Getting ready to party

Carleigh's birthday is Saturday and we are having her party on her actual birthday (first time EVER!). So we are busy cleaning and getting things ready for her party. She requested a pink and purple theme, so I am doing just that with maybe a little girl-theme thrown in. She is very vocal about what she wants which is about everything she sees on tv (gotta love commercials!).

The kids will also be getting a bigger surprise present in a few months. Hopefully it will be a life-saver this summer!

It's official!

Cody is now a registered little league baseball player! Today we registered Cody for baseball. It's quite a big program that has children ages 5 - 22 years of age. Everyone in the program was really friendly and Cody got to pick the number for his jersey! (I am secretly hoping he makes the "Cubs" or "Reds" team.) The Opening Day ceremony will be May 2nd and Cody will have state tournaments in early August. I am so very happy that they have this for special needs kids. Or other wise, children like Cody could not play sports. We are excited to be a part of this league. Carleigh has decided that she will be a cheerleader! (And of course we will have to sign her up for dance in the fall.)

Out of the mouth of a second grader

Today, I was walking my class down to the cafeteria when one of my little girls asked me, "Why don't your children go to our school?" I was totally caught off-guard to say the least. Trying to come up with a quick explanation without going over her head, I said, "My son has something wrong with his brain and so he goes to a school who can help him learn." So, A said "Oh, so he is special?!" I about cried right there....yes, Cody is VERY special and it's amazing that she said something so sweet. Of course, it caused an emotional lunch in my classroom to say that least.

Right to Read Week

At the Kindergarten Center, it is Right to Read Week. On Monday, the kids wore crazy socks that my sister and I decorated with sequins, glitter and pompoms. Today, it was mix-match day. Carleigh wore a red plaid jumper with a long, pink blouse with hearts, and to top the outfit, she wore purple pants underneath with clashing socks. It was kind of hard to make Cody "tacky" as he mostly wears jeans or khakis. I found black sweatpants with a brown Brobie shirt. Tomorrow is Spirit Day so they will wear shirts they have with their school's name printed on it. On Thursday, it is pajama day and on Friday, it will be Crazy Hat Day. I bought a REALLY cute giraffe hat (I will post pics) for Cody. (Carleigh doesn't have preschool on Fridays, so she misses out on Crazy Hat Day.)

I was looking at photos yesterday and remembered that I had not ordered ANY of my photos since July of 2007. So last night, I ordered July 2007 - December 2008 photos. That was a whopping 500 pictures! (And I was being very selective with what I chose to order.) I am now uploading January 2009 - February 2010. I plan on biting the bullet and ordering them very soon. This is a costly lesson indeed....do not wait to order a year or so's worth of photos are it will REALLY cost you! *sigh*

Itching for Spring

I saw Easter decorations and other goodies for Easter and oh it made me wish that Spring would hurry up and get here! I so am over all of this snow and freezing temps! Spring Break will be here in a month and I cannot wait! I am planning a day trip or two. I hope it is warm!

Next Saturday, we are registering Cody for baseball. It is a special league for children with mental and physical disabilities. The season begins in May and ends in July with tournaments in August. The ball games are held less than 5 minutes from our house which is also a great thing! Cody could have joined last year, but I think he needed an extra year to mature. We are hoping he enjoys baseball and meets new friends. We are also hoping to meet new friends who face similar struggles as us. Parenting children with disabilities is a unique, and tough job, although we know that God chose us for this very reason.

More Carleigh antics and.....a TRUCK!

Carleigh was up to no good again, this time, poor Mamaw got the raw end of the deal. Apparently my mom was in Cody's bedroom with Cody, when Carleigh shut the door and locked them inside (we put the doorknob on the outside due to them locking themselves inside constantly.) Luckily my mom had a coin and unlocked it from inside the room. She is such a little stinker! Who knows what she will do next ?!! Dare I ask?

The biggest news so far is that we are now the owners of a truck! We were going to look for a small car, but a VERY nice red truck became available and we could not pass up this deal. I am so excited to have my van back and can drive myself to work now and not be stuck at the house when Matt is working on Saturdays. Yay!

A Thief Amongst Us...

This morning while getting ready for work, I heard a strange rustling sound and little feet. I walk to the front hallway and see that the laundry room light is on. I distinctively remember that I turned that light off AND the door is closed. That gives me warning signs that someone is up to no good.

I open the door and find Carleigh on top of a laundry hamper reaching for Matt's change on top of our white cabinet. I must say that she has excellent problem solving skills as she dumped all of her/Cody's clothes on the floor and some ended in another hamper, turned it over, and used it as a ladder to get her desired prize.

The look of shock and horror on her face was priceless. Yes, I have a thief and she has started young! (A few days ago she snatched a few coins from her aunt's coin collection also.) Why oh why is she obsessed with money at such a young age? She has 3 piggy banks full of coins and I think she needs a bigger one.

After talking to Matt this evening, it appears that it wasn't the first time Carleigh did that. Apparently she sneaked into the laundry room a few days ago while I was gone and did the same thing. *sigh*


**I survived Egypt Day today and it went (relatively)well!

Busy, busy, busy

A lot of things have been going on and I haven't posted like I normally do. It's that time of the year again when I set up my classroom to look like ancient Egypt. Tomorrow is Egypt Day and I stayed late this evening getting the room ready (no parent helpers today). It's a LOT of work and it can be very stressful, but the kids enjoy it. I guess that makes it all worthwhile.

We are planning Carleigh's 5th birthday. It is going to be a "pink and purple" birthday theme and I have some cute things in mind for it. We are going to car "shop" and is excited about having a second car again very soon. Cody will get signed up for baseball next weekend (more later about that) and his meeting with the first grade team has been scheduled for April.

Also, there are a few more things going on and then, hopefully, Spring will be right around the corner!!

Papaw Schmidt

Matt's dad was hospitalized Tuesday evening for a serious foot infection. He has Type II Diabetes as well as having by-pass surgery years ago which can cause infections. He had an angiogram done on Thursday that revealed blockages in both legs/feet. They are trying medication to unblock it. Please keep my father-in-law Dennis in your prayers. He is such a sweet, caring, Godly man...a great husband, father, and grandfather!

Conversations with Carleigh - Revisited

Today, Carleigh was looking for "Cheesemunks" again and also looking for her "octogons." Need a translation? She was really looking for a chipmunk and her Bakugans. (Yes, my almost 5 year old likes boy toys....I think she is fascinated with the magnet that causes it to open when it is placed near another magnet.)

I was watching a movie yesterday and the actress was in the hospital. Carleigh became concerned and asked, "What's wrong with her Mommy?" I quickly explained that she was "sick." She became sad so I had to quickly tell her that she was just "playing." She is really noticing things!

When they arrived home from church tonight, she walks over to Cody and says "Take your coat off Cody!" and then attempts to take his coat off for him. Such a bossy one she is!!!

Snow, Snow, Snow

Yes, we have had 3 snowstorms in 10 days. Yes, we have broken the record for having the most snow in February and we are close to breaking a record for having the most snow ever! Normally, I would be thrilled that we have had 4 snow days, but in February in my school is stressful and a time-crunch due to International Weeks.

My class is scheduled to present Egypt next Wednesday and they are predicting snow on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Can ya tell I am not a happy camper?!! My class needs every day to get ready for the big event.

It's crazy! We are working like mad trying to get everything finished by Friday so that just in case we get another big snow, we will be ready for Wednesday.

Yesterday was snow day #4 for me and snow day #5 for the kids. Seriously, I love snow, but I think enough is enough! Spring Break seems so far away!

More snow

I am starting to think all of this snow is a big joke! Seriously, we do not get THIS much snow all year long! I have heard that we have broken a record and this February is the snowiest (is that a word?) EVER! We normally get 20 inches for the whole WINTER and we have gotten that in 10 days! This is the third snowstorm in less than 2 weeks! CRAZY!

It's a good thing that we had today off for President's Day or we would have another snow day. Cody and Carleigh's school is already closed for tomorrow and I am expecting a phone call from my school shortly. That means the kids have no more calamity days and if we get anymore snow, they will have to start making it up at the end of the school year. My school has 2 days left (one if we get a snow day tomorrow).

I shoveled the driveway tonight and it was still coming down steadily. I am seriously getting sick of this snow. We have snow on top of snow and it looks like we have over 2 feet of snow in the yard! *sigh* Is it Spring YET?!!

Valentine's Day Parties

Carleigh had her Valentine's Day party on Thursday and Cody has his party yesterday. Oh, it brings back old memories of when I was in elementary school and made shoe boxes decorated with hearts to hold all of my valentines. Cody passes out SpongeBob valentines and Carleigh gave out Princess valentines this year.

It was fun looking at all the valentines they received, plus I received valentines and candy (ugh!) from my class. For Cody, Spongebob was THE most popular and he received LOTS of them. I was actually THRILLED to see that Cody received a Christian valentine (the same one I gave my class) from a classmate of his. Way to go Chloe on being a light in public school!

Last night I bought the kids valentine gifts and this year I did not buy candy. Cody is getting a Rubix's Cube 360 Revenge game and a Bakugan. Carleigh got a Furreal puppy that fits snuggly into a purse. She was with me so she picked out her present, plus she picked out a Bakugan that she wanted. (Yes, I have a soon-to-be five year old GIRL who likes Bakugan!) She likes getting them out of the ball and putting them back in. Go figure!

Now, I am waiting for Matt to get home and we'll see what we schedule for the rest of the day!

Another Snow Day!

As of last night, I went to bed with a 2 hour delay as most schools had. I received a phone call around 6am saying that our school was closed! Yipppee!!! Of course I would have liked not getting startled at 5:30am with a phone call since they were delayed anyway. Ugh! Okay, what is the purpose of delaying when you are going to close school at 5:30am?! Crazy!!

Today, the kids and I are making Valentine's Day crafts, Cody finished his homework, baking brownies for the kids, and then I am getting caught up on grading/schoolwork and housework (cleaning, laundry, cooking). I think I have cooked for almost one whole week straight and yes the food supplies are diminishing!

Last night, I looked out and the snow was coming down yet again, but with the crazy, strong winds, it looked like a blizzard! I made the mistake of opening our door and was blasted with cold blowing snow in my face instantly. The winds are still strong and are blowing the snow all over the place. So much for my nicely shoveled driveway!

Snow Day!

Another snow storm hit after midnight last night dumping at least 5 inches of snow. It's lightly snowing now, but it is supposed to kick up again and dump more snow tonight into tomorrow. I awoke in a jolt when my cell phone went off at 5:25am (and then the home phone went off 30 seconds later) to tell me that we were closed for today. Then about 10 minutes later, the kids' school district called. I went back to sleep and slept blissfully until 8am.

We have watched movies, doing crafts, and are going out to shovel (aka PLAY) when Matt gets home.

I am so enjoying my second snow day of the year and it is the kids' third snow day. I highly doubt that we will have school tomorrow since more snow is on the way. Doesn't matter to me because we will have a fun time at home playing games, snuggling, and watching the snow fall.

I may post pics of the latest snowfall later this evening.

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Smiling boy

Matt and Carleigh fell asleep on the couch last night and I heard giggling from Cody's bedroom. This is what I found when I came into his room, except he was facing the mirror. My sweet, silly boy now likes wearing his hat and gloves. Why couldn't he like them when he is OUTSIDE?!!

This was taken the month before I met my husband Matt. I was finished with my first year at Miami. (May 1996)
My high school graduation, standing with my dad. (June 1994)
Summer of 1992 (I am holding my niece Britt, I am almost 16 yrs old)

Here I am at second grade. (Dec. 1983) I was an original Alvin fan!
Here I am at 13 years old holding my niece Brittany (1 month old).
My sister Connie and I (I think I was 3 or 4 at the time.) Carleigh said thought it was a pic of her. I said, "No, honey, that is MOMMY!"

Snow

We woke up to about 5 inches of snow. Of course Cody and Carleigh wanted to get out in it immediately, but I had other thoughts. I decided to be domestic and make breakfast for everyone. Normally Matt works about every Saturday so I usually eat my Special K cereal and the kids generally eat muffins or waffles. This morning, I decided to make pancakes, eggs, and bacon. The kids really enjoyed something different and devoured their food. Cody could not get enough of the bacon. He really is a big meat eater!

We went out a little later and played in the snow. I shoveled about half of the driveway and Matt shoveled the second half. Carleigh enjoyed making snow angels while Cody decided a puddle in the street was fun and decided to soak himself (coat included).

Cleaning, organizing and working out is on the schedule for the rest of the day. Oh, I know, not very exciting! I will post some pics that I added to Facebook. Here are a few pics of me in my early years...

Nothing new to report

A few of my readers have commented that I haven't been posting as much. We have been busy with germs, however, there really hasn't been any exciting or cute news to report. Carleigh is hoping to get a big snowstorm this weekend so she can play it. Of course, yesterday she reported that she has a princess shovel? I have NO IDEA where she came up with that one! Matt and I looked at each other when she said that! What is she talking about?

Earlier that day, my mom and the kids were at the bus stop waiting for the bus. Cody leans over to mom and says "Mammaw, house!" This means that he was thinking he was going to her house again since he was there on Monday and Tuesday due to having a fever. Mom told him that he was going to school. Then Carleigh chimes in and says "Mamaw, I don't want to go to school. I want to go to YOUR house!" Out of the mouth of babes!