March Tid Bits

In like a lion, out like a lamb- that's how the saying goes anyway. I've decided for my own mental health to consider March in like a lion and out like a lion. April will get a bit better so just put your head down and get through March as best you can!

A bunch of boys on the bus told Sydney she was dumb so she whipped around and asked them to solve 3X=6. Apparently none of them could do it. 

Doing Gita's hair for school I noticed a little mole I hadn't seen before. I scratched at it and tiny legs flailed and I realized it was a tick. I tried using a heated knife and it wouldn't back out. I tried using olive oil and the tick thought, "Now this blood is even more delicious! Nom nom nom!!!" and burrowed deeper. 

I decided to take her to the immediate care so they could not only expertly remove it, but to also get a prescription to prevent Lyme disease. 

At long last, that sucker was outta there! What are the chances I would part her hair exactly where she had a tick burrowed into her scalp? Glad we caught this one (apparently early on) and she should be no worse for wear.

On the flip side, we did try a cool new braid! Two waterfalls into a French which looked pretty cool.

I love to low-key tease Sydney by asking Alexa to play songs in the most drawn out way possible. She inevitably gets fed up and overrides my request with the actual name of the song. 

The 5th grade musical was supposed to happen a couple of years ago when pandemic lockdowns happened. This year was all about redemption! Gita was asked to fill in for that square dance portion just a couple of days before they performed and she was pretty proud to flex her dance background. LOL- when I saw the choreography I realized it's not that complex but hey, glad she's confident!

Unfortunately, once she finished that number she moved back down to be with her own class and this is all I could see of her for the rest of the performance.

We were able to take pictures before they all left which was great! 

She sure looked cute in her cowgirl get up!

All the girls have had Mrs Mootz who is retiring after this year!

When asked for a name for an order, I never give my since both my first and last names are so complicated. Instead, I try to give a unique but known name. I mean hey- they might work a little harder on the order, right? Brent was a little annoyed with me for this one because he was sure they were all going to be disappointed when he picked it up. I can't imagine why- haha!

Sydney not only leaves me sweet messages in my office, she sprinkles them throughout my notebook so I can randomly come across them in the middle of the day! Lurve.

Liesel kept stealing my cardigan so I searched for one she could have all to herself. The one I found is wonderfully warm but Liesel said she felt like an English teacher in it because they will constantly wrap themselves in their cardigans. Here's her impression:

This is why I say March is in like a lion and out like a lion. This snowfall happened at the end of the month! Spring is nowhere in sight!

Over Spring Break Liesel went to LA and San Diego with her choir. I received two pics from her the whole time she was gone:

She just does NOT get homesick! Fortunately, there was a Facebook group with lots of photos and posts. There was a recording of  their session at USC where they were practicing their pirate song (you can kind of see Liesel in this picture). They also live-streamed the concert they performed at Bel Air Church. Stunning building!

Ireland really wanted to get some street cred by flying as an unaccompanied minor so we sent her down to visit Whitney and Tim. Her flight was in to Nashville and Whitney was so sweet to pick her up. They checked out a bit of Nashville and then snuggled her up to hang with them for the week.

I'm incredibly grateful to have family that will take in my girls and just love them. Ireland needed some separation from her sisters and she really wanted to have an adventure on her own- even though that adventure was mostly chilling at their house.

I thought if I got a flowery wreath it would help bring on the warmer weather of spring. It did not work. The wreath looked really pretty on our front door though!

Another sweet note from Sydney left on my work laptop.

This made me laugh!

Harry Potter: Magic at Play

When I saw this was coming to Chicago, it was a no-brainer to take Ireland for her birthday. Her cute friend tagged along and since we had virtually no traffic coming into town, we parked and stopped at Starbucks before heading over. It was fun to chat with the girls about school, parents, etc over a hot chocolate. There was a bit of a line to get in but it was fun to see what everyone was wearing. Ireland would wear her Ravenclaw robes on the daily if it weren't a bit socially odd. 

Get ready for a lot of pics! There were so many great photo ops while we waited.

Great quote!

First we began at the Dursley's house at number 5 Privet Drive.

A hurricane of letters from Hogwarts coming out of the fireplace. Almost all the pictures on that fireplace were of Dudley. 

You could peek in at the room under the stairs.

Next on to Platform 9 3/4! We spent some time here getting the perfect shot.

Finally on to the Hogwarts Express!

From there across the lack where you could see Hogwarts in the distance.

These Marauder's Map footprints guided us where to go.

The Great Hall had a table and banners for all the houses.

On to get sorted...

...and straightaway to class!

I understand Hermione's exasperation, "wingardium leviosa" doesn't seem that difficult to master.

I absolutely loved the wall at Divination! All those tea cups!

Take a closer look at that.

This was one of my favorite parts!

This one tested your knowledge a bit.

The dusty jars were so cool. Made me want to whip up a potion!

Double double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble!

The cornish pixies wreaked havok!

I'm just now realizing Hogwarts didn't have much by way of extracurriculars aside from Quidditch.

To enter the Forbidden Forest, you had to use a lantern with a black light- so genius!

With the light you could see images like your patronus! This section even felt a little cool and damp!

On to Hagrid's and his giant pumpkins!

Next was a maze.

With the Whomping Willow at the center!

We made it out of the maze...

...and on to the Knight Bus and having seen everything, were ready to head home.

But where is home, really?

Had to grab some butterbeer for the road!

I had a lot of fun doing a little HP geeking out with Ireland and her friend! Ireland's fervent love of HP is one of her most endearing traits, for sure. We stopped by the nearby Cheesecake Factory for lunch before heading home, our imaginations filled with the world of Harry Potter.