We Survived Blizzard '09

For days we were bombarded with reports about Winter Storm '09 ... 4-8 inches of snow, ice, days and days of rain ... temps bottoming out in the twenties ... they were sort-of right ...

Let me tell you this ~ Missouri is the only state I've ever been in where it can snow all day long and none of it sticks! I'm talking big, fat snowflakes that would have blanketed North Carolina for a week ... but here, only about .00001% of that snow stuck around. This morning there was the slightest bit of fluff along the mulch ... that's it!

Want to know how much it didN'T snow ... Kayla had a soccer game today ~ outside!

All I have to say is ~ BRING ON THE SPRING!!! I've had more than enough of Old Man Winter.

from the backyard (about a week ago)

Branson ~ Splash Country

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Harmonia Axyridis

A while ago, Nanny sent us a link to Cornell University's Lost Ladybug Project. Tody, Bradley found Harmonia axyridis, a multicolored Asian ladybug.

You can post pictures and information on your ladybugs at http://www.lostladybug.org/.

Hooray Bradley!!!

Keep up the good hunting!!!

Mother's Intuition or Friday the 13th Paranoia

As I packed his lunch this morning, I got that sick feeling in my stomach.

Turkey and cheese on white, cheese crackers, Oreos, bottle of half frozen water, and gummies carefully packed in a heavy white sack with handles. I carefully wrote his name, his teacher’s name and his grade on the sack in red magic marker and drew a tiny black paw print at the top.

I dressed him in his Bulldog Pride t-shirt, jeans, and his new blue Converse sneakers, wrapped him carefully in his “big” coat and sent him out to the bus stop with the others.

Then I called him back. I kissed him some more. Five times, right on top of the head and told him that I loved him … again. I looked carefully at his face, admired his sweet smile and blue eyes.

“I gotta go, Mom!”

Five more kisses, on the hood of his jacket, for the sake of time. He ran to the end of the driveway, stopped, and then crossed over just in time to catch the bus. He didn’t wave goodbye.

I waited for the bus to pull away and then I closed the red door and said a little prayer.
He’s not dying or anything. He’s not even sick. He’s going on a field trip. A field trip to the Shriner’s Circus about 70 miles away in Springfield, but to me, today, it may as well be a trip to the moon.

I’ve got that feeling. That feeling that says this is a bad idea … that feeling that screams at me to intervene and protect … to press my hand to his forehead and tell him he has a fever and can’t go to school today, can't go on the trip.

I didn’t, though. I sent him on his way, excitement in tact. I don’t think I’m over-protective and I don’t get that knot in my gut a lot, but today it’s especially tight, pulling on all my organs at once.

Mother’s intuition or Friday the 13th paranoia?

Bring On The Spring!!!

The Landsbergers are officially ready for spring. Enough of the cold!

Interview From The Loony Bin

Really weird minds ... might want to know ...


1. What is something Nanny always says to you?
(Cameron) “Night, night, goodnight”

2. What makes Daddy happy?
(Stephen) “Chocolate pie”

3. What makes Stephen sad?
(Andrew) “Chocolate”

4. How does your Mommy make you laugh?
(Bradley) “Tickling my pits”

5. What was your Bobo like as a child?
(Cameron) “A Cheerleader”

6. How old is Trey?
(Andrew) “He’s choo-choo train”

7. How tall is your Daddy?
(Stephen) “4 Foot 5”

8. What is Kayla’s favorite thing to watch on TV?
(Cameron) “The Coco Show” aka ~ Dora The Explorer

9. What does your Daddy do when you're not around?
(Andrew) “Go to the store and get some Diegos and treats”

10. If your Grandpa Bob becomes famous, what will it be for?
(Bradley) “Because he’s a superstar”

11. What is Kayla’s favorite food?
(Andrew) “Mashed potatoes”

12. If your Daddy were a cartoon character, who would he be?
(Kayla) “The Hulk”

13. What do you and Nanny do together?
(Cameron) “Play how, how, how, how”

14. How are you and your Bobo the same?
(Stephen) “We both go to the bathroom”

15. What does your Mommy like most about your dad?
(Andrew) “Cameron, Andrew, and Stephen and Daddy”