crickets! Crickets bounce!" Doesn't every well-dressed two-year-old accessorize with a bag of crickets? The crickets even sat on her head on the ride home, and then she watched in delight as we fed them to Spyro. "Nummy!"
