Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thank Goodness Summer is here!
I finished out my school years this week. Now, after working every day all month, I have two full months off!!! We are leaving tomorrow morning early to go to Walt Disney World with my family. The kids have been talking about it and counting down since April. I'll have lots of pictures and lots to say when we get back. I'm ready for a good vacation. Next year I'll be teaching Faith again but working a few more hours a week (nice increase in salary!) and job sharing in 3rd grade. I'm excited about the new position. The teacher I'm job sharing with is very strict and is good at the things that I'm not and vice versa. I ran over to her room on my lunch break and changed a bulletin board. I'll probably re-do most of them because they are strange shapes and in odd places through out the room. She told me she hates doing them and that I could change what every I wanted. Yay! It will be a good change. But I'm not going to think about it until August. From now until then, I'm going to relax, be a good mom, and take care of me!!!
Summer Cherry Picking
This morning we went out to help pick cherries in my parents orchard. They only have about 7 or 8 trees, but that is plenty for them. They always have bushels to share. The kids love them and love to pick them themselves. Of course, I got all the way out there and didn't have my camera!!!! Hannah was a great helper and grabbed the ones she could reach and carried around the bucket. Dani got to climb on the ladder and help Papa up high, and Ben realized it was more fun to eat them than pick them. (I had to take him away so he didn't get a tummy ache!) Very fun Saturday morning adventure.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Open house
Dani had her first Open house tonight. Mommy went solo with three kids, so we got in and out of there as fast as we could. We took pictures though so that Daddy could see some things. I was holding Ben when I took the picture of Dani and her teacher. She is doing really well and can't wait for first grade!
Cute things kids say
Last night I was bathing the kids and asked Hannah if she wanted to take a big girl shower with Dani, instead of a bath with Ben. She looked at me and said, "Well I don't know. I'm not a little girl, or a big girl, I'm a medium girl." I told her that "medium girls" get to choose what they want to do and she chose to take a big girl shower, but said next time she might take a "medium girl" bath.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Lazy Saturday
Because Brent is working all weekend, the kids and I had a very lazy Saturday. We did clean up the girls room, do 4 loads of laundry, vacuum, and tidy up a bit, but other than that, I've just enjoyed my kids.
Ben playing cars (after spilling his soup all over his clothes)
Hannah fast asleep...Shh!
And last but not least...the laundry! I wanted this journaled, so when I'm older and complain about all the laundry, I can remember what I had to do now! Our dryer doesn't work very well. It dries small loads ok, but not big stuff at all! I hang dry towels, jeans, and most cotton shirts. I get to dry under wear, socks, and PJ's and occasionally a few thin shirts and sheets. So, on laundry day, it is not uncommon to find clothes strung all over the house to dry.
Dani working on her math and coloring
Ben playing cars (after spilling his soup all over his clothes)
Hannah fast asleep...Shh!
And last but not least...the laundry! I wanted this journaled, so when I'm older and complain about all the laundry, I can remember what I had to do now! Our dryer doesn't work very well. It dries small loads ok, but not big stuff at all! I hang dry towels, jeans, and most cotton shirts. I get to dry under wear, socks, and PJ's and occasionally a few thin shirts and sheets. So, on laundry day, it is not uncommon to find clothes strung all over the house to dry.
How do you get to H101?
It is my belief that everyone has a path that is suppose to lead them where they are suppose to go. Everyone's is different, with Mountains to climb, streams to cross, and crossroads where decisions have to be made. When I became an adult, (when ever that was), I gladly started on my path anticipating the joyous most 'fun' journey that is suppose to be my life. What I didn't realize then is that my path is like the freeways of LA. There are so many and going in so many different directions that I feel like sometimes I'm jumping from freeway to freeway, without going anywhere. Do you know what I mean?
Life is beginning to look down a different 'freeway' once again. Brent has really become excited with running and maybe eventually owning the medical supply store. He is currently down at the new building (four doors down from the old), painting, tearing up carpet, and removing walls (not in that order, but you know what I mean). They are going from 400 square feet to 2000 square feet. They increasing inventory, hiring new employees and really out to make something great of the business. (He also has the rudest, most arrogant old lady for a neighbor making his life miserable right now, but that is a whole other story!) Point, he is really excited about that future.
He was going to finish up his degree in Mathematics (which I hope he still does) and maybe be teacher. I had thought how great that would be. Holidays and Summers off to travel. I would be at the kids elementary school to keep an eye on them and he would be at the high school to literally watch them at all times. We could move to where we wanted. It seemed like a really good decision and isn't entirely out of the cards for us down the road. Yet, I feel like Brent is really in his element as a salesman. I think he would have liked teaching, but would have or will hate the politics of it. I myself hate the politics of teaching. For example I'm currently collecting signature for a petition to not allow homosexual stories to be in my 1st grade curriculum. (Another long story and entirely off point).
I hope this Medical Supply road is a long one that we can stay on for a while. I think it will be and I'm hoping that Brent can finally be proud of supporting his family the way that he wants to.
Life is beginning to look down a different 'freeway' once again. Brent has really become excited with running and maybe eventually owning the medical supply store. He is currently down at the new building (four doors down from the old), painting, tearing up carpet, and removing walls (not in that order, but you know what I mean). They are going from 400 square feet to 2000 square feet. They increasing inventory, hiring new employees and really out to make something great of the business. (He also has the rudest, most arrogant old lady for a neighbor making his life miserable right now, but that is a whole other story!) Point, he is really excited about that future.
He was going to finish up his degree in Mathematics (which I hope he still does) and maybe be teacher. I had thought how great that would be. Holidays and Summers off to travel. I would be at the kids elementary school to keep an eye on them and he would be at the high school to literally watch them at all times. We could move to where we wanted. It seemed like a really good decision and isn't entirely out of the cards for us down the road. Yet, I feel like Brent is really in his element as a salesman. I think he would have liked teaching, but would have or will hate the politics of it. I myself hate the politics of teaching. For example I'm currently collecting signature for a petition to not allow homosexual stories to be in my 1st grade curriculum. (Another long story and entirely off point).
I hope this Medical Supply road is a long one that we can stay on for a while. I think it will be and I'm hoping that Brent can finally be proud of supporting his family the way that he wants to.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Moving fast
Things around here have been non-stop for about three weeks. I have been working everyday (except for our three days in Long Beach), Brent is almost done with school, and the household is always in some sort of disarray. I remember now why I don't work full time. I'm actually going to do it for two more weeks and then I'll be done for two months! Not a bad price to pay. I will try to pick up a few sub days here and there, but I'll have a few months to just be with my kids and find some time to catch up on those projects I have piling up in the corner.
I have been reading still and recently finished The Other Boelyn Girl. A lot more racy than the previous books that I've read, but thoroughly enjoyed it. I love historical fiction and I know absolutely nothing about this time period (in fact I didn't realize that Anne Boelyn was real until the very end of the story when the author wrote about what happened to everyone once she was beheaded. I don't want to think about what other famous world people I don't remember from my lame classes growing up!) I've now moved on to a Danielle Steele (who I usually don't care for too much), called Sisters. It's interesting, but when the sisters are all wealthy, beautiful, and famous it's a little irritating in some way. We'll see if it's any good.
My children are growing like weeds. Ben who is going to be 2 in July, will probably need 3T shirts for his birthday. He is very long wasted like his daddy. We also took him to get new shoes. He has these cute fat little feet, but it makes it really hard when nothing fits him. He decided about a month ago that he only like this one pair of tennis shoes that are a 6 1/2 W, which he wore to Target when we went looking for new ones. He cried for his old shoes the entire time, screaming like we were beating on him and making his whole life just sooo miserable. We left with a size 8's and the sandals we bought can be lengthen at the toe, at his ankle and at his heel. I put a new pair on for church this morning, which he wailed about and searched frantically for the favorite shoes, which I had already thrown in the trash. Oh well! It's so hard to be two!
Hannah is my little sweet heart right now. She goes around singing Love is Spoken Here, the song they learned at church for Mother's day, all the time. She also loves to help Mommy do laundry. She finds all the socks, while I put away the other things and then we match them. Although she is very helpful, she has turned in to a little tattle tail. Sometimes I ignore her or say, "Thanks for letting me know sweetie, I'll check on it." Of course the first time I got impatient with her, Benjamin had the scissors in his hand. It's kind of nice having a second pair of eyes, for a little while at least. Her daily wardrobe consists of a sun dress or skirt every day and she loves to twirl around the kitchen and listen and sing to music. The best is the things she says though. She is so bright and quick witted that I catch myself laughing or smiling when she figures something out or surprises me with a word that she understands like Opposites or Consequences. The other day I accidentally told someone she was four (because she looks and acts it) which she corrected me and said, "No I'm not, I'm three!" If only she'd stay that way!
Danielle is very much a little girl. She is very athletic and skinny as a rail. She has been very busy with softball, which she took right to and will be pretty good if she continues to work hard. She got her first trophy (pictures to come) and had her teams pizza party. She is almost done with kindergarten, but has started first grade workbooks a few months back. Me being a teacher, I have dozens of worksheets that I copy for her and I make her read at least one book by herself to me a day. Although she is very bright, she is definitely the weeny in the family. She cries bloody murder when she scratches her leg, tends to whine (a lot), and has begun to even argue a little bit. She is dramatic like her parents and says when she has made a bad choice, that no one in the family loves her and she should just DIE! Of course we try to make her understand what is really going on, but I think she likes the dramatic better. She is my ONE, right now. The hard one. The one that I have to pray every day for patience to deal with one. Next week it will be someone else, but right now it is her. (I am terrified of what will go on when she is a teenager!)
Brent is very busy with work and school. The Medical Supply is moving to a store four times it's size now. They are expanding everything and bringing in lots of new products. He wants it to really look nice and upscale, so he has been busy with layout's color schemes and product placement. He gets the keys tomorrow and they hope to have a grand opening at the end of June once everything is ready. He was going to take a few classes this summer, but is rethinking the idea because the store needs him so much right now. He is doing all of the work himself, and there is a lot! At home he loves to play with the kids. They are always play fighting and running around. It's not too bad, but our house isn't all that big and I tend to get tripped over.
So that's what's been going on. I'll try to keep things more updated on a regular basis after my two weeks is up. Then we are off to Florida for vacation and then two months off, yay! I can't wait.
I have been reading still and recently finished The Other Boelyn Girl. A lot more racy than the previous books that I've read, but thoroughly enjoyed it. I love historical fiction and I know absolutely nothing about this time period (in fact I didn't realize that Anne Boelyn was real until the very end of the story when the author wrote about what happened to everyone once she was beheaded. I don't want to think about what other famous world people I don't remember from my lame classes growing up!) I've now moved on to a Danielle Steele (who I usually don't care for too much), called Sisters. It's interesting, but when the sisters are all wealthy, beautiful, and famous it's a little irritating in some way. We'll see if it's any good.
My children are growing like weeds. Ben who is going to be 2 in July, will probably need 3T shirts for his birthday. He is very long wasted like his daddy. We also took him to get new shoes. He has these cute fat little feet, but it makes it really hard when nothing fits him. He decided about a month ago that he only like this one pair of tennis shoes that are a 6 1/2 W, which he wore to Target when we went looking for new ones. He cried for his old shoes the entire time, screaming like we were beating on him and making his whole life just sooo miserable. We left with a size 8's and the sandals we bought can be lengthen at the toe, at his ankle and at his heel. I put a new pair on for church this morning, which he wailed about and searched frantically for the favorite shoes, which I had already thrown in the trash. Oh well! It's so hard to be two!
Hannah is my little sweet heart right now. She goes around singing Love is Spoken Here, the song they learned at church for Mother's day, all the time. She also loves to help Mommy do laundry. She finds all the socks, while I put away the other things and then we match them. Although she is very helpful, she has turned in to a little tattle tail. Sometimes I ignore her or say, "Thanks for letting me know sweetie, I'll check on it." Of course the first time I got impatient with her, Benjamin had the scissors in his hand. It's kind of nice having a second pair of eyes, for a little while at least. Her daily wardrobe consists of a sun dress or skirt every day and she loves to twirl around the kitchen and listen and sing to music. The best is the things she says though. She is so bright and quick witted that I catch myself laughing or smiling when she figures something out or surprises me with a word that she understands like Opposites or Consequences. The other day I accidentally told someone she was four (because she looks and acts it) which she corrected me and said, "No I'm not, I'm three!" If only she'd stay that way!
Danielle is very much a little girl. She is very athletic and skinny as a rail. She has been very busy with softball, which she took right to and will be pretty good if she continues to work hard. She got her first trophy (pictures to come) and had her teams pizza party. She is almost done with kindergarten, but has started first grade workbooks a few months back. Me being a teacher, I have dozens of worksheets that I copy for her and I make her read at least one book by herself to me a day. Although she is very bright, she is definitely the weeny in the family. She cries bloody murder when she scratches her leg, tends to whine (a lot), and has begun to even argue a little bit. She is dramatic like her parents and says when she has made a bad choice, that no one in the family loves her and she should just DIE! Of course we try to make her understand what is really going on, but I think she likes the dramatic better. She is my ONE, right now. The hard one. The one that I have to pray every day for patience to deal with one. Next week it will be someone else, but right now it is her. (I am terrified of what will go on when she is a teenager!)
Brent is very busy with work and school. The Medical Supply is moving to a store four times it's size now. They are expanding everything and bringing in lots of new products. He wants it to really look nice and upscale, so he has been busy with layout's color schemes and product placement. He gets the keys tomorrow and they hope to have a grand opening at the end of June once everything is ready. He was going to take a few classes this summer, but is rethinking the idea because the store needs him so much right now. He is doing all of the work himself, and there is a lot! At home he loves to play with the kids. They are always play fighting and running around. It's not too bad, but our house isn't all that big and I tend to get tripped over.
So that's what's been going on. I'll try to keep things more updated on a regular basis after my two weeks is up. Then we are off to Florida for vacation and then two months off, yay! I can't wait.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
First swim of the summer. BRRRR!
My children are desperate or Summer to be here so they can swim! So, Mother's day afternoon we went to Grandma Reich's for our first official swim of the Summer. (We should have waited a few more days for the 100 degree heat the we now have.) The water, freezing! But that didn't faze them as they swam out. The girls had a blast and our son, fearless! (Which now has me terrified every time he is near a pool. I say a little prayer of thanks for the pool fence every time we are over there now). Ben continued to jump in, whether someone was watching or not. Brent stayed with him the entire time and we finally had to take him out so the girls could have some play time with Daddy, which of course Benjamin wailed about. Since it is so hot now, my job for today is to go find a suit with floats in it and arm floaties for Ben so that he will basically be a walking balloon, just in case we aren't watching him every single nano-second that he is near water.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Escaping, if just for a moment
Brent, now back at the Medical Supply Store, attended a Conference in Long Beach for a few days. The best part, I got to go to!!! Brent and I have only had one night away from the kids, overnight, since Ben was born and that was for our 10 year high school reunion last October. So getting away from our wonderful family for just a few days was heaven. Brent had classes and we attended an expo all day Wednesday, but we found time to have dinner at Bubba Gumps, catch a movie, and browse the Borders book store. I had time to read, lay in bed and watch movies, workout, and do a little school work. We had a great time, the only bad part, it wasn't longer!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Surprise presents
We came home one Saturday to find a small package by our door. Surprised, we opened to find gifts from Aunt Traci, Uncle Allen, and Lexi. Hannah was sleeping, but Dani new right away what it was and ran outside to play, with Ben following. I snapped a few photos as they are trying to figure out how to play with the new toys, jump ropes (for the girls) and a Frisbee for Ben.
He is very proud of himself!
Danielle new what to do, but wasn't quite coordinate. She did say though that she was going to practice so that when Allen and Traci come in July, she can show them that she can do it.
Dani trying to help Ben.
Let's play with this now. Like this Ben!
He didn't quite get it.
Ben, being adorable, would jump up and down, forgetting to move the rope.
He is very proud of himself!
Danielle new what to do, but wasn't quite coordinate. She did say though that she was going to practice so that when Allen and Traci come in July, she can show them that she can do it.
Dani trying to help Ben.
Let's play with this now. Like this Ben!
He didn't quite get it.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
A blast from the past
So a few weeks ago a good friend from church called me up and asked if I wanted to go to Duran Duran with her for free. Her friend that was suppose to go couldn't go anymore and she was just looking for someone to enjoy the experience with. Now, even though I wasn't a huge Duran Duran fan like my friend, a concert is a concert and I haven't been to one for a few years. Not only did I get to go to the concert, SHE RENTED A LIMO! So, a stretch limo (which seated 10 because they didn't have a 6 seater available) pulled up and whisked us off to Concord. It was so great! We had picked up take out and ate and chatted on the way. He pulled up in the VIP parking about 80 feet from the entrance. We were seated in the first section off to the left from the stage, but still had a great view, and we were on the aisle which was really nice.
We got their pretty early and heard a new British band called Your Vegas play. They were pretty good (and I thought their accents were cute!) But when Duran Duran come on, I was shocked. You first have to understand the type of people attending a Duran Duran concert. Mostly upper 20's to mid 40's. Tons of women dragging their husbands and more than a handful of guys with their "partners". There were the serious groupies with signs, buttons all over their shirts or vests, and we saw two or three women trying to get back stage. So when I arrived I was thinking people would act pretty relax and we could sit back and enjoy. Was I WRONG! The women went CRAZY! It was like those old videos of the Beatles where the girls are screaming and crying and losing it. Seriously. It was so fun just to people watch (and I would have been happy with just that because it was hysterical!), but the concert was really good. We were on our feet the entire time, and although my friend and I aren't crazy dancers or anything, we sang and boogied for the whole thing. The sets were good, the lead singer loved to dance (although it was sort of grossing me out), and there was only one instance were a crazy women made it up on stage and security took her off in a head lock when she wouldn't let go of the lead singers pants. I felt though like I was apart of some crazy 80's era thing and it was really a neat feeling.
After it was done, we walked quickly back to our Limo, which scooted out before any traffic and made it home by midnight. I felt so grateful to my friend who let me go. It was nice to have a night out by myself and to feel a little crazy and free again. Thanks T for a wonderfully silly, fun evening out!
We got their pretty early and heard a new British band called Your Vegas play. They were pretty good (and I thought their accents were cute!) But when Duran Duran come on, I was shocked. You first have to understand the type of people attending a Duran Duran concert. Mostly upper 20's to mid 40's. Tons of women dragging their husbands and more than a handful of guys with their "partners". There were the serious groupies with signs, buttons all over their shirts or vests, and we saw two or three women trying to get back stage. So when I arrived I was thinking people would act pretty relax and we could sit back and enjoy. Was I WRONG! The women went CRAZY! It was like those old videos of the Beatles where the girls are screaming and crying and losing it. Seriously. It was so fun just to people watch (and I would have been happy with just that because it was hysterical!), but the concert was really good. We were on our feet the entire time, and although my friend and I aren't crazy dancers or anything, we sang and boogied for the whole thing. The sets were good, the lead singer loved to dance (although it was sort of grossing me out), and there was only one instance were a crazy women made it up on stage and security took her off in a head lock when she wouldn't let go of the lead singers pants. I felt though like I was apart of some crazy 80's era thing and it was really a neat feeling.
After it was done, we walked quickly back to our Limo, which scooted out before any traffic and made it home by midnight. I felt so grateful to my friend who let me go. It was nice to have a night out by myself and to feel a little crazy and free again. Thanks T for a wonderfully silly, fun evening out!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)