Happy Birthday!

Just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my (always older) sister Christy!

What a way to start the day

My kids are amazing. Yes, I'm biased. But I should be. I am their mother.

Sunday was a fairly stressful day with the kids. There was a lot of crying (huge tears), and whining (TONS of it!), and arguing with one another. By the end of it all, I was exhausted from trying everything in my power to both keep my patience AND help them have a better, more positive day. I guess kids are bound to have a bad day themselves every now and again.

Then this morning, Evie apologized in her own little way and it was music to my ears. At 5 o'clock this morning, she crawled into bed with me, kissed me on the cheek, and in her sweet, sleepy voice said, "I always love you, Mom." It took my breath away. Then we cuddled right back to sleep. I wish moments like that could last forever.

Feeling groovy

Another week has just flown by. It's definitely been an eventful one starting Sunday afternoon when William began to complain about "leg" pain. By the time he was ready to change for bed, he was crying from the pain inflicted by bending his right leg to get his pants off. In pointing out where exactly he was hurting, I realized it was in his hip. I thought maybe he just sat on it funny, or over-extended it bowling that day and that it would be better by morning. WRONG!!

Monday morning I get a call at work as he is getting ready for school. "William can't walk!" WHAT?!?!?! Off to the doctor we go. After x-rays (all clear) and examination (though he didn't really let her do anything), the possible diagnosis: Toxic Synovitis. Wow, sounds a lot worse than it is. Apparently, in some kids, especially boys between the ages of 4 and 10, there can be a build up of body toxins in their hips after they get a cold (he had a mild one the week before). It causes the area around the joint to become inflammed. Most don't get to the "not walking" stage, but since William never complains, I figure he was probably hurting with it long before he mentioned it to anyone, thus delaying treatment. Treatment, by the way, consists of nothing more than rest and Motrin. So, William got two days off from school during an already super-short month. On Tuesday night as he was rolling over to fall asleep, he said "Thank you, leg." He explained he thanked his leg for letting him have 2 days off from school (and being spoiled by his parents). He always finds a way to make me laugh.

Wednesday, I was off to Dayton for my dad's retirement ceremony. I haven't seen that many people in military uniforms in one room, up close and in person, since I was a little girl. It was a really nice ceremony! Whoever did all the planning must have felt like they were planning a wedding. His wife, sister, and all of his daughters (me included) were escorted to their seats by military personnel in dress uniform. The colonel said some really nice things about my dad, he was presented with TONS of official letters from people such as the governor of Ohio, the Judge Advocate General, and the President of the United State, and plaques, and a flag that was flown over the Capitol, and then he was able to say a few words himself. I actually learned a lot about my Dad on Wednesday that I had never known before, so I was glad that I could be there.

While I was there, Evie got to stay home from school and spend the day with her dad and her best friend/cousin Tristan. Micheal watched the girls so that Amy could come to Dad's retirement as well. They had a great day together and Micheal didn't seem too beat up and frazzled by the whole experience.

This weekend, including today, will most likely be filled with Christmas shopping, and wrapping, and baking. William is usually a total home-body, but even he is excited about going to pick out Christmas presents for his dad and Ethan (his cousin/my nephew). Evie is ALWAYS ready to shop. She is ALL girl! Saturday I will take Evie to a dance class to make up for the one that she missed on Monday (when William couldn't walk), and I will have a nice dinner out with my sisters at the Melting Pot (YUM!). I will probably take the kids bowling again on Sunday afternoon. They LOVE to bowl, and they have a GREAT deal on Sundays. Can't find another activity on a freezing cold day that beats the price. Somewhere in the midst of it all, we might even throw in some haircuts, and possibly even some Christmas pictures (though I *dread* trying to find them nice outfits that actually match!).

IT'S DECEMBER!!!

Wow! As they say, "time flies."

I love this time of year. I love shopping for other people, and the cold weather, and the Christmas lights, and the Christmas music on the radio, and wrapping gifts, and baking goodies, and watching Christmas specials with the kids. I am trying to savor every moment because I know it will all be over in a heartbeat.

Happy December everybody!!

Dancing Queen

Evie had dance class last night, as usual. Her teacher and I had a discussion about her abilities vs. those of the other students in her Combo I class. And so, it has been decided that next week she is going to try to move up to the Combo II class and see if she can keep up. They are learning the same fundamentals, plus a few, and at a faster pace. Evie is so excited! If she doesn't struggle too much, she will be moved up to the Combo II class for the remainder of the year. I know she's going to do GREAT!

Her recital is June 16. Start clearing those schedules and/or booking those plane tickets now. It should be an event to remember. :)

Alphabet soup

CQA...I can't remember what exactly it means, but basically, it was William's first achievement testing. I think it stands for "Common Quartly Assessment." He brought the results home yesterday and WOW! I am so proud! Here's how it breaks down:

Reading Common Quarterly Assesment - passing is 75%. William scored 100%
Math Common Quarterly Assesment - passing is 75%. William scored 100%
Hearing & Recording sounds - 28 of 36 is on grade level. William scored 35 of 36.
Text level - "D" is on grade level. William tested at level "G"
Writing - Level III is on grade level. William tested at level IV.
Sight words - 17 out of 20 students can read and write list #1, 9 out of 20 can read and write list #2. William passed both of these lists and only misspelled ONE word on list #3. The one he missed on list three was spelled phonetically.

Also listed on the CQA were the total number of students that passed/are on grade level. Mrs. Comstock has told me that he is definitely one of the top students in his class. He is the top performing male student. This report was even better for me, in terms of seeing how William is performing in the classroom, than his report card was. Way to go William!! So many outstanding academic reports in the last month!

IAT...This one stands for Intervention Assistance Team. His IAT meeting is tomorrow. We will be discussing special circumstances where William may be eligible for extra time/assistance - especially Standardized Testing which starts this year for him. It will also be an opportunity to discuss some therapy techniques/provisions that we can make that may help him focus in the classroom, since his level of academic achievement keeps him excluded from any sort of direct (outside the classroom) occupational therapy.

What are you Celebrating?

This question was posed on a dear friend's blog today. She is trying to reorganize and re-prioritize her life, and concentrate a lot more on the positive. I think this is WONDERFUL! So I've thought about that question...what are you celebrating? I just had to write some down--this isn't everything, of course.

• reconnecting with my Dad's side of the family (Dad, step-mom, half-sister, aunt)
• lots of time spent laughing with my sisters
• William doing well in 1st grade and enjoying school
• Evie being SO ready for Kindergarten already--thanks City Kids!!
• Christmas shopping
• In-laws coming for Christmas
• Being able to give some "Been there, done that" advise and reassurance to my sister Amy
• William wanting extra Mommy-cuddle time last night
• nice lunch with my boss yesterday
• the flexibility of my job
• wonderful teachers for both kids
• Pumpkin Cheesecake - YUM! Thanks Ann!
• Micheal's new position - I'm certain that something positive has to come out of this
• Someone actually reads this blog :)
• getting my rear-end to the YMCA finally
• having a far-away friend tell me that she was thinking about me all day once last week

As my boss always says, "If you THINK positive, you will BE positive." I'm TRYING to do better. :)

It's the most wonderful time of the year

With the invasion of the cooler weather and the breaking out of the comfy winter clothing, I can't help but find myself excited about the upcoming holidays! I have always been a been a big fan of the holiday season, but this year is especially anticipated. I don't like to cook for a huge number of people, so maybe its the fact that both holiday meals will be provided elsewhere this year. Or maybe it's the fact that I have a tendency to go completely overboard in spoiling my kids for Christmas and this year I have TONS of ideas for both of them so that tradition will continue. Or maybe its my absolute love for fall colors and Christmas lights. Or could it be that the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Special was always my favorite as a kid. Or perhaps its that the crisp autumn air has temporary frozen that part of my brain that remembers how stressful all the holiday hoopla can be. Who knows?

Regardless of the reason, it promises to be a season filled with loved ones. My aunt will have a house-full for Thanksgiving. This year, we will be starting our own traditional touch football game and are bound to continue with our traditional board games that require lots of shouting (in the past, these have included "Family Feud-DVD version" and "Taboo"). There will be so many kids there that we could start our own version of the Osmonds. Though it wouldn't be near as sweet and sugary, I believe. Maybe more like the Osbournes?

Christmas will bring together all those kids again, this time at my Dad and step-mom's place. Everyone is so excited to be joined by my in-laws again this year. It's a long trip for them, but hopefully the joy of the grandbabies will overshadow the numb butt of the car ride. Hopefully my dear sweet brother can find a way to join us this year as well. We sure do miss Uncle David in our house. He's our big teddy bear!

This season will also mark the end of my Dad's long and distinguished career as an attorney for the United State Air Force at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. I don't, however, expect that this will slow him down. I'm sure he'll jump straight from retirement into something else fulfilling.

Now if I just knew what to get for everyone for Christmas(except William and Evie, I've got them covered FOR SURE)! Oh, well, I love to shop for others, so something is bound to pop out at me sooner or later. Hopefully sooner. However, if you have suggetions for anyone I know, please share. :)

Horray for Grandpa Chip!!

Yea, hurray, I'm so excited! My dad has offered to babysit the kids on Sunday so that my step-mom, sisters, and I can still have our "Ladies' Day Out!" They are SOOO excited about spending the day with Grandpa Chip! It's too bad that the Buckeyes aren't playing on Sunday. It would have been neat for my little Buckeye fan (Evie) to get to share in watching the game with the world's greatest Buckeye fan (my dad)!

That's Evie with the Ohio State University Buckeye cheerleaders and Brutus, of course.

So we will be heading out for Dayton on Sunday morning. I can't wait!

Proud Mom

William got his first report card of the school year yesterday and he did wonderful! The students were supposed to be at a reading level of "D" and William is at a "G." Math is definitely his strong point though. He loves art and music as well. Gym seems to be the bottom of the totem pole--can't say I blame him for that. I somehow always knew he would be a scholar and not an athlete (the multiple scars on the forehead should have given others the same impressions :).

Yea, William! Keep up the good work! You make your Mommy so proud every day! I am so lucky to have you!

Fashion Victim

Evie had an appointment with an orthopedist this morning. They needed to be able to get a good look and feel of her leg and she was in jeans, so they made her put on these big blue paper shorts. She was so mortified that she didn't want her picture taken in them. It was so funny!

This is Halloween

Trick-or-Treating was great fun last night. All together we had 7 kids in our "group" and 9 adults. We were probably a little overwhelming to the unsuspecting homeowner when they first opened the door to the rousing chorus.


William got his wish to be Stitch granted, thanks to a little help from his Nana Bobbie. And Evie made the cutest little bumblebee ever, though for some reason she kept wanting to meow instead of buzz.


Evie's friend Ryan from preschool was there. His dad works with Aunt Christy. They were inseperable. They held hands almost the entire time. It was so sweet! It was eveident, however, that Evie definitely prefers to be the dominant one in a relationship. :)

As you can see, even some of the grown-ups had fun. Those are my siblings...Aphrodite, Death, and Mrs. Claus.

The rains went away and we were left with a nice cool, brisk night. Stitch's feet were covered in mud upon our return home, and he probably could have kept going all night, but in the end he was ready to get back to ghost cake and Lego Star Wars II. Good luck to the teachers that have to deal with the aftermath.

5 Little Pumpkins...

The whole family got together with Aunt Christy and the cousins last night to carve pumpkins!

William wanted his to look like a ghost with mean eyebrows. Evie wanted one with teeth. They both drew the faces on themselves. I think they turned out pretty cute. Don't you?

Taking the bad with the good

Well, it was all planned. This Sunday was to be a "Ladies' Day Out." No kids, no husbands, just me, my sisters (including Katie who is about to graduate high school and whom I never see), and my step-mom storming the town of Dayton. I haven't looked forward to something this much in a LONG time. Ah, but of course, I should not have gotten my hopes up until I was actually in route.

You see, Micheal found out last week that he is being transferred across town. This isn't a bad thing, really, BUT his check-in audit just happens to fall on...you guessed it...this Sunday. So without him home to watch the kids, I'll have to duck out of the plans and hear about the fun after-the-fact.

I am so disappointed.

I'll have to think of something extra fun for the kids and I to do instead.

Cat scratch fever

Just thought I'd add a few pictures of the kids with the newest member of the family. Pumpkin is by far the largest "kitten" I've ever seen. He makes me crazy, especially when I am the only one up in the morning and he feels the need to attack my face from across the room, but the kids love him so I guess he stays. Notice that William is letting him sit on his arms while he is playing a video game--talented kid. And Evie wasn't feeling so good one night, so she grabbed Pumpkin and curled up on the couch with him and they both fell asleep. Too cute. Needless to say, kitty cats are one of Evie's newest favorite things.

Little Einstein

Thursday was our parent-teacher conference for William. First, let me start by saying that I absolutely LOVE his teacher. I could actually see she and I being friends outside of the classroom. We have a similar sense-of-humor and just get along really well. She also goes above and beyond to make sure her students have everything they need to achieve their absolute best. I talk to her frequently, so a PT probably wasn't even necessary, but it was good to have a "formal" meeting.

As we already knew, my sweet boy is SO smart. He is one of the highest achievers in his class--already performing above the goals set for 1st grade for this first 9 weeks. He is soaking up everything around him like a sponge and loving every minute of it. He is well-behaved, takes on his role as the line "caboose" like a champ (ask if you aren't sure :), and is making a lot of friends with his big loving heart. Writer's Workshop is probably his most crowning achievement and biggest frustration at the same time. He writes very well for his age, and tells great stories, but by the time it is over, he is exhausted! He wants to much to be absolutely perfect (spelling just right, punctuation in place, thoughts transferred to paper exactly) that he is just worn out when he's done. So, he puts his head down for a few minutes, and then is ready to go onto word study! He continues to improve his reading by leaps and bounds, quickly losing the choppy reading style of his Kindergarten days and flowing through those sentences like a champ. Math is one of his favorites. This kid could do graphs, and tally marks, and addition all day long! I'm with him for now, but I have a feeling he'll lose me on that by about 5th grade. :) And of course, anyone that knows him, knows that science is TOP NOTCH with William. He LOVES to learn about animals, and how things work, and what makes weather patterns happen, etc. It sure made him smile to hear such nice things about the work he is doing, and it made me smile too.

Can I get your digits?

Unbelievable. William was heading upstairs to get ready for bed when he stops suddenly. "I got a phone number today," he says as he digs into his pocket and pulls out a slip of paper with a phone number on it written in red crayon. I ask who it is for. He says he doesn't know. I go through the short list of his friends names. Nope, none of them. I ask him WHEN he got it. "Recess." I ask who gave it to him. "A girl."

AHHHH! Is this supposed to start already?? He said she has brown hair and "pink skin, like ours." HeeHee

I told him she must think he's cute and wants to be his girlfriend. He was totally disgusted by the idea. I don't think he'll call. :)

Hold me closer, tiny dancer

Just had to share these adorable picture of Evie. She was on her way to dance class one night and wanted me to take her picture. Who could resist that face??

(She loves to do that same pose in all her pictures these days)

Mom-isms heard in our home...

My mother-in-law just sent me a gentle reminder that I have been a bit lacking in my updates here lately. Since I want to include pictures and I don't have them ready yet, here's a little something just because...

Things I seem to say REPEATEDLY:

• "Your shirt is not a napkin. Get a napkin."
• "Please stop chewing on that."
• "Quit licking people."
• "How'd you get so smart?!"
• "I will not listen to whining. Tell me again with a big kid voice please."
• "Keep your hands to yourself. . . Keep your feet to yourself. . . Okay, don't use any part of your body to touch any part of his/her body."
• "You have to eat something besides bologna sandwiches and hotdogs."
• "Great job!"
• "You cannot have a popcicle/bag of Doritos/brownie for breakfast."
• "Do you have to go potty? Then, why are you dancing around like that?"
• "Get your hair out of your mouth please."
• "Wow, that is really nice!"
• "Put the cat down. Put the cat down. PUT THE CAT DOWN!"
• "You are not the boss, applesauce."
• "What happens when we don't listen to Mommy's words?"
• "Is that the way we speak to one another?"
• "That's what can happen when you don't put the cat down."
• "I love you bigger than the whole world!"
• "If you could carry it/them down here/out here then it's not too heavy/there are not too many for you to take back."
• "I'm not the trashcan."
• "Please don't torment your brother/sister."
• "I just LOOOOVE your cuddles. Thank you so much!"

Exciting changes

"Mommy, I have a friend." Such sweet words, uttered from my adorable 6-year-old. He finally has a friend at his new school. His name is Andrew. This makes my heart happy.

Excitement over the weekend...Micheal's car was parked at the curb Saturday night. Around 2:45 AM it was hit by a drunk driver. Unbelievably, it just missed being pushed into a light pole, 2 trees, and/or another vehicle. It ended up on the sidewalk, about 75 feet from where it started out, right next to a pick-up truck that was also parked on the curb. Amazing. Bye Bye little Sunfire. You have served us well.

William is head-on into the fall soccer season. He loves it! He got his jersey last night and he is number "1." And his team color is red--his favorite. And, he gets to play goalie/defense which he assures everyone (and he's right) is where his "skills are." It is so great to see him get so excited about something. Pictures this weekend, opening game on the 16th.

Evie starts dance on Monday. She is so excited she can hardly stand it. I can't wait to see her in her leotard and ballet slippers or tap shoes.

She is also in the process of transitioning to the Pre-K class at school. She's having a harder time adjusting than I had originally anticipated, but her two best friends are both in there, so it's only a matter of time before the tears and outbursts and frustrations are a thing of the past. Yesterday and today have been tough because her very best friend, Maddie, has been sick and that just breaks Evie's heart.

Brought to you by the letter..."T"

T is for TEACHER...
William's 1st grade teacher is wonderful!! Without going into all the details, lets just say that she is doing everything necessary. She is also such an upbeat and positive person. We all think she's great. The 2nd day of school, William went up to her and gave her a hug and said, "I like school."

T is for TIME-OUTs...
Which have gone rampant in our home. I don't know if its the changes in schedules, the changes in weather, or just plain childhood, but the kids have been OFF THE HOOK for about 3 days now. But even in their disobedience they find ways to make me laugh.

T is for TUBES...
As in ear tubes. It looks like William is facing yet another set (his 3rd!). Started with a NASTY ear infection last Friday, and it looks like he is falling right back into his old routine of constant fluid behind the eardrums. We'll know more when he has another follow-up with the ENT on the 19th.

T is for TAP SHOES...
Evie has her very first pair of shiny, black-patent leather ones. And ballet slippers too. She is so excited to start dance classes! When I showed her on the calendar when they start, she said, "But that is just to far away. I want to go NOW!"

T is for TEETH...
Still no tooth fairy visit. It seems to have actually tightened up a little. But now the one next to it is loose too. I told him that the tooth fairy pays extra if you lose two teeth on the same day. His main concern right now is if there will be blood when they come out.

Not sure what's going on here...

Why is it that I am having a harder time today than I did when William started Kindergarten?!?!?! You'd think this should all be old hat by now. Only 2 more hours to worry, then Aunt Christy is taking him (and her kids, too) to Dairy Queen to celebrate his first day in 1st grade! Hard to believe...Katie is a senior (and Ronda and I *still* talk about how she used to say "big truck" when she was little!), Aaron is a sophomore (17 seconds, Aunt Cyndee!), Seth started middle school (!), Olivia is in 3rd, Ethan in 2nd, and William in 1st. Evie and Tristan will be starting Kindergarten next year. Wow...time flies.

And now for a random observation: Spell-check does not like Evie's name.

Almost history...

Where were you on December 29, 2000?? Me...well, I was marveling over the new, shiny-white tooth just appearing in my infant, first-born child's mouth. His first tooth. *sigh* Now, that tooth will soon be a thing of the past. At lunch today we discovered that his very first tooth will, within days, become his very first LOST tooth. To quote William, it is "super wiggly." It was actually hurting him to try to bite through his sandwich. The new tooth can already be seen coming in right behind it. I would say that its possible that Wednesday could be more than the first day of school, but also our home's first visit from the tooth fairy. Which begs the question...how much is the tooth fairy giving per tooth these days??

Just goes to show you that even beyond the "firsts" of infanthood - first smile, first tooth, first word, first step - there are still many more to look forward to.

Dental exams and school supplies

Kids had their 6 month check-up with the dentist this morning and once again...NO CAVITIES! He did say that William is a "little behind." Meaning that most kids his age have lost AT LEAST their 2 bottom front teeth by the time they are his age, but I know a few other kids personally who were his age or older before they lost their first tooth. All in good time. The highlight of the trip for William is that now that he is 6, he gets to take the slide down from the top floor where they do the cleanings to the ground floor office/waiting area. Evie was a little bummed that she still has to take the steps.

My first lesson in school shopping has been learned...don't go before you have the list. I thought for sure we would have gotten everything when we went crazy at Target a week ago. Who knew we would need 200 index cards, gallon-size Ziploc bags, and 2 boxes of baby wipes? And who knew that ALL of the 3-prong folders would have to be green? Oh, well. Just another great excuse to go shopping again!! The countdown has begun...1 more week of "freedom"

Okay, so I saw this on another blog and thought it might be fun (for me, not for you to read...notice I didn't say it would be interesting :) Who knows, you might learn something about me that you never knew before.

1. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?
Open. My closet door happens to lead to William's bedroom (strange set-up...don't ask me to try and explain it), so it stays open all the time.

2. Do you take the shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotel rooms?
Not unless I'm traveling off to another destination and have somehow forgotten to bring my shampoo from home.

3. Who would you like to sing a duet with?
Tough choice. Do I have to just pick one?? Mandy Patinkin.

4. Have you ever stolen a street sign before?
Uh, no.

5. Do you like to use post-it notes?
No, I don't LIKE to use them, but in my job, they are a necessary evil.

6. Do you cut out coupons but then never use them?
Oh, of course. You never know when you might need a dollar off toothpaste, but then it expires before you actually need to buy toothpaste, so...

7. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees?
A bear. I'd die much faster that way, and wouldn't look as ridiculous swatting at a bear as I would flailing to try to get the bees off.

9. Do you always smile for pictures?
I HATE having my picture taken, but I always try to smile. BUT, I'm usually the one taking the pictures.

10. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Depends on the hour. I hate stupidity.

11. Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out?
Out. I don't like to sleep with my feet covered.

12. Do you ever count your steps when you walk?
No, unless the kids want to do it for fun.

13. Have you ever peed in the woods?
I think maybe once while camping. Not sure about that though.

14. Do you ever jump up and down to make your privates bounce?
Okay, who came up with this question???? No.

15. Do you chew your pens and pencils?
Sometimes on pen lids, if I'm in a boring meeting/conference.

16. How many people have you slept with this week?
Since I am going to take this to mean actual SLEEP, and can't include the cat as a person...three.

17. Do you like popcorn from those big tins?
Not really. I'm not much of a popcorn fan in any form.

18. What is your "song of the week"?
"Running to Catch Myself" by Mark Schultz. Actually, that's Evie's song on the week, but since she tends to control the van stereo, I guess it has to be mine too.

19. Is it okay for guys to wear pink?
Most guys actually look good in pink.

20. Do you still watch cartoons?
Mostly because I don't have an option. I do enjoy a good Spongebob episode now and then.

21. Whats your favorite scary movie?
I can't think of my favorite right now. It's been a long time since I saw a quality scary film.

22. Where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some?
Somewhere out in the open because no one in my house seems to be able to find the things that are right under their noses. :)

23. What do you drink with dinner?
Unfortunately, Coke. I have GOT to get better about this!

24. What do you dip a chicken nugget in?
Barbecue sauce.

25. What is your favorite food/cuisine?
Mexican food

26. What movies could you watch over and over and still love?
Pride and Prejudice, While You Were Sleeping, Bed of Roses

27. Last person you kissed/kissed you?
William

28. Were you a boy/girl scout?
Yes. I don't think I really earned too many badges though.

29. Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine?
No way.

30. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper?
An actual letter? Not just a quick note? Probably last May.

31. Can you change the oil on a car?
Never tried it, so no.

32. Ever gotten a speeding ticket?
If I answer this, am I going to jinx myself? No, I've never had a speeding ticket. But I have been riding with several other people when they have gotten them.

33. Ran out of gas?
Not personally, but once again...have been with someone else who has.

34. Favorite kind of sandwich?
I'm not big on sandwiches. Peanut butter and jelly is always a good one to fall back on.

35. Best thing to eat for breakfast?
I love breakfast food so this is a difficult choice for me...bacon and eggs...sunny-side up with toast for dipping.

37. Are you lazy?
Unfortunately, I have to say yes.

38. When you were a kid what did you dress up as for halloween?
A leopard, a witch, a baby, a clown...can't remember any others off the top of my head.

39. Do you read the newspaper?
When I get the chance.

40. How many languages can you speak?
Fluently, one. But, I can do a little Spanish if necessary...not well, but enough to be understood. I can read and understand it a lot better than I speak it.

41. Do you have any magazine subscription?
Yes. All of which I've gotten free for some reason or another. Us magazine, Time, Working Mother, and Woman's Day.

No.42. Which are better Legos or Lincoln Logs?
I love Lincoln Logs, but Legos are more versatile.

43. Are you stubborn?
I certainly can be. It usually depends on who I am dealing with at the time.

44. who is better.. Leno or Letterman?
Letterman. Leno has some good jokes/segments, but overall, Letterman is a better host.

45. Watch a soap opera?
No.

46. Afraid of heights?
Definitely.

47. Sing in the car?
Yep, when I am alone or when Evie will let me.

48. Dance in the shower?
Never.

49. Dance in the car?
Yes, and it will only get worse as the opportunity to embarrass my children increases.

50. Ever used a gun?
No. I don't even like the thought of holding one that isn't loaded.

51. Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer?
November 2002...with my siblings.

52. Are musicals cheesy?
Probably...but I LOVE them!

53. Is Christmas stressful?
I definitely think that it can be, but I've personally been more stressed at other times of the year. I've always loved Christmas and since the kids came along, it is hard to look at it as anything other than enjoyable.

54. Ever eat a pierogie?
Yes.

55. Favorite type of fruit pie?
Cherry!

56. Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid?
Astronaut, teacher, mother. 2 out of three isn't bad.

57. Do you believe in ghosts?
Yes.

58. Ever have a Deja-vu feeling?
Yes.

59. Take a vitamin daily?
When I remember. I really need to do better about this.

60. Wear slippers?
Not usually...especially not in the summer. I do in the winter when my feet are cold.

61. Wear a bathrobe?
Not usually. I have at least 2, so I probably should use one more frequently.

62. What do you wear to bed?
Pajamas or a T-shirt and sweats.

63. First concert?
Night Ranger.

64. Wal-Mart, Target or K-Mart?
Target. Definitely.

65. Nike or Adidas?
Neither. But if I have to choose...well, I still can't do it. I'll just say Sketchers for me, New Balance for the rest of the family and leave it at that.

66. Cheetos Or Fritos?
Fritos

67. Peanuts or Sunflower seeds?
Sunflower seeds.

68.Ever hear of "gorp"?
Of course

69. Ever take dance lessons?
Not "professionally" so to speak. I took tap, modern, and jazz in college, and the lessons we got in gym classes during my school years.

70. Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing?
Future spouse? Lottery winner.

71. Can you curl your tongue?
Yes.

72. Ever won a spelling bee?
Yes. Class spelling bee in 2nd grade. Actually, I tied with my best friend.

73. Have you ever cried because you were so happy?
Yes

74. Own any record albums?
Yes, though don't ask which ones because it has been so long since I looked at them that I'm not sure I could tell you.

75. Own a record player?
Not any more.

76. Regularly burn incense?
Nope

77. Ever been in love?
Yes.

78. Who would you like to see in concert?
Elton John

79. What was your last concert you saw?
Mark Schultz

80. Hot tea or cold tea?
I like both, but I prefer it cold.

81. Tea or coffee?
Tea

82. Favorite kind of cookie?
Peanut butter. Or those chocolate chip oatmeal cookies from Great Harvest bread company in Westerville.

83. Can you swim well?
Yes.

84. Can you hold your breath w/o manually holding your nose?
Yes

85. Are you patient?
Wow, it really depends on the day and circumstances. Sometimes I can be INCREDIBLY patient, but definitely not when I am PMS-ing (I know, TMI).

86. DJ or band, at a wedding?
DJ--you can pick your own music.

87. Ever won a contest?
Yes. I've won a Christmas snow globe and a Third Day CD. Probably another one or two, but can't think of them off the top of my head.

88. Ever had plastic surgury?
Nope

89. Which are better black or green olives?
Black

90. Can you knit or crochet?
Sure...if you only want a single straight line that is. Scarf for a worm perhaps?

91. Best room for a fireplace?
Livingroom

92. Want to get married?
Already did.

93. If married, how long have you been married?
8 1/2 years

94. Who was your HS crush?
I had a few...David Bevens, Jason (can't remeber his last name), etc., etc.

95. Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way?
No...I just get/take my own way from the beginning. :)

97. Do you want kids?
No more than the 2 I already have.

98. Whats your favorite color?
Red, blue, or yellow. Depends on what we're looking at.

99. If you could go anywhere, where would you go?
Outer space

100. The one addiction you wish you could quell?
Pop

Dr. Suess was so smart...

"Don't be sad because its over. Be glad that it happened."

Ok, I give up...

William is BIG into Star Wars. NEVER a problem to find Star Wars stuff wherever you go. His favorite character may change on a regular basis, but if its Star Wars, its a safe bet.

Evie is into Snow White. ALWAYS a problem to find Snow White, by herself anyway, without the other Princesses. My sister even had trouble finding ANYTHING with just Snow White on it at DISNEY WORLD of all places. Even Pocahontas has more individual stuff...what gives?

Ahhh...can it possibly have been a month since my last post?

Well, things are starting to busy up around here. The kids and I just returned from a fun trip down south to visit with several friends and family. Though the drives were long, they both did a GREAT job, especially for two kids who can rarely last 10 minutes in the van without an arguement. I packed a "goody box" for each of them that kept them busy with Play-doh and color wonder markers, we played "car bingo" and found everything on our list (though I felt REALLY bad when as we marked the helicopter off our list as it was a life flight helicopter taking off from the scene of a terrible accident), and they each got to watch a new movie on their portable DVD players. Add snacks and drinks, potty breaks, and lunch stops to the list and that pretty much got us there with rarely a squabble.

We spent Thursday in Nashville with friends, celebrating Kelsey's 7th birthday at Chuck E. Cheese that night. Then off Friday morning for Birmingham where we got to spend the day with more friends. Oh, how I wish these visits could have lasted so much longer. It was so heartbreaking to not leave the Mefford's apartment and just walk across the breezeway into ours. Of all the places we've lived, I have to say that I miss Birmingham the most.

Saturday morning we hit the road for Cookeville, TN where we got to spend some quality time with family. Pa was able to fly in for a few days, Sunday we got to hang out with quite a bit of family that we haven't seen in quite some time (Evie played shy, but we all know better!), and then Grammie took everyone to see Cars on Monday night. We headed out early Tuesday morning and made it home by the afternoon.

In other news, we are now the proud (?) owners of a kitten. His name is Pumpkin and he is actually a good fit for our family (meaning that he lets Evie torment him mercilessly without so much as a meow of resistence--and he still has claws!).

Only three weeks until school starts again. A first-grader...am I ready for a first-grader? This time next year, Evie will be in kindergarten. How is that possible? This time of year is making me feel like a kid again though because I always LOVED shopping for back-to-school supplies. I wish that I could say William shares my enthusiasm, but sadly that is not the case...he's quite indifferent about the whole process--except when it comes to the backpack and lunchbox which have just been ordered and should arive from Nick Jr. any day now. This year, we've forgone the superheroes for Diego. William does want to be an animal rescuer when he grows up, after all, so of course he MUST have a Diego backpack and lunchbox.

Along with school, so starts another season of soccer for William, dance classes for Evie, AWANA for Evie and myself, and most likely swim lessons for both the kids, or swim for Evie and karate for William. I thought these days of being overscheduled wouldn't start until they were in junior high...someone lied to me. Good thing we all love it.

I've rambled enough, so until next time...

Another funny...

Evie put on a new outfit yesterday (new to her...only $1.00 at the thrift store!) and came upstairs where I was getting ready. She said, "Mom, Ms. Lori is going to freak out!!" Thinking we had forgotten something for school I said in a panic, "Why? Why will she freak out." Evie's reply..."Because I am so cute!"

My kids crack me up

Over the weekend, my sister was taking my niece and Evie to a public bathroom. My niece noticed the large silver box on the wall and asked, "What's that?" Without much thought, my sister told her it was for tampons and pads. Evie says, "Why? Why is it for Grandpas and Dads?"


Last night, we are playing Monopoly and, as usual, William is racking up the bucks. He was the only one with any houses on the board when he hits his next victim up for rent and lets out an evil cackle. I said, "Are you an evil landlord?" He does the evil laugh again and says, "I'm an evil lamb-boy."

Soccer is over until the fall. The kids had their "banquet" yesterday afternoon at the park. The weather was beautiful and the Soccer Association had a huge bouncer and a few carnival games set up for all the kids. Our team had pizza together, and then they handed out the trophies. And wouldn't you know it...they spelled our last name wrong, on BOTH trophies! They even double-checked all of the kids information with the parents before they submitted the list to the trophy shop--didn't do much good apparently. So now if we want it fixed (which we do), we have to take the trophies back ourselves to the place that the Soccer Association got them from. But on a more positive note, William and Evie were so excited to have their trophies! They loved that William's was a boy playing soccer and Evie's was a girl. Isn't it always the simple things in life? :)

Just wanted to say...

Great Lyrics

Let Them Be Little

[Originally written and sung by Billy Dean]

I can remember when you fit in the palm of my hand

Felt so good in it, no bigger than a minute

How it amazes me, you're changing with every blink

Faster than a flower blooms they grow up all too soon

So let them be little 'cause they're only that way for a while

Give them hope, give them praise, give them love every day

Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle

Oh just let them be little

I've never felt so much in one little tender touch

I live for those kisses, prayers and your wishes

Now that you're teaching me things only a child can see

Every night while we're on our knees all I ask is please

Let them be little 'cause they're only that way for a while

Give them hope, give them praise, give them love every day

Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle

Oh just let them be little

So innocent, a precious soul, you turn around

It's time to let them go

So let them be little 'cause they're only that way for a while

Give them hope, give them praise, give them love every day

Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle

Oh just let them be little

Let them be little

Wow, it's been longer than I thought since I've made an appearance here! Better update on the previous...

William's classroom came in 3rd in the pop can tab contest! A big accomplishment considering they were up against the entire school. I still find it hard to believe that there was a class that had more though, because you should have SEEN all the tabs Grammie sent him!! His teacher told me that in his class, William and one other boy were really the only major contributers and the class total was over 8,000 tabs! The overall winner was another kindergarten class (William's reading teacher's class), so it was good to see the little guys win something for a change. William was very proud to have helped out the sick kids and their families. He such a little philanthropist. :)

Evie did her two minutes of hopping for the MDA Hop-a-Thon on May 1st, and let me tell you people, its a good thing she didn't have too many "pledge-per-hop" donations - you'd all be broke. She did a whopping 18 hops! That's right, 18...not 180, not 1800 (as she seems to have the energy for), but 18...in 2 minutes. I laughed and laughed when I saw that. So, William, pay up big brother, at 5 cents a hop you now owe an overwhelming 90 cents! On a more serious note though, Evie alone raised $115.80 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association! A huge THANK YOU to everyone who donated. We don't yet know if the school reached their $2000 goal and get their TV appearance. If they did, I'll let you know.

Soccer continues to go well, and with only 2 games left in the spring season, William has decided FOR SURE that he wants to play again in the fall. He is really good! He loves to play defense and his dream is to be a goalie (no goalies in the league he's in). Twice on Saturday he stopped the other team just before they scored and kicked the ball sailing half way down the field. After the game, he told me "this is where my skills are." Too cute!

(He's #10 in the picture above, he had just kicked the ball out in their opening game.)
Evie could really take it or leave it and would rather spend the game sitting on the sidelines drinking from her cool water bottle. When she does decide to play, she gets a little discouraged that she doesn't get the ball ALL THE TIME. She does show a lot of potential though, so maybe as she gets older and realizes that its not all about her, she'll enjoy it a little more. :)

The school year is quickly winding to a close and we will begin a summer full of craziness. I think at the moment, William will be attending the Summer Sports Day Camp run by the YMCA through the summer. Evie will stay in her current pre-school of course (We love CITY KIDS!). We are getting Wyandotte Lake passes and planning a trip to Paramount's Kings Island (I guess they have a cool new Nickelodeon area there). We also have birthdays for both the kids rapidly approaching. William has decided to celebrate his 6th with a bowling party (Calgon, take me away!). Evie just knows that when she turns four she is going to be a "rock-and-roll princess." At least she's not setting her sights too high.

Hope everyone is healthy and happy! Until next time...

THANK YOU!!!!!

William and family just want to publicly thank everyone (especially Grammie and Aunt Marie) who sent pop can tabs to him. He was SO excited to take them to school yesterday, and the kids in his class were in awe of all that silver! They may not win the pizza party, but William was right when he said that isn't what matters, what matters is that "the sick kids get money." He has such a big heart!

Hippity Hop

On Monday, May 1st, Evie and the rest of her pre-school class will be participating in a Hop-a-Thon to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The Hop provides these school children with "an opportunity to use their strong muscles for children that can't while raising money for Jerry's Kids." The kids will hop for a two-minute time period and volunteers will be on hand to count the number of hops each child completes. Donations can be made at a flat rate or a pledge-per-hop. She only has 1 week to collect donations, so if you'd like to contribute, please drop me a line and let me know. If her school collects $2,000 in donations, the kids get to appear on a local segment of the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon!!

Big Day

Today is Micheal's 33rd Birthday. Happy Birthday!!! I'm sorry that you aren't feeling well. Hope you are feeling better by tonight so you can enjoy some birthday cake.

Today is also the first day of Spring Break for William, and Evie is at school celebrating Easter with an egg hunt and Easter party. She was excited that, as usual, she got to bring cupcakes. In true Evie fashion, she asked me this morning if I made a cupcake for Nik and Riley. I told her I had and she told me that I shouldn't have done that because, "Nik and Riley don't make good choices."

Since Micheal and I both had to work today, William got to come to work with me. He loves coming here. Just check out the get-up they had him in within the first 15 minutes...

Spirit week

Today is CRAZY HAIR DAY (and I don't just mean for William - mine has a mind of its own as well :)

Thanks to Aunt Christy's colored hair spray collection, William went to school with PURPLE spikes. He was SO excited! I couldn't let him go without snapping a picture with the digital camera, and he LOVED hamming it up, so...



Only one more day until he's out for SPRING BREAK! Can it be true that he is almost done with Kindergarten???

PAJAMA DAY!!

This week is the last week before Spring Break so it is SPIRIT WEEK for William's Elementary School! Each day of the week lets the kids dress up in some fun way as they countdown to a nice week off.

Monday - Pajama Day
Tuesday - Favorite Team/Sport Day (he'll wear his Titans jersey)
Wednesday - Crazy Hair Day
Thursday - Mismatch Day
Friday - NO SCHOOL!!!

As I sent William off to school in his pajamas this morning (not the ones he slept in by the way...I could never bring myself to do that :), I thought about how GREAT it would be to be able to come to work in my comfy-est jammies. Oh, to be young again.

Anyone have any ideas on what to do with his short hair for Crazy Hair day????

Looking forward to warmer weather

In typical Ohio fashion, the weather over the last several days, no make that weeks, has been bouncing back and forth between gorgeous and sunny, to chilly and gray. It was supposed to make it to 61 degrees today, and I don't think its gonna happen, at least not from the brisk air temperature we were experiencing at Evie's "Week of the Young Child" picnic at the park this afternoon. I am ready for consistently warm (not HOT) days where we can get outside and ride bikes and kick the soccer ball around, visit our animal friends at the zoo, etc. Right now I'm not even sure how to dress my kids for school in the morning!

In other news, there are several people I'm close to that are experiencing some very difficult trials in their lives right now. I want to help, but either don't KNOW what to do or just don't have the resources, so I'm offering up my prayers. I love you all!! *HUGS*

Opening Day

The kids had their first soccer game on Saturday. They both play for the same team - GO EAGLES!! They are in the Pre-K league so no score is kept, and let's just say that's a good thing. They play a total of 4 10-minute quarters. Both William and Evie started the game. It was so cute to see them out there in their jerseys and shin guards! It was so cold though that we actually put their coats on underneath their jerseys!

At one point the ball came right to Evie, so what does she do? Bends down to pick it up. After a few minutes of play, she was completely done for the day. She was substituted out and refused to play any more of the game. It was "too cold." I think she was actually more interested in getting a bag of Doritos ("red chips") from the concession stand she spotted on the way to the field.

William actually got to kick the ball into play to start the second quarter. He also did a great job trying to play defense and keep the other team from scoring. This kid would make a great goalie. At practice, he can stop anything that comes his way. He played a little bit in each quarter of the game, but toward the end you could tell that he was getting tired. In the 4th quarter, he actually asked the coach to take him out.

And thus, soccer season has begun. They play every Saturday in April and May except for the day before Easter. They are both so excited that Grammie is going to get to see them play a game when she comes to town!

You can make a difference

I stumbled upon this website the other day, and it has really touched my heart. I encourage you to check it out and maybe find one of these kids that touches you and send them a card to tell them so.

Evie's upset with me...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

The kids are all decked out in their green and looking rather cute today. Evie's outfit is complete with pigtails held in place by shamrock rubber bands. She scolded me all the way into town this morning because I'm not wearing green. I told her she's wearing enough for both of us, but she doesn't like that answer.

William looks handsome as ever in his khaki pants and green polo shirt. I swear sometimes he grows 2 inches overnight. He looked so much OLDER this morning. He has a special assembly today and his favorite hot lunch, so he was excited to head out the door this morning.

Have a great day and be safe!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Our friend Jay and his wife just had a baby boy on Monday! He arrived quite early...wasn't due until May! But the doctors have said that he is the healthiest preemie they have ever seen. He weighed in over 3 lbs. and is breathing completely on his own! Welcome to the world James!!!

Giving up?

Thinking about abandoning the blog, 'cause I'm not sure anyone actually reads this droning anyway. Might just keep going to keep a record for myself, who knows?

Evie Coyote, Super Genuis

Hee hee...Evie's latest: Tell her, "You are so smart." Her response: "I'm a genius." Totally matter-of-fact. Totally cute.

Its worse than we thought...

After 4 days of a high fever (between 103 and 105), William was back at the doctor last night...urgent care this time. Turns out that strep is not his only battle this week. He also has the flu. He is such a little trooper, he never complains, but I think even he has had enough of feeling so bad all the time. This morning he just woke up in tears, crying just because he needed to cry. It was heart-breaking, especially to know there isn't a whole lot you can do for him.

Heartfelt hugs and prayers for William

My sweet little boy has been more sick over the last three days than I have seen him since he was an infant, possibly more sick than I have EVER seen him. He has strep throat (which his ENT surgeon told me wouldn't happen now that his tonsils have been taken out!!), and has been running a 104-105 degree temp for almost 3 days, all combined with vomiting that we can't figure out the cause of. His fever is giving him the shivers--bad! You'd think he was out in subzero weather with no clothes on. He is such a trooper though...he just chugs along through the day, not complaining a bit, taking whatever comes his way (though getting him to take medication has always been a fight!). The most he will even say about being this sick is that he feels a little tired.

I love you William! Hang in there kiddo. We'll do everything we can to make you feel better!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!


Just wanted to wish CED a very happy birthday...what better way than in "Webdings" font :) Have a great day youngster :P

A rose by any other name...

Last night while signing a Valentine's Day card for his dad, William informed me that he would now like to just be called "Will." Let me tell you why this breaks my heart and cracks me up at the same time.

1. Everyone had called him "Will" since his birth, everyone but me that is--he's always been William to me. A little over a year ago, he informed anyone who would listen that he wanted to be called "William" and not "Will." When asked why the preference, he said, "Because that's what my Mom calls me." AWWW! I melted! How sweet.

2. I couldn't get his attention one day, so I finally said, "Will!" He shot a look at me that would freeze lava and said, "My name is not Will. 'Will' is a word wall word. I'm William."

3. Then, this Christmas, my MIL had labeled all of his gifts to Will. He pointed it out, on EVERY gift, that "someone wrote Will again, but my name isn't Will, its William." My MIL even went and tried to add the "-iam" to the end of the ones he hadn't gotten to yet. It was hysterical!

Ahh, well, at least its just "Will" this time. 2 weeks ago he wanted me to start calling him "Spikey."

Its a girl!!!

Don't know too many of the details, but William's teacher had her baby yesterday...9 lbs. 5 oz.--beat Evie by 2 oz.!!

UPDATE:
Baby Emerson Nichole was born Sunday, Feb. 12th at 7:27 AM (poor Mom must have had a long night!). She weighed 9 lbs. 5 oz. and was 21 inches long. She has the cutest little chubby cheeks I've seen in years!!

CONGRATULATIONS MRS. WESTON!!

So sweet!

On Saturday, the kids and I went to visit my dad, stepmom, and youngest sister. We were celebrating my stepmom's birthday and mine together (only a week apart). We were getting ready to have cake when I asked William if he would like to say a prayer first. This is how it went, in his sweet little 5-yr-old voice...

"Dear God, thank you for this food, and thank you for this beautiful day. Your Son is so special to us! Amen."

All three of the women at the table had tears in their eyes when he was finished. It was beautifully perfect.

Just for fun...

Cyndee -- [adjective]: Benevolent to a fault 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

What will your epitaph say?

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Who is your 80's teen movie persona?

You are Andie Walsh from Pretty in Pink You are original and clever person. Although your family may not be able to buy you all the cool stuff you want, you are able to make cool stuff for yourself. Like a rocking 80’s prom dress. Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

And now the one my sister won't believe!!!

Your celebrity match is Johnny Depp. You like your men funny and smart. Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

SURPRISE!!

My sisters and I had planned to get together with all of our kids on Saturday since it had been a long time since all of the cousins were together. It just happened to be the weekend before my birthday. On Friday night, my sweet 6-yr-old nephew comes up to me and says, "Hey, Aunt Cyndee, does Aunt Amy know that we are having a surprise party for her tomorrow?" Too cute! Lesson here: never trust a child with top secret information. :) It was very nice and my niece did a GREAT job on the cake!!

On a side note, if we could just get a video tape of all 6 kids reinacting the Ooompa-Lumpa dances from the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie, we could win $10,000--it was HYSTERICAL!!!

Ding, ding, ding...round three

Well, the second grading period is over for Kindergarten, so that means Parent-Teacher conference time. It was yesterday afternoon, and went pretty well. He LOVES math, so no surprise he is doing especially well there. Science and social studies are no problem either--he really likes non-fiction so those are right up his alley too. And although his reading scores went down with this new reading teacher, he still didn't do too badly. He still scored high enough in testing to be in the highest reading group. His biggest struggles in testing were picking up each individual sound and with spelling, and even those weren't that bad--he is expected to have a little trouble in those areas based simply on his speech impairment. And the grades were still high enough, despite all the trouble with incomplete class work, that we don't have to worry at this point. On the advise of a dear friend, and professional in the field of special education, we will be providing him a special silent timer that may at least temporarily alleviate the problem of unfinished work.

We did learn from the homeroom teacher that perhaps one of the reasons he sturggles to get done is that he has inherited that "perfection" gene from his parents. He does NOT like to be wrong, so when they are writing sentences, he will stop and wait patiently for someone to help him sound out the words rather than guess and risk being wrong. Good to know, now we can work on encouraging him to do his best and not worry about right and wrong. Overall, a glowing report! I'm so proud of him!!!

Now we just have to see how he does having his regular classroom (homeroom) teacher out for 6 weeks. She is expecting her first baby, due Thursday the 9th, so next Friday will be her last day unless the baby comes early. William is prepared for having a sub, but I am glad that his reading teacher will remain the same so that he has that consistency.

Rockin'Out!

Evie and I are on our way in to school/work this morning. Since she has changed schools, she is about 4 minutes from work so she gets to join me for the entire commute. In the past, she and I have spent the drive just talking, but the girl LOVES music, so on Monday I asked her if she wanted to listen to a CD on the way in. The response was an enthusiastic, YES!!!! Followed by..."play the daughter song (In My Daughter's Eyes by Martina McBride)", and "LOUDER!"

This morning we had on something a little more upbeat. I look in the rearview mirror and she is DANCING in her seat--shaking her head, flailing her arms, the whole bit. She is REALLY into the music when she stops suddenly, whips her head around in my direction, and says in her most demanding voice (that doesn't involve screaming anyway), "Mom, don't sing, we just dance and leave the singing to someone else, alright?"

3-yr-olds can be the best critics. Move over Simon Cowell!

Sorry...need to vent

Okay, so just before Christmas, my husband gets a package in the mail that includes a Christmas card and an invitation to a friend's wedding taking place in January. I noticed that my name was not on the wedding invitation, but didn't really think TOO much of it. Then I noticed that in the Christmas card, he asks about the kids...again no mention of me. No big deal, really. I think my response was actually something like, "Well, I guess I don't have to wonder about how he feels about ME."

I mentioned something about being left out of the card and invite to my MIL when she was here for Christmas when she asked if we were going to the wedding. I basically explained that I couldn't really understand why this guy dislikes me so much. For the last nine years, I've encouraged the hubby to "give him a call" for this or invite him to that, trying to encourage their friendship, not deter it.

But then, I heard from the hubby (who heard this from someone else) that its possible that he doesn't like me because he thinks I took advantage of my husband when I was staying at home with the kids. WHAT?!?! I was told that we were moving when I was 35 weeks pregnant with Evie. I had to quit my job, and couldn't look for work right away because NO ONE will hire a woman due to give birth in 5 weeks. Then, after she arrived, there were no jobs in the area that would pay me enough to put 2 small kids in daycare. I basically spent almost 3 years moving around the south on the whim of my husband's employer, trying to be supportive in places where I had no family, no friends, and basically no husband (he worked crazy hours so it seemed like he was never home). So it was me, a 4 year old, and a 2 year old--24/7. Though I ADORE my kids, I felt totally alone and completely trapped. How is taking care of these 2 precious wonders in this set of circumstances taking advantage of their dad??? It was never my choice alone, and my husband never complained. I think he actually prefered it that way.

So, anyway, here I am making sure that he knew that my husband (I didn't include myself in the RSVP either :) wouldn't be at the wedding, making sure that a wedding gift is purchased and a card is sent (I'll probably even have to pick it out because my requests for the hubby to do it have gone unanswered so far)...all for a man that doesn't even like me. I just love being the bad guy!

Christmas in January

Evie and I got to have fun spending a little time with an old friend last night. We didn't get to talk too much because NO ONE really gets to talk with Evie around these days (she's quite the chatterbox...gee wonder who she gets that from?!?!?). And since Evie ADORES this friend, she was trying extra hard to be cute and entertaining. And she got presents so that always adds to the excitement. And of course, weeknight gatherings always mean cutting the evening short, but it was nice to see her again. Busy lives tend to cut short the quality time we have with friends...I need to remember that and do something to change it!

What a pleasant surprise!

I got an email this morning from a former college roommate. She and her family are going to be in town this weekend and she is trying to get a bunch of our old group together in a mini-reunion on Saturday night. I have not seen some of these people since I was pregnant with William. Others, I haven't seen since I got married!!! I am so excited. I hope that everyone has the opportunity to make it, though I feel sorry for whatever poor establishment will have to put up with all of us for the evening :) Wow, and its just occurred to me that this year marks the 10th anniversary of my college graduation...time sure flys when you're getting old!

(And a great big THANK YOU to my sister who has agreed to babysit!!!)

Update on William's school situation...

Well, I talked to William's teachers this morning...both the reading teacher that has been sending home the incomplete papers AND his classroom teacher, both at the same time. The reading teacher is VERY open to the ideas I presented to her that might help William stay on task during the day. I think that we were BOTH relieved that the other was actually making an effort to help him. She put my mind at ease a little, too, by letting me know that William isn't the ONLY child not getting finished (I figured he wasn't, but was beginning to wonder!) and then thanked me for being the only parent in the group that was concerned.

I also found out this morning that he has been losing recess time until he gets the work done. I wasn't aware of this before now--William has never mentioned it. His classroom teacher explained, though, that while he is working on his own and everyone else is at recess, he gets done with the work in about 2 minutes and is on his merry way (same thing that happens at home). He doesn't get even the slightest bit upset about missing out on recess time and doesn't seem to see it as any kind of punishment (the teachers are trying to keep it from seeming this way to him--they don't mean for it to be punitive). So maybe that's the key? Maybe he just needs to be away from all of the other classroom distractions to finish this particular kind of work? Who knows...at least we are making progress as a team.

Couldn't be more true...

The following was sent to me as part of a larger email from a dear friend:

"There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them up from your dreams and hug them for real!"

This line, the first of many little quotes about moments in life, really struck me. Almost like getting hit with a truck. I think I feel that way almost every moment of the day. I've moved around so much during my lifetime that I always have dear friends (and family) scattered all over the country. The person of focus may change, but that nagging, longing feeling never seems to go away. Still, I wouldn't trade a single moment of those relationships to have that feeling go away. It actually serves as a nice reminder of just how much you are capable of loving others.

Evie wants a playmate...

Evie has made it very clear over the last couple of weeks...okay make that months...that she wants another sibling. She has expounded on that futher over the last few days. Here are her demands...

• She wants to have a sister and 2 brothers (later found out that William does count as one of those brothers, so only 2 more babies would be necessary).
• She already has the swing and playpen picked out that she would like for "our" baby. She pointed them out to me in Target yesterday.
• She wants full naming rights..."Princess" if its a girl, and "Bear" if its a boy (is this for a kid, or a pet???)

Why do I have the feeling that despite her begging for a younger sibling, she, being the current baby of the family, would regret it all once the little tyke made an appearance. Anyone who knows Evie and her "center of the universe" mentality knows exactly what I'm talking about.

FIELD TRIP!!!

Okay, so riding on a bumpy, smelly school bus, partnering up with a co-worker (classmate) so we can keep an eye on each other, eating a soggy packed lunch, walking around single-file holding a rope, and then having to write a report about the whole experience is not my idea of a great day. But remember the good old days when the words "field trip" filled you with so much excitement you could just burst?!

William went on his first kindergarten field trip yesterday. He was SO excited! He even got to take a special dessert treat in his lunch. Other than the bus lacking seat belts (he's obsessive about wearing his seat belt, which is a good thing), the rest of the day went great for him. He loved it, and drew a fantastic picture of the "chocolate tree" they saw. He even tried to spell chocolate on his own ("chlokolit").

Out of the mouths of babes...

Recently overheard in my home...

• "You be the mom and I'll be the child. I'm 51 so I can drink Coke, and you're 12. Okay?" (So apparently she went back in time to give birth and the biggest perk of being an adult is that you get to drink Coca-Cola)
• "Killer whales are dolphins, ya know." (True, according to National Geographic, but totally off topic and unexpected).
• "You call it Aunt Christy's house, I call it my cousins' house, but we're both right ya know." ("Ya know" is the newest phrase picked up at school I guess)
• "My tummy is freaking out for cereal." (Evie wanted cereal for dinner)
• "My name is 'William,' not 'will.' 'Will' is a word wall word." (Must be said with attitude--guess which word they are learning to read)
• Mom: "What do you want for Christmas this year?" William: "Heroes" Mom: "What kind of heroes, like Rescue Heroes?" William: "Yeah, and heroes like Superman and Spider-man." Mom: "And Batman?" William: "Yeah, and Batgirl too." Mom: "Batgirl???" William: "Yeah, Batgirl is hot!" (immediately blushes and turns away)
• In response to a VeggieTales video: "God is bigger than everything, but especially the Boogie Man. The Boogie Man has to be really tiny so he can fit up our nose."

Stay tuned for more in the near future...

What's in a name?

Okay, so it's inevitable that our children must grow up. And correct language skills are important, I know. But then why is it so hard to hear your youngest (and will ALWAYS be the youngest) maturing in her pronunciation of words?

The latest...Evie has called her big brother "Will-dum" for over a year now. It was something I was actually beginning to think would stick with him for life. But now, for the last three days, she is calling him "William" almost consistently. And while he prefers it that way, to me it is a little bittersweet. I guess I have to face up to the fact that she is not going to be little forever.

The song that never ends...

Well, it happened again. Another paper sent home from school with William that says, "William had 45 minutes to complete this. Please complete and return." It was a simple worksheet. Something that would have taken him about 30 seconds to complete. He's perfectly capable of getting it done, knows the material without any assistance at all. So where do we draw the line? What can we do to help him stay on task? How much of this is due to his Sensory Integration Dysfuntion (SID), and how much of it is outright boredom over having to do work on something he's known for the last year-and-a-half? Is it the teacher...we've only really had this problem since he started switching teachers in the morning for reading group. She and I have talked about it. She is aware of his SID, and we both know that it's not because he's struggling and CAN'T do the work. She also clarified that it isn't because he is talking to classmates or involved in some other distracting behavior. William and I have talked about it. All he will tell me is that he runs out of time because he was "thinking about it." We've talked about how important it is that he concentrate and try to get his school work done so that he won't have to worry about it in the evening (he already has homework that gets sent home each week as well). He really seems to understand, and I believe him when he tells me that he tries really hard but sometimes feels like his "brain is going crazy." Especially knowing that with SID, he can sometimes feel like his own environment is attacking him, so to speak. Things like lights and background noise, that to most people are almost unnoticable, can completely overwhelm him at times. I'm totally at a loss as to what to do to help him for HIS sake, not the teacher's. I'm worried this teacher is going to start treating him differently if he doesn't start finishing his work on time.

Happy 2006!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year's Eve! I spent a quiet evening at home, playing Princess Monopoly with the kids and watching a movie, falling asleep just before midnight. Though I was quite aware of the 12 o'clock hour, thanks to some well-timed fireworks by the neighbors. I'm just glad the kids slept through the festivities.

2006 started out quite nice for us. We (meaning I) spent the weekend sorting through Evie's old toys and making sufficient space for the new ones that were still scattered about the livingroom from Christmas. (William's room is getting done tonight...it should be easy). Yesterday (the 2nd), we all spent a nice family day out and about. We started out the day having brunch at Bob Evans (ran into an old friend from high school who looks better now than she did then--I'm so jealous!), then headed out for the kids to spend Christmas gift certificates. William made a black bear dressed as Spider-man at Build-a-Bear, and Evie made a new doll named Mary at Friends-2B-Made. Then we went for ice cream and to see Chicken Little at the movie theatre. It has been a long time since all four of us have had the opportunity to spend a day like this together. I hope we don't have to wait so long to do it again.