The bully is BACK at preschool

Some of you may recall last year at my kids' preschool they had a little girl who kept beating up on the babies and they had to "create" another classroom for this little girl (an other almost two year olds who could defend themselves). Well, this same little girl is at it again. She takes toys, pushes, and hits her classmates. As a parent of course I am very concerned especially since the little girl is mine!! That's right Gracie thinks she rules the roost at her school. I know that is hard to believe (even people that know Gracie don't believe me) that she can be so mean, but she really is sometimes.
Today after school, due to her poor behavior at school, she didn't get a snack like she normally does (Lexi did) and there were many tears about it. After a time-out in her room (I can't stand listening to crying about not getting her way) she has decided that she needs to tell her friends sorry tomorrow and she will be nice to them. Then at dinner she was being sassy to me and I told her she better stop or she would have to go to her room and Lexi said, "Grace is just having a really bad day today." After a little chuckle, I then used that teaching moment to remind Lexi about her smart mouth the other day and that I am so happy she has be using nice words to me, daddy, Gracie, and her friends.
OK Mom you got your wish, I have a daughter just as mouthy as I was, but two, really? No one should have to deal with that!!! Please pray for us they are only 2 and 4, how are we going to get through the teens?!?!?! :-)

Absolutely CRAZY Week!!

So, if you have read my two previous posts you can see that last weekend was very full, to say the least. It is never good to start the week off with the whole family being tired. Well here is how our week went. Remember Jon's supervision has started, so completely take him out of the picture since he had his own schedule to deal with.
Monday me and the girls actually had no plans so after we got home at 5 and ate dinner we all just tried to recover from the weekend.
Tuesday picked the girls up from preschool and drove straight to get groceries. We got home around 7 and then had to cook dinner, eat dinner, and get to bed at a decent time.
Wednesday home by 5 and left by 5:30 to go to small groups. Home then again around 9 and off to bed.
Thursday home by 5 and left by 505 to go to STL for dinner and pick up things Jon needed for school. Home by 10:00.
Friday--totally crazy. Our plan was to drive to Alissa's and let the kids play while we worked on scrapbooks, well that didn't happen. At the end of school while all the kids in the district were loading the buses we hear tornado warning!! The radio said it was 19 miles south of us and headed straight for us. So, after I call my kids' school and make sure they know, we all head out to the buses to unload ALL of the kids and get them ducked and covered in the hallways! Good times. I am sure you can imagine the confusion of the kids all k-12 th grade. With such horrible conditions it actually went pretty well. I think all the kids got back on the correct bus and made it home safely. So, back to our plans, I didn't want to drive in that craziness and I am so glad we didn't since we were in and out of warnings all night. Plus, it was good to catch up with my friend Fonda since she is no longer working in our district. (She lives about two miles away and she has a finished basement for when/if it got ugly again.)
That brings us to today. Our catch up day. Catch up on sleep, house work, and family time. Of course all week long I have had to wake up the girls around 7:15 and yet today they woke me up at 6:45, go figure!! So, I am off to clean and get ready for a visit from my great friend Laura later today.
Next week doesn't look anything like this week did, so hopefully it will be pretty routine. However, you never know what could come up.
Have a great weekend!

Sunday=Party Time

Happy Birthday Kalista and Isaac!!!

On August 13th Kalista turned 4 and on August 17th Isaac turned 2. Then, on August 20th Alissa turned 31. They have 3 out of 4 birthdays in one week. Happy Birthday guys!

After church on Sunday we headed out to Chuck E. Cheese for Kalista and Isaac's birthday party. The kids had a ton of fun, of course. We even got a visit from Chuck E. himself.

Left: Megan and Gracie with all of their tokens.

Right: Lexi playing some stomp game. It was so funny to watch her.

Happy 50th Birthday Aunt Marion!!

Sunday evening we got back together with Jon's family to celebrate the big 5-0 with Marion. It was so sweet to watch her during the "Roast and Toast" portion. Marion, you are so loved by so many people!

Lexi with Josh and Ashley, so cute.

These two girls had so much fun. Please notice Ella's fork in her water glass.

Jeff and the girls leading everyone in, "Happy Birthday."

A Day at the Zoo

Last Sat. we went to STL to visit with family (David, Heather, and Ella were in town from Chicago). We met up at the zoo, and had a great time.

Uncle Jeff and Aunt Marion with Grace, Lexi, Ella, and the "Wild Ass" in the background. (Yes, I am that immature that I had to work in "wild ass" in the post, now two times.)

Right place, right time, we were lucky to be in the River's Edge when they were walking the new baby elephant, so cute and hairy.

Gracie loved looking at the huge fish.

We tried to have Lexi sit on this, but it was smokin' hot, so daddy just held her.

Here is Gracie and Ella in the Children's Zoo. Gracie could have stayed and pet the guinea pigs all day long.

Also in the Children's Zoo is the water spray area. Two things were learned in this area. 1. the swim suit I grabbed for Lexi was too small and 2. without a swim diaper on, Gracie has NO booty to fill out her swim suit.

How tall are you compared to the animals?

Sat. night we drove over to take a look at Jeff and Marion's new house.

I've been tagged: Firsts and Lasts

I have been tagged by my friend Jim Miller. As a good blogger citizen I will step up to the plate and answer the call. In return, however, I tag Andrea (old friend), Cheryl (new friend), Alissa (old sister), and Heather (new sister-in law).

First Memory: I was 3ish and I remember not being able to get down from the dinner table and everyone else watching the Muppet Show in the living room. (I am assuming I needed to eat, that part I don't remember.)

First Real Kiss: Ben Snodgrass (Yes, the brother of Jim's first love.)

First Concert: (Non youth ralley) Tim McGraw/Trace Atkins County Fair 1995

First Love: MY first love really was Jon. I did, however, have a boy tell me he loved me when we were juniors in HS, his name was Steven Lovell. My response was. "Wow." I know dumb response, but I knew I didn't love him, and I didn't know what else to say.

First Crush: Robby Wabeezer (I was so little I don't even know our age, our parent's were friends at the time.)

First thought in the morning: What am I going to wear that is clean and requires the least, if any, ironing.

First book you remember loving: Hatchet by Gary Paulson

First pet: Spankey, a white mute of a dog with one black ear and one black eye.

First thing you think of when you hear vacation: Where are we going? What are we doing? How long are we staying? If this question is asking if I like to relax or stay on the go, the answer is both. Or if this question is asking beach or mountains, I would say beach but not opposed to mountains.

First Best Friend: Amy Mitchell. I stayed with her at her Grandma's house during afternoon kindergarten since our mom's worked at the school. After my family moved to the city in the fourth grade, we were pen pals for years after that.


Last time you dressed up: Causal/Dress today for school, Fancy/Dress Blake and Karla's wedding last May.

Last CD bought: Jon bought the Bon Jovi Greatest hits

Last book you read: My Sister's Keeper (Last and longest. I am NOT a reader, however, I LOVED this 400 page book.)

Last time you cried: Today talking with a student.

Last movie you saw: Evan Almighty (drive-in)

Last time told someone "I Love You": Today on the phone with Jon.

Last really funny thing you did: So many things to choose from...I am really a pretty funny person ask anyone, they will all say I think I am really funny. Last week, my supervisor was talking about how unprofessional it is for people in supervisory roles to wear "swishy" pants. So, when I showed up at her house the next day to pick her up for a meeting, I made sure I was wearing "swishy" pants. We are still trying to get used to each other, so she didn't say anything right off the bat, but her eyes were priceless. Once I relieved her and told her I had nice clothes on underneath she died laughing. (I am sure you are not laughing right now, because things are never as funny when you retell it.)

Last thing watched on TV: 10:00 news last night.

Last Halloween Costume: When I taught preschool I would wear scrubs every Halloween Party day, and I would alternate telling people that I was either a doctor or a nurse or a secretary who worked for a doctor etc.

Last Concert: Rascal Flatts 2006 It was AWESOME!

I don't really know what I am doing

So last night I switched to a closed account. Well, as you can see, I have switched back. I don't really know what I am doing, and I need some help. Is there anyway to make it so people ask for my permission to view my blog and I say yes? I don't just want to put a limit on who can see it, because who knows what people from our past might find it, however, in our jobs, I really don't want just anyone to be reading about our family. If I put it to private then some "noncomputerliterate" family members might have problems. What do you suggest? Anyone?

Back to School Part 2 "My Brain is Jello"

So, we made it through our first week of school. Now, some of you may think that it should have been a breeze since the school kids actually haven't started yet, but oh can I just say from my point of view this is the most hectic time of year. I have been to so many meetings this week. Working out of the special ed office we are involved in every single meeting there is: district mtgs, HS mtgs, MS mts, Primary mtgs, parent mtgs, and of course SPED mtgs. I am so overloaded in my brain I can not even tell you!!! On top of all the informational mtgs everyday it seems like 8 new kids transfer into our district with IEPs and only 1 transfers out. (Not that it's bad it's just a lot of work.) So, trying to figure out where they go and getting their info from the other schools. ARGH!!! It's a lot to take!! On top of that my job is a new position this year, so defining what I am actually in charge of and not letting people put too much on me. Then the best was today Gracie decides to throw up at 9:45 this morning at preschool! AWESOME! So, today not only did I have 6 different mtgs scheduled for today, but I had a two year old with me the whole time (with one exception when we had a parent mtg and Jon kept her). Next week is going to be just as crazy. With the start of school, speech training, and all of our transfer mtgs. I am going to take the weekend off from thinking about this all, so I say anyways!

Back to School

So today was our first day back. It was so nice dropping the kids off at school and both of them being so excited to see their friends and teachers they almost forgot to kiss me! I love not being the "new "family on the block this year.

Gotta tell ya, it was real hard to get on the treadmill when I got home at 4:00, but I did it. We'll see how the weight room treats me tomorrow.

Lexi--our gross girl

Lexi is our picky eater. She throws up mashed potatoes, gags at any food she feels she won't like (even stuff I am sure she would like), and cries a lot at dinner time. With this being said, she will lick any nonfood item that she finds interesting. We have talked to her till we are blue in the face about how gross that is, and how things on the floor may have dookey on it, those things may make you sick,etc. To give a few examples: licked hands after playing in urinal at church, licks shoes, licks rocks, licks windows, yesterday licked bubble wand, I mean just gross.
So today we went to Goody's (clothing store) after lunch and while I was trying clothes on Lexi walks up to Jon and says, "Look daddy I have a tooth pick just like you!" What? You mean to tell me you found a used tooth pick on the floor of a clothing store and decided it would be a good idea to put it in your mouth? I am so disgusted!!

Last week of summer vacation

Our last week of summer started with a visit from Alissa, Kalista, and Isaac.

The kids enjoyed a dip in the kiddie pool while we cropped till we dropped. Despite four kids that are four and under, we still got a lot of scrapbooking done.

The end of the week we took a trip to visit our friends in St. Louis. It was so nice to catch up with them and the kids had a blast playing. However, eating was not so "diet-esk." Oh well, it was good.

Gracie, Lexi, and baby Kennedy all ready to go to the pool.

Gracie, Lexi, Kyle, and Chase posing poolside.



Lexi wanted me to take a picture of her "going under the water." Yes, that is as far "under" as she got.

Gracie is still not too into the water, but she did eventually get in a little.

My friend Andrea and her daughter Emma came over in the evening to visit.

Emma and her "Don't break the ice" hammer. The kids played a lot of games and just had a blast together.
Kennedy and Gracie are just about one year apart. They got along well, at times. Gracie is not too use to kids younger then her since she so much wants to be Lexi's tag along.

Left: My friend Cheryl and I. She wasn't too happy about getting her pic taken in the morning still in our jammies (she got over it).

Right: My friend Andrea, me, and baby Anna due to arrive in November. Please notice the snowman and "Snow Sweet Snow" sign above our heads. Yes, Cheryl it is cute, but it is 100 degrees outside!!!

Workout update: So, as of today I am down three pounds and I am jogging a mile and a half before walking. It's amazing what not eating 5 million calories in one day and exercising a little can do for you!