First Snow!

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

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!

This Is Halloween....

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!

Blog Update....FINALLY!

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!

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!

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....

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!

Day at the Park

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

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.

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 :)

Odds and Ends

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!