Somewhere over the Rainbow

New Doors

2012-01-20T21:15:00.000-06:00

After the break-in, Jess did extensive research and found the perfect door. It's made of steel and has a three-lock system. So we bought four - one replacement for each door. A couple weeks ago, the doors were installed. They are so cool - red outside, white inside. And with just one flip, the three locks engage.

Inside - the old door jam was removed and the new one installed. ( This is before the trim was completed.)

Outside (again, before the trim was completed).

Although they block all the natural sunlight that used to come through the windows of the old doors, the safety factor overrides all that. I'd trade strong doors and peace of mind for natural light anyday.

Movies

2012-01-07T23:24:00.001-06:00

We went to see the Muppets Movie this afternoon. To Jess and the girls, it didn't have the significance it does to me - I watched the Muppet Show growing up. I remember the rapport between Kermit and Miss Piggy, I remember Gonzo, and I remember Statler and Waldorf, the two old guys who sat on the balcony. I remember Fozzie's bad jokes, I remember Scooter, and I remember Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker's failed experiments. I remember them all. And they are part of my childhood.

The movie was adorable and funny. There were many jokes and references to the original Muppets and their show. So I think I appreciated the humor more than Jess and the girls. They all enjoyed it, but I'm sure I enjoyed it more. LOL! Toward the end of the movie, Kermit started to sing the song, The Rainbow Connection. I actually teared up. Silly, I know. But it just brought me back - back to my childhood, back to the age that my children are now, back to the late 70's (and the movie included music from that time which only made the movie better).

I loved this movie for the nostalgic factor. I just may have to own it when it comes out on video.

RAINBOW CONNECTION
Kermit the Frog

Why are there so many
Songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side
Rainbow's are visions
They're only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide
So we've been told and some chose to
Believe it
But I know they're wrong wait and see

Someday we'll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

Who said that every wish
Would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star
Somebody thought of that
And someone believed it
And look what it's done so far
What's so amazing
That keeps us star gazing
What so we think we might see

Someday we'll find it
That Rainbow Connection
The lovers the dreamers and me

Have you been half asleep
And have you heard voices
I've heard them calling my name
Are these the sweet sounds that called
The young sailors
I think they're one and the same
I've heard it too many times to ignore it
There's something that I'm supposed to be

Someday we'll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

Happy 2012!

2012-01-01T09:09:00.000-06:00

I know, I know ... it's been a while ... a LONG while. We've been hopping from one event to another beginning in late September. It's been exhausting, but it's one of those times when that particular quote comes to mind: Life is what happens when you're busy making plans. We've just been living life - zero to crazy (my sister's favorite saying) through life. Whew!

In the spirit of last year's post (and the year before that, for that matter), I'm going to do a Year in Review, which at the same time with serve an additional purpose: Catching up on the last several months. [And because my blog (turned into a book later on) is more of a scrapbook for my kids, I am going to backdate a bunch of posts for when they happened as opposed to three months later. I will add links as they are completed. Not exactly blog etiquette, but hey, it's my blog.]

January
The year started off with Arkansas Razorbacks playing in the Sugar Bowl. Ohio State won 31-26, but the win was later vacated because of violations of the rules regarding players selling autographed memorabilia. I don't really know where that leaves the Razorbacks, but I know it's not good for Ohio. This is always the month to sell Girl Scout cookies, and Sydney did a great job selling 287 boxes! We had a snow day. And I posted about our Christmas with my family.

February
Sydney won first place for her class in the Young Arkansas Artist Contest at school. We had more snow days - 3 in a row, unheard of for Little Rock, and ultimately resulted in tacking on extra days at the end of the school year, booo! We had a fun family Valentine's Day. Sydney and I started taking violin lessons. And Layne wore camouflage undies.

March
Sydney started playing soccer. We went to see the beautiful flowers at G.arvin Woodland Gardens. We celebrated Mardi Gras at a church event and at school. And we went to a really cool event called Lanterns. Layne showed off her doodling.

April
Four-year old conversations cracked me up. We celebrated everything from birthdays, to Earth Day. And Layne busted her lip open and ended up with two stitches. She was a trooper and only cried until we got to the hospital.

May
Sydney's soccer team came in second in a local tournament. We had a couple tornado scares and hunkered down in the closet. I blogged, a few weeks late, about all our Easter activities. Layne had her end-of-the-year program and her dance recital. And I caught Layne in a rare moment of quiet and concentration. I blogged about Sydney's Cheerleading Award Ceremony and her classes Easter Bonnet Parade.

June
We kicked off June with our cross-country road trip. And I shot my first wedding. We raced home because Jess was required back to work, and I started my summer project of organizing each room in the house.

July
I posted pictures from our time in Colorado - with our friends and in Gateway Canyon. We had a great Fourth of July with some friends at the lake. And I experimented with underwater picture taking. My sister, Mary, came for her yearly summer visit and stayed for two weeks.

August
We ended the summer with our beach vacation to St. George Island. And then the girls started school. Layne just keeps up with the cute conversations.

September
I started the month with a fair warning of my absence. And then I turned around and posted about all my summer reading and my new class. We also found some time to spend a weekend in Fayetteville to see our first Razorbacks game.

October

And then the most active month of the year for our family arrived with gusto! It started with a field trip for Layne's class, and mine, to the pumpkin patch. About a week later, our house was broken into. Not that it's ever a good time to be robbed, but the day before our school's fundraiser, for which I was the chairman, could not have been a worse day. But the police report was filed and the festival was a huge success. A week later we held our 6th Annual Pumpkin Carving Party. The last week of the month was a doozy - Layne's (and my class') school Halloween Parade, we went to Boo at the Zoo, Sydney had her sleepover birthday party, and we went trick-r-treating with a geisha and a peacock.

November
Even with October over, we were still full speed ahead. I went to Tunica with some fellow teachers. Layne had her birthday party at Jump Zone. And we took a road trip to Florida. We spent a few days at Walt Disney World, and then spent Thanksgiving with my family. Before we hit the road for home, Jess and I hit a few of the Doorbuster sales to get a jump on our Christmas shopping.

December

Sydney's Cheerleading squad marched (actually rode on their float) in the Little Rock Holiday Parade. Layne had her Christmas Program at school and the next day, Sydney had hers. The girls participated in the church pageant. And, as usual, I did a ton of Holiday baking. While on break from school, I did a lot of organization in the house in attempts to fix all the clutter that accumulated during the last few months of chaos. We ended the year with a trip to G.arvin Woodland Gardens to see the Holiday lights display.

One of my resolutions for 2012 is to blog more. Now that the craziness is over, it should be a little easier, right? I think this is classic case of easier said than done. LOL! Another resolution for this year is to organize the house a little more. Well, that's one of Jess' resolutions, but I'll definitely get caught up in that. We got a good start on it already, so we just have to keep up the momentum.

I have a few other things that I want to accomplish this year, so I'm feeling optimist for 2012. I suppose blogging on the first day of the year is a good start.

Happy New Year!! Peace.

Happy 5!

2011-11-22T10:44:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet Laynie Lulu. I love your cuteness, I love your fire. I love your passion, I love your playfulness.

I can't believe you are 5. You are growing into a beautiful little girl.

I love you.
Momma

Happy Happy

2011-10-31T21:20:00.002-05:00

Happy Halloween!

But more importantly, happy birthday to my sweet precious Sydney. Today, my girlie turns 9 years old. I can't believe it!

Happy birthday, my sweet girl. Now stop growing up!

Break In

2011-10-18T11:09:00.001-05:00

The day before our school's big day - a festival fundraiser a year in the planning for which I was the chairman - I was at the school, with a bunch of other people setting up and getting the grounds ready for the event when I received a phone call from my next door neighbor. I wasn't even going to answer - heck, I was BUSY! Well, she doesn't call very often ... well, almost never. So I figured I should answer.

She told me that my other neighbor saw that our front door was wide open. So he came to the door and called out for someone. Realizing that no one was home, he stepped in and saw all the broken glass. He called the police. Then he walked next door and asked my neighbor if she knew how to contact me. And she did.

I left the school in a tizzy, tried to call Jess on the eight-minute ride back to the house. When I got there, the police were still there. They'd already been inside the house, but they walked back in with me to make a record of what was stolen - my laptop, the little (read: cheap) flat screen tv in our bedroom, the Wii and a basket containing all of its accessories, and my iPod. They also tried to pull the bigger flat screen tv off the wall in the toy room. But (patting myself on the back), it was mounted onto a stud so they only managed to break the damn thing. So we still have the tv, but we have a broken tv. Not a lot was stolen, but enough for us to feel it and enough for it to be a lot of money to replace. Fortunately, they didn't go down the hall, so they left Sydney's room alone - with the same size tv as in the playroom, her laptop, and the $24 she left sitting on her desk.

It's a terrible feeling, it's a creepy feeling - all the bed covers were pulled off our bed. The feeling that someone was rummaging around our house made my skin crawl. The police were great, they handed me a tissue when my eyes teared up, and they listened to me rant and rave about how I hate despicable people that would do something like that.

I got a hold of Jess and of course, she freaked out. She'd been having CSI type nightmares for the last several months and this was NOT what she needed to hear. She told me we were moving NOW, and that she would spend all kinds of money to make sure our new house was secure. Of course, Jess' knee jerk reaction is always a severe one, and by the time I met up with her later that night, she'd calmed down and we weren't moving. LOL!

I cleaned up the shattered glass, our friend came over and screwed a piece of wood to cover up the broken window, and I returned to the school for a few more hours to help finish getting ready for the festival.

Now, to dig out the homeowner's policy and buy a new door.

Wooo Pig Sooie

2011-10-02T09:31:00.002-05:00

A couple weeks ago, we got the opportunity to go to a Razorback game. Jess and I moved to AR in 2000 and until last weekend, had never been to a game. Jess's friend offered us four tickets and a place to stay for the weekend. How could we say no?

Well, we didn't! We packed up the car and headed out on the three and a half hour ride to Fayetteville. The girls did great and were excited - but probably more because they got to skip school on Friday.

We arrived Friday afternoon and walked around the city and pick up all of our Razorback garb - shirts, sweatshirts, and hog noses. We stayed at Jess's friends' condo with them and on Saturday went to a great farmer's market and window shopped around the town until the evening game.

The girls were excited about the game, but not as excited as Jess and me. We got there and took in the school spirit and atmosphere. It was pretty awesome. The game was pretty awesome too. Granted, it was not a nail-biter - the Razorbacks scored twice pretty early in the game. But the other team rallied in the second half, but it wasn't enough to win. It was fun and made us bigger fans.

Layne is a huge pillow pets fan, so this was a no-brainer.

Our FREE tickets!

It wasn't cold, but Layne insisted on the hog hat.

Sydney wasn't as excited as Layne, but she was happy to wear her shirt and headband. Even though she spent most of the game playing on her iPod.

The crowd calling the hogs ... Wooo pig sooie!!

Our seats were pretty good. Look at all the red!

Can't wait to go to another game!

I Need to Blog

2011-09-08T19:57:00.000-05:00

What's this, another post? Imagine that.

Well, Jess is on "long call" which means she will be at the hospital until at least 8pm, usually longer. These "long call" nights usually end in the girls and me going to bed before she gets home. So tonight, I actually find myself sitting down (trying to stave off a headache) and although there is a lot I could be doing, I realized that I MISS blogging so much. I don't even know that I have anything to say in this post, but I just had to open up blogger (trying to get used to the new layout) and type. So here I am.

I could talk about how Layne caught the stomach bug that was going around her class and mine (three of the kids in my class alone were send home after vomiting their lunch all over the classroom ). And how she and I stayed home from school on Tuesday, because she barfed all day Monday, essentially ruining any Labor Day plans we may have had (which we didn't ). Or I could talk about how I went on Sydney's field trip to the Clinton Library today. And how the Elvis exhibit was sorely disappointing. But those just seem a little boring. So hey, let me tell you a little about my new job and the kids in my class.

I realized that I really love to teach. Who knew that way back in elementary school when I said I wanted to be a teacher, it's what I'd actually end up doing. I don't have my teaching credentials - a BS and MS in Biology isn't sufficient education. However, because I *do* have my master's, I'm eligible to apply for the teaching licensure for "non-trads". That's another way of saying that I can waive the first test required for earning credentials if my graduate grades and GRE scores meet the requirements to do so. Essentially, it gives me one less test in which to study. So I decided that because I'd really rather teach science instead of transition kindergarten, I really need to get credentialed. So I've requested transcripts from my alma mater, and purchased a study guide for the second test that I *will* have to take. I'm hoping to take the required classes in the spring semester so that I can be fully credentialed by the time school starts next fall. We'll see ...

As for my class, I have 18 students and most of them are great kids - well, they are all great kids, some just have habits that make my job as his teacher a little more challenging. Now I know classes of all ages have their difficult students, so I just have to figure out how to manage them. Unfortunately, we are learning together, the kids and I, so it is a lot of trial and error. But the rest of the class is patient with me. And I have two awesome assistants that are there for me when I need them. Of the 18 kids in my class, four have some sort of therapy in which they have to leave class with a therapist for a chunk of time where they miss the lesson I'm teaching. I know it's only preK, so it's not a big deal for me or for them. But it does disrupt the class, the rest want to know why he gets to go "play" and then don't. Although at this point, they are all getting used to it and when a certain therapist walks into our room, some of the kids say "xxx, you have to go now." Three of the kids in my class that require therapy need it for speech or OT. The forth child has all kinds of therapy, likes of which I don't understand. He has issues that I don't have a clear comprehension of, except to know that he is a challenge more than just the usual behavioral problems. When talking to my boss about him recently, she asked "you are asking yourself, 'why is he here?' right?" I said, "no, I know exactly *why* he is here. He's here because our school is like a big family - so nurturing and comforting and an environment in which children who have failed in other schools, thrive here." And although I have to remind him again and again (and again!) what he is supposed to be doing, I think this school will be good for him. But as I said to my boss, I just don't know what to do for him. I don't have experience teaching, never mind teaching children who need that extra attention. Although, I told my boss I would give it my all - if not for her, then for that little guy who just wants to learn.

So wish me luck or send positive thoughts. School is only three weeks in and I have my hands full. If I didn't love it so much, I would curse the day I accepted the position. It will give me insight, it will give me experience. And most of all, it will also give me the tools and means to do it again next year.

Summer Reading

2011-09-06T21:36:00.002-05:00

Well, not exactly reading, per se. I've mentioned it before and I'll admit it again ... I'm not a great reader - not only do I read slowly, but being a multi-tasker, I need to be doing more than one thing at a time (e.g., knitting while watching a movie). Reading does not afford me that necessity. But I really like books, so I listen.

A road trip is a great time to listen - driving while listening to a good book is a perfect multi-tasting activity for me. I finished several books while on our two road trips this summer:

This was the first one. After seeing the movie that told the quasi story of Facebook, I realized I wanted to know, not just the real story, but the whole story. It's quite an amazing story. If you can get your hands on this book, read it.
However, if you're like me, you'll want to read other books that were written to tell the true story of the "beginning" of something. I'm currently listening to the story of Starbucks.

This was the next one. Part of the Nick Heller series. I've never read anything from this author, but I thoroughly enjoyed this action/mystery book. Huge twist - I love when I can't see it coming.

I've been wanting to read the books that I had to read as a kid. I read this one when I was a sophomore in high school. At the end of the semester, we all had to do a little skit on any book we'd read for that class. I picked this book and reconstructed the scene where Phineas broke the school swimming record - although in my version, he didn't and Gene was all too happy about it. I digress ... As a kid, I didn't really appreciate the value of these types of books, so I've been slipping them in every 6th or 7th book or so (I read Bridge to Terabithia not too long ago even though it wasn't one of those books I read (or pretended to read) as a kid). I enjoyed this book, but was glad when it done.

This is another Youth novel - it's about exactly what the title says. I find myself checking out youth books from the library because I don't remember reading these types of books when I was a youth. It seems like I was reading something for a school assignment, therefore didn't have time to read my own selections. These are quick, and although quite predictable, they are still enjoyable. Plus, I'd like to see what's out there before my children start reading them.

Yet another Youth novel. This one is cool - in a time when it seems all youth stories are about vampires, werewolves, wizards, or time travel, this one was a little different. It was about dreams, or more specifically about a girl that is cursed with the ability to get sucked into others' dreams. It is the first of a trilogy (and I've since read the second book, Fade). I look forward to the third and final book of the series. Again, predictable, but enjoyable.

I'd read this author before, so I when I saw it at the library, I grabbed it. I wasn't captivated, but the story was interesting enough to finish.

I usually like anything from this author, but this one definitely wasn't one of my favorites. It had enough forensic stuff to keep me listening.

I've been wanting to read this for a while. But it is so damn long! I just finally bit the bullet and hunkered down for a long while. It was slow going for a good part of the book, but in last several pages of the book, I couldn't put it away. And when it was over, I was wanting more of the story that had started to unfold. Too bad it was the end of the book.

I've completed a couple more books since the end of the summer, and I always have the iPod ready for when I'm folding laundry or loading the dishwasher. I'll write another post about those books later. In the meantime, happy reading.

Missing

2011-09-03T21:47:00.002-05:00

School is well underway and my new job deserves a post all it's own (and at another time). September is here which means that October is right around the corner. And October is, by far, our most hectic month. With Syd's birthday, Halloween, trips to the pumpkin patch, our annual pumpkin carving party, and now our schools' fundraising festival, October is jam packed.

Jess and I have talked about preparing for October this year. It usually creeps up on us and we scramble all month. So we've already planned the girls' birthday parties, we've picked a date for the carving party, and we've already designed the girls Halloween costumes. But that doesn't mean that the next couple of months won't be frantic, crazy, and just a blur.

If you know me, you know I hate, hate, hate to use the word busy. I prefer active. However, currently, my proverbial plate is quite full. In addition to being a teacher this year, and having to plan all my own lessons, I'm the chairman of our school's fundraiser, I've been planning Girl Scout meetings, Jess volunteered me to be the assistant coach of Syd's soccer team, and I'm taking violin and tap lessons with the girls. I could easily use that dreaded word. But I just can't bring myself to do so - my life is no more busy than the next person's. So, to that end, suffice it to say that over the next eight weeks, we will be abundantly active.

That ... all that ... being said, is basically my way of saying I may not be around a lot until November. And then, of course, the holiday season begins. So maybe I should say until 2012. Who knows? I hate that I haven't been around a lot since school started - I don't like what working does to my blogging habits. But I'm hoping to squeeze in a post here and a post there (I have a few posts already started).

So until next time ...

All in One

2011-08-18T21:43:00.002-05:00

Even though it's not Conversation Wednesday, Layne says things that are so cute, so insightful, and so ... uh ... out there, that I had to post one here.

On the radio (we listen to Radio Disney when the girls are in the car) was Watch Me.

Layne: "Momma, dis is Rocky and Cece. Day are my sasorite [favorite] singers. I wish dat day sang my sasorite song."
Me: "You mean the one that Selena [Gomez] sings?"
Layne: "Yeah, Love You Like a Love Song."
Me: "Why?"
Layne: "cuz it would be my sasorite singers and my sasorite song all at the same time!!"

She was so serious.

First Day of School 2011

2011-08-17T20:40:00.002-05:00

It's here again. First day of school. Just another reminder that my girls are getting older - so I get sadder.

Layne starts in the 4-year old program and Sydney starts 4th grade.

I may have mentioned something about a new job in past posts, but I can't remember. Anyway, after I told my boss that I didn't want to come back, I reneged. See, the science teacher left mid-year, so I knew that position would be open. Also, the art/music teacher decided she needed to teach only one, and she decided on music. So I threw my hat in the ring for that as well. Both are part time positions - only a couple hours a day. But in the end, neither position panned out. But another position opened up and my boss offered it to me. It wasn't what I expected, but it would give me a little experience as a teacher. AND it is part time, which is what I need - at least while I'm the chairman of the fundraising festival. So here I am - the new Transition teacher. [Transition is for children that are either ready for kindergarten, but don't meet the birthday cut-off, or meet the cut-off but are not mature enough for kindergarten. It is still technically pre-k, but a different curriculum and different expectations.]

Today was our first day. The girls are excited about their new classes. And I'm excited to be teaching my own. We're looking forward to a great year!

Beach Vacation Part Deux

2011-08-12T20:28:00.003-05:00

Here are the many pictures I took while on vacation.

Our first day at the beach.

Sydney watching the dolphins off in the distance. Every so often one of them would leap out of the water and give us a show. It was awesome!

Our set up for the day.

The girls on their boogie boards.

Even Cali was chillaxin'.

The sea turtle nest were all marked off. The little sign says that disturbing the nest could result in large fines and possibly imprisonment. They are, after all, endangered species.

Layne found the hammock perfect for chillaxin'.

After a day at the beach, we rinsed off in the outside shower and hit the pool - with no swim suits on!

The view from the wrap-around porch. This is the bay-side. We stayed at a house named A Bay to Remember.

The next day started with rain. But it blew off by noon time, so we hit the beach. There were more clouds than sun, but the girls met a friend and they had a great time.

I was having a good time with a little crab. It kept coming out with arms full of sand and depositing it a few inches away from the hole. It got pretty deep. I watched it from my chair, but had to get closer to get this pic of all his foot/claw prints. So funny!

And here it is! It would come out, dump the sand, and then stop and watch for a bit. If I tried to get closer, it would scamper back into the hole. So I played with it for a little while, just startling it back in to it's new home.

Layne's sandy legs and feet.

This lighthouse has a lot of interesting history, but I won't mention it here (but if you're interested, go here and be sure to click on all the yellow picture links). Layne saw it and decided she HAD to go inside. Well, by the time we got there, it was closed for the evening. We promised her that we would go in first thing in the morning, but she cried anyway. I took this pic of her while she sniffled on the steps.

The very next day, we woke and got dressed to go to the lighthouse. All four of us climbed to the top.

There are 92 steps. Whew!! And after that, in order to get into the lantern room, we had to climb up a completely vertical ladder that had about ten rungs on it. Layne decided she did not want to go up the ladder. But I practically pushed her up in front of me telling her that she didn't walk up 92 steps to the top to NOT go into the lantern room to see the view. She did great!

And she was so proud of herself. The view from the top was awesome!

Then off to the beach ...

... to build a sand castle and ...

... with a moat and accessories ...

... and to bury Mommy in the sand ...

... and, of course, swim in the waves ...

... when it looked like there were no jellyfish around. The one Sydney is holding (below) is called a cannonball jellyfish. It doesn't sting unless some sort of membrane is broken. But it takes more than just brushing up against it. Unlike the many sea nettles we saw. Walking by one of those and unknowingly brushing one of its tentacles will cause an electrifying sting which leaves a short small welt where it touched the skin. Layne and Syd were both stung. Poor girls.

Sydney loved holding this one knowing it wouldn't sting. Layne got a chance to hold it too.

The girls found a couple hermit crabs. We brought to back to the house, but then a few days later, we brought them back to the beach. We didn't want to risk killing them because we didn't know how to take care of them. So we ended up buying a couple.

Even Cali got wet. It took her a few days to get use to the waves. But once she did, there was no stopping her from getting into the water. She actually walked out far enough to be over her head so that she could swim around. So cute!

Tons of shells!

Sydney had fun scaring Auntie Jennifer with this dead crab.

The day after Jess's mother arrived, she and brother-in-law Josh took the girls on a chartered boat to go fishing. They caught a bunch of trout.

It was hot and they were out on the boat with no shade, but they had a blast!

I don't know how long Layne actually held a pole, but she lasted the whole four hours out on the boat.

After seeing all the jellyfish, no one wanted to go in the water for fear of getting stung. But this was a beach vacation, dammit, so we were going to the beach. The girls still had fun in the sand. I thought this was a picture of Sydney kneeling. But then I realized that she had buried her legs up to her knees.

And finally, what's going to the beach without drawing in the sand? And this is exactly what I would expect Syd would draw.

We had a wonderful time despite the jelly fish and my MIL (but that's another story). We've never done a "beach" vacation, so we didn't know what to expect. But now that we know, we want to do it again. We'll do things a little different next time, like rent the umbrella and chairs for the beach (instead of buying them - we won't have to lug them onto the beach because the rental company does that for you, everyday!), and stay on the beach side as opposed to the bay side. And most importantly, we research the jelly fish situation before we go. What's a beach vacation if you can't swim in the water?

Beach Vacation

2011-08-01T21:43:00.000-05:00

At the beginning of the summer, Jess asked Sydney where she wanted to go on vacation. Syd said "the beach." So Jess went on a long, extensive search for the perfect beach house. Weeks later, she found one and booked it. At the time, I was not really looking forward to it - I know, I know ... who doesn't want to go to the beach for a week? Well, the two-and-a-half-week-long road trip at the beginning of the summer was still very fresh in my mind. It was an awesome trip, but exhausting. The thought of getting back in the car for a 13-hour drive was not appealing to me - beach vacation or not.

But weeks have passed and I've had a while to get excited and appreciate all the hard work Jess did to put together a great vacation. We left on Friday afternoon (the same day Mary left our house and flew back to Boston) and drove about six hours. We stopped in Hattiesburg, MS where, at the hotel we stayed, there was a beauty pageant ... Toddlers and Tiaras style! Jess was beside herself with glee. She wanted to buy a ticket and watch the whole blasted thing! I had to pull her away and remind her that we were on our way to a ... beach - va - ca - ion! That slapped her back to the fact that we still had about six hours to drive before we arrived at our destination. So we hit the road.

What is a road trip without seeing a big beautiful (double) rainbow along the way?

We drove about an hour and then we sat in traffic. The congestion thinned and we were on our way. And then 30 minutes later we weren't just slowed in more traffic, we actually stopped. My foot started to fall asleep, so I slammed the car into park. And we waited, and we waited. And this wasn't the last bit of traffic that we experienced. It seemed like just when we thought we'd broken free, there was more congestion. It was agonizing! It set us back a LOT - we did NOT make good time. Not including the hour difference in time (FL is one hour later than AR), it took us eight hours to travel a six hour trip. We were so happy to be done driving.

We got to bed late and we woke early. We just wanted to see the island. It's beautiful! We grabbed some food and beach accessories around the tiny town. Sydney saw a boogie board with a dragon on it and just about died. We told her that we couldn't get it. But she wanted me to take a picture of it. Little did she know, I took it up to the register and paid for it while Jess took them to look for something else. I propped it in her seat in the car. I went back into the store and we paid for the other things that we got. Sydney had no idea, so when she opened the car door and saw the dragon boogie board sitting there, she gave me a look as if to say, "did you STEAL this?" I wish I got THAT picture.

And then we got our suits on, packed a lunch, and headed to the beach. The kids took no time to get busy making sand castles.

It was hot, so it wasn't long before all four of us were in the water splashing around in the waves. Cali came with us to the beach and she was so good. [One reason Jess chose this location is because it is so pet friendly. We knew we wanted to bring Cali, so it was important that everywhere we went, Cali was welcome.] Even when all four of us were in the water, she sat so calmly under the umbrella on the blanket. She wasn't even tethered or leashed. Such a good girl.

Today, although the day started with thunder and eventually rain, the clouds blew over and the sun came out. So, just like yesterday, we went to the beach. The only thing that made today different from yesterday was that the sun was behind the clouds most of the day. Otherwise, it was a lot of the same - sand, fun, and water. And after hours on the beach, we got back to the house and rinsed off in the outside shower and jumped into the screened-in porch. Ahhhhh... I'm tired - and I know the girls are too.

Jess's sister and brother-in-law arrive tomorrow morning. And then Jess's mother arrives on Wednesday morning. Everything will change. I'm glad we got these couple days for just us. It's been nice. The girls want to go fishing and I have no desire to do that, so my mother-in-law and brother-in-law will probably take them.

I chose NOT to take my big camera. I've regretted it a couple times, but on the whole, I'm happy with my little indestructible Olympus. I've take a lot of pictures, but I forgot to pack my USB cord, so I can't download them onto my computer. Thus, the blog post with all these pictures will have to wait until we get home.

We arrive home on Sunday - probably late because we have to make the whole 12-hour drive in one day. I have to be back to work bright and early on Monday morning (my new job is a blog post all it's own). And the following week, the girls start back at school. This summer has flown by, but it's been a really great couple months.

To be continued ... with lots and lots of pictures.

Mary is Here!

2011-07-24T08:43:00.000-05:00

I started this post four days ago, but we've been going, going, going.

This is the third summer in a row that my sister, Mary has come to AR to visit with us. She arrived last Monday - almost a week ago - and she will be here for almost two weeks. She is an easy guest, she just goes along with our schedule and basically just hangs with us. She doesn't need to do any sight seeing (although this week we *did* go to the Old State House on Friday and the River Market yesterday), and she doesn't mind tagging along to birthday parties or events the girls have planned. We always have fun when she's here. We spent the first few days at the pool.

When we're not at the pool, we're watching true crime shows on ID (Investigation Discovery) channel or I'm showing Mary some of the really cool apps on my phone. And she ends up downloading them onto hers. She always says that she leave here just a little more tech savvy.

One thing Mary has been adamant about is going to the gym. We've been good for each other - dragging the other when she doesn't want to go. And then we reward ourselves with a drink from Starbucks on the way home. Mary mentioned that this is her boot camp to get herself back in shape - and really, so it is for me as well. I've been going to the gym sporadically this summer - only enough to say I was going to the gym, but not exactly enough to call it a regular work-out. So this is exactly what I needed to get me to go more often so I can get in shape. We've been everyday since Tuesday.

Mary is here until Friday - the day we leave for our beach vacation. I haven't taken many pictures, but Mary has and she dumped them all onto my hard drive. So I will eventually get some of them posted.

Right now, we are headed to the gym ...

Underwater

2011-07-09T09:21:00.000-05:00

After seeing the underwater pictures I took while we were at the lake, I remembered that a few weeks ago, we were at a friend's pool where I took a bunch of underwater pictures of the girls. When I looked at them, I realized that they came out rather ... fun!

Sydney

I love Layne's expression in this one.

I love the bubbles in this pic.

The hair is great.

Okay, so not all of the pics are underwater.

Sydney took one of me.

Layne with straight hair (it's getting so long).

Smile for the camera!

She's trying so hard to keep herself down. Love the feet in the back.

And Layne liked to take a breather in this.

So fun! I'll be taking this camera with me at every pool event!

Fourth

2011-07-08T09:08:00.000-05:00

We went to a friend's houseboat last weekend to watch the holiday fireworks. We arrived on Saturday and visited for a little while. Then we all got our suits on and jumped off the back of the houseboat.

Sydney had been reading her book, River Monsters (Jeremy Wade), and recently realized that episodes of the show of the same name is available OnDemand (and she watched every episode over and over). So she refused to get in the water for fear that she would be carried off by a river monster. However unlikely that would be on Lake Ouachita, she wouldn't budge off the back of the boat. Bless her heart.

Layne, on the other hand, jumped right in and enjoyed every minute of it - even though I made her wear her floaties. Swimming in a lake that is 50 feet deep has a tendency to do that to a Momma.

I had to use my fancy schmancy waterproof camera to take the underwater picture.

Jess and Tommie cool off on floaties of their own.

My little fishy.

Meanwhile, Sydney is sitting on the deck.

Jay wanted to take the girls on a short canoe ride.

Sydney was upset because I wouldn't let her row.

Tommie and Layne

That's a whole lotta poodle! Tommie & Jay's (Sophia, the black one, and Simon, the white one) and ours (Cali, the brown one).

Cali LOVED the water. She'd splash with her front paws and try to drink the splashing water. So funny, but she had a blast.

Wet dog!

After watching Jay swim from the shore back to the boat (all of 100 feet) and NOT being carried off by a river monster, Sydney decided it was okay to get in the water. But after jumping in a few times, Layne got a little mad at Syd for some reason. Here, Sydney is telling her "what the heck?"

Syd found it comforting to jump, not right in the water, but into a water chair (an inflatable ring with mesh in the middle).

So the girls took turns jumping in.

Syd actually let me take a pic of her underwater.

One last jump - together!

She liked to sit here - guess it made her feet feel safe.

Another canoe ride. This time with Mommy. And this time Sydney got to row.

After some dinner, it was time to get on the sail boat and secure our spot in the middle of the lake.

The girls sat right in front.

The sun was setting.

It was a little nerve-wracking because there were no railings to hold onto, just loose cable lines that came up to the knee. Layne fell asleep at the front of the boat - I had to carry her in one arm while I tried to navigate the very narrow walkway along the side of the boat and steady myself on flimsy rope or cable lines with the other hand. I thought, for sure, the two of us were going overboard. Needless to say, I felt much more safe when she was underneath, in the living quarters secure on her bed for the night. I needed a drink after that. But then I had to worry about Sydney. She insisted on walking up and down the side of the boat which made me so nervous.

And finally the fireworks. It was a great show - there was some that we'd never seen before. Fun!

Jay docked the sail boat and he and Tommie went back to their houseboat. We slept in the sailboat. It was a teeny tiny place, but it was just for sleeping, so it was just fine. We got up in the morning and it was already very hot. So we all went for another swim - Layne jumped right in and even Sydney got in, too.

We took the dogs to the shore so they could swim again. Sophie and Cali loved the water, swam all around. Simon, on the other hand, was perfectly happy sitting on the sand.

We stayed for a late lunch and then headed home because Jess was on call. We had a great time and the girl had a lot of fun swimming. Tommie and Jay are trying to convince us to buy a houseboat and dock it near them. Jess is all for it. And so am I - except not right now. We can't afford it right now. Maybe in several years.

Colorado

2011-07-04T10:32:00.000-05:00

I've been slowly going through all the photos from our trip and editing them based on our stops along the way. Instead of one large post published six months after our trip, I'll just pepper each set among my current posts.

We backed out of the driveway with a fully packed car on Friday, May 27 after Jess got home from work. We drove several hours and stopped at a hotel in a small town between Tulsa, OK and Wichita, KS. The next day, we arrived in Denver at the home of good family friends, Evie & Dennis. Oh so many years ago, when I was in middle school, we met their family at our church and my mom and Evie became best friends. The two couples have vacationed together for years ever since.

Evie & Dennis have two daughters, Stacy and Lizzie, and both have children of their own. Stacy's son, Tony, is just a few months younger than Sydney - Stacy and I were pregnant at the same time. Lizzie's daughter, Gracie, is 7 and her son, Joey, is 3. Gracie and Joey were at Evie & Dennis' house when we arrived and the kids became quick friends. I only snapped a few pictures because two of the three were rather unwilling to have their picture taken.

Sydney and Gracie got along so well.

Here is Tony, who kept putting his hand up to my camera every time I'd put it up to my eye. Little does he know, I LOVE this photo of him.

This is Evie's unofficial pet. Every morning, this momma squirrel comes right up to the sliding glass doors expecting breakfast. Well, Evie obliges with a couple handfuls of peanuts. This brings the momma's babies out of hiding and soon three or four little squirrels are bounding toward the patio. It's quite a site to see. So cool.

Here is the other unwilling participant with my photo-taking - even momma squirrel was more willing. Joey was just not down with being in pictures.

The next morning, we headed off to Estes Park. It is the entrance to Colorado National Park, which is where Jess wanted to go for the day. However, snow prohibited us from going any further than Estes Park.

The view was awesome.

We were greeted by a ton of these little guys.

They are so used to people, they come right up to get a snack. Here, Sydney shares a cracker.

My girls

More awesomeness

The scenery was beautiful.

After our day in Estes Park, we arrived back to Evie & Dennis' to a bunch of family and a party. We had food and fun. The kids played and the adults caught up. We ate good food and talked well into the night. It was a great time with great friends.

The next day we packed up, said our tearful goodbyes, and headed to our next stop on the way to our ultimate destination. We headed south and then west to Grand Junction, CO. An hour away from there is a very cool, very beautiful place called Gateway Canyon. We stayed at the resort designed by the owner of the Discovery Channel. Everywhere we looked, the scenery was amazing. I was in photographers overload. I filled up a couple of my memory cards. These are my favorite pictures.

[I love clouds.] This was the entrance to our 44 mile drive down into the canyon.

The scenery on the drive.

This is the site we saw as we arrived at the resort. Look at those clouds!

Have I mentioned I have a thing for clouds?

I couldn't stop shooting ...

We don't see these in Arkansas.

The view outside our room. We had a cute little patio.

Our room was awesome. Jess and I loved the big plushy robes.

We had barely dropped the suitcases in the room, and the girls were begging to go for a swim.

They were so good for the car ride, we felt like they definitely deserved to go to the pool. Just one more nice picture for Momma and we'll go!

And the view from my poolside lounge chair.

The pool was really neat. And we could see some of those beautiful rocks peeking above the buildings. [We were sitting in those chairs that are on the right under the wood awning. But we moved because we wanted to go into the hot tub.]

We went for a walk around the grounds. The girls stopped to look at a momma horse and her foal (not pictured).

This is the retreat center. (Okay, so I was taking this photo more for the clouds. Yes, the clouds. )

The girls bided their time while I took countless pictures of the canyon.

There was a little coffee shop, a tiny grocery store with a few souvenirs and post cards, a restaurant, and a bar. Oh and a gas pump charging almost $5/gal!

Laynie enjoyed the robes, too.

Actually, after a second swim in the pool, both girls enjoyed the nice soft, comfy robes before we went to have some dinner.

The next morning we went to breakfast, the girls had one more swim while I packed up, and the Jess drove us out of the canyon so that I could take more pictures.

About halfway out, we were stopped by these cows who only wanted to cross the street.

Of course, these pictures don't do justice to the scenery, but you can get the idea.

But then I had to take over because we were headed for the Colorado National Monument. And driving on a narrow road chipped out of the side of the mountain required some attention - I tried not to look down and imagine what would become of us if I slipped.

This little hole in the wall was pretty cool.

The road can be seen in this pic, except that this was the easy one. Generally, the road was simply a two-lane cliff hanging out on the rock. Talk about intimidating.

And here is the reason for the dangerous () drive - the Colorado National Monument. Pretty cool, amazingly beautiful.

Someone saw us taking pictures of each other with the girls and offered to take one of the four of us. Pretty as a postcard, no?

Yep, and there's the drop. Nice, eh?

But isn't it awesome?

We stopped at the gift shop, read a few facts about the monument and how it was created, hit the restroom, and headed down the rocks. After shaking the shakes out of me, we were on our way to Salt Lake City to meet up with some more friends.

To be continued ...

Conversation Wednesday

2011-06-22T22:01:00.002-05:00

An overheard conversation

Layne: "Where's Google?"

Sydney: "Some place you go on your computer, and type in and watch. Like, I like dragons, so I type in 'dragons' and click on Search. And then I can look at all the dragons that come up."

Layne: "Oh"

It cracks me up that we use Google so much in our house that Layne thinks to ask about it.

It cracks me up more that Sydney Googles dragons.

Cleaning House

2011-06-20T16:43:00.003-05:00

We're cleaning house both literally and figuratively.

Literally: we've decided that if I'm going to go back to work in the fall, then we have to use my time off in a very productive manner. So we (really, *I*) am going through each room and organizing it. I have six weeks to work with, so I've scheduled a room (or rooms) for each week. I don't want it to bog down the girls' summer, so that's why a whole week for each room. It needs to be done. We've been in this house only five years, so we have a lot of junk that needs to be trashed. But with my MIL's major reorganization a couple years ago, things have never been the same. And with me working this last year, we never really got the opportunity to do it.

The girls' rooms are scheduled for this week. I did Layne's room today. Don't tell her, but I packed up a whole box of toys that will be dropped off at Good Will by the end of the week. I also packed up a couple rubbermaid boxes with toys that I'll re-introduce to her in a month or so - the whole rotating routine. It's worked for several friends we know, so I thought we'd give it a try. Layne was actually okay with sorting things that would be put away as opposed to donated ... of course. But she was at VBS this morning, so I took the opportunity to get rid of all the toys she doesn't play with anyway. She came home asking about all the toys - the kid is like an elephant, doesn't forget ANYTHING! I told her they were in the rubbermaid boxes in her closet. Bad Momma!

I'll tackle Sydney's room tomorrow. Sydney is usually all too willing to get rid of things - like some of the items that were first on her Christmas list last year. Drives me crazy, but I suppose it's her prerogative. I like her to be there when I go through her room, because she is weird about things. She'll keep around a certain dinosaur even though she hasn't played with it in forever, but she donate a brand new dragon (her latest obsession) because there's something about it that's just not right. I know she's willing to get rid of things, so it's easier if she's there.

Also scheduled for this week is the toyroom. I'm not looking forward to it. It's a wreck. And it's another room I have to do when Layne isn't here. Good thing VBS is all week.

Figuratively: we've decided to start eating healthy again. I've needed to lose a significant amount of weight for some time and I'm sick of being overweight. We're going to try the Engine 2 Diet. It's less of a diet and more of a lifestyle - I know, they say that about all diets these days. My SIL has been doing it for a month now and looks great. It's a plant based diet, which makes me nervous. How will I get along without meat or dairy? But as I've mentioned, I'm sick of being overweight. Something's got to give. And that something is me. So I'm going to take the summer to give this "lifestyle" a try. Jess is doing it with me, so we have each other for support. I'm also going to get back to the gym. Also a friend of mine has convinced us to take a tap class with her. There are a bunch of other friends that are taking the same class, so I'm pretty excited. I've never taken a dance class before, so it should be interesting. But if nothing else, fun.

After spending this last year trying to get out of the slump we existed in when Jess was sick, we decided to start turning things around. It's time - we both know it. It will make us feel better, even when the house is a mess. It's a mind-set - one in which we've been out of for far too long. It's time to clean house!

Home

2011-06-17T17:12:00.000-05:00

We arrived home after seven hours of driving on Tuesday afternoon. This was preceded by an 18-hour driving day on Monday, which was preceded by a 17-hour driving day on Sunday. The girls did great. Sure, they asked the age-old question, "When will we be there?" But fortunately for them, modern technology had a big hand in keeping them entertained and amused. I remember a cross country trip with my family when I was 12 years old. It was before the times of handheld video games, audiobooks, and car mounted DVD players. Can you say boring?!

I've blogged about the first few days of our road trip and we didn't slow down after that. Our first full day in Seattle was sunny, so we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and went to the Woodland Park Zoo. There was an awesome dinosaur exhibit where Sydney rekindled her love of the prehistoric beasts. We walked around for a few hours watching animals until at one point, Jess and I looked at each other and said almost in unison, "I'm ready to go." So we left there and headed to the Seattle Aquarium. It's not a huge facility, but they do have a very cool octopus that comes out of hiding to say hi to all of her adoring fans. Pictures, again, are forthcoming. We walked around Pike Place for a bit and ended up at The Pink Door for dinner. There we ate amazing food and the girls were entertained by the trapeze artist.

Our second full day in Seattle was spent at the EMP, or Experience Music Project where they had an awesome exhibit on the movie Avatar. Also there is a very in-depth exhibit on Nirvana, so interesting. From there, we went to the Children's Museum where the girls played and unwound.

On our last full day in Seattle, we started the morning in Pike Place. Having grown up in Boston, it reminded me a lot of Faneuil Hall. In fact, Seattle as a whole reminded me a lot of Boston. After walking around Pike Place, we went to the very first Starbucks store and got some coffee. Of course I took some pictures of the historic place and now I want to read the book. From there, we went to the Pacific Science Center. It was pretty cool - another dinosaur exhibit, a whole room devoted to the planets, a butterfly house, and so much more. We spent most of the day there.

Our last few hours in Seattle were spent packing up and getting ready for our trip to Anacortes, WA from where we would take a ferry to Friday Harbor, WA. The whole trip was about 3 hours. We drove the car right onto the ferry and once parked, got out of the car and headed up to the deck to admire the beautiful scenery. Once docked, we drove the car to the resort where we were spending the next few days.

We stayed at Lakedale Resort which was gorgeous everywhere you looked. We settled in while my friend Sherry and her family made the last minute preparations for the wedding to be held in just a couple days. We spend the next day at events for the wedding - a wine tasting, the rehearsal dinner, and a marshmallow roast. I took pics for all and took the time to practice with my settings. I wanted to be ready for the real important pictures.

Saturday arrived and I spend most of the day - beginning at 10am and finally putting the camera away well after 9pm - with my old friend, the camera. The sun was my biggest challenge. The morning and early afternoon was overcast, which was perfect. However, just about when the wedding started - at 3pm - the sun decided to come out and mess everything up. During the ceremony, I was able to adjust my angle and settings to capture the essence of the vows. But wouldn't you know, when it came time to take all those family pictures and artsy pics of the bride and groom alone, the sun just danced in and out of the clouds making it very difficult for me to take consistent photos. I had to constantly adjust the settings based on the position of the sun. And shadows, don't even get me started.

I've looked through the pics, all 1,148 of them, and they came out pretty good. I'm pleased. I was very worried that I would take a bunch of out of focus pictures, or some that were too dark or too light to fix, but I didn't and I think I did well. Hopefully the bride and groom will think so too. Someone commented on FB that I should bring an extra battery pack, and although I didn't have one (nor could I find one to purchase on the island), I didn't need it. I did, however, need more memory cards. I have three 4 GB and one 2 GB and I filled up every last one of them. Fortunately, my room as well as my computer (and the external hard drive that I packed just for this reason), were only a few steps away. During a photography lull, I ran to the room and dumped two of the 4 GB cards. And that's all I needed. I want very badly to start going through the pictures; discarding the duplicates, the blurry, or just technically wrong photos; and begin the editing process. I love editing pics. But in addition to the 1,148 wedding photos, there are the countless vacation pics I took. And I have no idea how many of those there are. However, before I do any of that, I really need to get our house back to its normal state. There is still some unpacking to do but the girls are demanding pool time (they wore shorts all of 2 days, the whole time we were gone). So let the juggling act begin! So much to do, so little time! I am predicting a pretty "active" summer already.

I will post pictures soon. As great as the trip was, I'm so glad to be home!

Tomorrow is the Day

2011-06-10T13:03:00.000-05:00

The event for which this vacation was planned takes place tomorrow. I shoot my friend's daughter's wedding. We are in the San Juan Islands, Friday Harbor to be exact. We had to drive about two hours north of Seattle and then take an hour long ferry ride to get here. We drove the car right onto the ferry which was really cool.

The facility where the wedding takes place is breathtakingly beautiful. I was worried that I wouldn't have a nice place to take pictures, but alas, there is no need to worry. Now I just have to worry that all my camera settings are correct.

I'm still really nervous, but I have my list of shots, and I've taken this vacation to practice more with my settings. I've cleared off all my memory cards (packed an external hard drive to make sure I had enough space!), and I've charged up the battery. I'm ready. Let's do this!

Wish me luck!!

Road Trip

2011-06-01T13:32:00.003-05:00

We left on Friday evening when Jess go home from work. I spent the day finishing laundry, running errands for the trip, packing, packing, and more packing. By the time Jess got home, the car was gassed up, loaded up with all our junk, and ready for the 2300 mile trip to Seattle, Washington. The following is the nutshell version of the trip thus far. Pictures will be forthcoming.

We drove about seven hours and ended up spending the night someplace between Tulsa, Oklahoma and Wichita, Kansas. We would have made it all the way to Wichita if it hadn't been for the interstate being closed in and around Tulsa. We wandered around the city for a good 45 minutes trying to find our way onto the correct highway. The iPhone GPS is great except for that it doesn't alert us to closed roads or those under construction. So every time we realized we could not enter the interstate, we readjusted the GPS and it lead us another way, and another, and another until we finally reached a section that open.

Saturday, we drove about 10 hours to Denver, Colorado. The girls did okay - not nearly as well as they had done on our trip to California last year. But they didn't complain and they were happy to arrive. Our destination was a good family friend of mine, Evie and Dennis' house. It was so awesome to see them, it had been about 15 years (maybe more) since the last time I saw them. And it was the first time for them to meet Jess and the girls. We unpacked a little and spread our stuff out. We planned to spend the next day there. They have two daughters, Stacey and Lizzie whom we'd been friends with when my family lived in Colorado in the early 80's. Both have children of their own now. Lizzie's two, Gracie and Joey were spending the weekend at the house so our girls had some playmates. They were close in age, so it worked out well. Sydney and Gracie were fast friends.

Sunday, we headed north to Estes Park. Jess wanted to go into the Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park is its entrance. Unfortunately, recent snowfall prevented us from going too far into the park. But we spent the day in Estes Park which was beautiful and adorable. That night, Evie & Dennis had a bunch of their family over for a holiday weekend get-together. Stacey & Lizzie plus their families were there and it was so nice to see them after so much time. We talked and talked and did a lot of catching up. Thanks Evie & Dennis for your generosity.

Monday, we packed up the car and headed to Gateway Canyon, about an hour off the beaten path from Grand Junction, Colorado. We stayed at Gateway Canyon Resort which was gorgeous - breathtaking views from all sides. We walked around the grounds of the resort, the girls played, and I snapped a bazillion pictures.

Tuesday, after some breakfast, Jess took the girls swimming while I packed everything up. We hopped in the car, made out way back to the main interstate, and set the GPS for Salt Lake City. We arrived about six hours later at the house of our friends Karen & Jan. I met them last year during a trip to California when Jess had her third and fourth surgeries. So this was the first time everyone met Jess and the girls.

Shortly after we arrived, Jan and Nate & Ryan walked us a couple blocks down to Sydney's school where they where having a carnival. We met up with Karen, Sydney, Cameron, and Spencer and had some fun on bounce houses and blow-up slides and obstacle courses. Fun was had by all. After we put all the kids to bed, the four of us grown-ups played cards and visited until late.

We'd planned to stay Wednesday so that we could hang out with the gang. Sydney went to school for the morning and Jan went to work. Jess and Karen went to get a pedi which left me with six kids. It went surprisingly well. There was a movie playing so the older kids were occupied with that and the younger kids just played in one of the bedrooms. I only had a glimpse of what Karen & Jan go through everyday. Seemed I was always tending to one child or another. I made them all some lunch and by the time they finished, Jan arrived home, Jess and Karen arrived home, and Sydney was picked up from school. We loaded up the cars and headed to the Treehouse Museum. The kids had a blast playing with the exhibits and playing with each other. We stayed until it closed and then walked down the street to Fat Cats/Pizza Factory for some Chuck E. Cheese style fun while we waited for our food to be prepared. That evening, after the kids were all in bed, we sat together and chatted some more. It was such a great visit. Thanks Karen and Jan for your hospitality. I know we invaded your life - thanks for letting us. You have an awesome family.

We left Karen et al. on Thursday morning and prepared for the long drive to Portland, OR. The girls did well, Layne even napped. Once we reached our destination, we checked into a hotel and settled in.

On Friday, we went to the Japanese Garden, which was beautiful. After that we wanted to check out the city, but Sydney wasn't feeling well. So I brought her back to the room so she could sit. After she sat for a while, she swore she felt better, so she and I met up with Jess and Layne, who had continued their window shopping around the city. We had dinner at a really cool restaurant.

Yesterday, we met up with my friend, Heidi and her daughter Molly. We chatted over breakfast and had a wonderful visit. Last time I saw Heidi, Sydney was a few months short of turning three. So we had a lot of catching up to do. After a great breakfast, we said goodbye. I'm so glad we got to see you Heidi.

After breakfast, we headed to the Saturday Market. Very cool place with tons of crafts and handmade goods. It was awesome. We walked around a little more, had dinner at a cool restaurant, and then went the the Starlight Parade - part of the Portland Rose Festival going on for the next few weeks. The parade didn't begin until 8:30pm, so when we decided to leave at almost 10pm, Layne was already asleep.

Today, we didn't wake up until almost 10am! Obviously, we all needed the sleep. So we took our time getting out of Portland. We stopped at VooDoo doughnuts on the way out of town and waited in a very long line for some very sweet treats. It was less than a three hour drive to Seattle and the girls did fine. We arrived at our condo rental and only unpacked the car and then we were out. We went to the Space Needle and had dinner in the revolving restaurant. It was pretty cool. I don't know what's in store for us for the rest of the time we're here - the wedding isn't until next Saturday - but knowing my wife, it will be a lot. Stay tuned.

Can You Tell?

2011-05-26T09:58:00.000-05:00

Can you tell with all this blogging that school's out and that I'm not working anymore?

Jess and I have been talking a lot about me going back to work next year. We'd come up with a few scenarios and I pitched them to my boss. She was interested, and she and I have talked a lot about the options. When I get back from vacation, we will discuss it all. Stay tuned!

In less than 48 hours, we leave for our summer vacation. We are driving to Seattle, with stops along the way in Denver, Salt Lake City, and Portland. I'm excited - I love roadtrips! The girls are getting geared up - Layne has already loaded her backpack with a bunch of her favorite (and not so favorite) toys. Sydney is loading up her iPod with games and audiobooks. I'm crazy busy, running around doing errands with two kids in tow, trying to get everything ready. You'd think we are going to a place where we can't buy bottled water or something.

The ultimate purpose for the trip is that I'm shooting my friend's daughter's wedding. I'm pretty scared - I've never shot an event like this before. I shot her engagement photos and she loved them ... and then asked me to shoot her wedding. Now, I'm just petrified.

I'd like to say that I'm going to blog along the way. But you know how it can be. So let's just say, the pictures will be forthcoming.

Award Ceremony

2011-05-25T18:16:00.001-05:00

The week before Layne's programs, Sydney had a couple events of her own. Her cheerleading coach held the award banquet where the cheerleaders performed. In the same week, the 3rd graders were the intermission for the 5th graders fashion show.

Being in the 3rd grade, Sydney is on the "Varsity" squad. Each squad performed their own dance for which they had been practicing since the basketball season ended in February. After all the performances, the Spirit Squad - Kindergarteners - and Pee Wee - 1st and 2nd graders - received trophies. The Varsity squad received a letter for a Varsity letter jacket.

She smiled the entire time. She loves dancing (don't ask me why she won't take a dance class!).

Receiving her certificate for her letter.

In the same week, the 3rd graders were the intermission show for the 5th graders fashion show. Every year the 5th graders have the opportunity to show off their own style, which is important when you have to wear a uniform everyday. They get to wear two outfits - a dressy look and a casual look. After showing off their first outfit, they change into their second. During that time, the 3rd graders get to do some showing off of their own. Each 3rd grader had to design, create, and construct an Easter bonnet. There were some sports themes, and there were some frilly, girlie themes. Sydney's was neither. She decided to spotlight her favorite thing of late - dragons. I wish I could remember what her teacher said when she introduced Sydney and her bonnet ... it was so cute and so Sydney.

It is a dragon dressed up as bunny.

She decided to use a blue Easter basket for the platform so the dragon looks like she is flying in the sky. (Sydney's disdain here has nothing to do with her bonnet, she loved it and was very excited to show it off in the Easter bonnet parade. She was just sick of me taking pictures ... per usual.)

She dressed the dragon in bunny ears ...

... and a cotton tail.

But this is a fire-breathing dragon. And she couldn't help but light a few peeps on fire.

This peep was only along for the ride and he ended up with an ear on fire!

Each bonnet was given a name or title. The original name for Sydney's was Toasted Marshmallows, but she kept getting confused and saying the wrong word. So it ended up being Roasting Marshmallows.

So Many Reasons

2011-05-23T19:27:00.000-05:00

There are so many reason why I love these photographs. Unfortunately, these little gems were taken with my phone as opposed to my good camera. But it's the content in these that are important - not the composition or technicality or settings.

All the reasons:

I love the expression on her face.
I love that she's smiling while she's painting (she had no idea that I was snapping pictures).
I love how she's holding the brush.

I love the concentration.
I love her fingers.
I love her curls.

I love the way she's sitting - with both feet up.
I love how her bottom is hanging over the stool.
I love that she's in her undies.
I love the clear plastic paint cover.

I love the "Merry Christmas" on the chalk board in the background, even though it's April.
I love those toes.
I love that she finally figured out I was watching her.

Sometimes the best pictures just happen with the worst light, the worst camera, the worst angle, the worst everything. The subject and the moment are enough to make the shot perfect and unforgettable.

Layne's Shows

2011-05-22T09:24:00.001-05:00

Our last day of school was Friday. It was suppose to be Thursday, but with all those snow days we had a few months ago, they had to add two days to our school year. Fortunately, we were able to make one up on Good Friday - we were suppose to have the day off, but they cancelled the day off and we went in for the day. As a result, they only had to extend the school year by one day. Our summer vacation has officially begun! Yay!

The end of the school year is busy with learning. While the kids are wrapping up all their subject lessons - math, science, social studies, english, etc. - they are learning something new. The younger kids, in the 3- and 3½-year old classes, sing a bunch of songs for the parents in the school gym. The 4-year old and kindergarten do a little more elaborate program with the show at the local college theater. And then the elementary put on a big production with costume, props, and dancing. I attended all of these in one fashion or another. I got to watch adorable Layne in the 3½-year old program. I had to help direct the little ones in the 4-year old program (all of the teachers/aids were there for the production). And then I was a parent again watching Sydney in the elementary program. All the programs were fabulous.

In the matter of 10 days, I attended performance after performance - Layne's school program, her dance recital, and the 4-year old program ... oh and Layne's dress rehearsal for the recital. Her school program was a delight. She sang every word loudly and knew all the motions. She was a star!

The theme was colors and Layne was in "black". Although, she'd been singing the "brown" song for weeks before the program.

Singing loud with all the moves!

Each color was spotlighted with 3-4 kids and they came up to the front, sang the respective color song, and performed the accompanying skit.

And when it was all done, Layne followed directions: "hands on your hips and a bubble in your lips." She told me afterward that she had to break her bubble because she couldn't breathe. When I told her that she should breathe through her nose, she told me that it was all stuffed up.

After Layne's program, I went to watch all the kids in my class and help the director keep them singing and moving. A couple days later, Layne had her dress rehearsal. Cameras aren't allowed at the actual recital, so they let us set up our tripods and take pics at the dress rehearsal. Layne was that child that knows every step and entertains the crowd. She was precious!

She was so fun to watch. Look at that concentration in her face!

I don't know anything about tap, so I can't even tell you what she's doing here. But she sure looked good doing it.

What's up with that smirk?!

So stinkin' cute!

She was adorable in both performances and she seemed to enjoy them very much. I hope she continues to love it.

The final show was Sydney's elementary program. It was amazing with the them Wii Can Dance. Each number corresponded to a Wii game. So cute! Sydney danced to Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal. It was darling and everyone in the audience got into the music. The 3rd grade girls were dressed as jewel thieves and eventually ended up in jail. I didn't take any pictures - I helped with costumes before the show and it's too difficult to keep up with my camera. But we did buy the DVD. So when I get her number all cut out of the whole DVD, I'll post it. Suffice it to say, it was very cool.

Easter

2011-05-21T16:17:00.001-05:00

Ah yes, more old news. But since I can't seem to find the time to put all these pictures in a scrapbook, I have to put them here so that when I'm old and grey (well, I'm already old), I can remember these colorful moments. The week before Easter, a friend of mine had an Easter egg coloring party. There were lots of kids, lots of eggs, and lots of dye. It was a lot of fun - and a great theme for a party.

We arrived a little late after picking up some friends, but Layne got right to work.

There were 12 dozen eggs - all dyed beautifully.

There were lots of kids there.

We spent the next hour jumping off that wall.

I love the action shots.

The day before Easter, Layne and I went to our church's Easter Egg Hunt (Sydney had a make-up soccer game, so Jess took her and watched the game). The eggs are usually hidden in plain sight - or not really hidden at all. And there are sections for the babies, for the pre-schoolers and elementary, and for the middle and high schoolers.

Layne got right to work, finding those eggs next to rocks and under tall grass bushes.

The park is filled with outdoor art (created by some local artists) and there were lots of eggs hiding in this structure.

It only took a few minutes, but Layne racked up. And she didn't have any more than anyone else in her search group. There were so many eggs! I told her that she could get some for Sydney since she couldn't come. Layne was happy to oblige - I think she felt it gave her permission to grab as many as she could.

And then all this kids, younger and older, got together to play with this parachute. It was a lot of fun and I got some really good shots, but I won't bore you with pictures of other people's children.

And of course, we dyed a couple dozen of our own eggs the night before Easter. The girls had some friends over, so it was almost a party. It resulted in lots of pretty eggs and lots of stained fingers. But the girls had a blast.

All the dye ready for soaking eggs.

Having fun, showing off dyed fingers.

The little girls tried coloring on the eggs with white crayon before dyeing.

Can't decide which color.

Green it is!

All this preparation for the big day. I woke up earlier than everyone else and helped the Easter Bunny hide all those colored eggs. The girls came out in their pajamas and found all the "hidden" eggs. I couldn't hide them too hard - wanted to make sure we got all those hard boiled eggs back in the fridge. It was a nice day and everyone had a good time.

Hidden so well.

The golden eggs - Sydney's had some money in it and Layne's had a little puppy (on of many that she collects).

Layne found the ones hidden low to the ground and ...

... Sydney got the ones a little higher.

In their Easter baskets, they each got a few plaster eggs to paint. Layne got right to work, Sydney decided to wait a little longer.

And they got these cute little chicks and eggs made of sidewalk chalk. So cute!

Layne got these cool recycled crayons, and ...

... Sydney got these cool colored pencils (all recycled and green 'n all).

Take Cover

2011-05-20T18:38:00.000-05:00

As I type this, thunder is booming and crashing over our house. EAS (Emergency Alert System) just broke into our regularly scheduled television program to tell us to expect severe thunderstorms. I don't mind thunderstorms. In fact, I rather enjoy them - the louder the better. It's what comes with them here in the south that make them a little less desirable - tornadoes.

A few weeks ago, we had a string of storms that not only played the symphony of crash, bang, boom, but had accompanying less desirables. There were countless tornadoes in and around central Arkansas. It seemed as though we were taking cover in the closet every night for a week.

We were lucky. The worse for us was losing power for 12 hours. That was nothing ... nothing compared to what others lost. Some families lost everything. Some people lost their lives. It was tragic and devastating.

We were lucky.

Fortunately for Layne, the storms came through so late that she didn't even know that we were in danger. I just plucked her out of her bed and plopped her in the closet.

We took cover in Sydney's closet.

And here is the oblivious little napper.

Tonight's storms did not include any twisters, so I just sat back and listened to the storm in all it's glory with no worry of jumping up to take cover.

Soccer Tourney

2011-05-14T20:33:00.000-05:00

It was about a month ago that Sydney's soccer team participated in a tournament. I know, old news. But she was so excited and her team did great. Granted, there was only three teams in her age group, and each team played the others twice. It got close for a little bit, but in the end, our girls took second. They were awesome.

I didn't get one picture of them in action on the field, or any of Sydney's goals. Though I did catch these on my phone.

Here is the "finalist" team of the U8 Girls tournament.

Getting ready to receive their medals.

With the coaches and the trophy

The coach has to resign for next season because he'll be busy with football. So the assistant coach was promoted to coach, and Jess volunteered me for the assistant coach position. Fun! (I'm very excited!) Most of the girls will be returning and a few will be doing soccer camp with Sydney this summer. I'm secretly happy that she's doing something that I loved as a kid *and* as an adult. Go Sydney!

Coming Attractions

2011-05-08T08:50:00.002-05:00

Oh boy, so much to say, so many pictures to post, so many memories to recall ... yet, so little time. Here's just a few of the posts I have on the list to blog.

Sydney's soccer team came in second in a weekend tournament.

The 3rd graders at Sydney's school participate in an Easter Bonnet Parade every year.

And the next week, Sydney's cheerleading team had their award ceremony.

A friend of mine had an Easter Egg Coloring party.

And our church had an Easter Egg hung.

We colored our own eggs with the girls' friends.

And of course, the obligatory Easter pics.

I love this picture for so many reasons.

Layne's class had their end of the year program.

And Layne had her dress rehearsal for her recital (recital is today, but we cannot take pics during the show).

Two more weeks of school. I'm hoping that once we're out, I will have more time to write - I can get back to my regularly scheduled blogging.

ER

2011-04-26T16:52:00.000-05:00

It was a normal Sunday (over a week ago). We'd been to church, and ate some lunch. Later in the afternoon, we headed out to one of Layne's classmate's birthday party. It was held at a place we frequent outside of birthday parties - the Kid's Club at our fitness club. It is a pretty cool place, with a three-story maze of tubes, a craft area, and a Wii area. Keeps them plenty busy when I'm working out.

At any rate, we were headed to the party and Layne, being so excited, ran ahead. I called out to her, "wait for Momma!" But she didn't listen. And sure enough, mere seconds later, I heard a wail and knew immediately that it was Layne. At first, I didn't think much about it - she is a bit of a drama queen. But as I rounded the corner and caught sight of her, I thought I saw a shadow on her face. Of course, it wasn't a shadow, it was BLOOD! All. Over. Her. Face. She was screaming, for a good reason, but I didn't know from where the blood was coming. With her hands, she'd wiped blood from its unknown origin, to her cheeks, nose, and forehead. So we walked back the way we came, found some napkins, and started cleaning her up. I soon realized the blood was coming from her lip. And on further investigation, I realized it was coming from a two-tooth-sized hole under her bottom lip.

I picked up my phone and called Jess. I very calmly told her that Layne put her teeth through her bottom lip and that I would meet her at the ER. In hindsight, I was eerily calm through out the whole thing. I'm not sure why, but I guess I just wanted to stop her pain and stop her crying. But I couldn't do that if I was hysterical.

We walked back to the party, I sat her down on a bench with a wad of napkins on her mouth, and went to go looking for the mom of the birthday boy. On the way, the kind clerk behind the counter asked if I needed some ice. I said yes and rushed off. Sydney was being an awesome big sister and sat with her and tried to make her feel better. I found birthday boy's mom and rather nonchalantly told her, "Layne just fell, put her teeth through her bottom lip, and I'm going to take her to the ER. Sorry we can't stay, but here is Sam's gift."

Yeah, I know. All part of the eeriness.

Of course, a bunch of parents came over to have a look and one pediatrician dad told me that I needed to go to the ER. Thank you Captain Obvious! So I gathered up my broken child, and her terrific big sister and headed out. But not before the birthday boy's horrified mom handed me two goody bags.

We arrived at Children's Hospital, signed in, and were pointed to a waiting room where we waited and waited. After a while, we were triaged and pointed to another waiting room where we waited and waited some more. Then we had to talk to the clerk and give all our insurance information too and wait even longer. Finally, after what seemed like forever, we were escorted to a bay - which is really just a bed with curtains for walls. (I was having nightmarish flashbacks from our sleepover in the hospital when Layne had her tonsils out.) Finally, Doc came in examined her. He confirmed that she needed a couple stitches and we discussed how it would all go down. Lots of bribery later, we started the process. First came the anesthetic. It was a topical that had to be in place for about 20-30 minutes.

After more waiting and more bribing - which included a phone call to our friend, whose daughter is Layne's best friend, asking if Layne could spend the day with them the next day, to which she agreed - Doc came in with Nurse and they stitched up the lip.

She did great, only had to be reminded of the bribes once or twice. Five and a half hours and two stitches later, we left ... thankful it wasn't anything more serious - like the little girl on the other side of our curtain who waited probably longer than we did, with a broken humerus and who was subsequently wheeled up to surgery.

The sutures were clear and dissolved within a few days of being stitched. She had a fat lip for a couple days, too. The laceration was just about on the edge of her lip where it meets the skin so the scar is minimal, if at all. Doc said that because she is so young, whatever scar does occur, will fade soon. It won't even be there when she gets older. I don't have an after picture yet, but tomorrow is her program at school, so I'm sure I'll get one there.

I have so much to write about ... I'll be back soon.

Happy Happy Happy

2011-04-24T09:55:00.001-05:00

Happy 33rd birthday to my beautiful wife (April 20).

Happy 44th Anniversary to my parents, Bob and Susan (April 22).

Happy EARTH Day (April 22).

Happy 12th Anniversary to my lovely wife (April 23).

Happy Easter (today).

Happy 42nd birthday to my twin sister, Melissa (April 30).

Happy Spring!

A Funny 4-Year Old Conversation

2011-04-08T20:13:00.000-05:00

Today, one of the 4-year old girls in my class (Girl 1) got upset because the girl next to her (Girl 2) told her that a girl and a girl could get married. The teacher of the class, handled it by telling them not to argue. As the discussion fizzled, one of the boys said that he could marry a girl, to which the teacher replied, "well, your a boy." Girl 2 also had a reply to this: "well, you can change."

It's unknown what she actually meant, after all, she's only four. But it could have been translated into something like transgenders or sex changes. And we giggled a little. The teacher said, "let's not talk about that here." To which I replied, "let them talk about it. By the time they are our age, it will be their norm."

Here in Arkansas, it's not legal for a girl and a girl to be married. However, it *is* legal elsewhere in this country. So when it comes right down to it, it's a difficult argument to have with a 4-year old. I mean, really, what do you say?

Computer Trouble

2011-04-04T20:46:00.002-05:00

I read other blogs (not recently of course, because I've been such a bad blogger this year) about others who have computer problems, how their computers have spent days, even weeks in the computer hospital, how they can't get their computers connect to the internet, etc., etc., etc. I'd just skim over these posts because even when I started to have problems with my own desktop computer, I had a laptop just waiting to be broken in.

But these days computers are disposable and last only a couple years. And even though I've taken care of my laptop - running virus software regularly; resyncing, rebooting, and recharging; and being sure to NOT keeping important things on the hard drive - something still went wrong with my 2-year old computer, and I don't have a new computer waiting in the wings.

So yes, my computer is in the shop. It needs a new screen, imagine that! Fortunately, it's something that can be fixed with minimal effort and not a lot of money (thankfully!). There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the hard drive, which is usually the hardest thing to recover or fix, so I'm thankful for that too.

I'm on Sydney's computer - she's so nice to share. My computer will be in the shop for a couple days while they wait for the part to be shipped from Texas. Sydney's already starting to complain.

Layne Doodles

2011-03-27T14:38:00.001-05:00

Layne loves to write and doodle. I'm impressed with how many letters she knows. Today, she asked me how to spell my name (I spelled out m-o-m-m-a) and she wrote it. And then asked how to spell roses (her name when she is pretending to be a dog). I don't have pics but she did a pretty good job. I took the following pics a few days ago after she doodled her heart out.

Here I asked her what it says, she told me, "n-l-e-y-a-l-y-y-l-l Just practicing the letters in my name." Awww!

So I asked her to write her name (I love how she makes her lower case "e"):

She's always drawing pictures for me. I asked her to tell me about this picture and she said "this is the momma snowman" pointing to what looks like the a snowman, "and this is the baby snowman inside the momma snowman's belly" pointing to the three little circles inside the larger middle circle. This girl is intent on getting a baby brother or sister.

Lanterns

2011-03-26T10:12:00.000-05:00

We went to an event called Lanterns. It's an annual fundraising event. We'd never been, but we'd heard really good things about it. There is no light except for the paper bag luminaries. They line the paths to different "countries" where food from respective countries is served. It was dark when we got there, so we stumbled around a little before we got our bearings. But once we did, we had a lot of fun.

One of the paper bag luminaries

The kids got these glow sticks so that we could keep up with them in the dark. And believe me, they came in handy!

A lined path ...

... and another - a little more winding.

Sydney with the "unicorn".

And Layne with the other one.

This gazebo was right next to the water. Here, you could buy a paper lotus, put a tea light inside, and make a wish as you set it afloat onto the water.

We all did one. Sydney went first.

Then Layne. It was so dark, I was sure one of the girls would fall into the water.

Mine.

And Jess's in the background. They are sitting on the two steps that lead to the water.

And then they found a sand pit where they could dig for gold. Well, really, they were play coins that they could trade in for a prize.

It's not the moon, it's a huge balloon with a light in it.

It didn't take long for Layne for fall asleep (thankfully, we had the stroller). And it also didn't take long for Sydney to find a dragon.

The stairs leading out - not an easy exit with the stroller.

It was a Sunday, so we were out a little late for a school night. But we had a great time, and everyone had fun. And the family time was worth every minute of it.

Mardi Gras

2011-03-23T19:37:00.001-05:00

Okay, so here are the Mardi Gras pictures of which I spoke. Fat Tuesday here in Arkansas was rainy and wet, thereby canceling our school's annual parade. The parade consists of a truck with a trailer hitch loaded with 5th graders throwing beads to the children that line the short street. It's a beloved event at the school and one in which the entire school - every student and teacher - are outside catching beads and wearing masks. It's quite a moment. But the rain postponed it for a day.

Also rained out was Sydney soccer practice and then her violin instructor canceled because he was under the weather. So our Fat Tuesday suddenly became wide open. So we went to our church's Mardi Gras celebration. Lots of gumbo and King Cake later, we walked out of there with masks and accessories for the school's celebration the next day. It worked out beautifully.

The centerpieces were gorgeous, donned with lots of green, purple, and gold.

Layne loved the King Cake, but was upset when her piece didn't contain the baby. Fact is, you can't buy a King Cake with a baby baked into it ... choking hazard. They sell the cake with the baby taped to the inside of the box. We tried to tell her that, but she wasn't buying it.

Sydney got this cool necklace to wear for the school parade the next day.

The next day, the weather held out and we had our parade. I made sure to grab enough masks from the church for the teachers in my building. Here we are - L to R: Miss Lynnette, Miss Amanda, Miss Allison, and moi. Aren't we cute?!

Here is the principal. She dresses up and leads the parade every year. Such a fun time.

My Lulu was sitting with her class, waiting patiently for some beads to be thrown her way.

Sydney has a little more experience with these parades, so she was a little more aggressive snatching up necklaces.

Okay, now that that's done, written, posted, recorded, or whatever, I can move onto all the other posts I have waiting. Spring break is good for my blogging schedule. I'll keep working on that.

The Tulips are in Bloom

2011-03-22T21:48:00.005-05:00

We decided to skip out on church on Sunday and go to see the tulips at G.arvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs. Jess's sister Jenn came with us and the two of us snapped a ton of pictures.

At the welcome center, there was this cool O-scale model train. The girls loved it.

Just a few of the pictures of the flowers that I snapped.

Okay, now onto the kids. Of course, I took a ton of the kids too. Layne wouldn't cooperate at first ...

... so we had to bribe her. Bad mommas!

It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining bright, and as much as we were enjoying it, it is terrible lighting for picture taking. The shadows were killing me!

Jenn snapped a few of all of us, even Cali.

I need to swap out a few heads on each of these to create the perfect picture. I just don't know how.

Sydney wanted to be the one to walk Cali.

My girlie!

Ugh! The shadows!

At least they were cooperating.

Layne brought a toy dog with her and it was hard to get a picture of her without it.

Walking over a really cool bridge into the Children's area, which was filled with lots of caves, tunnels, and waterfalls.

Jess and Jenn, who usually both hate getting their pictures taken, let me take this one of the two of them.

And Cali had way too much fun splashing around in the little river. She LOVES the water!

It was a beautiful day - we wore out the kids and the dog ... and ourselves. We got home, bathed the girls, and camped out on the couch for the remainder of the day.

I still have some catching up to do. I have more pictures to post, and more things to post about. I just need to organize my time better so that my pictures of Mardi Gras get posted before Christmas.

Weekend

2011-03-17T20:17:00.003-05:00

[I started this post last weekend - and being the loser blogger I've been lately, I'm just now getting around to finishing it up and posting it. Just picture me with my fingers forming an "L" and holding it on my forehead. ]

This weekend Sydney had her first soccer game of the season. Last time she played soccer was when she was about 6 years old. She quit because she didn't want to play anymore. But last fall, she announced that she wanted to play soccer again. So we signed her up for the spring season. She fell in love with the sport at her first practice, saying that she wanted to play soccer from now on (how ever long that lasts, ). Her first game was rained out (the one thing we don't like about spring soccer), but for her second game, the weather cooperated and we had a beautiful day.

She learned something new this time around that they didn't do when she played on the younger leagues - throw-ins.

She never really dribbled before either. And she does it pretty well now.

She played with a smile on her face for the whole game...

... except when the other team scored their third goal before her team scored even one goal.

Another throw-in at the end of the game.

Her team lost 5-2, but she said she had so much fun, she can't wait for the next game. Her teammates have become her seven newest friends and she literally bounces her way out onto the field. She's such a cool kid.

After the game, she couldn't stop talking about it. Until we told her that we were going to put the bike rack on the back of the car and load it up with the bikes so we could go on a bike ride. We'd been talking about it for a few weeks now, and she's been asking when we are going ever since. So we finally went. And it was great!

At the back of the car with all the bikes on the rack.

The weather was still beautiful and we just rode. Layne wasn't feeling great (runny nose and coughing) so she was all too willing to just ride quietly on the back of my bike. So quietly, in fact, she slept most of the ride. Syd was rearing to go. She wanted to ride out in front and she wanted to ride fast. Of course, her little bike doesn't go as fast as ours, but her little legs were spinning up a storm. We rode a total of nine miles, and Syd pedaled every last inch. It was a good ride of which we all thoroughly enjoyed. As I put the bikes back on the rack, Syd asked when we could go again. So we promised that as long as the weather held out, we'd go again soon.

Conversation Wednesday

2011-03-16T07:39:00.001-05:00

At dinner on night, we were talking about Layne's day at school and how one of the teachers in her room just loves to love all over her.

Jess: "Don't you be giving away all my Lulu lovin'!"
Layne: "I don't have any Lulu lovin' because I just love."

She's so stinkin' sweet!

Conversation Wednesday

2011-03-02T07:24:00.002-06:00

[It's so sad that my last post was also a Conversation. Wednesday - a whole week ago! Work has definitely been interfering with my blogging for far too long now.]

After playing her violin for Kindergarten - her former Kindy teacher asked her to show off her violin because the class was studying the letter V - we walked out onto the empty playground. It was then that I realized that she'd been in Kindergarten during her morning recess.

Me: "Aw Honey, I'm sorry you missed your recess."
Sydney: "Momma, it was totally worth it."

She is so cute! And LOVES playing her violin.

Conversation Wednesday

2011-02-23T08:54:00.002-06:00

A few days ago, Layne got herself dressed but she forgot a key piece of clothing - panties. So I asked her why she didn't put any on.

Layne: "Because they were mean to me."

Later on, I asked her if she'd put on a pair of panties, like I'd asked her to earlier. With one finger, she pulled her pants down over her bottom and said, "Yes!" Except that she had no undies on.

So I asked her: "Where are your panties?"

To which she replied: "Right here, Momma," pointing to her bottom, "they're camouflage!"

She's such a funny kid.

And I don't think she actually every put on a pair of panties.

Violin

2011-02-21T20:27:00.000-06:00

We had the opportunity to see an amazing violinist perform in concert. We'd never heard of David Garrett before that night, so we googled and searched on youtube. And decided pretty quick that we wanted to go. We brought the girls, thinking if nothing else, it could be educational.

From the very first song, Sydney sat enthralled as she watched him play. His music is his interpretation of all kinds of songs, from classical to rock n' roll, played on his violin. Sydney rocked out in her seat for the whole concert. Layne got a little bored, but Sydney couldn't get enough. When it was over, we were lucky enough to have a connection that would allow Sydney to get his autograph. When asked if she wanted to meet him, she declined saying she was too shy. Bummer! I wanted to meet him. We got her a poster (signed!) and his latest CD.

She hasn't listened to anything since.

She even got to doodling about a violin (notice in the stick figure in the corner - she told me that it was her playing the violin). So cute!

This weekend, after relentlessly asking us when she was going to get one, we bought Sydney a violin. We walked into a local music/instrument shop and asked to have her measured for the instrument. Little did we know that there was an actual instructor on site. He came out and measured Sydney. Then he asked us to go into one of the lesson rooms so that she could play with the violin. All five of us squeezed into the tiny room and Sydney was instructed to start plucking. As she plucked, the teacher (John) told her how to care for the violin and the bow. The he told her to put the bow to the strings and make some music. She was so excited to actually play - even if it was just to move the bow back and forth.

John expressed that he liked for a parent to take the lesson with the child and then asked which of us want to play. I immediately volunteered. I've never played a musical instrument, I don't even know how to read sheet music. But he said that was fine - we were there to learn. So I'm super excited! Although, I'm sure Syd is much more excited than me. She has been practicing since we got home - and she hasn't even had her first lesson yet.

I walked into her room yesterday and not only was she playing her violin, but she was listening to David Garrett. Notice the signed poster in the background.

So serious.

Tomorrow is our first lesson. But even before that, she's convinced her teacher to let her play in front of the class tomorrow morning. She only moves the bow back and forth on the strings, so not really playing. More like just getting the feel for it. But she is so excited, it warms my heart. Last time she was this adamant about something it was horseback riding. And that was six years ago and she's still riding.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T20:38:00.002-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day! It was a good day - busy at work, but fun with all the excited, sugared-up kids, and valentines. Layne came home with this - so stinkin' cute!

I gave Jess a dozen roses - a dozen chocolate kiss roses. I made them because she's always teasing me about hiding chocolate around the house so I don't have to share it.

Which I do ... hide chocolate around the house - AND share it. But now she has a bunch of chocolate that she doesn't have to share with anyone.

And Sydney helped me make these so that she and Layne could give them to Mommy.

Jess sent me a dozen red tulips, delivered to the school. I felt so special. Jess cooked a nice family dinner and we had chocolate covered strawberries for dessert (well, they all did - I don't like chocolate covered strawberries). And then we watched some TV - all four of us sitting on the couch together making Sydney and Layne sandwiches (we squeeze them in between us as Jess and I hug each other - an old favorite of my childhood).

It was a perfect Valentine's Day. I love all my girls!

The Weathermen Were Right

2011-02-12T08:26:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Day 3 of no school due to inclement weather. Day 1 was on Wednesday. School was closed on Tuesday night because all the weather forecasts were predicting lots of snow. Well, as predicted, the snow started falling at about 7:30am. And it started accumulating almost immediately. Jess got off to work okay, but the rest of us forced homebodies got - or should I say, stayed - comfy in our pajamas. I tried to be productive - did some laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and planned my next Girl Scout meeting. When Jess got home later that morning, we all got dressed, bundled up in scarves, hats, and gloves and went outside in the snow. We tried to sled down the hill at the end of our street, but having not been driven on at all, it was not packed down. So it was still too fluffy and the longest ride was not more than ten feet. We all had a fun time and were outside for almost an hour. As Jess, Sydney, and I stood at the top of the hill, about 6-7 houses from ours, Layne wobbled down the hill, losing her footing a time or two. It was at that point that we realized our time was up. So we all walked home. Sydney played for a little while longer in the back yard, but eventually, we all peeled off our wet clothes and piled them in the tub to dry.

Walking up the hill at the end our our street.

Laynie, not sure of all this snow. Look at that cute little red nose!

We searched everywhere for a sled the day before the storm, but they were sold out everywhere. So we tried the lid of a garbage can. Didn't work so well.

Our neighbors offered their sleds. But they didn't fair much better.

Poor Layne didn't understand the concept of holding on. Although, it wouldn't have helped much, because the sleds didn't go very far. She ended up sliding on her bottom for a couple feet.

[Looking so stinkin' grown up!] Sydney got the hang of it, and got her sled to take her about ten feet.

We tied Cali to the tree because she has a tendency to take off. She was happy to be in the snow - she loves snow. But she was not at all happy waiting for us at the bottom of the hill.

This was taken about 10am.

By about 2pm, the snow fall had increased dramatically. Although, it didn't have much impact on the final accumulation.

Of course, it was enough to make snow angels.

And Sydney had fun trekking around the back yard.

This was taken about 4pm. It hadn't quite stopped snowing at that point, but the accumulation by the next morning was only another half inch.

It snowed all day - from 7:30am to about 5pm. Now, I know that in other parts of the country, this would mean about 2-3 feet of snow. Heck, I lived in one of those other parts of the country. I know. But it's different here in Arkansas. Even after snowing ALL day, we only got 5" - yep, that's five inches! I know some of you are rolling your eyes. Believe me, I was rolling mine. But this "storm" made me realize that I really miss snow. And not just the look of snow as it falls or accumulates on the ground. But I really miss how it lingers - the piles of plowed snow on the side of the street, or up against tall buildings. I know that sounds wacky and to those that are buried in snow in other parts of country right now, you're saying "Oh please!" But it's true.

Around here, we don't have plows (which is why we have three days of no school!), so there are no piles of snow on every corner. And even if there were, the rising temperatures would melt it within days. During the snow, our temps were below freezing (of course), but by Wednesday, our temps will be in the high 60s. It's crazy!

We burned through a good chunk of our firewood. Because after getting soaked in the snow, the only thing we thought about was getting warmed by the fire. I had a fire going for three days.

We did practice being couch potatoes and caught up on all of our DVR'd shows. Plus, on Day 2, we took advantage of On Demand and bought Secretariat. We popped some popcorn and piled everyone, including Cali, onto the sofa. Then when the kids scattered after the movie, Jess and I watched Social Network. Both very enjoyable movies. And although we questioned Day 3 of no school - clear roads, above freezing temps - we took advantage of the day off and went to the movies with some friends. We saw Gnomeo & Juliet. ADORABLE movie!

Today, we are back to business as usual - except that it's Saturday, so business includes cheerleading for a basketball game for Sydney and a friend's birthday party for Layne.

Another First Place

2011-02-01T20:39:00.003-06:00

Since I started this job, back in August, I've noticed long gaps between my blog posts. I don't like it. In fact, I hate it. I've always loved blogging, but sometimes, when it gets to about a week since my last post, I get more and more indifferent about writing something. I feel like I have to update, when really, there is nothing to update *on*, know what I mean? Sure, there have been a lot of blog-worthing things going on, and yes, I wish I had the motivation to write. But most nights, I sit practically comatose while Jess and I sneak in an hour of television and gape at whatever flickers in front of us. I'm usually a multi-tasker - I've taken up many a hobby, just so I'd have something to do while I'm watching the tube because it would make me feel productive even if it was just pretending. But lately, I have no desire to do anything while I sit watching tv except maybe drool. And then I go to bed by 9pm. I'm such a loser.

Last week, I told my boss that I would not be returning to my job next year. Jess and I have talked about it a lot and have decided that it's just best for our family if I was a stay-at-home-mom again. I LOVE my job, I love being at the girls' school all day, I love that I know right away how Syd did on her multiplication tables, how she did on her test, or how she did in the art contest. I love that the little kids in my class love me, even when I have to be stern with them. I love working with the big kids in art and music. And of course, I love that I have "work" friends - something I definitely missed when I wasn't working. My boss took it well - she knows me, so she completely understands. And not that I won't be around anymore ... I'm the chairman of the fall festival in October, I'm the Box Tops coordinator, I'm a Girl Scout leader to the girls at the school, and an all-around involved parent. She'll still see plenty of me.

It was a difficult decision for me. I know that it wasn't for Jess. She made up her mind pretty soon after school started that she preferred I not work. But I was torn between loving my new job and loving being a stay-at-home mom. And when it came right down to it, I love being home more. When I'm working, I enjoy it (most days ), but when I arrive home after work, I feel very overwhelmed with everything on my *To Do* list. And even though I've been a working mom before this year, I must be really out of practice because I can't seem to get my shit together. I will absolutely miss working at the school. I will absolutely NOT miss the chaos that my life has become.

All that being said, one of the perks of working there was that I was able to be there when they announced the winners of the art contest they had last week. The students worked on their pieces for a few weeks and were excited to finally learn who won. (You would think that I'd already known seeing as the art teacher, who did NOT help judge, but was present for the judging would have told me who the winners were because I'm her assistant. But I told her I didn't want to know. If Sydney was going to win, I didn't want to find out before she did - unlike with the multiplication tables final test.)

So this afternoon, the entire elementary assembled in the gym for the announcement. They went by grade, so by the time they got to 3rd, I was pretty nervous. When I came time for Sydney's class, I think I held my breath. Third place was awarded to another girl in Sydney's class named Sydney and my heart leapt a little with excitement thinking she'd won third. But she didn't. The art teacher announced second place, no Sydney. And as the exaggerated pause lingered, I watched Sydney ... trying to look calm, and not at all the basket case I was inside. They called her name - Sydney's name! She'd won FIRST!! I was just so excited for her. And she was beaming - so proud of her work. It was one of those moments I will definitely miss, both figuratively and literally, when I'm not working there anymore.

All the winners will have an ice cream party, hosted by ... you guessed it, the art teacher and her assistant (ME!!). How fun, right?!! I love my job.

Here is her masterpiece. It comes as no surprise what she'd draw, right? I'm so proud of my little artist!

Just Photos

2011-01-22T08:31:00.002-06:00

My SIL came over one day to take some pictures of the girls. So after we got them dressed, hair brushed, and all ready, we both grabbed our cameras. These are the pics from my camera - I don't have the ones from my SIL yet.

Wish List

2011-01-19T20:37:00.000-06:00

Our girls can ask Santa for three things. It's the way it was when I was growing up so we carried it over to our family. When they want to ask for more than that, we tell them that they can ask for as much as they'd like, but that Santa will try his hardest to get the first three things on their list. So they had to prioritize.

Sydney started writing out her list ... her detailed list of dragons. But she wanted to make sure that Santa got it right, so she cut out pictures instead.

She kept on changing her numbers 1, 2, 3 and after Santa had already made her dragons, she changed them to what is in the picture. But she got numbers 2, 6, and 7 because those were her first numbers 1, 2, and 3. And you can even see the number 7 dragon in the pictures of Christmas eve and Santa.

Layne, not wanting to be left out, decided to solicit Sydney's help in making her own list ... complete with pictures as well. Here numbers 1, 2, and 3 never changed.

Now that Christmas is over, Sydney is cutting and pasting her wish list for next year. And so is Layne.

Conversation Wednesday

2011-01-12T15:01:00.000-06:00

Layne was in dress-up garb. And announced, "I'm going to be a princess doctor."
I asked her, "a princess doctor, huh?"
To which she replied, "yes, because I like to dance."

When she is in princess dress-up, she dances. So I think that just means that she wants to be a doctor, but she dances, so she also has to be a princess. She's such a funny kid.

Family Holiday Visit

2011-01-11T19:40:00.000-06:00

Well, make that a 3-day week. School was closed again today. We didn't go out at all today, not even to make a snowman. We just sat in front of the fire and watched TV. Looking on FB, Jess saw all kinds of pictures that friends had posted about their snow day in the ... well, snow. Not us, and I'm not ashamed. I had no desire to go outside and get cold.

So today is a great day to post the few pictures I took of when my family was here visiting for Christmas. I took some of these with my Christmas gift from Jess - an Olympus Stylus Tough 6020.

It is not called "Tough" for nothing. It is shockproof, meaning it can be dropped, thrown, etc. up to five feet. It's freezeproof to below freezing temperatures. AND it's waterproof up to 16 feet which means I can take pictures underwater. Sweet!

Anyway, here are the family pictures:

The tree!

The gifts!

The dragon Sydney asked for.

The doll and the camper Layne asked for.

Syd with her new iPod and Colin with his new game on his PSP.

Layne got a make up kit, so she is trying out the nail polish.

We went out to eat with some friends, and here's what the kids did as we waited for a table: Maddie on her new Nook, Syd on her iPod, and Colin on his PSP. Oh brother!

My dad is a busy body and it so worked to our advantage. He fixed a broken drawer (below) and he fixed an outlet that quit working. Jess wants to fly him up here every few months just to fix things up around the house.

One of the gifts we got for Colin didn't ship in time, so we showed him what it was on the internet (a Red Sox Pedroia baseball shirt). Megan wanted me to get the picture of "when his eyes blew out of his head."

We celebrated Maddie and Colin's birthday. Mom made the kind of cake they requested - Colin requested chocolate with chocolate frosting and Maddie requested tomato soup cake with cream cheese frosting. Both delicious cakes!

And everyone licked the candles - Auntie Mimi, that's for you (she hates it)!

Sydney and Layne had a riding lesson and the whole family came to watch. Their instructor's boyfriend brought out another horse and asked Maddie and Colin if they wanted a ride. Colin jumped at the chance, but Maddie declined.

They took a lap around the arena.

Then Maddie changed her mind - she wanted to ride too.

Another lap around.

And even though she had a lesson on her own horse, Layne insisted on taking a lap on Muley.

And not wanting to be left out, Sydney actually dismounted Jasmine and climbed on Muley for a lap around.

We had a great time and an awesome Christmas. I snapped only a few pictures on Christmas Day, but I video recorded the morning while we opened our gifts. It should be fun to watch that.

Another Four-Day Week

2011-01-10T09:19:00.000-06:00

Well, the first hasn't happened yet. So this one comes first and the first one will become the "another". Wait, I'm confusing myself. Let me back up.

A week from today is Martin Luther King day, therefore no school So next week is a four-day week. But today is a snow day, so it's also a four-day week. So the first short week is next week, but the second is this week. Get it?

I took these yesterday when the snow started in the early afternoon.

Catching snowflakes on their tongues.

She LOVES being outside - even in the cold!

Cali doesn't know what it is, but she knows she loves it.

Dreaming about a snow day.

Within less than an hour, we had accumulation. Now, I know this is nothing to you Northerners - I know, having lived in the North for 30 years, I've experience a Nor'easter or two ... heck, I survived the Blizzard of '78. But here in Arkansas, we don't usually get snow, never mind accumulation.

And this is what it looked like at about 9pm last night.

Cali didn't want to come inside.

And this is what it looks like now.

Maybe we'll make another snowman like we did last year. I know the girls want to go out an play (while I'd rather just enjoy my day off in front of the tube. )

Cookies

2011-01-09T09:34:00.002-06:00

It's Girl Scout Cookie time!

Sydney is so excited! Yesterday was the first day she was allowed to sell. And by golly, we were out there collecting orders!

I was surprised at how many people actually opened the door. Last year, only a handful were home, but it seems like we hit the jackpot today. She sold 39 boxes - enough to earn the first incentive item, a participation patch. Go Sydney!

Homework

2011-01-04T20:38:00.001-06:00

Guess what Sydney's homework is for tonight?

Well, let me just throw out there that the Arkansas Razorbacks are playing in the Sugar Bowl tonight, which is being televised on one of our local TV stations.

She has to watch the game.

She is sitting here with me doing her homework. I'm quizzing her on the rules of football because she has never watched a game in her life and she keeps asking me questions. So far, she's only got the easy ones down - How many points is a touchdown? How many points is a field goal? But it seems like anytime I need to hear what call the ref is making, she's asking another question. "What is offsides?"

However, it is super cute when she yells, "Go Hogs!!"

At this exact moment, Ohio State just scored a touchdown. Arkansas is down 20-7. Sydney just announced, "if the other team is going to keep scoring touchdowns, I'm not watching anymore." I'm with Sydney.

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

2011-01-01T12:48:00.000-06:00

Today is 1-1-11. Kind of cool ...

Last night, Sydney was having number two of three sleepovers in a row (I protested number three, but lost), so we got Jess's mom to watch Layne and we decided to go to dinner and a movie. A low-key night - we probably wouldn't even be awake to ring in the new year. We went to Bonefish Grill for dinner - yummy! And then we were going to see Black Swan, but on our way out of the restaurant, Jess missed the curb and ended up twisting her ankle so bad, a couple guys came running over to help her up. We were preparing ourselves to go to the ER, but eventually decided to just stay home and ice it. We rented Date Night on the DVR. So much for our date night.

Anyway, back to today's post. Last year I wrote two posts, but published only one. I wrote, and saved as draft, the post about the resolutions I had for 2010. I went back to check and out of about a dozen resolutions (mostly to finish projects or do more of the things I like), I completed not even half of them. I suppose when I wrote the post back in Jan 2010, I didn't know that I would end taking care of Jess for another five months or that I would end up working after that. So maybe I'll just re-write the list for 2011.

The other post in which I wrote a Year in Review, was actually published. I enjoyed writing that post, so I'm going to give it another try this year. So here goes:

January
We started the year out with the hope of Jess's recovery. But after blogging about the online friends I'd met over the years, we experienced first hand how important they were when we learned we'd have to make another trip to California for a second surgery. After that second trip, and feeling confident once again that Jess was fixed, we concentrated on family fun with a snow day.

February
We had another snow day, this time dumping seven inches. Sydney raised a bunch of money for her favorite charity, Change Angels. And then completed a really cool dinosaur project for school. Later, we learned that Jess would have to travel to California for yet another surgery. The surgery went well, and I flew across the country to be there with her.

March
Another setback meant a fourth surgery for Jess. While she slept with the help of some pretty strong pain meds, I got to meet, for the first time, another of my online/IRL friends, Karen. We got home from California in time for spring break. And I counted five years of blogging.

April
As Jess continued with her recovery from the four surgeries, we started the month with lots of Easter celebrations. Sydney learned about manners and nutrition at school. And then I took a hiatus from blogging because Jess' health was still questionable.

May
During my hiatus from blogging, Jess and I returned to California for a fourth time - a blood patch, no surgery. And despite the fact that the headaches remained, we planted a Mother's Day garden. Summer arrived, and I did my first photo shoot.

June
Layne entertained us with her singing. Silly bands were all the craze. And we took a road trip with the girls for our fifth trip to California in seven months. And in addition to making it fun for everyone, we also learned that Jess was fixed!

July
What's the summer without a "Fourth" celebration. And Layne showed us how much she loves lip gloss. I went on a girls' weekend with some friends. And my sister, Mary came for a visit. Lastly, we had a brain cake party to celebrate Jess being fixed.

August
I decided to try and succeeded in posting everyday for 31 days. Most posts were silly and unnecessary - all in the name of NaBloPoMo. We welcomed a new addition to our family - an adorable standard poodle named Cali. I started my new job and published a book of my blog for 2009. Layne finished up her summer dance class. Before school started we went away for some last minute summer fun. Then school started. And then we learned that Layne would have to have surgery to remove tonsils and adenoids.

September
It was a slow month for blogging despite the fact that lots happened. Layne had her surgery and a tough recovery but survived just fine. Sydney's class had a luau. And then we flew to Boston where Jess went to a conference and the rest of us visited with my sister, Melissa's family.

October
If September was slow for blogging, October was even slower - three posts for the entire month. In true October fashion, we were crazy active. We pulled off the school's first fundraiser festival and it was awesome! We had our fifth annual pumpkin carving party. And Sydney turned 8 celebrating with a costume roller skating party and went trick-r-treating as Medussa.

November
I started the month with a super long post with pictures of all our October (and even some September) happenings. The week before Thanksgiving was filled with fun things. We got another new pet, a pony named Jazmine. And Layne turned four and had an exciting princess party.

December
We got busy getting ready for Christmas and a holiday visit from my family. I made class gifts for Sydney and we had a cookie swap. Sydney kicked butt on the incentive-driven (read: no grade given) multiplication table build-a-sundae activity in her class. We had a wonderful time with my family - Mom, Dad, my sister Megan, and her kids, Maddie and Colin - as they celebrated Christmas with us (pictures will, unfortunately, be posted in 2011 because I was having so much fun with them, I wasn't thinking about blogging). And then we had the most special Christmas Eve ever!

I started 2010 feeling optimistic, not knowing how hard and challenging it would prove to be. I start off 2011 equally as optimistic, still oblivious to what lies ahead. Jess may have sprained her ankle to start the year, but that's a far cry from where she started last year. I hesitate to write anything that could jinx what might come - you know me, forever superstitious. But I'm hoping for a great year!

Happy New Year!!

Santa Clause Came to Town

2010-12-31T15:49:00.002-06:00

The last couple weeks were a whirlwind of preparing for my family's visit; getting ready for Christmas; having a wonderful time visiting with my mom, dad, sister, niece, and nephew; celebrating Christmas; and then attempting to get our house back to pre-holiday status. It was amazing and exhausting all at the same time. Can't wait to blog about it all. But first, a couple parallel stories about a childhood Christmas.

Sydney has a few classmates that adamantly do NOT believe in Santa Claus - and let all their friends know. A few weeks ago, I chaperoned a field trip in which we went to buy gifts for the class' "Angel". I had four girls in my group - Sydney (of course) and another girl, and then two of the girls that had been chattering about how much they DON'T believe. At the checkout, one of these girls told the story how last year at Christmas, she saw her mother writing tags out that said "To: Lily / From: Santa" and didn't deny that she was Santa. Sophia, the other girl that was with me, glanced at me and looked like a deer in the headlights. If that wasn't bad enough, Clara started talking about how last year, she got a toy and when she turned it over, it said "Made in China". When she asked her dad about it, he didn't have a satisfying answer for her. By now, both Sydney and Sophia were wide-eyed and looking terrified. So I had to step in - I said that Santa is secretive and things aren't always what they seem. He needs lots of help and sometimes he even has to ask the parents to help in little ways.

After that field trip, I realized that as much as Sydney wanted to believe, she was having doubts because of what the other girls were putting into her head. So we had a little talk and I told her that just because something says "Made in China" doesn't mean that it didn't come from Santa. He has workshops all over the world - in case he forgets something, he doesn't have time to go all the way back to the North Pole to get it. Some other places that I know of that have workshops are Taiwan, Indonesia, USA.

At the end of that conversation, she asked me if I'd ever seen Santa - not just at the mall, but on Christmas Eve. And lucky for me, I had the perfect reply: True story - when I was just a little younger than Sydney, I saw Santa unloading his bag at my house on Christmas Eve. I recalled the story as I remembered it when I was a 7 year old little girl. My mom and dad woke us up when they realized that Santa was in the house. They crept down the stairs with us, helping us be very quiet. They ushered us into the dining room, which had a set of french doors opening into the living room where the Christmas tree and now Santa was. The doors were closed at the time, so we were free to watch, quiet-as-a-mouse, as Santa pulled gift after gift out of his bag. I remember, as if it was yesterday, the feeling when he pulled out the very doll for which two weeks earlier, I sat on his lap and asked. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move. It was so exciting, I didn't know what to do with myself. The way he took it out of his bag made me think that he was showing the doll just to me. He did the same to my sisters' gifts. Somehow, my parents peeled us away and returned us to our beds. I'm not sure how we were able to put our excitement aside and go back to sleep, but we did. And when we woke up in the morning, we had a memory that would last a lifetime.

She sat wide-eyed for the whole story. The belief that she was holding on so loosely was visibly beginning to strengthen again. She asked if we took any pictures. I told her that regrettably, we didn't. And if I had stopped, in the midst of all the holiday craziness, to think just a little bit about how I could cement her belief, I would have made a phone call to the nearest costume store, rented a Santa outfit, and pleaded with my dad to wear it - the same way my grandfather wore it for me almost 35 years ago.

My parents arrived for their holiday visit and I told my mother about how Sydney had asked me if I'd ever seen Santa. I asked my mom to tell the story once again. And once again, Sydney sat captivated. Of course, by now it was two days before Christmas and I was kicking myself for not making that call a few days earlier.

The next day, Christmas Eve, I was busy wrapping gifts or baking, or something holiday related and I got a text from Jess that said "Call for a suit!" So I called the closest costume joint and got a voicemail message announcing that they still had Santa suits, elf suits, Mrs. Claus, or anything Christmas. But they were closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (crap!). However! If it was an emergency, call blah, blah, blah. So I called blah, blah, blah and when the woman answered, I asked if I called the right number. When she confirmed, I told her I had an emergency. Thirty minutes and $80 later, I had everything needed to make Santa appear at my house that night. Turns out, I didn't even have to plead with my dad - he was happy to do it. He tried on the suit and everything fit just fine.

My sister took the kids to bed which gave us about 20 minutes to get things ready for the Big Visit. When we were ready, we jingled some bells and waited. I know my sister Megan was telling the kids that they "shouldn't go out there", but after only a few seconds conceded and allowed them to leave the room. Jess and I met them at the bedroom door and lead them into the office. We didn't have the benefit of the french doors, but we do have a clever little corner where a sighting can be perfectly experienced.

My dad was the perfect Santa - pulling things out of the big red bag exactly as I remember Santa pulling them out when I was a kid. The girls were beside themselves being quieter than I'd ever seen them. We watched for only about three minutes - long three minutes - as Santa pulled out the dragon that Sydney asked for and the AG Julie doll that Layne asked for and then a few wrapped gifts to remain a mystery until the following morning. As I guided Sydney backwards (her back to me), telling her that it was time to let Santa finish his work, I put my hand on her chest. Her heart was *pounding*. I could literally feel just how excited she was. As the moment etched itself into her brain, hopefully to last her lifetime, feeling the the thrill pulse through her body is a memory that will last ME a lifetime. Of course, I made sure to have the camera out, but I only snapped a few pictures - needing more to experience the instant as opposed to watching it through the lens of the camera.

Those heads in the foreground belong to Layne and Sydney (left to right, respectively).

And there is Julie and the dragon on the chair.

Once we got the girls back to bed, Layne cried because she wanted to go open all her gifts NOW! And Sydney was so wound up, she couldn't stop fidgeting. We explained to both of them that Santa requires that kids actually SLEEP before opening gifts - one of his most followed rules. Fortunately, the day (and all the fussing) had caught up to Layne and she was asleep within minutes. Sydney, on the other hand, had a more difficult time. She *wanted* to go to sleep very badly, but was just to exhilarated. Jess laid with them for about 15 minutes and when she joined me at wrapping up the rest of the gifts, Sydney was almost asleep.

The morning came and the first thing Sydney asked me was if I got some pictures of Santa. When I told her enthusiastically YES! she asked if I could print them out so that she could bring them to school to show all her friends. This will definitely be a "to be continued" post, as I am eager to hear the stories she will come home with on Monday.

In the meantime, I'm compiling and editing pictures so that I can post about our Christmas and about my family's visit with us. So stay tuned. [I'm tempted to try a Nablopomo for January just so that I can keep my blog updated. ]

Holy 6 x 9, Batman!!

2010-12-16T04:44:00.002-06:00

[I was up to my elbows in fudge last night, but I woke up way before the alarm clock this morning, so I thought I'd use my extra time wisely and blog. ]

Ah, we don't have to study multiplication tables anymore! You know what that means - Sydney finished! And what's even better ... SHE CAME IN FIRST!

Let me start where I left off. She passed the 7's and 8's (the girl in front of her passed the 9's). The next day was the 9's (the mixed for the other girl) - she didn't pass, but neither did the other girl. They both retook their respective tests the next day - Sydney passed, Isabel didn't. I thought for sure that Isabel would pass because she'd gone straight through with all the other tests. Their teacher said that she'd never had anyone pass the mixed on the first try, so she wasn't surprised that Isabel hadn't finished. But by the time Sydney got to her mixed, Isabel had already had two tests as practice.

Yesterday, they both took the mixed test - Sydney for the first time, Isabel for the third. Again, they had program practice, and when I saw them in the gym, they'd taken the test, both finished, but we didn't know the result because Teacher had gone back to grade them. I walked out of the gym to go get something and I bumped into Sydney's Kindergarten teacher. She's always been really involved with Sydney and how she's doing with grades. She had the most suspicious grin on her face. I told her that Sydney finished the "mixed" test, but we don't know how she did. Her grin widened as she told me that Sydney got them all right!! I went ballistic! I was so happy for her. I just had to go talk to her teacher, so I ran all the way over to her room. I knew from the conversation that I'd just left, that Isabel got them all right as well, but I wanted to see Syd's test.

I bolted into the room and her teacher immediately smiled and showed me the test. I was so proud. And then she told me the best part of all. Sydney not only finished on the first time taking the "mixed" test, but she came in first. Apparently, when they finished after the five minutes, she realized that Isabel actually did NOT finish - still had three problems left. So, because she had no more climbing to do (this was the final level), she allowed her to take another five minute/100 problem "mixed" test. And she finished, and she got them all right. So they finished on the same day.

If you want to get technical, Sydney took 11 multiplication tests, total, and Isabel took 12. Sydney is the actual winner! And on top of that, she did something that the teacher said had never been done - complete the mixed test on the first try. It is such a huge boost to Sydney's confidence. She's always had problems with that and being her own worst enemy, it's what prevents her from doing really well. But since she's been doing these times tables, the rest of her school work has greatly improved. And this is just the thing she needed to make her realize she can really do it!

After the test on Tuesday, Teacher announced that she would take the top three to lunch, not just the first finisher (she'd told me that way back when Sydney missed her first 6's test a couple weeks ago), but she'd not told the kids. So when she told them, the race was ON! So far it's Syd and Isabel. And right on their tail are two other boys who will both take their mixed test today. If they both finish on the same day, all four will go.

I'm so proud of my girlie! She rocks!

Here she is showing off her 100% in front of her built-a-sundae picture.

[PS Posts about Rounds 2, 3, and probably 4 of my holiday baking will be forthcoming. ]

Booyah!!

2010-12-10T21:44:00.002-06:00

Sydney got to take two tests today and guess what!

She passed the 7's AND the 8's!!! This is one proud Momma!

Now she has to pass the 9's and then a mixed (from the 2's to the 9's) to finish the sundae. There's another incentive I forgot to mention before. The first one to finish the sundae, gets to go out to lunch with the teacher. Sydney is in second place right now. She's still in the running.

Go, girlie! Go!!

Multiplication Tables

2010-12-09T17:29:00.001-06:00

When a baby is born, there are lots of milestones to look forward to in that first year. And still more over then next few year. As children get older, the milestones come less frequently. But that doesn't mean they are any less special or amazing. I remember blogging about when Sydney started to read, and being amazed the first time I saw her cursive handwriting. This year it's the multiplication tables. Her teacher planned a build-a-sundae incentive program. The way it works is for each of the times tables, starting with the 2's, they earn a piece of the sundae. Complete the 2's, earn the bowl; complete the 3's, earn the banana, etc. But the kicker is that in order to complete each step, they have to take a test on 100 problems in five minutes and get them all right. They have until February to finish and then they have a sundae party for all those that earned it.

I was really nervous when she took the 2's, but she passed the first time she she took it. There were six students in her class that passed. Then we studied the 3's - flash cards and everything. She took the test and passed - she and another student the only two! I was mucho impressed. We studied the 4's, more flash cards and practice exams. She and the same girl passed again. When the 5's came along, Sydney said they were easy. We studied and she passed - so did the other girl. We practiced the 6's. This one made me more nervous than any of them. She didn't want to take a practice test - the first time since this whole thing started. She told me that she thought she did better when she was in her class with all her friends around her doing the same thing - with a little competition. So cute. But it made me laugh because this comes from the most non-competitive child you'd ever meet.

The elementary students have been practicing for the Christmas program in the afternoons, so they have barely enough time to take the test before they have to be in the gym to practice. Once they start practicing, her teacher heads back to class to correct all the tests. On the day that Sydney took the 6's, I had to walk the third grade back to their classes. So I walked in to Syd's class, which was complete chaos because it was the end of the day and knew from the look on the teacher's face that she didn't pass. Sydney was CRUSHED! She sat back down at her desk as the teacher showed me her exam and I noticed her wiping her eyes. So I took her into the corner away from the other kids and she started to cry. Bless her heart. To make matters worse, the other girl passed. I told her that she is still so very smart and still one of the front runners (there is only one other student taking the 5's when she took the 6's, only two students at the 4's, and the rest at 3's and 2's). But it didn't help. The poor girl was devastated.

We studied the 6's that night. She told me that she wanted to take a practice test, noting that the only time she didn't pass was when she didn't take a practice test. So I obliged and she passed. Yesterday, she took the 6's again. After program practice, all the students returned to their classrooms. A few minutes later, I saw Sydney running across the playground - alone! I said to the other teacher standing there, "why is my child running around campus?" So I went out to meet her and she told me that her teacher sent her out to tell me ... that she PASSED the 6's!!

So last night we studied the 7's and were about to take a practice test when she started throwing up. And it didn't stop until about 3am. Bless her heart! I lined up substitute teachers for me, knowing I would have to stay home with her today. She wasn't the only one out either. There are four kids that sit in the front row - one of them was out on Monday with a "stomach bug" and another was out along with Sydney today. On top of that, the boy that was out on Monday has a brother in 2nd grade who lost his lunch a couple times in class yesterday. So there's definitely something going around.

Syd's feeling much better now and ready to take the 7's tomorrow ... AND the 8's! Her teacher said that she could do a make-up tomorrow. Go, girlie! Go!!

'Tis the Season

2010-12-07T19:59:00.004-06:00

Right?

Working and Christmas time just don't mix. Between our Thanksgiving week off and our two Christmas weeks off is only three weeks of school. That makes going back so much easier. The kids are crazy - coming off a week's break and knowing Christmas is just around the corner lends to excited, uncontrollable children.

Every year at Syd's school, instead of a gift exchange, they have the children bring in as many gifts as there are kids in the class. Each child brings in, say (as in Syd's case) 16 small identical wrapped gifts. Each student receives a very large stocking and each of the students drop one of their 16 gifts into each child's stocking. On the day of their Christmas party, they all have identical stocking to open. Cute idea.

But this is the fifth year we've been doing this and I'm running out of original ideas. This year, I got a cute idea from the pencil jar of another teacher. I modified it (changing the Christmas tree on her pen to snowmen on pencils) and came up with these:

The hardest part when making these cuties was waiting for the fabric paint to dry. Sydney loved them. And although they aren't really suppose to be personalized (even though they DON'T say you can't), I thought it would prevent a lot of arguing, should the kids decide to use these at school (I did snowmen so that they could use them through the winter, not just at Christmas time).

And if that wasn't enough craftiness for one week, we went to a Cookie Swap over the weekend. Actually, it was hosted by a friend of mine and me - I distributed all the invitations, and we had it at her house (yes, less work for me, but she offered! ) I didn't want to use any of the batter that I'd made and froze a couple weeks ago, so I mixed up another batch. I'd seen these adorable cup cookies but the batter is store-bought. I'm not one to go to a cookie swap with pre-made dough. So I modified the recipe a little - I made peanut butter dough and put a little surprise inside. They tasted delicious!

I made 10 dozen of those little gems. And at the cookie swap, we came home with 10 dozen other cookies in exchange. Yum!

I didn't take ANY pictures at the cookie swap even though I brought my camera and intended on taking tons. I suppose I was having so much fun I just forgot. We had soup - Jess made a chicken tortilla soup, Mary (a great friend) made chili, and Sherry (whose house we used for the party) made an etouffee. I left there so full of soup, that I couldn't even look at the cookies until the next morning.

But when I finally got my hands on them, I tasted every last one. And they were all scrumptious. Now if I can just stop eating them!

Round One

2010-11-28T20:39:00.002-06:00

On Saturday, I hit the grocery store armed with my list of baking supplies. Had to make two stops, but I got it all. I didn't do any baking, that's for Round Two, or probably Three. But I did mix up all kinds of cookie dough. I made chocolate chip, chocolate chip with walnuts, peanut butter, peanut butter with chocolate chips, oatmeal with raisins, oatmeal with raisins and walnuts, double chocolate, double chocolate with peanut butter chips, and double chocolate with raspberry chocolate swirl chips.

Whew!

Not a bad start. I packed it up and stored it in the freezer until it's time to bake 'em all up. I'm so excited for baking this year. I almost abandon it last year because by the time we got home from California (Jess's first surgery) I only had a week or so to bake. But I was talked into doing a bare minimum, so I only made cookies. But this year I have a brand new list of goodies that I want to make this year.

Ooooo! I can't wait to do some holiday baking!!

Princess Party

2010-11-27T09:13:00.001-06:00

When we asked Layne what kind of party she wanted, there was no hesitation - a princess party. Even though she tries to be just like her big sister, she's still just a little girl who wants to be a princess. She invited a bunch of girls from her class, and the turnout was great. They all had a fun time.

As the girls arrived, they were each given a frame to decorate.

When they were finished, it was time to be a princess. They lined up at the rack to pick out their favorite dress.

Layne picked the purple one.

Twirling was irresistible. Take a look at those curls, because they don't stick around for the whole party. [I know the picture isn't great, but it perfectly captures Layne and her "dancing".]

Pondering all this princess stuff.

All the girls got make-up ...

... and nails ...

... and hair.

Even the big girls got in on the fun. Sydney with her BFF Jozlyne.

When she sat down to get her hair done, the girl that was doing hair stared at her curls for a moment, not really knowing what to do with her. Then, she came up with an idea - she asked Layne if she wanted her hair straightened. Layne enthusiastically agreed!

She looks so different without her curls.

It took a while to get all those curls out, and all that sitting makes a girl need to twirl!

Telling me that this dress is a great "dancing" dress - any dress that poofs up when spinning is a great dancing dress.

Not quite sure about the reflection in the mirror. Pondering the straight hair, I'm sure. One last look before they all took a walk down the red carpet and were met by the paparazzi who took their picture.

Getting ready for cake.

Jess asked her what kind of cake she wanted, and she answered very specifically - a pink poodle wearing an orange collar with green polka dots, sitting on grass. What flavor? The best part - banana! The girl marches to the beat of her own drum. [We gave that description to our cake lady and she hit the nail on the head!]

She loves the cake!!

She's actually trying to blow out the candles.

She doesn't even look like my child. Every time I saw her from the back, I'd wonder who she was. Seriously, it took a long time for me to get used to the new 'do.

Yummy cake!! I know banana cake doesn't sound all that great, especially with all that pink frosting, but it was delicious.

Time to open gifts. And then everyone went home with their paparazzi picture in the frame they made.

The next day, we didn't have school (Thanksgiving break), but I had to work (the school offers daycare on Monday and Tuesday), so the girls came with me. They didn't have a bath after the party, so Layne went with straight hair. One of Sydney's friends wanted to see her straight hair, so she waited while I went to go get Layne in her classroom. She didn't have straight hair anymore - the day had been cloudy with the threat of rain, which meant moisture. Layne's hair wants to curl so badly, that it just sprung right back to those beautiful ringlets. She was Layne again.

Conversation Wednesday

2010-11-24T19:42:00.002-06:00

I'm still working on the pictures from Layne's party, but since it's Wednesday, I thought I'd throw this one in there.

One morning just a couple weeks ago, Layne was having a bad morning. One argument after another. I put her in her room (screaming, mind you) so that she could cool off while Sydney and I finished getting ready for school. Except that she didn't cool off ... quite the contrary. She just screamed louder and flopped her body harder against the door. The clock was ticking, and we had to leave within 10 minutes. I tried one more time to reason with her - I know, reasoning with a temper-tantruming child is as effective as herding cats. But I had to get these girls to school and get myself to work.

Fortunately, Jess was still at home and not really in any rush to get to work. She woke to Layne's fit. So when she came out of the bedroom asking what (the HELL!!) was going on, I told her that Layne, who was standing there naked as Sydney and I donned shoes and jackets, was not going to be able to come to school with us. Without saying a word, I pleaded with Jess to take her to school. And as if on cue, Jess calmly told Layne that she would be taking her to school.

Well, to say Layne went berserk is understatement. She F-R-E-A-K-E-D!! She came unglued, she was hysterical, and anything else to describe the fact that I think her head even spun around on her shoulders a la the Exorcist. I hesitated for the briefest of moments at which point, Jess waved us on to go. I closed the door, and could hear Layne even as I was buckled safely into my car.

It broke my heart.

I was out of breath.

Sydney was quietly following my lead in all of this, and as we rolled out of the driveway, she broke her silence. She definitely had an opinion of what had gone down back in the house.

She told me: "Layne is on FIRE!"

I agreed and told her I was sorry that the morning was so chaotic. But she's a laid-back kid and really easy going. So she was not really phased.

Then she said, "I don't like to watch whiny baby on fire."

Boy, she hit the nail on the head.

An hour later, as I was unloading children from their parent's cars, I saw Jess drive up to drop off Layne. I watched from across the street as the teacher came out of the building, opened the car door, and unbuckled Layne from her car seat. She had a smile on her face, which made me know that she was just fine.

Little stinker!!

Happy Birthday Yesterday

2010-11-23T21:09:00.003-06:00

I'm such a bad momma. I even blogged yesterday - just not about my girlie's birthday. And I didn't wish her a Happy Birthday the moment she woke up. It took me looking at the calender at work for the light bulb to go off and turn to her and say, "Oh my goodness, today is your birthday!"

The day before, Sunday, we had her birthday party. It was held at a local Pigtails and Crewcuts. It was a princess themed party and all the girls got their nails painted, faces made up, and hair curled (or in Layne's case, straightened). Then, donned in princess dress-up, each girl made her way down the red carpet. It was a great party, and yes I have lots of pictures. But this post is just to say ...

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY LAYNIE!! MOMMA LOVES YOU!

Now stop growing up!

"Yes Ma'am"

2010-11-22T15:11:00.000-06:00

I'm from the North, the northeast to be exact. I'm not sure about other northern parts of the country, but up there we don't use the expression "Yes, ma'am" or "No, ma'am". So I didn't grow up saying that to show my respect to teachers, parents, etc.

But here in the South, it's a VERY important part of speech. It's difficult for me to insist that my girls say it because *I* never said it - just wasn't part of my vocabulary.

Since I started working at the school, I've learned that the principal insists that the children say this. So as a teacher's aid, I've had to insisted that the little ones in our class say it too. Knowing that it's expected of the children at the school, I realized that that includes my children as well. So I've been trying to insist the girls say it at home as well.

It makes me uncomfortable, but I've had to put that aside because I live in the South now and it's part of the vocabulary. The first time Sydney said it back to me without being reminded, it stopped me in my tracks. Yep, we're in the South ...

I'm mean ... Yes, ma'am!

New Pet

2010-11-21T13:11:00.001-06:00

We decided to make it a joint birthday gift for the girls. It is something very special to both of them. You may have seen before ... a few years ago or more recently -

Jasmine has been around for longer than Layne. And when we learned that her owner was looking to sell her, we jumped at the opportunity to buy her. She's not worth a lot, therefore we didn't pay a lot. And she came with all her riding gear. She lives with the girls' instructor who owns three other horses and boards a forth. So Jasmine has lots of friends to hang with. We see her every week or so for a lesson and the girls love to visit her. It's a great arrangement and now the girls can say they have a horse (pony, really) for a pet.

Welcome to our crazy family, Jasmine! We love you.

Break

2010-11-20T14:02:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the girls' last day of school for a week. They get the whole week of Thanksgiving off. I don't, however. The school is open for Monday and Tuesday for child care only, and my contract states that I must work one of the two days. So the girls have to come to work with me and hang out in child care for the day. But then we have the rest of the week off and I'd really like to get started on my Christmas baking (I make the cookie batters in advance and freeze them. I pull it out closer to the holiday so they are fresh baked. )

Each week of school, my 4-year old class has a "Star Student" (I think I still have the poster from when Sydney was the Star Student way back when). But this week was quite busy as we were getting ready for the pre-school Pow Wow. It's a big thing for the kids - lots of preparation assigning "indian" names, making paper bag vests with their new names on it, fitting head pieces, threading dyed pasta necklaces, and learning a couple songs. The Pow Wow itself lasts only about 30 minutes, but it's a great show for the parents.

Here are some of the vests...

... and the head pieces.

And then the kids sit on the floor - pow wow-style - to eat their feast. The parents sit behind the children and take a lot of pictures.

Back to the Star Student... Because it was so busy and exciting this week, we decided that we would not assign a Star Student. So *I* was assigned the honor. I brought in some pictures of my girls and posted them on the "Star Student" board in our class. Usually, the child will get a parent to come in and read a story to the class. But I knew Jess wouldn't come in and do it, and I always read them a story, so that part wasn't very special exciting. But I did make these really cool cupcakes for the kids.

I ended up making about 35 of these adorable turkeys. I promised Layne I would bring a treat into her class to celebrate her upcoming birthday (since we would be out of school on her actual birthday). So I just made enough of these for both classes. Kids loved 'em - and the teachers loved that they got all sugared up.

I've also been wanting to do some sewing. A friend ordered a bunch of cloth diapers, so I had a bunch of sewing I needed to do. But after that, well even before I was done with the diapers, I wanted to start some other projects. So I finished the diapers and had enough time (barely) to make this Thanksgiving skirt for Layne before the holiday. She wore it to school yesterday.

I don't know how much more sewing I'll get done before Christmas (although I have a lot of projects I want to attempt), but I'm hoping that I don't have to wait until after the holidays.

Medussa Hair DYI

2010-11-12T21:03:00.006-06:00

I know it's a little late for this, but I took these pictures. Therefore, I must blog them.

First, I shaped 5 wire hangers to fit over her head (Pippy Longstocking-style). Then, having the right supplies is key.

SNAKES! Who is Medussa if she doesn't have her snakes?!

And these itty-bitty elastics to hold everything together.

I secured the wire with hair ties and hair - think pigtails.

The first time I did this (and the mini-four-snake trial run), I braided each of the ten strands, but I tried something different for trick-r-treating. I attached the snakes first and then wrapped the hair around it. The itty-bitty elastics held the snake to the wire and the hair to the snake. I went through a ton of these, which eventually had to be cut out when we dismantled the 'do at the end of the night.

Sydney wanted the front snake to have a little rat in his mouth. I know, kinda gross, but it was her costume.

And, as previously shown, the finished 'do.

I don't know how we'll top this next year.

Two Favorite Colors

2010-11-11T20:21:00.002-06:00

It's moments like these that you realize that your child gets it. This simple essay brought a tear to my eye. I knew that Sydney was sensitive, but this touched my heart.

It reads:

I have two favorite colors. These colors are green and yellow. My first favorite color is green. I like green because I love bright green leaves after a long winter. My second favorite color is yellow. Yellow reminds me of warm sunshine and summer days. My two favorite colors remind me of special seasons throughout the year.

She's just so stinkin' sweet.

Just Pictures - Edited with Commentary

2010-11-07T08:06:00.004-06:00

Jess says it's all about the pictures. She says no one cares about the rest. I know she was just kidding, but I know that she's not all wrong. So here are all the pictures that I've been getting ready to post. I'll edit with the boring text later on.

Edited with captions and commentary

More pictures from our trip to Boston - September 30th/October 1st The sun was behind the clouds, and even though the wind was pretty brisk, I knew it was perfect picture taking light. So I grabbed my camera and rounded up any of the kids that were willing to get their picture taken.

Here is Sydney with her cousin Paige (age 7).

This is Paige's sister, Kylie (almost 3 years old). They are my twin sister, Melissa's children (along with Michael, age 9).

Sydney and Paige were the most cooperative.

I only got a few of all four. Layne wasn't initially interested in having her picture taken. But after seeing all the fun the rest of the girls were having, she decided to join them. Micheal was not interested, and didn't change his mind.

Don't ask me what they are doing, but obviously all to happy to pose for the camera.

Paige and Layne, who although in this picture, don't look much alike, they actually really do.

Sydney and Kylie - who don't look much like each other.

All four again.

That evening, Melissa did all the girls' hair in a cool french braid. She started by washing everyone's hair in her salon sink (she has a cool one-chair salon in her basement).

Layne's hair is so fine, but she was able to braid it while it was wet.

Two down, two to go.

Sydney wanted to help wash Kylie's hair, so Auntie Melissa let her do a little. Kylie thought it was funny.

All four with a swirly french braid. The front ...

... and the back.

The night before, we had a early birthday party for Sydney. Melissa wanted to celebrate her birthday while we were there since her real birthday was so close. So Melissa got her a cake ...

... and we sang "Happy Birthday" to her.

She was thrilled.

She read every word in the cards she received.

Auntie Melissa's family gave her a new game for her DS. And Auntie Mimi (my older sister Mary)'s family gave her a card with $8 in it because she would be turning 8.

Taste of T Street - Girls' school festival fundraiser - October 9th When we got home from Boston, I was immersed in the final days of planning for the festival. It was a great day. (And we've already started having meetings for next year's festival. )

Each class did a collaborative piece of art. Each piece was auctioned off in the live auction. I snapped these on my phone earlier in the day, just in case we didn't win the auction - at least I can remember what they looked like.

This is Sydney's 3rd grade class. Each student created one of the shapes with paint and colored pencils (pay no mind to the reflection). Sydney's is the dark blue shape with light blue spots and tiny lime green circles, on the right side of the piece. This went for $500. Jess tried for a while, but eventually, the bidding got too high.

Here is Layne's 3½ year old class. Each student made a heart with paint using their fingers (and little help from the art teacher). Layne's work is the blue heart with the yellow background, second down on the right column. This went for over $100 (can't remember the exact amount). There were two of these - for each 3½ year old class and Jess started bidding on the wrong one. By the time I was able to get to her and tell her that she needed to bid on this one, the bidding ended. There were a few bidding wars that made the live auction very exciting. One piece went for over $800! All for a great cause - our awesome school!

[The rest of the pictures of this festival (the following nine pictures) were purchased from Pixel by Pixel Photography. All credit belongs to Doug Tanner.]

This is the silent auction, which raised a ton of money. And the live auction set up in the back corner.

This picture shows only a few of the booths. We had 25 booths - all lining the street with yummy food!

This is the front gate. One ticket included samples of food in all the booths; popcorn, water or lemonade; entertainment; and admission into the children's area that was filled with games and activities for the kids. This view shows the entire street. The stage is barely visible at the very end of the street. Look at all those people!!

Getting read for the live auction - with a real auctioneer! It was so much fun!

We had an area where we broadcast the day's Razorback game on a couple large screen plasma televisions. It was a big hit.

These shirts were worn by all the event volunteers. We were considered the "go-to" people, in case someone had a question or needed help. The Chairwoman of the event, Patricia, cut and drew all the white pieces and I sewed them onto the shirts. We made 17 shirts. This is just the back - our school's logo. The front had a large fork and a little square that read "1 day of food and fun". They came out great!

Here is Sydney playing one of the many games. Behind her is one of two bounce houses.

That purple bag is filled with candy - the prize for playing any of the games.

An adorable moment that the photographer caught of my sweet girl. She had a BLAST!!

Pumpkin Patch - October 17th The day before, I had gone to Tunica (casinos!) with some friends (a 2½-hour drive). We stayed just for the night and I was home in time for us to hit the pumpkin patch for the afternoon.

We decided to go to a different pumpkin patch than we did last year. This is the one we went to for the few years we lived a little further north of Little Rock. And since we've been there last, they've expanded it so much. I was pretty impressed.

There was so much to do.

Each girl picked out her own pumpkin. Layne went for the little one ...

... and Sydney went for the large one!

See how tall we are!

I love shooting pumpkin patches. Can you tell?

Lots of picture taking opportunities.

More pumpkins.

This was a spider web maze. Different from the corn stalk mazes, they could see where they were going. But it didn't make it any easier, it took these two kiddies a while to get out.

On the hay ride.

The lighting isn't great, but the subject is.

Another shot with terrible lighting, but the subject was irresistible.

That night after the trip to the pumpkin patch - October 17th The day was just too full for Layne to make it until bed time.

I don't know how she didn't fall off!

Right in the middle of coloring.

"Let me just rest my eyes for one minute." Poor tired girl.

Pumpkin Carving Party - October 23rd The 5th Annual Pumpkin Carving Party was a huge success. And the weather held out - it was suppose to rain, but not a drop fell from the sky. In fact, the sun was out until it set. It was a beautiful day.

Sydney was determined to carve her own pumpkin. But she chose a rather difficult pattern for her first time.

Guts!! I love this shot!

Lots of friends attended.

I love these templates. It makes carving so much easier. This is Sydney's teacher.

And although we provided all the tools, some insisted on bring their very own LARGE knives.

I think I got a shot of everyone with their hands inside their pumpkin.

Love this. And so wish I'd saved our seeds to roast. I did last year, but I was too busy taking pictures of them this year.

Yuck!

Layne and her friend found a different way to enjoy themselves. Neither were interested in carving or even help carve a pumpkin. They enjoyed each other much more.

Even the dad's got busy carving.

She carved for a while, but I think she did a great job for her first time. Can you see the ghost? She made just a few more touches after I took this picture.

More friends.

I poked out a little of the pumpkin, but only so the light would shine though a little better. I didn't correct any of her carving on the outside.

This is what Layne picked out, so I carved it out for her.

While we were in Boston, I bought a kit that had a bunch of Red Sox logos templates. It was a total rush job because it was one of the last pumpkin to be carved. I almost didn't do it, but decided at the last minute that I really wanted to carve my own pumpkin (not one for the kids).

The moon rising was a great sight. So I tried my hand at photographing in the dark. I only had to edit the picture a little.

Everyone gets a chance to vote for their favorite. We give prized to the top four pumpkins (Jess got some awesome gifts this year). This is the #1 voted for pumpkin. Done by our friends, sisters Meagan and Amanda. Hello Kitty!

Layne's first riding lesson - October 28 After watching Sydney do countless riding lessons, Layne asked (and asked and asked) if she could take lessons as well. So she finally got her chance. The first four pics are a couple days earlier when she got to ride Jazmine from the pasture to the tacking post while being lead by Sydney. Just a little taste of what her lesson would be like.

Look at that fly-away hair!

The smile was plastered on her face the whole time.

Sydney felt like such a great big sister to help Layne ride.

And then, a few days later, it was time for her very own lesson. She didn't ride Jazmine for her first actual lesson, she rode Paco - a much taller horse.

Coach Laura showed her how to tack up the horse.

And lead her out to the arena.

Then she helped her get on Paco.

And handed her the reins.

She listened carefully to Coach Laura - evident by her sticking-out tongue.

Leading Paco around the arena.

Getting the hang of steering.

Contemplating her next lesson ... I think.

Sydney's skating costume birthday party - October 29th She wanted it at the roller rink, and she wanted it to be a Halloween theme. Hence the jack-o-lantern cake ...

... complete with spiders and bats ...

... and costumes!

In attendance was a vampiress ...

... and a duck ...

... and spider girl ...

... and Medussa ...

... and a ladybug (or as Sydney said, a Layniebug).

After skating for about an hour, the kids came to the tables for some pizza, cake, and ice cream.

Yes, I had to do this 'do twice!! (Actually three times, if you want to count the four snakes (as opposed to 10) that I did for Boo at the Zoo the night before.)

Chocolate cake with chocolate whipped filling. Oh so yummy!!

And the resulting sleepover - October 29th Three girls came home with us after the party for a sleep over. They were up late that night, but were also awake early in the morning. So we got up and took five girls - Sydney, Layne, and three sleepover buddies - to Krispy Kreme for breakfast. They were still offering their Halloween doughnuts, so the girls picked out two of their favorites - mostly the spider web. I picked out the pumpkin spice cake - yummy, and Layne, not one to follow the crowd, decided on a chocolate and a strawberry frosted. Jess was completely NOT in the Halloween spirit and got a couple blueberry cake.

The birthday girl - the doughnuts were too sweet for her to finish.

They enjoyed watching the conveyor more than they did eating the doughnuts.

When we dropped of guest #1, her mom asked us to stay to make some caramel apples.

Is it a surprise to learn that the only one that wanted to accessorize her apple was Layne?

Halloween and birthday! - October 31 Sydney was very serious about playing her part as Medussa. She absolutely would not smile for the camera.

Although, Layne was all to happy to smile and show off her costume.

Medussa was NOT appreciating the happy ladybug.

Finally, she just couldn't help herself. Medussa cracked a smile, or something like it, because the ladybug was being so silly.

We asked her where she wanted to go for her birthday dinner and without hesitation, she picked Olive Garden. So, donned in costumes, we went for dinner with my MIL and some friends (overnight guest #1 and her mom & dad). The girls got a very special combined gift this year (to be blogged about as soon as it's a done deal), so we got her a small gift (as if the party and cake weren't enough of a birthday gift) of art supplies - a sketch pad with markers, pencils, and those twistable crayons.

Nanny (my MIL) gave her a jewelry box with horses on it. It has a musical spinning horse, much like those cute ballerina boxes with the spinning ballerina.

The staff came over to sing happy birthday and the whole room of patrons sang along. What a special moment for Sydney.

The girls shared the dessert. And then we went trick-r-treating back in our neighborhood. We still have candy lingering and it's already been a week. BTW, who decided the "Fun Size" candy bars were fun? What's fun about one bite of chocolate? I need quite a few for it to be considered fun! Come to think of it, I consider the "King Size" bars to be much more fun that the "Fun Size", don't you?

And there you have it. Eye candy with the commentary. The only problem is that I have been finding it difficult to allocate time to blog. This working thing is definitely getting in the way. But even if I didn't have that, October for us, begins the end-of-the-year craziness - with the school's festival, the pumpkin carving party, visits to the pumpkin patch, Sydney's birthday. Three weeks later is Layne's birthday and then Thanksgiving. And three weeks after that is Christmas and then New Year's and all the parties, gatherings, and celebrations that go along with 'em. We go balls-to-the-wall for three months, and we've never figured out a way to control the madness. And as much as I want to blog about it all, usually ends up being these kinds of mega-posts with tons of pictures and stories - the type of blogging I hate the most. But alas, at least it all makes it here.

8

2010-10-31T11:06:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Sydney! Today you turn eight years old. Eight seems so grown up to me.

We have no one to blame for this costume but ourselves. On one of our trips to CA, we got Sydney a book of Mythology. Inside the book was a couple pages telling the story of Medusa. She was so captivated by her, that she decided immediately that she wanted to be Medusa for Halloween. It took me only an hour and a half to put 10 snakes in her hair.

I have a mega post brewing with tons of pictures and lots of stories. So come back. I promise I haven't abandon my blog.

Eyeballs, Ghosts, and Pumpkins ... Oh My!!

2010-10-23T08:28:00.000-05:00

I haven't been able to catch up since the school festival, and there is no relief in sight. I have so many blog posts waiting in the wings, half written in my mind, tons of photos to post, and thoughts I want to get out of my head. Unfortunately, I don't know when I'll get a chance to post. I've been a bad blogger - haven't written or read in weeks. I hate when this happens - when I don't have time to blog, it means my life is a little out of control (okay, maybe a lot, but I have yet to admit that I have too much on my plate; although my lovely wife reminds me of that every moment she gets ).

Tonight is our annual - 5th Annual! - Pumpkin Carving Party. I'm excited, Jess is excited, the girls are excited, and our guests are excited! [The forecast is calling for rain. Hopefully the pavilion we rented will be cover enough.] I have a ton to do before 4pm, and Jess is on call this morning. So the last thing I should be doing is blogging. But, if for no other reason than to remind me of what I want to blog about, I'm jotting a few things down:

Pictures from the school festival (not mine, but purchased for memories)
This year's visit to the pumpkin patch
Making homemade ice cream
Tired Layne
Layne riding a horse for the first time
School politics
Lunch sacks
Cali
Tunica

There! Now all I have to do is refer to this post and I'll remember what I wanted to blog about. Of course, if I don't get these up soon, there will be another list that happened while I waited to write these - like the carving party, Sydney's birthday party, trick-r-treating, school conferences, Layne's birthday party, etc! Argh!

I hate getting behind. Wahhhh, wahhhh, wahhhh!

For now, here are some awful pictures of some beautiful cupcakes that we got for the party tonight:

These eyeballs are red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. Yum!!

These ghosts are pralines and cream cake with cream cheese frosting. Delish!!

These pumpkins are chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. Heavenly!!

Until next time, Happy October Friends!

Just Breathing is Exhausting

2010-10-10T18:05:00.002-05:00

Today, I'm exhausted.

Yesterday was the girls' school fundraiser.

And I suppose I should start at the beginning.

Back in June, while we were standing in line waiting to ride the Astro Orbitor in Tomorrowland at Disneyland Park, I received a phone call from the vice principal from the girls' school. She mentioned how they were really excited about a new fundraising idea and she wanted to know when I would be available for a meeting.

A few days after we arrived back home from California, I met with a group of people and we discussed a fall festival. It would replace all the other fundraisers and it would be BIG! I was asked to be the co-chairman, I accepted. I had no idea what that entailed, but I was up for the challenge. What followed was lots and lots and LOTS of meetings. We had only five months to plan what should take a year.

After planning, planning, and more planning, the day was almost here. Friday, we started setting up at about noontime. We were at the school until 9pm. We continued bright and early and set up until the festival started at 4pm.

At one point, I took a walk around. There were booths in which the parents showcased one of their favorite food items; there was a children's area with a petting zoo, Halloween games, bounce house and so much more; there was a silent auction with fabulous items, and a live auction that not only sold amazing artwork done by the children, but also entertained with a few exciting bidding wars; there was awesome entertainment, and tons of people! It took my breath away as I scanned our little campus - and literally brought a tear to my eye.

I was so proud of what we'd done. It was truly amazing. I don't know how much money was raised for the new foundation, but this definitely beat any other fundraiser we'd done in the past - and I'm not talking about the money. This was a fundraiser that everyone could not only participate, but enjoy and have FUN!

I know that Jess had to pick up some of my slack the last couple weeks, but seeing the culmination of our efforts made it all worthwhile. Every time she complained, I didn't want to remind her that in accepting the position of co-chairman this year, I committed myself the being the chairman next year. So we'll be doing it all over again - except this time, we will give ourselves a little more time.

I didn't have time to even pick up my camera, never mind take a picture. But I'm hoping to get my hands on a few (we hired a photographer). I did get pictures (with my phone) of the girls' class artwork that was auctioned off. I'll post them tomorrow. Right now, I'm just too tired.

Pahk the Cah

2010-09-25T16:50:00.000-05:00

I forget about the Boston accent until I get here. Sure, I hear it when I talk to my family on the phone, but BEING here ... it's different. Little kids have the accent, the Dunkin' Donuts cashier has it, and the museum attendant has it. I spent 30 years of my life here and not only didn't notice the accent, but had one myself. But now, having NOT heard it for over ten years, it's so pronounced to me. I notice every "R" that is missed - "pahk the cah in Hahvahd yahd". It's so ... well ... Boston.

We spent a few lazy days with my mom. But knowing that she would be in her board review class all this week, Jess wanted to take the girls into Boston for the day. So on Friday, we went to the Museum of Science, which even as an adult is one of my favorite places to go. There was a dinosaur exhibit, so of course, we headed over there first and later saw the 3D dinosaur movie. There were also exhibits on animals' habitats, cause and effect, human anatomy, and lots of others. We had a lot of fun.

I have some pictures of the girls in the dinosaur exhibit, but they look quite similar to all the rest of the pictures I took at other dinosaur museums, so I won't bother with them here. Next, we took a walk through the butterfly garden and got to see some really cool looking butterflies.

Layne wanted so badly for a butterfly to land on her. So she stood very still and stuck her arm out. Here you can see a bunch of butterflies thinking about it, but none actually perched themselves on her arm, bless her heart.

She wanted her picture taken with a butterfly - notice on the upper left, the out-of-focus black and orange blob - in the background.

The girls looked through a bunch of animal x-rays. This particular film is of a pregnant cat. Pretty cool!

In this exhibit, the girls played build-a-fish and released it into the computerized aquarium.

Layne's and ...

... Sydney's

And what's a trip to the Museum of Science without sitting in the astronaut seats?

At the dino movie ... in 3D!

This was a really neat exhibit, too. It was titled something like science in the park and it had all kinds of basic activities that someone would do and the science behind it. In this particular activity, the girls had to try to outrun the flashing lights. There were four different speeds, and Sydney was determined to beat even the fastest.

Layne gave it a go too, but as you can see here, she wasn't as successful as Sydney when it came to outrunning the flashing light.

The next day, we drove to Melissa's house. She decided to have a little shindig, so Jess and I invited a few friends that we've kept in touch with since we moved. It was great to see old friends. I didn't take any pictures - what was I thinking!? I suppose I was just too busy catching up. My friend from college has two girls right around Sydney's age and they all hit it off fabulously. And everyone was up way too late.

Sunday, Jess went off to her course and Melissa and I took the kids to the roller rink. Brought back many memories of when my sisters and I went as kids. We went every Friday night of Jr. High school. Melissa reminded me of how we use to "shoot the duck" a stunt where we'd squat all the way down with one leg straight out in front. I don't think I could do that pose even without skates, so I told Melissa I'd pass. I was lucky to keep upright - it wasn't like riding-a-bike (where remembering "how" is concerned), I definitely forgot how! Fortunately, I could hide it because I spent so much time helping Layne - we didn't go fast or go far, so I could fake it pretty good.

Layne spent a lot of time on the wall ... or in her socks.

Sydney picked it up pretty quickly - a few go-arounds close to the wall and before I knew it, she was skating in the middle of the pack. Paige and Michael (Melissa's kids) skate pretty good anyway, so she had to learn quick to keep up. She had a blast.

Today, we just hung out at the house, which is pretty much the plan for the rest of the week. I'll pull out my camera at some point and take some pics of the kids together. And if I ask nice, I'm sure I can get my sister Mary to take a few family shots of us. So stay tuned ...

Flying with Kids

2010-09-23T15:05:00.000-05:00

We made it to Boston - we arrived yesterday afternoon after a long day of flying. The girls did great - definitely better than I expected. We had two stops (a layover in St. Louis where we changed planes and a stop in Philadelphia where we didn't) and as much as I hate ups and downs when flying, the girls seemed unaffected.

Flying with kids is funny. I'm usually not a great flier - to put it lightly, I'm that white-knuckled passenger you see sitting on the isle seat with all the windows closed and my eyes squeezed tightly shut. But when I'm with the kids, I'm usually so involved in keeping them busy when they aren't allowed to have some kind of electronic device (e.g., a DS or DVD player), that I don't have time for my own fears. They are a great distraction.

I have found, however, another distraction equally as ... well ... distracting. Coloring, believe it or not, keeps me from getting nervous and edgy. When I read, I get so concerned about NOT being on the ground anymore, that I end up reading the same line over and over again, never really comprehending what I read. But with coloring, instead of neurotically analyzing every movement of the plane, I get pissed because the turbulence caused me to color out of the lines. So when Jess asked "aren't you embarrassed?" when I asked for "my" coloring book, I answered with a blunt NO! I'll never fly without a coloring book again.

Why kids are funny: During a particularly jerky turbulent spot (as my knuckles promptly turned white), Sydney said with a huge smile on her face, "Wow Momma! It's so bouncy!" And she bounced a little more even after the plane stopped. She loved watching out the window during take-offs and landings (which is the moments that I HATE looking out the window). It's refreshing to see such excitement. And Layne, in her squeaky, post-tonsillectomy voice squealed "I see and ocean!" as we were flying into Philadelphia Airport. Of course, we were flying over the Delaware River.

We are visiting with my mom for a few days, and then we spend next week with my sister. Sydney is really excited to spend some time with Paige. And it will be interesting to watch Layne and Kylie re-acquaint themselves - both have very bossy personalities. I'm looking forward to just hanging out with my sisters and visiting with friends.

Here are the girls at the St. Louis airport. We had an hour and half layover, so I popped in a DVD and the girls watched at this cute little kid-table. They ate bagels and Layne played with stickers. And don't forget about purple blanket - she doesn't go anywhere without it.

This is what I started coloring. Then Sydney got a look at it and wanted to help me. So I handed it over to her so she could finish it.

So I started another picture. Maybe I'll finish it on the way home.

Today, Jess took the girls on a ride on my aunt's golf cart.

Re-Visit

2010-09-15T19:13:00.002-05:00

Laynie landed herself in the ER last night. She was not eating or drinking which made Jess very nervous. It had been quite a while since she'd peed (she woke up with a dry pull-up in the morning and by the time we had the ER discussion, it was 9pm), and she was irritable and lethargic. So Jess took her, if for nothing else, but to get her some IV fluids. Of course, while they were there, they drew some blood and did some lab work.

Her labs came out normal, so the only reason for her to stay would be to get fluids. They ran another bolus and a couple hours later (2am), they were home. Layne had puffy cheeks and taut lips. She was full of fluids! But still in a lot of pain, so we gave her some more pain meds and a few sips of apple juice. And out she went. Jess slept with her again, but neither woke until I walked into the room at 7am. Layne was miserable, but we were able to give her some more pain meds which kicked in right about the time I met up with my friend who was going to watch her for the day. She slept most of today, obviously not feeling well at all. Doc warned us about "a week out" that things might look iffy. And he was right! But around 6pm, she woke with a smile on her face. She wanted donuts, so I made a special trip to get her some strawberry frosted and some donut holes. Poor girlie! She's drinking a little more and Mommy keeps bribing her with toys.

Mornings are bad, and she doesn't want to eat or drink. She's difficult to handle, and she cries a lot. We leave for Boston in a week - two weeks to the day of her surgery. I'm just hoping and praying, she takes a turn for the better in the next few days.

PS Have I mentioned the BAD BREATH on that child? And not for lack of brushing her teeth. It's BAD! Blech!

Luau

2010-09-12T19:36:00.002-05:00

It's a third grade tradition to have a Luau party after they finish a particular lesson. I was able to get away from art for a little while, so I joined the fun. The kids got to wear Hawaiian garb, and each was assigned to a certain snack food.

Sydney did the hula dance ...

... and then posed for the camera.

All the girls lined up to do their own version of a hula dance.

Yep, someone swiped my camera.

And one with Miss Weber, Sydney's teacher. Holding the very appropriate Hawaiian Punch. [Sydney didn't want it because of the red dye so she had water.]

Why she is studying the cocktail umbrella is beyond me.

Doughnuts for Dinner

2010-09-11T08:37:00.000-05:00

It's been a while, I know. It's been a whirlwind since we found out that Layne was having surgery. Throw in a holiday weekend, and it makes for conditions unfavorable for blogging. I've been equally as bad in reading blogs. I feel so out of touch. Now, I'm back and hoping that I can keep up with the blogging again (hell, I just did a post a day for the month of August!).

I'll start by saying that Layne is doing okay. She has ups and downs. As her pain medication starts to wear off, she gets febrile and sickly. But when the medicine is working, she feels well enough to play. She's not eating or drinking much, which is a problem. She *did* eat two donuts for dinner last night, but she's not getting down as much fluid as she should. Even with us constantly nagging her, she doesn't want to drink. We're hoping we don't end up back at the hospital for IV fluids.

It all started Wednesday morning, bright and early. Surgery was scheduled for 10:20am so we had to check in at 8:20am. Not to terribly early, but Layne couldn't eat after midnight, so we had to plan creatively. Time seemed to fly and before we knew it, we were in a triage room and Layne was given some "goofy juice" (Versed) and we laughed at her while we videoed her acting all drunk. Next thing we knew, they were wheeling her out of the room - where we had to give our kisses goodbye - and around the corner to surgery. We barely had time to grab a cup of coffee in the cafeteria and they were calling us back to talk to the doctor. Doc said her tonsils measured 3+ and her adenoids were blocking 95% of her airways. Said surgery was definitely necessitated. We were called back into recovery, where Layne was waking up in the worst mood ever. Lucky for her (and US!), her recovery nurse was quick with the pain meds, which essentially just put her back to sleep. I held her for a while as we chatted with the nurse (very nice woman!).

Because of her age, Layne was admitted for a "23-hour observation". I suppose it's for insurance purposes - not technically overnight. But almost. So they were able to administer meds and record her "ins & outs" - how much goes in her body, how much comes out. But the best part was that she had continuous fluids going into her IV. The worst part? Well, that would be the walls of the ward - or, I should say, lack there of. We were in "Room 1" which wasn't really a room at all. Our walls were made of curtains so every time another child on the ward woke up in pain, everyone got to share in his misery. To say we got no sleep is an understatement. But knowing that Layne was being monitored was absolutely comforting.

Layne slept most of the time, but when she woke, she ate pretty well. Drinking was a little harder, which was why being on IV fluids was a good thing. In the morning, she was required to drink 5 oz in three hours - and then she could be discharged. She kept telling us that she wanted to go home, so it was the perfect bribe. She did as she was asked and we were home before 10am.

She slept a lot once we got home, and everything we heard said to keep up with the pain meds, so we did. We're still trying to keep up with her fluid intake. She doesn't seem to want to comply. Here are some pathetic pictures.

Here's the patient before surgery

Here she is after surgery, with a popsicle and juice, watching Disney.

And just a few minutes later, she was out!

They offered to let her "take a walk" down to the lobby, but that just meant she got to have a ride in a wagon because she was still hooked up to the IV. She loved it. And got to throw a few pennies into the water behind her.

Our friend Linda brought some balloons to the hospital. And then, later on, some more arrived at the house ...

... along with this cute little doggie that she named Rainbow.

And yesterday, her class sent me home with this great Get Well card.

The teachers and aid were on the front ...

... and all her classmates on the inside. So cute!

ENT

2010-08-31T19:48:00.004-05:00

Several months ago, during a visit to the doctor for snotty nose and unrelenting cough, the doc made mention of Layne's large tonsils. I made a follow up appointment because her tonsil hadn't seemed to decrease in size. Doc agreed and recommended a visit to the ENT doctor.

Today, Jess took her to the appointment at the clinic. Given her symptoms - frequent snot and terrible cough that may or may not have been associated with ear infections (we don't treat for EIs, so we have no idea about how many or few she's had), loud snoring, sleep apnea, etc., - the doc felt the best course of action would be tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, and tubes in her ears. Sounds like a lot to me and it makes me sad to know that my poor girlie will be going through so much. The procedure itself is all of 20-30 minutes. But the recovery is a couple weeks.

I know it's all routine, but still seems extreme. However, turns out that a friend of mine uses the same doc (total coincidence), and she said that this particular doc is actually rather conservative and wouldn't recommend the surgery if it wasn't absolutely necessary. I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse. But she did say that he is a great doctor and Jess loved him too. I'm comforted by that, at least.

Surgery is set for September 8th. She'll spend the night because of her age. And she'll have to be out of school for a couple weeks. My poor baby ...

Lucky

2010-08-30T19:26:00.000-05:00

I always wear the necklace that Jess gave me for my birthday a couple years ago. There's a charm for each girl in my life.

At school, the kids know that Sydney and Layne are my daughters. But several girls in the upper grades have questioned why I have a charm with "Lucky" on it. I usually don't have time to get into it, so I just say, "well, I'm really lucky to have such a great family." But today, the daughter of the woman I work with asked who Lucky was. So I reminded her that Sydney and Layne have two moms, and that Lucky was their other mother. To her, it was an acceptable answer because she already knew the dynamic of our family.

As for the other girls, I'm not exactly sure how to answer. I could use the same explanation, but I fear it will just elicit more questions and more explanations. *I* don't want to be the one to educate these kids on "alternative" families. But I also feel that it is important for them to understand. I know I have to tread carefully - my boss trusted in me to teach the children that attend her school. I don't want to do or say anything ... scandalous. I just want to be honest.

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

2010-08-29T19:53:00.002-05:00

Or maybe just three ...

Peace Love & Layne

Movie Night

2010-08-28T22:37:00.002-05:00

Saw Inception tonight. Weird movie. Very cool concept. Lots of details my brain is still sorting through.

But I liked it. I think it's one of those movies that, if you watch it more than once, you get it a little more each time. I got the big picture, but I like the specifics, so I'll watch it again. And probably again. And yet again.

Games

2010-08-27T21:07:00.002-05:00

The object of the game "Guess What I Am!" is to give the person clues until they can identify what character they are holding up their face (showing outward to the other game players). Layne likes to play her own version. She will hold it up to her face and have me guess. Yes, while it is facing me. It's not very difficult seeing as the title is right there in the lower left corner. LOL! I especially love it when she says "Momma, you be da puppy." and then puts it up to my face. I say "What am I?". And she says "um ... a puppy!!".

Dinner Time

2010-08-26T20:39:00.000-05:00

I dread dinner time at our house.

We've never been the kind that prepare something different for our children than we do for ourselves. Jess is more or less the cook in our house and she strives to cook healthy, good tasting dinners. And I feel like she succeeds. Layne would probably agree too. Sydney, on the other hand, wouldn't. And to be quite honest, I'm not sure why. It doesn't matter what's prepared, every night, without fail, she will pick at her food and spread it around the plate. It's infuriating.

I feel like we've tried so many methods and "consequences" and nothing changes. We used to have a rule that you eat mostly everything on your plate. When that didn't work, I recommended that we adopt the rule that I grew up with - you must TRY everything on the plate. That means, one bite of everything. If you don't like it, it's okay as long as you keep trying the things you think you don't like. We used to say that they could eat something healthy - a piece of fruit, carrot sticks - whenever they wanted after the meal. But they couldn't have dessert until one hour after dinner. I guess that we figured having something healthy would be okay even if, or especially if, they didn't eat dinner. That way they wouldn't hold out for dessert even after NOT eating dinner.

Well, that didn't work. I think it just gave Sydney a reason to NOT eat. So Jess tried to make her favorite stuff for dinner - chicken, pasta, rice - in attempts to get her to eat. Still didn't work. We offered rewards for eating dinner and when that didn't work, threatened punishment (she'd have to pay $1 from her allowance or we'd take away tv time). Didn't work.

Tonight I made flat bread pizza rolls. I used lavash bread, spread tomato sauce, and then sprinkled lots of shredded cheese. I rolled it up and put it in the oven for 10 minutes. When I served it to the girls, Layne loved it - gobbled it down. Sydney did the usual frustrating thing - pushed it around and took tiny bites. I almost lost it. I took a few bites of my own pizza roll and thought before I spoke (knowing that it could be bad if I hadn't waited that minute). I asked her if she would have eaten it if I hadn't rolled it and she said yes. YES??!! WTH? I insisted it was the exact same thing and she still looked suspicious. I asked her why she never eats her dinner, even when it is something she likes. She said, in a very small voice, it was because she wasn't hungry.

Problem solved! I told her that there would be no more after school snacks. If she wasn't hungry at 5:30-6pm, it was because of those snacks. So from the time she got out of school until the time we had dinner, she would have nothing to eat (although Jess later amended that to fruit only). Surprisingly, Sydney was in agreement. She actually told Jess NOT to pack her an after school snack (which Jess had been packing in my lunch so that she wouldn't eat it with her lunch). So I suppose we'll see what happens now. I don't know if it's just because she's not hungry, or if it's because she doesn't like what was made for dinner, or if she is just suspicious that there is something she *doesn't* like in a meal that looks like she does (does that make sense?). In any event, something's got to change.

And I'm open for suggestions.

2010-08-25T21:05:00.001-05:00

I really wanted to blog tonight, but the stupid internet was down. Using MMS to post this. Testing more that anything.

On the Playground

2010-08-24T20:24:00.002-05:00

Today, while out at recess duty for the preschoolers, another teacher hollered over to me. Standing next to her was one of the 4-year old boys with his pants down (facing the street, no less!), holding his who-ha, urinating on a popular spot on the playground. Oh. My. Goodness!

Yeah, he "didn't feel like going inside to use the bathroom." The other teacher spoke to him and disciplined him. I told her I would have marched him over to the principal's office right then and there. He knew better, but was just being a little you-know-what.

I love my job! (I really do, but it's moments like that that make me thankful that I get to leave these children at the end of the day. )

One of Those Moments

2010-08-23T20:04:00.002-05:00

I had one of those moments today, when you realize just how small we are. Sydney asked about the planets and we started listing them. And then we started talking about the sun ... and then about how we couldn't live on Mercury because we'd burn up before we could say hello ... and then about how, even the closer planets don't have environments that are compatible with human life.

And that's when it happened.

We are but tiny specks in this vast galaxy, and an even vaster (is that a word?) universe. I'm going to quit now before I get on one of those drunken-college tangents.

Lessons Learned

2010-08-22T20:47:00.002-05:00

Layne learned, the hard way, not to jump out of the car with the straw of her smoothie in her mouth. She got a nasty cut on the roof of her mouth.

I learned, the hard way, that there is no child care at the gym on Sundays. Sydney wanted to ride a bike, so she was all set. But I had to tuck Layne in a corner with my iPod so she could watch a kid show (I have a bunch of kid shows on my iPod just for moments like that). I could see both of them clearly, but of course I worried that they would bother one of the six people at the entire gym. I cut my work-out short and took the girls home. Lesson learned.

Gone Fishing

2010-08-21T20:57:00.001-05:00

Drive Me to Drink

2010-08-20T20:35:00.002-05:00

Working with 18 four-year olds is going to drive me to drink.

I kid, of course! Well, maybe not. Okay, yes, I kid.

Tonight we took the girls to see the new cats & dogs movie. It was funny, lots of adult humor, and lots of cute animals. We purchased four tickets, bought our popcorn and chocolate (who doesn't eat popcorn and chocolate at the movies?), and found our seats in the theater. We were the first ones so we had our pick of the place. Sydney commented that we were the only ones there and we just kind of chuckled. When the lights when down, we were indeed the only ones in the theater. It got me thinking - I wonder how much it costs to show a movie. We paid $24 for all of us (no 3D or anything and it was a matinee). Surely, after electricity, employees, etc. to run the show, is more than what we spent. Or maybe not. I don't know. But if it costs less, then movie theaters are waaaayyy over charging.

No Cali, NO!

2010-08-19T19:39:00.004-05:00

Cali is a 12-weeks old standard poodle. She has a chocolate and cream phantom pattern. And she is such a stinker! The potty training is coming along pretty well - still an accident here and there. And the girls hate it when she nips at their heels to let them know that she wants to play. Sydney has shown that she can be responsible because she brings Cali out to potty and she crates her when required.

Poor Cali though. In effort to train her well, we say "NO!" to her a lot. She doesn't know if she's coming or going. But hopefully it will pay off in the end. She's getting bigger by the day - sometimes, I think by the minute! And not that you can see it in these pictures, trust and believe:

First Day of School

2010-08-18T20:35:00.002-05:00

What a day! Not only was it the girls first day back for the 2010-2011 school year, but it was my first day too. Sure, I spent last week at teacher's workshops, but this was my first day with students. I aided the morning in the 4-year-old class - with some very ill-behaved boys, had lunch recess duty, assisted the art teacher in the afternoon, and then help load children into cars during dismissal. Not only did I not have a chance to eat my lunch - a yummy lunch that my wife made for me when she packed lunches for the girls, but I didn't have a chance to sit down, use the bathroom, or even grab a thirst-quenching beverage. I know it won't be like that everyday - I just need to get into a groove.

The girls had a great day - Sydney started in the 3rd grade (can you believe it?!) and Layne in the 3½-year old class. They both have wonderful teachers and I'm so thrilled for them. Sydney came home talking non-stop about a new reward system they are allowing the 3rd graders, for the first time, to participate in. They earn "bucks" and get to spend them in the "store" at the end of the year. She is so excited. Layne came home talking about how all her friends from last year are in her class, and the playground that Mommy "juss hassa seeeeee!!" (I saw it at registration on Monday, but she wants Jess to see it too, she so excited about it. ) They both loved their first day. Whew!

And here are the obligatory First Day of School pictures.
(Layne doesn't have to wear a uniform until next year.)

And their backpack that they each picked out themselves (colors, pictures, font, and all!)

Cali Meeting Cali

2010-08-17T19:16:00.002-05:00

Cali made friends with another dog while we were away this weekend. The hotel room's closet had mirror doors. And every time she walked by it, she was startled by her reflection and ran away. Eventually, she got the courage to sneak up on herself and just watch. And then she got brave enough to sit next to her new friend. It wasn't long before she was trying to play with the other dog, but she got a little confused when she couldn't put her teeth around the other's little paw.

It was pretty funny to watch and certainly not exactly transferred well to photographs. But here she is admiring her new friend.

As soon as I get a few more good pictures of her, I'll post more about her.

Apple Trees

2010-08-16T20:27:00.003-05:00

The trees are sagging with apples again. So today I picked off a few, used my very cool apple peeler, and made some apple crisp. For dessert, Jess dished it out while it was still warm from the oven and plopped a scoop of ice cream on top. We all gobbled it down and Jess declared I should make some ASAP.

The Pictures to Prove It

2010-08-15T19:33:00.001-05:00

Today, I let my girls sleep in ... until almost 10am!! After some breakfast and a quick shower, we went out to play some mini-golf before we checked out. And then grabbed an ice cream on the way out of Hot Springs. And here are the pictures that document our weekend. [I brought my little Sony camera as opposed to lugging the big one with me - glad I did. I may not have gotten any pictures with the big one because I wouldn't have risked taking it to places like the park or mini-golf.]

I put these tattoos on the girls in case we got separated.

At Mid-America Museum and the dinosaur exhibit

The dino exhibit was awesome, but I won't bore you with pics of robotic dinosaurs.

Put your hand on the ball and it looks like lightning is striking your hand.

Sand art

This is that dino video.

The cage of electricity

Can't see it very well, but Sydney's hair is sticking up because she has her hand on that static ball. She thought it was pretty funny.

Dinosaur rubbings

Dino dig

You can tell, in this picture, the mood of the whole family. Sydney wouldn't smile, even when asked. And getting Layne in the picture was absolutely out of the question. It wasn't long after this picture was taken that we were all happily in the pool, but it seemed like hours. And there were some fun picture-taking opportunities which would have shown a happy family with happy children. And although I only brought my small camera with me, I left it in the locker. So just imagine ...

We decided to check out late and play a round of mini-golf at, of course, T-Rex Jurassic Golf!

It was a great end-of-the-summer weekend. So glad we did it. We had great family time. Tomorrow starts the chaos!

People

2010-08-14T19:32:00.002-05:00

At 9:09am this morning, we drove onto the Magic Springs lot only to find out that the park doesn't open until 11am. What amusement park doesn't open until 11am? Regardless, we had a couple hours to kill. Jess got on her handy-dandy phone and learned that the Mid-America Museum opens at 9:30am. So she mapped it on the phone and we were on our way. We'd already planned to go this weekend because there is currently a cool dinosaur exhibit.

We arrived and the girls immediately emersed themselves in stations where they learned about gravity, reflections, magnets, and electricity. We walked down the stairs and were greeted with the dino exhibit. Part of it included a video game of sorts where we had to try to keep the dinosaur alive. The best part was a little walk-through of anamatronic dinosaurs featuring a t-rex, a stegasaurus, an apatosaurus, and a protosaratops. Sydney was in dino-paradise.

After a several hours, we decided to head to Magic Springs. Layne fell asleep on the way, big surprise, and by the time we got there, we were all a little irritable because the weather was so miserably hot. And by the time we reached the front gate with our discount tickets, obtained from the hotel concierge, Layne was in tantrum mode, insisting she wanted to go home. Sweating bullets, we decided that we should just put on our swim suits and cool off in the water-park part of the park. In the changing room, Layne continued to have a fit. I know she was that child, the one that people think to themselves "shut that freakin' kid UP!!" But at that point, I was so hot and sticky struggling to get my own suit on, that all I wanted to do was curl up and have a tantrum of my own.

Finally, we made it to the wave pool and all the misery fell away. Both girls, and both moms for that matter, felt 100% better. We spent the next several hours frolicking in the water having some great family fun. We never made it to the amusement-park side, but no one seemed to mind. One thing I found myself doing was people watching. Places like that are goldmines for those people that are like train wrecks - so grotesque yet you can't take your eyes off them. I'm well aware that *I* could be that person for someone else - just hope they enjoy it as much as I do.

We left tired and a little too pink from the sun. We had such a great day, despite the emotional breakdowns early on. Dinner and even dessert topped off the day and now we're just chillaxing in the hotel room. Tomorrow is T-rex put put golf and then home. It will be a nice weekend to finish a wonderful summer the last few days before school starts.

Check

2010-08-13T13:34:00.000-05:00

School supplies purchased: √

Uniforms washed and dried: √

Teacher week completed: √

Registration (to meet new teachers and drop off school supplies): Monday 7:30am-9:30am.

School starts: Wednesday 8am sharp!

We need some fun before it all begins. The car is loaded and we're headed to Magic Springs for the weekend.

Beautiful Children

2010-08-12T19:08:00.002-05:00

I know I say my girls are beautiful. And when I do, I feel like I have to use the disclaimer "Of course, I think they're beautiful, because they're mine and I have to." I don't say they're beautiful because I want people to notice, I don't say it because I want people to think it, and I don't say it because I want people to agree with me. I say it because they are my children and the love I feel for them, make them the most beautiful children to me.

So I've been wondering ... I imagine all parents feel as I do, in that their love automatically turns their child into a runway model. But I wonder if parents of less than attractive children, actually realize that they have ugly children. My children could be the ugliest of them all, but all I see is pure beauty.

The purpose of post is not to solicit compliments of my children looks. I'm simply wondering if, when it's your own child, is there some kind of filter - like rose colored glasses - that absolutely prevent you from seeing your child as anything but gorgeous?

Drive Thru

2010-08-11T20:47:00.002-05:00

I ordered my coffee and pulled up to the drive thru. When the clerk opened the window, out wafted the smell of ... not coffee, not pastry ... marijuana.

WTH??

Pot?

At a food establishment?

Who does that anymore?

Last Dance Class for the Summer

2010-08-10T20:24:00.002-05:00

Layne took a 6-week summer dance class to introduce her to ballet, tap, and hip hop. Today was her last class. She took the class with her friend Cadence.

Here are some pics:
Stretching

Chatting with her dance pals.

Hop, hop, hop

With Cadence

Shuffle ... step

Getting ready for hip hop

After the class, she went up to her instructor and told her "my sasorite part was rock awound mudder goose" (a dance they do at the end of each class).

She's all registered for fall classes. I'm trying not to get too excited about an end of the year recital because I don't know if Layne is going to stick it out. But she seems to like it so far, so I guess we'll see.

iPhone photos = suck!