You Gotta Love FREE Food!

Chick-Fil-A is giving away a FREE chicken biscuit! Yummy!

Make any purchase on January 1, 2009 at any Chick-fil-A from 10:30am-6pm and you'll be eligible for a free chicken biscuit on your next visit. Limit one offer per person. More details here.

Evaluation Day

Trey was evaluated by the early childhood interventionalist today. She was so good with him and he sat right down ready to play. She gave him the Batelle, which is an assessment that I am very familiar with. I was afraid he wouldn't qualify and I was right. She said that the Batelle evaluates communication as a whole, so he scored really high on the receptive part (which I knew he would....he understands WHAT we say to him), but scored on the low end for the expressive portion (not always able to SAY what he needs to). So when you combine those scores together, his overall total put him in the "typical" range. Angela, who is also a speech-language pathologist, thought if Trey is still talking like he is now when he turns three, then she thinks he will qualify for services in the public schools for speech. She said in her professional opinion, he probably had a mild delay in the area of speech. The Batelle does not test articulation, just language. I know he has the language, just not always clear what he is trying to say. She says that from what I have told her, that most of his behavior could be from the lack of being able to say what he needs to, especially when he gets upset or angry. She also said that she has had to tell another 2 1/2 year old's family that their child did not qualify based on scores like Trey's even though he only had 3 words. His receptive language skills were in the high range as well. So we will continue to model for him and hope that he improves, if not then I will do a parent referral for testing in the school system once he turns three. He did score really high in the areas of motor skills and cognitive skills, so that was nice to find out. We will keep you posted!

Be Vewy Quiet.....Shhhhh!

What boys won't get into! Trey snuck into the bathroom this morning while I was taking a shower and got into my hair wax, which he is infatuated with. He has eaten it before and I guess now he has finally figured out what to do with it......I thought I screwed that lid on tight enough.....hmmmmm...........

Santa Was Here!

Pictures of our Christmas and bowling from this weekend! Enjoy!

Christmas Traditions

On Christmas Eve, my mom came over in the evening and we had pizza....which always seems to be the easiest before the church service. Trey and Daniel stayed home b/c.....another new Christmas tradition seems to have started. Trey started running fevers off and on and had this really horrible cough. Lily had been to a sleepover over the weekend and inadvertently came into contact with the croup. I took Trey to the doctor just to be sure. Dr. R made the comment that Trey just didn't seem to get sick much (knock on wood) and had made a visit this time last year (for his ears). I said that he was pretty healthy even though he was in daycare. Well, they did a blood count and it turns out Trey had viral pneumonia. Yuck! Doesn't that just figure! I was so hoping this year Trey would get to be excited about his presents....last year he was not....he was just miserable all day. He got on an anitbiotic, which has actually seemed to help. He woke up on Christmas morning and once he saw what Santa brought him (his own garbage truck w/ Mr. Gilly included), he was excited! Now to the girls.....let me just say that this must be some evil payback for something that Daniel or I did when we were younger, but I heard Lily coughing around 4am and I thought I would get up to go check on her when I hear this whispering and then two little sneaks tiptoeing down the hallway. I nudge Daniel and tell him that the girls are awake. He takes the flashlight to go check on them. They, of course, have found what Santa has left them, Trey, and the whole family. He talks them into coming back up to their room. They stay up until about 6am, when Lily falls back asleep and then everyone is up at 8am once Trey wakes up. Meghan got a Kate Spade backpack purse from Santa and Lily got lots of Littlest Pet Shop. They had lots of goodies in their stockings too! Daniel and I exchanged stockings on Christmas Eve, just b/c neither one of us is very good at keeping things from each other! The girls really loved the Wii that Santa brought our whole family to share. Meghan has been religious on the High School Musical 3 Dance game and Lily, so far, holds the high record in Wii bowling at 180! She kicked her Daddy's tail last night! Jamie and Erin came over with their kids on Christmas day as did Andy and Alyssa and the boys! I hate that we are not together more. We missed having my dad here this year. He decided since he was a "foster parent" for some dogs, he had better stay put in TN. So not a lot of family time, which I really did miss. I just love this time of year being around family and playing games and hanging out. Just not something that gets done often enough with everyone being so busy. We also missed not having Dan and Carol and Aunt Katie here. We did get together with Erin and James again today with all the cousins to go bowling! That was a lot of fun, but with so many kids, the bowling lost its luster after about 6 frames for them! They wanted to play in the arcade instead!

I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas and were able to spend time with your family enjoying each other!

Too Cute!

Last Week

We found this cute snack idea in Family Fun magazine and decided to make them when it was Lily's snack day at school. They were a huge hit! Meghan helped Lily make them.

Trey had a visitor at daycare on Wednesday. Santa came to his room and Trey got to sit on Santa's lap (which he did willingly...yea!!) and he got a present. When Trey got home, he talked of Santa and put on his own Santa hat and kept saying Ho Ho Ho all thru the house!

Lily had her party at school on Thursday, which I was able to go to due to Mom's surgery. That was nice and it was fun just being Mom instead of teacher. She had a good time and got lots of yummy stuff to eat!

My Mom

Tuesday evening, my mom's doctor called with her pathology report from her lumpectomy. It turns out she has invasive cancer and had to go back for surgery again yesterday. Keep in mind she just had surgery 10 days before. I took the day off (party day, mind you....I hope that sub wasn't too exhausted!) and met Amy and Mom at the hospital. Dr. P told us that the lumpectomy was in fact non-invasive, but when she had made her first visit to him, he had discovered a lump which he thought was a cyst. She had to have them (there were 2) biopsied, but was only able to get one due to bleeding, so Dr. P took the other one out during her first surgery. Well, turns out the one they didn't get to biopsy was invasive cancer. So Thursday's surgery was to take out lymph nodes to check for tumors. Her lymph nodes were negative (but they will dissect them just to make sure), so that means her invasive cancer is stage 1 and she has to now have full breast radation, but no chemo. Dr. P did say he got all the cancer out during the first surgery, but since it is 2 cancers, then she is not a candidate for the localized radiation. She did well during and after the surgery. So keep your prayers coming and hopefully this will be the last we hear of the C word!

Cookie Fun

This past Saturday, we had our annual tradition of cookie making with Heather, Camden, Kaia, and Layna. We also added Evelyn, Libby, and Anmol. The dadshung out downstairs and played Wii. It was so much fun and we capped the evening off by going to a local drive thru nativity. You just gotta love traditions!

Snow Day #1!

I know....it isn't even January and it is the last week of school before having 2 weeks off, but I am so glad it is a snow day! Trey woke up at 2am Monday morning throwing up. He stopped sometime around 5am (my usual wake up time). Daniel was able to stay home with him (I was getting a new student and REALLY needed to be there). We are not sure what was wrong with him b/c he didn't get sick again and never ran a fever. We had an appointment with the early childhood interventionalist for Trey's speech at 4pm. Luckily the weather held out so we could go. It went well and we should be seeing someone this next week for his evaluation. We are crossing fingers that he qualifies. We were also able to hit the grocery store to stock up on some groceries (luckily there did not seem to be a mad run on milk and bread). Then at 3:30 this morning, Lily decides to wake up crying that she can't breathe due to a stuffy nose. Got her some water, propped her up, and back to sleep she went. I looked outside and the roads just seemed wet (I am sure now that it was ice), went back to bed, alarm goes off at 5am, look outside and see snow. Turn on the tv and, yep, we are out of school! I crawled back into bed and slept until 7:30....oh so nice! Daniel said when he was on his way to work that even the main roads were NOT clear (which is unusual here), so I am glad I didn't have to drive in any of it! Happy snow day!

I have pictures from our weekend of cookie making and will post later!

Many Updates!!!

Okay....I know it has been a long time since I last posted and do I have a lot to post about! It has been busy around here!
Last week, Trey had his annual Christmas performance with his daycare. They were so cute! He did not sing, but did stand up there w/o his fingers in his mouth, which is a step up from last year!
Sunday, Daniel's unit had their annual Christmas lunch, so we ate yummy food and the kids got to see Santa and open a present. Trey thought Ho Ho was a little scary, but worked up the courage to talk to him....from a safe distance, of course! Sunday evening was our church's 2nd annual Variety show/Christmas play. Lily got up and played the harmonica while her friend Hannah hula hooped. Meghan sang a song from Mama Mia!, and then Trey was a sheep in the play while Lily was a shepard. Meghan helped the little angels out, so I guess she was officially an angel as well. It was a lot of fun and a lot of laughs!
Monday was my mom's surgery. Everything went really well. She goes back in two weeks to discuss the pathology report and to hopefully find out when she starts radiation. I am sleeping better now that the surgery is over. I just feel better knowing that the cancer is out and that hopefully the radiation will take care of any residual.
Tomorrow is Meghan's Christmas concert at school. She is excited and I will be glad to hear some other music practiced....ha ha!
Wheew! I will be glad when Christmas break starts....I think I will actually be able to slow down for a little while!

Turkey Day

Here are some Turkey Day pictures from West Virginia. We had a good time and ate a lot of great food! The kids even played in the snow.......and we also had our traditional Thanksgiving Day play, written by our very own Meghan!

Posing with Nanny B.

Trey the Indian playing his drum

Sailing in on the "Mayflower"

Little Rory the baby Pilgrim girl

Posing with Mimi and Poppy

Ty the littlest Pilgrim

Trey loves "babbitball"

Lily has her papoose.....a baby named Turnip (don't ask)

The Big C

You ever hear something and you feel like you are standing outside of your body....like it doesn't apply to you? That is what I felt like when my mom told me she has breast cancer. I have known for a little over a week and I am just now warming up to the idea (if that is possible....and like I have a choice). My sister and I have been to two doctor's appointments with my mom now and she is scheduled to have a lumpectomy on December the 8th. She will then have radiation, but no chemo as she has noninvasive, Stage 0 breast cancer. So in other words, if you are going to have it, this is the one to have. 98% rate of the cancer staying gone, which is great! The doctor she is seeing is fabulous and he really answers anything you ask as honestly as possible. I also like that when he talked to my mom, he would look over and make eye contact with my sister and I. We felt included and part of the decision making process, even though, ultimately, that was up to my mom. She is going to have localized radiation (mammosite), which is better and takes less time than full breast radiation. Soooo, needless to say, prayer for my mom and my family would be greatly appreciated. Cancer is an old family friend, but breast cancer is a new visitor. Now I guess I am up for mammograms starting next year. Updates to come...............

White Thanksgiving?

Okay, I know it is not unusual for snow this time of year.....it just doesn't happen often. It's not a lot, but it sure looked pretty last night. I would say we got .5" last night. Kind of odd next to the scarecrow flag....lol.

Results Are In....

Drum roll, please..........Meghan made All County Honor Band!!!!!

She auditioned last night and sounded really good...no squeaks, good tone, and good dynamics! She found out this morning in band class. We are so proud of her!!! Way to go, Meghan!

All I Want For Christmas.....

IS MY TWO FRONT TEETH!

Mommy pulled it out last night....there was some crying and then utter joy at her beautiful toothless smile! Not to mention the $5 from the tooth fairy this morning....talk about inflation!

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

This afternoon, while Trey napped, the girls and I went to see a local ballet company perform The Wizard of Oz. We had won two tickets during Meghan's performance this summer and so all I had to do was buy another ticket so the three of us could go. It was so much fun and they had awesome effects on stage. The girls were excited to see a real Toto, the witch zap fire from her fingers, and that you could see real images in the witch's crystal ball. It was a nice afternoon of ballet (minus all our yucky cold rain) and we hope to get back this spring to see them perform Cinderella.

First

Meghan had a great day today at school. She has band first hour and had to wait ALLLL day to come home to tell us that she is.................wait for it.......................... FIRST CHAIR for the clarinet section!!!!! YEA, Meghan!!! She was. so. excited. She couldn't stop smiling. Her teacher (who also gives her private lessons) has said Meghan is sounding really good in class. I guess all that practice DOES pay off!!! Way to go, Meghan! We are so proud of you!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Happy Veteran's Day/Marine Birthday to all veterans/marines out there!!! Lily's school invites all veterans to lunch (for free!), so her Poppy and her daddy were there to eat lunch with her. It takes a special person to be able to sacrifice whatever (birthday parties, birth of child...ha ha) to stand up for our country....I am proud to call one of these such individuals my husband!


A BIG SPECIAL b-day shout out to Mimi!!!! (even though she isn't a veteran...she is a veteran's wife....a MUCH harder job!!!) xoxoxo

Anyone Hungry?

Me: What do you want for supper tonight, Lily?

Lily: What can we have?

Me: Spaghetti or brown beans and cornbread

Lily: I want sgabetti and so does Trey

Trey: I want getti!

I just love the way she says spaghetti!

Updates

Last night we went out to dinner with some adults...and no kids!! It was a fun celebration for Andy's 30th birthday. We had lots of fun talking and laughing. The kids had fun with Holly as their babysitter...which according to them, we should do more often! All in all, it was a great night.

The girls are doing well....same old thing: school, girl scouts, clarinet, church. They stay busy! We are all looking forward to some R & R in WVA over Thanksgiving. Only 2 1/2 weeks left!

Trey is doing great as well. His new thing has been telling us if he goes poo poo in his diaper. He gets M&Ms for this (which has been working great!). However, the other day, Daniel asked him if he went potty and Trey said "Not me!" It was so cute! I kept laughing...and then wondered where in the world did he hear that???? His newest obsession has been diggers and tractors in the form of clothing. He has always had a love of tractors and diggers, but he is borderline OCD. He wants to sleep/eat/live in his tractor or digger shirts. I only have one tractor shirt....ONE....and I can't wash it fast enough. He throws a big fit on having to take them off to get pjs on or anything else for that matter. He told his daddy last night that his sweatshirt was " shirt dirty and I want Tractor! ". If anyone has any clothing with tractors on it or knows where I can get some, let me know!!!!

Did You Vote?

All I can say is thank goodness the day is finally here! I went to a church near our neighborhood to vote and stood in line for 45 minutes! At 10:00am no less. I thought I was hitting a good time....obviously not. The lady signing me in said they had a line when they opened at 6am. I guess that is a good sign. The kids all did great, waiting. The church gave out free popcorn which was nice. I am just so glad not to see another TV ad!!!!

Long Awaited Halloween Photos

Here are the long awaited photos of my trick or treaters.....they loved every minute of it and got TONS of candy (which I love....helps my sweet tooth!).

Trying to Stay on Top

I am so sorry all my posts are late...I am trying to stay on top of things, but life seems to take hold and go about 90 mph. I know...Halloween pics will be coming soon (hopefully tomorrow). I did the dumbest thing....we went out to go trick or treating with friends, I brought the camera, but no memory card, SOOOOO I had to borrow Heather's camera to take pictures, but I still haven't borrowed her SD card to download the pics onto my computer.

I do have good news where the girls report cards are concerned. Meghan got hers last week and Lily got hers on Wednesday...(see how far behind I am???). Meghan did really good, A's and two B's...of which she promises to be A's next time. Lily does not get letter grades, just M's for mastered, P's for progressing, AC for area of concern, and N for not covered. She got almost all M's and a few P's. She is reading above grade level (yea!!!) and overall doing really well. I am very proud of both of them. They were treated to ice cream at a local place that gives free cones to any child K-12 that has an A or equivalent on their report card. Very nice treat!

Harvest Party

Our church's annual Harvest Party was this past Sunday evening and it was a blast, as usual! My two friends won the chili contest....Heather for mild and Eveline for spicy (she is new here from India....first time making chili...EVER!) Congrats guys! Trey really got into trunk or treat this year. He didn't say trick or treat, but quietly went up to each person and opened his bag. He hit Ms. Roz up twice (second time he just walked over on his own b/c she was parked next to us). Meghan handed out candy and it was just a nice gathering of people....not to mention a fairly warm evening!

HSM3

Last night the girls and I went to see High School Musical 3 at the mall. It was a lot of fun and VERY packed without a man or boy in sight! It was kind of like being at a big slumber party only we didn't know anyone....lol. Everyone clapped to the music, aahhed over Zac Efron, and laughed a lot. I recommend it even if you don't have girls....but you need to watch the other two beforehand. Just call, we have them both!

Those Three Little Words...

Isn't it funny how those three little words can make your heart skip a beat... make you feel all mushy inside....make you want to say them back? Just a few days ago, my baby boy said them, for the first time, all on his own....out of nowhere, to me. He just looked up at me with his sweet little face, kissed me, and said "Love you, Mommy" and then took his little arms and wrapped them around my neck. Talk about a moment that will forever stick in my mind. It's not like I sat around and thought about how he has yet to say those words to me or that I felt like he didn't love me, but to hear them for the first time....how sweet the sound! My heart is full......**sigh**.

Fall Break

This past week was a partial fall break for us. We had off Thursday and Friday. Daniel was gone the whole week on active duty in Arkansas. I was glad Friday rolled around and he came home. All in all, it was not too bad of a week. My friend Rebecca and her daughter, Reagan (who was in my class last year) came over on Thursday and Carol and Katie came in from Florida on Friday. The kids were so excited to see Mimi! She got all her Christmas shopping done for the kids and we will see her again at Thanksgiving. We threw her a surprise birthday party (her bday isn't until November), but we figured she would not be expecting it! She wasn't! Alyssa and I made soups and then she did dessert and I made pepperoni rolls...it was a yummy evening! I will post pics later....Andy was the camera man for the evening. Lily ended up not feeling well a lot of the break....sluggish and very tired. I took her to the doctor today with a 102.5 fever. She has bronchitis and is on zithromax. If she is not better in two days, we take her back. She slept most of today and Daddy is staying home with her tomorrow. Hopefully she will be back at school Wednesday....she was mad that she has to miss tomorrow. Everyone else is healthy...pray it stays that way!

On Alert

Our neighbor is a police officer. Needless to say, I feel safe when Daniel is at drill or on active duty with him living just right across the street. Well, Bob saw the girls and some neighbors out playing in the yard and came over to talk to me. He told me about a strange man driving a Ford LTD and that he had tried to get some young girls to come over with him to "feed the squirrels" in our local park. One of those girls being a police lietenant's daughter. They don't have an exact description of him other than he is a white male. I have hit the sex offender registry to keep my eyes open, but, people, this scares me! I have now had to ban the girls from playing out front w/o an adult and no walking around the block or anywhere out of sight. I know....maybe too extreme, but it is my babies we are talking about here. I have now had to review, again, what we do when a stranger talks to us (man OR woman) and Daniel has taught Meghan some moves to get out of arm holds if a stranger were to grab her wrist. One of my neighbors had also recently told me of the list of local sex offenders in our "area" were put up at the park. Not sure who did that, but I think it was a great idea...obviously, they thought one of them may have been the culprit. I know I will be watching a lot more closely when we go to the park.

Home for Two

These past two days I have been home from school. Not because anyone was sick (thank goodness!), but because I had a lot to do as Mommy. Monday I went to Meghan's school because we had her last ARC (YEA!) and she is released from speech. I spent the rest of the day putting my school assessments of my kids into the computer (boring and very tedious!). Tuesday, I went with Lily to the pumpkin patch with her class. That was a lot of fun. It was a great day! Not too hot and not too cold....aka perfect!. Here are a few of the pics from the day:


Lily had a great time and got a nice sized pumpkin....plus you gotta love those apple doughnuts! Yummy!

Our Week

Our week was stressful to say the least! At least for me! Tuesday, Meghan came home without her clarinet...and she could not remember where is was....thought she carried it home, etc etc. I let it go, thinking she had left it on the bus and they would return it to school. We had Andy, Alyssa, and the boys over for supper, so that helped distract me! Then Wednesday was a HORRIBLE day at school for me....made me think long and hard about this thing they call teaching....and then Daniel goes to pick Meghan up from Speech Team and she still has no clarinet. It had not been on the bus (a friend asked for her) and it was not at home, so where was it????? I was losing it. How is so hard to lose a clarinet? I called her band teacher at home and asked if anyone had turned it in....the answer: no. She said they always have a way of turning up, but that didn't make me feel better as Meghan is auditioning for 6th Grade All County Honor band in a few weeks. Hard to practice with no clarinet. Needless to say, she got a HUGE lecture from both mom and dad about responsibility. Daniel was prepared to go to her school the next day to get to the bottom of this when Ms. E called me at school to let me know that Meghan had found her clarinet. It was in her 6th hour class (last class of the day) all this time! Meghan had even said before (when trying to explain where it could be), that it wouldn't be in Mrs. M's room b/c she would have said something. I told her that teachers have so many things on their minds, that I doubt she would remember to say something to her unless Meghan brought it up. I am hoping against hope that the lesson has been learned here. I was so happy to see Friday. I just didn't want Sunday to come. More on that later........

Breaking Dawn

I finished the fourth book in the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, last weekend. I have to admit, that after I read the third one, Eclipse, I was really hoping for a certain ending. I don't want to ruin it for those of you who have not read it. But, I will tell you that after the last page was read of the last book, I was happy with the ending. It did not end like I had hoped, but I really did like the ending. Is that making sense?? I didn't think I wanted to watch the movie, but after seeing the trailor online, I know that I have to see it. I hope it carries thru like the book for the most part. I HIGHLY recommend reading this series. Very intense reads!

P.S. Meghan went to school the other day wearing a t-shirt that said "Edward's Team". She is a big Edward fan. All her friends wanted to know where she got the shirt!

Meghan's Check-up

Meghan did great at her doctor's appointment (like she wouldn't!). She was 5 foot 1 and 1/4 inches tall and she was in the 78%tile for weight (she didn't want me to post her weight....and so it begins!). Her height was in the 90-something %tile. So basically tall and skinny. She did have to get a shot (which I didn't anticipate) for meningitis. They recommend it now for middle/high school (not just college) since more cases are popping up. Meghan was NOT excited about the shot, but I told her it was better than being dead, so she got over it. While we were there, everybody got the Flu Mist. The girls got this last year (they fall into the "must have" category for flu shots since they both have asthma). Trey got the shot last year, but was old enough this year for the mist. He DID NOT like it, but I figure it was better than the shot. He was happy to get a sucker at the end. After the appointment, we rushed home to eat and then on to the fire prevention parade downtown. It was so much fun! We caravaned down with Andy, Alyssa, and the boys. Trey couldn't get enough of the "mow mow shovels" (that is seriously what it sounds like he is saying-it is his word for motorcycles!) He loved all the Police motorcycles in the parade. He also really enjoyed the bagpipes.....and, of course, the firetrucks. Not so much the firefighters (very scary!), just the trucks.

Trey was quick to point out all the trucks and motorcycles!

All our "firefighters"

Another Week

Okay, so it has been a while since I last posted. Not really a whole lot going on other than the usual. We always seem to have a busy week, but I am not really sure why....lol. Daniel had softball on Monday evening, nothing on Tuesday, I had Lily's first girl scout meeting on Wednesday plus church, Thursday Meghan had clarinet and we went to Wilson's last t-ball game and out to eat pizza with Uncle Uncle Bill, and then Friday we did nothing b/c Daniel had a meeting in Louisville, so he got home late. Saturday my goal was to rearrange my bedroom. For anyone who knows me, the fact that I like to rearrange is an understatment. I get bored with the way a room looks, I guess. My bedroom had stayed the same for over a year now, but I just didn't like where the dresser and bed were, so I flip flopped them. No pictures, but I like it much better! Today I have to take Meghan for her 11 year check up (which is why I am at home typing this at 1:04pm instead of at work). This evening we are taking the kids downtown for our city's fire safety parade. I am sure Trey will get a big kick out of all the fire trucks! I will post pictures of that later! Happy Monday!

Now I am Hooked!

Okay, first I read about it on Alyssa's friend's blog and then Alyssa got started. Then Meghan comes home from school talking about it, wanting it, and when we were at Wal-Mart, I bought the first one. The book Twilight was so addictive! I haven't been that into a book since Harry Potter and I LOVED THOSE! The girls spent the night with my mom on Thursday since they didn't have school yesterday and my mom had the complete set! So it turns out my mom was addicted too! Who knew! She let Meghan bring them home and I finished Twilight yesterday (I had started it on Thursday) and I read New Moon today (I was up at 7:15). Yes...all of it. It was so good, I couldn't put it down. I have this uncanny ability to read fast and have passed that ability to my daughter as well. I am sure when she gets home from her youth event this morning, she will complete Twilight before today is over (I made her let me start on them first....just to make sure they were okay for her to read). I highly recommend you read these if you haven't started...although the wait list at the library is quite long!

Can I Get An Amen?

Everyday when we say prayers before eating, Trey folds his hands and waits patiently for the prayer to be over to scream out "May-men!" It is so cute! I couldn't resist doing a second prayer tonight so that I could video him doing it. He loves to yell it out. Check him out!

Ike

Ike is making landfall here today. Lots of wind and our power has gone out three times since we have been home from church. No rain yet, but this is really windy for us. I am glad I don't live in Texas right now! We really do need the rain....gently though...no downpours!!!

Welcome Baby Ty!

Ty is finally here! We have been to see him twice now. The girls can't get enough! They were so excited to get to hold him (they didn't like sharing!). I told them not to get any ideas....even though they have already asked. Ha ha. He is so cute. Alyssa did a great job and the C-section went well. Check here for more pictures! He weighed in at 9 lbs and 5 oz, but he still seems so tiny! Trey kept waiting to see "Baby Ty" and wanting his Daddy and Uncle Roo to go find him! Congratulations Andy and Alyssa!

I would have had this posted yesterday, but our internet was not having that....I had to totally reinstall the broadband stuff. For being so smart, computers can be so dumb!

Party Day

Yesterday we had two parties for Meghan. Her first party was with her friends and we did a movie star mystery party. They all had characters to play and they had to find out who stole the "Golden Trophy" worth 1 million dollars! It was so much fun (I was the host) and the girls all really got into their parts and acted out their characters so well! I wish I could have videotaped the whole thing. I highly recommend Dramatic Fanatic. They had some really cut kits, plus some for teachers to use in their classrooms. After Meghan's friend party, we started getting ready for the family party that was at 6pm. Mimi, Poppy, Andy, Alyssa, the boys, Heather, Jimmy and their crew were all here to help us celebrate. We grilled out, had yummy tater tot casserole, baked beans, and two peanut butter pies, plus leftover cupcakes for the kids to decorate. We then walked to the park after Meghan opened presents. It was so nice out...low humidity. It was a great day and boy did I sleep like a rock!!!

My Baby is 11!!

It is hard to believe that 11 years ago on a Wednesday much cooler than today (I think it was 65 degrees or something like that), I was in CB hospital, holding my first baby. Eleven years seems like such a long time, but it has just gone by so fast. I feel like it was just yesterday that I brought her home....and feeling unsure about this whole "mom" thing. However, I don't really remember a time without her. Before I know it, I will be blogging about her going off to college (*sniff, sniff*). I better switch gears or I will be bawling all over the keyboard......

She was treated this morning to our traditional special birthday breakfast....Meghan got pancakes, made from scratch! Yes, you read that correctly...I am Super Mom! (Just kidding, lol!), however, I was up at 5:30 am making them (but she is worth it). I was going to use the rest of our box of pancake mix, but I didn't have enough, so to make a long story short, I just made them from scratch. Happy Birthday to my "baby"!

Happenings....

This week has been a bit more keyed down than last week. Meghan started back up with her clarinet lessons (we do them privately as well as at school). Her tutor is also her band teacher and she says Meghan is doing great....she is ahead of the other clarinets and can even play the high note, most of the time (which is very hard!). Meghan also auditioned for a local children's choir and starts up with that on Tuesday. I am looking forward to seeing/hearing her performances.

Lily is having a great time in first grade! She has made many new friends and tries to call them at least once every other day. Needless to say, she is our social butterfly. Lily has also decided to try Girl Scouts and is excited b/c one of her new friends has signed up as well. She is excited to start in a brownie troop....I hope to hear something soon about it. So keep us in mind come cookie time....

Trey is adjusting better to daycare. I had written a letter to the director over some things I had seen when I had come to pick him up. She called me that day and we talked about it. She had gotten some new staff and hadn't done a training with them, but has said that my letter gave her a clearer picture of what she needed to make sure they had training on. I really love Ms. Katie and her devotion to all the children and making sure they get quality care and learning. It makes it easier to be apart from him knowing that. Trey's language is still unintelligible at times, but he does have some words quite clearly. I have emailed a local SLP (speech language pathologist) to discuss with her whether Trey might have a delay or it is just a two year old thing. I know I am probably being overly cautious, but this is something I don't want to wait until he is in kindergarten for.

Daniel and I are (I think) finally getting down a routine in the morning. I won't know what to think when we have three in school. My classroom keeps growing....I have 20 kids in the morning and only 12 in the afternoon. I am sure I will be getting more IEP kiddos in the PM as the year goes on. I really love my kids and have enjoyed getting to know each and every one of them. My assistant and I have finally gotten a routine down that we like for the AM and PM....hopefully by adding more kids, that won't change! Little ones don't like straying off course very much!

I know we are all looking forward to sleeping in for three mornings in a row!!!! :)

End of Summer Days!

Sorry for all the pictures....I couldn't get slide show to work for me today.

Last night, our church had a fun carnival, concert, and drive-in movie all set up...for FREE! It was called End of Summer Days and it was an outreach night for the community and was so much fun. It reminded me of the Fish Fry days the church used to have once upon a time, but better! The kids all played in the inflatables and Meghan and her friend, Meghan worked in the craft tent for a little while. We had a cheap meal (food was at cost) and I got to watch Lily dunk Pastor Chris, Uncle Roo (pic above), and Ms. Brenda! She did great! Trey sat and watched Uncle Roo get dunked many times! Our praise band did an awesome job performing and the stage looked very professional! I know they put in a lot of long hours/practice in preparation. After the concert, we had a "drive-in" movie set up to watch. Trey fell asleep about three quarters through the movie and I think both Lily and Meghan were asleep before we even got out of the church parking lot! It was a great night and lots of fun....and I think we had a great turn out from the community! I can't wait to do it again next year!