bloggy bling

I was given this award from both Tiffany at A Mom's Heart and Lisa at Adventures in JujuBoo... Thanks! So it's time for me to pass it on...


To translate the gift from Portuguese to English, it means:This blog invests and believes, the proximity. [meaning, that blogging makes us 'close' -being close through proxy]. They all are charmed with the blogs, where in the majority of its aims are to show the marvels and to do friendship; there are persons who are not interested when we give them a prize, and then they help to cut these bows; do we want that they are cut, or that they propagate?
Then let’s try to give more attention to them! So with this prize we must deliver it to 8 bloggers that in turn must make the same thing and put this text.

Sooo who am I going to pass it on to??

This is always so hard for me to do... I wish I could just blanket say... here take it, but alas I shall pick 8

I'm passing it on to...
Amy W at A Family Story
Amber at Babywearing Buzz
Dana at Just Talk
Danielle at New Mommy Rant
Amanda at The Family News!
Andrea at The Laughs Will Go On
Tracy at What's on Mommy's Mind
Kelly at Who Me?

If you haven't already, click here to see my other bling... if you've given me bling check it out for they are thank yous!

Where are you going to fall asleep next?

So anyone who has been reading my blog for a while may remember the story of Blake's first time napping in his toddler bed (or near it at least). Or, the crazy position he slept in the second time. Maybe you remember seeing this pic of him asleep in the rocking chair in Colby's room.

I didn't even write about finding him asleep laying against the bathroom door in his hallway.

And, I didn't take a picture of him sleeping laying down next to Colby's bureau. Or the next week when he was sound asleep leaning against the bureau in the same spot.

Buttttt, I could not pass up taking a picture of the place I found him asleep on Sunday. Sunday we put Blake down a bit earlier than normal because we were going out to my parents to celebrate my grandfather's 93rd birthday. We listened as he played in his room for a while. Then he was in the hallway outside his room playing and chatting up a storm. When things got quiet I went to see if he'd gone back into his room to sleep, or where he ended up. This is what I found....


It amazes me sometimes where he falls asleep. I wonder if he doesn't like his bed... lol

5 Minutes for Mom is having a photo contest about Our Sleeping Angels.... well you've now seen how my bigger angel sleeps (sometimes). The winner will win a new bedroom set. I really like the blue Summer Breeze set. It would look great in Blake's room since his room is painted in blue tones anyway. Maybe if he had a fancy bedroom set like that he'd sleep in his bed instead of... well everywhere else!

Not Me Monday (week 2)

I soooo love Not Me Monday. I am very happy that MckMomma at my charming kids started this! What is better than a place to say... yep I'm human and here laugh at with me while I relieve "those moments" from last week.

-I so did not dust my end table with a sock I found on the floor. Nope... my tables aren't dusty and there never would be clothing sitting on the floor at my house.

-I didn't eat frosting out of the container after I finished frosting the brownies on Thursday.

-I did not decide to keep some of the chocolate that I bought to put into my Grandfather's birthday gift. (I can honestly say that I have only opened one bar and did split it with my husband.... that is sort of shocking to me)

-I would never leave my son's toys all over the floor all week instead of cleaning them up nightly.

-I didn't ignore the fact that my oldest son was awake in order to finish making my new blog topper.

I did not get excited last Monday to see how many people were logging on to see my blog. And I did not continually check BlogPatrol to see how many people had hit my site. Nope, I wouldn't piggyback on the popularity of MckMomma's blog to up my readership (even if it was only for one day)

Blog topper

I had a few comments yesterday on my new blog topper. Yes, I made it myself. No, I'm not going to go into business making them... not only do I not have the time to do it, I use freebie scrapbook stuff which I couldn't use if I sold them toppers. I enjoy making them for myself, and I've made 1 or 2 for friends, but I think if I did them all the time for others I'd see it more as a chore and not enjoy it as much.

I get bored with looking at the samething month after month. I change my MyYahoo background and my iGoogle topper at least every month too. I know a lot of people like to set up one format and stick with it... I say go for it... me I like change!

As for how I make them, I use PhotoShop Elements 5, but you can do it with any scrapbook software. I have downloaded a lot of free digital scrapbooking stuff from here there and everywhere on the net. I get a lot of my stuff from Scrapbook Flair, they have free digital scrapbooking software if you are looking to get started.



I did not make a new scrapbook page this week (I did make the new topper and labels and such...). But you can go back and look at my other ones here if you are missing seeing my digital scrapbook work!

random weekend thoughts

1. Getting my blog layout done before the end of the month... that is an accomplishment! (yes I know I still need to change the pic of the boys on the side... I don't have the right picture yet... I'll get there!)

2. Kicking brownies up another notch... is sinful! (I took and made a 9X13 pan of brownies, cut it in half length wise, put cream cheese frosting over one layer, topped it with the other layer and followed it up with another layer of frosting...).... can you say YUMMY!

3. Not Me Monday was fun... I encourage you to try it (plus I had over 130 readers that day... that's major!)

4. When both boys are crying at the same time life is too frustrating to think

5. Having the weather in the 60s for our morning walk means we can take a longer walk

6. Finding time to read every night is necessary... at least in my book it is

7. Realizing that the calmer I am, the better behaved the boys are... that's a big part of parenting (hard, but big)

8. Feeling brain dead makes it hard to come up with my list of random thoughts!

Friday Videos

Fall... what's that??

Those who have been following my blog for a while know I live in Orlando, FL. You have probably also heard me say that Orlando has two seasons... summer and almost summer. From April to October our average temperature is 85 or higher. November to March the average temperature is 73 or higher. Can I just say I love the weather down here!!

Ok so the average temperature for September is 90 and 72 for a low. Not today... When I woke up this morning it was only 66. When I was going to take the boys for a walk at 9:00am it was 69... what state am I in??? I had to go dig out pants for both Blake and Colby to wear to go on our walk. I have all the windows open and I'm loving it! Here it is noon and it's only 78 outside and it's only supposed to get to 84...that is so not 90s.

Tomorrow is going to be the same! We are having the "almost summer" season way too early, but I'm not complaining at all... it's just different.

What is your weather like today? Is it your typical September weather??

Our Morning Schedule

Well... Colby is now 3 months 2 weeks and 6 days old (thank you ticker!). I think we have finally gotten a somewhat consistent morning routine. Ok not really, but we do have somethings that happen the same way everyday.

Blake wakes up, and finally comes out of his room. Then I take him in and we brush his teeth, change his diaper, and get dressed for the day. We then go to the kitchen and get a glass of milk and discover what he wants to have for breakfast, or I just give him something if he can't make up his mind. Typically he eats breakfast while watching Little Einsteins so I can change and feed Colby.

Depending on when Colby is done either Blake watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or we go on with our next step of the day... our walk around the block. This means I get both boys loaded into the bus carriage, the dog on her leash, get Blake a drink and a snack, get Colby a pacifier, make sure I have my sunglasses, house keys, and a "poop bag". Ok out the door we go for our walk.

When we get back, about 30 min later, Abby runs crazy mad around the living room, Blake runs off to the master bedroom and I've got to get Colby, the drink, and the snack out of the carriage. Then Colby and I go to find Blake, who is usually up on my bed playing with the telephone or a flashlight or something else off Richard's nightstand. Typically he has already turned the radio on and has altered the radio station and the volume too. If he isn't on the bed, then he is either hiding in Richard's closet or the "toilet room" or in the shower or... who knows where.

I then have to convince Blake to go into the living room again so I can again feed and change Colby. I usually put the tv back on for Blake, this time it usually is on Nickelodeon. Blake usually plays with his cars or tools or something else while he watches his shows. After Colby eats, he gets to play on his playmat or in his jumparoo. This gives me time to make Blake a snack, switch loads of laundry, clean the kitchen, and do whatever else needs my attention at the time.

Colby often is ready for his nap around 10:30. At this time Blake and I spend sometime together either playing, watching Dora the Explorer, baking, coloring, running around outside, whatever he is in the mood to do at the time.

Blake typically gets ready for his nap at 11:00. It's more like 11:15 by the time I get him in his room, change his diaper and read 1, 2, or 3 books.

I now have a bit of time to do something, but usually not long because Colby will be waking soon to eat again.

What happens from here... who knows. Things change from day to day. Oh well... at least part of the day is starting to get some sort of routine to it. Now if I could just figure out when Colby really wants to sleep, and convince him that 2 hours is plenty of time between feedings (lately he's been eating every hour and a half... yeah not fun). Then maybe, just maybe I'll know what is going on from one minute to the next!

stretching the buck

In today's economy, being a single income family is tough! I know there are a lot of families that are struggling a lot more than we are, but that doesn't make it easier. I realize there are families out there who have to choose between gas, food, paying the bills, etc... For those families I offer sympathy, I offer prayers, I offer compassion.

I stay home most of the time, just so I don't have to put gas in the car. I have started to buying more generic brands at the grocery store. I buy things on sale (got to love the buy one get one free sales). I spend a little over $100 a week for groceries and also spend about $100-$150 a month at BJ's to buy diapers, meats, paper products, etc. I cringe when I see the total, but then step back and say... wait that buy 7 days of breakfasts and dinner for Richard, Blake and myself. Blake and my lunches for 7 days and 5 days of lunches for Richard... ok that feels a bit better

One thing I look at is what I make for dinner. I've talked before about planning meals before grocery shopping. I look at what I can do to make meals stretch. This week we had /will have
Sunday: pizza casserole (noodles, ground turkey, tomato soup, and cheese) this made 3 dinners and a lunch
Monday: Salsa steak over couscous-- dinner and a lunch
Tuesday: Chicken and potatoes (chicken, potatoes, onion, peppers) this will probably make 1 dinner and a lunch
Wednesday: leftover Sloppy Richards
Thursday: chicken parm (chicken, spaghetti sauce, cheese)
Friday: no clue haven't planned it yet

I try to make at least one meal that will result in leftovers. We have a stand alone freezer that I keep all my meats and leftovers in... when I don't know what to have I just have to shop in my freezer

so what do you do to stretch a buck?

weekend pictures

Not Me Monday

Not Me Monday was started by MckMomma on my charming kids
It is a therapeutic way of dealing with all those no way I wouldn't do that moments of mommyhood. It's that opportunity to step by and be real. How often do we read other people's blogs and think they are the "perfect mommy", that nothing goes wrong in their lives? Well... lets get real... no one is perfect, we just pretend we are.

So here is my edition of Not Me Monday... won't you play along and add your own??

I did not put Colby to bed, after going home to nurse him, on Saturday instead of going back to the birthday party with Richard and Blake so that I could get a bit of Mommy time... nope I would not just skip out on seeing Dora. (pictures to come)

I did not let Blake eat Cheerio mix for lunch because he refused to eat anything else. Nope I wouldn't do that in lieu of him having a balanced meal

I did not keep turning on my laptop to see if people had replied to my blog, and to check and see if I was the only one with no life who blogs on the weekends.

I did not clean the kitchen instead of joining in on the phone conversation my husband was having.

I did not cringe when I heard the boys fussing at night because it meant I didn't get a full night sleep again.


What did you not do this week?

sunday scrapbook page

Life as a mother

Life as a mother...

Before I was a mother I knew that it was a special thing
I knew the connection between a mother and child was strong
I knew the love between a mother and child was un-bendable
I knew that because of the relationship I have with my own mother

But now that I am a mother...
I am in awe of the bond I feel with my sons
The love I feel surpasses my exceptions
I see my sons smile and it makes me smile
I hear my sons cry and I want to cry too
(I hear my sons scream and I want to scream... but needless to say I don't)

I find that I look at things differently now
I see joy in the little things
I see excitement in learning and exploring the new things I find
I want to soak up the moments with them

Life as a mother means putting my sons needs before my own
Keeping my relationships in balance
And finding time to be a better me
So that I can be a better mommy

Life as a mother means figuring out what is wrong and how to fix it
Dealing with runny noses, bug bites and scrapes
Discovering, learning, laughing and crying
Watching, rejoicing, wondering and sighing

Life as a mother means love
It means peace
It means joy
It means patience
It mean laughter

Life as a mother is an ever changing adventure
And it's a journey I'm excited to take on every day
I love my life as a mother!


I am sitting here in the dark at 6:15am on Sunday morning. I am listening to my boys through the monitor. Richard and Abby are still sleeping in our room. I had woken up a little after 5am because Colby was ready to eat. I put him back down awake and I wanted to wait to know he was sound asleep before I decided whether to go back to bed myself. I decided to take sometime to post about something that's been on my mind. With my sons being sick I've had a bit of time to reflect and realize how much I love being a mom. I would do just about anything for my sons. I wish for them happiness. I want to see them grow up to be the best they can be. I want them to learn from their mistakes and grow from them. I want them to be kind, caring, compassionate people. I also want them to be competitive, independent, and hardworking. I want them to know that life isn't easy, but it is so worth the fight. I want them to know that finding out what doesn't work is just as important as finding out what does. I want them to realize that fair doesn't mean equal... fair means giving each person what they need to be their best. I want them to understand that they are their own man and they don't have to be like anyone else. I want them to fight a good fight in all they do. I want them to value their education and realize it it one thing that no one can take away from you. I want them to value a hard days work.

But for now I want them to live for the moment. I want them to love to learn. I want them to play and get excited about the little things. I want them to see joy in discovery. I want them to know that they are loved and always will be.

weekend random thoughts

1. Going out with 2 kids is a lot harder than it sounds

2. Having sick kids makes for long nights

3. Not feeling well yourself makes for long days and even longer nights

4. Being able to hang out outside and not fry... now that is a treat

5. When both boys are asleep at the same time it's a nice break even if it's only for a few minutes

6. Having to choose between a birthday party for a 3 year old and going to a friend's house to watch a football game... and having the birthday party win out shows even more that we are parents now

7. Snot... enough said... or you could read yesterday's post if you want to read more

8. Knowing I don't have any food random thoughts means I'll probably have less comments (sorry I didn't bake this week)

Snot

As a kindergarten teacher I hated cold season and why you might ask... SNOT! Kindergartners are notorious for their snot. I can't tell you how many times I say I would say... go blow your nose. Ok now go wash your hands. I hated not only seeing the runny noses but also knowing that their snot could get on me and my clothes. That they are spreading nasty germs to each other an oh yeah that means more snot from another child.

Ok fast forward to mommyhood... now it's my own child with the snotty nose. Oh joy... and wait... I can't just tell him to go blow his nose. Why you ask... cause he is 22 months and never been sick so therefore he doesn't know how to blow his nose. So now I spend my day trying to help him learn to blow his nose, and not out of his mouth. Trying to keep the snot at bay. Oh and washing my hands. And dreading the sound of a sneeze knowing that I have to yet again wipe a nasty snotty nose.

Now Colby is starting to get congested too. Oh joy... where is the nasal aspirator. I can't blame him for being miserable, I can't blame him for hating that thing, but there is no other way to get snot out of a 3 month old.

So we will keep using Vicks Baby Rub on both boys. Hoping that they sleep through the night and have a decent nap. And get over it NOWWWW!

Oh and does anyone have a tip on how to get a toddler to blow his nose???

Friday Videos

Blake loves to do art project lately... and he is getting a bit more chatty too... so here you can see both!

I did it!

I went to Target with the boys today... by myself (ok not totally but still). We got invited to a birthday party for the little girl across the street. Yeah we got the invitation like 2 weeks ago, the party is Sat., and I'm just getting around to buying the gift.

So this morning I packed the boys into the car and headed to Target... got to love the Target don't ya? I found a parking space next to the carriage corral. I did this for 2 reasons... 1) there was a carriage right in it, 2) no one would be parked next to me on the side I have to get Colby in and out of... so I could open the door all the way without worry of hitting another car.

First I got the carriage (and not another carriage in sight)... YUCK the carriage is rather dirty... ok, ok... I have the carriage cover. I'll use that even though I haven't used it with Blake since he stopped trying to chew the handles.... I get the cover on and get Blake out of the car. Yeah doesn't he throw a fit over having to sit in the carriage with the cart cover on... deal with it child!

I convince him that it will be fine... here I won't strap you in (just don't jump out). Now I get Colby out of the car and put his car seat into the cart... hmmm what is the best way to do this?? I decide to put the whole car seat into the basket of the cart. Ok this works. Now if Blake would only calm down life would be better. Here hold my cell phone and listen for Daddy to call. Ok never mind have a snack... want some crackers or Cheerios? NOooooo don't dump them out! Whew I caught the dish before they totally went everywhere. Ok lets go in the store now.

Ahhhh much better, once we got close to the store Blake stopped crying, Colby was content... now lets shop. Hmmmm what to buy a 3 year old little girl, that she doesn't have already?? Off to the toy section. Oh wait where am I going to actually put the items we buy... hmmm guess we will deal with that once I find something to buy.

Ok lets get this cute tea set. Goal 1 accomplished... now wrapping paper. By now I've moved Colby's car seat so it's up on the top of the carriage because he wasn't happy and it was much easier to get his pacifier and what not if he was up, there was more space to put stuff, and well he could see the world go by so he was happy.

Ok lets go see if we can find the last few things we need. Hey look Daddy's here (yes that was planned, I just didn't realize I would have almost everything done first). So we went and did a few more things around and checked out.

Then we decided to go to Panera Bread for lunch. Eating out is something we don't do very often because Blake isn't great at playing the waiting game so we usually just eat at home. But, he did better than I expected.


On a side note: Colby now has the congestion and runny nose too. Blake is seeming to do a bit better, but snot... yuck snot! I just hope that Colby doesn't get too bad... that is my worry

Bloggy Bling

I received this award from both Mommy Mechanics and Mozi Esme



I'm passing it on to:

A Family Story
A Mom's Heart
Just Talk
The Family News!
Kami's Khlopchyk
Pre-Med Mommy
~JujuBoo~

I could have given this to ever person on my blog roll... so if you don't have this award and want it.... I say take it!

Read me a story

Blake loves to look at books. Once he moved into his toddler bed, we began reading to him every night before bed. Typically Richard and I each read him 2 books. I know there are many nights where if it was up to Blake Richard and I would each read him 20 books. He tries very hard to convince us to read one more, and one more and one more on those nights when he just doesn't want to give in and go to bed. Some nights we will give in and read a 5th book, but typically it's 4 and then good night hugs time.

The thing I find funny is on those nights that he struggles to go to sleep and comes out of his room after we've put him down for the night, when you walk him in he will hand you a book. It seems that he already uses books as his wind down get ready for sleep mode.

Last night he was not feeling well, Richard and I were in and out of his room 3 or 4 times between 7pm and 1:30am. (We finally got a dose of Tylenol into him and put Vicks VapoRub on him). The thing I found interesting was pretty much no matter how out of it he was, he often said "book" or "story" while we were in there. He wanted that one more story, one more book before he settled back down.

I love the fact that he loves books. I love that he sees the value of reading before he goes to bed. I just hope he continues to love to read!

a milestone, a cute story, and the answer to the challenge

A milestone met...

Colby rolled over from his stomach to his back twice yesterday. No, I haven't got it on video just yet, but I'm trying. It was funny... he looked up at me... had this huge grin on his face and just rolled over. I rolled him over again and he did it again. But, I couldn't get him do it again later for Richard. Oh well... at least Mommy saw it!

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A cute story...

On Saturday night at church, Blake was pulling things out of the diaper bag. He pulled out Colby's water bottle. I took it away and whispered to him... no that's Colby's and gave him his water bottle. Blake then pull it out again and tried to open the lid. I then decided to given an empty bottle to see what he would do with it. He had me open the top off the bottle and then tried to reach into the car seat to give the bottle to Colby. It was too cute. So I quickly switched it out with Colby's water bottle so that if Colby decided to suck on it he was getting water and not just air.

I just love those moments when you see how much Blake loves Colby.

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And the answer to the challenge... that my friends was his vitamin. Blake is a Meatatarian, so we've started giving him vitamins, plus he always wants to take our vitamins when we have them. But, he doesn't always want to chew them... he wants to suck on them. Which as you can see tends to make a bit of a mess. You should see it when he has the red ones, you'd think he was bleeding from the mouth.

But the pudding was a good guess since I've shown him eating pudding more than once. And, the make-up would be good if I actually wore make-up for him to get into! Thanks for playing along


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There is a new poll on my blog... and only a few hours left to vote in the last one

Challenge for you

So what is all over Blake's face in this picture??


Sorry I don't have a prize to give out... I just thought it would be fun to see what you think my little guy is wearing eating.

Sunday Scrapbook page

random weekend thoughs

1. having a lap top makes it easier to check in during the day

2. watching Blake play with his toys more and more creatively makes me smile

3. seeing Colby gain strength and play shows his developmental progress

4. listening to my sons and husband laugh together is the best sound in the world

5. tuna melts... a treat from my childhood

6. breakfast for dinner always a treat

7. hugs from Blake

8. Hearing Blake try to say more and more words (and having them be understandable helps too)

9. Good night hugs are the best

Mommy Meme

Jujuboo passed on this meme to me....

First: Post a picture of you and your kids.


Second: Answer the questions.

1. How many children do you have? 2 boys

2. What are their ages? Blake is 22 months and Colby is 3 months

3. What time of day do you start your day? usually 6am, but often as early at 4am depending on Colby... Blake usually sleeps until 7 or 7:30

4. What do you eat for breakfast? Cereal with milk

5. Do they watch TV? Blake does (Disney, Nick Jr., PBS kids, and Noggin are usually on here)... Colby well he likes the colors

6. What are their favorite activities? Blake: coloring, helping cook, running around like a crazy man, playing with his tools, playing with cars Colby: eating, sleeping, going for a walk, playing on his play mat or in his jumparoo

7. Do you get a break during the day from them? NAPTIME! I try to over lap their naps by at least 45 min

8. How do you end your day? working on the computer, tv time with hubby, doing abs, reading my book, going to bed

9. What is your best parenting advice or tip? Don't try to do everything all the time. Having fun with your kids is more important than making sure the house is spotless. My children will also learn two things... never go to bed angry and never leave without saying "I love you"

Pass it on to five people:
From the Cheap Seats
Kami's Khlopchyk
The Family News!
A Mom's Heart
A Family Story

Childhood is not the same

I thought about this during my 2:30am feeding... see what I do when I'm awake in the middle of the night/very early morning.

I've seen commercials for Cabbage Patch Kid's 25th Anniversary. Ok I'm going to date myself here... 25 years ago I was 10. 25 years ago I had not one but 2 Cabbage Patch Kids (actually I had the newborns). Do you remember the craziness of the first Christmas that Cabbage Patch Kids were out... I can remember seeing on the news parents getting in fist fights over a doll... anyway I digress, I didn't start this post to talk about the strange actions of people over the "it item" (hmmm that sounds like it maybe a good post in the future).

Ok back onto what I was thinking at 2:30am...

As I said I had 2 Cabbage Patch kids when I was 10 years old. That puts me in the fifth grade. I was not the only person in my fifth grade class with these dolls. It was not odd for a fifth grader to have a doll... Can we say the same thing today?? Nope! I look at my years teaching kindergarten and think about the fifth graders that I knew and can not imagine them playing with a doll. I can not imagine then even considering having a doll no matter how popular and "in" the doll was that year. I think a fifth grader who had a doll (other than one that may be part of a collection like ceramic doll kind of thing) they would be seen as immature.

Children now a days are expected to grow up a lot faster. From the academic expectations that are now put on young children to the behavioral expectations that are put on every child. I can even remember times as a teacher where I looked at behaviors of a child and deemed them immature... when if I thought about the same behavior when I was a child it probably would have been seen as normal.

What are we as a society doing to our children? I can't see this as a good thing, for the most part. Can we blame it on the tv shows and movies that children are allowed to watch? Can we put blame on the music that they are allowed to listen to? Can we put blame on the fact that the world has changed and children aren't allowed to play outside and feel safe? Can we put blame on the business of our lifes? Can we put blame on the technology that they have available to them?

I want my sons to feel that they can play. I want my sons to enjoy life. I want my sons to enjoy their childhoods because soon enough they will be grown up and childhood will be a mere memory.

Friday Videos

on a lighter note

I got this off Jujuboo's blog... play along on your blog and let me know if you do... I'd love to read your answers

Your real name: Lori

Gansta name (1st three letters of your real name plus izzle, favorite ice cream & Fav type of shoe): Lorizzle Mint Chocolate Chip Sneakers

Native American name (fav color, fav animal): Navy Puppy

NASCAR name (1st names of grandfathers): George Everett

Dancer Name (Fav perfume/scent, fav candy): Rose Lindt Truffle

Soap Opera name (middle name, street you live on): Ann Birchwood

Star Wars name (1st 3 letters of middle name, 1st 2 letters of first name): Annri

TV Weather/Anchor name (5th grade teacher's last name, major city that starts with same letter): Arsonault Atlanta

Spy name (fav season, fav flower): Winter Rose

Cartoon name (Fav fruit, article of clothing you are wearing now): Strawberry Shorts

Hippie name (what you ate for breakfast, fav tree): Chex Magnolia

Super Hero name (2nd fav color, fav drink): Pink Water

Witness protection name (parent's middle names): Ann Everett

Goth name (black, name of one of your pets): Black Abby

Movie Star name (1st pet's name, 1st street name): Candy Freeport

Rock Star name (first pet, current car): Candy CRV

Never Forget

September 11th... a day that will forever be in my heart.

Dana at Just Talk posted about remembering that day in great detail.

Me, I remember bits and pieces... it's more of how I felt than the bit by bit details of the day. I was living here in Orlando and teaching kindergarten. My day was going the same as every day. I had just dropped my class off at lunch (we ate around 10:40am). I remember walking into the room where the teachers ate and having this sense that something was different... something was strange. When I got into the room the tv was on a real channel (we had all the tvs set to the school clock). As soon as I focused on what I saw I just froze. I couldn't move I just stood there and stared at the tv. As the rest of the kindergarten team came in for lunch, I came back to reality. OMG what is going on, and what is going to happen next. Within the next 5 min or so we decided to not tell our classes what was going on and wait until the next day to discuss it. This gave parents the chance to explain what is going on with their child.

Before our classes even finished lunch, our school was put on lock down (we had to get permission to walk back to our classrooms. When we got back the children could not leave the room by themselves. We had parents picking up kids left and right. I tried very hard to keep my emotions in check. I tried to not stand at my desk watching the internet reports. And the big thing, working in my head... how am I going to answer the questions that I will get tomorrow??

I don't remember much about the rest of the day. I know I went home and called my parents who still lived in MA at the time. I remember being glued to the tv not only that day, but also the rest of the week.

I did find a way to deal with answering the kids questions (much to the chagrin of on of my kid's parents who didn't want their child to know about it at all). I remember that this tragedy came up over and over that year. I remember thinking that the children would go through life with this being a part of their past, they won't remember how I helped them deal with it in the days that followed, but I'd like to think I helped them grow.

God Bless America... many prayers to those families who lost family members in this tragedy... many prayers for those who stood up as heros during this time of loss in our country... many prayers for the world.

Let there be peace on Earth... and let it begin with me!

fun pics

Bubbles! Look I can make my own bubbles... I don't have to wait for someone to use that wand thing


Mommy took the exersaucer outside... it was fun to hang out and play





What is this tool used for?


Can I help you with the dishes?


Strike a pose


I'm cleaning up my chalk drawings