Build-A-Bear

Last weekend the kids went to a birthday party at the Build-A-Bear workshop. It was a great deal, considering our kids have never been there, but have passed by it a million times in the mall. They all got their own bear and outfit as a party favor, so that was super exciting for them. In the first picture, Drew is holding her bear's heart and making a wish. Then Alli is helping the girl stuff the bear. And then Evan is washing his bear after getting it stuffed. They were all pretty proud of the final product. They've slept with them every night and Evan and Alli have even been taking them to school to sleep with at rest time.

Stephanie's Wedding

Well, Stephanie finally got married this past Thursday. It was such a pretty day and such a nice wedding. Everything was beautiful and went smoothly, and I know we were all relieved to finally get the show on the road. The pictures are of both the rehearsal and the wedding. I'll let them speak for themselves.

A Day on the Lake

Wow! Look at me posting 2 days in a row. That's what a long weekend will do -- laundry is caught up, the house is semi-straight, dishes are in the dishwasher, and the kids are in bed. We had a pretty great day today. A couple of months ago Andy bought a boat for an extremely reasonable price, with no guarantee that it would run. But, guess what -- it does!!! It's a little quirky, but once you learn the quirks, it's perfect. We got us an innertube (intertube?) and headed to Lake Lanier with Andy's dad and had a blast. The kids were a bit skiddish about the tube, but we coaxed them into getting on for a few minutes. I loved it. I haven't been tubing since I was about 12 years old, and I'll admit I was a bit nervous at first, but it was so much fun. We took lunch and ate on the boat, and Andy and his dad attempted skiing. After several hours on the lake we went down to my parents for dinner with our family and Steph's fiance, Jose's, parents and grandmother. The rest of the week will be filled with wedding preparations and festivities, so that'll be the next post to look forward to! And, by the way, I had a video to post as well, but for some reason my computer isn't uploading videos. I don't know if it's my problem or Blogger's problem with their new link. Anyone reading this who has experience or tips in this area, please feel free to share!

I'm a Blog Slacker

I have this friend, who may or may not be reading this, and he and his wife post on their blog, like, every other day. I also have a sister who posts even as much as twice a day on hers. Then there's me, who does good to post once a month. I don't know why, because I feel like I spend half my life on the internet. I have these visions of doing better and keeping people more updated. Then I start thinking, if only I didn't have to get all that sleep every night, and waste time with showering every day, and deal with school (only in a different form these days), and lessons and grading, and kids and wifery (is that a word?)...then maybe I'd find time for blogging. But, that's not it. I just get lazy. I mean, lazy only in the sense that something has to give, and unfortunately, it's the blog that goes first. After that it's laundry and cooking, and then sleep. So, all that said, I accept that I'm not as diligent as some of those bloggers out there, even though I periodically worry that people might give up on me. As long as Granny & Papa keep thanking me for blogging (which ultimately is my main motivation), I'll keep on blogging. Onto the pictures, Andy's mom brought his little nephew, Max, over the other day to see the kids. They're in love with him. They get so excited when their Nana comes over, but Max is even better. They smother him and get in his face and squeal and mess with him, so much that he appears to be in shock, not to mention the fact that Andy sings his own gibberish versions of hymns and 80's rock (yes, an odd combination, but Andy is odd) so loud that Max could barely eat for being so distracted. But, it's fun to have him around. He's so sweet. Andy and I have decided that if we can, we'll just keep him ourselves. In fact, Andy told his mom to just leave him with us, but she wouldn't. Then the other pictures are of me and Alli, and then a couple of the kids early in the morning watching their Saturday-morning cartoons.

I'm back!

I finally took some pictures and a little video really quickly before bed tonight. I have the kids at school working on an ongoing project, so I'm a bit more relaxed on my lesson plans for the moment. I also have a parent that comes in my classroom for an hour a day with her daughter who's had some pretty serious health issues, and she loves for us to give her jobs to work on so she's not bored. So, she's doing all my little tiny jobs that I just don't have the time to get to, like laminating, copying, labeling, etc. I'm feeling a little caught up. Drew, Evan, and Alli are loving school. Drew's teacher just moved into Lula right before school started, and we found out yesterday that she's going to be our next door neighbor. She has a son Drew's age and they've gotten to be friends playing after school, so that'll be nice for her. Evan came home today and got a pencil and paper and told me he needed to practice writing his name and his B's. And, Alli has been walking around saying, "I can spell 'can' -- C-A-N." They're just so smart. I'm so tired, and my feet hurt from standing all day, but I love teaching. The kids are so much fun and I really like the age (9-10). So, that's it for now. I'm feeling a bit brain dead, and it's taken me about 30 minutes just to type this much, so I think I'm going to try to get a shower and head to bed.

Quick Update

Again, this will be a post with no pictures...sorry. I just wanted to let everyone know that I survived the first two days of school, as did the kids. Evan and Alli seem to be thrilled with Pre-K, Drew says she's going to love 2nd grade, and I'm pretty excited about 4th. I love my class so far. All of the 4th grade teachers love their classes, in fact. Of course, last year was sort of a nightmare. I did my student teaching there with a class full of Rosemary's babies. We're switching classes this year, so I've met all the other 4th grade classes, and -- not to sound like one of those people who thinks everything they're involved with is the best -- I like my class the best. I have a couple of kids that the other teachers have recognized as "the only ones they had to get on to," but I happen to find them quite hilarious. Of course, there's a fine line between hilarious and obnoxious, and it's only been 2 days. I'll have to get back with you in a month to see if I still feel that way. I promise I'll charge the battery on my camera soon and load it with pictures. I just have to myself on some solid ground. Things have gone really well the past 2 days, but I'm constantly in fear that it could all go to heck any second. Thank goodness 4th graders aren't aware that it's 21 to 1 in their favor.

An apology

Unfortunately, I have no pictures for this post. I'm dealing with a combination of a computer that has been overwhelmed with spyware, so much so that I become a 2-year-old and am tempted to lay in the floor and scream and kick my legs when I try to check my e-mail. I also have started my job, so my time for blogging and such is very limited. Between decorating my classroom, planning lessons, orientation, house cleaning, and being a half-decent mom, the blog (and laundry) is the area that suffers...especially since the computer is causing me such stress. So, this post is meant to be an apology for anyone wondering where I've been. I'll be back very quickly. Eventually we will get the computer straightened out and I'll get in the swing of my new life as a person with a real job...not that being a mom isn't a real job. But, that's another discussion for another time. Just plan on my usual average of 2 weeks, for those of you who schedule "check Carrie's blog" into your daily planners.

Drew's Birthday

We went ahead and celebrated Drew's birthday Monday night, even though her birthday isn't until Thursday (the 19th). We have a wedding that Evan and Alli are in this coming weekend, and with it being summer and everything, it seemed like everyone around us had plans last weekend, so since it is summer and the kids don't have school, we just had a little spend-the-night party on Monday night. Drew had 3 girls over, 2 of which spent the night, and then her grandparents came for dinner and cake and present opening. The kids got to swim in our little above ground pool, and then did a little craft, and ate, and swam some more, and then got in bed for a movie. I turned in around 11:30, but I'm not sure what the girls did. They were in Drew's room all nice and quiet. Drew said after their movie they played a game of Go Fish and then whispered a little, and then went to sleep. The next morning everyone was up bright and early, and I made blueberry muffins and bacon, and then took everyone home. We made it through the entire experience with no fights or hurt feelings, which I was thrilled with.

Will Summer Ever Arrive?!

It seems like all summer I've been thinking, "I can't wait for this to pass so I can relax and enjoy my summer," and then something else comes up. And when I have a moment where there's not some major project going on, there's a Mt. Everest of laundry, or a pile of dirty dishes in a nasty kitchen, or just a messy house to deal with. I have decided that there is nothing I hate more than housework. The other day I was spinning my wheels determined that the kids would clean their own rooms, which they eventually did. But while I was trying to explain the concept that if they would quit whining and just do it, it would be over with and then they could go out and play or whatever. Drew's response was, "You're used to this because you do it all the time and we're just not." After all the steam in my body flew out my ears and my eyes quit spitting fire, I explained to her that I will never be used to having to clean all the messes, 90% of which I had nothing to do with, and that I detest cleaning, but there comes a point in life when we just have to suck it up and take responsibility. I went on to explain that my job is not only to see to it that she is loved and cared for, but also to make sure that she grows up to be a decent adult and learns to take care of her own things and does not suck society dry through her irresponsibility. After 7 years of mothering, I have taken on the trait of going on and on without taking a breath, just like my mom used to do. And I noticed Drew standing there with that look on her face that said, "Will it ever end?!" just like I used to do to my mom. Such is the circle of life. These are some pictures of me and Drew painting some old shelves that I will have in my classroom -- another project. Anyone who knows me is probably gasping at the thought that I would let my kids near paint, because I generally believe in preventing disasters all together, and kids + paint = disaster, but I thought, this is a big job, and Drew can handle a first coat. Drew did fine, but somehow behind my back, Evan and Alli managed to get their little fingers into the paint (notice the paint on the posts of the porch, and all over Alli's shirt), and for some reason, I thought, "these will make lovely blog pictures." So, for those of you wondering why I would take a picture and remember this forever instead of instilling the so deserved discipline (note a bit of sarcasm), sometimes I'm just too darn tired.

Camping!

Last weekend we went camping with my side of the family. It was a lot of fun. Andy goes camping pretty regularly it seems with hunting and mens' camping trips at church, but I haven't been camping since I was in high school. I forgot how much fun it was. The kids really enjoyed it too. We slept in tents, which was so much more fun than a camper, except for hearing every single sound really well. We took Daisy with us, and sleeping in a new place took us right back to her first night here when she whined. I'm a really light sleeper, so every little whimper (which was constant) was driving me crazy. I thought that maybe if I put her in the tent with us that she would go to sleep. She did around 1:00am, and then woke up bright and early around 5:00am. It took me back to those days of having new borns, which I discovered that I don't miss as much as I thought I did. Anyhow, the second night Daisy was much more comfortable with her surroundings and got quiet after minimal whining...I think. I was so tired I fell asleep pretty quick that night. One great thing about camping is that the men do all the cooking. Andy and my dad cooked us a big breakfast, and then grilled dinner for us both nights. And then Erin and her boyfriend, Lee, and I got really optimistic and decided to take the kids and Daisy on a hike, which we cut short as soon as we found a rode that Andy could drive on to come get us. I think me and Erin and Lee could've made it, but the kids became whiney and I was practically dragging Daisy. Boy, I really feel like I've focused on the negative, but we did have a great time!