I got it!!! Merry Christmas to me!!!

Eric finally came to a decision that I was going to get a Nikon D40 for Christmas, it was a lot of money to drop but I am worth it...right? Of course! This was a very tough decision for us, the economy isn't that great and Eric is not getting a bonus at work this year. Around Thanksgiving he told me I would not be getting the camera and I moped around for a whole day and was grumpy. I was fine the next morning, just needed to get it out. Then he started looking at prices online and my hopes got back up again. Just this past week we talked again and again I thought I wasn't getting it. So when I was asked to go to the store tonight I jumped at the chance and didn't look back.

We put the battery in and I was able to get some shots before I almost killed the battery. The battery is charging and I will have some awesome Christmas shots! I am so excited!!!

Here are some random first shots that I took. I can already tell that my pictures are clearer and crisper then with my old camera. I think I am in love!

Now for comparision reasons take a look at these two shots.

This one was taken with my NEW Nikon D40.

This one is taken with my Kodak Easy Share at about the same distance.

12 of 12

This is a little different then what some of you may be thinking from SS. This is not my December 12 of 12. I have such a hard time remembering to take my pictures for the 12 of 12 challenge. So I found a little inspiration from another blog and decided that I was going to take a trip down memory lane today and see what I came up with. The other blog that I got this idea from was to go to your 4th picture file and post the 4th picture in that folder.

Since today is 12/12. I went to my 12th folder and will post my 12th picture in that folder.

Here it is...
Tyler admiring all his eggs.

This is my oldest when we went to an Easter egg hunt, 4.6.07. It was spring break week and my friend had asked me to join her at a mom's group meet-up. I took my boys, my eggs and off we went. The boys had a great time finding all the eggs and putting them in their baskets.

The basket Tyler used was my basket when I was a little girl.

Choosing Joy - Challenge

Today I found my JOY when I opened up my blog and my playlist started playing "Brown Eyed Girl." Such memories come flashing back. One of my good friends in high school loved this song and I remember dancing to this song with my group of girlfriends. It is just one of those feel good songs that everyone sings along with!

So as I sat there and listened to it I remembered fond memories!

Choose Joy - Challenge

Today I found joy when I found the two loves of my life asleep. It had been a long evening tonight with my oldest son as we butted heads. So my joy was when I finally got them to sleep and could turn the TV off, sit, breath, and relax.

How exciting?!?!

I have a few scrapbooking blogs that I read. But one of my favorite ones is http://www.knitandpurlgrrl.blogs.com/scraphappy/ . I first discovered Lain's blog through her podcast that I read about somewhere when I got my iPod last Christmas. Lain has podcasts that review scrapbooking products and she also does interviews with some "famous" scrapbookers. I subscribe to her podcasts through my iTunes and after 3 months without a podcast from her I discovered that she had a new one Saturday when I was updating my iTunes. So yesterday while at the go-cart track while waiting for Tyler to race I was able to listen to her podcast. She had a great reason to come back to the podcasting world because of a new book that she has just released called "Snippets". This is a book that I look forward to getting my hands onto. She has such a witty sense of humor.

So last night I decided to comment on her blog regarding the release of her latest podcast and how excited I was to find that she had returned to podcasting. I just checked my email and Lain sent me a message back! How cool is that! I am very excited!!! Here is the link to her podcast if you are interested... http://www.scraphappy.mypodcast.com/

Here is her message back to me...
Aww, thanks! I am going to do another one this week. :)Stay tuned!xoxo
L
Lain Ehmann
Contributing Editor, Simple Scrapbooks Magazine

Today I am thankful for...

...a nap. After enjoying 5 days off of work because of the Thanksgiving holiday I am really not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. This morning I got up puttered around the house, went to the grocery store, made lunch and laid down on my son's bed while the boys were playing in his bedroom and took a nap. I slept for about an hour and a half and when I woke up I really had no desire to get up. It was a rainy Sunday and a great nap day. I decided not to cook dinner tonight too.

Today ends my final day of my thankful posts although I think I may try to recap once a month the things that have made me thankful. Some blessings are small and some are huge but they are always there we just need to take the time to reflect and be thankful!

Thanks Sherry!!!

Today I am thankful for...

...the fact that Tyler gave it his all. He has been racing go-carts for about a year now and today was the 2nd to last race of the season. My husband borrowed a michron (sp?), a technical thing attached to the go-cart so we know how fast he goes each lap he races.

A few days ago we were talking to Tyler about a race that was coming up this Saturday and he made the comment that he would finish 3rd. 3rd is not a bad place to finish but if your expectation is to always finish 3rd and not aim for anything higher then why race. So dh and I had a nice chat with him about that. We borrowed the took for today's races. Every time he went out he got a few tenths of a second faster. So instead of him racing against the other racers today he raced against himself.

He gave it his all and although he did finish 3rd we are proud that he tried to beat his time every time he went out on the track.

Picture will be coming later once I upload them...

Today I am thankful for...

...Rachael. Rachael is our babysitter and she is one of the best that I have found. I trust her with my boys and I know that she has fun and enjoys being with them. She is home from college for the long Thanksgiving weekend. Eric and I were able to have a date night because of her being home. We went to dinner at Outback. Outback just recently sent coupons to our school for teachers that are good for $6.00 off an entree and you can use it as much as you want to until 12/31. Plus I had a $25 gift card there, again thanks to the fact that I am a teacher as it was a gift from one of my students last year. So our $45 dinner turned out to only be about $13 plus tip. Not too bad for two steak dinners. :0)

After dinner we did some Christmas shopping...starting with Game Stop where we walked out empty handed. Then off to Toys R Us...where we walked out about $200 later. Next we went to Wal-Mart...$70 later, but Eric also picked up some stuff that he needed for racing and stuff for the truck. Our final stop was to Target...$60 later. Oh, actually that wasn't our final stop...we tried going to Cold Stone Creamery because I had a gift card there thanks again to my students, but found out they were not longer in business. :0( I thought we were on our way home when Eric suprised me and we went to Dairy Queen instead for Blizzards. YEAH!!!

All money well spent but the priceless moment tonight was spending time alone with Eric...something that doesn't happen very often and something that we need to keep our relationship healthy!

Today I am thankful for...

...Sherry! I need to thank Sherry for posting this challenge. This past November has been a hard one on me. I have been dealing with some issues with my oldest son that I will finally get answers to in two weeks. I found out that my dad did something that my mom is very bitter about. Plus there are some medical issues that my parents are dealing with that I was not told about and called my sister who I asked to share with me what was going on. Now my mom is mad at my sister for telling me. I also found out that my cousin is getting a divorce. We were very close growing up and have stayed some what close even though 10 years ago I moved to FL and she is in PA. Within the past years the phone calls have come less and less frequent and I should have known something was up but just assumed that we were both focusing more on our families. Unfortunately that was not the issue for her. I know there are others things but my brain cannot wrap itself around those right now.

But Sherry has helped me find things to be thankful for this past month leading up to Thanksgiving Day. Some days have been harder to find things then others.

Today I am thankful for...

...my 3 year old, Reed. He is my love bug and will always be my baby. He is full of spunk and has quite the little personality and on occasion the ornery side comes out. Reed is an eater and will pretty much eat anything you give to him...if his brother doesn't comment that it is gross prior to him trying it. I am sad that his blonde hair is growing in darker as he gets older. He wants to do everything his big brother does.

Today I am thankful for...

My 3 favorite boys that I love to spend time with!


...the next five days! One of the greatest things about being a teacher is that you get to have off of work most of the days the students are off. The next five days I will get to spend time with my boys. I wonder what we will get into besides the obvious on Thanksgiving Day? I have set the record straight with my seven year old that there will be time restraints on the Wii, TV, and computer. The weather is gorgeous here in South FL and I informed him that we will be spending time outside. He has already to go on a bike ride, so tomorrow morning we will strap on the helmets and go for a ride. I also look forward to snuggling up with my boys on the couch and watching the Thanksgiving Day parade. Will they actually join me? Who knows but I will be there and that is what will be on the TV. I am also very excited that dh will get to share 4 out of those 5 days with us.

We will make the most of it and hopefully make some memories that will last a lifetime!

Do it, Done it!

Put the items you've done in bold.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice - Does Vegas count??? LOL!
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (chalked)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie - I was an extra in Major League.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone -fractured/close enough right?
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chicken pox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Today I am thankful for...

...things that please my son. When I got home from work today, Tyler ran to his room and shut his door which I thought was very strange, but he is always up to something. I let the dog out and the next thing I know Tyler wants to wrap his Christmas gifts that he bought at the school's holiday shop for his daddy, cousin, and brother. Thankfully they provide holiday bags to place the items in. He was so excited about the items he purchased and wanted to get them wrapped before anyone could find them.

As I was getting his brother ready for bed tonight I heard Tyler's bedroom door slam once again and his daddy was in there with him. I wonder who's gift they were wrapping then...???

Christmas is over a month away but Tyler is prepared and has his gifts for giving ready to be placed under the tree.

Thank you holiday shop for making my son excited about Christmas and for giving him the joy of picking his own presents out for the ones that matter the most!

Today I am thankful for...

...dvr. Without it I would miss some of my favorite shows. I love the fact that I can watch something in less time then it takes to appear on tv, because I can fast forward through the commercials. Today I was able to get caught up on Days of Our Lives. Such a great story line with a murder being solved. I have some other shows that need to be watched and caught up on as well. Hopefully this week...since it is only a 2 day work week!

Today I am thankful for...

...pizza. It has made my family happy for 3 dinners now. Wednesday I stayed at work late and ran to the grocery store for frozen pizza and dog food. Thursday night I had Bunco and asked the boys what they wanted for dinner...PIZZA! Today some of the third grade teachers ordered pizza for the students as it was their student teachers last day. They had left over pizza and offered me a pie to take home. Of coure I graciously accepted...free dinner. I was actually shocked when Eric wasn't upset about having pizza for the third night in a row. I am sure it won't work 4 nights.

Today I am thankful for...

...preparation/organization. I am not usually so disorganized at school, I am a teacher. My student teacher just finished up her teaching last Friday and I am trying to get my act back together. I spent 2 hours after school today organizing my classroom and getting things ready for tomorrow. Today was such a blur at work, I wasn't prepared. I am prepared for tomorrow and my students will be much happier because they will have a prepared/organized teacher.

Today I am thankful for...

...the fact that stores sell clothes to fit me. Yes, there is sarcasm in my post tonight and I am hopefully that it will kick my butt into gear. The weather has been cooler here in South FL so for the past few days I have had to search my closet for something that fits me that is warm enough to wear for the cooler weather. I had enough this morning after spending 20 minutes trying on clothes from my closet. I went out to the store tonight and hopefully bought my last outfit in the size that I bought tonight. Tomorrow hopefully will be a new start to my new life. I am going to try going back to WW points system and get this body of mine moving.

Another reason for the need for a new outfit is that tomorrow is class picture day...the teacher cannot be wearing too tight clothes in the picture that will be placed possibly in scrapbooks or picture frames.

Today I am thankful for...

...cell phones.

I can keep in contact with my friends and family pretty much whenever I want. I don't have to worry about digging around for change to use a pay phone (which I don't think exist too much any more) if I have an emergency.

How did we ever survive without one???

Today I am thankful for...

...cooler weather. I got up out of bed this morning, got dressed, put the dog's leash on and went for a walk. It was a cool brisk morning. When the wind blew it felt colder than the 59 degress that the weather man said. Living in South FL most of us get excited when the cooler weather comes to us. It has been in the mid 80's this week and it has still been very humid so high 50's low 60's is a nice treat. My boys have been playing outside. My windows are open. Eric is outside working cleaning the shed out which is not a fun task to do in the heat. I will be out there joining him soon cleaning up the backyard.

Today I am thankful for...

...extended family. There is nothing better than playing with your cousins. Today we went to Eric's aunt and uncle's house. Some of his aunt and uncles were there along with his grandmother from MD. My boys got to play with cousins if I am figuring it out right they would be third cousins.

I have such fond memories of spending Sunday's and holidays with extended family, playing with my cousins. Such good times. My children very rarely get to see their extended family since we live several states away from them that when it does happen it is a blessing. I hope my boys will remember and cherish these times like I do.

Today I am thankful for...

...the weekend. Some weeks seem longer then others with this week in particular. Even though this weekend will be crazy busy. I don't have to get up at 5:20 a.m. and can sleep in to uh about 7 a.m.

Today I am thankful for...

...music. It just soothes my soul. I have been meaning to post about this since last Friday. At the end of the school day last Friday around 3 p.m. I found myself alone in my classroom. I turned the radio on and went to work with just me and the music. I left work that day feeling good because I had some me time. I was a better mom and wife because of it.

It doesn't really matter to me what I am listening to I just find that it helps relax me. I do find that when I get stressed I will grab my iPod and shuffle the songs.

Music can also take me back in time. Sometimes it just puts a smile on my face and sometimes it makes the tears run down my face. Music is so moving!

Today I am thankful for...

...Facebook. I have recently reconnected with so many people that I went to school with. Not only people I spent high school with, but people way back from kindergarten. I grew up in a small town and most of the people that I went to kindergarten with also graduated with me. I just got done chatting on FB with a friend from school. The Internet is a great thing! Just think of how many people I haven't heard from in over 15 years, that I now get to catch up and chat with because of it!

Today I am thankful for...

...the US Veterans. The men and women who stand up and fight for our country and help us remain a free country.

Today I am thankful for...

...my son Tyler.

Tyler is a very sensitive young man, very much like me. I can see myself in him in so many ways. His feelings get hurt very easily and he will cry at the drop of a hat. My husband and I have tried so hard to toughen him up so that he doesn't cry over the little things in front of his peers...so far it has not happened. Unfortunately I am sure he will learn not to cry in front of his peers the hard way...which of course will make him cry even more. He easily makes friends and wants to be part of the group.

He has big beautiful green eyes...the one trait that I wished while pregnant that he would get from me.

He is caring, honest, gets good grades, and from what I hear a very good boy in school.

He is also not like me in so many ways. He loves sports and is a very good soccer player. He looks very much like my husband and his metabolisim is just like my husbands which is a very good thing that he didn't get from me.

Tyler is a very unique boy and I look forward to watching him grow up and become all that he wants to be. May all your dreams come true, son!

Today I am thankful for...

...the fact that it is Saturday and I didn't have to wake up at 5:20 a.m. like I have to Monday through Friday for work. Today I woke up a little after 7, it was wonderful to say the least. Not having to turn the alarm off and jump in the shower, make and pack lunches, get myself and the kids dressed and out the door by 6:45 a.m. Tomorrow will be another morning of sleeping past 5:20 a.m. and I can't wait!

Now I am off to shower and get some laundry done so we can go to Tyler's soccer game and then off to Eric's race. The rat race still continues but not so early. :0)

Today I am thankful for...

...quiet time. I believe I found my key to happiness today. I am a second grade teacher. There are 29 students in my classroom. The classroom that I teach in is a co-teach/inclusion classroom. Let me explain that to you. I have my own homeroom classlist of 16 students. My co-teacher has 14 students on her homeroom list. Because we are an inclusion classroom, meaning the students who have an IEP for learning disabilities, there is an inclusion teacher that comes in for literacy and math time. I have a student teacher. My co-teacher has a practicum student, she needs 90 hours in a semester. Is any of this becoming clear? Let me continue. I leave school after picking up oldest ds from aftercare. Go to the daycare to pick up youngest ds. Cook dinner for the family, dh gets home. So when do I get quiet time??? Pretty much never.

Today my student teacher left early as well as the co-teacher. I was alone working away in my classroom by myself. Ahhhh, bliss. I turned on the radio and cranked out my work. I didn't have to talk to anyone, I wasn't in a hurry to rush home to run one of my boys here and there. I really enjoyed the time, I felt like I accomplished something and was at peace with myself when I left.

Got home with my 2 boys today and didn't yell and scream at them because I was stressed out. Actually cooked dinner without stressing over what to have. It was fantastic and I feel like a better mother and wife because of it.

Now if only every day could happen like this one...

Today I am thankful for...

...my wonderful husband who stepped up to the plate for me tonight. I ended up with a terrible headache late this afternoon. I got home and let the kids play on the Wii (something else I could be thankful for today) while I went and laid down in my bed just holding my head. DH called on his way home from work just like he does everday. I told him that I wouldn't be able to make dinner tonight that my head just hurt too bad. He immediately said what do you want me to bring home? Yea! He ended up bringing home McDonald's, something that would make the kids happy and I really didn't care just wanted something to eat.

Today I am thankful for...

...hmmm...today is a tough one for me. I am down in the dumps today. I had someone ask me how my son was and I was able to answer her, then I stood there continuing to work on what I was working on and we kept talking, well wouldn't you know it but the tears started to well up. Then one of my student's parents walked up over heard the conversation and asked what was going on. I was able to tell her even though by this point the tears were coming down my face. She told me everything would be fine and she would pray for me. Then one of my very close friends walked through the door and just walked over to me and gave me a hug. She didn't say anything, just gave me a hug.

So today I am thankful for my friends and all those around me that do care and give me the daily support that I need to get through tough days.

Today I am thankful for...

...the right to vote! After work today I took my 7 year old to go vote with me today. Even if my candidate doesn't win I at least made a choice to vote. I am pround to be an American!

August 26, 1920, the United States Secretary of State signed the Anthony Amendment into law, just in time for women to vote in the fall presidential elections.

Today I am thankful for...

the wonderful student teacher I have been blessed with this semester. Her days in my classroom are winding down and she will be done November 21st. Amy is going to be a great teacher! Today she had her summative from the principal and was rewarded with a job well done by the principal. One of our 2nd grade teachers is retiring and Amy has been offered the job! She will be fantastic and if she decides to stay in the area my oldest ds who will be entering 2nd grade next year will have an excellent teacher! :0)

Challenge: Today I am thankful...

This month long challenge is from MidniteScrapper in Cali.

Colossians 3:15
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

This month I challenge all of you, my blogging friends, to post a gratitude post daily. If possible, post a picture to go along with it! As an extra incentive, I will offer up something special for those of you that participate in this every day...I'll start counting from November 3rd since some of you may not see this until then. Everyone that participates daily starting no later than the 3rd will be entered in a drawing at the end of the month. Keep it simple or go all out! Comment and let me know if you're up for the challenge!



Today I am thankful that I got to spend quality time with my 3 year old. It was a beautiful day in South FL, even though it was windy. We went to the beach for a few hours this morning. The beach that I chose has a 1/3 mile boardwalk that leads out to it that we walked and watched the animals. We saw many different types of birds and fish jumping. It was raining all around us and there were dark clouds above but never once did a rain drop fall while we were at the beach. It was windy which helped keep us cool.

Blog Challenge #32

10 Things I Want to Do Before I Die:
1. go to the west coast
2. be at my goal weight
3. see my children fulfill their dreams
4. get up to date in my albums like I once was
5. Take a Disney Cruise with the family before my children are too old to enjoy it
6. visit Dallas, TX and go to a Cowboy's game
7. move back to a place that has four seasons
8. have a home at the beach
9. travel back to Northern Ireland and reconnect with the exchange student that spent a summer with me
10. find a childhood friend that moved away when we were in 2nd grade

9 Places I Last Spent Money:
1. Winn-Dixie
2. go kart track
3. Burger King
4. McDonalds
5. daycare
6. school
7. Target
8. gas station
9. Scrapbook Central

8 Sounds I Routinely Hear Around My House:
1. yelling
2. crying
3. laughter
4. TV
5. dh snoring
6. vacuum
7. garage door opening/closing
8. dishwasher running

7 Real Restaurants Where I Last Ate Out:
1. Outback Steakhouse
2. Taco place that had the name Taxi in it (can't remember the real name)
3. Olive Garden
4. Ruby Tuesday's
5. CiCi's
6. Applebee's
7. Mario Brothers

6 Things I've Recently Scratched Off My To-Do List:
1. clean the garage
2. completed a swap
3. organized scrap area
4. got a pool
5. bought songs for my iPod
6. donate unwanted stuff

5 People I Don't Know by would Like to Hang Out With:
1. Stacy
2. Carrie
3. Colbie Caillat
4. The Girl's Next Door (I know more than one, but they seem like such fun to hang out with.)
5. Sherry

4 Songs That Make Me Happy:
1. Play me Some Mountain Music
2. Lucky
3. I Got Friend's in Low Places
4. Shook me all Night Long

3 Things I Hate To Do:
1. clean
2. give the boys baths
3. get up early

2 Things I'm Really Good At:
1. procrastination
2. being there to support my children

1 Bad Habit:
1. procrastination

Wordle

I just recently discovered Wordle and can't figure out how to post the image here, but you can follow the link to find out some of my thoughts on summer.

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Memories

The garage is a mess and I have been trying to spend 15 minutes a day in there trying to get things cleaned up. You know there are just boxes out there that just keep getting pushed to the side or moved to another shelf and they are never gone through to see what is really in there and is it worth keeping what is in there. So today I came across a rubbermaid bin, when I opened it up it was about half full of books. The bin was given to me almost 7 years ago, by my aunt. These were books that my cousins had outgrown and she passed onto me to use in my classroom. This has been the bin that rides in the back of my Suburban on numerous occasions and I can't lift the thing so I slowly take some books out of it and carry them into my classroom, that is of course on days that I remember it is in the back. Then when we go places and need to load up the back of the Suburban the bin comes out and sits back in the garage until the cycle is repeated all over again.

So today I bring the bin of books into my house and sit down at the computer to lexile level them (something that we use to level books as an educator). I am going through them and leveling them and come across a book titled "Helen Keller Courage in the Dark" and what fond memories come rushing back into my brain. I don't remember how old I was but I read a book about Helen Keller when I was a child and what a miraculous woman she was. For someone who was blind and deaf she was amazing! Later I came across another Helen Keller book "A Girl Named Helen Keller." I look forward to taking these 2 books into my classroom this year and teaching them about this amazing woman!

Another book I came across took me back to my student teaching time. It is "Chicken Soup With Rice" by Maurice Sendak. I student taught in a first grade classroom back in the fall of 1997 and my cooperating teacher had blown up the poems for every month into poster size and the students learned the poems every month. My first year teaching I so wanted to use those poems in my classroom and couldn't locate the book. The copyright date is 1962 no wonder I couldn't find it. But now I have it and I believe I will use the poems with my students this year. They are just fun silly poems that I know my second graders will enjoy! Thanks Karen Proctor for introducing this book to me and now 10 years later I finally own it...actually I have had it for the past 7 years and just didn't know it.

What a week!

Monday began with T attending VBS at our church for the first time, he was somewhat hesitant at first but makes friends very easily. Today was the last day and I think he enjoyed himself and learned all about Jesus' last few days.

SSBL 2 started this past Monday and I was doing really well with it until Eric called and told me he was on his way to a cardiologist. He had not told me that he had been having tightness in his chest for the past week. I guess he decided to talk to someone at work about it and he put some fear in him. So he went to our family doctor who then sent him to the cardiologist after and EKG showed premature atrial contrations. He then had a stress test done on Wed. All appears to be fine and he has a follow up appointment with the cardiologist in 2 weeks. Needless to say I am a stress eater and was able to keep a handle on my eating Tuesday afternoon/evening, but Wed. was shot. In my food journal there is a big red X for Wed.

T had been complaining that his right ear was bothering him. Wed. night while washing his hair I went to wash behind his ear and he screamed. I finally decided that the doctor needed to be called. Thursday afternoon I took him to the doctor and just as I was suspecting he had swimmers ear. No more of this for 4-5 days.

Today ended up being a very fun day for the boys and I after T had VBS. Last Friday was 4th of July and was a rainy day for most of the day and I wasn't able to capture the boys 4th of July pictures. Today was a reenactment day. T had a great time telling me where he wanted pictures taken and what he wanted to do for the pictures. Here are a couple to share from the photo shoot.





After the photo shoot we came inside to make brownie bites. The boys were a big help and T enjoyed licking the spoon. R had a great time dumping the ingredients into the bowl to be mixed.



Looking forward to a weekend filled with making memories with my family!

Today is the day!

Why have I let myself go. It is like I don't have any self esteem anymore, but I am going to change this attitude and get my butt in gear. I need to start movin' and groovin' and start eating right. I have let myself go and I don't know why. I am not going to sit and cry I am going to take action and start today. I have so much to live for and I need to do this for me, my boys, my husband, and my family. I need to be the best me that I can be.

So what am I going to do? TODAY, I will restart my WW plan and get exercising. I can do this with baby steps. Yes, tomorrow is 4th of July, but I don't care. I am not going to wait until after the holiday to begin, today is the day I need to get back in shape and lose the weight that I have gained back.

I decided to join SSBL 2 and one of the questions was how much weight do you want to lose? I went and weighed myself and was shocked to see the number that I need to lose. I am only 13 pounds away from when I gave birth to my children, I cannot possibly ever reach or go over that number. I need to take control of my life starting today!

I know what my problem is, I LOVE FOOD! I eat food because I am happy, sad, mad, frustrated, surprised, stumped, stressed, glad...I just eat food no matter what I am feeling and it doesn't matter if I am hungry, I will just eat. Today is the day that I will eat to make myself healthy. I realize that this will not happen overnight, even though it seems to have appeared overnight. Baby steps is what it will take.

Best $10 ever spent!

The master bathroom is often neglected as far as cleaning goes, yes I shamelessy admit. Especially the shower. We have lived in this house for a little over 9 years and the master bathroom shower has always been difficult to keep clean. One of my Sunday rituals is to clean the shower, but I can never get it clean like I would like for it to be clean. Well after today it is on its way to being clean like it should be.

When at the grocery store Monday night I came across a new product that was on sale. It looked very promising for my shower, this is what it said..."The Ultimate Powered Cleaning Tool!" I started to walk away from it and ended up going back thinking maybe it would work. I have tried other cleaning solutions that I thought were promising but they never did the trick.

So this morning I decided to give this tool a try. I put some Soft Scrub w/ Bleach on the shower wall and gave this new tool a try. Oh my goodness the immediate results were amazing! Now in the past I have put the cleaner on and scrubbed until my arms hurt and it never looked this good.

I am going to do a shower wall a day until the shower walls are shining again back like it was in 1983.

I will share my results with you along with a picture of the "Sonic Scrubber," my new favorite cleaning too.

Blog Challenge #22

In honour of Father's Day and since mine has been on my mind of late: tell me, what is the greatest lesson you ever learned from your father?

I have to say one of the greatest lessons my father has taught me is to stand up for myself.

The weekend before Father's Day I flew back to my hometown in Maryland so that I could attend my nephew's high school graduation. It was a great trip and I went kidless, even though it was a quick trip, one night stay I really enjoyed it and it was a much needed break away from normal life days. As we were remembering things about my oldest nephew's childhood and funny things that he said or did as a little one. I started talking about things that I remembered from my childhood.

Now my father is a man that most people choose not to mess with, because he is one that is always right. When I was a preteen someone decided to cross the line with my father and I happened to be the only other person with him.

My dad is a volunteer fireman and was very active when I was growing up so a lot of our time was spent at the fire station whether it was helping out at a banquet or a supper serving food or just being the kid who gets left behind while dad goes on a fire call. Yes, that did happen a number of times in my life. I would be left in the radio room at the fire station until dad returned from a call.

Well on one particular Saturday there was a supper going on at the fire hall and my family was there helping I had a softball game and dad was the one who was going to take me to the game. As we were trying to back out of the parking space someone in another car said something to my father and my dad said something back, don't remember the words that were exchanged, but I do remember what happened next. As we were driving next to the guy, the guy gave my dad the finger. The emergency break was pulled and the car was put into neutral and out went my dad. I immediately locked all the doors in the car, I was so scared and didn't know what was going to happen. My dad and this man got into a fight and then he got back in the car and took me to my softball game like nothing had happened, except that it did. Not a word was spoken on the way to my game and nothing until just recently had been spoken in my earshot of this event. But from that day forward I knew that I needed to stand up for what I believed in.

As we talked about this event just a couple of weekends ago. I found out that my dad was so mad that this guy gave him the finger in front of me and went out and got into a fight about it and stood up for his little girl.

New lesson learned from dad, when someone does something inappropriate in front of your kids don't let them get away with it. Of course I already know this, but the reminder didn't hurt.

Blog Challenge #12 Getting to Know You

1) Right now I want: to enjoy the week with my family while I am on Spring Break.

2) I wish I knew how to: digital scrapbook. I think that if I did I would be caught up in no time. Of course dh tells me I already spend too much time on the computer.

3) When I want to indulge myself, I: get a big scoop of peanut butter, but I have been trying to stay away from the PB jar. So I will read a magazine, read a book, or go get a pedicure with a friend.

4) You’ll never see me: skydiving

5) A childhood memory that I love: my family along with my aunts and uncles and grandmother would spend Sundays at my great-grandmothers. It was always so much fun playing with my cousin. My great-grandmother made the best sugar cookies and they were soft not the hard ones. I so need to get that recipe and figure out how to make them like she did. Not living near family I so miss those moments of being together with the extended family, something that my own children only get to experience about once a year instead of weekly.

6) 2 things I do every single day: Read email and Scrapshare and talk to my friends on the phone.

7) Happiest moment of 2008, so far: just everyday family times with the 4 of us when we are laughing and the kids are doing something funny you can't help but to laugh. We have been trying very hard to do things together as a family. It is a goal for 2008 for us. The best day we have had together was Good Friday. DH took the day off work and we spent the day at the Miami Metrozoo, it was just a great day spending time and making memories with the family.

8) Describe yourself in 3 words: honest, caring, loving

9) 2 scrap related goals for this year: to get current in my albums and attend 3 retreats

10) You have $40 that you MUST spend on yourself – what do you do with it? If I had it this week I would be going to Micheal's and purchasing a new Cricut cartridge any other week I would be treating myself to a new outfit.

Second part of the challenge: a picture of me at the computer...

Not the most flattering picture but 6 year old ds took it.

Pen in the laundry

My oldest son has a soccer game this morning and his uniform hasn't been washed so I get up early this morning and put the uniform in the wash along with other random dirty clothes. After the washing machine is done running I go and put the clothes into the dryer. As I am transferring the clothes from washer to dryer I am finding random lite brite pieces that I am pulling out. Get everything set in the dryer come back in from garage (that is where washer/dryer are located) and go into kitchen make myself breakfast, clean up the kitchen, put some other random clutter away and later go out to see if dryer is done. DH is working on packing the trailer so we can go to the races today and as I am talking to him the dryer finishes. Go over to take the clothes out of the dryer and start to notice some marks on clothes and the inside of the dryer. Notice there had to be a pen left somewhere in the dryer, so I thank my dh for making this lovely mess and ruining some clothes. He does apologize, but I still am not happy about this mess. I try to rub off all the pen marks on the inside of the dryer and they are not coming off. I just hope that it doesn't come off on my next load of laundry that I dry.

The one good thing about this is thankfully when my clothes come off they are typically inside out. So a nice white polo shirt that I have now has black ink spots all over the inside of it but it is not noticable on the outside.

3/16/08 Blog Challenge #9

This week, my challenge to you is to blog one thing, each day, that has brought a smile to your face. Could be something as simple as the first bloom of spring, a silly comment from a child, or a blessing you've received. As I read through the prayer requests on ScrapShare, many of us are facing what seem to be insurmountable odds. I've had a hard time recently focusing on the joys in my life and have been letting our problems bring me down. I'm not suggesting we ignore issues; rather, let's find a piece of joy in each day.

This morning we got up as a family and went to church. Something that we haven't done in over a year. We went to the 9:30 a.m. service while ds #1 was in his sunday school class. Our 2 year old had no interest in making new friends this morning and ran out of his sunday school class. So he went to church with dh and I. I really enjoying doing things together as a family. Today being Palm Sunday was a great day to rejoice together.

yearly

Today is the day I have my yearly check-up for me this is one of the most nerve wracking days for me. Oh well it will be done and over with this afternoon and another year will go by until I see the doc again.

Clean House

One thing that makes me happy is a clean house. It is tough to keep it clean though living with 3 males. You know the kind that like to leave stuff laying around and laying around and laying around. It is the mama who finally gets fed up and puts it away and cleans up.

So I had Bunco at my house last night and that means the house required a cleaning. I got off work at 1, picked up oldest ds from dh, went to Target picked up the dinner I was making for tonight and came home to begin cleaning which at this point means organizing the clutter first. I worked on that until around 4 and then had to pick up youngest ds from daycare. Get home and continue with the organization and cleaning. DH gets home from work around 5:30 and can't figure out what I have been doing all day. UHHHH...organizing cleaning. But it worked out perfectly because by the time he got home I was ready to scrub down the bathroom, dust, and vacuum. Hate to say it but our Christmas tree was still up so the ornaments came off and got put away and then the tree was dragged into the garage, thankfully it is an artificial tree. Now dh has to make a bag to store it in and take it to work for storage until next year.

The girls arrived at 7 and I was just finishing up dinner and could finally relax and enjoy the evening of fun!

Now to only keep it clean! I have my other Bunco group here next month and I am almost certain I will be repeating my organizing cleaning actions then too, but it sure would be nice if I didn't have to.