Or Maybe Not...

well, here's a much more disgusting picture for ya. this one actually makes me feel a little queasy. turns out my MCL was sore, but my meniscus is the thing causing my sharp knee pains. Dr. Pitt is going to work on me every day this week (love him!) to see if he can stretch it out and make it better. also got a brace (love this even more!) to wear while chasing the kids around. thanks everybody for praying for me. i am such a big baby during my appointments as i have almost zero pain tolerance & it's really embarrassing how much i sweat and whine. dave has been spoiling me by doing dishes, grocery shopping and shooting me plenty of sympathetic looks. okay, enough about that. the kids are great. we released jack's full grown butterflies a couple of days ago. we also had date night where dave took jack golfing & out for pizza while mia and i watched strawberry shortcake, painted our toenails and munched on junk food. work is going well-i finally got into creating my own lesson plans and teaching those kids a thing or two. :) that's all i know for now. until the next update...

OUCH!

I strained my MCL (medial collateral ligament-#2 in the pic) last week running. Am still not sure when or how I did it. It's not a typical running injury-more like one football players get when someone twists their leg. All of this is info I received from my new fabulous chiropractor (Dr. Pitt-also Crissy's brother-in-law) after a gentle but somewhat painful examination. Right now I'm supposed to RICE (rest, ice, compress, elevate) it and go back Monday to see what the status is. Definitely not running the Austin Half anymore. Right now I'm pretty scared to run ever again.

Also on Display...

They have this awesome fountain by the museum where I had the kids pose quickly before they fell in. And here's some art by Jack that he made out of twisties in the kids' room @ the museum. Though it might not be super creative (sorry, buddy-those are my genes!), I was still impressed that he could mold his name out of wire. The kids really enjoyed themselves there, but I can't say that the guards enjoyed their presence so much as they kept a really close eye on us as we walked through the exhibits. Mia only touched one painting, which for her, was pretty good behavior. And thank goodness nobody saw. Except, maybe our new friend, Larry. But he didn't say anything. After we left, Jack went around claiming everything as art. That building is art! That stepstool is art! That trashcan is art! I dig his take on the world.

Celebrity Siting

I spotted this guy in the western section of the art museum on Thursday wearing a huge cowboy hat, and I thought to myself, surely Larry Hagman would not be dressed as a cowboy looking at cowboy art in a museum in corpus christi, right? It's just too obvious. But I double checked the eyebrows, and sure enough, it was him. I immediately called Dave at work, totally excited as he is a big DALLAS fan (yes, honey, I totally sold you out), and he told the newsroom, which in turn sent a photog out to catch him. It made the news! I was thrilled to be a part of giving dave's channel the Larry Hagman exclusive. Do you think I'm ready to be an EXTRA! informant or something? I have, after all, been an excellent snitch most of my life. Bekah's my witness. :)

Rock Star

Captured a sweet moment: Jack playing his guitar for baby Delaney. It was his idea, too. Already looks like he has a groupy, unless I'm mistaking her adoring look for a bewildered and hurt expression-his notes are pretty rough on the ears.

Working Girl

My first day of teaching went really well yesterday! I have 4 two year-olds in my class, and they were all very sweet. I don't know if they were just going easy on me for my first day or what. Will let you know next week. Changed some diapers, read some stories, did a snowflake craft (gasp!) that turned out almost looking like a snowflake, and had half the class asleep at naptime. Thanks for all the prayers, all the chocolate (Holla, Alisa & Sunny!) and all the encouragement. Mia didn't fair so well. She seemed sort of miserable all day. Partly b/c she was sick (doing better today) and partly b/c I was in the room next door. I think I want her in my class now. It was just too sad to see her like that! -M

Oh, and here's Jack's blog about his new caterpillars. We just got them in the mail to go in his butterfly garden he got for Christmas:

I love my cute little caterpillars and I can't wait for them to change into butterflies. And Ms. Mimi-I can't wait for them to change into butterflies. And I can bounce with one hand on my Bop Ball.
Love, Jack

america's next top mini model

the judges have deliberated. the two of you stand before me today as the top finalists in america's next top mini model. but there can only be one winner. in my hands i hold the picture of the mini model who will receive some fabulous prizes: a $100,000 modeling contract with marear modeling agency, a 5-page spread in nick, jr. magazine, and the cover of the february highlights magazine.

jack. you stand before me today because you are a very handsome boy. you are easy to work with and you follow direction well, but the judges are concerned that you only have one look, and that you may be too commercial to model high fashion.

mia. you stand before me today with a lot of natural talent. the camera loves you, and you have that high fashion look. however, you have a slight attitude problem and the judges aren't sure if photographers will want to work with you. you are also quite short, even for a mini-model, and the judges are worried that your legs won't grow.

the name of the model i do not call must go back to their bunk bed, pack up their stuffed animals and leave the house.

the winner of america's next top mini-model is...

























congratulations, mia! you are the winner of america's next top mini-model.
jack, thank you.

stay tuned for the previews of next season's america's next top mini-model...

up top are pics from last night after visiting the "festival of light" at a lutheran church near us. it's become a froehlich family tradition...this was our third year to go. they walk you through the 12 days of christmas and then you get to take a picture with the 3 wise men, plus you get cookies & hot chocolate. this morning woke up and cleaned out the fridge. this is a HUGE accomplishment for me as i am pretty much a filth monger and have cleaned it out, well, never. (dave actually cleaned it once-kudos to him!) then i made the kids pose for a yellow shirt photo shoot, probably inspired by the many hours i spent watching america's next top model in the mega marathon this week. you were wondering why i wasn't blogging, weren't you??

Sweaty Girl

Mia woke up from her nap today with the curliest hair I've seen on her yet.