I'm amazed at how great my hand has healed (no, I won't post any post surgery pics to compare how far it's come... bleck). I have about another week in a splint, that I'm obviously not wearing in this photo, and then physical therapy. As of now, I have about 50% use of my finger, but am hopeful that will improve in time.

A side note: I apologize if you feel like the updates on my hand are a little gross or too personal to blog about. I have a few blog followers that enjoy knowing every detail of our mundane lives, and these posts are for them... you know who you are...

Pinewood Derby time!

Kohl has been working steadily on his Pinebox Derby car (the phrase too much of a good thing comes to mind here). The paint job has been tweaked and re-tweaked, but it looks very cool (note the florescent orange flames). The boys are at Scouts as I type, putting the wheels and chassis weights on it. The Derby is next weekend, so I'll be sure to include a video of the outcome!

In the Dressage Arena...

This was Merritt's most recent lesson with Oscar. Miss Gini had her in a dressage paddock for the first time. She began to learn about dressage choreography in hopes that she might be able to compete in an upcoming event. It seems like Merritt's really lost her fear of cantering! Super proud!

SGG's Snow Day

Here's a quick clip from SGG's Snow Day... Merritt is the flash of red that you might see.

Today was St. Gregory the Great's "Snow Day." It is a special day for all students that have met or surpassed their AR (reading) goal. They bring in a huge snow machine and turn the back of SGG to a winter wonderland. The kids have about a half hour of snowball fights (nuns included) and snow angel making. Afterwards, they change clothes into jammies and spend the rest of the day reading fun books, watching movies (educational only, please) and playing board games. They had such a blast!

Mardi Gras in Bluffton

We celebrated Fat Tuesday with the Guariscos and had homemade gumbo and mini kingcakes. The kids decorated them and we all gobbled them up. It was a perfect way to get that last sugar buzz (for those of us poor saps that are giving up sugar for Lent). See the super simple recipe for the mini kingcakes at http://www.plainchicken.com/2011/03/easy-king-cake-knots.html.

So, the cast is off, the hand is exfoliated and re-wrapped in a small splint for 2 more weeks. Life is good!

This is the culmination of weeks of schemes, threats, promises and a few graphic design obsessive compulsions. I created the laminated chore chart with the usual weekly tasks, but left room to be able to add bonuses (via a dry erase marker) for doing things that weren't asked of them. For example, spontaneously unloading the dishwasher can earn an extra 50¢. There are possibilities for deductions for things like leaving dirty clothes on the floor, being asked twice to do something, etc. I haven't yet had a deduction that stays on the chart very long, since they usually are motivated to get back "in the green." Lastly, I've streamlined/masterminded the allowance payment process (usually my downfall) by being able to deposit their earned money into their new savings accounts from my phone. How will I keep them from spending their earnings? A healthy dose of a little friendly sibling competition... (insert mwah ha ha cackle and hand-wrenching here). Did I mention that this was weeks of planning?

Merritt tried out a new horse last Friday. Her name is Willow and they had a great time! I think we've got cantering checked off the list. Next up... jumping! Sheeesh...

Kohl learned to finally ride his (tiny) bike with NO training wheels! Thanks, GranDarold!! There's no stopping him now...

This is a little video from our balcony in South Beach last weekend. I joined Jason for the Miami Boat Show where Release Marine had a booth. It was beautiful, and yes, I have tan lines around my purple cast!

Okay, so here's a "low light" (certainly not one of the brighter spots of my blog), although I am very, very excited about it... My cast officially comes off tomorrow, although I'm not sure where my fate lies after that (maybe another cast, but more than likely physical therapy). For those of you that didn't hear the full details, I'll just say that I won't be cleaning my vacuum brushes out with a steak knife anymore (surgery to reattach a completely severed extensor tendon cured me of that nasty habit).

This was the cute little Valentines that the kids gave out this year. I found it on Pinterest (thanks, Gail)! I can't take all the credit, however. As Jason was up with me cutting out tiny super hero masks until 11:30 the night before (it took longer with my bum hand), he never complained once. He did begin the sentence "You know, I appreciate the fact that you want to always do something special for the kids' Valentines parties and all," but he never finished the thought... out loud, at least.

So I thought I'd create a blog!

This is an attempt to keep in better touch with anyone that may be curious about the weekly goings on with our little family. It may be as exciting as watching paint dry, but so be it! More soon...