Two Snow Days

Today is our 2nd Snow Day this week! Unlike most teachers, I absolutely LOVE Snow Days. There's nothing better than waking up to a day with nothing planned! It's even better now that I have kids because I can devote an entire day just to them without any interruptions.

I have checked off several things on my To-Do List. The laundry is caught up, the floors are swept, the bills are paid, all of my papers from school have been graded, and I'm able to have a little free time as well.

Yesterday my house was the meeting place for all of the neighborhood kids (I think they were 8 kids). I had the boys upstairs and the girls in the basement. Every once in awhile, they would switch. Later, the girls went to the other neighbors house and I was left with the boys. However, I didn't get much accomplished because I spent the majority of the day catering to all of the kids. I had to clean spilled hot chocolate, cookie crumbs, cracker crumbs, spilled soft drinks, and dry all the wet coats and gloves- oh the live of the stay at home mom! By 4:30, Micah was being dropped off and I told the last kid it was time to go home. I was almost as exhausted as if I had been teaching all day! The kids had a blast though! If only I had their energy!

It's 11:15 and Micah and Rhett have already played outside in the snow, went sledding at the neighbors and are back to warm up (with just one friend from the neighborhood). I just looked out the window to see the bigger kids and what I (as a mom needing to prepare myself for the the teenager's idea of a good time) have to look forward to- they've got a sled hooked up to the back of a John Deere Gator and they are pulling each other through the yards. It does look like fun! Maybe I'll go and join them later ... or maybe not!

The "Teacher's" Pep Rally

Karen is my back spot, but you can't see her face. I don't think I got a good picture of her ...too bad!

So I had the bright idea of getting some teachers together for a Pep Rally to get the kids excited about a recent Family Night that we were having (Super Bowl Themed). These were pictures taken of us re-living the "Glory Days"!! :) We all stretched for about a half an hour to make sure we didn't get injured! It was hilarious to see, I'm sure! I had several teachers tell me that they were so sore the next day. By the way, it was my idea to do the pep rally ... thinking we would do one simple band dance and spell out P-I-R-A-T-E-S with our bodies (so old school); then Karen had the big idea of putting up 2 preps! I haven't been put in a prep in at least 14 years!!! ;) Oh the things we'll do to motivate our kids!!!

She Needs a New Home

Buttons kept closing her eyes when the camera would flash! 1st attempt ...
2nd attempt ...

Finally! She has such pretty eyes ... this picture doesn't do her justice!

We are looking for a new home for our cat, Buttons. We found out a few months ago that Micah is allergic to cats so we've been contemplating what to do with Buttons. Since we've had kids, we just don't give her the attention we once did. We are also getting new carpet in our basement and a portion of the upstairs and have decided that Buttons must go. I don't want to expose our new carpet to cat hair and dander (due to Micah's allergies). She is a really good cat. She is about 9 years old. She is declawed, has had her shots, and has been "fixed". She is good with kids and isn't a problem. The only problem is that we must find her a home ASAP (the carpet is coming on Friday). We had a few people in mind, but they weren't able to take her. If you, or someone you know, is looking for a great pet, then please let me know! We would love for her to go to someone that we know!

Thanks!

Thanks to Pat and Sharon for donating several items for my kids at school for inside recess! We received construction paper, crayons, scissors, tissues, legos, barbies, and several board games ... just to name a few! The kids were super excited! We've had to set up a special "Arts and Crafts" section of the room for all of the kids wanting to make hand-made cards and drawings! It's also fun to watch the kids play the board games too! You can see them developing people skills as they work out the rules and use problem solving skills to agree and get along! There are so many social skill lessons that occur during recess (unstructured times)! Thanks so much!!

Yummy Snacks!

These yummy treats were made by Abby for the AWANA kids at church a few weeks ago. She had some left over and asked if I wanted them for my kids at school. I said yes, but they never made it there! The next day was a SNOW DAY and all of the neighbor kids ended up at my house. I served them the extra snowmen and they LOVED them! They thought they were so cool! They all ended up taking one home with them as well! So, thanks Abby for the wonderful treats!!

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!

Woo hoo! It's a Snow Day! Being a teacher, I'll always have that joyous feeling to wake up to find that school's been cancelled due to inclement weather! Our school has a phone tree to contact everyone to let them know important information. I've always had to call people, but the list was changed this year, and the people on my list this year are different. I am in charge of calling the other 3 2nd grade teachers as well as the 2nd grade Title assistant. It was hilarious! Everyone was so thrilled when I gave them the good news, that I felt like the florist delivering flowers (you know how happy people are when they receive flowers)!

As soon as the kids woke up, they wanted to play in the snow. I bundled everyone up, and out we went. I took just a few pictures and then the neighbor girls were shouting for Rhett and Micah to come over there. I meant to have Rhett take some pictures with his new digital camera (Fisher Price) that he got for Christmas. Hopefully, there will be more snow this winter and he can capture some action shots.

First one to slide down the slope was Blair (alone). If only I had videod! When she got to the bottom, she tipped over face first in the snow. She sat up and Micah hollered, "She's eating the snow!" She didn't even cry! She loved it. After that, we decided that Blair could only go down if someone was with her. So Rhett and Micah took turns taking her down. She LOVED IT! Blair and I only stayed out about 10 minutes and I took her in. I didn't want her to get too cold. There wasn' enough snow to have a snowball fight or make a snow man, and it's already almost melted. Hopefully, we will have even more snow and the kids can make some snow angels, forts (Angela, remember the forts and snow ball fights we used to have????), a snowman, and maybe even snow ice cream! I hate it that Tony had to work! He loves it when it snows!

I also love snow days because there's nothing on my agenda. It's truly a DAY OFF! I have caught up on some reading, laundry, and since the house was cleaned yesterday, I don't have anything to do ... and that's GREAT! I've even had time to just sit on my couch (which I don't think I've done in ages)! So, yes, I've been kind of lazy, but that doesn't get to happen very much. I've had time to play with my kids(I've beat Rhett twice at Trouble), catch up on some reading, and more important for all of you out there in the blog world, to catch up on some posts.

I just put Blair down for her afternoon nap. Tony called and wants us to meet him at Quizno's for dinner before he teaches his class at Ivy Tech (oh yeah, he is officially an Adjunct Professor teaching an intermediate engineering drafting class). I think I'll go upstairs and fix myself some hot apple cider and watch a little bit of Oprah. What more could a girl ask for??? ;)

The Weekend Update

The title sounds like a clip from SNL (maybe it is?). On Friday night, we had Beth, Josh, Isabella, Brian, and Brooklyn over to hang out. Maria had plans with her mom. We all ate take out (that's a story in itself) and let the kids play. It was fun to watch Blair, Brooklyn, and Isabella play. They were together, but each was in their own little world. When Brian came, he sat Brooklyn down next to Blair. Blair instantly reaches for Brooklyn's pacifier (it looks exactly like hers) and took it out of Brooklyn's mouth and into her own. About 5 minutes later, Brooklyn did the same thing to Blair. Tony and Brian decided to put the pacifiers up until one of them "needed it." The highlight of the evening was watching Brooklyn cimb up our stairs (with Brian right behind her, of course). She's a pro! I know she had to have went up at least 20 times. By the end of the night, she had taught Blair how to climb stairs ... THANKS A LOT, BROOKLYN!! When Isabella left, she leaned in to give Blair a kiss, took out her pacifier, kissed her smack on the lips, and put her pacifier back in. It was one of those moments that you wished you would have been filming!

Saturday morning, Micah, Blair, and I met Tabby and Desiree at NWHS for a cheer competition. The JJ cheerleaders were performing. They did well, coming in 2nd place. However, of course they would have liked to have taken 1st place, but they were a little off. Your average spectator was stilled wowed by their performance, they are really talented! Good job to Karen and Chelli! I know they put in many hours coaching!

Saturday afternoon Rhett and I had "alone time with Mommy." He's been asking for some one-on-one time with me, so Tony kept the girls and Rhett and I went shopping for some decorations for his room. He was ready to get rid of all his "baby stuff" so we bought him a cool Superman lamp, a Transformers poster to hang on his wall, and a wall murel of the Fifty States (from Target, of course). We moved his bedroom furniture, and I cleaned out my stuff that I still had in his closet. Now it's officially "his room" and he LOVES it! Since Christmas, they have really been hanging out in their bedrooms. I'll post pics later.

Saturday night, my brother Damon kept the kids so Tony and I could go out. We went to The Summit and to TGIFridays. Of course, what's a date night if it doesn't end up at Wal-Mart?? I had to return something and I got Rhett a Poster frame for his Transformers poster. Damon had everyone asleep by the time we got back.

Sunday morning while getting ready for church Micah had an episode. She came and told on Rhett for calling her a baby, but Rhett insisted he didn't say it. After I was getting nowhere trying to figure out who was telling the truth, Tony stepped in and the truth finally came out. Micah had lied. He said her little face was priceless as she told him and a big crocodile tear came running down her cheek. She had to sit in time out and apologize to Rhett, him, and myself. During the sermon, Brian mentioned that you don't have to teach kids to sin ... even those sweet little girls who will tell a lie. Tony was on stage with his guitar and looked out at me in the pew. We both caught each other's eye and smiled at each other! So true!!

Sunday afternoon, we all went to McAllisters and Target and then came home for nap time. Rhett invited the neighbor boy over to play and Micah went to the other neighbor's house. After Sunday night church, a group from church went to Tumbleweed to hang out since there wasn't school the next day.

Monday I had a dentist appointment and then my mom and I took the kids to Clarksville for the afternoon. She did a little shopping, we ate at Cheddar's, and then I took the kids to her house while she went on to her physical therapist. It was the day that my house was being cleaned, so I didn't want to go home while she was cleaning. Monday night, I organized Micah's closet and invited the neighbor girls over to play. Oh yeah, I also went grocery shopping. That wraps up our weekend!