The good, the bad and the ugly comments

I have learned soooo much being preggo. I have learned what you should say and what you should NEVER say to a pregnant woman. I have also learned not to never gawk at a pregnant person. Oh my goodness...I walk into a store and it's like I no longer have a face. All eyes are on my belly. One woman was walking into Ingles, and was plenty far away...but felt like she was in my way I guess. She said "Oh excuse me." I told her she was fine. The guy with her said..."Whoah." Nice. I decided to make a list of comments I have received. Some are cute ones from some kids at school. The rest are from adults.

The cute kiddie comments:
1. "Are you pregnant?"-2nd grader last week
2. "Is it a boy or girl?"-little girl (maybe 5 yrs old)
"Girl."-Me
"Girls are late, you know."-little girl
3. "I'm pregnant."-Me
"Are you MARRIED?!?!"-student
4. (Joshua drops off a water for me while I am in the classroom tutoring a student.)
"So do you know who that is?"-Me
"Your boyfriend?"-student

Adult comments: (Guess which ones made me smile and which ones made me cry.)
1. "When is your due date again? You look like you're about to explode!"
2. "How much longer do you have?" (I tell her 7 weeks.) "Are you sure there's just one in there?!?"
3. "You look so cute!"
4. "You look like you're six months pregnant." (Told to me today.)
5. "You don't look pregnant from the back."
6. "Does your belly button hurt?? Oh-I can't look at it."
7. "All pregnant women are beautiful!"

I will think of more, I am sure. I try to block out the mean comments...haha. I guess when you feel ugly, huge and are pumped full of hormones, some things hurt more than others. The important thing is that my daughter and I are healthy. I cannot wait to meet this precious little girl!! =) (We will see if she comes on or before Dec. 22nd.)

Time for an Update

1. Well, I passed the one hour glucose test-YAY!
2. I had a strep scare but I did not get strep. I had a nasty cold and think I am in for round two of it since everyone at work has it.
3. I think we have decided on a name..at least a first name.
4. We took a childbirth class-thanks, Moores. Your suggestion was great! (And the one day went by so quickly. I was a bit shocked!)
5. Soccer season is still going, so life is still busy and Joshua is exhausted.
6. I feel large.
7. I am on a doctor rotation now and have been told I have gained too much weight. Pleasant.
8. I got a new haircut that I love.
9. Teachers have not had a day off of school since Labor Day, and don't get another day off until Thanksgiving.
10. We found some great baby stuff for cheap at the Flea Market at school. (whoo-hoo!)
11. I met with my doula last night...you may know her as Jessica Hoover! Yay!

Well that about wraps it up for now. I should try to blog more, huh??

May the third trimester begin...

Well, so I think I am beginning my third trimester...I am 27 weeks now and feel big. Tomorrow I go for the one hour glucose test. For those that don't know what this is...well, you have to drink a very sugary sweet drink...I hear it tastes like orange Fanta but without the bubbles...then you sit and wait for an hour...then your blood is taken to see if you have signs of gestational diabetes. If your sugar level is too high, you get to go back for a 3 hour test and drink a more sugary drink, and get blood taken every hour. Needless to say, I hope I pass tomorrow's test! I hate needles, and getting my blood taken but I am hopeful that I will only have to do this once. We shall see....pray that it goes well tomorrow..please!

Oh and I read and have heard that there are more flavors for this sugary substance besides orange...fruit punch, and cola flavored. I also read that some clinics let you drink it on ice in a cup. Ha. I bet I will not be allowed to, but you can believe I will be asking for that. As for the flavor, I would take the cola but I bet I will be offered the orange. So, good thing I like orange soda I guess.

Sick

So, I have come down with a stinky cold/cough combo. It has NOT been enjoyable. Since strep was starting to circulate at school, I must say I am very thankful it is not strep...but it still stinks to be sick and preggers. I called my nurse to see what I could take, but unfortunately some of the over-the-counter meds she recommended they no longer make for some reason. So, I am drinking lots of water, sucking on Luden's cough drops from time to time, and hoping this nastiness goes away.

The Diaper Dilemma

I think it would be a wonderful thing to be able to use cloth diapers...especially with all the new ones out there! There are SO many websites, brands and types you can buy that it becomes overwhelming. They are becoming more popular, and with that comes competition! They range in price, dependant on the type of cloth diaper you buy, and can be expensive--but so are disposable diapers! I think in the long run, the cloth diaper route is less expensive, but more work. However, I would love to try using them! Of course, I am registering for both disposable and cloth because when they are newborns and go non-stop, I am probably going to be wanting those easy disposable diapers. Also, when they are older and on the run, those disposables will always come in handy! Anyways, if you have any thoughts or insights on different brands of cloth diapers, puh-lease let me know. I have a feeling that this may be a trial and error adventure for me, and I will find what works best for me and Baby Girl...but at the moment I am overwhelmed and tired of looking them all up online. Shoo!

This is National Geographic LIVE!

Alrighty...two bears in one week. Here is the scoop. When we moved into this house almost 3 years ago, the people who lived here before left a bunch of stuff! One thing they left was a trash can full of birdseed! Well, as you know birdseed goes bad after a while, and when we moved in, it had already been sitting for quite some time...but what do ya do with a trash can full of bad bird seed?? So, my hunny was cleaning out the garage this past weekend and decided it was time to dump it! So, he dumped it in the side yard thinking...I wonder if we will have little critters soon... Since then we have had 2 bears (numbers 4 and 5)...rather large critters if you ask me! Number five was a BIGGIE and we took lots of pics of him from our bedroom window. Hope you enjoy...

The other night the window was open and I thought we had another bear in the yard since I heard something scuttering in the seed area. Joshua shined a flashlight and there were a bunch of little eyes staring back at us. It was our racoon babies all grown up! (Okay so I like to think it was the same babies from a few months ago..who knows.) Today I came home to a big turkey. Usually when we have turkeys it is more than one...well, this guy was a loner. I couldn't get a good, up close picture because they are skittish. This is the best I could do...

This concludes the wildlife lesson of today. I think we should start charging people admission to come over...we could be the new Nature Center! Ha.

Bear Sighting Number Four

So, we were driving back into our driveway last night (a little after dark)...we were in the truck and Joshua decided to pull all the way up the driveway so I wouldn't have to walk all the way up (what a sweetie!). Well, something was in the backyard and when the headlights hit it, we saw black bear number four! He looked right at us, and walked into the woods. We stayed in the truck for a few minutes, listening to where he was going...meanwhile, I have to use the restroom so badly (the baby likes to sit low). Finally, Joshua got the basement door open for me to get inside, but then he had to park his truck back down. He took a broom with him, parked the truck and dashed back up the driveway to "safety." It was quite a humorous sight. That was our excitement on a Sunday evening! Again, I have no picture but he was smaller than bear number 3 (if you are keeping track). Joshua called him "a junior in high school."

My finds at WeeTrade

So, we went to the WeeTrade sale on Friday morning. I am glad I was only going for certain big items or it would have been completely overwhelming. We looked for a stroller but didn't find the kind we wanted. (There were a lot, but we are picky.) We did find a bassinett (it said "new" and it looks it!), a car seat with an extra base (only a year old, great condition, for less than half the price of a new one) and a crib set (with bumpers, sheets, skirt and quilt). We were given some money from family and then only allotted some money from extra tutoring Josh did last week. We only spent what we brought and it was great! So, I am feeling more prepared as the days go by...well as far as the "stuff" goes...haha. It was definitely worth going to!

I love a good deal, don't you?

So I ran into a friend of mine in The Children's Trading Post (great store!) the other day. She told me about a fantastic thing called WeeTrade. I guess I should learn more about it before I truly say what it is but it is something like baby/children's consignment. Anyways, she told me that every year they have a HUGE consignment sale (with great deals) at the Agricultural Center off of Airport Road. Well, we found out online that it is this week!! It is from August 8th-August 10th. No admission costs! I wanted to tell you all so that if you need any baby or kid things, it is worth checking out according to my friend. I was looking at strollers and she told me to wait for the Wee Trade because it is less expensive, and they may bargain. So, I hope this helps! You may see me there, dependant on what day you go because I am all about good deals!!! Check it out at http://www.wee-trade.com/

Dates and Times for the Sale:
Friday 8am-6pm
Saturday 8am-5pm
Sunday "Discount Day" Noon-4pm

http://www.ncagr.com/markets/facilities/agcenters/western/wnccal.htm

The BIG news!

So, the news is here....

baby in the womb is....

A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!

YAY!!!!!!!!!!

My intuitions have been completely wrong for these past few months, and our precious little girl has been called a boy all this time. Poor little thing. Now we know, so we can be better parents. Haha. We are so excited about having a girl in a few months. The thought of Joshua with a little girl melts me. Anyways, I will write more when I am not worn out from a day outside.

Thanks for all the prayers...keep them coming!

A video worth watching

So as I was watching the tube tonight, it showed part of this video. I had to go to youtube and see it again. It is about a lion who was apart from his trainers for a year, and then they are reunited. Awww...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgFAoaPlTMI

Counting my Blessings

Well, I have to thank the Lord that I have been blessed so much lately and continue to be blessed each day. Friends and family have started giving us baby stuff already and we are so very thankful! So far, the Lord has blessed us with some great used items - a baby gate, safety gadgets (such as doorknob covers), a baby monitor, a pack and play and an almost brand new item too - a car seat! I never expected to be blessed in this way, and I am ever so thankful to the Lord for these gifts so far. He knows how scared I have been about dropping down to one income after December since I have decided to stay home with the baby as long as I can...and this is like His little way of telling me we will be okay.

My parents saved ALL my baby stuff...and I mean really just about ALL my stuff. They saved my crib, blankets, clothes, toys, books and more. I wanted to go through these things with my mom so we could sort and decide what to keep and what not to keep. I was very excited about it! Well, some of these things have been stored at my parents' home and some of it has been in our basement. Well, as you know our house has been undergoing some reconstruction, and fixing up. Well, as it turns out we have had a slight leak in part of the basement..which is where these boxes were sitting. So, we started pulling the boxes out, many of which you could see mold before we even opened them. I was about to lose it. Thankfully, most of the things were still okay in the boxes. We sadly had to get rid of some stuffed animals, books. and some toys. (I hated throwing away books but thankfully again it was not a lot.) In a way it was a weird blessing because we got rid of a lot of my old stuff I had been saving for no good reason (non baby stuff) and threw it away too. Anyways, I HATE mold, and going through my old things was not as fun as I had hoped it would be, but I am thankful we were able to salvage as much as we could. I have to keep counting His blessings. Although, I still HATE mold and it is one of the most evil 4 letter words ever.

P.S. For those concerned..I did wear a mask and hardly touched a thing. The End.

Yard Sales, fun finds and belly touching

So, Saturday morning came and Joshua and I decided to go to some yard sales we had seen signs for near our house. This was a last minute decision since it was almost 11am when we decided this...so I hurried to get ready and off we went. I found some preggy clothes...or some I could use as preggy clothes...and we found an infant car seat for $5. (Sadly to say we found out later the car seat is too old.) While we were at the house with the car seat, Joshua told the lady that we were looking for baby stuff, since we would need it soon. The lady was so sweet...she said "Oh I didn't even realize you were pregnant!" and she touched my belly. Hehe. Then she was very congratulatory. I got in the car and felt so good about looking small. I thought..wow..she didn't even notice! I am not as big as I feel! Great! After this house, we kept driving where we saw signs...which took us to Cane Creek Community Center. There was a multi-family sale going on there so we thought we would check it out. We got there and there was a baby walker/toy outside. I was looking at it, while two older gentlemen were sitting outside in their overalls. One of them looked at me and said "You might be needin' that soon!" I thought...now isn't that funny that the woman I just talked to didn't even notice and this man could tell right away. My good feelings about being small quickly vanished. After we did this, we checked out the last few minutes of Smiley's...we decided next time we should go earlier. Not much good stuff left at 1:45pm. Anyways, we did go to Children's Trading Post in Arden. Now, I know most of you reading this may already know about this place, but I loved it! I found preggy clothes there...and they have a TON of baby/kid stuff which is all consignment. Well, that was our Saturday. I have decided I will keep yard saling...it is a good way to get things cheap!

P.S. If anyone has any preggy clothes you do not want anymore, or that you would like to remove from your closet for a season...please let me know. I would love to wear them for you! =)

The latest newz

Well, we are suddenly in the midst of a busy summer. I have tutoring, Joshua has science camp, soccer coming up..and of course, the never ending finishing up the house work. It is a bit overwhelming but we can manage!

I am thankful for feeling better...thank the Lord! We find out July 31st if the baby is a boy or a girl!!! I cannot believe that it is here already. It seems like only days ago that I stayed awake all night because I had just taken a preggy test and it was positive. Haha.

So, what do YOU think the baby is?? Boy or girl??

Oh and my child unfortunately has no name because name decisions are too difficult and stressful. So far, our baby has nice nicknames...Spawn (Joshua likes to call the baby his spawn), Bob, Euticus, and others...

Well, that is about all. I will keep you updated.

Summer Vacation

So, I know it has been a while since I blogged...well at least according to one of my three readers (Leah). So, here we go...

A few weeks ago, Josh had to go to a classical education conference in Charleston with his fellow teachers. So, we met up with Karen in Myrtle Beach and she took me to her house in Wilmington while he was there. Then when his conference was over, he came and met up with us. Anyways, the trip was fabulous! It was so laid back and relaxing. Karen took me to the beach and the water was AMAZING! I forgot how much I love the beach.

While we were there, the bebe and I had a growth spurt. I think my stomach grew in 3 days. When Josh met up with us that Saturday he was amazed at the change! It was wild. Anyways, here are a few of my favorite pics from the trip...

Bear Sighting Number 3

So, one of my cousins has come to visit us this entire week! It has been great getting to spend so much time with her since she lives in PA and I never get to! We had a fun day at Chimney Rock...yes we hiked and I am not in shape. We were expecting to see some sort of wildlife but we just saw bugs. So, I told her how every year we get a black bear in the yard. Anyways, we had a good time.

Then we came home...I took the dogs out since Jack was begging to play fetch in the front yard. I had asked Josh earlier this week when he thought we would see our next bear since every year we have lived here, we have had one of these black fuzzy visitors. He told me we would probably see one before winter..before they hibernate. That is usually when they come. WELL...I go outside with the dogs (who are loose of course). Maggie is whining, not coming off of the front porch and I figure she is just cranky cuz we are in the yard and she is not. Well, I thought about fetching the ball towards the woods but for some reason decided not to. Boy am I glad I didn't. I hear a loud crunch and decide to check it out (usually when I hear crunching it is birds or other small animals)--well it was a big black bear down the front yard by our creek. (Maybe this is why Maggie was whining??) I don't know how long he had been near us and he did not seem bothered to be close to us but I was bothered. I grabbed Maggie by the collar and told Jack to come inside and thank GOD he followed me in without seeing the bear. I do not know what he would have done if he had seen it. Thankfully we all got inside safely. My parents and my cousin were here so they all got to take a peek at him! So, my cousin believes me...that we have bears from time to time. We went out on the front porch so I could try to get a picture of him but he went into the brush. So, we listened to him walk slowly toward our neighbor's house and I have no picture. But if you have been keeping up with our bears, he is in between the size of the first and second one we have had here so far.

You never know when you will have an exciting experience at the Stones!
It has been about 30 minutes and I am just now calming down. Haha.

Better to see you with, my dear.

So I went to the eye doctor the other day since I have not been in over a year, and have ran out of contacts. I decided to go somewhere new...the eye doctor in the mall...because I HATE having my eyes dilated and they can do this new thing so you don't have to do that. ANYWAYS, so the doc asked me if I had noticed a difference in my eyesight since I have been pregnant. I told him "Not really...maybe a little worse?? Not much difference." Wellll....after all the eye exams, he asked me what my current prescription was...which I am not about to share with you for fear you will make fun of me...and he was shocked. He said "Well, I am not putting you on that high of a prescription this time!" So I jokingly said..."Maybe the pregnancy is making my eyesight better!!" I do not understand it. Did my eyes improve??

I ran into Dawn Moore after my appointment...because if you have been keeping up with her blog, you know she is a mall walker now...and she told me her eyes changed differently for each pregnancy. Then I told my parents, and my dad informed me that I am the reason why my mom can no longer wear contacts. Strange, huh? Well, this baby must be helpin me out in the eye category. I pray that he/she gets Joshua's 20/20 vision!!!

Our new porsche...I mean porch

So, as I said we would be getting a front porch soon. Well, since Conrad Clark works insanely fast, he has done it...in 3 days. We love it already!! I am looking forward to putting flower baskets on the railings, fixing up an old bench someone gave us, and re-painting our rocking chairs to put them on it too. It is so big!! We are thrilled! Take a look if you wish...






The new way to get in the front door...yay!

Wksh wksh wksh

So we went to another baby doctor appointment yesterday morning and got a surprise! I got to listen to the baby's heart beat! It sounds like a washing machine...wksh wksh wksh...and my doctor told me it sounded great!

I wanted to say again...THANK YOU to all of you who are praying. I know it sounds weird to say but I swear I can tell when I am being prayed for...my anxiety slips away and I have better days. So, keep them coming!

Here is the latest photo of preggers...Josh took this in the evening..when I look bigger...haha..

Baby Stone

So, I have been posting like a mad woman today. When I feel the urge to blog, I better go ahead and do it! So, I took pictures of the sonogram picture taken about a month ago of Baby Stone! So, remember this was the baby at 8 weeks and one day old. Now the baby is 12 weeks and 3 days old. I have told friends that even if you were against abortion, and even a pro-life enthusiast before pregnancy, this experience makes you a pro-life fenatic!! I couldn't believe that at 8 weeks I could see a head, fingers, little feet and a heart beat. It is AMAZING! I hope you can figure out the picture. The black oasis is the uterus...and he is head up, kind of rocked forward. I just said he...we don't know the gender yet...I just have a funny feeling it is a boy. But, I am happy with whichever it ends up being! He/She is due around December 20th! (Our Christmas present!)

Bathroom Addition

So, as I said in a previous post, our master bathroom addition is being worked on this week. We were going to TN Sunday afternoon through Monday night, so Joshua de-bricked the side of our house so that the bathroom could be on it's way the next day. As of Sunday, this was completed...well, except that all the brick was off of this part of the house...

Let's just say that when we returned home Monday evening, we were shocked at how much was done in a day! The frame of the bathroom was up! Well, so I had to take pictures today to show how much has been done in three days time...have a lookie...

I am so excited that this is being done! We will also be putting on new roof shingles, and having a front porch built! It will be like a brand new home! (Thank you, Conrad Clark, Joshua and others...)

Just call me Fertile Myrtle

Well, as many or most of you know, I am pregnant!! If you were not called, do not take it personally. Our lives have been whirlwinds since we found out. But, I am over twelve weeks along now so we have the "approval" of telling everyone. This is completely God's timing which makes it perfect timing! If you would like to pray for us, please do!! We covet your prayers!! I am always excited about the final outcome...BABY! However, my nerves do come into play and I do get anxious from time to time. You can pray for that...that I will rest in the Lord and trust that He will take care of EVERYTHING...health for me, baby...finances (yikes!)...readiness...etc. Eating has also been a struggle. This is common in most pregnancies though so I know I am not alone. I do struggle figuring out what even sounds good at the moment, but if I do not keep something on my stomach at all times, we have problems. Joshua is taking VERY good care of me..well, us...and I am grateful that he is by my side. God could not have given me a better husband. So, the cat is out of the bag! Pray all you want! We need prayer!! =)

Summer is here!!

Summer is FINALLY here!!! I think teachers definitely get more excited about this than the students, which is funny to me. Well now that summer is here, other things can get done...like our house! As some of you know, we have had the foundation built for a master-bathroom addition for some time now. Well, as of next Monday that construction will begin! Our basement is getting painted by the professional Mike Hoag...so you know how perfect it will look. We plan to have a front porch, new roof, and more. It will be like a new house! I am so excited to have these things get done...finally.

Today's Adventure

So, today we saw some friends we haven't seen in a while!  Joshua lead a boy's Bible study in college and became great friends with these super awesome guys.  (They were all ushers in our wedding.)  Well, one of the guys (Jason) and his wonderful girlfriend came to Asheville today to visit the Biltmore House.  (Since we have a friend connection who works at the Biltmore Joshua and I both got season tickets cheap!)  So, we met them at the monstrous, gorgeous place and walked through the house.  I have not been here since I was in like...third grade??  The last time I went there, they were filming Richie Rich if that tells you anything.  So, anyways we had a wonderful time.  It is amazing to think that all that gorgeous land and home were for one family.  Wowza.  On  the way out (if you've been there, you know how loooong the driveway is..) I just realized how blessed I am to live here.  Asheville is gorgeous yet I take it for granted a lot.  It was nice to see it today, and act like a tourist!  I can't wait to go back and walk some more trails!  I will post some pics soon...

Update...

Well I am happy to announce that my trees and azaleas made it through the last two cold nights!  Yay!  I know you are thrilled.  Oh and we think our hot tub works.  Yay!  

Ode to a Cherry blossom tree

So, if you live in Asheville you know that the weather here is WACKY!!  As in...snow flurries in April!  It frustrates me how it always seems to frost or almost frost after my trees and bushes are starting to bud.  Well, I am prepared this year, my friends!  I have covered up my azalea bushes (see below) and even my day lilies get their own pillow cases (heehee).  How lovely my yard looks now.  Haha.  

Now, my BEAUTIFUL cherry blossom tree(above on right) that has only been blooming for a whopping weekend may not make it tonight.  (The weather is still "up in the air"-pardon the unintentional pun there.)  Here's to hoping...but let's be realistic.  Her blossoms may surely die in the cold night.  So, I went outside and spent some time with her on this nasty, cold, wet day to make sure she knows she is loved.  I think she knows it now...  

                                                                        

                     

Random spring cleaning...or something.

So we came home after a LONG day at work...and soccer for Joshua. I have decided since one pair of my jeans did not even remotely fit me the other day that I would jog up and down our looong driveway a few times. I figured out last year that if you go up and down it three times it is about a mile. I hope that's right. Anyways, so I did that. Then I saw a weed in my flower bed in the front and decided I was going to start weeding out my front beds...which lead to raking leaves...which lead to raking leaves all over the place. In the meantime, Jack is bringing us his ball to chuck every few minutes. Needless to say it was a beautiful afternoon outside. Both dogs are now asleep. My arms feel like they may just fall off...and I hope I sleep good tonight from being tired. We shall see. Okay enough random ramble. I love pretty days!!! The End.

It's a dog park here!!

So, we got to Karen's house (in Wilmington) yesterday around dinner time. We have had a great time soo far! There are 5...yes, 5 dogs in her house right now. Karen has two border collies, her roomie has a yellow lab...and we brought our 2 dogs along as well. It looks like a dog park here but they all get along and it has actually been great! This morning we took 4 of them out to a part of her neighborhood that has nothing but land, and ponds...and lots of mud puddles. So, the dogs got to play fetch and yes, get in the water all morning. I wish I had my camera when Jack layed down in every single mud puddle he found. He was absolutely filthy...looked like a drowned rat. At one point Jack jumped off of a cement water pipe and into a creek-like area. Karen said it was like he was jumping off of a diving board. I was too far behind them and missed it. When we got to the pond, Jack was not so ready to go in...he doesn't like the deeper water. However, our eleven year old dog, Maggie was all about swimming in the pond. Needless to say, I am sad I did not get any pictures but they all had a blast and got very, very wet...and dirty!!! But, it's vacation, right?

Could it Be??

So, as you know we are on spring break.  No we have not gone anywhere like most of the students have, but we are getting our basement done!!!  Yay!!  In about 4-6 weeks our master bathroom may be here also.  What can I say?  By summer we may finally be able to play around the outside of our house for a change.  Who would have thought?  

Pics coming soon....

Spring Break!!

So, spring break is finally here and I could not be happier!!!  Josh and I are still tossing up vacation ideas, and who knows if we will ever get out of here but we'll see soon I guess.  My first official business once I got home was a NAP!  I have not had one of these in ages.  It is amazing how your body knows when it is time for a break.  Anyways, if you have any great places or ideas for us for a great spring break, let me know.  If we go anywhere we will probably camp since we are poor and our folks kindly gave us their pop-up camper.  So far our ideas for spring break are:

-Savannah, GA (I love history AND the beach of course!)

-Wilmington, NC (One of my best friends lives here!)

-Stay home and fix up the house

What do you think??

Today of all days...

Sooo, our school is undergoing some ACSI accredidation.  (We are accredited by the Classical School people but we are getting another one since ACSI is a great thing to have when you are a Christian school.)  ANYWAYS.... so there are people from the ACSI team at our school this week.  They are observing classes, asking us questions...making sure we are doing what we say we are doing, and doing it well basically.  Now for my story...

We have "bouncy chairs" as the kids fondly call them for the students to sit in if they choose.  These are plastic chairs on wheels in which the seat is a bouncy ball.  This is a great "tool" if you have fidgety, energetic kids.  It allows them to bounce a bit, while maintaining balance at the same time.  I won't go into all the functions of the chair.  So anyways, an ACSI person comes into my classroom and mouths to me "Can I watch?"  Of course, I say "yes" now being nervous since I am being watched by a stranger.  The point is that my tiny little first grade student was not sitting on the ball chair properly, and yes---he fell out of the chair and onto the floor.  The observer looked a bit shocked...as was I...while thinking...yes, this completely makes sense that this would happen to me.  Thankfully the student was okay and laughed it off but I am sure that left a lovely impression on the observer.  Everything seems to happen to me at the worst moments.  Well, who knows if I passed evaluation or not but let's just say, I am beginning to be less and less shocked with these types of moments in my life.  The End.

Kids are hilarious!

So, check out my quotes of the week.  There are some great new ones.  Kids are so funny!!  During my tutoring sessions if the kids say anything funny I jot it down in the lesson plan book...otherwise I would forget.  I think I should write a book and fill it up with funny kid quoties.  What do you think?  (Oh and also, if you know how to put a comment box near my quotes, let me know.  I think that might be good.)  Thanks for reading.    

Snow Days...

So, we have had two snow days this week and let me just tell you I have been lazy. Anyways, I found this video on youtube and thought it was worth sharing. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_utET7TCMQ&NR=1

I heart flowers!

So, as some of you may know I have been having this terrible week that has continued to get worse.  Well, today I whined to Leah about the latest tragedy...she is a wonderful listener.  Then a few hours later I hear the doorbell ring.  There is Leah and Ben with beautiful daisies for me!!  What a wonderful surprise.  I am so blessed.  God is so good to give us wonderful friends and sweet surprises when we really do not deserve them.  I think I am about to cry so I am gonna go now.  

                                                   Thank you, Leah!!!  I love you!!

Laugh for the day...

So, Joshua was outside playing with the dogs and smoking a cigar in a nice jacket.  I told him not to wear the jacket because it would make it stink.  So, he came inside, put a sweater on instead and went back out.  I told him the sweater was no better. (Heaven forbid I would have to go to the dry cleaners!) 

So, he surprised me at the window, outside, in the COLD...with no top on at all...showing his muscles.  I have not laughed this hard in a LOOONG time.  So, I went outside with my camera and made him pose again.  I thought I would show you so you could smile too.  I love my muscle man. 

When bad weeks get worse...

It is only Tuesday, right?  And it feels like FRIDAY...I wish it was Friday since this is a no good very bad week.  So my week began badly...and I won't go into detail about that.  Then, yesterday was okay I guess.  Then today was BAD.  I had to go to PE class (with middle schoolers!!!), deal with bad attitudes, and wear panty hose and a skirt while doing it.  Then, I came home to a notice from the sherriff on my garage door...telling Mr. Ronald S. Tyrrell to come to court!  This is the second notice I have gotten for this man.  As far as we know, there has never been a Ronald Tyrrell living at this address, and I have already notified the sherriff's office once letting them know this important fact.  So, I get the notice, dial the number and start rattling off that I got this notice to come to court, I am not Ronald and he does not live at this address and I have already told them this....I get a "Well, he doesn't live here either!  You have the wrong number."  WHOOPS.  I sooo wish I could check my home phone for the number I dialed cuz I really thought I dialed it right.  Well the list of bad things continues but I won't bore you.  Let's just say I hope this week gets better or I am moving to Idaho!!!  

Camping this weekend.

Here are the pics I promised. 

Josh is getting ready to crank up the pop-up camper.

The beautiful sunset over the lake.       This was a "lucky" over-the-shoulder shot. I am glad it turned out.

Maggie came along for the ride. (She is a girly girl. Doesn't love the outdoors...but LOVES being with her man, Joshua.)
     Jack loves it all.  The outdoors, the rides, the sleeping on the bed with us....I think that was his favorite part since he isn't even allowed on the couch at home.                                            

So, we went camping this past weekend in Waxhaw, NC.  Joshua wanted to go to the fly fishing show in Charlotte and I wanted to go to my high school homecoming.  Surprisingly enough these were on the same weekend!  So we went.  I got to see some of my old buddies which was grand.  One of my friends I hadn't seen in probably eight years!!  Anyways, that's my sharing.  I will post some of my favorite pics from the trip soon...

I got to hold a newborn!

Okay, so this may not be a big deal to some of you, but I got to hold my friend, Leah's newborn baby!!  He is tiny!  I have always been a bit afraid of holding newborns since they seem so fragile...but I think I am overcoming this fear quickly.  Here is the photo Leah took.  He is precious!!  (His name is Ben by the way...)

Embarrassing moment #1 million....

So, here's the latest embarrassing story of my life.  One of my friends from Facebook sent me an invite to look at a video, which of course I could not see unless I put "FunWall" on my page.  So, I tried to do so...it asked me if I wanted to send a card to a lot of people on my friend list.  I pressed "Skip" since I did not want to do that.  Well, my computer was never going to let me see the video so I hit the back space, wanting to go back to the original message.  I finally gave up on it.  Well, lo and behold I find out today that I sent out a card to a TON of people on Facebook (30+)! Some of these people are people I have not spoken to since middle school, some are people I go to church with, one of them is my boss, one of them is my friend's boyfriend...you get the picture.  Anyways, I had no idea what the card was, since I had not sent one (to my knowledge).  I get a message from one of my married friends...he writes "interesting card.."  Then I knew...this is not good.  So I went to my BOSS' page...and on her page is a cute little card from me...here we go...

It has two puppies, sitting side by side and it says,
"I'm exstatic to have you by my side."

Oh yes, this went out to many, many people...many, many people...males and females....  Let's just say at that point, I had to send a message to everyone who got this card and tell them what happened.  Now, all I can do is laugh it off.  If you are one of the lucky ones who got this card, I hope you liked it.  (Leah--I know you're one of them!)

The End.

P.S. You'll cry...

Okay, so Joshua took me to see P.S. I Love You on our date night. So it happens, two of his soccer boys from ACA were in the other line, a bit further back. They saw Josh and asked him what movie he was going to see. So, Josh yells "P.S. I LOVE YOU!!" The world now knew he was going to see a chick flick. The boys were proud of him though. ANYWAYS...that was not my point. The point was to tell you that I LOVED the movie! Yes, it is sad. Yes, you will cry...unless you are Joshua or are dead inside. I you are married or almost married, I would say go see it with your significant other. I would also say this is a great movie to see with your girlfriends. If you are dating, and it is a new relationship, I would not recommend seeing it because your makeup will smear, and you may not look as dashing coming out as when you came in. Also, crying involves snot at times, and that is also NOT PRETTY for a date. Okay, so there you go. If you need a good cry, go see it. I loved it. The End.