I have a new niece!!!!!!!!!! Annibelle Leigh born on 12-10-09 at 9:35 a.m. weighing 6 lbs 14 oz and is 19 1/2 inches long!

Moving along

Well, we are about to wrap up the first quarter of school. P/T conferences are next week. Looking forward to getting Koty's report card. Lanni's bday is also coming up fast. Wow...15 yrs old! I'm so old!!! To imagine she was only 17 months old when I met her the first time and now she's 15.

School is going a lil better for Koty. He had his first ALL green week! Now that he knows he can do it maybe he'll do it every week. I tied his allowance to green days...maybe that's his motivation.

Things have been crazy on the health front as far as friends and family goes. Kami's nephew has been in the hospital for weeks on end and was finally transferred from B'vill to OKC. They decided it was his gall bladder all along but by the time they figured that out he had a staph infection that has to be gotten rid of b4 they do surgery. He's going home Sunday then Thea has to set up appts w/ the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic to do some additional testing and w/ the hospital for his gall bladder surgery. Thursday I got a call from my brother saying he was sick and the dr. thought he might have an infection in his intestine. He ended up back in the next day and they ran a CT scan. They found that the fatty tissue around his appendix was inflamed and pushing against the lining of his stomach and that's what was causing the pain. Nothing to be done for it except take pain meds and wait it out. Although it sucks for him to be in so much pain at least it wasn't one of the other hundred things it might have been that could have been more serious.

Hopefully things clear up soon and we have NO more medical issues for a while!

connection

So I've figured out a pattern to his getting in trouble for talking at school. IF he goes to bed later than usual or doesn't sleep well (i.e. is tired) he gets in trouble. If he's well rested then no trouble. Hrm...as much as I hate to do it, i'm thinking maybe an earlier bedtime is in his future.

Book update and school

Well he never made it through the book he checked out. I went ahead and read the rest of the first chapter to him thinking we'd just read it for a bedtime book. He decided he wasn't as interested in it as he thought he might be.

School has started again. I have 20 kids. Hoping for a good year. Dakota is off to a good start in his room. Just have to get him trained to not yap when he's done w/ his work. That will be our goal this year.

Haven't posted in a while

Mostly have just been updating via FB and Tweeter but found this a worthy brag that needed to be posted here. :)

Lanni bought Dakota "The Dragon's Child." I began reading it to him at night but the other day he took it with us in the car saying he was going to finish it himself. Yanno what?? He did. Three chapters he read on his own. Out of curiosity I got on renlearn to check the book level and it's 4.8! He also surprised me today by asking to check out a book called "The Wizard Test." Usually he only checks out movies. He's determined to read it by himself. Guess we'll see. Just checked it and it's 4.9. Will keep you updated.

Crafty me!

Purses that I crocheted for Brooke, Raegan and Kori

It's been a while...

Here I'd thought I'd post more once we were out of school and I only have 2 posts for June. Well since my last post, Peanut came to stay with me for a week, Koty has been playing T-ball, we did go to Boomtown Days, and Mike and I just spent 4 days in Eureka Springs for our 10th wedding anniversary! Not sure what all is on the agenda for this week but I hope it'll be cooler than last week. May have to take Koty swimming.

Home again

We are back from AR. It was a good visit. Momma, Krispy, and Nutter are coming this weekend to watch Koty play ball then I get to keep Peanut next week while Krispy goes and gets her packing done and gets moved.

Today (and prolly tomorrow) Koty and I are going to Boomtown Days with Sally and the girls. Hope it doesn't start raining on us! Looks nice right now though. I wouldn't mind clouds though just to keep it cool.

The Joys of Summer

Brooke, Dakota, and Raegan at Big Spring Park

I haven't been keeping up with this much lately! We've been too busy running around. Our biggest past time has been visiting the library and playing w/ Sally and the girls. Hoping Big Spring Park pool will open soon so we can take them swimming.

On Monday, Koty and I are going to AR to see the fam there! We are so excited. Should have lots of pics (as long as I remember to take them and don't spend all my time holding Peanut!!!)

Zoo pics

Only posting a few here. The rest that I took are on facebook. Waiting to get some of the good shots that Sally took.

Summer Fun!

Going to the zoo tomorrow with my SIL and 2 nieces. Will post pics when we get home :) IF i can get blogger to let me upload any. Was trying to upload one of lanni and it won't let me.Finally!! Had to go to explorer to get it done but here it is.

Freedom comes!

After tomorrow I'll have 2 solid months w/o the though to school pressing on my time! I will also be the mother of a FIRST GRADER!!!! How did that happen? Wasn't he just born a month ago? I don't have to give a thought to school until August when I'll go back to see if the construction is finished and assess what needs to be done to get my NEW room ready for kids. PLEASE pray that the new section is finished and we don't have to "make do" until it is ready. I've "made do" about all I can and now all of our stuff is packed away in boxes to be moved. I don't want to have to semi-unpack just to pack it up again.

I got the final list of the book that Koty read this year. The grand total...98 books! How's that for a 5/6 yr old???? Awesome, I think! :D

The end is coming!

The end of school, that is. Only 4 more days! I'm am on my way to getting things done. Still seems like there is so much to do and not a lot of time left in the classroom to do it in. We have several things in the next few days that are going to keep us out of the classroom. On top of the normal end of the year stuff I'm trying to get packed so they can move me over the summer once the new section of the building gets finished. Hoping and praying that it DOES get finished in time!

I've been a little lax on posting Koty's books. He hasn't had a lot because the ones he's reading now are longer and it takes him a couple of nights to finish.

The last 3 have been What's it like to be a fish? (3.9), A Picture Book of Helen Keller (3.5), and The Friendship Garden (2.6).

Happy Mother's Day!

Hope all you mom's out there have a great pampered day!

New books

Latest books have been Thank You, Amelia Bedelia (2.6), Amelia Bedelia and the Surprise Shower (2.3) and today was Bobo's Magic Wishes (2.4). Will have the last book for this year on the 14th. Have to have everything turned in by the 15th. Can't believe the end of the year is getting so close.

Had our field trip today to Fantastic Caverns. It was fun and the rain held off just long enough for us to get done at the park.

I'm listening to The Host on my mp3 player. I never thought I'd like the audio book thing but I like it loaded into my mp3 player because I'm mobile. Is a nice distraction when you are doing laundry and other mundane chores. The Host is not quite Twilight but has Meyer's easy reading style. Very easy to get into and stay with. I'm beginning to think she watches Stargate as the creatures in the story seem very Ga'ould-ish to me. Any thoughts by those familiar with both?

Lapse in picture posting

I'll be slower in posting pictures for a while. Mike updated his WOW game and it uploads while he downloads which has put our upload quota way up. Will take a while for this to come off so I'll be careful about uploading things for a while. I'll hopefully make up for it when I do start posting again :)

Wow...it's May!

I can't believe May is already here. Seems like we were just celebrating New Year's! Only 13 more days of school left. Looks like I will be moving into the new wing that's being built. Fun, moving, again...NOT. Oh well, I'll at least get a new classroom out of the deal. Just hope they have it finished by August!

Books

Over the weekend Koty read Here Comes the Strikeout...leveled at 2.0 but longer. Today was Jamaica and Brianna...2.3.

On another note - we went to the movies this weekend, Mike's last hurrah before he moves in at work. Dakota and I saw Monsters vs. Aliens. It was pretty funny. Daddy and Lanni went to see Hannah. During our previews we saw that they are making an animated version of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and a live action version of Where the Wild Things Are. Both FABULOUS books. I checked them out of the library today so I can read them to Koty. He thinks he's heard the first but doesn't remember the 2nd at all. I'm very excited to see them both.

The countdown to the end of the year begins. Only 17 more days left of school for us. I can't believe it's so close and I can't believe how much I have to do before then! Most of it can't even be done ahead of time, that's the bad part. Oh well, I'll do what I can and that last full week will be review worksheets and free reading time for the kids!! HEHEHEHE SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE!

Special Olympics pics

Nana, Daddy, MeMe, and Lanni


Wheelchair Race - She won the Gold!!


Softball Throw - Bronze

Some pics

Nifty pressies from Grandpa!


Wooden dinosaur puzzle Nana got for Koty for his bday.

New Book

Tonight's book is Zack's Alligator. He should fly through this one compared to his last one. It's only a 2.3.

K-2 starts Terra Nova testing tomorrow. Hope he concentrates and does well. We are going to bed early this week in preparation.

Ok a lil skeptical

I've been looking on the AR site to get the reading level of the books that Koty has been reading. I do this simply because it's a easy way to see and I know that's how the books in our library are leveled. The book he had this weekend is called "Too Many Babas". According to renlearn (the AR site) it's a 4.0 book!! It's marked as low grade level for interest but the reading of it is 4th grade. WTH?!?!? This is in the Kindergarten curriculum. NUTS!!! It is in the extending part but still, isn't that a bit much? Koty did read it but stumbled a lot more than normal. We had words like delicious, measured, spicy, character, and not to mention the names: Baba Edis, Basha, Yetta, Molka.

On another note...I think he's growing. He's about to eat me out of house and home. He's eaten 4 bowls of Reece's Puff, 2 bags of popcorn and 2 pancakes so far today.

Special Olympics

was today. Lanni took Bronze in the softball throw and Gold in the wheelchair race. Hoping that she brings them down next weekend so I can get some pics with them to post :)

More Surprises!

Krispy just called this afternoon to tell me that they are getting re-assigned in July and will be moving closer!! I'm so excited! It will still be about an 8-9 hr trip but that's TONS better than 20 hrs. They will also only be about 6 hrs from my mom, who is only 4 hrs from me, so when they go there to visit we can hop down and visit too!!

Koty is doing really well on his 2.9 book. I think there have maybe been 5 words so far that I've had to either help him with or make him stop and go back to look at it. He's doing so well and I just can't say enough about it. I'm an avid reader and hope that his early success in reading will instill that same feeling in him. I am PRAYING though that AR reading in school doesn't discourage him. Nothing like taking all the joy out of reading knowing that you have to take a test over every book you read.

And the results are in!

Dakota took the STAR test today and he tested at 1.7. So he's about a grade level ahead of where he should be. His range for reading tho is 1.7 to 2.7 which covers the range of books he's been reading.

His new book today is Frog and Toad Together which is a 2.9 book. We'll see how he does.

Well well well....

I've always loved kids. That's one reason I became a teacher. I have 3 younger siblings. Two of which I had quite the hand in raising. (I've also been blessed w/ 2 sisters in law.) I've always wanted to be a mother and so I am. I have a stepdaughter and a son who are most of my world. I also have always wanted to be an aunt. The kind of aunt that picks up her nieces and nephews and keeps them for sleepovers and takes them places. I have also been blessed in that area. I wanted nieces and nephews and now I have them. Seven of them to be exact and I found out TODAY that I have another on the way!! Unfortunately 3 of them (and the new one) live quite a ways away from me and I don't get to see them as often as I'd like. And whenever my brother decides to add to the mix, he is also a ways away. But still, I have them. I grew up with lots of cousins and am so fortunate that my children will be able to experience that as well. Lanni rolls her eyes every time I mention another one coming into the family but I know that some day she'll look back and be appreciative of the family and support she has.

I would personally love another child but I'm not sure that's in the stars for me. So to my siblings and siblings in law, I say, "Keep them coming! If I can't have them myself I'll live vicariously and just spoil yours!!!"

Sometimes...

I wonder if anyone is even reading this. I have 2 followers and I know there are others who are not signed up through blogger/gmail that might read but I really wonder if I'm just posting this out in cyberspace for no reason. Leave me some love if you're reading and want me to keep it up.

Koty's books

I haven't kept up w/ the list of Koty's books very well.
3-27-09 Dogs At Work 2.7
3-30-09 Addie's Bad Day 1.8
3-31-09 The Grandma Mix-up 2.7
4-6-09 Frog and Toad All Year 2.6

I need to check with his teacher again about STAR testing. I don't think she's done it yet. (mental note to self!)

Not much happening

We have one week down of MAP testing. I'm sick again. Didn't find much at the garage sales this weekend that I was so excited about. Life is just kinda blah. Here it is the first of April and feels colder than it did in February. I want to get out and play in the garden spot and practice T-ball and all those things but I just can't get well with the weather changing back and forth all the time! Pick a season and stay there already. Looking forward to warm (not hot) less windy days!

pics

Koty waiting in line for the awards ceremony for 3rd quarter.


Koty and his great reading award


Peanut at our school


Peanut on the couch eating mashed taters.


Mamaw w/ her grandchillens


Happy Birthday Koty!


Koty with his new tools



Pics that Kristi took

Party is over

and I'm still recouperating. Will get pics and updates done this week, hopefully.

New book

Koty got Henry and Mudge get the Cold Shivers today. It's also 2.7 reading level. Will prolly take him 3 days to read it. Think we're going to do a chapter a day.

Pics

Dakota introducing his new fish to his tank.


The new fish "Abetta"


Troy 3-21-09


Phoenix, Mema, Troy, and Dakota

Busy weekend that started Thurs.!

We had half a day on Thurs. Mike came and picked Koty up from school. I had to stay for meetings and such. I ran to Joplin afterward to get the last of Koty's bday pressies. Once I got home and got dinner under control I started straightening up and doing laundry in preparation for our company that was coming Friday night and Koty's bday party next week. Ended up talking to my BFF for 2 1/2 hours as well. It was good to catch up.

Friday we were out of school so grocery shopping and more cleaning. Our friends got here just in time for dinner. We had tacos w/ all the fixin's. Lots of sitting around and BSing. Stayed up WAY too late but it was well worth it.

Up early(ish) on Sat. to get around and head to OK to see the fam. Went to Mema and Pepa's first for collaborative bdays (celebrated 5 bdays and one birth) and lunch. Mema's sketti!!!! YUM!! I finally got to meet Troy! Then we went to see Honey and Fred. Visited w/ them for a while and dropped in on Kami before we headed out of town.

Decided to stop in Vinita to have some McD's cuz it was 8 p.m. and we hadn't eaten yet. Mr. Slow Poke Jim took almost an hr to eat his 6 nuggets and small fries so here I was w/ an hr left to drive at 9 o'clock at night working off 4 hrs of sleep. Not the best combination but we did make it safe and sound.

While in OK, Koty got some birthday money and he decided to spend some on a Betta fish. He's been wanting one for a while and when the lil goldfish he got at the carnival died, he decided that he wanted a betta as a replacement when I suggested that he could buy another fish with his birthday money. So, today we ended up in Joplin at Petsmart since our pet store in Neosho isn't open on Sun. or Mon. We also visited Best Buy, the mall, and Game Exchange before we got the fish. He has named him "Abetta". I will post pictures once we get him settled in the tank.

So there's my weekend in a nutshell. Next weekend will be just as crazy!!

Bragging

So yesterday, Koty brings home a book from school to read that he has on his bookshelf. He's reading and I started wondering what AR reading level it was so I got on renlearn to check. To my astonishment it was 1.9 (1st grade, 9th month). I thought it might be beginning first grade but had no idea it was that high. Today he comes home w/ a Henry and Mudge book. This one has chapters!!! I looked it up and it's a 2.7. He's having a little more trouble than he did last night but is still managing. I asked his teacher about STAR testing him to see exactly what his level is and she said she'd try to get that done. I'm so excited!!!!!!!!

The weekend is over...

And I think I need to go back to work to rest. We went to the carnival and had a good time. Today was Raegan's birthday party. Kids had a blast. I dunno who came up w/ the idea for indoor blow up toys but I wish I would have!!! It's genius!
Koty playing on a bouncy dinosaur.

Koty climbing up to the top of the big slide.

Raegan the Birthday Girl

Can I die now???

Grade cards - CHECK...lesson plans - CHECK...copies - CHECK So NOW can i die??

OHHHHHHH wait no, still have 1 more day of school and tomorrow w/ no special and i think recess duty both recesses, get the room ready for the carnival, show up at the carnival early enough that koty can participate and still spend my obligatory hour in my room at my station. THEN go to Raegan's bday party on Sunday. Then there is grocery shopping and all the normal shtuff so i guess the answer is No i cannot die yet. *sigh*

What a bust!

Well, we went to Joplin to search for bday things. Found NOTHING! So back home to order it online like I should have just done in the first place. But Koty and I had a good day together, so that was nice.

I did pick up a double ended crochet hook so I could try my hand at something new. It's going well so far I think. The internet has been flickering on and off so I've had plenty of time to work at it. We'll see what the end product looks like.

TGIF

Ok so I think this was my title last Friday but it's still true!! I think it will be for many a Friday to come. Spring is the busiest time in the school year aside from August, I think. It will make me crazy and even more ready for Summer, I'm sure.

So tomorrow is a Joplin adventure in search of birthday supplies for Koty's bday. Hoping to find a good deal on them locally so I don't have to pay shipping. Iron Man is the theme this year. He did decide he didn't want Mommy to make his cake this year so we are getting one at Walmart *sniff sniff*

Was a lovely day today. Took Koty to the park after school. Spent about an hour. Can't wait till it gets lots warmer and we can do it more often. Also want to get to work on the yard and get our garden spot set up. Koty needs his corn, strawberries and pumpkins :)

Ok so lots of pics to post today. Got one of Koty's tests back today and it's just so cute I have to share.
You can't see it as well as I'd hoped but the pic is of him and his friends in his favorite weather. This is what he wrote "We are in sunny wethr. My frend is Chevy. Me and my frend we play ni the wodr and my three dogs and my four cats." Translation if you can't make it out...We are in sunny weather. My friend is Chevy. Me and my friend, we play in the water and my three dogs and my four cats.

Other pics .... I finally got the pics of me from Con.

Weekend

Well, the weekend wasn't quite at busy as I'd had it planned. It started snowing Sat. a.m. and Mom sent Stacy w/ her own vehicle instead of trading like they planned so the kids didn't come up to visit. It continued to snow off and on all day. We did go to Chris's wedding. It was beauuuuuuuuuutiful! I have pics but need to get them off my cam. Sunday was fun. Nice relaxing morning then got ready to go to Tyler's bday party. He had a great party. Got lots of neat stuff. (again w/ the pics being still on the cam) That should be my goal this week...get pics off cam and onto the puter.

Oh and a brag on Dakota. I grabbed one of the little copied books I use in my small groups at school just to see if he'd read it. He read the whole thing and I bet he didn't miss but maybe 5 or 6 words in the whole thing. It's a 2nd grade level support book (he's in Kindergarten). I'm SOOOOO proud of him!

TGIF

So glad it's friday!!!! I'm so tired, yet I sit up night after night reading Jennie Breeden's webcomic, The Devil's Panities. It's SO funny and reminds me so much of all my friends. It's great!

This weekend is going to be busy. Tyler and Kori are coming over in the morning. Going to Chris's wedding in the evening. Tyler's bday party is on Sunday and Lanni's here this weekend. Have to go back to work to rest!

Normal Wed.

Ok so today was just a normal day. Kids at school were nutso. Went to mom's for dinner. It was nice so the kids got to play outside!! Did finally get to see some pics of Troy. Happy about that!!

Here are a couple.
Isn't he precious???

New Nephew

I have a new nephew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Troy Lycan, Feb. 24 at 1:31 pm, 8 lbs 9 oz, 20 inches long. Full head of hair. Can't wait to see pics of him!

We are back home!

After another FABULOUS Conflation weekend, we have returned home. We got in just after 10 last night and I had to get to bed so I could go to work this morning. We had such a good time. Met quite a few new ppl, made new friends and renewed old friendships. I am SO loving the theme for next year and may actually spend some thought on clothing for next year other than as I'm packing 3 days before we leave :)

CON!!!!!!!!!!!!

We made it safe and sound about 11 last night. I totally forgot there was a puter here to get onto. Gotta luv being able to check msgs and update things altho I'm not sure how much time I"ll have for that in the next few days. Have a great weekend!! I know I will!

on the mend

I think the boys are on the mend. Hopefully Koty will be back in school tomorrow. Spent all evening packing and getting ready to leave. We leave tomorrow after school!

Still Sick

Boys are still sick. Koty's going to Gran's for the day then I think I'm taking both to the dr. after work. BLAH!

Ok so it's almost 9 pm and i JUST got home and sat down. After work I rushed home to grab the boys and take them to urgent care. After 3 hrs we found out that they both have sinus infections and are on antibiotics and something for their coughs. I'm so exhausted I can barely see straight. Really wish I could break down and have someone take care of me for a few days. However, Thurs. is coming whether I like it or not and things have to be done.

Sicky Boys

Well, Mike's been sick since Sat. Stayed home from work last night and considering he can't walk across the room w/o staggering I think he's staying home tonight.

Dakota woke up saying his stomach hurt, this is not uncommon so off to school we went. Then started complaining of a headache but wouldn't go down and eat breakfast. By 9:30 they'd come looking for me but I was in a meeting. Went to check on him at 10 and he went to see the nurse. Temp of 100.8. Nurse gave him tylenol and had him lay on the cot. Made arrangements to head home. Didn't get out of there till about 11:30. Finally got home and had him on the couch about noon. He decided he wanted sprite and i didn't have any so had to call Granny. She brought sprite and popcicles. Temp has fluctuated up and down since we've been home. The recent high was 102.6. Dosed him up w/ tylenol and am hoping he'll fall asleep soon.

So here we are, 3 days b4 we leave and everyone is sick. THIS SUX!

excited but worried

Well Mike is still sick, am beginning to think he's not going to work tonight. Only 4 days till we leave and I think he has the flu of all things. Just hope I don't get it in the process. That's the last thing I want to do.

On another note, I'm beginning to feel like no one is reading this and I'm just rambling to myself. Guess it's a good way to keep a day to day acct of what's going on in the world though. If you are reading, feel free to leave me some luv!

Happy Vday all!! Hope all is well with you and yours. Not much excitement here today. Our vday pressie to each other is our trip to Conflation every year. Did give the kids a gift, tho. Mike is sick so he wasn't up to much anyway.

I've done laundry most of the day and watched chick flicks on tv. It's been good.

Friday the 13th

It definitely was!! My day started with finding out that Dakota got in big trouble yesterday during recess and conveniently neglected to tell me about it. His teacher came to me today to ask if he told me what happened so I had to investigate to get the whole story. In short he hit, lied, tried to get out of punishment, and neglected to tell me of any of it so he is GROUNDED. He doesn't exist until Sunday unless he's eating, using the bathroom, bathing, or doing homework.

Once I made it through a day w/ hyped up kids and the V-day party I came home to drop of the boy child and head into the store. My check engine light has been on since Wed. afternoon so I was hoping a good oil change would click it off, but alas, it's still on. The guy at the service center was very nice and suggested I go to Autozone and have them put it on their little computer thing. So I did that and apparently there's something wrong with the evaporative emission system. So even tho it needs fixed it's not going to blow up in the next week and we will be able to make it to Conflation. A load off my mind!

Now I just have to get the rest of the house in order and make sure we both stay well before then.

I know I had more to say but can't think right now.

Biting the bullet

Well, like joining Myspace, Facebook and everything else, I finally decided to bite the bullet and create a blog. I can't guarantee I'll keep up w/ it, like I have anything else but I'm going to try. I enjoy reading other ppl's blogs and hope someone will care enough to read mine.

The most exciting thing going on in my life right now is getting ready for Conflation. We leave the 19th and will be there till late in the evening the 22nd. This yr's theme is steampunk and although I don't have an outfit that would be labeled "Steampunk" attire I do have 2 pretty cool outfits for the dances on Fri. and Sat. night. Will post pics when we get back :D

Another exciting note is that Dakota just lost his first tooth on Mon. He was very excited and got a dollar from the Tooth Fairy.Valentine parties at school tomorrow. Kids will be NUTS! They were even kinda crazy today.

I could probably rattle on and on but think I'll quit here. We'll see what tomorrow brings.