The "Second Home"

Now that we actually have a nice yard to play in, guess who wants to stay in the yard... and play!

 That play thing you see Gracie on is what they have started calling their "second home."  They somersault it over and over until it's by the deck.

*Don't call SRS.  We were outside with them.*

And then they have special ways of getting up into it.

Special ways of "waking" each other up in the "morning."

And special ways of getting from their house to the deck.

 I love that they will play together, and enjoy each other.  It makes me excited for summer.  I can see lots of bike rides around the "block" (it's half a mile around the block), and sprinkler parties with the neighbors, and late night basketball games, and lightning bug collecting.  

8 more Mondays of school. 

Can you believe that?

And two of those weeks are 4 day weeks.

YAHOO!

 

this is what saves my sanity

Because my kids like to play out in the front yard.
And because I need something I can prepare quickly.
And because I'm a lazy cook...
This is what saves my sanity:

 the grill.

What should we have tonight?

I don't know- let's grill.

It's not windy out today- let's grill.

Mama's had a bad day- let's grill.

I want to treat myself to some grilled veggies- let's grill.

Right now, one of my very favorite foods is grilled vegetables.  

Actually any vegetables are my favorite vegetables.  

We went to Subway last Sunday after church for lunch.  I ordered my usual (something I'm sure that went straight to my thighs and rear-end)... and I walked away from Subway thinking, "I could have just put all the veggies on there with no meat, and I would have loved it the same." 

So, here it is.  

Supper.

On the grill.

 

Because I want my kids to keep liking me.  

 

Princess

Our Princess

 

being a boy

It's not wonder this boy is stick-skinny.

In a 20 minute time span he did all of these things:

 fishing

 drawing

 roller skating (in Dora skates)

trains

He might turn out to be my weight loss plan this summer.  If I follow him around all day and do what he does, I should be stick-skinny for next school year!  HA!

__________________________________________________

 

playing in the rain

Our entire spring break is supposed to be rainy.  
So, instead of grumbling about it, we went and bought

RAIN BOOTS!

I spent about an hour watching my girls play in the rain. 

 They found a worm. And put it in a cup.

 But then they decided it was better to be kept on the ground.

 So glad they got along enough to have fun playing outside in their new rain boots!

 As for this little guy...

 he stayed inside with me... probably wishing he could splash in those puddles, too!

How to tangle your hair in a brush...

or, rather, how to get it out of the brush.

Step 1:  Make sure you twist your long hair this way and that into a brush with thick, pointy bristles.

 Step 2:  After much complaining and whining about how long it's taking your mother to get your hair untangled, your mother should ask a neighbor to help.  However, she won't be able to do much more than your mother did, so have your mother ask the nurse across the street.  She will tell you to put LOTS and LOTS of conditioner in your hair and that should loosen it right up.

 
Step 3:  After about an hour of your mother and Amy trying to pull each strand out one by one, your dad will come home, and put you in the shower to wet all of your hair.

Step 4:  Your mother will leave with Amy to go out to eat and watch a movie while your dad will pull EACH BRISTLE out one by one from the brush until he can, at last, slide your tangled, wet, conditioned hair off the naked brush.

Step 5:  Throw the "brush" away.

 

goofy

(to the first part of the tune, "Skip to my Lou")

Sitting in immediate care,

waiting on the doc.

Gettin' kind of bored,

listen to the tick tock.

See mom get her phone out,

and my eyes are all in shock,

Gotta make goofy faces at the cam-era.

 

 You'll notice the "patient" didn't want her picture taken.  She never does anymore.  wonk, wonk.  (enter sad face here)
Gracie has a ruptured blood vessel on top of her ear drum- no wonder it's been bothering her!  I took the kids for a supper-of-champions (Arby's) and then fed them Braums ice cream before bed tonight.  Funnest evening I've had with the family in a while.  Jada had so much fun such a sugar rush that she was asleep by the time we made our long journey (5 minutes) home.

35 things

It's my birthday today.
Last year I did a post on 34 things about myself.

So, how about 35 things for this year.
It's going to take a lot thinking.
I'm tired already.

1.  I am still married to the best, most thoughtful husband.
2.  Apparently, I like antiques!
3.  I'm teaching one of the hardest classes I've had in 5 years.
4.  They make me tired and depressed.
5.  My favorite color right now is a dark creamy color.  I want it everywhere in my house. 
6.  I'm appalled that gas is $3.62 a gallon right now.
7.  I'm loving Pinterest and all it's glory.
8.  I've also discovered Teachers Pay Teachers this year.  It's been so fun having new, updated lessons on old curriculum.
9.  My favorite thing to cook for my family is anything easy.
10.  I dream of having long hair, and can't get myself to grow it out.
11.  I need summer break to be here, like tomorrow.
12.  I crave Braum's peanut butter cup ice cream.
13.  I love putting together puzzles.
14.  My favorite music artists are still the ones I listened to in high school.
15.  Just got new dishes for my birthday and am dreaming of what my kitchen will become this summer.
16.  I hate wearing short sleeves, but I'm ready for nicer weather.
17.  I have guilt about my kids wanting to be in different activities and not finding time to put them into them.
18.  This is getting long, and I'm running out of things to write, so I'm wasting number 18 on this sentence.
19.  I love our new house.  My favorite place is on the couch in the living room.
20.  My least favorite place is the toy room.  It's overwhelming to walk into that place.
21.  I would love to adopt someday.  I have baby fever all the time.  
22.  My favorite vegetables are grilled.
23.  My sports wagon (aka: mini van) is so old it sounds like an airplane when I drive 70 mph.
24.  I got new sandals and want to wear them all the time.  (again, I'm ready for nicer weather.)
25.  My favorite new tv show is New Girl.  So stinkin' funny.
26.  I'd love to stop my addiction to Pepsi.  But, don't think I can actually quit until summer.
27.   Sometimes there's nothing better than a girlfriend who understands what you're going through.
28. Sometimes there's nothing better than jeans day at work.  I know it sounds stupid, but I sort of feel like I teach better on those days.
29.  I'm in a funk that I can't get out of right now.  :(
30.  I did the ugly cry on the way home from Wichita tonight because of a commercial about human trafficking. I partly just needed to get the cry out, but truly feel awful for young women in that situation.
31.  I love my small town. 
32.  Getting there.  almost done. 
33.  I'm supposed to go present to the Board of Education about my students and how low they are and how they should be put into three classrooms next year instead of two.   And I will do it.  But, I'm a little bitter that no one went to bat for Andrea and I last year.  Those state tests really drive people to think.  Wish that "drive" could have happened when it "doesn't count."
34.  We started family night on Wednesdays.  Someone is chosen to bring a Bible verse to the table and read it, and explain why they picked it.  Then, we play a game together.  And then we talk about whatever we think needs to be talked about.  Friends, school, work, etc.
35. I love this little family of mine, and all our quirks.  I had a rotten birthday dinner tonight in Wichita, but in the scheme of things, that's small.  I'm so thankful God gave me Chad, and my children.    

Bigfoot needs "the talk."

You know I love a good 2nd grade spelling story.  
So, here's another one for you.

I recently taught my 2nd graders how to write a paragraph.  They write four different paragraphs on a moment in their life.  And then they type it in computer lab.  

While editing one of the twins paragraphs on "A Scary Moment" in his life, he wrote about how he saw Big Foot.  Now, this was weird to me because I didn't realize that Big Foot was in our town.  

But, the weirdest part of this story was that he kept writing again and again how Big Foot was "shacking" the tree.  Now, I don't know when you got THE TALK about the birds and the bees.  But, Big Foot should know by now that you don't "shack" the tree in the daytime.  

Hopefully, while the twins were out there he was only "shaking" the tree... but, I don't live on that side of town.  So, I guess I'll never know.
 

antiques

I've never thought of myself as a person who likes antiques.  But, the more I Pinterest, the more I realize that the DIY projects, or the style of decorating I'm getting into is vintage, and antique-y.  

You can lift your jaw off the floor now.

So, for our annual Mother/Daughter Date, my mom took me to a very large antique store about 45 minutes away.  

I was blown away!
I LOVED it!
I found this bird cage first.  I {heart} big birdcages.  
I don't know why.

 And I found a few other things that are now sitting in my closet- waiting to be turned into something fantastic for the house.

(except for the wreath- I made that out of an old book I knew I wasn't going to read anymore.)
We also went to a few other stores where I found this gem.  It's as tall as me!

Besides all these goodies I found- mom and I ate lots of yummy unhealthy food, and had such a good time together.  It was the recharge I needed!
 

maybe a thousand times?

Puzzles.

We have a TON of puzzles.

When I think of Gracie as a toddler, I think of puzzles.

We took apart and put together so many of them.

During nap time.

In the morning.

In the evening.

She would take out the pieces and turn them upside down

so she couldn't see the picture on the front.

And then she would place them in the spot they go in.

 and now Trey does them.

He's been learning his letters, 

so these are his favorite ones. 

 He puts the puzzle piece in its spot,

and then he says the letter.

"Duck. D"

I never get tired of putting these puzzles together.

Even though we've done them

maybe a thousand times.