Isn't it December yet?

I usually LOVE November.  
and this year, I liked it.
alot.  
But, for some reason I'm ready for December.

It might be the Christmas tree that's been decorated now for a week. Thanks to family coming in for the Thanksgiving weekend, we got to have Christmas early.

17 people in one house for 4 days.
Every one with a bed.
So thankful for that!

Chad's family kept giving me looks like they were trying to figure out if I was ok or not.  Apparently most people wouldn't like 17 people in their house for 4 days.  And then 5 of them stayed for a week.  
I was fine.
I'm a cleaning freak when it's my house. 
I don't want people to think it's messy or dirty.
So, I pick up all the time while people are still here.
Maybe that threw them off.

At any rate, Thanksgiving was awesome.
And now I'm ready for December.

At school we're learning about being "rich" in character and what that means.  I've given my students' parents two assignments/homework now (well, they won't actually know this until tomorrow), and am hoping I still get help for the Christmas party!  We'll see how annoyed they are with me.  But, I want to teach the kids about being thoughtful and kind.  I want to teach them about doing random acts of kindness- not for the attention of it, but just to do it out of the kindness of your heart.  (anyone thinking of how the Grinch's heart grew 3 times it's size at this point?)  

You know, I say I'm ready for Christmas.... 
but more than that, I'm ready for snow. 
It's supposed to be 70 degrees by Sunday.
Kansas, sometimes you annoy me.          

Jada Bear

She's a teacher almost everyday after school.
She's a joker at the supper table.
She's a wonderful mommy to her babies.

She's Jada Bear.
Who turned 7 years old last Saturday.

 
What?!?!
How did that happen so fast!

Jada wanted to take her friends swimming, and the way we do that in November is a local hotel pool that has a great party room where we take over and decorate.

The invitations were... interesting.  I let Jada and Addie write them out.  I've learned that if I let them do that again, I will need to check all of them before they seal the envelope.  One mom called me asking if they missed the party- their invitation said, "3-7:00 p.m."  when it was really supposed to be from 7-8:30 p.m.  It all worked out fine.  Her friend came back to the party at 7:00.  

Just a little embarrassing.

Happy Birthday, Jada Bear!  
 

       

Home Sweet Home

When you think of "HOME" what do you think of?

Your childhood?
Your children now?

I've been thinking a lot lately about how much I miss my childhood home.  Just the things we had, and did.  The way my mom decorated for Christmas.  The "homey" feeling when I go to my mom's house.  

I know 35 years old isn't that old in the scheme of life.  But, lately I'm not having "homey" feelings about getting older.  

Getting older= wrinkles- which I am starting to see.  Ok, maybe not terribly noticeable wrinkles.  But, they are starting.  And the lose skin on my face?  Yep, that's happening.  

I get it.  I'm probably exaggerating, but it's hard getting older when "things" start changing. 

Jada turns 7 years old in two days.  

Seven.

These are birthday treats for her class.  

 I will celebrate her birthday.
Reluctantly.  
Because I want her to be that little girl still who carries around purses and wears only dresses.

Recently I told a friend that I cry on my children's birthdays.  They grow up too fast.  And now it seems like I feel the same way about myself.  

I love my own home.
I love my family.
But, I wish I could go back in time for a day.  
Back to Buhler where I grew up.  And spend a day watching myself as a 7 year old.  I think I would see a lot of similarities with myself back then and Jada now. 

I don't want to grow up.  
I want to look like I'm 30 forever. 

      
      

Carving pumpkins... and Target... and Old Navy

Told by Gracie (with my two cents added in):
 
Here are the steps to carve a pumpkin:
1. Gather materials (go to the store for PUMPKIN carving tools when your daughter cuts herself with a knife because you were dumb enough to give her one to use on her pumpkin.) 

  2.  Cut off the top of the pumpkin.  Remove all the pumpkin guts.

 3.  Draw your pumpkin design on the outside of the pumpkin with a permanent marker.  

 4.  Carve (with a pumpkin tool!) along the marker lines.  Have Jody take your picture with your pumpkin when finished.

 5.  Go to the store (for the third time that day) to buy battery operated lights for the insides of the pumpkins.

 Chad's Jayhawk, Gracie's jack-o-lantern (bottom left)

Sophie's haunted house, Jada's two jack-o-lanterns, 

Trey's bats and number three.

   This big beauty is mine (Jody).  I'm going to drill holes in it to make it look like polka dots. 

As for Target.... 

Every year we go, as a family, to Target searching for the "right" costume.  And every year we usually stay for over an hour because we like to try on the different choices.  It's free entertainment. Here are the Childs kids in one outfit.  

And Old Navy...

 

get away

The girls and I had Fall Break. 
Chad took off work.
We left town.
We needed to get away.

  Omaha provides us with relaxation and family time.
We laughed.... ALOT.
If you've never played the game Telestrations, you should.  We laugh at each other and no one takes offense to it. I loved seeing the kids so happy!  Telestrations needs to come out with a junior edition.  

 The Henry Doorly Zoo keeps getting better and better.  These vines in the jungle were good entertainment.  

 
We were there for 5 hours!  I think it wore pretty much everyone out.  It's not flat like it is here in Kansas.  

 Anyway, just a nice get away.  Enough to get me through to the next break- Thanksgiving!
 

If you didn't already know... Trey!

If you didn't know already, Trey loves fire trucks.

 So, you can imagine his disappointment when his daycare provider (Jessi) had a field trip to the fire station and he couldn't go.
He did NOT make this face...

 Instead, he cried and cried about not getting to go.  Jessi was so sweet and made a "Paper Trey" to go with them- since all of the other families could go.  Paper Trey sat in the fire truck- she took pictures of him.  She is so thoughtful.

He got to bring home a fireman hat- which he wore home, even though the back of it stuck way out and he had to hold his head out in front of him for the 5 minute drive home.

If you didn't already know...Trey also loves pumpkins. 

 We got pumpkins from Papa Schrag's pumpkin patch.  Gracie, Jada, and Trey got to pick out two pumpkins each.  And then, Papa gave them each a ride in the wheelbarrow.  It was.... hilarious.  The most fun I've seen them have in a while.  

I wonder if we should paint our pumpkins this year instead of carving them.  I've seen some cool painted pumpkins.  But, then, we wouldn't get the joy of throwing them away after they've been carved for several weeks and are molding in the middle.  :)

If you didn't already know... Trey is growing up way too fast.  He makes us laugh daily.  He has his own opinion on... well, pretty much everything.  He's a mama's boy right now.  Trey doesn't allow other people in the family to do things for him- unless it's me.  But, my favorite is how he lays next to me when I put him to bed and he whispers, "I love you Mommy."  I love you too, Buddy.   
 

What? It's October tomorrow?

This school year is seriously flying by.
It must be my awesome teaching partner- making everything so easy for me!  I hope I'm making things as easy for her...

This blog has really gone on the back burner since school started.  

Take pictures of my family?  
Not in a few weeks.

Do I take my camera everywhere I go?
Yep.

However, we haven't just been laying around the house either. 
We've been so busy that Jada yelled, "YEAH!" after she asked this morning if we could just stay home today so she could play with her toys.  

This weekend we took the younger three to the Cosmosphere.  Every year museums in the area have "Museum Day" where you can get two admissions free.  Interestingly enough, we went into the Planetarium and learned about the stars and constellations- which happened to be what I taught about in Sunday School this morning to my preschoolers.  God has a funny way of working in my life.    

At school, we are teaching more to something called Common Core this year- it's state standards that will be the same for every student in the United States, instead of what we've been teaching from- which is each states' own standards in reading, math, etc.  It's been quite a shift in teaching, but I love it.  And this weekend I found the mother load of all.  A website that another school district has put together that incorporates everything we're trying to teach this year!  I'm so excited I could stay up all night looking at it.  

I'm not kidding.

Changing the subject, I found Trey some ridiculously awesome high tops tonight.  He also got a few pairs of "tall socks."  Like what his Daddy wears.  He wanted to wear them to bed, and has already informed me that he's wearing them tomorrow.  

Anything to be like his hero.

Our puppy, Jasper, went through a 10 day experience where he puked up everything he ate.  Then, had blood work, a stool sample, x rays, and a barium test- all for the vet to say he needed surgery.  So, I got another opinion- the opinion I should have gotten in the first place.  Aunt Connie's and Uncle Norman's.  (They are vets in a different town.) Turns out he had worms of some kind (Doesn't that just happen to outside pets who don't get fed every day?  Not inside dogs, right?), and they could be a lifelong problem.  

In my mom's words:  Oh the joys of owning a dog.

Yes, the "joys" of paying a vet bill for all things mentioned above BEFORE we got to Connie's clinic.  There goes that IPad I might have wanted for Christmas.  

But, he's better now.
See?

Back his old ways of digging up the yard/garden.  Eating everything he get a hold of.  Hey, I guess those worms might have come from the birds he's eaten in the last few months.

Hmm..., back to mom's words:  Oh the joys of owning a dog.