Being a mommy...

Unless you are a mommy, you will probably not appreciate this post.

Anna Dove pooped in the potty today! This has been a big ordeal for us. She has had this one "big" prize toy that has been sitting on the kitchen counter for about 2 months waiting for her to poop in the pot. She was so excited to FINALLY get the prize. She tooted out her famous line of, "Oh Boy, I can't wait!!!" We have been trying to potty train for a very long time now, but she would not "deuce" in the potty. I am hoping this means she is really going to get this pottying thing down pat!

Also, this morning AD slept until 10:30! That means I got to sleep in! I don't what could make this day much better. I mean really!!!! She "deuced" in the pot and slept in!

When she woke this morning, she looked at me and said, "I want my sucker!" Boy, she doesn't forget a thing. Yesterday afternoon, my step-daughter and her sister stopped by. ON their way out, Kaitlin's sister wanted a lollipop, which was fine. However, then AD wanted one. I told her it was too late in the day and too close to dinner that she didn't need the sugar. I told her she could have one tomorrow. Thus the wanting of her sucker first thing this morning. So what did I do as a good mommy....After she went and pottied, I let her have her Tootsie Pop for breakfast! Boy was I a hit this morning!!!


Now, she is joyfully in the living room playing with her big prize and singing!!!


Life is great!!!


Exodus 20:12
Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

Summer!!!

It's summer and BOY IS IT HOT!!!

Still dieting and have lost 1 pound! I figure losing only one is better than gaining any! Also, it is becoming easier to decide what I would rather waste my calories on. I am not giving up anything completely. For example, I LOVE potato chips. Therefore, when I want some, I eat a few! Ice Cream, I let that be a treat at the end of the week. By not completely eliminating foods, it is easier. I also drank a Mello Yello yesterday! It was worth all 6 points!!! It was a treat. HEHE!

Anyway, this past week, Anna Dove and I went to my parents to help shuck, silk, cut, and freeze corn. Now when I say this, I mean we had between 35 and 40 DOZEN ears of corn to take care of! Wow! My parents don't do things small! Anna Dove had a great time. I have a picture of her shucking an ear of corn. But more than that, she enjoyed sitting in a foot tub full of COLD water! It was so hot outside that my dad filled up the tub and let her get in! It was really cute!

This week has not been too interesting! I am missing my girls from work, but not bad enough to be ready to go back to work.

I have also been reminded while spending time with Anna Dove, how blessed I am to have a healthy child. Sometimes in day to day life you forget what a true blessing your child's health is until you see or hear of a child that is not well. I am so very thankful that I was chosen to be the parent of this wonderful, healthy, vibrant, and LOUD little monkey!


Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,And with my song I will praise Him.

Pennsylvania

We have been at Garland's since very late Wednesday night. Or I guess you could say very early Thursday morning! We had a very long drive. And if you remember, I was very concerned about what I was going to eat. I didn't do horrible. OK, so I did eat a combo from Bojangles with a sweet tea, but when we stopped at McDonald's to get Anna Dove something to eat, I DIDN'T, I repeat, I DIDN'T get a mocha frappe. Even though both Todd and Kaitlin got one, I did not. I drank my STUPID lemon flavored water.

Oh well, on to something less depressing than starvation...Thursday night daddy took all seven of us to a Hibachi Grill. I had never really been to a Japanese Steak house where they cook right in front of you. By the way, I ate very good all day so I could at a good supper. So anyway, Anna Dove thought our cook was hilarious. When he got to the part where he was flipping shrimp into our mouths, which I missed, she thought this was really funny. So he offered to throw one to her. He tried several times, but each time she was just miss it by a hair! We really enjoyed our meal, but it was so stinkin' expensive. Again, the best part was watching how Anna Dove enjoyed the cook!

On Friday, Garland still had to work, so the rest of us went to steal some souls! We went into Bird In Hand, PA to the Amish farmers market. I love to go there every time we come to PA. I am in such awe at how he Amish live and work. What a true testament to God's word they are.

While at the market, I bought this book titled "The Happening". It is about the shooting that happened in one of the Amish Schools back in 2006. I had seen the book at the market a couple of years ago and had regretted not buying it then. It is not a very long book, but it is so powerful. I read it the day I bought it. It is told from the point of view of one of the female students that was involved in this horrible experience. I suggest reading it to anyone, you can borrow my copy! I will be reading it again. It is very emotional and really put your life in a different perspective. It also made me question myself and made me wonder how I would react in the same situation. I can only pray that I would have the true Christian heart that all of the Amish community has shown throughout this incident!

OK then....on Saturday, Todd, me, Kaitlin, and GW went to Dorney Park. It is an amusement park somewhere around here. It was GW's company picnic. i was able to meet some of his friends from work, I rode some really awesome/scary rides, and ate some pretty OK food. I did A LOT of uphill walking so I did not feel bad eating what I wanted. Even so, it is becoming a little easier to compromise on what I am eating, so I can eat certain things.

Today is Father's Day! Me, Todd, and Kaitlin went to a Helicopter museum. It was actually pretty neat. I usually do not look forward to going to this type of thing, but every time I go, I come out having loved the experience/ I learned a lot of things that I did not know about helicopters, and got a cool t-shirt!! We had steak for lunch! Mine and my daddy's favorite!!!!!

Well, this has kind of turned into a longer post than I intended, but now you know whats been going on with me!

Oh yeah, when we were visiting the Amish, my daddy bought Anna Dove this little apron that had a few cooking utensils. When we got home that evening, she began trying to "flip shrimp" into our mouths....You know, like our cook at the Hibachi place. What a funny kid I have! She keeps us laughing!!!

Hungry!!!!

Wow! So I am trying to start this weight watchers online thing. A girl at work did it and lost 23 pounds in 3 months. She looks pretty awesome. Laura and I have decided to try this over the summer. Needless to say.......I AM HUNGRY!!!

This is tough. However, I am going to stick to it. Its just the first day so I assume it is going to get easier to choose those strawberries and blueberries over the scrumptious Turtle Chocolate Chip cookies I made this morning. (I have only had one, thank you very much) Why, oh why did I make those cookies?!?!?! To test myself? I guess so. We'll see how it goes.

We are leaving in a few hours to go to my brothers in Pennsylvania. As excited as I am about going, right now my biggest concern is, WHAT AM I GONNA EAT ON THE ROAD?!?!?!?!?!?!

Uhhhhhhhhh.

I think I will go take a shower and see if that will help get my mind off of food. This morning I woke up thinking of all the things I was hungry for. You know, a donut, a grilled cheese sandwich, Fruit Loops. I decided on Kix cereal. Not bad, but not too filling either.

I will stop whining now and go shower.

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...........FOOOOOOOOOOODDDDD!!!

:0)

Yippee!!!

Tomorrow is the last day of school! Whew! I didn't think it would ever get here! Now once tomorrow comes, I am going to need for time to slow down! I want to be able to REALLY enjoy my summer with the family!

Speaking of family, I am SUPER EXCITED to be going to see my Bro next Friday! I haven't seen him in 6 months! That is the longest I have been in my 32 years of living without seeing his red head! I am in desperate need of a brother fix!!!!! So is Anna Dove. Most mornings when we get up, I say "Who are you going to see today?" She replies, "Garland?!?!" Sadly, I have to tell her, "not yet, baby...not yet." So she is SUPER EXCITED as well. As for Todd, he never really gets super excited over anything. But, I do think he is looking forward to the trip!

Great news.........My step-daughter, Kaitlin got her Driver's License yesterday! I am nervous but excited.

Well, nothing really exciting is going on here, I just thought I would update my 2 followers, thanks guys, on whats shakin round these parts!

Dottie

I cannot believe that I just went to the memorial service for my friend Dottie! I worked with Dottie for about 7 years, and during that time, I not only came to see her as my coworker...She became my best friend. She was the type that could be brutally honest but at the same time loving. She helped me through some interesting times in my life and no matter what, she never judged me by my decisions and always knew that in the end, I would make the better choice.

She was right. I chose to marry Todd and live happily ever after. I chose to be a good wife and now a great mother. These are just some of the lessons I got from Dottie. She also taught me how to pray for God's will to be done and not to pray selfishly. This is the best lesson I learned from her.

When I found out, the first time, that Dottie had Breast Cancer, she had already made up her mind that she had lived a great life and did not want to go through any kind of treatment that would damage her body even more. She asked me what I thought and I told her. I told her that I was going to be selfish and that I wanted her to fight this thing because I needed her in my life. I also told her that her children would want her to fight and Dean would want her to fight. And boy when she decided to fight it....SHE WON!!! I went to several of her treatments and stayed with her when she was sick. I arranged for food to be brought to her and Dean and for many other things that would make their life easier at that time. Dottie even got a puppy from us during this time. She always said that Sadie really helped her, because Sadie depended on her. Sometimes Sadie is the reason Dottie got out of the bed.

During this time I began to pray as I had never prayed before. But instead of praying for Dottie's healing, I prayed that whatever God's will was, let it be something that we as a family could accept (I began considering myself as part of her family) and that it wouldn't be so painful for Dottie. Sometimes it was hard to pray without being selfish, but Dottie told me God's will is stronger than anyone else's.

As Dottie went through her treatments and surgery she always had the winning attitude. It didn't slow her down. This was the Dottie I loved. She has to be the strongest woman I had ever come to know.

She had done a lot of living before I had met her and that is what made her strong. In the years that followed her first round of cancer, she was able to see another miracle happen. Her daughter Amanda became a mommy. This was something that they had both longed for for many years. Wow, this, I think, is what Dottie had made it through the cancer for. her and Dean moved to Winston-Salem to be closer to Amanda and her family.

During the move to Winston-Salem, Dottie found out her cancer had come back. Again, she fought like a champ and was able to spend some great quality time with her family. I Praise the Lord for this everyday! Dottie was where she needed to be, but I hated not being able to be there for her. She had Amanda and Dean and I knew they were what she needed. Sometimes though I feel horrible for not doing more this last time she was sick, but I do know that Dottie was in the hands she needed to be in and that she remembered how well I had taken care of her when Amanda couldn't be here.

I will never forget what a great teacher, woman, mom, wife, christian, and Friend that Dottie was.


This poem was read at Dottie's memorial service today. It was definitely one of her favorites and so true to the way she led her life.


If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Into his nest again,
I shall not live in vain."
Emily Dickinson

Long Week...

This has been a very long week at work. Several of our students are in remediation to prepare for their EOG retest. I, on the other hand, have been babysitting the ones that do not need to be remediated.

We have enjoyed ourselves, but it is a lot harder to plan "fun, but educational" activities that keep these students attention. I have enjoyed the relaxing schedule though. I do feel sorry for those Math and Reading teachers that are doing remediation from 8:30-3:30. NO BREAK!!!

Todd has been trying to get Kaitlin's car ready for her every night this week. He is repainting it at one of his friends houses. This means that Anna Dove and I have not seen him all week!!! And he is there again tonight...Anna Dove and I are just hanging around, being a little bored. Oh well...

I know this has been quite boring and all that, just felt the need to purge.

Enjoy the weekend! I have only 3 1/2 days of school left and then I can spend lots of needed quality time with AD!!!

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.
1 Corinthians 16:13

What a Weekend!!!

My weekend started out great...and ended great!!! I was supposed to go see my cousin in a pageant Friday, but due to weather, it was postponed until Saturday night. This worked out well for me. Anna Dove and I were going to stay at my parents Friday evening so I wouldn't have to drive back so early Saturday morning. We went home instead and hung out with Todd and Kaitlin! I had to be at work at 9:30. I didn't actually have to be there, I chose to be there. I wanted to see what our students had made on their EOG tests. Some of the scores were disappointing, but some were very exciting!!!!

During the time I was at school, another co-worker was there, not to look at scores, but to be a complainer!!! The entire time my friend and I were going over our scores and planning our remediation tactics, this other co-worker was sitting at another table complaining to one of our bosses about something. Therefore, I had to turn one ear towards their conversation...It was sounding interesting!!!!

From what I could gather, she was very upset with this one boss, the one she was talking to, because she felt that he had been ugly to her last week. Cry me a stinkin river. Last week at school was THE most stressful week of the school year. This one boss that she seemed to be peeved at is in charge of our testing. He didn't have time to deal with the petty things of everyday school life. The co-worker, you know the type (world revolves around me, I'm the only one that matters, focus on me please!!!, had tried to give him a write up of some sort and he didn't have time to mess with that!

Anyway, I was quite tickled at this co-workers behavior. What a bear she was being!

Well, after I left school, I went to my mothers and Anna Dove and I played until it was time for me to go to the pageant. Highlight of the weekend...EMILY WON THE PAGEANT!!!!! I was as proud of her as if she was my own child. She was beautiful, her talent was awesome (she nailed every move) and she was just amazing!!!!!!!

So on Sunday, the day of rest, that is all I did! I don't think I moved out of my recliner except to get something to eat and potty! It was WONDERFUL!!!

On Monday, Todd, Anna Dove and I went to Walmart and got Anna Dove a little pool to set up. Well, on the way home from Walmart, one of Todd's friends called and said he was coming over with his wife and kid. They came over and stayed a couple of hours. We had a great time just sitting around talking. However, when they left, we remembered that we had not done the one thing we set out to do for the day...put up Anna Dove's pool. Todd got to work on that and I began cooking supper. We had another set of friends coming over for supper.

These are the types of friends that it doesn't matter what your house looks like, how my hair looks, if I had cleaned the toilet, you know, the BEST kind of friends. I fixed Pepper Steak and Corn on the Cob. We ate and had a really great time. I always enjoy having this couple over with their son. Him and Anna Dove play well together. He is 7 and she is 2, but he has so much patience with her, but he also does not let her run over him!!!

Well, this was my weekend, not so much in a nutshell. Had a blast!!!


1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Finally Friday

What a long day! What a long week!

Today was supposed to be our end of the year celebration with our students. We were going to take the kids outside and let them run wild for a couple of hours. However, when I got to school this morning there had been a monsoon overnight and it was still raining! Oh well, change of plans...Wait, I had no other plans! Being the resourceful teachers we are, we popped in a movie and let the students watch the movie, sign their yearbooks, play UNO, play board games, and essentially do a lot of nothingness, but socialize! They were actually pretty good considering there was not much structure!

However, after about 3 1/2 hours of nothingness and socializing, I was getting restless! Us teachers kept talking about things we could get our students to do instead of be noisy, but in the end, we continued on with the nothingness/socializing!!!

At the end of the day, we ordered pizza for our kids. We took them down to the cafeteria and let them eat pizza, drink soda, and sign yearbooks! It was organized chaos. We, as structured teachers, were on edge because of the noise they were creating and the unstructured activity of the day.

In the end it was all worth it when a student came up to us and said sincerely "Thank you so much for everyithing today! It has been so much fun and we have never gotten the chance to just have a good time like this!!!" Almost brought tears to my my eyes.

That is the moment I remembered why I am a teacher. It is all about the kids! Doing what is best for them, no matter the cost to my pocket, my ears, or sanity!!!!!
Sometimes as a teacher, we are so focused on what we think is best for the children and we don't realize that they are children needing to be treated like children. Many times I find myself expecting them to make adult decisions when they are only little kids.

Thank you Lord for teaching me this lesson today!!!!

Psalm 107:1
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Whew!!!

Its only Tuesday, and WOW...what a long week! Several things are going on at this time. EOG's are happening at school, and might I say, my homeroom was awesome today during testing! I could not have asked for a better group or a harder working group! I am SOOOOOO proud of them!

As exciting as that is, it has been hard to completely concentrate on school. One of my best friends mother passed away Sunday evening. I was so upset and sad to hear this when I got to school first thing Monday morning. I wasn't able to go the funeral home last night, but I did get a chance to attend the funeral today. It was such a sweet service. The men that preached the service both knew the lady very well. I think that when you attend a funeral, it is important to hear about a lot of the wonderful things that person did that you never knew about. I also left there with such a lifted spirit! One of the preachers talked about being virtuous. Even though I did not know my friends mother well at all, I do know that she had to be incredible. I only know this because of the type of daughter she raised. My friend is one of the strongest, most trustworthy, caring, and loving person I have ever met. No matter how long we go without spending time together, she is one of the first people I turn to when I need help, no matter how small. I always want to know her opinion and love her advice. These are things that I know her mother taught her!

Also, Todd's airclub is having a flyin tonight so he has been working really hard at getting lots of things prepared for Saturday. Me, I will probably be the dutiful teacher and go out to school and help get the scores separtated and things prepared for remediation. I have been thinking about this and I feel that I should go help. Wow! I am such a thoughtful person too! Hmmmmmm!!!

Anna Dove has been a blast lately! She is just so much fun to play with and to listen to. Just last night, she worke me at 3am because she had to potty!!!!! I got up and carried her to the potty. When she finished, I told her I needed to go to. So being the funny child that she is, she curledd up on the bathroom rug and went back to sleep....Just like that!!! I got her up and put her back in bed. She, of course, awoke and said to me "Let's talk Mommy!" As sweet as the notion was, I gave her a couple of sip of milk and told her now wasn't the time to talk!!!

Well, I guess I have rambled enough! More later!
If you haven't lately, read Proverbs 31.

Cool Air!!!

Today...We had air condition!!! Wow! I had forgotten how wonderful that was! Today was a pretty great day all around. There are always ups and downs, and somtimes you have to deal with some not so smart people, but that is life!

I think that I can know officially say my baby girl is a biter!!! YIKES! What do I do? By the way, I was a biter too! I used to go around and bite other children during nap time in kindergarten! My teacher, THANKS, stopped me by making me bite myself very hard. I don't think I bit again :o)

EOG testing is coming up at work next week. I am actually looking forward to it. Mainly because that means school is winding down!!! I am really looking forward to this summer. We are all going to visit my brother in Pennsylvania! I haven't seen him since Christmas vacation and I REALLY, REALLY miss him! This is the longest I have ever been without seeing him in my whole life.

Also, I really think Anna Dove is going to be such a blast to hang out with this summer. She is at that age where everything is fun to her! It doesn't matter how small an activity is, she makes it the most interesting and fun thing ever!!! We are also going to have to do a Potty Training Boot Camp. I have been reading up on potty training and I think this is going to be the best way for us to progress. WE are kind of at a stand still right now, at least for potty training...

Oh well, I better go get my things together for tomorrow! FRIDAY...here I come!

Ugh...

Sometimes life seems to throw you a curve ball! It's a good thing I am so gifted at hitting them out of the park! PING!!!

Problems arise everyday, but some days are tougher than others! Thank goodness I have family that can take care of my needs!

The air conditioning is still broken in our classrooms! It is so hard to maintain a good attitude and continue to have lots of patience when it is scorching hot in your workplace. The kids have actually handled it pretty well. They haven't seemed to be completely out of sorts. Or at least any more out of sorts than usual!!! Hehe! Today is a little bit cooler anyway, because it has rained a lot! Praise the Lord.
Oh well, back to the real world!!!

Tired

It has been a busy week and it's not slowing down. Last night we went to a pig pickin at a friends house. We do this every year and I usually have an OK time. The food is great, but sometimes there are a lot of people drinking heavily and that gets on my nerves. This is supposed to be a family function and not every family likes to see a bunch of drunks.
However, last night was different! I only saw a couple of people drinking and they had their beverages in cups! That way the children didn't have to see the bottles and such! What a relief. It's not that I mind people drinking, in moderation. It's just that I think that my children should not have to be exposed to it unless I am the one decided how they are exposed! I think it is only fair.
Also, there are usually some really drunk people and last night, I saw no drunks! I know this sounds like a bunch of crazies to have a pig pickin with, but they really are some great people, for he most part! This year the one guy that is usually the drunkest wasn't there, for reasons better left unsaid! Thank goodness! Its embarrassing for him and idiotic in my opinion to be a grown man and act so stupid! Anyway, we did have a great time last night!
Todd got to play music, Anna Dove got to play with lots of little kids, and I got to spend some great time with my family and my really good friends! My parents and my aunt and uncle came! Todd's uncle's, cousins, and aunt came. We don't usually get to spend much time with them so it was really great to see them! We are trying to make the effort to spend more time with that side of the family! They are really wonderful people and I enjoy seeing them and talking with them!
Tonight is Cody's birthday! HE is one of our closest friends son! He is a fun kid! His mom and dad had a conference with his teacher yesterday and he is doing so great in school this year! He had a really tough year last year. Him and his teacher did not mesh well so he hated school! Now, he has a great teacher and is excelling! I am so proud of him!
Well, I guess that's enough rambling for now! I think I will go fix something for breakfast...

Life

Wow! I am going to try this blog thing for real...Maybe! Last night was Todd's birthday and I had about 20 or so people over for hot dogs and fixins. We had a great time, but boy was I tired after everyone left! Anna Dove had a blast though! She was able to play outside with Cody and Aubrey! I love to watch her playing with other children. She truly lights up!
Also, Anna Dove and I bought Todd a remote control Helicopter for his birthday! It's just one of those small Air Hogs brand. You can even fly it inside. Well, we bought it yesterday at Walmart and Anna Dove knew we were buying it for Daddy's birthday. She was SO EXCITED! When we got home, she "helped" me wrap it and wrote on a card for Daddy. About an hour later Todd got home from work. Anna Dove went running in there to him and said "Happy Birthday Daddy, we got you a present!!!" Todd replied "Really!!! What did you get me?" Anna Dove proceeded to say "A little Helicopter!" Oh well, I guess she has reached that age that I have to go shopping without her to be able to surprise someone! It was quite hilarious!

Just the other day, she went outside with Todd to water the plants. She came flying back in and told me needed sumfin... I asked her what, and she came back in the kitchen with her toy umbrella. I mean one that is about 2 inches in size. She said she didn't want to get wet and went right back outside to water the plants. What a funny little monkey I have!!!

Anyway, this is my effort at a blog!! Mainly, it's just for me!!!