Life Is Good!

Summer is Here!

2011-06-04T17:29:00.006-05:00

Well, I figure after taking a three month break from blogging, I better get back to it! So here goes...it's officially summer!!! Kristin's last day of school was yesterday. To end the year her class had an art show to display their favorite works of art from their Monart class. I was really impressed with all of their artwork, they did such a great job. And speaking of doing a great job, Kristin had a great second grade year. Her reading has improved tremendously...she's gone from barely reading to reading any chapter book she can get her hands on. She is flying through math and I pray she'll never have the problems with it that I had! She said her favorite things she learned at school this year was learning all about the works of van Gogh and Monet :)

And now that summer has begun, it doesn't mean K and I will be spending summer at home everyday...no way!!! We will be at Sunshine Montessori for our summer program!!

The school agers will be busy busy. They will swim twice a week, bowl once a week, visit the library for the summer program there once (or twice, I can't remember) a week, and go to the movies once a week. Ms. Laura (NOT this Ms. Laura, it's another one!) has other trips and activities planned as well for them. I think in June they are going to the Old Spanish Treasure Cave and the Gentry Safari, among other things. Kristin decided not to do any of the city camps this year. I thought that was a good idea, she's got plenty to keep her busy at the school!

I will be with my preschoolers having fun going to the park for a picnic, movie days, water play days, outdoor classroom, and other fun stuff like making snow cones, sundaes, pajama day, etc. Honestly I couldn't imagine being at home all summer!

Now I have to get back to my nap on the couch :) I'm getting over a stomach bug and it is hanging on!

Happy Summer everyone!!

Disneyland, Day 3!!!

2011-03-21T21:51:00.008-05:00

Ok, on to day 3...our last day :( We started out the morning with waffles for breakfast...Park Vue had the best waffles ever, or at least it seemed that way to us!

After breakfast I took a few pictures of our hotel. I really didn't get any of the inside of our room, but it was just a basic room..queen bed, bunk beds, tv. The beds were SO comfortable....or we were just worn out each night!

We met Jim at the park around 9 and then headed to Toontown (thanks again Jim!), but first we stopped by the cinema on Main Street for a quick cartoon. K was impressed with how cartoons used to look "back then!"

As soon as we got to Toontown we saw Pluto and got in line. But just as it was our turn to meet him, it was time for Pluto to take a break :( K still got a hug from him though. Next we visited Goofy's Playhouse and had our picture taken with Goofy. He's my favorite, so I was really glad to get to see him :)

Kristin thought she wanted to see Minnie, but changed her mind and decided to ride the Gadget Go Coaster and somehow managed to talk Mom into riding it with her! I'm fully convinced that one of these days that child will be riding the big coasters with me!!! Anyway, they had fun and as soon as they got off, we headed to Mickey's house...we had to see THE mouse!! Mickey's house was really cute. Seemed like we were in there forever, but Kristin enjoyed looking at and playing with everything. Finally it was our turn to see Mickey. My picture of Kristin with Mickey didn't turn out so well, but the photopass pic of all of us is great!

Once we got out of Mickey's house, it was well past lunchtime and Kristin was about to have a full blown low blood sugar meltdown! We quickly got in line at Daisey's Diner for some cheese pizza. Aahhhh....meltdown avoided!! We enjoyed a nice lunch, but it was beginning to get hot and REALLY crowded. We left and we back to the hotel for...ice cream!!! Park Vue guests got a discount at the on site Coldstone Creamery. I didn't get any pics, guess I was too busy eating! Afterwards Kristin went for a swim, working on her backstroke :)

Rested and ready for more, we took off for DCA to see Soarin' Over California. We'd gotten fastpasses for it after we left Toontown and I was super excited. Since I began planning this vacation, this was the one ride I HAD to ride. And all I can say...AWESOME! It was a perfect ride...the fastpass line was maybe 15 minutes (the standby line was well over an hour), we got to sit on the front row, in the center, for a perfect view. If you don't know about this ride, basically you are raised up in front of a huge movie screen, and it looks and feels like you are flying over California. SO COOL! Of course Kristin's favorite part was flying over the Golden Gate Bridge! Next time we are there, we are getting fastpasses everyday for this ride. Period.

After our flight, we took a short trip to Bugs Land and watched It's Tough To Be A Bug. This was a really cute show and we all enjoyed it. On the way out I discovered orange trees!! I took tons of pictures and I'm sure people thought I was nuts, but we don't have orange trees in Arkansas! I really wanted to reach over the fence and grab one...but I didn't!

Kristin wanted to ride a couple more rides on Paradise Pier, so that was our next stop. I have to say, next time we will spend more time in DCA. Kristin didn't care for it as much as Disneyland, but I really liked it. I couldn't believe she didn't have a care in the world for Monsters Inc...oh well. We rode The Golden Zephyr and then Kristin rode Jumpin' Jellyfish, making a new friend while waiting in line :)

We wandered around DCA a little more and made sure Kristin didn't want to do anything else there, because we weren't coming back...but she was done. So, back to Disneyland we went!

The monorail was a must do on Mom and K's list, so that's where we decided to go. I was starting to get a migraine, so I really don't remember much of the monorail ride. I know it took us outside of the park, to Downtown Disney, through DCA, close to the Hojo's across the street, then back to Tomorrowland. I'm sure I'd have more interesting things to say about it if I'd been with it just a little bit! All I remember was that it was HOT!!

I dosed myself up on some meds, got a coke, and started to feel better. We rode a few more rides, then found a spot in front of the castle for the fireworks. While Mom and K kept our spot, I got K and I some chili in a breadbowl. Don't have a pic of it, but there was the breadbowl with chili, then two hemisphere shaped pieces at the top to make it look like Mickey Mouse! Very cute. And the chili was SO good. Not sure if we were just starving, but K and I downed that chili and bread like it was the best meal ever! Not long after it was time for the fireworks. Now we'd watched them the night before at a different spot and it was so cool to see Tinkerbell fly right over our heads. However, some fireworks were in front of us, some were behind us and we couldn't hear the music. So. we wanted to sit in front of the castle to get the full effect. I should've known it wouldn't go well. K has some serious sensory issues and she does NOT do well with loud noises. And you guessed it...the fireworks were SO loud. So, instead of taking pictures, I helped K keep her ears covered and she kept her face buried into my chest, sobbing :( Next time we'll have earplugs...or skip the fireworks. I should've thought of it. But she was ok the night before, I really didn't think they'd be that much louder. Oh well. After the fireworks, which really were beautiful, Mom and K rode Autopia while I ran back to the hotel for a jacket and camera batteries. Let me just say once again how nice it was to be staying right across the street...fifteen minutes later I was back in the park, waiting in Tomorrowland for Mom and K.

Mom went back to the room while K and I enjoyed our last night at the park. We ventured over to Frontierland and Adventureland. K wanted to go up in Tarzan's treehouse, but it was closed due to Fantasmic. I wanted to see Fantasmic, but once again, there's the noise issue. Plus we discovered that while Fanstasmic is going on, there were virutally no lines for the rides!! We rode Pirates of the Caribbean again, and were put in the very back of the boat. We got soaked...well, actually just our rear ends and feet got soaked. It was pretty funny!

K wanted to spend her last night in her favorite part of Disneyland...Fantasyland. We went to Snow White's Wishing Well, just to the right of the castle. As you lean over the well to make your wish, Snow White sings "I Am Wishing." K threw two pennies into the well for two wishes. And it took her forever...must've been some serious wishes!

We wandered around Fantasyland, rode some more rides and did the Castle Walk Through. This is really cool. As you walk through Beauty's Castle, it tells the story of Sleeping Beauty with 3-D dioramas. Hard to explain and the pictures aren't great. You just have to see it :-)

After the walk-through, it was aound 11, so we decided to make our way out to Main Street. We enjoyed our second night of sharing a churro and coke while sitting outside the lit castle then did a little shopping.

We had to get something for Ms. Brenda, who took care of our dogs. So we picked her up a Mickey coffee mug and flavored creamers, while I got Mickey and Minnie salt and pepper shakers to add to my collection. K picked out a Disney lollipop :) She bought a cute stuffed Mickey at the hotel gift shop the first day. She didn't have one, and you can't leave Disneyland without Mickey Mouse, right???

Our last day at Disneyland was wonderful!! If you want to see all my Day 3 pics, which seems to be the day I took the most, click here!

Flying to LA

2011-03-20T13:16:00.000-05:00

Well, here's the beginning of our trip report! We flew to LA on Sunday evening, March 13th. This was Kristin's first time to fly, so she was PUMPED! We got to XNA, which in case you don't know, is in the middle of NOWHERE! Seriously, all that is around it is chickens and cows. But it's a nice airport and only 30 minutes from my house.

We flew Allegiant direct to LAX. Everything was going well, we boarded the plane, taxied to the runway...then stopped. The pilot told us that there were some passengers waiting at the gate who's apparently gotten there late. So, we turned around to go get them. No biggie. Well, we waited...and waited. Then the pilot tells us that the airport was having to call Arkansas TSA to get workers back there to get the passengers through security. By this point, you could tell he was getting ticked. So we waited and waited and waited....no passengers and we finally go the ok to leave. Apparently the passengers had not gotten to check in at least 45 minutes before the flight was to leave, our flight was the last the leave that night, and TSA workers were off the clock. No way were they coming back. SO we finally took off. Kristin LOVED taking off and flying.

She slept most of the way out. Then....we started our descent. Kristin woke up with horrible pain in her ears, sinuses and teeth. Once we landed she was fine, but was in a lot of pain until we did. It was sad. Landing in LA at night was beautiful!

LAX was doing some remodeling on the airport, but we had no problems finding our way around. We got our bags and called our shuttle van around 11:15 (1:15 Ark. time!) and went out to wait. The traffic coming in and out of the airport was unreal! I was so glad we got a shuttle. Best money we spent on the entire trip! The shuttle arrived around 11:30 and we were on our way. Arturo was our driver and he was awesome! He was funny and got us to our hotel safely in 30 minutes.

I've never been so happy to be at a hotel in my life. We were exhausted. Park Vue Inn was nice. Nothing fancy and directly across the street from the park entrance. The beds were comfy, carpets were ok, but I always wear flip flops in hotel rooms, so it didn't bother me. Breakfast was good and the people were nice. We did have an unwelcome visitor in the form of a large roach (the same huge ones they have in Florida!) on our second night. But they came and sprayed the room the next morning and we didn't see anything else. That roach has gotten me a nice refund for part of our stay :) Anyway, it wasn't the Hilton, but that's ok.

We dragged ourselves to bed..I slept in the queen, K on the top bunk, Mom on the bottom bunk. The beds were SO comfy!! We woke up Monday morning for breakfast and then headed to the park to meet Jim. Jim and I have a mutual friend. He's worked for Disneyland 10 years and was nice enough to sign us in every morning so we didn't have to get tickets. Thank you so much Jim!!! We had a great time and appreciate you so much!

Next post: Disneyland, California Adventure and World of Color!

Day One at Disneyland!

2011-03-19T20:47:00.007-05:00

Breakfast on the patio at Park Vue Inn...you can see part of the Matterhorn in the background.

Right across the street from us...Disneyland Resort!!!

Yay!!! We are finally here!!!!!!!!!!!!

We woke up Monday ready to go! We ventured up to the breakfast patio at the hotel for breakfast. The view was great...Space Mountain and The Matterhorn...right across the street! After grabbing a bite to eat, we headed to the park. We got through security and made our way to the stroller rental to meet Jim at 9:45. Jim arrived, got us in, and we were on our way! Of course the first place Kristin wanted to go was to Fantasyland, so we hopped on a double decker bus and were on our way. The first thing we rode was Pinnochio's Daring Journey, followed by pretty much everything in Fantasyland! Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was a definite favorite. Kristin was just so thrilled to finally be there and took time to soak it all in! We made our way to the teacups, then over to It's A Small World. Kristin loved the "show" outside the ride. Click here to see my Small World video.

Amazingly, one of my least favorite rides is the one I got the most pics of! Kristin enjoyed it but hated the song, over and over and over again!

Around 1:30 I headed over to California Adventure to pick up our World of Color picnics. We took them back to our hotel, ate lunch and rested. I didn't get a pic of the lunches, but they were pretty good. Mom had the Asian meal. I had a bite of her noodles and the salmon, both were really good. Kristin had the Kids All American and LOVED it. I got the Italian meal that consisted of crackers, cheese, meats, and an awesome piece of tiramisu...so good!

Park Vue Inn has a "social hour" which is basically a light supper. We went Monday night. They had nuggets, chips, salad, and different soups. It was ok....free, so I shouldn't complain. K loved the soup and was as happy as she could be :) After our quick supper we went to California Adventure. I really liked this park. Almost more than Disneyland and I wish we'd had more time to spend there.

We made our way to Paradise Pier and rode Mickey's Fun Wheel. I hate ferris wheels. Put me on a roller coaster and I'm happy. Ferris wheel...not so much. And on this one, you can get sliding/swinging gondalas....ugh, no thanks!

Hmmmm....would you buy this toy???????

We rode a few more rides then got in line for World of Color. We really enjoyed World of Color. The only thing I didn't like was the seating/standing area...it's hard for kids to see. K was able to stand on a rail, which I'm sure she wasn't supposed to do, but no one said anything, so she was able to see most of it. It also seemed to be complete chaos with the whole lineup. Half the people in line didn't have a fastpass and were completely unaware that you needed one to see the show. It's a new show, so I'm sure Disney will work out all the kinks. Next time we will have a better idea of where to stand, etc. The show is beautiful and Kristin liked that there are no fireworks involved (more on that later!). She even cried a little during the Lion King stampede. I liked it, but I would rather ride rides :) Here is my World of Color video.

Waiting for World of Color to start...this is one of my favorite pics.

After World of Color was over, Kristin was exhausted. This was the only night Kristin and I went to the room early. She was beat and had had enough!!

If you want to see all of my pictures from Day 1, click here

As I write this, Kristin and I are right back to battling allergies and asthma. Coming back to reality has hit us hard!!

Day 2 at Disneyland and Ariel's Grotto

2011-03-18T17:58:00.000-05:00

Day 2 was a big day for us. We started the day with another yummy breakfast, then got to the park at 10 to meet Jim. We stopped by City Hall to get our "first time visitor" buttons since we hadn't done that the day before and as soon as we did, we spotted Pinocchio and then Geppetto!

Kristin went right up to them and they seemed to be having a conversation about her pins. Kristin thought they might be looking to see if they were on any of the pins she had. And on a side note, I have to say that Kristin became a pin trading monster on this day. She really got into looking for cast members with pins. Jim informed us that her "hidden Mickey" pins are special since they can only be traded from CM's and not bought (unless you get them on ebay like we did!)...we didn't have a clue. She ended up with around 15 new pins and is so proud of them all! Anyway, back to Pinocchio and Geppetto...Kristin said they freaked her out a little, but she had fun with her first character interaction

We quickly hopped on the train for a ride around the park and then back to New Orleans Square. We rode Pirates of the Caribbean first and then Haunted Mansion. I LOVED PoC and so did Kristin...it's another on her favorites list. I was taken off guard by the first drop....I wasn't expecting it to be that big! The ride was great...really long, which some have said it's longer than the one at WDW, but I can't remember riding that one, so I really can't compare them. It was a great ride and Kristin flipped out when she first saw Jack Sparrow! I think it's really cool how The Blue Bayou is right there in the ride, but there really wasn't anything on the menu that we liked and for that price, I better be getting some food I like!! Plus, it's so dark in there.....anyway, I'm getting off track a little. Where was I? Oh yeah, the ride...it was great. Kristin eagerly searched NO Square in hopes of finding Captain Jack, but he was nowhere to be found :(

Nene and Kristin enjoying the train ride

Ready to find Jack Sparrow!!!

Haunted Mansion was good too. Knowing that the "stretching room" is lowering you into the basement while stretching upwards, just added to the creepiness for me! The three of us were at the back on the line and while walking up the corrider to the ride, I found myself looking behind me! ha! I love the look of the Haunted Mansion...an old Southern mansion...it fits so well into New Orleans Square!

We quickly ran back to Fantasyland to visit Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique. We'd planned on getting the whole makeup and hairdo before lunch at Ariel's Grotto, but instead I just let her pick a crown and hairpiece and I did Kristin's hair. Much cheaper and quicker. She'd brought a dress to wear to lunch, but decided to stay at the park and ride more rides instead of going to the hotel and changing :) That's my girl...part princess, part tomboy!

Ready to eat at the Grotto!

Lunch at Ariel's Grotto was great. Mom went back to our room while we ate. We made our way downstairs and K got her picture made with Ariel. Then we were seated and the food came out, and kept on coming! We were brought starfish shaped sourdough bread with butter and dipping sauce and a tower consisting of fruit and jello, veggies, and salad. Kristin LOVED the apple jello. Shortly after we were seated the "royal introductions" of the princesses began. First was Cinderella, then Sleeping Beauty, then Snow White, who told Kristin to "watch out for those red apples!" Finally, the final princess was announced and Kristin held her breath, hoping it would be.....BELLE!!! Yay! Kristin's favorite princess!!! She cheered when Belle was announced and beamed when Belle told her than she liked her hair :)

After mingling with the princesses, our dessert tray was brought out. It was SO GOOD. Most of it ended up going back to the hotel room because we were stuffed.

Our lunch was well worth the money. Oh wait, I forgot our entrees!!!! Kristin ate mac and cheese with fruit while I ate herb crusted chicken, mashed potatoes and veggies. Yum!

We finished our lunch and dragged ourselves back up the pier and to our hotel room. K did some swimming and then we took a quick nap. Tomorrowland was our next stop. We rode Astro Orbiter, Buzz Lightyear and then we saw....Captain Eo!!!! Now, the last time I saw Captain Eo was when I was at Tokyo Disneyland back in high school. I was so excited that they brought it back and we would be able to see it. Kristin loved it and it was as good as I remembered it!

Kristin wanted to go back to Fantasyland (imagine that!) and ride Alice in Wonderland, which really is a cute ride. While getting off the ride, Kristin started walking the wrong way and the CM told her "it's that way, Princess." Kristin just giggled and said "She thinks I'm a princess!!" We also rode the Storybook Land Canal Boats which is a great ride. We stayed in Fantasyland for the fireworks and had a perfect view of Tinkerbell "flying" from the Matterhorn to the castle. Whoever that was is brave, because it looked to me like she was really close to those fireworks! We decided the next night to watch from the front of the castle to get the full effect, which turned out to be not such a great idea.....more on that in the next post.

After the fireworks, we were first in line for Mr. Toad...and then we rode it again, followed by Snow White's Scary Adventure. I'd read that something would happen if you try to move the apple as you go into the ride, but I didn't tell Kristin...she grabbed that apple and BOOM! A huge clap of thunder! It was hilarious! Apparently no one else knew it would do anything...people started coming back to see if they could get it to go off. Too much fun!

Mom ditched us after Snow White, while Kristin and I kept going till midnight. We rode the carousel again, along with a few others and visited Mad Hatter for some much needed Mickey ears :) For supper we ate hot dogs on Main Street then shared a churro for dessert while sitting in front of the castle. It was a great night!!!!

Here's the link to the rest of my Day 2 photos...enjoy!

Let It Snow.....

2011-02-04T18:40:00.006-06:00

Last night I got word that Sunshine Montessori would be open today, but only from 9-5. Since we'd only have a handful of kids it wouldn't be a normal school day and we'd just be working split shifts. I worked 9-1 (I still woke up at 5:30). Around 9:30 it started snowing. Then it started snowing harder. And harder. The dusting we were supposed to get today quickly turned into 5-6 inches and it's still snowing (it's almost 7pm). This is in addition to the 8-9 inches already on the ground.

I left work, stopped by Max's (a gas station) to get milk, then made it home. The roads were completely snow covered and when I got into my neighborhood I couldn't tell where the road was. But we made it home just fine, even though I couldn't make it up the driveway! I do have to say that the big black Coupe is awesome in the snow!!

After K played in the snow, it was game time! First Operation, then Qwirkle. We are serious Qwirkle players and both get pretty competitive. We'll take forever to make a move as we decide which tiles will get us the most points. This game is unfinished, still in the floor, ready to finish (maybe) tomorrow.

K also got out her Shrinky Dinks. Or as she says it, "Shrink A Dink!" I have not done shrinky dinks since I was a kid and these are better than the ones I remember.

Finally, as if we don't have enough snow, Kristin has been making snowflakes....

I have to admit, I love the snow. Every single fluffy flake! I've always loved winter. My favorite thing is riding horses in the snow. Can't help it, but I am a winter weather girl!

SNOW DAYS!

2011-02-03T13:31:00.003-06:00

Well, we had some big snow come through Monday night-Tuesday. It started Monday night with cold rain, then switched to freezing rain and was sleeting hard when I woke up around 5:30. I called Shawn and she decided to close the school. So I called the tv stations, watched the news for awhile, then went back to bed. K and I both woke up around 10:30 and it was snowing pretty hard. As soon as K saw it, she got dressed and dove in...literally!

We ended up with 7-10 inches, depending on who you talk to. I measure between 8-10 inches in my yard and driveway. The Joplin area got around 20 inches, which is just crazy. Anyway, we ended up with a good amount of snow and I LOVE it. It has been very very cold. Last night it was -5, a new record. The school has been closed, which is a record for Sunshine Montessori! Normally we stay open when it snows, but that's when we get a few inches...not several inches plus ice. Plus, it's been so so cold, it would be hard to keep the school warm. Besides that, we wouldn't have but a few kids there. So, K and I have been keeping busy on our days off.

Day 1, Tuesday

We just hung around the house, watched movies and played in the snow.

Day 2, Wednesday

I made Kristin do schoolwork. She tried to tell me I couldn't teach her because she's not a preschooler and I'm not Ms. Shawn, but she quickly gave in :) We also dove into some of her crafty gifts from Christmas that we were saving for a rainy (snowy) day. Kristin built her birdfeeder, wrote notes to several friends on her "design your own postcards," and we made a crystal tree. Of course we had to watch a movie. Today's choice: Finding Nemo.

After we got word that Sunshine would be closed another day, we baked our cake (at 10:00!). The mix I got was a gluten-free cake by Betty Crocker. Good stuff. But Kristin discovered that it was a "devils food cake" and immediately said, "I am NOT eating the devil's food!" Of course, that didn't stop her

Day 3, Today

As soon as we woke up this morning we conducted a science experiment...throwing boiling water in the air to watch it turn into a fine mist of snow. It was still only 10 degrees, but the weatherman said it needed to be zero or below to get the best results. But we went for it anyway, and poof....a mist of snow. Very cool!

K has written two more postcards, painted more of her birdfeeder, and we watched Enchanted. We are going to make snowcream later, I think this time we'll make chocolate :)

Hope everyone is staying safe and warm. We are supposed to get a little snow tomorrow and then possibly a few more inches Sunday-Monday. I love winter, though :)

Funnies from Kristin:

On Saturday, which was very wam, on the way to Fayetteville, Kristin suddenly said, "Look, it's so hot they turned on the fans!" It was windmills.

Later on the same trip, when we passed James at the Mill, K said, "That place is so beautiful! I love how they make it look old timey, you know like the 70's! I'm glad this isn't the 70's because then we'd have afros!"

Winter Blues....NOT!

2011-01-25T22:17:00.003-06:00

Kristin headed up the sledding hill near our house

Ah, yes, we are enjoying my most favorite time of the year...WINTER! I love it. I hate heat. I hate being hot. Unless I'm in a pool. Otherwise, give me some cold weather and snow. Why God chose to put me in the South, I'm still trying to figure out. We will have a discussion about it one day. Anyway, we had a pretty good snow last week. Enough to cancel schools, but not enough to cancel Sunshine Montessori! As one parent put it...we rock!!! We were very low on kids those two snow days and had a lot of fun with sledding, pizza party, hot chocolate and movies. I like it because when there are fewer kids, that means I can get cleaning, lesson planning, etc done! Of course I had to take Kristin sledding as well. She had a great time. She is a snow child too!

Only 6 more weeks until we hit Disneyland!!! AND...my Mama is going with us!!!! Kristin is so excited and really looking forward to a vacation with her Mom and Nene. I may need a vacation to recover from the vacation, but it will be fun.

I finally did it. I joined a gym. It had nothing to do with a New Year's Resolution, I just decided it would be in my best interest to get moving! And for me, a gym would be the best bet. If I'm paying for it, I'm a lot more likely to use it! I had first thought about joining Curves but when I went in to check it out, I was informed that because of my height, I probably wouldn't be able to use a lot of the equipment since they are made for women and aren't adjustable for height. Apparently women are only supposed to be short. SO, I went by Anytime Fitness and LOVED it. The club owner was so nice and was really sweet to Kristin, which of course won me over. The club is extremely clean and is open 24/7. So far I've gone everyday. Right now I'm just riding the bike and doing some walking on the treadmill. The best part is that I can plug my headphones into the tv on the bike (or treadmill) and watch tv. The first night I was so wrapped up in Shemar...I mean Criminal Minds..that I had no clue I'd been pedaling away for 45 minutes! Kristin has been going with me. She just hangs out on the couch and reads or plays her DSi. She's such an awesome kid.

First Snow!

2011-01-14T20:50:00.006-06:00

I love winter!! Why do I love winter?? One reason...snow!

We got our first snow of the year, along with pretty much the rest of the South! We really didn't get much at all, but it was enough to sled and have fun in. As soon as we heard the forecast of snow, we headed to Fagan's to get a sled. They were completely sold out of the traditional sleds and saucer sleds, but they did have one inner tube sled left. So we bought it. Last year we got a TON of snow and never got a sled. Not this year. We are prepared!!!

Most of Arkansas got snow on Sunday. We got some very light snow Sunday night. Kristin was thrilled and went out to catch flakes. This same picture I emailed to our news channel to see if they would show on the news with the weather pics. But they didn't. However, the next morning on KNWA Today (the really early news show), K's pic was the My Media Pic of the Day! And she missed it! Poor thing was still asleep in bed. But she was happy to know they showed it and believes that she is now "famous."

Monday afternoon/evening it began snowing enough for school to be cancelled the next day. Kristin and her two friends across the street were out playing till around 9. I had to drag her in and she was soaking wet, from head to toe!

After the snow the REALLY cold air moved it.

Today it was in the 40's...a heat wave!!!

Another reason I love winter....Jan Brett. She is my favorite children's author. When we teach our winter unit at school, I fill it up with Jan Brett books...The Mitten, The Hat, Annie and the Wild Animals, The Three Snow Bears. So many of her wonderful books are "winter" books. And I love them. She is awesome!!! Next week we are reading Annie and the Wild Animals as part of our "animal tracks/winter" study and will be making Annie's Corn Cakes. I can't wait!

And while I'm on the subject of school, I just have to say how well Kristin is doing. The one on one, Montessori learning has been the best thing for her. She is thriving and LOVES school. And I love having her there. It's not like the preschool days where she was "competing" for my attention with the other kids. She goes to her class, comes out to see me on occasion, and just does her own thing. Today she was going to the kitchen for something and stopped off in my room to give me a hug and tell me she loves me. LOVE IT! Anyway, her reading has improved tremendously, letter reversals aren't happening as often and one thing I really love...when she's finished with all her work for the morning, she's then allowed to help the younger kids with their work. The other day she was helping a little boy with his math work. It was precious and has been a real confidence booster for her. Ok, I will stop rambling now. I'm just blessed to have a job I love and to have my daughter with me, learning and having fun. And we're both happy I'm not her teacher ;-)

Kristin and I are happily planning our trip to Disneyland. I finally decided to stay at a cheaper hotel across from the park entrance, rather than a resort hotel. I'd rather spend the money doing things in the park than on a room that we'll just be sleeping in! Plus the hotel we are staying at is literally across the street for the park and is closer than the resort hotels! We are going March 13-17. We've figured which rides we want to ride, where we want to eat, and who we want to see. Kristin is on a mission to find Johnny Depp, aka Jack Sparrow. I've told her that Johnny Depp won't really be there, just someone dressed up as Jack, who looks a lot like Johnny Depp. Now that I've told her this and she has accepted it, I fully expect to see Johnny Depp walking around Disneyland! Or at least at LAX!! I was going to surprise Kristin was a visit to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique to get her hair and makeup done, then lunch at Ariel's Grotto with the princesses, but really, how could I keep a secret like that???? Yeah, I told her. She's thrilled!! Money saved by staying at a cheaper hotel will go towards this little outing....and countless memories :)

Life is good.

Christmas, Round 3: Cabot

2011-01-04T16:29:00.005-06:00

Ok, this is my third and FINAL Christmas post for 2010! New Year's weekend Kristin and I headed to Cabot. The day started out with a bang, literally. Early Friday morning a tornado hit the area and really did some damage. It was an EF3 tornado. Kristin and I never heard a thing..no rain, no wind, no sirens!! Around 9 we got a call from my inlaws checking on us...but we had no clue what had happened! A friend and coworker of mine's home was completely destroyed. She has a fractured vertabrae and chipped bone in her leg. Her husband has a broken back, broken ribs and both lungs were collapsed. But thankfully, they are going to be ok. Please keep them in your prayers.

We did make it to Cabot without any problems and had a good weekend. Kristin immediately opened her presents from Mom and was thrilled with her guitar!! She has been wanting one for a long time and I found an awesome deal on Amazon for this one, so I told Mom about it and she got it for her. I guess guitar lessons are in her future!

Lynn and Lindsay got to Cabot Friday night. Then there was more present opening! I'm not sure how it happened but I don't have any pictures of me with my presents! Mom got me my new crock pot (which I actually bought before Thanksgiving), and a WONDERFUL new foam matress for the bed. I LOVE It :) Lynn got me a new purse :) a yearly tradition almost!!!

We rang in the new year and pretty much just hung out visiting all weekend. Johnny and Brandon came back Sunday and we gave Brandon his presents...an itunes card and one of Chris' jackets :)

Here's a pic of Brandon wearing the jacket and looking like a nut :) But we love him!

Lindsay, Brandon and Kristin

Now it's back to reality, and I'm glad. Kristin and I enjoyed our week off, but we both need routine. Kristin missed seeing her friends and I just am not meant to stay at home. And I have to say, I have the best job in the world....getting greeted every morning with hugs and "I love you" is the BEST!

Christmas, Round 2: Christmas Day

2010-12-25T22:40:00.007-06:00

Merry Christmas! We had a great day! K woke around 8 and we unwrapped presents. She got me an awesome fleece blanket and a necklace and earrings. Before you watch the movie below, you need a little backstory. K is obsessed with the Titanic. A few years ago when we went to the Titanic museum in Branson, Chris got K a Heart of the Ocean necklace. Well, not long after he died the necklace broke and she was devestated. One thing she asked Santa for was a new necklace. After she opened all the gifts from me and from Santa, there was no necklace...so she thought....Santa hid a small present behind the tree :)

Christmas2010

We had our usual Christmas breakfast of biscuits and chocolate gravy. Our lunch was a repeat of Thanksgiving with ham and hashbrown casserole! Yum! We spent the day playing the new games K got and we saw the new Narnia movie. What a great day! Our first Christmas without Chris was sad, but we know he got to experience the most awesome Christmas celebration ever! And if it's possible to get into trouble in Heaven, I'm sure he and my Dad are deep in it!

I have a new toy, thanks to a good friend. I've wanted a Macbook for awhile now, and was given one for pretty much next to nothing! She was upgrading to the Macbook Pro so I'm now the proud owner of a "new to me" Macbook :) I'm already used to it and am thinking that poor old Dell is going to end up for Kristin!

Merry (late) Christmas to me! What did you get for Christmas?

Laura Elf

2010-12-22T21:14:00.001-06:00

Kristin and I saw this and started having fun with it. Although she won't let me share her elf, which is much cuter!!

Christmas, Round 1: Joplin

2010-12-19T17:46:00.006-06:00

Yesterday Kristin and I celebrated our first round of Christmas. We spent the day in Joplin with Chris' family. We had a fun day of organized chaos! Ok, there was no organization, but it was chaos and it was fun!!! We had a wonderful homemade lasagna thanks to Grandpa, delicious desserts, then the chaotic, but fun, opening of the presents!

I can't believe Christmas is almost here!!! I was planning on going to Mom's for Christmas, but Kristin was adamant that she wanted to be at home Christmas day. She does not like change and I guess the combination of Chris not being here and us not being at home would've been too much for her. So, we will be at home Christmas day, then New Year's weekend we'll go to Cabot for Christmas, Round 3!! I can't wait to be on Christmas break! Usually we just have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off, but the way the holidays all fell on the weekend, we would've only been open two days the week after Christmas, so we just decided to close for the week. We barely have any kids that week anyway. Plus, we are open year-round and I think for the sanity of the teachers, we NEED to close that week! But Chris always said that anyone who teaches preschool can't be normal! Anyway, Christmas is quickly approaching and we are ready! Are you?

Happy Holidays????

2010-12-16T18:12:00.005-06:00

Copyright © 2000 Dean Galloway

Ok, it seems that there is a big controversy over whether or not one should say "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas." I didn't realize it was that big of a deal until a couple of co-workers were addressing the issue and were adamant that you should say "Merry Christmas." I guess I've never really thought about it. I can see both sides of the issue. While I usually say Merry Christmas, I'm not going to be offended if someone tells me "Happy Holidays" or if I get a card that reads "Seasons Greetings." After all, it is the hoildays and people are sending greetings of the season, so to speak. And I see why businesses put up "Happy Holidays" decorations...they can put it out in November and leave it out till January and have all the holidays covered.

But I would be very upset if I was told I could NOT tell someone to have a Merry Christmas. And I do get ticked when someone says "holiday tree" instead of "Christmas Tree." I mean, really. It's a CHRISTMAS tree...it's not like it's for all the holidays in December....it's for Christmas. Is there such a thing as a "Holiday Menorah?" That does bother me a bit. But, just so you know, if you tell me "Happy Holidays" I won't be offended. Ok, I'm done now, but what do y'all think? What's your opinion??

Season's Greetings and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS! :)

Odds and Ends

2010-12-14T17:59:00.007-06:00

Well, it's almost Christmas! Where has the time gone? So much has happened lately. My sweet Kristin Bug turned EIGHT in November! Cannot believe it! We had a small party for her in Joplin and she decided instead of a party with her friends, to instead go to Eureka Springs with her awesome Mom (that'd be me!) for a girls weekend. We had a fantastic time!

Kristin with her cousins Beau and Hunter

We took cake and decorations to our hotel in Eureka. A friend made this yummy gluten free cake for Kristin :)

I took K to the New Moon Spa for a mani and pedi...she loved it!

What else? Ooo...I have a new oven! That's big news in my world! The old one literally caught fire a few nights ago while I was in the middle of making latkes. Luckily we got a few made before the fire. There was no damage from the fire, but the oven was dead. So, I called the maintenance man, came home from work, and found a new oven!

We're busy getting ready for Christmas, which starts this Saturday with Christmas in Joplin!

This Is Halloween....

2010-10-30T21:49:00.007-05:00

Well, Halloween has started off with a bang. What a week it's been!!! Monday I had a stomach bug that luckily was gone almost as quickly as it started. Then on Wednesday K went to the doctor for a check on her meds and we decided to go ahead and do her blood tests. Since Chris died of a sudden blood clot, the doctor highly suggested K be tested for genetic clotting disorders. The chances of her having one are rare, but so are the chances of a 34 year old dying of a blood clot without any prior surgery, long plane or car rides, etc. SO, I feel that it's worth doing. Plus the doctor is also concerned about her thyroid and possible diabetes. Anyway, after four needle sticks they were unable to find a vein. The next day we went to the medical center where they have a lab and people who do nothing but draw blood. One stick, but still not nearly enough blood. So Friday we went to the hospital, where we should've gone in the first place! It's almost a mixed blessing that they didn't get any blood before since she was supposed to be fasting for all those tests, which apparently, the doctor didn't know! This morning we went back to the hospital and got the blood without any problems. 14 tubes of blood!!!! Kristin thought it was way cool and I would've taken a picture, but I was put to work. As soon as I told the tech that my mom is a nurse and I'm not squemish about blood, she said "Good, I'll put you to work!" She had me take the full syringes and pop them on the tubes so they'd fill. It was pretty cool. Kristin has now added phlebotomist to her career list!

Yesterday was the fall festival at Sunshine Montessori. The kids were bunnies this year. We had a lot of fun, as usual!

My class

After school K and I headed downtown to trick or treat. This is the first time we've been back since the nightmare of Downtown Trick or Treat when K was 2. It is neat, but involves a lot of standing and waiting, which is not good for a hyper two year old. It was so bad, it's taken 5 years for us to go back. I hated every minute of it, but never let K know! It's just too many people getting too close to my personal space bubble!!!!

Tonight was the Fall Festival at church. We had so much fun. K won a 2 liter Pepsi and a couple of smaller drinks on the ring toss. Then she won brownies doing the cake walk (she refused to leave until she won!) and I won the Ladies Gift Basket, which is full of just my kind of thing...magnets, cool paper clips (no Shawn, you can't have them!), a brag book, candle, etc. I was super excited!

Kristin and her friends Ruth and Chloe

The cakewalk...she was determined to win!

Tomorrow morning we're going to church, grabbing lunch, then getting back into costume for the festival at the Assembly of God church. Then we'll trunk or treat at Trinity and THEN do somedoor to door. Lots of drama. Lots of fun. Totally blessed. Wouldn't have it any other way!

It's Pumpkin Time!

2010-10-06T17:56:00.003-05:00

After school on Monday, Kristin and I made our annual visit to Ranalli Farm in Tonitown in search of perfect pumpkins! It didn't take us long to pick the ones we wanted...I always get a "fairytale" pumpkin, while K gets a big, traditional pumpkin. Usually we pick up a few gourds and such. Later this month K's class is going to the big pumpkin patch and corn maze in Cave Springs. I'm going to go with the class, so we are both really excited :)

Blog Update....FINALLY!

2010-09-26T13:05:00.006-05:00

It has been forever since I've updated my poor, neglected blog. But we have been so so busy lately. Things are starting to settle down a bit, but I'm sure they won't stay that way for long!

Yesterday was a great day for Kristin. Her Awana teacher had the girls in the class out to her house for hiking and horseback riding. This was K's first time on a horse. Now, most of you know that I rode horses for year and miss riding so much! Well, I've secretly prayed that Kristin would inherit this love of horses and riding, even though I said I'd never pressure her into it. And yes, I secretly laughed when Krisitn informed her baseball loving father that she hated softball (hehehe), but he handled it very well :) Anyway, I was very anxious to see how the day would turn out. I dropped K off and went back home to clean and watch the Arkansas game. When I went to pick her up, she was still riding, having a blast. She LOVED it! She was riding with no hands, she was riding without having to be led around...she ate it up :) And to top things off, I discovered that Ms. Sharrie also gives riding lessons...woo-hoo! As we were driving back home, Kristin uttered some of the most wonderful words to my ears..."Mom, I LOVE horses! I want to be just like you and ride horses!" I managed not to squeal with joy! Here are some pics of my little Mini-Me:

K is doing great at school. I'm so thankful she is at Sunshine Montessori. She is thriving and doing so well. Shawn (her teacher) and I are still concerned that there may be a dyslexia issue with her, so Shawn is going to get an evaluation set up for her. But Kristin loves school and I love having her with me, but not in my class :)

Bento!

2010-08-30T18:48:00.005-05:00

Kristin's bento. She also has a thermos style insulated one. And she wants MY bento as well!

We have gone a little bento crazy around here! Back in high school while I was in Japan, one of the many things I feel in love with was the "bento" style lunch. Bentos are boxed lunches in pretty much every shape and style you can imagine. You can amazingly fit a lot in those small boxes and they are designed for portion control. You are supposed to pack them with the 4-3-2-1 rule: 4 parts rice, 3 parts protein, 2 parts vegetable, and 1 part "treat" (Usually either pickled vegetables or something sweet.) I tend to pack K's with more fresh fruit than veggies and I'm learning some of the traditional ways to pack rice. Luckily she loves rice, which works well since we are gluten free. Of course you can "Americanize" them and pack whatever you want!

Now, as with all Japanese food, the presentation is amazing. And I'll admit, kids are more inclined to eat something that looks "cool, neat or pretty." You can find tons of websites with photos of pretty amazing bento lunches. I have recently mastered the "octodog" which I vividly remember finding in my own bento lunch back in Japan :) I use turkey dogs and have found they work just as well, curling into perfect octo-legs when boiled in water. However, the best legs are produced in the traditional Japanese way of deep frying the dog for about a minute!

Octodogs (turkey dog sliced in half, then quartered....tricky part is getting the legs even)

I have yet to get to that point of making the food beautiful, but I plan to...someday! Here are a couple of the bentos I've made for Kristin.

This bento consisted of turkey dog "flowers" (which didn't turn out so well) with cheese centers, granola, and a couple of baked doritos, strawberry and banana "kabobs" and blueberries.

Here are the octodogs along with a few potato flyer chips (baked gluten free chips), mandarin oranges, bananas, and a few chocolate covered raisins.

Happy eating!!!!

PS....have you heard the news??? We're going to Disneyland in March!!!

Kristin is so excited and has told everyone she sees...even people she doesn't know! As soon as I type this I'm going to book our flight from Tulsa to Santa Ana (I found a good deal and am getting it now!), then I'm booking our room at Paradise Pier! Dare I even say it, but I'm a little excited myself :)

Second Grade at Sunshine!

2010-08-19T17:26:00.006-05:00

Bring it on!!!!

Wow! Summer has come to an end! Today Kristin started second grade! This year Sunshine Montessori is starting an elementary program. Shawn in teaching Pre-K-third grade. This year she did not market the program since we won't have the new building until winter. So, she has 7 pre-k kids, two Kindergarteners and Kristin. The two kindergarten kids were going to do Kindergarten at Sunshine regardless of us opening the elementary room, but this is something Shawn has been considering quite awhile and parents are so happy to hear that we are starting an elementary program, me being one of them! I don't even want to think about what we'll do for fourth grade! Anyway, I digress, so I will get back to Kristin and second grade! Needless to say, the one on one individualization and small class size will be wonderful for Kristin plus, Shawn has known K since she was one and knows everything about her...what makes her tick, how she thinks...everything. And Kristin really loves Shawn. I think Kristin is as excited as I am, though she'd never admit it!

Here she is ready to go!

Kristin and Ms. Shawn

Today and Friday Shawn is letting the kids help get the room ready, so technically they really won't start school in the academic sense until Monday. The new building will be completed by Christmas at the latest. But they said it most likely won't take that long, considering it's basically one room, with a bathroom. I, of course, will have pictures of the building when it's finished! Here is their schedule....makes me want to go back to elementary!!!

7:00-8:00 is for Full Day students only

7:00-7:45 School opens
7:45 Breakfast
8:00 Go to Elementary Building; Sign in, Get settled
8:15 Large group time
8:35 Work time (focus on language and math)
10:00 PE
10:15 Yoga
10:30 Work time (focus on language and math)
11:45 Lunch and outside
12:30 Story time (focus on character building)
1:00 Pre K nap
SA work time(focus on science, health, geography, social studies); Once a week visit library
2:30 Pre K children wake up

Special classes
Monday--science lab
Tuesday--music appreciation
Wednesday art appreciation
Thursday music activities
Friday art activities

3:00 Large group time
3:15 School dismissed

3:30 All school day children picked up; Pre K join preschool

3:30-6:00 is for Full Day children only
3:45 Snack
4:00 Outside
4:45 Inside for free choice, homework, etc

Kristin and I open the school at 7 and we leave at 4....love it!

While Shawn has the elementary kids, Cindy and I have the 2 1/2-4 year old kids. I'll have 8 of the older ones that I will be responsible for doing group time with and indvidual lessons. Cindy has 6 of the younger ones. I think we are going to have a really good group. And there are only two boys...that will be interesting! I'm almost finished with my room...still have some decluttering to take care of, but that seems to be constant throughout the year! I'll put up pics when I get my room done, which hopefully will be this weekend.

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week!

Walk Like An Egyptian....

2010-07-02T18:56:00.005-05:00

Krisin had a great time at VBS this year...in fact she said this year was the best ever! The theme was Egypt and the kids learned about Joseph, which I used as an opportunity to introduce K to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat...she LOVED it! Thursday night was Family Night, which was a blast. The kids dressed Egyptian style and Kristin thought she was the queen of Egypt! Here are a few pics that I took. I only took four...don't know what got into me! I tried uploading a short video I took, but Blogger was having issues with it..I'll try it later.

We wrote her name in heiroglyphics...

We have a busy, but fun, weekend planned. Tomorrow K and I are going to lunch and a movie. Not sure which movie, but probably Toy Story 3. I'd planned on spending the day working on the yard, but this morning a church member called asking if he could come mow the yard tomorrow! I can't begin to say how wonderful everyone at HABC has been. So, K and I are going to have a girls day. Who knows what all we will end up doing! On Sunday morning K and I are being introduced to the church as new members. Chris would be so proud. He was very excited about becoming a member of HABC. Then Sunday night the church is renting the pool at the aquatic center and having a cookout. So, we will go by there before heading off to see the firework display. Oh, Kristin won a 50 dollar gift certificate at the library for fireworks! We went tonight and loaded up. Everything was buy one get one free, or if you bought just one, then you got it at half price! And, it is legal now in Siloam to shoot fireworks! (But don't worry, Lynn...we'll save some to take to Mom's :) ) We don't have anything planned for Monday. I have the day off and I think we will just stay home and relax!

Hope everyone has a fun, safe and relaxing holiday weekend!

The 4th will mark four months since Chris passed away. Where have those months gone? Most of it has been a blur. K and I are doing ok. Some days are better than others. They would all be bad days without our awesome family, church family, and friends!

Memorial Weekend Fun

2010-06-05T14:40:00.007-05:00

Kristin and I had a great Memorial Weekend in Eureka Springs. Kristin said it was the best way to remember Chris, since we liked going there as a family :) I have to agree.

Here is where we stayed, The Land O Nod Inn. Very nice people, reasonably priced, and clean, which is most important.

They had a great pool, wonderful picnic areas, and awesome breakfasts...so I think it's safe to say that we will be back. Most likely before the summer is over! Here's K ready for an evening picnic...lots of fun!

We pretty much just relaxed and swam over the weekend, but we did venture to Quigley Castle and Onyx Cave. Kristin loved both places, especially since she has quite and obsession with rocks, crystals and gems of any kind. Next trip we are going out to War Eagle Cavern and she can go panning for gems. Anyway, Quigley Castle is a neat place and I suggest you google it, because there is no way I can explain it! Or just click on this link a.

This is the front of Quigley Castle...

A flower basket Elise Quigley made out of rocks

Kristin of course loved this giant crystal and wanted to bring it home!

Inside Onyx Cave...can you see the giant elephant???

Me standing in front of the 'fireplace'

Did I mention K loved the pool??? We swam at least three times a day and Kristin learned how to swim in the deep end while we were there! She just jumped in, swam to the 8 foot area, and swam her heart out! Chris would be so proud...he never learned to swim, he did not like water! Here's K swimming on our last day:

K is finally getting over her ear infection. I should've taken her to Dr. Lewis the first time...oh well, at least she's better now! We've got a busy summer planned. Next weekend I'm going to Kentucky with friends while K stays with Mom. Then the end of July we are going to Punta Gorda, Florida to visit Uncle Ken and Aunt Connie. K is doing a lot with the schoolagers at Sunshine Montessori...swimming, bowling, movies, library summer program, field trips. Then she's doing three, week long day camps--ceramics, mad science, and photography. And Vacation Bible School. Busy, but fun! Hope your summer has gotten off to a great start!

Day at the Park

2010-05-22T22:11:00.005-05:00

Last week was rough. Last Sunday morning K woke up with a low fever and slight cough. Then the fever went up...and up...and up. I hesitated taking her to the doctor on Monday since she had no other symptoms and I figured it was just a virus. I took her anyway and sure enough, a virus. She ran a high fever until late Wednesday night. All day Thursday she was fine..until that night when she began crying, saying that her ear hurt. Still no fever, but A LOT of pain. And she usually doesn't cry about things hurting, so I knew it was infected. Friday morning we were back at the doctor and yes, she had an ear infection. She hasn't run any fever, but her ear has really bothered her. We got the good numbing eardrops and they have really helped. Through all of this, Shawn was gone to a conference in Little Rock, so I had to be at work. Luckily I was able to set K up in Shawn's office on a mat and she just slept. Shawn, in case you are reading this, I lysoled your office REALLY well :) And Friday night was preschool graduation. We had nine graduates and is was a great night!

K is now feeling better and has been dying to get out and about. So this afternoon I decided to skip mowing the yard, and we headed to the park. K had a great timea nd was in a mood to be photographed, so I took pictures. Here they are.....

Mother's Day Sapris

2010-05-04T18:57:00.004-05:00

Today when I was looking through Kristin's papers from school, I found this:

Here's what it read in case you need help deciphering Kristin's writing :0)

Mother's Day Surprise
I love you Mom, you are the best mom. I like it when you take me to shop and go places too, Mom. And I like it when you take me places to eat together. I love you you, kisses and hugs, your daughter, Kristin. I know it is just you and me but no matter what nothing will split us apart.

In case you are wondering, I cried (until she asked what it the world was wrong with me!). And yes, I have the best daughter ever.

We're G-Free!

2010-04-24T13:34:00.004-05:00

We've taken the plunge into the g-free world! Several years ago, before K was born, my doctor suggested I go on a g-free diet to help with my probable irritable bowel syndrome. But do you think I did?? No way! I wasn't about to give up my bread! So, life went on, with headaches, daily stomach issues, rashes, etc. Then recently I've noticed many of the same problems with K, but I never thought about going gluten free until she was diagnosed with ADHD (and I realized I was too). I read all the time about how much a g-free diet helps with adhd, so finally we've decided to try it. So far, it's going pretty well. We've had fewer headaches and stomach problems. K had a migraine last night, but it wasn't as bad a usual. K has been very agreeable about the food she can't have anymore and we've been happy to discover some of our favorites, like Cocoa Pebbles, are already g-free! And she does not have the bread obsession that I have. Really, I could eat nothing but bread and be happy. I could eat just bread dipped in olive oil and be perfectly happy. So, I've tried several bread mixes and they are awesome! I'm so happy I don't have to give up bread! But they are a little pricey, so I plan on visiting a local store tomorrow where I can get the flours I need (brown rice, sorghum, tapioca, etc) to make my own bread. Luckily I love to cook, so I'm enjoying the challenge of cooking with new ingredients and thinking how to change our favorite recipes to be g-free. So, this is our newest adventure, and I think it will be a successful one!

We are staying busy busy busy! Every weekend we have something going on. I don't know how this always happens, but it does, and it's not even summer yet! I'm looking forward to the summer...we've got a couple of trips planned, which will be fun. Kristin is most looking forward to our visit to Florida to see Uncle Kenny and Aunt Connie...it will be her first plane ride, first trip to Florida, first time to see the ocean. Can't wait!!!!

Green Thumb

2010-04-18T17:42:00.008-05:00

Yesterday Kristin and I spent the chilly, drizzly, dreary day ignoring the weather and working on our gardens. Last night and early today I regreted that decision, but more on that later. I decided not to use the garden space I've used the past couple of years, but instead to make a raised garden. So, off to Walmart/Lowes/Atwoods we went and came back with....three bags of soil, raised garden kit, potato growing kit, seeds (lettuce, green beans, okra, chives and oregano), sweet yellow pepper and green bell pepper plants. Kristin also picked some flower seeds for the front yard, so I got her a greenhouse to get those started in. We had a great time digging and planting! Here's our little garden. I've got the chives and oregano growing in the kitchen.

Remember the garden space I said I wasn't going to use anymore? Well, last year I planted strawberries there and had no clue that they come back! So, I have strawberries growing amongst the grass, weeds, and rabbit nest. I guess it will end up being my strawberry patch!

This afternoon K planted the flower seeds in her greenhouse. Actually she planted half, got bored, and I did the rest. She will be into the transferring of the plants when they start growing, when she will be able to dig and get dirty! This is the first time we've done the greenhouse. I've got it in the kitchen window...hopefully it will work.

Remember how I said I regretted working outside all day yesterday? Last night I was broken out, head to toe, in hives/itchy bumpy rash! I took lots of benadryl and when I woke up this morning the rash was gone, but my eyes were still swollen. I've had horrible allergy issues the past few weeks and am seriously considering going to an allergist so I can start taking shots again.

Those of you who know me best know that I am not a plant person. I'm sure Mandy and Alison remember the cactus and philodendron that I managed to kill back in college. How I killed a cacuts, I'll never know, but I did it! Anyway, after Chris' funeral I ended up with 4 plants, one of which has 4 different plants in one pot, which I will later have to transfer, so really, it's 8 plants! But I am happy to report that they are all living and doing well. Here is my beautiful peace lily about to bloom again :)

BABY BUNNY REPORT
The baby rabbits are still alive and growing...in fact while I was checking on the strawberries, one hopped out of the nest! I managed to get a picture of him before he hopped away. The other three are still in the nest, they aren't quite as big as the one who left. Hopefully after they leave they will not be back to eat my strawberries!

2010-04-15T22:13:00.003-05:00

Kristin has wanted an American Girl doll FOREVER even though she's never been that into dolls. But she loves these dolls. And I love the books that come with them, etc. I tried explaining that these dolls are pretty pricey and we just can't spend that much money on a doll right now. Well, I was browsing on ebay and found the AG doll, Julie, that she has been wanting...for 30 BUCKS! In excellent condition. Needless to say I ordered it and didn't say a word to K. A couple of days later she got a birthday party invitation and the girls are asked to bring their dolls (AG and such) and she said, pitifully, "But I don't have an American doll." I gave in and told her that I'd already ordered her one...she immediately broke into tears and started screaming THANK YOU! Her doll came in today...looks brand new! And the best part, she thinks it is ;)

A few days ago I was pulling weeds in the garden and found next to the strawberry patch (which I didn't know I'd have...I didn't know strawberries come back!) a rabbit nest with four babies! They are so cute! I've had to keep an eye on the dogs so that they don't catch the mom when she's out there. They don't have a clue the babies are there. As cute as they are, once they are gone, I will let the dogs get after any rabbits eating okra in my garden! Don't mess with a Southern girls okra! Here are the baby bunnies, all cute and cuddly!

Tonight we made a milk run. Kristin had the best time seeing the cows being milked. It really is cool to see the milk going pretty much straight from the cow to our milk jars. One interesting thing I've noticed about this milk...K and I both have a milk allergy and while it's not bad, but if we drink too much milk, we'll start breaking out in a rash. Well. we've both been drinking this milk more than once a day and NO RASH! LOVE IT! I broke out in hives last week and thought it might be the milk, but lo and hehold, it was the new laundry detergent. But thanks to my friend, Kristen, I have some homemade laundry detergent to try :)

Mouse In the House?

2010-04-11T19:02:00.003-05:00

I think I just heard a mouse in the kitchen. Great. What happened to my kingsnake living under the rosebush??? He's either dead or no longer catching mice for me. Time to break out the Dcon!

I THINK Kristin is beginning to feel better. Last Wednesday she woke up complaining that her lower back was hurting, right around the kidney area. The next morning she was in tears and running a temp. I took her to work with me and by that afternoon she was fine, so I was still unsure about taking her to the doctor, especailly since it wasn't hurting when she went to the bathroom...not that she was letting on, anyway. We went to Walmart after work and picked up and over the counter UTI test kit, a wonderful invention (wish they made one for strep). It almost immediately turned positive. So, we went to the new walk in clinic at Walmart. I LOVED the nurse practicioner and the fact that I didn't have to pay over 100 dollars either, which is what I would've paid at the doctor since K's Arkids hasn't gone through (they are taking their time). We got her started on some meds (4 bucks, thank you wallyworld), but the next day was still running a fever. Yesterday she was feeling ok but last night had a horrible stomachache and woke up with a fever again. Now she is fine and says she feels much better. I hope so, for both our sakes!

Kristin had requested that we go to Red Lobster one day to use my gift card, so we went yesterday for lunch. We both ate shrimp and it was so so good. After lunch we ran by Old Navy to see what they had on sale. Kristin found some really cute shirts and a sundress. I hadn't been in Old Navy in years...they made me mad when they quit carrying women's jeans in tall. But I gave in and took K shopping. She had a good time and even agreed to try on the clothes, which she hates and gets from me. Neither of us are much of shoppers. I realized after we got home we should've run in Target and I needed to go by Ozark Natural Foods. Oh, well, there's always next weekend.

Odds and Ends

2010-04-07T18:52:00.006-05:00

Kristin LOVES to draw and design clothes. She never really played with dolls, ever. She just draws and draws and makes her own 'fashions' as she puts it. Well, she found this new fashion design 'toy' she decided to buy with her allowance money. It really is neat. It comes with a mannequin and pieces of fabric that you can fold and fit on the mannequin and design outfits. Oh my gosh, this is the perfect thing for her. She loves it and now says she's going to design school when she grows up. Here she is showing off her first design.

We have started buying fresh milk from a local farmer. A friend of mine knows the family who owns a dairy farm outside Siloam and have started selling their milk to the public, for a very reasonable price. Best of all the milk comes from grass fed cows, without antibiotics or growth hormone. It is so so good. Here is my gallon of milk, in two half gallon jars, that was pumped at 5 and at my house by 7...gotta love it!

Easter evening while I was in the shower, Kristin comes running into the bathroom, "Matt's Mom was at the door!" I got out and there was a message on the answering machine from her...she'd made up two Easter cupcakes and left them in the car. They were so so yummy and were a great surprise!

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T18:24:00.006-05:00

Happy Easter! We've had a really good Easter weekend. Mom got here Friday around 5:00. We were brought a yummy dinner of chicken casserole, green beans, homemade bread, sweet tea and cookies from a family at church. It was nice to not have to worry about dinner that night. Saturday we got up at went to the Beans Place (Taquiero El Rancho), Kristin's favorite Mexican restaurant. It is good and we hadn't been there in awhile. This morning Krsitin hunted eggs and had fun going through her basket. We went to church and then came home to a lunch of ham and potatoes cooked in the slow cooker, green beans, and rolls. So so good! Mom left around 1:30. We had a nice, relaxing weekend! Here are some pictures:

Here are some more pictures from the past several weeks....

We began spring with a foot of snow! It was so strange to have snow on the first day of spring, but it really was pretty. Kristin had fun playing with her friends, building forts and having snowball fights. By the next day, most had melted.

Here's Krsitin with the flowers from her class....

and the card that the kids at Sunshine made for us...so so sweet!

We are doing well and love our great friends and family!

Quick Post

2010-03-30T19:23:00.002-05:00

Well, I figured it's about time I got back to my blog! Kristin and I are doing pretty good. Kristin is back at school, doing well. She spent part of spring break in Joplin and had a great time. I managed to get a lot done around the house while she was gone, which is good! I've gone back to work this week, but only part time. Next week I'll go back to my normal schedule. It's good to be back with the kids...I've missed them! Mom is coming this weekend to spend Easter with us. K is so excited. I think it's supposed to storm over the weekend, hopefully it will hold off.

Everyone has been so great to check on us, call, email, etc. Families from church are bringing dinner to us every MWF for two weeks. Have I mentioned how much we love our church? They are awesome.

We have a new addition to the family...Coconut, a guinea pig. Kristin's hamster died a couple of weeks ago and she was wanting another hamster. We went to Petsmart and they had the guinea pigs on sale, so that's what she decided on. He is very cute :)

I think that's all for now...I've got lots of pictures to post, but I will save those for later. LOST is coming on and of course, I can't miss it!

Christmas in Cabot

2010-01-09T12:43:00.013-06:00

Last weekend we went to Cabot for our third and final installment of Christmas 2009! We got to Cabot late Friday night, but of course the kids wanted to open presents.

Mom and her presents

Lindsay opening her Paperoni

Brandon and his new clothes

Not sure why I look mad, but I was very happy with my Crock Pot!

Lynn likes her perfume!

While we were opening presents a wrapping paper throwing battle was underway. Here's K hurling a wad of paper at Brandon.

Kristin and Nene. Nene gave Kristin a new Princess Bible and gave me and Lynn two of Dad's Bibles.

Johnny had to drive back to West Memphis, so he was in a hurry. But he had to open his present from us first...it was wrapped in a box, the the present itself was wrapped about 6 times! It was all Kristin's idea! A nice Carrabba's gift card was what he got!

We pretty much just relaxed over the weekend. The girls had a good time, but they always do. Kristin really misses her cousins!

We also celebrated Chris' birthday, complete with chocolate cake, poppers and confetti!

Sunday morning was a little crazy. Northwest Arkansas had gotten snow overnight and I540 was a mess, so we hurriedly threw on some clothes, packed, took family pictures....and ended up staying another night! We decided it wasn't worth trying to get back before Monday, so we spent an extra night. The roads were better the next day, but all up and down 540 you could see where people had gone off the road. Here are some pictures we took when we thought we were leaving!

Kristin loves Brandon!

Sunday night we built a fire and roasted marshmallows!

We've gotten lots of winter weather. The kids have only gone to school two days this week. Yesterday they closed more for the very cold weather, rather than the road conditions. Kristin has had fun going to Sunshine Montessori with me. Here she is with her buddy Jael. They have been friends since they were babies at the Children's Center...now they are 7 and 8!!!

Oh, Chris got me a late Christmas present...a Keurig coffee maker! Everyone was sold out of them at Christmas, but apparently more are in. Kristin loves it as much as I do....we have been drinking coffee nonstop! I'll have to order some of the hot cocoa for Chris since he is the non-coffee drinker!

2009-12-31T18:22:00.002-06:00

This morning Kristin and I headed to the dentist to have her two bottom teeth pulled. The adult teeth came in behind them and the baby ones weren't moving. The dentist prescribed some medicine to take before the appointment to help calm her down. She was fine, went back by herself and didn't have any problems. She wanted to see all the tools he used...needles, the "tweezers" as she calls them that he used to get her teeth out, etc. I'm sure she talked their ears off, but at least she didn't panic. Luckily she likes our dentist. I really liked him today because they were having "Jimmy Buffet Day" to help beat the winter blues! They were all dressed in island clothes, called the radio station to have Jimmy Buffet music played, and they made strawberry margaritas (non-alcoholic, don't worry!). They were having cheeseburgers later for lunch. Needless to say, they were having fun! I drank a margarita while Kristin was getting worked on and I must say it was the most relaxing and quiet 45 minutes I've had in quite awhile! Not long after we got home Kristin pulled her other top tooth. She has three teeth to put under her pillow tonight! Poor tooth fairy is going to go broke.

Tomorrow we are heading to Cabot for Christmas/New Years. Kristin is super excited and probably will not sleep much tonight!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy new year!

Christmas in Joplin, Christmas Eve and White Christmas

2009-12-27T08:30:00.012-06:00

Well, two out of our three Christmases are complete. The weekend before Christmas, we went to Joplin since Chris has to work Christmas night. Actually Chris and Kristin went...I had a horrible migraine and I stayed home. Here are some pics they got with K's new camera...they aren't great, but I'm just happy they got some pictures!

My sister-in-law Brandy, with Beau

Kristin and cousin, Hunter

A Nintendo DSi!!!!

Christmas Eve Krisitn and I went out to do some last minute shopping for Chris. I knew it would be worse than a normal Christmas Eve since we had snow coming....everyone would be out getting groceries and such, but we went anyway, and had so much fun. We just went to Wal-Mart and managed to not let Chris see us. We did run into the store manager who said it was busier than the day after Thanksgiving...crazy! He was anxiously awaiting a shipment of milk to come in since they were pretty much out. I was thankful I'd done my grocery shopping the night before. Anyway, we got our gifts, and made our way home. It was rainy and cold. Around 5 it started sleeting and then later changed over to snow. Kristin and I made our cookies for Santa while the snow moved in...

The dogs were less than excited about everything going on!

We read the Christmas Story and The Night Before Christmas then K FINALLY got to sleep (the last time we'd checked the santa tracker, he was in North America, so she hopped in bed, but got out several times and even told me to sleep on the couch so I could catch Santa!) and Santa got to work.

Kristin and her letter from Santa

Santa's work is done!

Visions of sugarplums???

The next morning K woke us up around 7:30 saying "Santa was here and brought me the doll I wanted!" Here are a few pictures:

Kristin was so excited to get a Touch n Brush!

After K opened her presents, she got dressed to go play in the snow. We got 3-4 inches and this was K's second white Christmas (her first was the year she was born).

Our usual Christmas morning breakfast: biscuits and chocolate gravy.

This year I bought baklava...Chris and K had never had it, and I love it, so I decided they needed to try it. They loved it, of course. Maybe one day I will get brave enough to try to make it. Until then, Wal-Mart bakery works just fine! Oh, Chris and I got presents too, but we can never wait until Christmas to give them! Chris got two gift cards..one to MLB.com and Nascar.com, a couple of Wii games and new pajama pants. I got a spafinder gift card, the 4th season of Criminal Minds, perfume, and Chicago Cutlery knives (Chris gave those to me after Thanksgiving!).

We pretty much just hung around the house the rest of the day. K played outside a lot and we made snow cream. Around 9:30 Chris left for work and K and I watched Titanic. She LOVES that movie and anything about the Titanic (yesterday we went to Calahan's for lunch and they had the tv on the weather channel. Well, they were talking about icebergs and the Titanic. Kristin had to changes seats so she could watch it!) We turned it off though before the ship sank and went to bed.

Yesterday we took K to the movies...we saw Alvin and the Chipmunks. It was cute. We saw a preview for Alice in Wonderland. It looks so crazy, but the story of Alice is pretty freaky...he had to have been on something when he wrote it. Anyway, I'm sure we'll be going to see it. Kristin has a somewhat twisted sense of humor and imagination...it's right up her alley!

Next weekend we are going to Cabot for our third Christmas. On Wednesday morning Kristin is having three teeth pulled. Two on the bottom and one on top. The permanent teeth are coming in behind the baby teeth, so they baby ones have to be pulled. Luckily our dentist does oral sedation, which is great, because Kristin is going to need something other than laughing gas to calm her down. I may need something myself. Hopefully it will all go well and the rest of her teeth come in where they are supposed to! If we keep on like this, the tooth fairy is going to go broke!

Party Time!

2009-12-19T18:46:00.004-06:00

Friday was official Christmas Party Day! It started with our Christmas party at Sunshine Montessori. The kids had a blast decorating cookies, making Christmas wreath ornaments and seeing SANTA!!! The looks on their faces when he came in is something I won't forget...too cute! As soon as we got the kids down for their naps, I headed to Allen Elementary for Kristin's party. I organized the craft for the party (they also made wreath ornaments) and I felt like I should be there....plus Kristin REALLY wanted me to go!

Kristin and her friend Camryn

Mrs. Taylor and Kristin

Chris and Kristin are headed to Joplin to spend the night. I think they are going to Carthage tonight to see the huge light display. I'm sad I'm going to miss it, but I am exhausted and feel like my sinuses are going to explode! Hopefully I'll feel like driving up on tomorrow.

Next week I'm working Monday-Wednesday. Kristin is super excited to spend some time with her friends at Sunshine Montessori. Most of them have been together since preschool or younger, and it's fun when they all get together. They are a good group of kids too. We are spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at home....we'll do our usual biscuits and chocolate gravy breakfast, open presents, and just hang out. Chris has to work overnight that night, so we'll take it easy for the day, which is nice. New Years weekend we'll head to Cabot for Christmas, round three!

Christmas Tour of Homes

2009-12-13T15:31:00.020-06:00

Welcome to the 2009 Bloggy Christmas Tour of Homes, hosted by The Nester! Come on in, grab a cup of cocoa and make yourself at home!

Here's the front of our house...nothing extreme, but enough to look festive. My in-laws were here a few weeks ago and commented about our "naked" Santa...now I'm obsessed with the fact that I have a naked blow up Santa in the front yard!!! Oh well...moving along...

As you come inside you will find my Christmas village. This is the first time I've had a Christmas village. This one was given to me this year from my mother-in-law. It belonged to her sister, my husband's aunt, who passed away from cancer earlier this year. So, it is a special Christmas addition. I hope next year to have a country village and a victorian village.

Behind the village you'll find two of my favorite Christmas books..."Twas The Night Before Christmas" and "The Passion Tree" by artist Jack E Dawson. If you've never checked out his artwork, I HIGHLY recommend it. He does amazing pictures "hidden" in his paintings.

Next to the village are our stockings. Since we don't have a fireplace to hang the stockings by, I found this cute stocking holder several years ago. These stockings are all handmade...mine and my husbands were made by my grandmother.

My daughter's was made by my mother. I am way too ADD to complete anything like it!

Here is our den...this year Kristin, my daughter, requested a live tree. The first few days were rough, with the allergy and asthma issues we have, but we've adjusted. Our tree is pretty traditional...cranberry and gumdrop garland and ornaments we've collected over the years. No "themes" here. The one, I guess, contemperary thing about the tree is the topper. Usually we have an angel on top, but she was retired this year...she'd had some rough Christmases! I made this topper and still am not sure if I like it or not!

Here are some of my snowmen...I've collected snowmen for several years and love them all!

And my Christmas card tree. I only have a few cards...maybe everyone is putting off sending cards to the last minute like me :)

Here is my nativity, given to me from my Grandmother. I have another one that my aunt and uncle gave us the year we got married. However, baby Jesus has been MIA for the past three years. I keep thinking I will find him one Christmas!

Now making your way to the kitchen...here is the door going to the garage. I've got my 12 Days of Christmas ornaments hanging on the garland. Our tree couldn't handle anymore trees and I saw that my friend hangs hers on her garland (thanks for the idea,Mandy) so that's what I did. They aren't fancy, but I love them.

Here is the kitchen table...I at one time had all reindeer plates and mugs, but they have gotten broken over the years. I need to find replacements.

More snowmen in the kitchen window...

And on the kitchen counter....want a piece of candy?

Other kitchen odds and ends...

I love this little cottage. I've had it since I was a little girl. My favorite thing is that after you blow out the candle inside, smoke comes out of the chimney!

Down the hallway I have our advent calendar. This was made for me by a family friend when I was little. I loved it and now Kristin loves it. The wreath hanging above it was made by my friend's mother in Japan.

I think that ends the tour! Please leave your mugs in the sink and have a wonderful holiday season! I leave you with a picture of one of our many beautiful northwest Arkansas sunsets.

Happy Birthday, Chris!

2009-12-13T09:26:00.004-06:00

Yesterday Chris turned 34! Kristin was so excited about his birthday and could not wait to get him a cake and presents. So yesterday morning we got up and went shopping. I got him the movie Terminator Salvation. I knew it was one he was wanting. Kristin couldn't decide what to get until she saw the hats. She found a great Arkansas hat, but I told her Daddy would not wear an Arkansas hat (it's not his fault...after all he's not a true Arkansan and doesn't know any better). Finally she found a Jeff Gordon hat and decided to get it. Can't go wrong with NASCAR for Chris. We picked out a yummy chocolate cake and came home. Kristin helped me get everything set up, then we woke up Chris. Here are some pictures.

Chris and his presents...he said the hat will match the new Jeff Gordon coat he bought for his birthday.

I know there are not 34 candles on the cake, but I just stuck some on there to make Kristin happy. According to her, a cake is not a birthday cake unless there are candles!

Kristin and her Daddy!

After presents we got ready to go to Fayetteville. Chris decided he wanted to eat at Red Lobster. So we went for a late lunch/early dinner. It is funny that Chris loves Red Lobster since he does NOT eat seafood. He loves their cajun chicken alfredo. And who doesn't love their cheddar biscuits?! Kristin cracked me up when she was deciding what to eat. The kids menu was just beneath her and her seafood needs. That girl wanted lobster tail! So, she ended up ordering from the adult menu and got herself shrimp and lobster tail...that is MY girl! I got the seaside shrimp and it was so so yummy! Of course Kristin had to tell our waiter it was Chris' birthday...I think she just wanted the dessert! Which, by the way, was wonderful!

After Red Lobster we made our way to Toys R Us, much to my dismay. I hate that store. Especially the Fayetteville one. It's just always a mess and unorganized. But Kristin had a 3 dollar off coupon to use that she got for her birthday and it was about to expire. She narrowed her choices down to a SIS Barbie and a Hannah Montanna digital camera...what did she pick? The camera! Again I say, that's my girl! She has been taking pictures non-stop!

After that we headed to the mall for a quick Santa stop. She was getting grumpy at this point, but she saw Santa, told him what she wanted for Christmas and we left.

We'd planned to take her to the Square to see all of the lights, but she wanted to go home. We got home and I checked her temp...100.4. Lovely. She's had a nasty cough, but I'm hoping it's just a cold. We're staying home from church today. We'll see what happens. Winter is hard on her and her...with her having asthma, she gets upper resp. infections all through winter. Not fun. Anyway, that's been our weekend. Lot's of fun. I'm getting ready to take pictures for the Christmas bloggy tour of homes.

It is always great...I love seeing all the homes and getting new ideas. Be sure to check back tomorrow!

Miracle On Main Street

2009-12-08T20:10:00.004-06:00

On Sunday night the Parables choir put on their Christmas musical, Miracle on Main Street. Parables is for kids K-5th and the musical was SO SO good. Pastor Kyler did an excellent job and the kids were great. Here are a few pictures I took:

I didn't get as many as I wanted...my back was hurting pretty bad, and once I got sat down and comfortable, I didn't move! Kristin had a great time, she likes being on stage. She started Parables about a month late...it took her awhile to decide whether or not she wanted to do it. I knew that once she got started she would love it. She's already looking forward to the spring musical.

Today when Kristin got home from school she walked through the door with a big grin and a gap...she finally lost her top tooth! It's been wiggly forever and she refused to pull it. This morning it was just barely hanging on and sure enough, not long after she got to school, it came out. Guess the tooth fairy will be making a stop at our house tonight. Wish someone would leave some money under my pillow....

My back is slowly getting better. I pulled a muscle in my lower back, which is pressing against my sciatic nerve. I also might have a ruptured disk. The doctor gave me a steroid shot and prescriptions for a painkiller and muscle relaxer. I went to work for a few hours today and my back was starting to hurt when I got home. But I think it is a little better. If it's not better by the end of the week, I'm supposed to go back to the doctor. She said if I do have a ruptured disk, it more than likely will get better on its own and may not bother me for several years. So, we'll see how it goes. It really hurts to raise my right leg, which makes putting on pants and getting in and out of the car loads of fun!

25 Questions About Christmas

2009-12-02T19:12:00.002-06:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Usually wrapping paper, but there are always one or two gifts that I don't have the right box for, so I stick them in a gift bag.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
When Chris and I got married we always got a real tree. Then I discovered pre-lit trees. This year Kristin wanted a real one, so we got one. It is beautiful and really no trouble, but the first few days I was sneezing and wheezing like crazy. I think my body has adjusted now!

3. When do you put up the tree?
Right after Thanksgiving...this year was later than normal....I couldn't get in the swing of things.

4. When do you take the tree down?
I've been known to leave the tree up for quite awhile since I hate taking decorations down, re-organizing all the boxes, etc. But I guess I will have to take it down at a reasonable time this year since it's a real tree!

5. Do you like eggnog?
No way, I like vanilla custard, which tastes like a creamy milkshake. I can't find it anywhere, but we always had it growing up. I have found a brand of eggnog that is vanilla flavored that tastes almost like it, but not as good.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
When I was little it was my cabbage patch dolls...when I was older, it was my saddle.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
my niece and nephew

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Kristin

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
MAIL!!!! I am horrified my invitations and cards sent by email, but I guess that's what we are coming to...I LOVE sending cards and getting them in the mail. Plus, if they are sent by email, I have nothing to put on my Christmas card tree!

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I don't think I've ever gotten anything I really didn't like.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
There are too many! Kristin and I watch A Christmas Story almost every night. Then there's Christmas Vacation. I love It's A Wonderful Life and The Polar Express too. Then there are movies like The Holiday, Love Actually, and The Family Man, which aren't traditional Christmas movies, but take place during Christmas, so they are some of my holiday favorites.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Sometimes a few months before, but not usually until right before Christmas.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
No…not that I can remember

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Gooey Butter Cake! I've also started making biscuits and chocolate gravy on Christmas morning.

16. Lights on the tree?
Yep, colored ones

17. Favorite Christmas song?
It's always been O Holy Night, but I think after hearing Andrea Bocelli and Mary J Blige sing What Child Is This, that is now my favorite. In fact, everyone should immediately google Andrea Bocelli and Mary J Blige on Oprah, download and enjoy....over and over and over!

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Stay home...we go to Joplin the weekend before and then Cabot the weekend after. We stay home Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and I love it. Chris has to work a few hours Christmas night, so that gives us a reason to stay home without worrying about offending anyone!

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen(I memorized Twas The Night Before Christmas when I was four and can still recite most of it).

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas morning...Kristin opens one on Christmas Eve

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
The rushing around...feeling like you have to be here or there

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
I have several...one belonged to my grandmother, it is pink and white glass (I think it was red at one point, but has faded), my Thing Two ornament (Dad called Lynn Thing One and me Thing Two) and the first Christmas present Chris gave me...a Bobba Fett ornament :)

24. Favorite memory of Christmas?
Too many to pick one...last year was great...we opened presents, watched 24 hours of A Christmas Story, had biscuits and chocolate gravy and just enjoyed the day.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
I told Chris I wanted a set of Chicago Cutlery knives...I LOVE kitchenware and I needed a new set of knives. Well, when Kristin and I got back from Cabot after Thanksgiving, what was waiting for me on the kitchen table? A set of Chicago Cutlery knives!!!!

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas....

2009-11-30T14:43:00.003-06:00

The tree is up! Kristin requested a real tree this year, so yesterday afternoon we went down to Lowe's and got one. As I was putting on the lights, sneezing and wheezing, I quickly remembered why we haven't gotten a real tree in years. Oh well, after taking a ton of antihistamine, I think my body has adjusted.

Kristin is sick. Other than having the chicken pox last month, this is the first time she's been sick this fall. That's pretty good, considering this time last year she'd already had strep throat several times. So, I guess having her tonsils taken out has helped. Right now she has fever, nasty cough and slight sore throat. I'm guessing it's bronchitis, which is a yearly event for her. Part of having asthma, I guess. I always get it too at some point during the winter. Anyway, she's going to the doctor tomorrow so we'll see what they have to say.

Here is a picture I took a couple of nights ago. Kristin and Chris fell asleep while watching tv and I thought it was cute how they both have their arms over their heads (both were snoring as well).

Fun City!

2009-11-15T19:25:00.007-06:00

We survived Kristin's party at Fun City. Everyone had a good time. I was a little stressed because everytime we needed something, I had to hunt down our hostess (I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted either) and I was starting to feel not so great. But the party went on with pizza, games, and cake. Woo-hoo!

When we got home Kristin was still wound up, as you can see....

I, on the other had, was running a temp and feeling worse. We stayed home today and didn't go to the Thanksgiving dinner at church tonight and I know we missed out on some good food! It's been rainy and yucky all day, which matched me completely. I did wrap Kristin's box for Operation Christmas Child. We've got it packed and ready to go. I think she's planning on writing a letter (she's sending it to a girl, aged 10-14) and a family picture. I love that she gets so into this...she even used her allowance money to pay for part of it :) Next is to send a care package to a soldier, which was also K's idea.

Here's Kristin and her box which we stuffed with...socks, headbands, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, washcloths, candy canes, pens, pencils, erasers, a notepad, picture album, and a purple tote.

I'm taking more NyQuil and heading to bed!

Happy Birthday, Kristin!

2009-11-13T20:30:00.006-06:00

Yesterday Kristin turned seven! SEVEN!!! How in the world??? Of course, she thinks she's 17but that's another story!

We started out the day with a birthday breakfast. Of all the things she likes for breakfast, she picked toast! Oh well, at least it was with our yummy strawberry preserves and apple butter! She had to have candles with her breakfast, I mean, how can you start a birthday without them????

Don't worry, I didn't let he go to school with this bad bed head 'do!

I ended up having to work late that night so Chris went ahead and took her to Wal-Mart to pick out her cake and present. We decided just to let her shop, which I think she enjoyed. After I got home we ate supper at K's favorite place, "The Beans Place," aka Taqueiro El Rancho. Kristin got her usual cheese enchiladas, rice, and yes, beans. And she ate my beans. She loves beans. That explains a lot. Anyway, I'm getting off the subject. We came home after supper, had cake, ice cream and K showed me how her present works. It's some kind of ICarly thing...the dolls basically have conversations with each other. Kinda scary. She also got some Camp Rock body wash and shampoo I ordered for her a couple of months ago and almost forgot about....

Kristin told me her class sang to her, as well as everyone on the bus coming home from school. She also was serenaded at Awana the night before. Then she got numerous phone calls from Grandma and Grandpa, Nene, Dr. Walter's office (our dentist), toys-r-us...so it was a big day.

Tomorrow is the party at Fun City. She is super pumped and ready to go. I, however, am not feeling so pumped and hope to be feeling better in the morning. This weatehr is wrecking havoc on my sinuses. It's 8:30 and Kristin's already asleep, which is not normal, so hopefully it's just a fluke. She had a big day today...field trip to the Walton Arts Center to see "Strega Nona."

Oh, I almost forgot...yesterday I had K's birthday announced durning the birthday segment of the morning show on 101.1, a radio station from JBU. Well, they pick a name to win a gift certificate to Marketplace Grill and Kristin won! Marketplace, here we come!

I'll post pics from the party soon!

Seriously???

2009-11-11T20:17:00.003-06:00

Yesterday afternoon the phone rang and I was fully expecting it to be our usual telemarketer afternoon calls, but no...it was for Kristin. One of her friends from school was calling! In first grade??? She was calling to let Kristin know that she was coming to her party Saturday, but it was still funny. Really, what do you talk about in first grade? I asked Krsitin and she said "stuff." I guess I don't understand since when I was in first grade I was not social and was pretty shy. I know, hard to believe now, but yes, I WAS quiet and shy. I have no idea what happened... Anyhow, they talked for about 10 minutes until I told Krsitin it was time to get off the phone. I hope this is not a sign of things to come...

Tonight Kristin got her Sparks vest for Awana. She is SO proud. As soon as we got home I had to iron on her first badge that she got last week. I'm so thankful she's gotten involved in church activities and loves them as much as she does. Again, I think being social has something to do with it as well. Any place she can do some talking is good for her, be it church or the soccer field!

Tomorrow K turns SEVEN! I cannot believe it. We are having a party at Fun City on Saturday. So far most of her friends are sick or going to be gone, but there are a few coming and I know they will have a good time. Saturday will also be three years that Dad passed away...time sure flies....

Last Soccer Game

2009-11-06T21:42:00.004-06:00

Last night K's team lost their game, so that was the end of the season for them. They were dissapointed, but they played hard and had fun. Kristin was pretty hesitant throughout most of the game, I think being kicked in the face in the previous game made her a little leery. But she had a good time, especially since Grandma and Grandpa surprised her by showing up at the game! When we were walking to the fields, she said "That guy looks like Grandpa....that IS Grandpa!" So sweet. Kristin informed us last night that she will play in the spring, but only if she can be on Pastor Tad's team (I'm not sure how that works) and dissapointed Dad and Grandpa when she told them she was DONE playing softball (hehehe). I don't blame her though...I'm as ADD is she is and I got bored at the softball games...just way too slow.

Warming up before the game....

After the game we went to eat at Callahan's. As you can see from the pictures, it was getting late and Kristin was getting tired and wild. You can see the crazy look in her eyes...she was all over the place!

Kristin's "food art"....yes, she was playing with her food!

Wednesday night I went to Kristin's parent teacher conference. If you remember, last year was not a good year for K...she did not get along with her teacher and it was just a mess. Well, I was somewhat apprehensive about the conference. Mrs. Taylor went over K's report card...she has an A in math, reading right where she should be and her handwriting is advanced for her age (where did she get that? definitley not from me or Chris!) and that she is doing very well. I just waited...waited for the "she talks all the time and I can't get her to pay attention" but instead I got..."she NEVER talks!!!" WHAT!!! I about fell out of my tree! Are you kidding me??? Actually Mrs. Taylor said she talks, but not excessively and she does get unfocused, but apparently Mrs. Taylor is able to get her back to concentrating on her work, whereas her kindergarten teacher just wanted to be able to give her an assingment and not have to check up on her. Sorry, not going to happen, not with an ADHD child. Anyway, the conference went well and Kristin is doing great. I'm so proud of her.

Also on Wednesday night K got her first badge in Awana. That really made her night. She has changed so much over the past year. And in 6 days, she'll be SEVEN (going on seventeen....). She's just scootin' right along!!!

Tick-or-Treat, Smell My Feet!

2009-11-01T08:34:00.006-06:00

Another Halloween has come and gone. Seems like once Halloween is here, the holiday season flys by! We had a great time last night. Earlier in the week when Kristin broke out with the pox, we didn't know if Halloween would happen or not. But thankfully, by yesterday all her spots were gone and her temp was down. She's still been lethargic, but that wasn't going to stop her from getting some candy! Here she is all dressed up and ready to go.

She had neon greeen spray in her hair, but her hair is so dark that you could barely see it. It took months for her to decide what she was going to be this year...she considered Lucy from Narnia, a vampire, Bella Swan, various other characters, but finally decided on a witch ( a good one, of course!). We (I) also carved a pumpkin this year. Usually Kristin just decorates her pumpkins, but this year she insisted we carve one and roast the seeds. So we (I) did. Here's our gremlin pumpkin.

We started trick-or-treating at Shawn's house and her neighborhood. After that we went by Brenda's and went to a few houses on her street. Finally we came back to our house and Kristin was ready to pass out candy. I really think she enjoys that more than getting candy. She LOVES sitting outside handing out candy. What can I say, she's very social.

After about 30 minutes of passing out candy, she decided to walk around our block, so off we went. We got home, she passed out candy a little while longer, then she was done. We didn't make it to Fall Fest, but the illusionist will be doing a presentation at church this morning, so we are all excited about that. We had a great night and got lots of good candy :)

A Pox On You!

2009-10-29T16:03:00.002-05:00

Well, chicken pox has hit our home. Kristin started breaking out Tuesday night. I just thought it was a rash (she always has one of some sort), but the next morning there were a few more spots and had a low grade temp. I went ahead and sent her to school with a note for the nurse. The nurse called around 8:30, said K's temp was 100 and she was pretty certain it was the pox. By the time I picked her up, she'd broken out even more. So, she has been going to work with me, but staying upstairs where we store stuff (there's a tv, games and all kinds of things for her to do up there). K has had the shot and even a booster several months ago, and I guess that is keeping her case mild. She has about 30 spots and has been running a temp, but only around 100-101. Last night I gave her an oatmeal bath, which grossed her out...she kept saying she couldn't believe she was sitting in food! She was up and down all last night and didn't sleep well, so I came home early from work today and she went right to bed. That's a sure sign she's not her normal self. We are praying that she will be better by Saturday night so that she can go to Fall fest at church and do some trick-or-treating.

2009-10-17T10:55:00.002-05:00

Last night we ate at Zaxby's before K's soccer game. As she got ready to sit down in the booth, she looked at the napkin and straw wrapper in the seat and proclaimed "Some people have no respect!"

It was so cold at the game last night. Purple Dynamite won 3-0. Kristin got to play forward for the last quarter, which was interesting since she is usually a fullback. I think she was confused and kept trying to switch back to fullback, but she finally got in there and went after the ball. The girls all did great, even with 4 of the girls not there. I think the rest of the games are going to be chilly! We came home after the game and made hot cocoa...the good stovetop kind.

Here are some of Kristin's fall pictures. My scanner isn't working so I just took pictures of the pictures. So they don't look the greatest! But I was happy with how all of her pictures turned out. I remember a few years ago when she never smiled for her pictures and was scared to death of the photographer. Oh how things have changed. Now she's asking for him to take MORE pictures!

Pictures and Tea

2009-10-03T13:00:00.003-05:00

Today Kristin had her fall pictures taken at Main Street. I can't wait to see the proofs, they will be so cute. She was really posing and having fun. When she was little she was so scared to have her picture taken and was crying in pretty much all her pictures. But now....she has definitley gotten over all of that!

After pictures we had lunch at the English Tea Room. It is owned by a British couple and they serve traditional English teas and food. We had Irish breakfast tea, the soup of the day (homemade chicken, potato and bacon), and crumpets with strawberries. It was SO GOOD! Kristin loved it and I think this will become a monthly "girls getaway" for us. Next time I want to try the vanilla and carmel tea and yorkshire pudding!

I think we are going to spend the rest of the day just hanging around the house. Krisitn wants to go out and practice soccer later. She informed me that the games are a whole lot more fun than practice!

First Soccer Game and Trip to the Dentist

2009-10-02T12:57:00.002-05:00

Kristin had her first soccer game tonight. Actually the first game was on Monday, but she came home with a migraine, so she missed it. I also had a migraine, Chris had a bad headache and the coach's wife had a migraine too. Something must've been in the air. Anyway, here are a few pics from the game. I don't have any of her playing because I was too busy yelling! It was a really good game and ended in a tie, 3-3. Our coach is also our preacher, and I'm wondering if he'll have a voice to preach with on Sunday! Once Kristin figured out what she was supposed to do, she did great. She is a fullback and did great "keeping the yard clean"!!!

Yesterday K also went to the dentist to get her teeth cleaned and check on her bottom teeth, whcih are coming in behind the baby teeth. She didn't have any cavitites and the dentist is going to wait a few months to see if the teeth come out on their own since they are loose. If not, he'll pull them. He also said she might have to have something put on her top four teeth to change their position. Apparently it's affecting her bite and her bottom teeth.

What else have we been doing? Kristin has started AWANA and just loves it! She's already memorized her verse for next week and cannot wait to get the Sparks vest. I just love our church...very laid back and the kids have fun! Growing up my church was very conservative and I did not like going. So, I'm glad Kristin is going to have a different experience.

Tomorrow K is getting her picture taken and then we are going to The English Tea Room for tea and dessert. I haven't been yet, but have heard great things about it. It's owned by a British couple and they serve traditional teas, sandwiches, and desserts. Kristin is excited and wants to get all dressed up for our "tea party"!

Next week I'll be going to the Arkansas Early Childhood Conference in Hot Springs. Chris is taking a few days off work. I wonder what kind of trouble he and K will manage to get into.....

Hope everyone is having a great week. I LOVE this fall weather!

The Flu, Pumpkins and Wii

2009-09-20T21:40:00.002-05:00

Yep, I have the flu. It's awful. I have fever, cough, wheezing, and my entire abdomen aches. Plus I am completely exhausted. I want to get better and get out of the house!

Chris and Kristin are holding down the fort. Chris has cleaned the house from top to bottom....I think he's trying to keep the germs at bay! Kristin informed me that she wants to go to Shawns house, where there "isn't a flu"! Hopefully no one else will get it.

Kristin finally got to pick her pumpkin. Towards the end of her kindergarten year, she brought home a pumpkin sprout that she grew at school. We planted it in the garden, not expecting too much. Well, we ended up with one pumpkin! She is so proud of it!

K has also been into the Wii lately...she loves bowling and if how she drives while playing Mario cart is any indication of what kind of driver she'll be, well, let's just say, my dad would be proud!!!

Kristin's First Post

2009-09-16T20:47:00.002-05:00

I lost my first tooth! I was so happy! My Mom pulled it out cause I didn't know how to pull it out myself. Daddy wouldn't ever feel my loose tooth, I wish he did! The tooth fairy brought me four dollars and let me keep my tooth! My cousin Lindsay lost a tooth on the same night!

School is fun but sometimes a little boring. I like doing centers, computer lab, PE, art and music. Mrs. Taylor is a nice teacher and I like her.

Thanks for typing my words, Mom!

Goodbye!

Kristin Arft

BUSY!

2009-09-11T22:38:00.002-05:00

We have been so busy lately around here...here are a few highlights (without any pictures, believe it or not!).

*I turned 34! Chris bought me a netbook for my birthday. I love it and will be using it a lot for:
*Montessori preschool teacher certification....I'm finally getting my certification! It will take 7-9 months.
*I started a 45 hour training class on social/emotional learning. Luckily it's a great class.
*Kristin started soccer and is loving it; this week she will begin Parables at our church on Sunday nights (our preacher is her soccer coach!)
*We bought a new dryer tonight and I cannot wait for Lowe's to deliver it tomorrow...that's definitley a hightlight since we have had to run our dryer over and over just to get one load halfway dry!
*Our Wal-Mart was remodeled....Chris was so busy with all of that, but the store looks GREAT!
*My class of 10 is keeping me on my toes....I've always said it's the children who challenge you who make you a better teacher. By the end of the year, I should be the best! They are fun, though and I love them!

So, we've had a lot going on which is why I have not been blogging much at all. Oh, just an FYI...since changing Kristin's medication, she hasn't had a single migraine! Praise the Lord!!!! She has had a couple of minor headaches, but they weren't anything major. She is enjoying school and loves her teacher. Next week K is going to the doctor for a med checkup. I emailed her teacher just to check that she was doing ok in class to help determine if she's on the right dosage. The teacher emailed back that up until last Thrusday she had been very quiet, but is now talking a lot, but is doing very good on her work and is staying focused....hot dog!!! That's just what I wanted to hear. Mrs. Taylor has been so good to let me know how Kristin is doing and I'm so thankful for that!

I'm off to bed. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

First Day...First Grade!

2009-08-19T19:06:00.003-05:00

Well, Kristin started first grade. I took her to her class this morning and there were a few tears, but she was ok. She has such a hard time with change. Luckily there is a little girl in her class that she knows and Kristin talked about her a lot today, so hopefully that will help. Kristin got home around 4 and said that riding the bus is "so cool!" I like that I get home a little after 3:30 and have a quiet house before everyone gets home!

I already love Kristin's teacher. I got an email from her tonight. She said that Kristin had a good day and she appreciated the letter I wrote (I always write a letter letting them know about Kristin's personality, ADHD, OCD, etc. and I added today about her new medication). She said that she would watch Kristin for any adverse reactions, wanted to keep in close contact with me and work with me to help Kristin have a good year. That's more than I got all year from her Kindergarten teacher. So, I think it will be a good year for all of us.

Kristin went to the doctor yesterday. The doctor and I both think the Strattera may be causing some of her headaches, so we are switiching her over to a new medicine. It will be interesting to see what happens with the headaches. Migraines run in the family, so I won't be surprised if they don't go away completely. But as long as they aren't as often as they are now, I will be happy.

I'm still trying to get my classroom together. We have a few kids who aren't starting until next week, so we aren't "officially" beginning our new year until Monday. So, that gives me more time to put off getting my room done. It's driving me crazy, so I'm going to have to finish it.

That's about all the news from here. Kristin is bouncing off the walls. We went for a walk, she's been out playing with some kids and she just ran through here naked (she just finished her shower). Time for us all to go to bed! 5:15 came early for me this morning...I'm used to sleeping until 5:45 or 6:00. Now I've got to get up and ready before Kristin gets up, it just makes everything go smoother! Hope everyone is having a great week!

Where Has the Summer Gone????

2009-08-12T18:50:00.003-05:00

Only one more week left of summer vacation. I can't believe Kristin will be in the first grade. Her teacher called a few nights ago to talk with her and that made her so happy! I was happy also to find out that her teacher is Mrs. Taylor. She has taught for a long time and is exactly what I requested Kristin get in a teacher...firm and structured, but loving. We've gotten all the school supplies together, a "new" backpack (thanks to Maddie and Kenzie!) and new lunchbox (Twilight, of course), and a first day outfit all ready to go. Next Monday is open house and then Wednesday is the first day of school! It will also be the first day of our official school year at Sunshine Montessori. The school-agers will be gone (finally!) and I will have 8 three year olds and 2 two and a half year olds. Lots of fun! I'm also getting ready to start a 45 hour training course on social/emotional learning. One of the girls in my class has some definite emotional issues and if I don't get some help, I'm going to have some emotional issues of my own! Hopefully it will be a good class. So, if you need me on a Tuesday night between now and December...you'll find me in class at Fayetteville!

Here are some random pictures from the last few weeks...Kristin is a goofball seems to be the theme!

This was after Kristin had been swimming all day one day at the aquatic center with the school-agers. She usually comes back worn out since she swims the entire three hours they are there. On this day it was very hot and she had a headache, and as soon as we got home she made a pallet and went to sleep!

Tyring on back to school clothes....

Here's Kristin trying out her dancing moves....

I'm not sure what she's doing here!!!!

2009-08-01T20:34:00.002-05:00

Here are the pictures from our day in Branson.

Make a Smilebox photobook

We had a great day in Branson. The Titanic tour was really good but kind of depressing...Kristin was the only "survivor" out of the three of us. She LOVED the room that had all the stuff from the movie (it's one of her favorites...she will watch the ENTIRE movie) and was so happy to get her own Heart of the Ocean necklace.

We spent the rest of the day at Branson Landing. We went on the Ride the Duck tour, which in my opinion, is one of the best things there. SO worth the money! We of course did lots of shopping and watched the fountain shows. Kristin loved playing in the water before we left that night. We're going back for Kristin's birthday so she can see all the Christmas decorations at Silver Dollar City. We'll probably go Eureka Springs again then too, since they really "do up" Christmas. Anyway, it's back to work on Monday...school starts in two and a half weeks..I can't believe K will be in FIRST GRADE!!!!

Vacation!!!!

2009-07-31T18:38:00.002-05:00

We had a great time on our Branson/Eureka Springs vacation. Here is Kristin's photobook of our Eureka Springs pictures that we worked on today.

Make a Smilebox photobook

We'll make one of our day in Branson later. Once again we stayed at the Stone Meadow Resort, and once again it was wonderful. We pretty much just relaxed, played games, walked around Eureka Springs and did some shopping. It was nice to not have everything planned out and just relax!!!!

Grown Up Survey

2009-07-22T19:56:00.002-05:00

Got this survey from Alison :)

Tired of all of those surveys made up by high school kids?! 'Have you ever kissed someone? Missed someone? Told someone you loved them? Drank alcohol? Well, here are questions for those of us who are a little older.

1. What bill do you hate paying the most?
the car payment

2. Where was the last place you had a romantic date?
Well, we are probably the most un-romantic couple around, but we did have a nice steak dinner at Gaskins Cabin in Eureka Springs for our anniversary last month.

3. What do you really want to be doing right now?
reading...I need a good book to read

4. How many colleges did you attend?
one...Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge

5. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now?
because it is comfortable

6. What are your thoughts on gas prices?
I don't think about it much since Chris always fills up my car for me...if he didn't I would be stranded on the side of the road, out of gas!

7. First thought when the alarm went off this morning?
I turned it off before it was time to get up. I always wake up before it goes off...my first thought was "two more days until vacation!"

8. Last thought before going to sleep last night?
don't remember

9. Do you miss being a child?
No

10. What errand/chore do you despise?
ironing! I NEVER iron...Chris irons all of his shirts for work!

11. Get up early or sleep in?
I actually like getting up early...I get up around 5:30. Sleeping in for me is around 8:00...I'm always the first one up.

12. What do you get every time you go into Wal-Mart?
milk, regular and vanilla soy

13. Beach or lake?
lake

14. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?
No

15. Sopranos or Desperate Housewives?
Desperate Housewives

16. Have you ever crashed your vehicle?
hahaha, let's count how many times I've been in a wreck...once with Cassie on Missouri Street, then with Cassie again pulling into her driveway (a guy behind me ran into me). Then there was the time I rear-ended a car in Cabot. Then Chris and I were in a wreck on Range Line in Joplin when we were rear-ended. All of the wrecks were in my Blazer and were not serious (thank goodness)

17. Ever had to use a fire extinguisher for it's intended purpose?
Nope, never used one

18. Ring tone?
Just the AT&T ringtone

19. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth.
Not really sure...

20. Where have you never been and would like to go?
The East Coast

21. At this point in your life would you rather start a new career or a new relationship?
No, I'm happy in my career, believe it or not!
A relationship as in friends, sure...you can't have too many!

22. How old are you?
33

23. Do you have a "go to" person?
Yep

24. Are you where you want to be in life?
Yes...and still getting surprised along the way!

25. Growing up, what were your favorite cartoons?
I really liked the old Warner Brothers cartoons..Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety

26. What about you do you think has changed the most?
I'm a lot more patient than I used to be

27. Looking back at high school were they the best years of your life?
NO WAY!

28. Did you have a pager?
No, I didn't even have a cell phone until a few years ago and they are still one of my biggest pet peeves!

29. Where was the hang out spot when you were a teenager?
Usually at someone's house

30. Were you the type of kid you would want your children to hang out with?
Yes...I was quiet and shy, followed the rules...just the opposite of Kristin! She's more like I am now!!!!

31.Who do you think impacted your life the most?
Several people...some I never realized until years later

32. Was there a teacher or authority figure that stood out for you?
Yes, my senior year English teacher in high school...he really prepared us for college with all the writing and essays we had to do, which I loved.

33. Do you tell stories that start with “when I was your age..."?
All the time...to my preschoolers and to Kristin! I catch myself saying things that mom and dad would tell me when I was little that would make me just roll my eyes (when they weren't looking, of course!)

Well, I needed blog fodder...if you do...copy and post this to your blog!

Fashion Photography Day!

2009-07-21T18:56:00.003-05:00

Today was one of my least favorite days at school...picture day! And it rained, which meant we couldn't take the kids out and being the day before the full moon, they were especially hyper! I also had a new little boy start in my class, so I was really glad when the day was over. But Kristin got to have her picture taken and she was thrilled. It was "fashion photography"....the girls got their hair rolled and they all got to "dress up". These are a couple of proofs that I bought. The other two I'm getting in a package and I will post them when they come in. Kristin had a blast and I realized that there is a "girly girl" in there after all!

The week is almost over! I cannot wait to go on vacation! We are leaving Sunday for Eureka Springs. The only thing we have planned for certain is Monday in Branson. We have several things we want to do and see there. Kristin decided against Silver Dollar City (I'm secretly happy)...we plan on going back for her birthday in November to see all the Christmas lights. After our day in Branson, I'm not sure what we are going to do and it's actually nice not to have it all planned out. I do plan on sleeping late and just hanging out. Our cottage has a full kitchen, so we'll go to the grocery store and cook in the cottage some of the time. It will be nice to just be lazy. Oh, we are going to the Farmer's Market in Eureka Springs on Tuesday morning. I do know that!

Only 4 more weeks until school starts. Our lazy summer is quickly coming to an end. Preschoolers are enrolling like crazy and our numbers are going up...that's a good thing, but makes it hard to get back into "school mode." Kristin is a little nervous about first grade and about riding the bus. The bus stops in front of the preschool, so she'll leave from there in the morning and then I think I'll just have the bus drop her off at home, since I get off work at 3:30. I'll have to check and see what time the bus would get to our house. Anyway, I want to do some back to school shopping in Branson for both me and Kristin. I've worn capris and t-shirts all summer...I need some teacher clothes!

Happy 4th!

2009-07-05T10:36:00.003-05:00

We didn't do much for the 4th this year...since it was on a Saturday, Chris had the day off, so we just hung out around the house. I grilled some chicken, but since it was raining, I had to grill in the garage/front porch area. The rain let up by late afternoon and we got to go see the fireworks. However while the fireworks were going on you could see storm clouds and lightnening back towards Oklahoma. It stormed most of the night, I think. Anyway, we had a good time...it was a nice day!

Kristin in her Faded Glory tee..we used to always get the Old Navy ones, but now can never find them!

Playing in the rain...Kristin got to try out her new umbrella...until it started storming!

Lunch! We had BBQ chicken, BBQ baked beans and chips. YUM-O!

Of course we had watermelon even though I'm the only one who really likes it! Chris ate cherries and Kristin ate blueberries instead.

Off to see the fireworks! It was a cool night..only 79 degrees!

Our Anniversary!

2009-07-03T14:42:00.004-05:00

The last weekend in June Chris and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary...which was really June 12th! I can't believe it's already been 10 years, it still doesn't seem that long ago. Of course, Kristin will be 7 this year and will be in the first grade, which doesn't seem right either, but I digress.

We went to one of our favorite places, Eureka Springs, for the weekend while Kristin stayed with Shawn and her girls. This time we stayed at the Stone Meadow Resort and it was just great. It was the first place I've stayed that I didn't feel like I needed to clean first and it was the first place that was as nice, actually better, than the pictures made it look. It's about 10 miles outside of Eureka, out in the country and was so nice.

Our cottage, Apple Blossom

Inside our cottage

The owners moved here from Las Vegas and the wife graduated from culinary school there. Continental breakfast was brought to us each night so we could enjoy it when we wanted in the morning. Saturday morning our breakfast included bluberry muffins, french toast, yogurt, orange juice and milk. On Sunday morning we had two little egg, pepper cheese and ham casseroles, fresh watermelon, banana bread and orange juice. She even made us an anniversary cake and had a bottle of wine for us! We heated up the cake and enjoyed it with ice cream!

our cake

This giant chess/checkers set was one of the many neat things on the cottage property. Of course it was way too hot to get out any play!

On Saturday we spent the day shopping, had a light lunch, and for supper used our gift certificate for Gaskins Cabin. It is a pricey, but yummy, steakhouse in Eureka. It was SO GOOD and I'm not a steak person! I got shrimp with mine (of course!) which made it even better!

After supper we had a carriage ride scheduled (all of this was part of the package we got with the cottage). Luckily by then it had cooled off enough to enjoy.

Unfortunately Sunday came and we had to leave and come back to reality. Kristin had a great time with Shawn, Maddie and Kenzie. On Friday night Shawn took them out to eat and to see Beauty and the Beast; Satuday they went swimming; Sunday they got up and went to church and just hung out. We all had a great weekend!

Summer Has Arrived!

2009-06-07T09:34:00.008-05:00

Summer has officially begun...school is out and so are the lightening bugs! This afternoon Kristin enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Kristin had a hard time with school being over, which surprised me since it's all she's talked about, but she hates change, so it really shouldn't surprise me. On the last day her teacher had an ice cream party for the kids and parents. I went ahead and took her back to work with me since there was only an hour of school left. Well, the tears started. Kristin broke down, said she didn't want to leave her teacher or her friends. We got back to school, made it through the rest of the day, then on the way home, she started crying again. She said that every time she thinks about her friends, she gets sad. I told her she'd she them next year and reminded her of all the fun things she'll be doing this summer. Which almost brought about the waterworks for me...I dread summer! Not only do I hate the heat and humidity, there is just so much going on. It's always more hectic at school with the schoolagers there and then K has ALOT going on this summer. With Sunshine Montessori she'll be going to the aquatic center MWF, 1-4. Then on Tuesday mornings, they'll see movies with the Malco summer kids program; in the afternoon they'll go to the library for their summer program. On Thursdays it's the library and something else. Plus other field trips here and there. This week is VBS at our church and K's ball tournament. Next week K will be staying with my cousin Kim and her boys. The following week K will be going to day camp at the big Baptist church all day (arty-crafty and cheer are the ones she chose...the cheer surprised me!) and that weekend she's staying with Shawn and her girls while Chris and I go to Eureka Springs for our anniversary. WHEW!!! Coming up in July we have swimming lessons for K, train ride from Springdale to Van Buren, and vacation to Kansas City at the end of the month. I'm worn out just thinking about it!

Northside Elementary Parade and Carnival

2009-05-21T17:35:00.006-05:00

Every year in May the kindergarten has a parade/carnival fundraiser to celebrate the end of the year. It was Monday night and we had so much fun. The weather was beautiful, after having to cancel twice for rain. I was glad they got to have it on the football field, otherwise it would've been in the cafeteria, without the parade. Anyway, the theme was "the circus." Kristin's class was dressed as dalmations...they were so cute! Sparky, the mascot for the Siloam fire department, was supposed to walk in the parade with them, but ended up coming late, due to a fire. But he made it and the kids were so happy to see him. After the parade there were tons of games, balloons and food. There was also a petting zoo from the safari in Gentry. I think that was Kristin's favorite thing, along with riding in the wagon pulled by minerature horses. By the time we got home, K was exhausted and went right to sleep.

Kristin and Mrs. Thomas

Sparky made it just in time!

Kristin loved the petting zoo and now wants a rabbit!

Yummy nachos!

What's a carnival without a balloon animal???

Only nine days of school left! K is so ready for the year to be over...she said she's bored with school! Today they got to go tour Allen Elementary (1st and 2nd grade) and she was pretty excited about that. Of course she will be with me at Sunshine Montessori doing all kinds of stuff with the school agers...she is most excited about swimming three days a week at the aquatic center! She has two softball games left then a tournament. I think she's had fun, but could take it or leave it. This fall she's going to play soccer. I don't care as long as it's something to burn off energy!

Hope everyone has a good Memorial weekend. I don't think we are going to do anything too exciting. I'd hoped to have the pool up, but that may be a few more weeks! We may go see the new Night at the Museum movie, who knows!

Gettin' Down with Mother Goose

2009-05-16T21:18:00.007-05:00

Tuesday was Kristin's school pod Kindergarten program. It was really cute and she did a good job. I was worried that the Quality Approval people would show up at work and I wouldn't get to go, but they didn't and I was there. Chris was on vacation so he got to go too. She seemed pretty nervous, but she had a good time. After the program her teacher had cookies and punch for the kids and parents. Kristin had fun showing us everything in her room. Poor thing...they have a chart of everyone who has lost teeth and she's the only one who hasn't!

Monday night is the Kindergarten parade/carnival. The weather is supposed to be beautiful, so I'm excited about it. We are almost done with softabll. I think she has 5 games left then the tournament. Then it's on to a full summer of fun!! I'll post more pictures soon!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T17:31:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone has had a great weekend and Mother's Day. We have had an almost rain-free weekend, believe it or not! It did rain off and on yesterday, but nothing like it has been for the past couple of weeks. Of course, rain is in the forecast for tomorrow and several days this week. My Mother's Day has been great. Chris and Kristin got me a hanging basket of white petunias and a dvd of Jon and Kate Plus 8 (I'm pretty sure Kristin picked that out...she wanted to watch it first thing). Kristin made a cute handprint picture with a poem at school and at church made me a card.

With all the rain that we've had my garden is growing really well and during the week my roses and honeysuckle started blooming. As soon as you walk out the front door you can smell them...I love it! K and I picked some roses and honeysuckle to bring inside and now my kitchen smells great!

On Friday my sister-in-law, Brandy, had her baby, Beau Austin. He weighed 7lb 13oz. Kristin cannot wait to see him, but has told us several times over the weekend that she does NOT want a little sister or brother...ever. Fine with me!!!!

So Much Going On....

2009-05-08T19:35:00.007-05:00

It seems like we've had so much going on lately...

* I just finished 5 online early childhood teacher training courses
* Kristin has started softball and has 2-3 games a week and practice on Saturdays
* We are going crazy at work getting ready for our state Quality Approval visit...we don't know when they are coming, but it's usually towards the end of the month
* K and I planted the garden...so far we have green beans, okra, strawberries and onions growing. I still want to plant some lettuce and cucumbers. We still haven't planted our flowers.
* I went to Super Saturday last weekend with Shawn, Shannon and Brenda...5.5 hours of training and a crazy car ride to and from Little Rock!
* I survived today's Mother's Day Tea Party at school....it's fun, but stressful
* We went to the Dogwood Festival a few weeks ago...
* There's more, but right now I can't even think of it all!!!!!!!!

Here are a few pictures from the past week or so.....

Kristin and Austin hanging out on the couch. This was on Tuesday....Kristin had a stomach bug that started after her softball game Monday night---IMMEDIATELY after the game! We were talking to her coach and she threw up everywhere. But by Tuesday afternoon she was feeling better, just tired.

What's better to do on a rainy day but read??? Kristin informed me that she has "moved on" from Kindergarten books and is now reading chapter books. She really can't read enough to know what's going on, but she sure tries!

Just call her K-Lo!

Fun in Cabot and Lil Sooners

2009-04-22T20:54:00.008-05:00

Kristin and I had a good time during our weekend trip to Cabot. It went by fast, but it always seems too. Lindsay and Kristin had fun playing together, especially playing Mario Cart on the Wii. It rained pretty much all weekend. We went to Colton's on Saturday for a late lunch and when we left it was storming...needless to say, our spring family pictures have been postponed!

Fun playing Mario Cart

What goofballs!

Tonight was Kristin's first softball game of the season. Her team is the Lil Sooners. She did a great job, especially playing catcher for the first time ever. It's pretty funny watching some of the younger ones trying to figure out what to do. It was so hot during the game...I guess summer is on the way!

First time as catcher....

Up to bat

Playing second base

Ready for a bath, supper and bed!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T11:58:00.009-05:00

We have had a good Easter even though Chris and Kristin have had a cold. Kristin has been running a low temp and has a nasty cough, so we decided to stay home today. As soon as Kristin woke up yesterday, she was ready to dye eggs. She had a great time and loved putting faces on the eggs. She even gave them names!

Early this morning I heard Kristin coughing and knew she would be getting up soon, and sure enough, she was patting my back wanting to know when we were getting up. She was ready to hunt eggs! Since it was raining, the Easter Bunny had to hide the eggs inside, but she still had fun.

And, of course, the Bunny went a little overboard, but I, err the Bunny, found great stuff at Dollar Tree! She was happier with the Rabbit Jumper, paper and crayons than the candy!

Next weekend we're going to Cabot and will have some spring pictures taken...I can't wait! Hope everyone has a great Easter!

ABC's of Me

2009-04-10T19:34:00.002-05:00

ABC's of Me

I borrowed this from Alison's blog...thanks Alison :)

A - Age: 33
B - Baseball Game or Ballet: ballet
C - Chore you hate: ironing, which is why I never do it...Chris even irons his own clothes!
D - Dream Vacation: Sydney, Australia
E - Easter candy: jelly beans, the licorice ones
F - Favorite Flowers: Gerber Daisies
G - Games: I love to play Monopoly and I enjoy basketball
H - Height: 6'0"
I - Instrument you play: flute
J - Job title: preschool teacher and Mom
K - Kindergarten Memory: getting in trouble over and over for not being quiet during nap time and for not leaving the dramatic play furniture alone when I was supposed to be sleeping. (I don't know where Kristin gets it...)
L - Luxury you live without: regular trips to the spa...I could live at the spa if someone else was paying for it!
M - Mexican food choice: cheese enchiladas, but only from Taqueiro El Rancho
N - Nickname: Grace
O - Overnight hospital stay: oh, there have been many, especially in high school and my first year of college when I had very bad recurring staph infections from knee surgery; the most plesant one though was my two night stay after having Kristin. My doctor wanted me to stay longer...I didn't...I regreted that decision around 3 am!!don't know what I was thinking!
P - Pet Peeve: there are so many....people who talk on cell phones in restaurants, really cell phones in general.
Q - Quotes you like: "No social problem is as universal as the oppression of the child", Maria Montessori
R - Rainforest or Redwoods: Redwoods
S - Siblings: one older sister, Lynn and no brothers
T - Television favorites: LOST, NCIS, Jon and Kate Plus 8
U - Ultimate dessert: chocolate pie with whipped cream...I'm easy to please
V - Vegetable you dislike: celery
W - Ways you run late: if I happen to oversleep, which rarely happens since I HATE being late (another pet peeve!)
X - X-rays you've had: foot, arms, chest, teeth, knee (X-ray and MRI)...you can see where Grace comes from!
Y - Yummy food you make: I make great chili, cheesy southwestern chicken and pasta, and I make all kinds of pancakes...chocolate chip, blueberry banana, chocolate peanut butter (with lots of flax seed and my family never knows it!)
Z - Zoo animal that's your favorite: elephant

Do You See A Pattern Here????

2009-03-28T19:32:00.003-05:00

Well, I woke up this morning to snow. And it has snowed all day. Luckily it has been warm enough that it hasn't really stuck. There was around an inch this morning, then it melted, then started snowing again. Kristin went out and played for a little while, and the huge flakes really were pretty. Anyway, I was looking back at pictures and found a weather pattern:

January 28....ice storm

February 28...snow

Today, March 28...snow

Hopefully it will be warm weather from here on out!

Home Alone

2009-03-21T21:50:00.002-05:00

Yep, I'm home all alone...well, I have the dogs to keep me company. Chris and Kristin and spending the night in Joplin, so I have the house to myself. I've been cleaning, going through K's clothes to see what I can list on eBay (I have to do that when she's not around...otherwise she goes nuts! She triend to squeeze herself into a size 5 dress that she was convinced still fit), I've watched movies, done some reading and now I'm sitting in the complete silence. Wow. Maybe it's a little too quiet...I'm surrounded by noise at work and at home, so maybe this is just too quiet...WRONG!! :)

I'm sure some of you remember me mentioning the Tugwell family (if not, you can read their story by clicking on the Lori link). They have a daughter, Lily, who is K's age, she was adopted from China. They have been in the process of adopting two boys from Haiti for quite awhile and there was a big holdup recently with Silas' (the youngest) adoption going through. The birth mother couldn't be found, then they found out she had died, and the US said they needed something to "prove" his orphan status. Anyway, after months of adoption lawyers, talking to Arkansas officials, they got the call last week....they can got get Silas!!!! So, right now they are in Miami and tomorrow they are going to Haiti!!!!! They have never lost faith through all of this and now they are being rewarded! Silas is almost three and Louis is 11. Louis' adoption seems to be moving faster and they know where his birth mother is, so hopefully that won't be an issue. I'm so happy for them!!!!

Ok, I'm taking a nice hot bath and going to bed!!!!

Pinkalicious

2009-03-14T14:23:00.000-05:00

Last Friday afternoon I got a call from the school nurse telling me that Kristin was running a temp, had a headache and cough....the virus that was making the rounds (I only had 4 kids in my class) seemed to have found her. So, I picked her up and let her hang out with me at school while I finished up my last couple of hours. Later that night Kristin was upset that she couldn't go watch the big girls playing softball, so we decided to make cupcakes. Kristin's favorite book, Pinkalicious, is about a little girl who eats so many pink cupcakes that she turns pink. We had a fun night of making pink strawberry cupcakes with pink strawberry icing....and they were "pinkalicious!"

Here is Kristin with her book....as you can see, she was turning pink, but not from cupcakes, but from fever (hence the fever patch).

She continued to run a high temp on Saturday, but was better Sunday. Then Monday afternoon when she got to Sunshine after school, she said she wasn't feeling good. I took her temp--101. So Tuesday we went to the doctor...uppper respiratory infection. So, she's on an antibiotic and is of course getting breathing treatments. She went to school Thursday and Friday and is feeling much better. Next week is parent teacher conference week. I'll be glad when this year is over!

Northwest Arkansas Sunrise

2009-03-03T19:29:00.007-06:00

One of the advantages of getting up at the "crack of dawn" is that I actually do get to see "the crack of dawn!" This morning the sunrise was beautiful...this picture was taken around 6:30 and nowhere comes close to all the pink and orange colors in they sky. Kristin went to the back door and said, "God made pink and orange again." Yep, He sure did.

Of course, a few days ago, it was snowing. Luckily we didn't get much. Otherwise school wouldn't be out until July! Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 70's and I'm ready for it to stay that way...I want to plant my garden!

Kristin is back to her good ole self! She has been going outside to play everyday...before her surgery she never went out, I guess she just didn't feel good. She's had no temp and is looking forward to playing softball. We missed registration for soccer so she's playing softball instead. As long as she's doing something to burn off that energy! She'll have fun...I'm the one who will be miserable...I hate softball!

Back to School!

2009-02-23T20:44:00.002-06:00

Kristin went back to school today! She was so excited and I'm happy that her temp has been normal since Saturday. After school she was completely exhausted. Chris took us out to eat tonight and Kristin fell asleep while waiting on the food. Once we got home she went straight to bed and slept for a couple of hours. She is now in my bed watching cartoons, getting ready to go back to sleep. She's still not quite her old self, but she's getting there. She did have a rough day yesterday...she was very grumpy and spent most of the day mad at me. This morning when I opened her bedroom door, I noticed a piece of paper taped to it. Here is what it read:

"Mom u leve me ulone!"

I kept it, of course.

I was glad to go back to school today too. It made me happy to get hugs from my kids...apparently they do miss me when I'm not there! We were low on kids today (there's another bug making the rounds), so I spent the day cleaning and putting out St. Patrick's Day work and decorations. In another month and a half, it will be Easter!

Doctor's Visit 5,821.....

2009-02-18T11:35:00.002-06:00

Ok, so we haven't been to the doctor quite that many times, but between last year and the past couple of months, it sure feels like it! Kristin went to her post-op visit this morning. The doctor said the pathology report of her tonsils showed that they were big (he said he didn't remember them being so big) and that the pits (did you know tonsils have pits?) were inflammed and full of infection. He is worried about her high fever (this morning it was almost 103), so he basically told me not to let her leave the house. No going anywhere to expose her to anymore germs. So much for her going to work with me....the preschool is like a giant petri dish! We will hang out here the rest of the week and if her temp stays up and isn't gone by next week, we have to go back. She's on an antibiotic, so if there is an infection somewhere, hopefully that will take care of it. If her fever goes down and stays that way, she won't have to go back for 6 weeks. Oh, when we were checking out after the visit, the receptionist said the most beautiful words to me...."no charge!" I about passed out!

The past two nights have been the worst so far. Kristin has been waking up screaming with her throat and ears hurting. The doctor said that the steroids from surgery have worn off, so now she's getting the full effects of the inflammation. But from here on out, it should get easier. Kristin is laying in my bed watching Disney channel. By the end of the week we'll both be dying to get out of the house. Anyone have any good movie suggestions?

Surgery Day

2009-02-14T17:14:00.013-06:00

Well, we all made it through yesterday and it was one LONG day, followed by an even longer night! We got up bright and early to be at the surgery center at 7:15. We got checked in and back to Kristin's cubicle in pre-op. The nurse checked Kristin out, Kristin changed into her gown and was so NOT happy about what was going on. But she started to relax some and colored some pictures.

Not too much later Dr. Davis came in to give us surgery info and what to expect afterwards. He also got to sign Kristin's forehead and cheeks (the represent adeniods and tonsils). He said there were several hospitals in Florida where doctors got the wrong patients, so in January the surgery center began requiring the doctor to "autograph" patients as an extra precaution. Kristin thought it was cool!

Dr. Davis' "signature".

She was feeling good in this picture from the goofy juice! I was having to help her sit up...she refused to lay down!

About 30 minutes before surgery they gave Kristin the "goofy juice". She was so high it was funny. I laughed so hard I thought I'd wet my pants! When they took her to surgery she was as happy as could be without a care in the world! She took 5 stuffed animals with her (3 mini-beanie babies and two bigger stuffed animals) and they all went to surgery as well! Chris and I went to the waiting room and about 30 minutes later the doctor came out to talk to us. He said the surgery went well, her tonsils and adenoids were small, which made them easier to get out. He said she was doing great, but was having a hard time waking up.

When we got back to the recovery area, it was just the saddest thing ever. Kristin was confused, scared, hurting and wanted to go home. I was trying to feed her a slushie and I started getting upset and nauseous. It was bad. Finally she got some more pain medicine and she took a little nap. Luckily she didn't get sick after surgery...the doctor said they give kids steroids during surgery and they don't get sick, but the only dowside is that the pain is worse a couple of days after surgery, when the steroids wear off. Anyway, they brought her a dvd player and she watched a couple of movies, ate popcicles and drank sprite. Everyone at the surgery center was great....they did a good job of making your child, as well as you, feel cared for.

This was after she got some medicine for pain and was finally resting.

After her nap they brought her a dvd player and huge folder of movies to choose from. She watched The Bridge to Terabithia.

A little after 2:00 Kristin was discharged. Grandma and Grandpa were at the house waiting with a balloon, stuffed animals, and a Hannah Montanna outfit. I took off to get Kristin's medicine, then Chris' dad took Chris and I out to eat since we hadn't eaten all day. Thanks, Grandpa!

Last night was rough...Kristin woke up crying a few times and just didn't sleep well. She woke up around 8 this morning really hurting. She is so mad that she can't eat normal food and I'm not used to having her "down" for so long. Normally even when she's really sick, she's still running around like usual. She keeps telling me, "I've never felt like this before" and "I've never hurt in my throat like this!" This has been a change for all of us and I will be glad to have the goofy, wild Kristin back. Today she went on a quick trip to Wal-Mart with Chris to get more jello...she was exhausted when they got back. It's sad.

Today Kristin got flowers, balloons and a teddy bear from Nene, Lynn and her family. Here's a picture of Kristin with those along with two books from us, her goodies she got yesterday from Grandma and Grandpa, and her dolphin she got in recovery. Doesn't she look pitiful???

Tonight I was more than happy to let her eat ice cream for supper and I'm hoping we'll all get a little more sleep than last night! Thanks for all the calls, e-mails, prayers and well-wishes!

Love, Love, Love

2009-02-10T20:28:00.004-06:00

All you need is love, love...

Tonight I was watching Kristin make her Valentine cards and when she got to Alex's, she turned to me and said "Don't look!" (Alex is a little boy Kristin talks about all the time and apparently he is very sweet and cute. ) She covered the card while she worked for several minutes, finally finished and put it in the pile of cards. Well, after she was finished, of course I had to take a look. Here's the card:

Love is all you need!

FlyLady

2009-02-08T13:02:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Mandy I have discovered FlyLady. I'd heard of her before, but thought she was a little too OCD for me (I know there are people laughing at that), but I finally really read her website and figured her out and just LOVE her! Basically what she does is give you the tools to get yourself and home organized and how to keep it that way. Now, most of you know that I am not a neat freak, by any means. But I am OCD and get very weird about certain things. For instance, I have been known to clean baseboards at midnight, or rearrange rooms just spur of the moment...very impulsive. Yesterday I decided to pull the fridge out and clean beside and behind it, just all of a sudden! And since I am ADD, I jump quickly from one thing to the next, including cleaning, rarely finishing the first task before moving on to the next. And, my room at school....I am so weird about having it a very particular way...MY way! I just realized I am like this when I started getting off work at 3:30 and another teacher is closing my room at night. There is nothing wrong with what she does, but I have had to learn to "let go" of things having to be a certain way.

Anyway, I'm getting off the subject...where was I? FlyLady! She suggests that you write out daily routines for yourself, and she divides your house into zones, and you make time in your daily routine for cleaning those zones, etc. Since I get off track so easily, writing out a routine for myself as well as a weekly checklist has worked miracles. For me there is just something about writing it down, it somehow makes me feel like I have to get it done. I will never be a person who keeps their life organized on a Blackberry...I have to have pen and paper and I love being able to mark things off a list! Also I am blessed to have a husband who helps with the housework (even if he doesn't do it MY way, I've learned to be thankful he's doing it!). I live by lists, especially at work, so I don't know why it took me so long to figure out that this would be great for me. Oh, at the best part...the journal that you keep your routines and stuff in is called your CONTROL Journal! I like that, of course, since I have to be in control!

Here is my journal:

And since we're talking about cleaning, here are some of my favorite cleaning supplies:

Simplicity dish soap...all natural, organic
Green Works cleaner...I use it for everything! Alot of people who want natural cleaner make their own out of vinegar, but I cannot stand the smell of vinegar, not to mention if I get any on me, I break out in a rash. So, this stuff works great for me. The bottle of concentrate is inexpensive and lasts a long time.

My Dyson Animal vacuum...it is so awesome! Everytime I vacuum I am amazed by all the animal hair it gets up and how clean the carpet is...it really sucks!

Kristin's surgery is set for Friday the 13th, 9:15 at the North Hills Surgery Center in Fayetteville. We, of course, have to be there at 7:15, for all the pre-op "stuff". I think it will be hilarious when they give her the "goofy pill", she's goofy enough as it is! Anyway, she is counting down the days and is handling it well. I think she's looking forward to feeling better after she gets over the surgery. I've stocked the kitchen with soft things to eat...popsicles, a little ice cream (she's not a big ice cream eater because of her milk allergy), frozen fruit for smoothies, yogurt, applesauce, etc. Needless to say, I will be glad when it is all over and done with. Hopefully this will take care of her sore throat, ear aches, and constant fever!

The Tonsils Must Go!

2009-02-03T20:36:00.005-06:00

Today I took Kristin to her appointment with the ENT. First of all, our trip to Fayetteville was quite an adventure..my "shortcut" turned out not to be so short since I was stopped in the middle of traffic for over 5 minutes then re-routed, due to ice storm clean-up. I was glad Kristin was napping so she didn't hear my occasional "IDIOTS" and "MORONS" outbursts. (Lynn and I come by our "driving talk" honestly....thanks, Dad!) We managed to get there on time...her appt. was at 3:15, we were told to be there at 2:45 to fill out paperwork and I pulled into the parking lot at 2:43!

Kristin was very good during the visit. Everyone in the office was so nice and we both really liked Dr. Davis. (Everytime I say his name I have flashbacks from college). He checked Kristin out and was very concerned about her continuous fever and said her tonsils need to come out as soon as possible (no waiting around for spring break!). He's also taking out her adenoids, but is holding off on ear tubes...he believes all her ear trouble is due to the tonsils and adenoids. Kristin stayed very quiet and still while we talked and would raise her hand when she had a question, and she asked good questions...she wanted to know if she would feel the tonsils being taken out, how long her throat would hurt, and how they take them out. She is scheduled to have the surgery next Friday (the 13th!) and so far is pretty calm about it. The office will call tomorrow to let us know what time to be there.

After we left the doctor's office we stopped to eat an early dinner at Applebee's in Springdale. We had such a good time just sitting there talking. I let Kristin talk me into a huge dessert...the Triple Chocolate Meltdown...(I think that took all of my extra Weight Watchers points for the week!). I was glad we were able to turn a doctors visit into a fun afternoon.

Is Chris trying to shake out her tonsils????

Ice Storm 2009

2009-01-28T21:31:00.011-06:00

This is the tree responsible for knocking out our power!

Kristin and I took lots of walks up and down the street....we had cabin fever!

This is a hole in the ice on our street...it's about three inches thick!

Our bush/tree laying on our back gate

Here is our street....

Kristin under the redbud tree...it only lost one small limb :)

It seems like every winter we have an "ice event" of some sort here in Northwest Arkansas, but this time, it was a major storm. Luckily our weatherman knew it was coming, so people were as prepared as they could be. Except for those last minute people who were at Wal-Mart and other grocery stores when the freezing rain started! Chris said it was a madhouse when he left at 4:00.

Monday afternoon we started having freezing drizzle and it continued overnight and all day Tuesday morning we had hard freezing rain with occasional sleet. Finally around 6 or so it switched over to light snow. We were without power for a few hours Tuesday and are fortunate that's been all. I think the fact that Siloam Springs owns their utilites makes getting power outages fixed quicker, since they only have to take care of Siloam. Needless to say school is out, so we have been just hanging out at the house. Our power outage was during the day, so we had light to see. We kept busy coloring, making clay figures, doing the dancing mat, playing Operation and just talking. Kristin and I went out a couple of times today just exploring. Trees and branches are down everywhere. My beautiful redbud tree only has one small limb down so I'm hoping it will be ok.

I have been keeping myself busy by doing some good cleaning...today I took everything out of the fridge and gave it a good scrub. I even took all the shelves out, put them in the sink and washed them down. Maybe tomorrow it will be the bedroom closet....

Kristin has her appointment with the ENT next Tuesday afternoon. She's been coughing a lot and is still running a fever off and on, so I'm anxious to get her to the doctor.

UPDATE 1/30/09

I went back to work today for part of the day...since school was out again, we didn't have many kids. I used the morning to do some cleaning, put out new work and get lesson plans ready for next week. Ice is falling all over the place...our playground looks like a warzone...as Kristin would say, "The town looks terrible!" There are still people without power in Siloam and some in other towns may not have power back for a month. Even though we were home most of the week, it seems like it has been the longest week ever!

Sick Again...

2009-01-18T14:59:00.000-06:00

Well, once again, Kristin is sick. She woke up Friday morning with 102 temp and the first words out of her mouth were, "My ears hurt." So, I took her to work with me and got her an appointment for the doctor. I was certain she had another ear infection, but the doctor said her ears were just fine. Her tonsils, however, were and still are another story. They are HUGE and nasty. The doctor said that since they are so big they are causing her ears to hurt. She put Kristin on Zithromax, but said she'd probably keep running a low temp until we get the tonsils out. We looked at her chart and since Feb. 08, she'd been to the doctor 9 times with fever, earache and sore throat. We were referred to an ENT in Fayetteville and I'm going to call them in the morning to schedule an appointment. Kristin also has a high-rising epiglottis, which is also gross looking...it almost touches the back of her uvula...ick. That may or may not be causing her to have breathing problems at night and persistnet coughing while sleeping. Kristin is already getting nervous about going to the hospital, but I know she'll feel so much better when she gets those tonsils out. And on the bright side, we'll get our annual deductible met and out of the way at the beginning of the year...woo hoo, surgery for everyone!

Other than the tonsils, things are going well. Kristin got her report card, which was great. I still think her teacher is not doing all she should with Kristin, but luckily the year is almost over. I'm doing lots of phonics with her at home and she is so excited to be reading. At school they are still working on letter name and sound recognition, which she already knows, but sometimes has to take a minute to think about, and they don't want her to have to do that. It's so frustrating! But she has made a lot of positive progress...she loves math (does not get that from me!) and PE is her favorite class (that's not from me, either). She's going to start seeing a counselor at school for her anxiety and ADHD. It is through Ozark Guidance, a place here in town that works in conjunction with the schools. They thought they would not get her in before school was out, but the school counselor has kept on them and apparently has gotten things going. I have to call him tomorrow, too. Next week they are going to the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville to see Stellaluna...she is very excited about it.

We had a great Christmas in Cabot and I'll post pictures eventually!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-27T19:56:00.003-06:00

Christmas Eve began as Christmas Eve never should, which was with Kristin waking up with 101 fever. Luckily I had the day off, so we just hung around the house in our PJ's, making cookies and doing breathing treatments. Kristin really was trying to pretend that she felt fine and was worried that she wouldn't get any presents if she was sick. I assured her that no matter what, she would get her presents. One of the girls at school gave all the teachers a set of cookie dough mix. Mine was sugar cookie, so that's what Kristin and I used for Santa's cookies. We made snowmen this year and they turned out pretty cute. I am happy to say that the night before I got the last bag of powdered sugar at Wal-Mart to make icing!

Kristin also had to put out the reindeer food that she made at school.

After we baked cookies we watched A Christmas Story then checked the Santa Tracker on the NORAD site. That really is neat. You can see all the places Santa has been and see "news reports" of Santa sightings around the world. Each year Kristin gets more and more excited about the tracker and as he gets closer to the US, she knows it's almost time for bed. Kristin asked me if I still believe in Santa and I said, "Of course!" I cannot imagine Christmas without the magic of Santa. We did let Kristin open one present from us...clay. She was so excited and has since made several coil pots and is getting them ready to paint.

Before bed we read the Christmas story from Kristin's children's Bible and then it was off to bed...so we thought. Kristin laid with Chris while he watched tv and would NOT go to sleep. So I laid down with her and she finally calmed down enough to fall asleep. Kristin left specific instructions for Santa to use the Hannah Montanna paper she picked to wrap her presents, so that's just what he did ;) and he left a present under the tree in her room as she requested as well. Kristin also decorated a box with pictures and drawings for Santa. On the box she wrote "It is 4 u, Santa and Ms. Klos. Luv, Kristin Arft" Of course I kept the box and drawings!

Kristin woke up at 7:30 Christmas morning informing me that Santa had left presents and that her head felt better (she still had a little fever).

For breakfast Chris had his first experience with biscuits and chocolate gravy. Being from Missouri, he'd never heard of it and wanted to try it (Kristin had never had it either). And as I figured, they both liked it. Chris had to work overnight, so we just stayed at home, which I love. I like seeing family, but I love Christmas when we can open presents, hang out at home and not have to worry about going anywhere.

This weekend we are going to Cabot for Christmas with Mom, Lynn, and her family. I'll post lots of Christmas pictures when we get back.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Tour

2008-12-14T15:11:00.010-06:00

Merry Christmas and welcome to the Christmas Tour of Homes. Grab a mug of coffee or hot chocolate and enjoy the tour!

Santa greets you as you make your way to our house. Kristin was so excited about this addition to our house and yard decorations.

Once inside, you'll find my table with some of my many snowmen. Also I have my Christmas Card Tree. I found this last year at Khol's and have really enjoyed it. Hoepfully it will have more cards on it in the days to come!

Hanging on the wall next to the table are our stockings. My grandmother made my stocking and my mom made Chris and Kristin's. I considered learning how to make them myself, but they involve a lot of cross-stitch and beadwork and I do not have the attention span or patience to do it!

This is my wreath that is too delicate to put on an outside door, so I hang it on the wall above the couch. It was made by the mother of a friend of mine from Japan.

Here is our tree. I usually do ribbon, but Kristin wanted the cranberry and gumdrop garland, so that's what we went with. We considered getting a live tree this year, but with all the allergy and asthma issues we've been having, we decided against it.

To the right of the tree are more snowmen. I love my snowman who counts down the days till Christmas.

To the left of the tree you'll find a good place to relax and enjoy a cup of coffee (or hot chocolate).

On top of the entertainment center is our nativity...

Here is our door going to the garage...

and as you make your way to the kitchen....on top of my pantry you'll find more Chrismas odds and ends. Some I have had since I was little. I love the little Christmas cottage. When you blow out the tealight candle inside, smoke comes out of the chimney.

And in the kitchen window...more snowmen, of course! I also put out my Coca-Cola Polar Bear glass...I always loved those commercials and am so sad they no longer show them.

Down the hall is Kristin's advent calendar. This was mine when I was little, a family friend made it for me. Now Kristin looks forward to moving the bear each day until he finds Christmas. She is especially excited about it this year since she is beginning to be able to read some of it herself.

Here is Kristin's tree and her ornament she got last year at the Precious Moments Chapel. She is hoping that Santa will leave a present under her tree.

Well, that about does it. Thanks for visiting and have a merry Christmas!!!!!

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things.....

2008-12-06T14:21:00.000-06:00

Ok, I don't look or sound anything like Julie Andrews, but since I've been tagged to do it, here's my list of top 10 favorite things:

1. Kodak--I LOVE Kodak products...I have a Kodak M1033 camera that I take pictures with on almost a daily basis and Chris got me a Kodak printer for an early Christmas present. With the Kodak software you can do anything..order and edit pictures, print pictures, make all kinds of cards, albums, etc. LOVE IT!

2. GreenWorks Cleaner--this stuff is great...it's all natural cleaner that you can use on anything, and I do! I buy a bottle of concentrate (which is only a little over 2 bucks) and it lasts forever. Best of all, since it's all natural, Kristin can use it to help me clean! :)

3. Purell Hand Sanitizer--I'm becoming more OCD in my old-age and since I am around germy kids all day and wash my hands constantly, I, of course, also love hand sanitizer and am somewhat addicted. I have no clue how many times I use it throughout the day, after helping kids wipe their noses, etc. I always carry a travel size bottle in my purse and use it before and after grocery shopping.

4. Udder Cream--between all the hand washing and sanitizing, needless to say, I have very dry hands. They are especially bad this time of year. Udder cream lotion is something I always have around, usually right next to the hand sanitizer! It's great stuff and a little goes a long way.

5. Hallam's Peanut Butter---this is a local peanut butter made in Ozark, Missouri and it's WONDERFUL! Between Kristin and myself, we go through tons of it. It is natural, organic peanut butter and it's yummy! There are several things that I always but organic, and this is one of them.

6. Burt's Bees or Carmex--I always have one of these on hand...usually one at school, one in my car or purse, and one by the bed.

7. Jan Brett--ok, she's not a thing, she's a person, but her books are things! Jan Brett is a children's author and her books are wonderful..The Mitten, The Hat, Annie and the Wild Animals...just to name a few. Kristin loves her books and I have lots of The Mitten and The Hat activities to do with my kids during our winter unit.

8. Folgers Coffee, classic blend---yes there is Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and many other "better" brands and flavors, but Folgers original will always be my favorite. With lots of cream and sugar, of course! Maybe it's because that's what Dad always drank and it makes me think of him, but I have to have some every morning. I love when I wake up at 5:15 and smell my coffee brewing!

9. A Christmas Story--it's Christmas and I love this movie. Last year Chris got it for me on DVD and I think Kristin and I watched it almost every night! It just makes me laugh.

10. Crayola--anything made by Crayola! Kristin will spend hours drawing, gluing, cutting, painting, so we have a lot of Crayola "stuff" and it's all worth every penny. This past summer while at the Crown Center in Kansas City we discovered a huge Crayola store...I don't know who liked it more, me or Kristin! She told me this morning that she is ready to go back!

Well, those are some of may favorites, now what are yours?

I tag...Mandy, Cassie and Allison Lynn, I would tag you too, but you don't have a blog :(

Playing Catch-Up

2008-12-03T09:34:00.002-06:00

Wow, seems like a lot has been going on lately and I haven't posted in weeks. I'm at home sick. Kristin was sick the past couple of days and I think I have whatever it was that she had. Chris has a cold, but doens't have a fever or anything. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Kristin and I went to Cabot, then went with Mom to my aunt's house in Truman for Thanksgiving. Kristin had so much fun playing with Luke and riding with Uncle Dutch on the 4-wheeler. She was so upset when we had to leave. Lynn, Brandon and Lindsay went back to Cabot with us and spent the weekend. We all got up at 4:30 Friday morning and headed to Wal-Mart. I was on a mission to find Kristin a coat and a fleece-lined jacket. They had great deals on them and Kristin is SO picky about her coats (all clothes, actually)...they have to feel just right and not be too "puffy" (she has a wonderful Gap down filled coat that she refuses to wear). We found a couple of coats and some other things. I think everyone but Lindsay took a nap later that day. We came back home Saturday to a nice, clean house (thanks, Chris). Chris had gone to Joplin and ended up staying the night since the weather was getting bad. Kristin slept in the bed with me and at 4am, threw up all in the bed. So, I did a load of sheets at 4 in the morning! We awoke Sunday to snow! It snowed all day and night and we got a nice dusting...it was so pretty.

Here are some more birthday pictures...some from Kristin's birthday with Grandma and Grandpa. I'll post pictures from Cabot soon...Blogger is giving me trouble!

Within the next couple of weeks we will be having a referral conference with Kristin's teacher and school to request that she be evaluated for an IEP or 504 plan. What that would do is require the teacher and school to make accomidations for her such as a quiet place to do work, daily reports about her day that are more in-depth than what I usually get, more one on one teaching, etc. And if she qualifies, she would get to work with an occupational therapist on her many sensory issues (refer to her clothing issues above). Anyway, hopefully this will get things going in the right direction. I never hear from her teacher, but Kristin seems to be having fun at school and is beginning to read...all I did in Kindergarten was play! Oh well. I will update again after the conference.

Prayers Please!

2008-11-13T20:04:00.002-06:00

Everyone please visit the blog of a family near and dear to my heart...the Tugwell family. Their daughter Lily was in my preschool class and they need every prayer they can get...take a moment to visit their blog, read their story and to PRAY!

tuglor.blogspot.com

You can also find thier blog by the clicking on the name Lori under the links listed on the right