Thursday, February 19, 2009

Happy Birthday!

To my loving husband and wonderful Aunt.

Love you both very much!!!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Enjoy!

Yes, finally I am posting some pictures. Some are old, well, now that I think about it, all of them are at least 3 weeks old. Oh well. Better late than never, right? And they are out of order, but I do not feel like going through all the effort to fix that. So they are pretty much chronologically backward.

Here is Bailey with his 2nd place winning pinewood derby car. Not bad for his first time! Plus he had a blast!
Mackenzie with her cousins Victoria and Alyssa. They helped to entertain her while the pinewood derby was taking place. Aren't they cute?

Bailey cheering on his car. I love this picture because you can only see Bailey's car, and it is winning by a lot!

My little niece Lotus. She is so cute! But she is getting big too fast.


Bailey in the snow during a snow storm about a month ago. It was the only time he went out in the snow. He is like his mother and would rather be warm and dry.

Mackenzie loved the snow. She is my little snow bunny.

Playing Rock Band. We actually have our own band, but since I take all the pictures, there are no photos of "Dudes". We are pretty good.

The rest of these pictures were taken over Christmas. We had a pinata at Christmas, and this is my nephew Taj attacking the pinata. I just love this picture. The look on his face is priceless!

This is Lotus at 15 days old. See what I mean about her growing up too fast?


Mackenzie in front of a pile of Christmas presents. Love her cheesy smile!


Christmas Eve and the kids in their matching pjs. (I already bought them their Christmas pjs for next year, only $5 for both pairs!)


This picture was taken while we were waiting to see Santa. When I look at this picture, I think about how cute my kids are!

This was also taken Christmas day. The kids played a game involving vasoline and cotton balls to see who would be the best Santa. I think Colton won.

Hopefully next time I will not wait so long to share my pictures!



















Wednesday, February 11, 2009

What kind of Valentine's card is that?

Bailey had to get Valentine's cards for his classmates at school. He picked out Indiana Jones ones this year, although he was a little worried what the girls would think. Turns out, it doesn't matter. We got a note from school saying each child should bring 14 valentines to school with just their signatures, no specific names for each student. They said that it makes passing out valentines easier and faster. I think that is a bunch of baloney. It may be a bit easier and quicker to deposit unnamed valentines into holders, but to me, it defeats the purpose. Don't you give valentines to people you care about? I would love to teach Bailey that he can care about each of his classmates individually even if he doesn't necessarily LIKE them. But when you just write your name on 14 valentines, it seems sort of silly.

When I was a kid, I would give valentines to everyone in my class. Even the kids who smelled a little funny. I was always nice. But to my real friends, I was a little nicer. I would pick out my favorite valentines for my most special friends. Maybe write a special little note to them. That way I wouldn't exclude anyone, but make those I cared about feel extra special.

I am sure that the school is more concerned with exclusion than speedy valentine delivery. This is a time when kids can be taught to care about others whether they get along with them or not. In the "real world" everyone has to interact with people they don't necessarily like. But we can have respect for them and treat them with kindness even if we don't like them.

Maybe 3rd graders are allowed to personalize their valentines.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

25 Random Things

1. I graduated from college in August of 2000, which I am very proud of since I had Bailey 2 months later. I have my BA in English and have never used it!
2. Because I have a BA in English, people think I am a human dictionary. I am not.
3. My husband and I eloped after knowing each other less than two months. And next month we will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary. Not bad!
4. I would never recommend eloping to anyone! Especially not my kids!
5. I grew up on a farm, but have never ridden a horse.
6. I was 20 the first time I had ever been on an airplane. I was going away to a college I had never even visited and knew only 2 people in the whole state!
7. I used to be really afraid of spiders, but it's not as bad anymore, because Jared is more scared of them, so I have to kill them. I still don't like big hairy ones, fast ones, or any that are crawling on my head!
8. Growing up I collected the Babysitter Club books. Oh, I loved those books! I was saving them for when I had a girl so she could read them, but my mom gave them away without asking me. Oh well.
9. I am a big sports fan. Especially baseball, Nascar, and football. I know more about the sports than a lot of guys do.
10. I am a coupon addict. If there was a Couponer Annonymous, I would need to go.
11. Some of my best friends I have never met. Maybe someday!
12. I hate being called Sam. That isn't me. In typing, I understand, my name is long, and if you are a really good friend, then I can excuse that too. But it makes my skin crawl when random people call me that. Sammy is also OK if you are a friend.
13. I taught myself how to knit last year by reading a book. I have made Mackenzie a dress and a bazillion hats.
14. I have started to become obsessed with wrinkles. I feel too young to be getting them.
15. I know the reason why I have wrinkles is because I love the sun too much. And getting a tan.
16. Some of my best childhood memories are from spending time at the beach (the Shore!) or visiting my aunt in Vermont.
17. I hate being cold. I really should have lived somewhere tropical!
18. I hate making phone calls. Really. I only feel comfortable calling Jared, my mom, mother in law, and sister and sister in laws.
19. I wish so much that Mackenzie would grow more hair! I don't know why, but it bugs me that it isn't longer and is still baby fine.
20. When I was 2, I had an operation on my hip because I had hip dysplasia. I still have pain in both of my hips today, especially if I stand for a long time or walk a lot.
21. I have moments where I wish I was just a crazy cat lady living by myself with 10 cats. OK, maybe not 10.
22. I am not a morning person. Or a night person either. Anyone who has lived with me knows my hatred for the morning. Unfortunately I have early bird children.
23. I look forward to getting the mail every day. You never know when you will get a package, free sample, a check or something else good!
24. I am not a nap-loving person. I usually wake up crabbier than ever.
25. I don't swear. OK, I rarely swear. Only if I am crazy mad.