Mac 5 Update

Girls had another snow day (#6!) and I didn't!....Thankfully! Now they get out the same day that I do, so that is a help (I don't have to find a babysitter!)

Trey: Doing great with the tubes! Still no more words, but we are still hoping soon! He switched to the older class at daycare (18 months-2) and is adjusting well. This week had been transition week, so that made it easier for him and me! In that class, they have some that are potty trained! Yes, you read correctly. Trey sits on the potty everyday, just like all the others. Of course, he doesn't do anything, but they are preparing them just the same.

Lily: School is going great for her.....she loves it! She is reading up a storm! She is a pretty good speller too! She is very social and already has a list of about 8 little girls from school she wants to invite to her birthday party.....in June. She is looking forward to warmer weather and returning to outside recess! (Aren't we all!)

Meg: School is going great....lots of things to look forward to at the end of the year that she is excited about. The 5 th graders are going to an amusement park for the end of the year trip and she cannot wait. She has not been to this amusement park since she was a baby! She is gearing up for her performance in the Princess and the Pea (in which she has a solo!) at school. They have been practicing weekly and she really enjoys acting.

Daniel and Me: not much is going on with us, other than work/school. I went on a retreat Friday night and came home Saturday afternoon. That was a great spiritual recharge. Daniel just came back from being gone 10 days, so has been nice to be back together as a family once again.

That is it for the updates....as of now! I am sure we will have more sooner rather than later!

Another Long Weekend

Yesterday was very interesting. I had my AM students exactly 1 1/2 hours. On my way to school I got a call from our One Call system that said we were releasing early due to inclement weather (i.e. ice storm). One call is an automated calling system used my district that calls with a recorded message that can say whatever they make it for....I get it on snow days or other days we might get out of school for....its very nice. So we were supposed to have AM classes and no PM classes. Then while my kids were in breakfast, one of my assistants had to be pulled to start calling parents/daycare to come and get the kids by 10:30 b/c the elementary schools were releasing at 10:45 (the storm was moving faster than they had expected). So my day was short! The bonus part was that I didn't have to take 1/2 a sick day that I had planned on b/c Meg had a nasty throat. Her uvula was stuck to one of her tonsils, they were so swollen. I had scheduled her an appointment at 1:oopm, so we were out in plenty of time to get there. Meg does have strep (the first time she has been sick in 3 years, people!!!). She was disappointed b/c she was striving for perfect attendance at school, but when you are sick, you are sick. She has not run a fever or any other symptoms, but when the doctor took one look at her throat, he said if it wasn't strep, he would be surprised. She is already better today, but I think that is b/c I squeezed in two doses of her meds yesterday to help her out. He said by Saturday, she would be as good as new. She is playing with Lily right now.....yes, you guessed correctly....another day at home. That is up to five days for the girls and six for me. I am officially going until the Friday after Memorial Day. Now I am really praying for no more snow days so that I don't have to go in June! More snow showers are supposed to occur next week, so we will see. It is nice that Meg won't miss another day of school. Today will be a day of laundry and lesson planning for me. What fun! :)

Birthday Traditions

No, it is not my birthday. That is exactly three weeks away (from yesterday). I am not really counting down.....who wants to turn another year older? I do, however, like that there is a day out there that is just for me. I like feeling special...who doesn't? Anyway, on to the tradition part. My sister and I don't get a lot of time together, so we decided a few years ago to do a birthday shopping expedition and have continued it every year since. Our birthdays are one month and 5 days apart, so we pick a day in between the two and go shopping for each other. My mom came over and watched the kids for me and out we went. The funny thing is, Amy and I have pretty much the same taste in clothes, so we bought each other practically the same thing, only in different colors. Surprisingly, no purses this year (if you know us, you would realize that we are seriously addicted to purses!). We went for clothes this year.....that I can always use! I don't typically shop for myself (kids are always needing something!). We had so much fun and it was so nice to be out with no children in tow. I haven't been able to do that with Daniel being gone (more on that later). We were so busy shopping, we forgot to eat lunch! We had great weather, too! It was in the 50's and sunny! That meant we didn't have to keep up with coats! Kudos to fabulous birthday traditions!

#2 For Lily!

Lily lost her second tooth last night! Actually Mommy pulled it, but it was laying practically flat in her mouth, hanging by a thread and I knew she would be devastated if she accidentally swallowed it. She is very proud of her toothless grin!
I thought she deserved a post all her own!

Home Again

We are home again today....more of what yesterday brought us weather wise. We got two more inches at our house and the roads look nasty! We have been busy this morning already....dancing, making muffins, and just being silly. The girls decided to be silly and, of course, Trey followed suit!

Another Snow Day

Another snow day is here. This time the weather guy was pretty much dead on. I fell asleep last night around 9pm and woke up at 12 and school was out for both me and the girls. We got about 2 inches at our house, then a nice sheet of ice this morning. However, it will all be gone by 1pm b/c our temps are going to climb into the 40's then drop back into the 20's tonight. So whatever wet is left will refreeze and we are also supposed to get minor accumulation of snow again tonight. Yuck! I am tired of this up and down stuff. I wish it would just pick a temp and stick with it. It is no wonder so many people are sick. I had all my kids back except one in each class yesterday, so that was good. Now we have to go after Memorial Day....I was really hoping that wouldn't happen. Oh well. Given where we live, it was only to be expected.

I am THAT klutzy!

A two hour wait. That is how long I waited at the UTC among many many flu infected people (I didn't touch anything!!....and used sanitizer to boot!). I decided to go there rather than the ER because 1. I knew it wasn't broken and 2. it was cheaper than a visit to the ER. What happened you ask? Well....it was about 10:15pm, Saturday night. Meg and I were watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Needless to say, I had fallen asleep (as I usually do watching TV that late), with my feet propped up on the coffee table. Trey had woken up and was crying, so I snapped awake and jumped up, only to fall flat on my face (pretty much). My left foot had fallen asleep and unfortunately, I didn't realize that until it was too late. My ankle gave way, taking me down. It hurt....boy, did it hurt. I wanted to say some words, but Meg was watching me, wondering what the heck her mom was doing. I limped back to Trey, got him back to sleep, then finished watching the movie. I went to bed in pain, but it was bearable. I slept horrible b/c every time I moved my foot, my ankle kindly reminded me that it didn't like moving that way. So when I woke up this morning, I decided I needed to get it checked out. I called my mom and she came over to watch Trey and the girls went to church with a friend. So I made my way to the UTC to get an x-ray. I already figured it wasn't broken b/c there was no bruising or much swelling, but it really hurt, so in I went. The x-rays showed no broken bones, but the doctor said it was a sprain and asked what I did for a living, and I told her I was a preschool teacher, so she said I needed to wear a brace while at school and then wear an ACE bandage at home. I am to do this about 1-2 weeks, depending on my ankle's ability to bounce back. So now I am to wear this brace, which none of my shoes fit when its on (**arrgh!**). At least it is winter and no one can really see it! This was not the best time for this to happen (is there really ever a good time??)! Oh well....I am hopefully on the mend and will not contract that stupid flu going around!!

Supper time Entertainment

I saw the cutest idea in a magazine I get called Family Fun. I really love this magazine and it has such cute activities you can do with your kids, as a family. This idea was to help ease the wait for supper, which I struggle with on a daily basis. Trey is ready to eat at anytime once we set foot in the door during the week. He is not like that on the weekends, just weekdays. I don't usually get home until around 5pm and pretty much start supper right away. I prefer to eat earlier so that it is out of the way and I can spend time with the kids before bedtime. So basically the idea was to make a sensory tub (teacher terminology) for kids to play in while you cook. Well I figured Trey would love it, so we made it with oatmeal (dry of course!) and bought some cheap measuring cups/spoons to use in it. I put it out only during the meal so that it stays special, but he really loves it (and so do his sisters!). It is an inexpensive idea and it helps save Mommy's sanity at the same time! Plus it is great hand-eye coordination and works his fine motor skills....sorry, it's the teacher in me.

Boys versus Girls

When I first found out I was having a boy, I was told that boys were so much easier. I thought girls were pretty easy, then I had Trey. He was so good as a baby, sleeping on his own, not fussing a lot, etc. He is very sweet natured, not that the girls weren't, but he seemed so easy to me. Could be because he was #3 or because I was older, but easy he was. Then he started to walk....got a little harder, but still fairly easy. Then the running began....and the climbing. Now I KNOW girls were easier, at least at his age! Do you know that my 18 month old knows how to climb up the bunk bed ladder....all by himself? He tries to scale whatever he can and he doesn't stop moving until it is either time to eat or time to sleep. He absolutely wears me out! Especially when we go somewhere. If he is put down, even for a second, he is off! However, I am hoping that as he gets older, he slows down a little. I tell you though, when he puts both his hands on my face and leans in to kiss me, I just melt! He is so loving....wanting to hug everyone, even baby Layna! He has just started to make the kissing sound so he gave his mommy and daddy lots of kisses last night, first Mommy, then Daddy, then Mommy, then Daddy....you get the picture. I so love being a mommy!

A New Day

Well let me start by saying that this week has been busy with lots of stuff! Trey went to see the ENT on Monday afternoon and we had tube surgery yesterday morning. I was so glad to get him in so quickly. He went with the nurses without crying! That was such an answer to prayer considering I was so close to crying when they took him, that if he had cried, I would have bawled like a baby! He was mad when he woke up, but did better once Mommy and Daddy were with him. They said it took a little longer than expected to get the tubes in b/c he had so much fluid in his ears. He also took a little longer to go under with the anethesia b/c he was congested, but he did great and the tubes are in! They told us once the anethesia wore off that we should see an immediate difference and we did! I could tell he felt so much better. We were also told that he may startle easy to noises that he may not have heard well before and boy, were they right about that. He turned on Meg's radio yesterday and when he has done that before, he always turns the volume up. Well, needless to say, when he turned the volume up, he ran screaming from the room, very scared. I know he is hearing better!

We also had bad storms Tuesday night into Wednesday. Very scary....tornado sirens going off (no tornadoes hit our town). Our neighborhood didn't get hit hard, but some others did. The girls left school yesterday at 10:30 b/c the power was out and they couldn't get it back on. It was just a few elementary schools affected, so they won't have to make it up. So we had a full house yesterday afternoon, which was good b/c we all took naps!

I also want to say a belated happy birthday to my sister, Amy. We went over to my mom's on Saturday to celebrate (her actual birthday was Monday). I meant to post about it then, but kids took over and I didn't get it done. Here is a picture of my sister and me.

And why do you ask, am I on here at 8:50 in the morning....a weekday morning....and not at school? Well, lets just say that the flu is going around some school systems and mine is officially closed today and tomorrow due to illness. On Monday, we had close to 500 students out sick. That didn't account for the teachers or bus drivers. Unfortunately, we have to make these up, but at least I get to stay home with Trey for two more days! The girls still have school (although Lily stayed home today with a sore throat), so we will see for them. Lily's throat hurt this morning, from drainage overnight I think, and she is starting to feel a little better, so I am sure she will be back at school tomorrow!

Trey is 18 months old!

First off, sorry for the delay in posting....it has been a hard week at school.

Trey turned 18 months old this past weekend and had his checkup on Tuesday. He has grown so much! He weighs 25 lb, 5 oz and was 34 " tall. That puts him in the 41st %tile for weight and 89th%tile for height! Tall and skinny just like his daddy! He is doing great and at the time had still only 3 words (but lots of signs!). Dr. H said that as long as he had 50 words/2 word phrases by age 2, we would be good. He did gain one more word since Tuesday....he now says UH OH. So he says mommy, daddy, this (which he points and says for EVERYTHING) and now uh oh. He picked up the sign for cookie in a day and now signs it after eating supper every night (on his own). He definitely has a sweet tooth! I wonder who he got that from???