Last Day

Well, it's official. The school year is over, and I now have a 2nd grader and a pre-K'er. It just seems like yesterday that I started Aaron in Montessori at St. Mary's. He was 3 and Sadie was just a baby, and it doesn't seem possible for that to have been 4 years ago.

Both kids have grown this year, and their personalities have developed, and their interests have surprised me. Both have made some great new friends this year, and we look forward to getting to spend some time with them over the summer.

But we also look forward to spending time with family, and time with neighbors, and plenty of time doing absolutely nothing :)

So from the bottom of my heart, I wish you all a very stress-free, relaxing summer.

Aaron's Surprise

At the beginning of the school year, Toby made a promise to Aaron that if he stayed out of trouble (stayed off red and only got moved to yellow a few times), then we would get him a 4 wheeler, a motorcycle, or a go-cart. I'm not really sure why Toby tied it to Aaron's behavior because he doesn't get in trouble at school much. Anyways, Aaron has, of course, been really good all year, so we gave him his surprise yesterday at Groom...

He was a little timid the first few times he rode it, but quickly became comfortable with starting, riding, and stopping it. He fell a few times (one time he bit it pretty good), but kept on riding. He spent most of Memorial Day riding that thing, and he has already asked when we can go to Groom again so he can ride it some more (we told him he can't ride it here in Amarillo).

Here's a picture of him and Toby riding off on motorcycles. The bigger motorcycle is my brother-in-law's.

Field Day

Today was Field Day at St. Mary's. The day my kids look forward to every year. We had tons of activities for the kids...4 bouncers (all donated by 2 different companies here in town), Soggy Baseball, Balloon Pop races, Soccer Kick, Bubbles, Bandage Station, Cow Milking, a Tattoo station, and a refreshment station. First stop for my kids was the Cow Milking. Sadie actually came back to this one many times...

Here's Sadie in one of the bouncers. They kept this one reserved for kids 5 and under.

Here's Aaron getting all bandaged up.

Here's Sadie patiently waiting (and posing) in line for the big slide. The next picture is of her sliding down.

Here's Aaron helping Sadie blow up the balloon in the balloon race, and one of Aaron doing one by himself. They got a pretty good workout doing this one. Maybe I should have spent some time on this...

This next one was my favorite. It was one of the bouncers...a blow up bouncing horse race. Sadie could barely push through the starting gate, but once she made it through, she had a blast. Four kids went at a time, racing to the end. I never did see Aaron do this on (he got to be without a parent...only had to stay with a buddy, so I missed a lot of pictures of him...he tells me he did do this, though).

And here is Aaron doing the Soggy Baseball. They get those balls all soaked with water and then pitch them to the kids.

And then, there was another Travis Erwin sighting. I'm not sure what Toby and him are talking about, but I think it may have something to do with goatees...Good luck with those extra kids who are spending the night with your boys tonight, Travis :)

Overall, it was a lot of fun today. But now I am worn out. Hopefully, my kids are too and will sleep well tonight.

Welcome Widget!

Today, we added a new member to our family. Meet Widget. She is a calico kitten who we *rescued* from the Humane Society.

When I said rescued, you have to realize that life at the HS may have been easier for her than trying to survive life around my two kids. Actually, Aaron has been pretty great with the cat, but Sadie...she's kind of like that cartoon girl on the Loony Toon babies. I think her name was Elmira, and she LOVED animals and was always grabbing, them, squeezing/hugging them, and saying "I will love you and hold you and squeeze you." She's trying...she just doesn't completely understand what "gentle" means.

Here's a picture of Widget's new favorite place to hang out. She's sitting on the cook book from my home town church.

This next picture shows you exactly where she's sitting. She ended up sleeping very peacefully in this spot for quite a long time.

Now, those of you who know me know that I am not a cat person. But, when a co-worker of mine mentioned that she had gotten a couple of cats to keep the birds out of her trees in the backyard, I knew I had to get one. I am tired of having bird poo all over my patio furniture. So, Widget will be an outside cat, once she gets big enough. For now, she will spend most of her time in the sun room, or in the kitchen with it gated.

As for Mocha (our dog), she's not sure what to think. She was mostly just curious, but then Widget swatted Mocha's nose pretty good, and ever since, Mocha has kept her distance. We'll see how these two end up getting along...

Heart Stopper

We just had one of the most heart-stopping moments we have ever had. Sadie had been outside playing with a neighbor, had come inside to get a bandaid, and headed back outside. I finished up what I was doing, and then followed her out (I went out less than 5 minutes after her). I didn't see her or her friend out in the neighbor's front yard, but saw the gate to the back yard open and assumed she was in there. I walked over, called out her name, and the neighbor girl came out of the backyard and said that Sadie had gone home.

I called Toby's cell to have him check our backyard, thinking maybe she had gone there instead, and nope...our back door was locked. I began to think of all the things that could have happened in those few minutes she was outside by herself. I began walking the neighborhood, looking, and heading down to one of her other friend's houses. Aaron caught up with me, so I sent him to another neighbor's house to knock and see if she was there. I knocked on the other neighbor's door and asked if she was there. The answer for both of us was no. By this time, 4 neighbors were out looking with us, up and down alleys, in side yards, and Aaron was crying, worried that we might not find her (just goes to show you that he really does love her). I walked back to the house to look in the garage and check the house (all the nooks and crannies) more closely. Still, couldn't find her.

When I walked back outside, the little girl Sadie was suppose to be playing with ran up and told me they found her. Turns out she had rang the doorbell at the neighbor's house and when no one answered, she just let herself in and went to her friend's room and started playing with her toys. So when Toby had knocked on that door, the dad said that he hadn't seen Sadie.

So, after what felt like hours of panic mode (probably less than 10 minutes), everything ended up okay. Sadie, of course, got a stern reminder that she is not to go into any one's house or backyard without asking me or Toby first. Maybe in a few hours, my heart rate will be back to normal...

I Survived!

Last night, both of my kids invited a friend over to spend the night. Part of me just wanted a break because I had been so busy the past 3 days (LVN pinning ceremony Wednesday night, RN pinning ceremony on Thursday night, Commencement on Friday night, and an Uppercase Living party at my house Saturday morning). But, a friend had asked if we could watch her daughter so that her husband could do a triathlon in Lubbock, and since Sadie was getting a friend over, Aaron had to as well.

So, I had a 3 year old, a 4 year old, and two 7 year olds here yesterday and today. I survived...I can't say so much for the house. The boys mostly played in the Wii or the computer, so there wasn't much to clean up after them.

The girls on the other hand...Sadie's closet somehow has exploded into her bedroom. They opened fingernail polish, which spilled on the carpet (luckily in the closet...does anyone know how to get it out? Will fingernail polish remover work, or just make a bigger mess?), sprayed EVERYTHING in her room with body spray, got out every marker in the house, painted her easel with lip gloss, tried on all of Sadie's clothes, ran around naked for awhile (guess they couldn't find anything they liked)...

And those are just the messed I have found so far. Who knows what surprises wait for me as I make my way through cleaning up after the storm.

But, there were tons of giggles and lots of laughter. And all 4 kids fell asleep pretty quickly once I put them to bed. But now...I want a nap. Instead, I'm off to clean some more, and do laundry...

Last Day!

WooHoo! Today is *officially* the last day of work for me for this school year. Now, those of you who have ever been a teacher know that even though it is the last official work day, my work is no where near over. In fact, we are making a ton of changes to the way clinicals are going to been done next semester, and I will spend a good portion of the summer ironing out those details. Plus, my syllabus and student notes are due by mid-June. Plus, I have volunteered to help with a review for the graduating students to help prepare them for the licensing exam. So although I am so excited to be *officially* done, I am really not completely done.

Now maybe I can catch up on my sleep, housework, and filing, and spend more time with the kids :)

Happy Summer!!!

Today's Events

Today, I took Sadie to the dermatologist to get her cheek bump looked at. For those of you who haven't seen it, she has had it since early February. It started out looking like an insect bite or pimple. But she's 4. Four year olds don't get pimples. Later, it changed and looked almost black. Then, it turned back to red, then pink. All this over the course of 3 months. So, the dermatologist takes one quick look at it with some sort of magic-light-magnifying glass, and tells me it is a large clogged pore. I said "A zit?" Apparently, the z-word is offensive to dermatologists. His reply was "Well, that's not a very technical term, now is it?" Well la-de-da. Who gives a rat's you-know-what. Call it whatever you want. A zit by any other name is still a zit. He then got some special zit-popping tool and out shot a wad of gunk. He told me it was a cyst, and that is why it hadn't healed on its own.

As for Sadie, she played it up pretty good, acting like she was completely traumatized by the torturous event, until he mentioned a bandaid. Then, the whole world was right, and she was smiling and laughing. But even later in the day, when asked about her visit to the doctor, she puts on her saddest, poutiest face in an attempt to gain a little sympathy. Poor thing...

Fast forward to a bit later in the day, when Aaron was outside playing with some of the neighbor kids. We hear a knock at the door, and 2 screaming girls inform us that Aaron was hit in the nose with a bat and was bleeding. I meet him outside our front door, and sure enough, his nose is dripping blood from both nostrils, and his clothes are pretty well splattered in it. I have Toby go in to get a washrag, but decide that I can't wait that long, and instead pull off his shirt and use it to stop the bleeding. His shirt and nose were so bloody that when I pulled his shirt up over his head, it left his forehead and hair all bloody too. I have him kick off his sandals and bring him in for a quick shower. After the shower, his nose is still gushing blood, and I begin to think that a trip to the ER will be in our near future. I hand him a washrag, dry him off, and have him lay on the couch. Luckily, the bleeding stopped pretty quickly, and he was back outside playing again.

Happy Mother's Day!

To mom: I love you! Thank you for always being there for me, for supporting me, for helping me to become the woman, the mom, I am today.

To Mary: Thank you for Toby. I know that he is the man and the dad he is today because of you. Especially thanks for training him to keep a clean house ;)

To my sisters and sisters-in-law: For those of you who are already moms, I have learned so much from each of you, and I can never thank you enough. I have loved watching your kids grow in your love for them. For those of you who have yet to be blessed with motherhood, I can't wait for you to get to experience all the joys. They far outweigh the difficulties.

To my kids: Without them, I wouldn't be a mom, now would I? I can't imagine life without them. I can't even remember what I did with my time before I had kids. They are my biggest blessings, and I am so undeserving of the joy and love that they fill me with. I love them with all my heart. So Aaron and Sadie, thank you.

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful women!

He Knows Me Well...

Today, both kids brought home Mother's Day gifts that they made at school. Sadie's was a cute flower with a picture of her as the center, and it said "Thanks for helping me grow."

Aaron brought home a few things. The first thing I read shows just how well he knows me. It was entitled "My Mom" and was a fill-in-the-blank job. Here's what he wrote about me:

My mom is...sweet
She likes to ...watch TV
She always...wants to sleep
Sometimes she...stays up
But the best thing about my mom is...she loves me!

The sleeping thing hit it pretty head-on.

I also got a card from him that read (in his spelling):

Dear mom I hope you hav a grate moters day. Me and Sadie mit mack brest. We well let you sleep in. I will give you 100 kisses. We will hav a Asom time. Love Aaron

Just so there is no confusion, "mit mack brest" = might make breakfast, and "asom" = awesome.

Again, he knows what this woman wants...to sleep in. Sweet boy :) He also gave me an eye mask (to help me sleep), and some relatxing bath salts that "smell wonderful." I am pretty lucky to have such awesome kiddos!

Aaron's Conquest

This afternoon, Aaron and Toby went for a bike ride at a nearby pond. When they came back home, Aaron showed me this:

For those of you who can't tell in the photo, he's holding a rattle from a rattlesnake.



Aaron proclaims that he killed a rattlesnake, and is obviously very proud of this manly accomplishment. As for me, I'm in shock, and a little disbelief (I thought they had just been riding around the neighborhood). Toby then tells me the full story...

As they were riding, Aaron rode his bike over the snake, that was apparently sunning itself to warm up and was a little sluggish. Luckily, Aaron didn't stop right away after running over it. He tells Toby that he just ran over a snake, but he was pretty sure it was dead. When Toby takes a closer look, the snake perks up and starts rattling and hissing away That's when he realizes that it was no mere snake, but was the big-daddy-king-of-all-snakes here in Texas. They grab a few rocks and start hurling them at the snake, and eventually kill the evil monster. Aaron then pulls out his pocket knife and Toby cuts off its head and tail.

So now, Aaron has a great Show and Tell for school Friday!

My 2 Very Different Children

I've said it before, and here I am to profess it again: My 2 kids are both great, but are totally different in many ways. Tonight is an example...

I told the kids that if they would help me clean the house today, then we could go out and eat. After we finished cleaning, the typical argument ensued. Aaron wanted to eat at Rosa's (very fitting for Cinco de Mayo), and Sadie wanted Chik-fil-a. Seeing no end to the argument without some sort of intervention, I told the kids that whoever didn't pick the place we eat would get to stay up an extra 15 minutes tonight. Aaron pounced on the opportunity for a little more awake time, while Sadie felt that she had won because we would be eating a Chik-fil-a.

So, bedtime comes around, and I get Sadie tucked in (around 8:30). Aaron gets tucked in 15 minutes later. Aaron has been sound asleep since 9:00, and Sadie is still awake in her room (at 9:35).

What can I say...She takes after me, and Aaron takes after Toby.

Just a side note...today was the worst possible day to choose Chik-fil-a. Apparently they are running a BOGO on their sandwiches, and we were lucky to find a parking spot and a table. Luckily, the kids were able to play in their play room while I waited in line forever...to get the wrong order. UGH!

What Does it Really Mean?

We went to mass last night because we figured Toby wouldn't be here this morning (and we were right...he got called out around 5:45 this morning). So, we get to mass, and pick seats on the 2nd row, right in the middle of the church. Right in front of where Father does his sermon.

So, today's Gospel reading and sermon were about Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Father began his sermon by saying "The Gospel today tells us that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, but what does that really mean?"

Without missing a beat, Sadie raised her hand way up high. (That's the way things work at the school masses...the priest asks questions, and the kids who think they know the answers raise their hands and hope to get called on.) And of course, because of where we were sitting, Father noticed, and laughed and said "Do you know the answer?" Sadie nodded with a huge grin, and he said, "She knows, but do all of you?" The entire congregation got a chuckle out of this. To be honest, I was just surprised that she was paying attention enough to realize he was asking a question.

Later, I asked Sadie if she really knew the answer. She said, "No, but I know the picture." (There's a picture of Jesus the Good Shepherd that hangs behind the alter.) When I asked her what picture, she told me the one where Jesus leads the sheep. When she said that, I was even more amazed at how well she had been paying attention.