Happy Birthday, Stella and MLK!

This week we celebrate the days the world was graced with two of the greatest peacemakers society has known: Martin Luther King, Jr. and...Stella Kutscher. For those of you who know me well, and know Stella, you'll think that's funny. There isn't a whole lot of peace between Stella and me. I love her, because she's part of the family and everything...but she doesn't create peace in my life. Stella is a great dog, with a lovely personality, those things are true. But neat and tidy she is not, which doesn't set well with me most days. But just like Martin Luther King, I'm sure Stella has a dream.....where all neat freaks and bulldogs can live in peace with one another. Tuesday was Stella's big day. It started off kind of weird, too. Normally Stella sleeps until one of us goes downstairs and forces her to come up to go potty before we leave. You'll be packing your lunch in the kitchen and can hear her sawing logs down in her chair. On Tuesday, 6:00 a.m., Stella comes upstairs, moseys in the bathroom where Chad is showering and I am doing my hair, and parks herself right on the rug, as if to say, "Hello? It's my big day. Where's my gift?" Here's her pic. Sorry...it should've been cropped, but we are experiencing technical difficulties on our desk top and I can't crop on the lap top.

This week started off pretty stressful. January usually brings out the duldrums in people, and I was definitely feeling them this week. I think most teachers would agree that January....along with the last two weeks of May, are the toughest times to be a teacher....at least an elementary teacher. The kids are all cooped up inside for recess. They've been together long enough where the personality clashes in the classroom are at their peak. You've gotten to the point where you've tried all the tricks you have in your bag to solve problems....and if you haven't found an effective solution yet, you're still dealing with problems that have haunted you since September...and are feeling pretty frustrated with the lack of results from your efforts. By Wednedsay, I was ready for the week to be over....and what do ya know....it WAS. We woke up in Sangamon county with a -30 degree windchill that caused some problems at the bus garage, which resulted in the cancelling of school. DANG. Then 9:30 Thursday night, we got the call that we weren't going on Friday either. Usually I'm not one who sits and prays for snow days....who watches the evening news with the crawl at the bottom with all my fingers and toes crossed. But this week, I was more than thrilled with two snow days. Throw in MLK tomorrow, and we've had a FIVE day weekend. How awesome is that? Sorry non teaching folks...I do feel bad that you had to work. That didn't keep me from enjoying my days though. Things we did on our days off:

**slept in, **watched TV together in bed....I captured some snuggle time that you saw at the top of the post, **did laundry, **baked cookies, **worked out (Chad, of course...he does very regularly, but I did too), **watched some movies (What About Bob....classic, Iron Man....decent, and of course multiple episodes of the Muppet Show, and Madagascar....twice.)

Chad left Friday afternoon for the National Soccer Coaches of America convention in St. Louis. Mom and Dad came up and began work on another one of my decorating projects. We spent Friday night cutting and staining boards to make a headboard for our bed. Saturday, I had a training all day at school to go to, so while I was gone, Dad put the headboard together and Mom entertained Landon and cleaned up the house. How sweet is that? As you can imagine, Landon was quite helpful while Mom and I were upholstering. Hammers are right up his alley these days. Just a mere hours before, I confiscated a padded baseball bat which he used to thump Grandma in the head. The hammer was given to him only for the photo op. Here are before and after pictures of the bedroom. This isn't a true before picture. Before we did anything to the room, the bed was situated on the wall to the far right of the room, the walls were painted a light mocha color, and there was a lovely wallpaper border around the top of the room, which was distinctly a late eighties/early nineties pattern. I painted the room last June, and moved the bed. We changed the white aluminum mini blinds and added the cornices above the windows, the rug, and bedding of course. It's not a true after picture either I guess.....the stain isn't cured enough to set anything on the shelves and I don't have the throw pillows done, but it's come a long way. THANKS DAD and MOM! Projects on the forefront: finishing the basement playroom, and Landon's big boy room. Estimated time line: SUMMER.

After Chad came home this afternoon, we went to the Coppernoll's to celebrate Charli's first birthday. Here's Landon enjoying a cupcake, which he brought more of home on his shirt than he ate. That'll happen when you don't remember to bring a bib. Hey, all in the name of celebrating a first birthday...it's a momentous occasion!

Below in the Landon video of the week. Scotty T. and Sara bought this Hummer for Landon that plays "Life is a Highway" and dances...if you can imagine a Hummer dancing. It's one of Landon's favorites. The Hummer dance has become a nightly tradition. It's the sign that the evening is winding down. He's beginning to feel tired enough he needs physical activity to keep himself awake. It's amusing, too. Bonus. He's got some moves for a two year old.