The End of the Season and Happy New Year

The girls came to visit for a couple of days last week before school started back up. They were so busy with all the presents from Christmas, and a few that were older than that. The first thing they wanted to do was cut the Barbie dolls hair. Gabi (the oldest) has done this before and most of her Barbie dolls look like Skinheads...nearly bald. After the cutting ceremony, the dolls were thrown into the drink and washed off. It was easier for Izi to jump into the tub with them than to sit on the side and bend over!

This is my normally pulled-together TV room. Not on Thursday and Friday! All the toys from Christmas were in there, waiting to be played with by the Grands!

When the new toys lost their initial appeal, it was on to playdough time. I made the dough for them, then let them knead in food color and have at it with cookie cutters. Homemade playdough is mostly flour and salt (3 C. Flour, 1.5 C salt, 3 T. oil, 1 C. water and food color). Once it dries out, it doesn't stick to anything, which is far better than purchased Playdough which has a tendency to harden and stick like glue to solid surfaces!

Why not use child labor when it is handy? After all, we fed them lunch! With that, the ornaments from the porch tree and the inside tree were lovingly removed from the tree and placed in their boxes. Only three ornaments bit the dust on the porch. Papaw was in charge of making the Christmas tree naked and it amazes me how he can have such authority!!!

When the day is over.....the dolls have been sheared, the new ones played with, Playdough is in the trash, the tree is out the door and the kids still have energy left (while Mimi is ready for a nap) we play the age-old and honored game, "Poke Your Sister's Eye Out." Izi won this round!!

Happy New Year everyone! January is officially upon us. Once we have Ryan's birthday (35 big ones on 1-10), the month will begin to drag on and on and on!!!! Only 82 days until April 1, which I officially call spring and flip-flop weather! I'm making my countdown calendar as soon as I log off!!!