Oh My Goodness

I had no idea it had been so long since I blogged and honestly I had completely forgotten that I even had a blog until today when I was scrolling through my favorites on the computer! I don't really even know where to begin so I guess we'll start at the beginning!

1. Softball is now going on for the rest of the month. The three girls are playing and I have to say they aren't doing too bad. They seem to really enjoy it and since we are just getting started it's honestly hard to tell how they are going to do this season, maybe I will update more on that later.

2. The two youngest girls are attending summer school at Milan and seem to be liking it, yesterday was the first day and it runs through the end of June as well. Alissa came home with a list of about 40 names on it and told me that they were all her new friends. Abby Jo came home and told me that she decided that she didn't want to make friends until today so she could decide who she wanted to like. I'll update more on that later too!

3. Alex is playing basketball through the YMCA and can anyone guess what the season is?? That's right the month of June!! They have had one game so far and they got completely slaughtered soooo let's hope tomorrow's game is better for them....so as you guessed I will update on that later as well!

4. May was excruciatingly busy for us!! Between School letting out, graduations, and having two children with birthdays a week apart, we also had a birthday supper for my husband, my mom, and my brother, along with moved my office home!! Now that all of the basement is finished, it was the perfect time to move the office home and into the spare room so far it has been fabulous just having to get up and walk to the next room in order to get to work!! Plus it's going to save us a ton of money on daycare all summer long and you have to love that for sure!!!

5. We are going on two vacations both in September this year! First we are taking the kids to Branson with the Sawyers and then later in the month we are going to Las Vegas with Lonnie and Lindy Saul to celebrate our 10th year of marriage! We are very excited about both of them and you can be sure we will have lot's and lot's of fun!

Well that's about all I have as far as an update but I'm sure I will think of tons more to add later!! Hope you all are doing well!

Basketball and other things.......

So basketball season for the 5th and 6th graders is midseason and I have to say I am impressed! The boys are doing such a great job so far they are 3 wins and 1 loss. This week we are playing the Newtown tournament so that should be interesting. Alex is very serious on the basketball court and it completely cracks me up! I love love love watching him play! Avery is also proving to be pretty amazing at being a cheerleader! She for sure has the best high kick on the squad, probably because I have been telling her that it makes me mad when cheerleaders only half way do the motions and that if they aren't going to do it right then in my opinion they need to just sit back down! Yes I know, I am that mom, the one that the kids fear riding home with because they know they are going to get a lecture on how they could have done better, but don't get me wrong, I sing their praises too! Here are a few pictures of the season so far......

Happy Birthday to My Beautiful Girl

My Oldest daughter turned 10 on the second and it was a very bittersweet thing for me! I am so happy for her that she is healthy and beautiful and smart and active and surrounded by friends, but as her mother I am so worried about the road ahead. I am sad to see that the little baby that once needed me for everything has now reached a level of independence that requires very little of my help. She has grown into such a beautiful young lady and I don't know where I would be without her today. She is the child in our home that is always ready to help no matter how tough the job. She is the one that is always ready to be loved and appreciated, and she is the one I can always count on to be there when I need her. She is absolutely without a doubt the one I count on to get things done. Double digits is always a hard birthday for moms I think, they are no longer babies at all, they are never going to go back to single digits and once they are ten, there is a good chance, you are finished shaping the person that they will become. They have formed opinions, they know so much about everything, they know how to push your buttons, and yet how to melt your heart. You know how dependable they are going to be as an adult and whether or not they are procrastinators. There is just so much that you can determine about them by this age and in all reality as a mother that is scary to think that in 5 years they will have a permit, in 8 years they will graduate and go to college, and in an average of 10 years, your baby will be married and while you want them to experience all of that, for me it is tough to think that she has lived through her "baby" years. She is done with all of that, she no longer needs to have help going to the bathroom, taking a bath, she doesn't need naps anymore, She can fix a sandwich for lunch if she is hungry, the clothes she wears are clothes now that she has picked out, and when it comes time for bed a quick kiss on the cheek will be sufficient instead of a 15 minute snuggle session of begging for "just one more story". Saying goodbye to all of that is easily much simpler to her than it is for me to accept. So in honor of her turning 10, I am going to list ten fun facts about my little princess:

1. Avery's first word was dada and I can remember it like it was yesterday.
2. Out of all four kids, Avery was the only one who went to bed as a baby in her own bed without a fight.
3. Avery was a star in tap dance between the ages of 3 and 6
4. Avery modeled in the wedding trunk show hosted by a bridal store in Trenton for three years.
5. Avery was the first granddaughter on both sides of the family and she was loved just a little bit extra for it.
6. In her preschool graduation, when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, Avery replied that she wanted to be a princess.
7. School has always come easy for Avery until this year when she refuses to try anymore.
8. Avery will be cheer leading for the first time this year and is ecstatic about it.
9. Avery does not play sports, she does not understand why people would willingly get dirty and sweaty to fight over a ball.
10. Avery's favorite color is pink, it has always been pink, she likes glittery sequined things, she likes her shoes to have high heels on them, she likes anything girly and the one sport she does enjoy is shopping.

Avery is the girl that I always wanted to have and I am so happy that she is mine to love! Avery may not realize it and Michael and I may not be a king or queen but to us Avery will always be our little princess, so I guess she can check that off of her list!

Get Ready, Get Set, and GO!

Well today marks the beginning. The beginning of another basketball season for 5th and 6th graders. I'm not going to lie about this, I am excited to see Alex playing basketball and Avery cheering him on from the sidelines but not so excited to travel all over this part of the state to see these things. It was such a nice break to have NO extra curricular stuff going on there for awhile that I kind of got accustomed to not having to be anywhere at any certain time after work. I do not think that laying on the couch is overrated and I do not think that sitting in a chair after work catching your breath after a long day is overrated, however, I will go to these ballgames in full force with a smile on my face and camera in hand to catch some of the moments that will be so precious to me later. I do have to say that the look of determination held by 5th and 6th grade boys that sweeps across their face when their hands touch the ball is a look that I hope to never forget. And the thought of missing one game where my little Avery is now on the sidelines in a cheerleading skirt is something that almost causes me to go into panic mode. So I will be there, with bells on watching from the sidelines and enjoying every minute of it. Remind me next time around though, that a limo or taxi would be great, that way I don't have to drive to the games and can truly sit back and unwind all the way there. :)

A Little Game.......from Andrea

Well my friend Andrea tagged me in this game where I have to go to my fourth folder and post my fourth picture and explain what the picture is of and tell a little bit about it so here it is. This is my little Alissa back in the fall of 2007. We all went outside so I could take her picture with some fall stuff I had. She was actually waiting her turn just sitting there and this was one of my favorite pictures of the day. So there you have it. Now I have to tag two people and the only one I know that blogs is Marla...so I guess Marla, you are it. And I agree, Amy should blog, she would be great!

What a Day #2!

Why is it that every single time you decide to do something nice for someone it seems that the world turns around and spits at you because they are laughing so hard at the thought that someone would do something for someone else without having a reason?

Let me explain:
Yesterday morning I overslept, so I got up at 7:38 and realized that within ten minutes my kids needed to be headed out the door to school. Now most of you know that I have four of them which breaks down into roughly two minutes per child of my time to get everyone completely ready.....yeah that's gonna work! Needless to say we had a VERY rushed morning that had a lot of comments such as Yes Abby Jo you do have to put your socks on, No Alissa, I have not signed your reading log yet, Avery I have told you three times to get out of bed so do it now before you make me even madder than I already am at you, and Alex, did you get your basketball shoes in case you need them this afternoon. After getting them to school with nine minutes to spare before the bell rang and patting myself on the back for having thought ahead enough to start the car and let it warm up, I went home. I thought about our morning and decided it was not a very fun one, not bad mind you, but not a nice calm one either. So because of this I decided that it was a perfect day for me to go have lunch with the kiddos just to make sure that their day was going okay after such a rushed morning. BIG MISTAKE!!! Never again will I think that crazy thought!
I called up to the school and found out what time the first of my four went to lunch and decided that I had plenty of time to go to Milan, make a deposit, go by the Post Office and get the mail, fill Darryl in on what he needed to know about business, and then go do lunch with the kids. So after getting all of my errands done and getting back to the office, I decided to head on up to the school. I walked in the door, headed down to Abby's classroom only to find that she had not given her teacher the notes I sent in that morning. After reminding her again to do it right after lunch we headed to the lunch room. I sat with her for a while and then handed her a cookie I had snuck in from Subway which I know isn't fair to the other kids in her class, but come on it had been a rough morning! Her lunch time was relatively normal and she was happy I was there and seemed to be doing okay and having an okay day!
The next class walked in and then came Alissa's class. So I explained to Abby Jo that I was going to sit with Alissa and that I would see her that afternoon. Got up and headed over to meet Alissa and give her the special snuck in cookie that I had bought each one of the kids. That's when she looked at me, tears streaming down her cheeks and looking like someone had just told her that her world was ending. So I sat down beside her and listened to what was wrong which it of course had to do with another student that Alissa and her best friend Morgan have had trouble with all year. So while sitting there, her teacher comes up to me and says, "We need to talk". I could tell by Alissa's expression it wasn't going to be good so I said okay, how about after 5th grade eats lunch so that way I can see all of my kiddos during this hour and she said that would be fine. So I finish my conversation with Alissa and Morgan and after they leave, decide it would be better to get that out of the way before I finish my lunch with the other two kids. Plus I knew the teacher could find something for the class to do while we talked and I didn't want to interrupt a lesson later. So after finding out that Alissa had said something mean to the student who has caused her trouble all year long and then lied to her teacher about it, I left. I wasn't mad at her for saying something mean to the student to be honest, after all the student has been saying mean things to her all year and so far I haven't heard of once that she has had to apologize but I was angry that she had lied to her teacher.
Finally the fourth grade comes down the hall and the minute that Avery's teacher sees me, she says, "Oh, I am so glad you are here, we need to talk"....can you even believe that????? I mean what was I thinking walking into those doors and doing something nice for my kids just because I wanted to? So I said, okay, how about after lunch to which she replied would be fine. So after eating lunch with Avery and Alex, they come to lunch at almost the exact same time, then I headed to the classroom with Avery's class and her teacher looks at her and says, do you want to talk to mom or should I? Of course instant water works......so out in the hall Avery and I go. She bursts in to tears the minute the door shuts and tells me that she has failed two math tests in the last week and not had them signed because she knows she is going to be in trouble for it. So I assure her that she would have been in trouble but since she decided her father and I didn't need to know, it was going to be way worse. Not only was she in trouble with me but she had sat recess ever single day this week so far because she didn't have them signed and brought back....I have no idea what she thought was going to happen to her but I can tell you she must have expected something crazy.
Thank goodness no other teachers happened to approach me about anything I don't know that I could have handled anyone else yesterday. So I go back to my office and decide to work instead of stew about my girls days. The kids got home from school, the oldest went to a b-ball meeting at the high school and after I got him and a couple of friends picked up I came back to the office. It was beautiful out so after they did their homework they go up to the school park to play. Harmless right? I mean come on we live in a town of very few people and I am right beside the school when I am at work. Soooooooooo........off they go, where they have been a million times before and I get back to work.
While they were gone, I decided to call a parent about the situation at school that day and ended up talking to her longer than I should have. oops...it's just so frustrating, I get on a roll about that girl that is giving Alissa and Morgan so much trouble and I don't keep track of time :) When I realize it is now 5:20 I get off the phone, holler at the kids and then jump in the van. I see one kid coming, now two, three, there's number four......and Alissa is missing. I ask the kids where she is and no one seems to have any idea. So I drive up to the school, no sign of her, to the house, nope, back to the office and unlock the door thinking maybe somehow she had snuck in and fell asleep in the chair and I just hadn't heard her due to being on the phone.....nope she isn't there either. So I head off to the school again, and nothing. By this time I am going to be honest I was in tears thinking someone had taken her or she was hurt somewhere because all the while I am driving around I am yelling her name and getting no response. After about the fifth time around the block screaming her name one of the kids sees her on her bike over by my office. So now I am FURIOUS I hit the gas take the corners on two wheels and head over to where she is. After screaming at her half way to pick up Abby (where I am now an hour late getting to) I tell her that as her mommy I don't know whether to hit or hug her. So I get to daycare, pick up Abby Jo and get back in the car where Alissa is crying to the point of hyperventilating...or pretty close anyways and I say, "what is wrong now? Why are you crying again?" To which she answers with tear filled eyes for the third time that day...."have you decided whether you are going to hit me or hug me yet?"
It was just a bad day all around....I hate those days.....sure makes me appreciate the uneventful ones though! Hope you all are having a good day and if not, then I'm sorry at least you now know that I can relate!!

The Simplicities of Our Crazy Life.......

You know how sometimes, when you sit down to think about what you want to write in your blog, you almost feel like you have nothing noteworthy to share? That is exactly where I am right now. I mean have done tons of things and we are always busy and I have heard stories from my kiddos that would have you roaring with laughter but today is one of those days when I sit here at the computer thinking, I have no idea what to write about today. So I will give you an overview of recent happenings and if it looks to long, you can skip to a part that looks more interesting, how does that sound?

1. Last night at AWANAS one of the teachers from Abby Jo's school came up to me and said, I have the funniest story to tell you about your daughter. So I thought "oh great, here comes more bad news" (In case you aren't aware of it, Abby Jo has been sent to the principal's office once this year already because her friend Caden was in line to go to recess and she wanted to stand in front of him by her other friend Macy, when Caden said that she could not cut in front of him, she attempted to pull down his jeans so that when he bent over to pull them up, she could sneak in front of him. Thank you God for putting a belt on Caden that day! When asked by her teacher why she did this, she looked at her completely shocked that she even had to ask and told her "because I wanted to????" As if she didn't know the answer to the question....yeah she's great!) So anyways, here I am talking to the teacher who tells me that she was at the table directly behind Abby Jo's seat and was bent over a child helping him with a paper when all of a sudden she feels one little hand on each butt cheek and after remembering to continue breathing she realizes that Abby Jo is sitting in her seat, facing her table, with her hands put back behind her and one hand on each side of the teacher's bottom. Yeah, that is when she turned around, nicely told Abby Jo to get busy on her paper and then excused herself for a second so she could go out in the hallway to laugh about it. Abby and I had a serious discussion about this yesterday evening and we have decided that it would be best from here on out to keep our hands and feet to ourselves before Mommy's hands end up spanking Abby Jo's bottom!!! She told me last night that she was just doing it to make everyone else at the table laugh and that she didn't mean to really touch her butt but she now understands that laughing about these things is one thing, but getting into trouble for them is quite another.

2. Alissa has missing glasses, we can NOT find her newest pair of glasses and this isn't new news, she has not had them now for about 6 months. One of the lenses had fallen out of them and her father put them up for what was supposed to be the weekend until he could get around to fixing them. Well he put them up so well that her glasses are now officially missing. Her old ones sit on her face completely crooked, so guess where I get to go next weekend, yep that's right, back to the eye doctor for more glasses.

3. My basement is in the process of being redone, in this process, we are waiting on some supplies which means that some of the rooms have the wood walls but no sheet rock, my daughters have since decided that it is the perfect setting for playing house, so when you walk into the basement you now see three little apartments all fully furnished with everything from stereo's to fake trees to crock pots and cooking utensils. They are having a ball down there and even though I dread having to help clean up that mess, I have really enjoyed watching each one of them let their creativity flow while they design their little dream houses.

4. Last weekend Michael and I lived it up like a couple with no kids....we went out Friday and Saturday night which may not sound like a big deal to all of you but it is something that NEVER happens at our house! Friday night we met up with a bunch of friends at Washington Street and had supper for Travis Sawyer's birthday and then followed up with a night singing karaoke at the station. We had a great time. Then on Saturday, we went out with a different group of friends for our friend Lee's birthday and then back to the station for more karaoke performances. It was another good night and it was fun watching everyone sing and have a good time. By Sunday night though it all had hit me and after realizing that I am now 31 and not 20, I remembered why I don't go out both nights on the weekends anymore!

5. We finished up the last of 6 family Christmas Dinners on Sunday afternoon. We had a great time with my dad's side of the family and I was really glad that they had waited until mid January to hold the dinner since we just have so many places to be! We always love seeing our family no matter what side it is on so it was nice to get a chance to make it to all of the dinners this year.


6. For those of you following Zach's recovery, he had another surgery yesterday where they cut out the shape of his ear so it will now flap like all of yours and mine do. He texted me on the way home from the hospital and said that the surgery went well and that we would see him in a few days. I would love to go down to my mom's and see him but worry about the kids and if they would be carrying anything that is catchable by Uncle Zach's so I will just wait and make sure he is healthy and so are they before getting to see him. Hopefully though, I can see him Sunday afternoon for a little while and see what amazing things those Dr.s were able to do.

7. Last but not least, I got a new dog. I don't know how many of you know it but our last little dog Rosco was stolen we believe. We had let him out to play this fall and when it came time for him to come in, he just wasn't anywhere to be found. He loved going up to the school with the kids so we checked everywhere and after not being able to find him, figured he was off chasing something and would be back the next morning. After about three weeks of thinking that this had to be the case, (yes I know total denial but I hated admitting that he wouldn't be back) we decided that he must have been taken. He was the sweetest little dog and we miss him very very much but obviously someone else must have wanted him. We have checked ditches between Trenton and Milan countless times and to no avail so it only makes sense that someone had to have taken him or else we would have found him somewhere. But on the upside I got a new puppy. Her name is Sissy and she is a Boston Terrier. She is spoiled rotten already with her little pink dress and pink toenails and we all just love her dearly. It has helped very much to fill the void that Rosco left but we haven't forgotten him either. The other night Abby Jo came in to the kitchen where I was cleaning up supper mess and said to me very teary eyed, "I sure do miss Rosco and Mommy wouldn't he have loved Sissy? I bet they would have played together all of the time." Of course this was right before the tears fell....yep it broke my heart too!

Well that's pretty much it. It's always eventful and always fun at our house and there is never a lack of something fun or funny going on. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed reliving it all. So until next time....