Kick it hard!

1-29-09

Took Becca to Taekwondo today for her Team Lee class. They did something different today where they all held a paddle, stood around in a circle and then the 1st person went around and kicked everyone's paddle, then the next person went, then the next and so on. Here is a shot I got of Becca as she was going around the circle kicking the paddles. She loves taekwondo.

Ice storm arrived - Kids are off from school!

1-28-09

Well, the ice storm arrived just as predicted!

As the night continued and the temperatures kept dropping, the sleet kept falling and everything froze over. They called off school for the kids by the time I went to bed last night so we all got to sleep in! The kids were VERY happy about that!

TCC decided they would open at noon, but with the kids home and the roads still pretty bad, our class was cancelled as well.

Becca and Ethan were dying to get outside and play "slip and slide". They ended up on the trampoline after a little while and thought it was hilarious that they were slipping and sliding all over it since it was covered in ice as well, but not much long after that, Ethan came in the house crying saying he was frozen! LOL! He was wet and cold and although he had a little bit of fun out there, by the time he came in - he was not a happy boy anymore!

Freezing rain and sleet are falling from the sky!

1-27-09

We have an ice storm coming our way - or so says the weather man. It has been raining, and the temps are dropping and so now we have freezing rain and sleet falling from the sky! It wasnt so bad in the morning but it was getting worse as the day went on. TCC was closed but the kids went to school. Here is a picture of the table on by back porch. Kenzi was not too thrilled when she realized she had to go out in the freezing cold to pee!

Rainy Monday

1-26-09

We woke up this morning to a gloomy and dark rainy Monday. I am not a big fan of Mondays, but for it to be dark, gloomy, cold and rainy! Yuck! It was a soft drizzle all day long and now it seems like it will turn into freezing rain over night and then sleet by tomorrow afternoon!

It was difficult to teach today because the kids were so sleepy and feeling "blah"! My picture today was taken by me, sitting in traffic, in my car, on the way home from work and you can see the rain on my windshield! Wonder what tomorrow will look like? We shall see!

Dinner at Los Molcajetes - YUM!

1-25-09

Today was just another usual Sunday. Got up, ate pancakes for breakfast, read the paper and started some laundry. Jason decided to take Ethan and Becca to see Inkheart, so I got a couple hours of lesson planning done. Ellen got home around 6pm, so we went to eat at our favorite Mexican Restaurant - Los Molcajetes. Becca was tired of me taking pictures and even said to me "I dont like your blog anymore - you are always taking pictures!" so she wouldn't smile for me, but I got a picture of them anyway sitting at the table after finishing a delicious mexican meal!

Ethan gets a haircut

1-24-09

Today I took Ethan to get his hair cut. Ellen had to be at work at noon and so I grabbed Ethan, we took Ellen to work and then went a few doors down to Great Clips and got Ethan's hair cut. He is such a good boy while getting it done. He never complains, he does what the hair dresser asks him to do and he constantly is throwing me kisses or winking at me. This lady was new... he usually likes for Stephanie to do it, but she was busy so we got it done by this other lady.

Doesn't he look cute?

Tier 1 Class

1-23-09

Today was the first official class for Tier 1. We basically had 2 hours to go over the rules, schedule, reward/consequence system, do a get to know you, and quick tour of the campus before heading to PE. Every Friday afternoon, we go to PE and Ken Foster, the instructor has the students do a physical education activity. Today it was what he called "boot camp". We walked around the gym, did a lot of stretches, cardio exercises, running, etc... Here I am sitting on the bleachers with some of the students waiting for Ken to show up.

Back to work

1-22-09

Today was my first official day back in the classroom working! We had orientation yesterday with all the parents and the students of Tier 1 and Tier 2, but today began the semester for Tier 2. Nancy and I went over the basics... classroom rules, expectations, curriculum, binder organization, reward/consequence system, etc... There are only 7 in Tier 2 this semester. Cherilyn did not come back.

LOST

1-21-09

I am so excited! The new season of LOST began tonight!!! We have all been anxiously waiting for the new season to begin and after watching a re-cap of the past seasons last week, and then 1 hour of the last things that happened, we all sat down in front of the tv and watched 2 hours of the best show in the world! I have a love/hate relationship with LOST. I absolutely love it, but I hate that it is still on and that they have not revealed all the answers yet as to what the heck is going on!!!!!!!!!!!! UGH, it drives me insane!!! I just want to know what they heck is going on!

INAUGURATION DAY!

1-20-09

Today was a historical day. Barrack Obama, the first African American was inaugurated as our new president today and so I spent most of the day watching it on tv, while at the same time doing lesson planning with my co-teacher Nancy.

School starts tomorrow and we still had a lot to do, so we watched what we could and then listened to the tv in the background as we worked through out the day.

Play cars with me!

1-19-09

Today, Ethan took all his little cars out and started to play with them on the mat that we have down on the floor that we plan on putting the elliptical on (when we get it.) He had them all lined up in a row and was playing with a plane and acting like it was flying around and then swooping down and crashing into the cars. It was so cute when he said "Mommy, come play cars with me!" Usually he plays by himself, but this time he wanted to show me and include me! He was so cute, he kept saying, "You are taking the pictures from the wrong side! They are facing the other way!" I had to explain to him that if I went to the front side, I wouldnt be able to see his face! He just went, "OK" and then gave me a big smile!

Guitar Hero

1-18-09

Bryce came over again today and he and Ellen decided to play guitar hero together. Ellen has gotten pretty good on it but Bryce was really good. They spent a good hour playing it, and I was quite surprised to hear so many great songs on there! Hotel Calirofrnia and Hit me with your best shot! After they left, Ethan decided he wanted to play and he even taught me to play as well, although he had to teach me the easy way since I had never done it before.

My carpets are clean again!!! Yippee!!!!!!!!!!

1-17-09

I am a happy person today!

It doesnt take much -

This time it was just having my carpets professionally cleaned!

It has been a REALLY REALLY long time since we had the carpets cleaned and so they really needed to be done! Jason Mitchell (No, not my hubby) from Ace of Clean came at noon and cleaned all the carpets in my house, even the stairs!

I just love it when my carpets are clean!

If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I HIGHLY recommend Jason from Ace of Clean (817) 267-2223. They are who I have used for the last 7 years and they do an AWESOME job! Jason owns the company and it is a medium sized family business and they pay attention to every little detail and treat you like a person and not a number! They also offer this AWESOME deal called the "No Brainer" that if you have them come back in 6 months, they will do all the exact same areas for 1/2 of the normal price! What a great deal! I do that every time! They also clean tile floors, which will be my next major cleaning job!

If you do use them, please give them my name as the referral! They also do referral rewards which I love since I am always referring them to everyone I know.

WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have clean carpets!

Please don't be offended if I ask you to remove your shoes when you come to my house! LOL!

Call 911, we have a bloody knee!

1-16-09

Becca is usually the "spazz" of the family, but today Ethan took the title. We were leaving Cheddars and he was playing his Nintendo and trying to walk at the same time. Jason had just told him to put it away before he hurt himself and then BAM!!!!!!!!!!! He didn't see the curb, fell off, hit the ground with what seems like his knees first and of course his Nintendo went flying out of his hands. He immediatly started screaming and crying about his knees and was a little concerned his Nintendo had broken, but thankfully his Nintendo was working fine and his knees did not require a trip to the hospital - although you would have thought that by the way he was screaming and crying!!!!! We got home, cleaned it up, put a big ol' band-aide on it and he was good to go! He did not like me taking pictures of him crying, but - Oh well! I had to!

Dancing like the Stars

1-15-09

Everyone pretty much knows I like to watch Dancing with the Stars. Well, Becca and Ethan like to watch it with me too, but they also like to get out on the floor and Dance LIKE the Stars! Today they decided to take it one step further and even dressed up (or down - however you want to see it), and put together a routine of thier own to the song "Low". Ethan put on one of Becca's old bikini tops and the shorts of another newer bikini suit. Becca wore the matching top to Ethan's shorts and then her little white shorties. They put together a pretty good routine, if you ask me and performed it for me twice! It was quite funny! Next time, I will have to bring my video recorder when they do this! Becca told me to bring my camera, but a video would have captured it a lot better!

Do you My Space?

1-14-09

When I was 17, if someone had asked me "Do you have a My Space?", I am sure I would have looked at them very strangely and said, "Huh?"

Here is Ellen, doing one of the things she likes to do best: Get on her My Space page and see if anyone has posted any comments on her pictures, or left her a message or see if she has any new friends that asked to join, etc...

I really dont get it - but it certainly is another one of those "it's a sign of the times" things.

We have gotten into technology so much, that now our teenagers are now texting each other instead of calling and TALKING (what a concept!), they are posting things on thier My Space or Face Book and putting it out there for all thier friends to see. I sure do wonder what technology will be like when she has her own 17 year old! I sure hope I am alive to see!

Ellen gets red stripes!

1-13-09

Ellen and her friend Bryce decided they wanted to have red stripes in their hair, so they decided to dye each others hair this afternoon after school. Since they both have really dark hair, they bought a red dye that is meant for colored people. It is more like a paste and they had to leave it in for 1 hour! Ellen decided she wanted horizontal stripes! Bryce did both her hair and his! Although I am not a big fan of the horizontal red stripes, it is ok. I would have liked it better vertical and underneath the top layer but it is not my hair! Well, they both love it and Bryce said he was very impressed with both the dye and the job he did on both of them!

TEENAGERS!

We bought an Elliptical today!

1-12-09

After having 2 knee surgeries, Jason's doctor told him he should use an elliptical instead of the treadmill. It is easier on the knees. Since Jason is not the type to go to a gym to workout, he decided he wanted to buy one for the house - but in Jason style, he doesnt buy "cheap" things. He believes in spending money and getting the good quality instead of going cheap and buying something that is flimsy and will not last long. So after hours of reasearching them on Sunday, he found one he liked and found they sold it at Dick's Sporting Goods. We went today after lunch, tried it on for size and decided to buy it. I am excited as well, I know I will use it and I dont have to get up and get dressed out for the gym and hopefully it wont be as boring as the treadmill! Ha!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEAN!

1-11-09

Today was my sister's step-son's - Sean's 17th Birthday. He chose to eat at Buffalo Wings for his birthday, so we decided to join them! Ellen has been instumental in getting him out of his shell and to laugh and smile and have fun, so these pictures are really awesome!

I think it is cool that he is only about 1 month younger than Ellen!

BEAUTIFUL BABY BOY 17 years later!

1-10-09

Look at this beautiful baby boy! NO, he is not mine. He belongs to my friend Heather, but I feel a strong bond with him because he was born on the SAME day as my oldest daughter- Ellen, but 17 years later! I just think that is the coolest thing in the world! I know it may be silly to most, But I think that is cool! He is such a sweet baby. Beautiful skin, beautiful head, face, fingers and beautiful eyes! She brought him to where we were scrapbooking and I got to hold him twice! He hardly ever cried even when he was getting his diaper changed!

One more week and he will be 1 month old! Isn't he just the cutest???

GREAT FOOD WITH GOOD CONVERSATION

1-9-09

Today was a fun day! I did something I haven't done in probably 2 months!

I had lunch with my friends, Chris and Terri. We met at The Cheesecake Factory, had some great food and some really good conversation. We talked about Terri's upcoming surgery, about kids and jobs and scrapbooking (of course). It's been a while since I had seen them with the holidays and all and since I will have to go back to work soon, I figured I would take advantage of my time off and go spend a girls day out. It was nice and I really enjoyed it. Thanks girls!

(I am sure the waiter thought we were really silly since ALL 3 of us asked him to take our picture, but he did with a smile on his face! Terri got the best picture of the 3, but I cant wait for her to send it to me, so here is mine.)

I have been avoiding even thinking about anything work related, but I got my first official call yesterday from Jan asking me to test another student and then today I got an e-mail from her. Even though classes don't officially start till the 21st, I think I may have to start back doing some things as early as next week :(

Come on March... get here quick!

ORTHO APPOINTMENT

1-8-09

Pretty boring day today, I guess. Actually not really. Woke up with a massive headache and just not feeling well, so Jason took the kids to school for me and let me sleep till 9am. Got in the shower, got a few things done and then left to take Becca to the orthodontist. Becca has to be THE ONLY person I know who enjoys and looks forward to her dentist appointments. I am not sure if it is because she likes to see the progress her teeth are making, or if it is the monkey money she gets for wearing her Ortho t-shirt and making sure her teeth are clean, etc... or if it is because she gets to miss a little bit of school, But anyway - I picked her up around 11:00am. Got to ortho appt. by 11:15am, then went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. It is nice to be able to spend even a little bit of time with her since we really hardly ever get to spend time alone.

IT'S LIKE CHRISTMAS ALL OVER AGAIN!

1-7-09
It was like Christmas all over again today for Rebecca and Ethan!
Grandmaria gave them each $50 cash for Christmas to spend on whatever they wanted and they chose to order these new R4's and they JUST got here. They basically are a special cartridge with a 4GB card that allows us to download as many games and whatever games they want to be able to play on thier Nintendo DS Lites. Now we are not limited to buying one game for (about) $20-$30. Now we can download TONS of games onto this R4 and it is like Christmas all over again and again and again for them!

HASSLE OF THE DAY - I NEED A NEW CAR BATTERY!

1-6-09

OK, after being a very happy camper yesterday Morning when all 3 kids went to school, I was one VERY UNHAPPY Momma when I got stranded at Walmart with a dead truck battery at 6:30pm!

I went grocery shopping around 4:30pm and got out around 6:30pm. By then, it was dark and felt like it was below freezing. Loaded all the groceries into the truck and then when I went to start it - NOTHING! Dead as a door nail! (Where did that phrase come from anyway?)

Well, I went to the greeter for help and he was absolutely worthless! So, I went to the manager who got a really nice man to help me. He jump started it - which took a very long time! Poor guy had a short sleeve shirt on, no coat and no gloves! We were out there for at least 30 minutes trying to get it started and I know he had to be freezing his little fingers (and other things) off!

Well, I got home, un-loaded the groceries and let the truck sit out in the driveway so I could get another jump today to get it to the oil and lube car shop at the Wally World in NRH!

The same place I had this last battery put in and this guy says to me "this is the wrong battery for your truck, it is too small"! Well, the good thing is that it was under warranty since it only lasted 2 years and 2 months, so what would have cost me about $85, cost me NOTHING - ZERO- ZILCH! It was a hassle to have go through all that, but I am happy I got a new battery and the correct battery for my truck and it didnt cost me a penny! I then went to Costco and bought a 500GB portable hard drive for $130 and then to Staples and bought a laptop cooling mat on sale for $13 (from $30), so I made up for what I saved at Wally World today!

KIDS ARE BACK IN SCHOOL TODAY!

1-5-09

All 3 of my kids went back to school today! Dont get me wrong - I love my kids to pieces, but I also love the peace and quiet and tranquilty I get when they are in school 8 hours a day, 5 days a week! After 2 long weeks of being on vacation and having them around fighting over the silliest things, they went back to school and Mommy and Daddy were very happy campers!!! This is a picture of Ethan and our nieghbor Ryan who are all bundled up because today it was like 30 degrees! Yeah - Normal January weather - unlike the weekend!

I HAVE SPACE FOR TRUCK IN THE GARAGE AGAIN!

1-4-09

I know this is probably no big deal for most, but I like having my truck in the garage and havent been able to do that for MANY, MANY months now!

After coming back from Christmas and cleaning it out and throwing away a lot of stuff and donating a lot of stuff, I was finally able to get my truck back into the garage! Not only does it fit, but I have tons of room on both sides to get in and out and do not have to squeeze by or be afraid of hitting anything! Yea! I like things organized, can you tell?

ELLEN GETS HER 1ST CAR!

1-3-09

Jason got home from his 2 day drive from Ohio with Ellen's (new) car and needless to say, she was VERY excited to see it! She couldnt wait to get in it and get it started even though she had no idea how since it is a stick shift, but just the idea of having her own car was cause for some squealing and screaming from excitement! Ellen is now the proud and excited owner of a 2000 Nissan Maxima with power everything including heated seats and a sun roof!

Jason has a friend who has a girlfriend who was selling this Maxima since she bought another car and since he knew Jason was going to be looking for a car for Ellen soon, he offered it to him at a really good price. The only bad thing was that this friend lives in Ohio, so Jason bought a one way plane ticket to Ohio, flew there - met the guy, made the transaction, stayed the night visiting old friends and then started his 2 day trek back to Texas!

We are also really proud of Ellen! Ever since she got her job at subway, she has saved EVERY penny so she could afford to buy a car. We told her whatever car she got, she would have to pay half and we would pay the other half but she is in charge of her gas, insurance, and all expenses incurred with owning a car! She has really worked hard and could have paid for the car all by herself, but now she has enough saved up for any car emergencies and everything I mentioned before. Now, she only has tro finish her driving modules and get her drivers license!

Yeah, I know - she got the car before the license, but it was too good of a deal to pass up!

"Mommy, Can we wash your truck?"

1-2-09

OK, I know it is January and I know it is supposed to be cold, but - we live in Texas and we never have "normal" weather here in Texas. Today it was so warm outside that my kids and their neighbor friend decided they wanted to wash my truck in their bathing suits! Well, Becca and her friend got in their bathing suits. Ethan didnt want to, but thye were all out there soaked in hose water while washing my truck in what felt like summer weather at the beginning of January 2009!

I HAVE TO BE CRAZY TO WAKE UP AT 4:30AM ON NEW YEARS DAY!

1-1-09

Yep, I have to be crazy to wake up at 4:30 am on New Years Day! Although we never do much on New Years Eve, we always stay up and watch the ball drop in New York City and then we wait till it is midnight here in Texas and we continue watching the concerts and all the happenings going on in NYC until about 2am and then we usually sleep in on New Years Day! But, NO... Not this year!

This year, I got up at 4:30am, got dressed in my sweats and grabbed my camera to take a picture of my alarm clock so I could prove to the world that I got up at 4:30am so I could take Jason to the airport. Jason was flying to Ohio Thursday morning to pick up and drive back a car he was buying from a friend for Ellen. We didnt want to leave his car in long term parking and have to pay for 3 days of it just sitting there, so I - being the sweet Mamma I am, offered to get up early (Did I mention it was 4:30am?) and drive him to the airport! Well, you would have thought I came home and went back to bed, but NOPE! Couldnt do that! But I was feeling the effects later on in the early afternoon. Well, it has been a long time since I have had to get up that early and I hope it is a very long time before I have to do it again! Even Starbucks was closed til 6am!

I HAVE A CLEAN LIVING ROOM AGAIN!

12-31-08

Well, my living room was a HUGE mess! We decided to take down all the Christmas stuff and put it away in the attic today, so we had boxes and paper and ornaments and Christmas decorations everywhere!

As much as I love all the decorations and the fun and joy it brings to the kids and seeing all the pretty lights and all... I love even more the tranquility of having my living room back to its normal way and having everything put in its place and having a clean and organized home. This year, I went out and bought several storage tubs so I could get rid of all or most of the cardboard boxes we had and so the boxes/tubs would be easier to see in the attic and identified as Christmas next year and I love the feeling those tubs give me of being more organized! Well, here - once again is my clean and organized living room!

SANTA BROUGHT US A Wii

12-30-08
We must have been REALLY good all year because Santa brought us a Wii game console and an extra controller with the sports games! The kids were SO excited, I thought the neighbors could hear them screaming from all the excitement and were going to call the police and that was that we were out in the secluded wooded confinement of Erick's house in Arkansas!!! The kids were so excited to get this set up, that they harrassed us until we did and then immediatley played on it and stayed on it till about 1am every night! I do have to admit, that it is VERY fun! I have played tennis, bowling, pool, and various other games. I really want to get the Wii Fit and start doing that for exercise. I have heard it is a lot of fun!

SO MUCH LAUNDRY TO DO!

12-29-08

After being in Arkansas for a week and having done laundry there while on Christmas vacation, I still came home and had several more loads of laundry to do! Why does it seem like it is never done? Maybe because there are 5 of us in this family? Maybe because my kids think they have to put everything in the dirty hamper, whether it is clean or dirty because they are too lazy to hang it up or put it away? I ask my kids to wear their jeans and pajamas at least 2-3 times before they put them in the dirty hamper unless they are really dirty from a specific stain so I am not washing so much, but it seems like no matter how many times I tell them that - they always throw thier (clean) jeans and pj's in the dirty hamper after only one use! All I keep praying for, is the day they come to me when they are parents and ask me "Why is there always so much laundry to do?" and then MAYBE they will understand where I am coming from! MAYBE!

HAPPY PUPPY!

12-28-08

After being gone for a week during Christmas vacation, Kenzi was SO happy to see us again. She kept jumping up on everyone and licking our faces and running around like a crazy dog on drugs! Every time we leave her for any amount of time, even if it is for 5 minutes she acts like we have been gone for months and she runs around the couch about 5 times in less than 10 seconds, then she runs to us and jumps up on us with a big smile on her face. You would have thought we left her alone, but we didnt! She had my step dad's dog, Hudson as a playmate all week - but I guess he was only fun for a little while. I guess there is nobody else like your own family!