ahhh.....friday!

another gorgeous, warm, february day so it was back outside for more smudge-time!

eww...look at that tongue!

photo of the day

2-18-11

hidden picture

there is something in this picture of the tree above that doesn't belong there.  the first person to correctly identify the object will win a cupcake knitted by me!!!  my first give-away!  i know you're excited about it.  who wouldn't want a knitted cupcake?  they're just so stinkin' cute!

colby's first bb gun lesson.

last night i got to hang out with one of my very best friends in the whole wide world!  gina and i met in owasso to have dinner at andolini's pizzeria.

oh. my. goodness.

the food was amazing.  we started off with an order of garlic knots.  melt in your mouth goodness.

garlic knots

 then we feasted on a hamburger and red onion pizza.  mmmmm......

pizza

and if that wasn't enough we shared the most unbelievable cheesecake i've ever eaten.  it was so rich it really should have come with a glass of milk!  we couldn't even finish it!  surprisingly, the strawberries absolutely perfected the dish.  next time, we're going to ask for more strawberries!

oreo cheesecake brownie

after dinner we wandered around target for a while.  and then breezed through best buy so i could buy a new print pack for my photo printer.  the best part of the whole night was just being together, talking and laughing.


quote of the day:  "the most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart." ~ elisabeth foley

smudge's photo shoot

the weather thursday was absolutely beautiful!  we reached a record high of 82, i believe, and just 8 days earlier we had a record low of -27!  C.R.A.Z.Y.

after we got home from school the boys and i headed to the backyard.  i grabbed my camera and decided to take pictures of smudge.  he loves to run across the cover on our pool.  it sounds like rolling thunder when he does!

colby and smudge checking out the dog
next door

biting colby's hand

"he bit my boob!" ~ colby

all that running wore pore smudge out!

 photo of the day

2-17-11

smile, smudge!

my varmints

happy camper

since the weather was so nice, i thought the boys would have fun playing in our little one-man tent.  not only did they have fun playing in it, they slept in it all night!

i really didn't think they would do it, so that's why i said yes to them camping out on a school night.  they loaded that tent up with all the necessary supplies...sleeping bags, flashlights, snacks and electronic games.  they lasted until morning even though it got kind of cold.  it's good to know my boys can "rough it!"

quote of the day:  "if i were you, spencer, i'd take spanish instead of french because you might use that one day like if you get a spanish girlfriend." ~ colby

not again!

today was the first wednesday i've been back at school for 2 weeks!  this was going to be the first time i've worked an entire week for quite a while.

but colby apparently didn't want to be back in the normal routine of going to school 5 days a week.  i guess he liked the blizzard schedule of one or two days at school and the rest of the week at home.  around 9:45 this morning one of the aides showed up at my door saying that my little one was in the office because he had thrown up.

she watched my class while i went to check on him.  as i passed his classroom, i noticed it was empty.  then i saw why....their room took a direct hit from colby!  poor guy!  he said he told his teacher he felt like he was going to puke so she told him to go to the restroom, but he didn't make it there in time.  he barfed in his chair and then on the floor by the door!  he also managed to spread the love in the office trash can a time or two.

so i frantically threw together some sub plans, and we came home.  he spent the day laying around on the couch while i graded papers and worked on other school things.

he didn't act sick at all.  i don't know what upset his stomach so much this morning. the only thing i let him have today was sprite and crackers, but he's been complaining about starving tonight.  i baked him a potato and he kept that down.  he said he was still hungry, so i let him have a frozen fudge bar.

i was working on the computer when i heard a moaning, whining noise behind me.  i turned around and colby had a sort of panicked look on his face and the fudge bar was attached to his tongue.  being the concerned mom that i am i said, "it's not stuck. you're just faking it.  very funny." and turned back around to finish what i was doing on the computer.

the whining got louder and more strained so i turned around again.  the fudge bar was still there, and colby was starting to tear up.  again, being the concerned mom that i am, i said, "it's really stuck!  let me see!!!  don't pull it off!  i want a picture!"  he started moaning more and started crying harder. it was like i was watching my own personal version of a christmas story right here in my own home!!! 

i was feeling a little bad for him at this point, but i still got a picture!

photo of the day

2-16-11

it's stuck!

it wasn't hard to get his tongue off.  all i did was sprinkle a little bit of water on it, and it popped right off without removing any tongue skin.  emergency over.

quote of the day:  "don't pull it off!  i want a picture!" ~ me

scouts

tonight was another first for me.  i hung out with 9 handsome young gentlemen!

actually, i was invited to speak at a boy scout meeting.  6 boys from my school are in this pack, den, or whatever it's called.  it was truly an honor!  

they are working on earning their scholar badge, and part of that was listening to a guest speaker talk about education.  i had four areas to discuss:

     1. how the school system works

     2. full time jobs in education

     3. the value of a good education

     4. the importance of good behavior, attendance and grades

i've been thinking about what to say for a couple of weeks now, but today it really hit me.  i knew that part of their oath was duty to god, country, others and yourself.  wow!  god!  i had the opportunity to freely talk to these kids about god because the boy scouts believe that honoring god is the most important part of being a young man!

i immediately turned to scripture as the basis of my talk.  l Timothy 4:12 has always been a favorite verse of mine because it talks about the importance of not letting people think less of you because you are young!  the young are supposed to set an example, and that's exactly what  i told these boys tonight.  it's important for them to have good behavior, attendance and grades because they are leaders.  they should be the ones setting the example for others.  they are boy scouts!  that's what they are supposed to be learning....to be good leaders.

it was so exciting to be able to talk about god with kids outside of the normal bible class setting.  i got to use god's word when i talked to these kids! 

i know that most of what i said probably went in one ear and right out the other, but maybe something stuck.   maybe a seed was planted that god will water and cause to grow!

photo of the day

2-15-11

den 7

quote of the day:  "don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." ~ god, l Timothy 4:12

february 14

yes, yesterday was valentine's day.  gag.  i have never liked that holiday.  nothing traumatic ever happened to me on another valentine's day.  in fact it was 16 years ago on february 14th that daryl told me he loved me for the first time.  and i cried.  that's a happy memory.

my students are always sweet to me on valentine's day.  this year i asked for dry erase markers instead of a bunch of chocolate.  i got lots of markers and just the right amount of chocolate!  i also got 2 sock monkeys!!!  they are adorable.

photo of the day

2-14-11

new monkey friends!

you'll notice behind the monkeys there is a single red rose.  one of our school secretaries delivered these to all the female teachers at school saying they were from an anonymous donor.  i assumed it was from our principal, but he sent us an email later in the day explaining they were from an anonymous person who believes that no lady should be without a rose on valentine's day.  how sweet is that?

i was telling spencer about it, and he said the female teachers at his school got them, too!  apparently, every female teacher in the DISTRICT received a rose yesterday.  rumor has it that an older gentleman from our community sent them to all of us. he was married to a teacher who passed away last year.  if this story is true, that is one of the sweetest things i have ever heard.

that's what valentine's day should be about.  sharing your love with others because you want to, not because you have to.  i hate hearing people ask what their sweetheart is getting them or expecting to get something.  that's just wrong to me!  that's not what love is about.  and i feel like you should express your love at any time in any way....not when the world says you are supposed to!  it's much more fun to receive a note or gift at some random time just because that person was thinking about you!

ok....i'm off of my soap box now.  i hope you enjoyed your february 14th in whatever way you celebrated it.

quote of the day:  "and now these three remain:  faith, hope and love. but the greatest of these is love." ~ god

beautiful day

today was a beautiful day in many ways! god is so good and so powerful.

this afternoon colby and i shoveled the snow off the rest of our driveway.  i really don't like shoveling snow, but at least it was warm enough to wear a t-shirt while doing it!

my little helper

yeah, i was exaggerating!

 when we were done, we just laid on the driveway and soaked up the sun.  it was so relaxing.

beautiful blue sky

 then we got out the sidewalk chalk!

photo of the day

2-13-11

flowers

we also made valentines this afternoon.

even i got valentines for my students!

redo

quote of the day:  "colby, you can't write 'quit picking your nose' on someone's valentine!  that's not nice!" ~ me...that's why he had to redo a valentine!

i'm so thankful that clinics are open on saturdays!  

colby was feeling miserable saturday morning, so we went to see the doctor.  he is not a fan of doctor's visits because they usually give him a strep test when he goes in with fever and a sore throat.  i knew he was dreading it without him saying a word because he brought his friend, fuzzy with him for comfort.  so sweet.

photo of the day

2-12-11

fuzzy

friends come in all shapes and sizes

after a long wait at the doctor, we found out it wasn't strep....just a virus.  

while daryl was at the church practicing his sermon (his typical saturday night) spencer, grandma and i played cards.  we always play hand and foot.  it's easy, and you can talk while you play!

after cards, we played candyland with colby.  as we were making our way around the board we noticed that the places such as the candy cane forest were places that buddy, the elf went through on his way from the north pole to new york city!  very cool.

quote of the day:  "cards are war, in disguise of a sport." ~ charles lamb