weekend fun

Michael just had his last soccer game. He has been playing soccer this fall at the Jewish Community Center. The past two years he played at the YMCA, but this year he is playing with two buddies from school. He really had a great time and did a lot of kicking. It seemed we were doing alot of cheering for Zach, Michael, and Joey. The school team has a lot to look forward to in a few years - all three really had a great season!

This weekend Gene, Holly, and Andrew came down. We went to the zoo for the annual Halloween event. Andrew, Emily and Michael had a great time. Emily was Ariel with legs, Michael was Dash, and Andrew was a puppy. All the kids got a bag full of candy. Since Doug had surgery on Thursday, he drove around the zoo in a wheel chair. Luckily Gene was there to push him up the big hills in the zoo. The Lord was with him though, that his ankle was not bumped or injured with all the people who were there.






We also had our fall festival at school yesteray. It was fun for all. Gene, Holly, and Andrew were there for that also. I had to sell tickets so they pushed Doug around in a wheel chair (he had orthoscopic ankle surgery on Thursday) and enjoyed the games with the kids. It was a typical fall festival - beanbag toss, tuck pond, sack races, cake walk ... I sure sold a lot of tickets, so hopefully it brought in a good amount of money. It sure brought in a lot of fun.

The Upside Down Show

When I was a child, mom and dad had a Vega automobile. It had a hatchback and my sister and I would ride in the back and lay on our backs. When we looked into the hatchback window we would see a reflection of the world and its lights upside down. We called this the "Upside Down Show". Today when I was flipping channels I passed a children's station entitled NOOGGIN. Since Michael and Emily were at school, I was quickly flipping through the channels that apply to kids. I had to flip back and double check what I was seeing when the title "The Upside Down Show" flipped up on the screen. Wow! Holly and I thought of this title in 1979 or 1980 so I think we should receive some royalties. What do you think? If I contacted them would I receive something for a copyright violation? I really think Holly and I own that idea :)

In Honor of the Cardinals

In Honor of the St. Louis Cardinals heading to the National Leage Championship Series I am posting some photos of our trip to St. Louis in September. At the game we attended, we were able to get "First Pitch Tickets". We had free tieckts from the Cardinal Kids Club, so we went into the stadium 2 hours before as well as attending a Cardinal Kids Club party and then came back out to get our "first pitch tickets". We got box seats - section 160 - so it was a very memorable game. Even Emily sat the game and watched without complaining. :)

Doug will be at the game on Sunday in St. Louis - a friend from Church had an extra ticket. Hopefully he will bring them luck.

Hello

Today I took my class on a field trip to see Alice in Wonderland. It was good - but kind of different. It was a psychadlic (? on spelling) version - not what I expected at all. The story started out sweet and traditional and then the curtain opened to a black area with neon props. It really got the first graders attention - but was not what I expected at all.

This week has been warm so far but it is supposed to get cool tonight and possibly freeze tomorrow. I just hope it stays nice for halloween and the weekend before. I will never forget my freshman year of college when halloween was cancelled due to a blizzard - of course that was Nebraska and not Kentucky, but I can't ever help but think it could happen again.

For Halloween this year Emily is going to be a princess - Ariel with legs since she was Ariel the Mermaid last year. I made her a pink princess dress which turned out too big so I had to alter it a bit. Michael is going to be Dash from the Incredibles. I found him a costume for $20, so I could not even begin to make it for that. It is nice to have it all thought out and finished well ahead of time. Last year I had planned on making a costume, but ran out of time (wonder why as I was balancing graduate school, teaching, parenting, cooking, cleaning ...).

We still need to plan our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch, and take fall pictures. Maybe this Sunday we will go, as it is just about the only time we have to go. When I get pictures, I will place them on the blog.

I hope all of you are having a great week and enjoying the world which God created for us to enjoy. All the changes which fall brings sure remind me of the beauty of the creation.

Busy Weekend

This weekend there was a balloon glow in Louisville. Mom and Dad T. came down for it. We went on friday night, but the rain started just as the balloons started to go up. They got up about 8 balloons, before they took them all down due to rain. We went home and played some mean games of Uno Attack, drank hot chocolate, and ate snacks. We had fun, even though it was not as planned.

After a couple games of Uno Attack,we got a phone call from Greg and Jamie ... they were at the hospital. Jamie's blood pressure had been high, so the doctor said to come in. They were going to observe her and go from there. On Saturday morning mom wanted to call so badly and see how things were, but I helped her restrain herself. They guys went off to golf and mom, the kids and I went to do some garage saling (should have stayed home as it was fruitless).

We watched the Cardinal game and relaxed the rest of the day. In the afternoon we received a call from Greg saying they were going to begin inducing Jamie. Shortly there after Mom and Dad left for home.

Sunday we awoke for early church and headed off. When we left, we saw the balloons taking off for the balloon race - boy was it hard to drive to Church when around 100 balloons were taking off near the highway. They headed toward Church, thus the above picture of the balloons over school. It was beautiful with them flying over Church.

After a soccer game and working at school, we went home. Still not word from Greg and Jamie. Around 8:30 we got a call - Naomi - was born at 7:38 P.M. weighing 7 lbs. 12 oz. When we got word, they still did not know her length. I am sure we will know more shortly - but both mom and baby are healthy.

Praying Mantis

I have always been intrigued with Praying Mantis insects. Last night Emily found one and we had the chance to look up close. She was a praying mantis for halloween two years ago, so she also really is fascinated with them. Here is this wonder which God created.

Here is a photo of the puppy we rescued from the "flood of 2006". I found out from the kids that they really thought that if nobody called about the puppy that we would keep him. Boy were they wrong. They also did not have a clue of how large the puppy would get.

He was cute, but a little full of energy for us. He was also very quiet at night - Doug would put him in the kennel and he would curl up and go to sleep - we would not hear from him until morning. Hard to believe that nobody claimed him. I hope that someone will claim him from the Humane Society and give him a new home. Of course we will never know.

Off to the Humane Society

This afternoon Doug took "puppy" (the puppy we rescued) to the Humane Society. Hopefully someone will come looking for the dog - as the only response to the signs the kids posted was a call asking for a shitzu/chuawa (? on spelling) mix. That was obviously not the dog we had.

When I told the kids that Daddy took the puppy to the Humane Society, they asked "Why?" They have not played with her much, and have been scared, but I guess they thought they might be able to keep her (they liked the idea of her - but not the actual her). Adding one animal to our family in the past few months is enough.


In August, I had decided that after almost 6 years of being without my cats (Alex and Katie whom I left in Fort Smith) I was ready to have another cat. A member of our church had found a stray cat - and could no longer keep it - thus we added Benny to our familiy. Benny is a sweet cat who loves to curl up on the couch during story time. He does seem to have some health issues, which we are dealing with, but it does not change his temperment. He enjoys letting the kids pet him, as well as playing "attack" with their shoe laces. He is declawed and has all his shots, so we really were fortunate.

We also have two parakeets - Belle & Angel Cake. They are noisy, and do not get out much. Benny does not bother them at all :) They have a happy community of sharing our house.

More on the Flood of 2006

Well, I got home at 6:30 after going to both Church services (choir sang in one and I sang in the praise team at the other) and spending the afternoon cleaning and organizing my classroom. I got a lot done, and do feel at least somewhat ready for tomorrow. I praise the Lord that I was able to salvage quite a bit - it was just the containers that were damaged. I have made a list of things, and hope that it will not grow as I discover more things. It is now 9:45 and I am just finished doing lesson plans for tomorrow. Now, I can go help get laundry done and other jobs that did not get done due to being at a teacher's conference and the flood happenings.

I almost forgot our "good deed" which is haunting us. Yesterday morning after Doug checked on the office, he came home and almost ran over a little puppy. He must have been spooked in the storm - or flooded out - but he was in the road without any colar. Doug brought him home. Then he and the kids made signs and put them around the neighborhood. Well, 48 hours later we still have a dog - and we found out he was a rotwiler (don't know how to spell it). He is cute, and can be cuddly, but also growled at me and has gotten nippy. We are not sure what to do - will call the animal control tomorrow and report him. I also plan on calling our vet and taking him so we can check if he has a microchip. I hope his owners call tomorrow or we may have a real mess. We have kept him outside all day - and will do so tonight also, as he is making Bennie (our cat) feel pretty on edge.

Flood of 2006

Have you ever turned on the TV, only to hear on the news that they are evacuating people by boat a few blocks from your house? Well, that is what happened to me yesterday morning. It had stormed all Friday night - house shaking thunder and lightning. When I awakened Saturday I turned on the TV to see the weather and check traffic, as I was heading downtown to a teacher's conference. To my surprise they said they were evacuating Buchel by boat (I live in Buchel). I quickly went to the front window and saw there was no water out the front. Then I quickly went to the backyard (which sometimes has standing water) and it was clear - praise the Lord.

I headed off downtown about 8:00, instead of the 7:00 I had planned as there were some highways closed and I wanted it to be light just in case there were roads underwater downtown. I got downtown uneventfully, and had a great conference!

After the keynote, I went to turn my phone back on and noticed a missed call from Doug. His message said there was water in the school and he was headed there to check it out. I tried and tried to call him, but cell service in school is terrible and he was in a dead spot. I then tried another teacher, who told me yes I needed to head to school as there had been inches in my classroom.

I arrived to all my belongings being moved and placed on desk. In addition, there were cardboard boxes falling apart all around the room. I took one look and began to cry. I felt like it was August all over again - only worse I had to go get containers and boxes to even begin sorting and cleaning.

Now I am in the midst of making lists of damaged things (will insurance cover it - we will see) and deciding what will dry and what will not. YUCK! Today I have to get the floor mopped, things into clean and dry containers, and sort through things. In addition, I have to make sure that I have looked in all my storage spots. The worst part is we are having school tomorrow, so I have to get everything done today. At least I will not be the only one at school today - it got into all the classrooms except two.

Please pray for me that I have the patience and strength to sort through everything and get everything ready for school.

Have a great day for me, as I know I will not be feeling like it is a great day. Share your great days in your comments so I can hear about them.

Are potato chips your weakness?

If potato chips are your weakness like mine, just try something new. Doug bought some salt/vinegar chips and loves them. I tried one, and was totally repulsed by the flavor. This was a real surprise - as I love just about any kind of food. Even foods I don't like, can be eaten by me without too much trouble. After tasting a small chip, I had to brush my teeth, use mouth wash and I still tasted the chips. So, I told him to buy those chips by the case if he wanted chips. I know he is able to eat them, while I will never eat another chip in my life if that is the kind we have in the house.

Tired Children

Wow! Tonight was almost a first - my kids went to bed without whining and without me telling Emily to stop reading. I put them in their beds and they went right to sleep. Wow! Doug was not even home to witness this incredible occurance - hope it will happen again! I guess soccer practice wore Michael out after a busy day at school. Emily played on the playground with her friend during practice, so I guess that wore her out also after a busy day at school.

Another Funny

I knew I had two funny things to post, but when I went to do so, I couldn't think of the other. Now I did so here it goes.

Have you ever had two antibiotics in the refrigerator? Well, right now I have a bottle of bubble gum pink amoxicillin for my son and another bottle of bubble gum pink amoxicillin for my cat Benny. Wonder what would happen if I mixed up the two - they sure smell the same. Since Michael asks for his medicine, why can't Benny (who we had to hold down and help him gag it down)? Since people medicine is bubble gum flavor, why can't cat medicine be cheese or milk flavor? Also, since cat medicine was cheaper than the people medicine, next time I may take Michael to the vet, instead of his pediatrician. :)

a funny thing ...

Today in class we were discussing fears. I asked the 1st graders to share what they were afraid of. They listed the dark, monsters, getting lost ... the typical first grade fears. They I asked what adults were afraid of. One boy raised his hand and with a big grin said, "Loosing their hair!" Of course the whole class started laughing. Then, he added something that really showed how smart he was ... he said, "No really, Max Lucado is afraid of loosing his hair. It says so in one of his books." Wow!

These are pictures my family which were taken this summer. Emily enjoys 3rd grade. Michael enjoys kindergarten. Doug enjoys selling franchises while I enjoy teaching 1st grade.

Today we had school pictures, so in a few weeks I should have some new school pictures of the kids to post.

This summer we enjoyed going to St. Louis a few times - seeing the new Bush Stadium was the high point. This fall we will be traveling to Wisconsin for the baptism of our new neice.

WELL HERE IT GOES

Well, here I am, attempting to create a BLOG. I have done e-mail for years, have done graduate classes on-line, as well as creating yearbooks and other technological publications. Now, here I am trying to create a BLOG for myself.

In this BLOG I hope to share the ramblings of my life as a busy working mother. I am trying to balance time with my classroom, my two children, my husband, my school related obligations, my church obligations, and all the many other things I do.

Right now I am in the midst of teaching 22 first graders. Helping them learn to read, do basic addition, write sentences and have fun while doing it all is my job. I spend 5 days a week - 180 days a year doing this. I just recently earned my masters degree in early childhood education, so I guess that is what I will be doing for a while.

In addition, I am raising an 8 year old girl and a 6 year old boy. Going to soccer games, helping with piano practice (and flute practice starting this week), reading books, helping with homework, playing games, playing mediator, and laughing fill my time.

I have been exploring technology since I was in the 5th grade. I can remember when they first wheeled an apple computer into my classroom in a cart. Boy was that cool. Then, after a year or so, our school got a small computer lab of apple computers. There were still not enough for every student, but more than just one for the whole class. From there I took high school classes, was the computer teacher's aide (copying 51/2 inch floppy disks seems so crazy now), and learned BASIC. I remember getting a Texas Instruments Computer (yes, they did make computers) and playing all kinds of games. That occured when I was in 5th or 6th grade. Now, I am ready to help my children explore technology. I hope that through this BLOG they will be able to see me explore technolgy in a personal way (not just for graduate class like they did ofr the past two years).