VBS: Day 3

Well, today was the story of the good Samaritan and how we can serve others. My class made first aid kits to use when someone gets hurt and helped stuff pillows that I think are being shipped to Malawi. The kids are being good for their age, although, I've about had enough of a few of boys needing to go potty every 20 minutes. I know these kids have smaller bladders, but, come on...And, I was coming off my third night of work, so I was a teensy bit sleep deprived.

I'm trying to think of a funny story or two to share....I have a 3 year old who has repeatedly asked me where the monkey is (last year, a kid dressed up as a gorilla as part of a skit and it freaked out the 2 and 3 year old class-I had kids crawling over each other to sit in my lap-I digress), my "potty stars" told me they had to go to the bathroom 10 minutes into the start of VBS today, I have instituted a 5 second hand wash policy (not quite hygenic, but when I've got a line of 13 kiddos....), I have a 3 year old who deliberately breaks crayons-right in front of me!, I have another 3 year old who laced her fruity-o's necklace beautifully, my new motto is "If I can't glue-stick it, it's not worth doing"

One more day, and the ice cream social in the evening!

VBS update: Day 2

Today was the story of the men who lowered their friend through the roof of a building so he could be healed by Jesus. We talked about serving our friends and made friendship necklaces out of fruit loops-one to keep and one to give to our friends. Today was much more low key-no big events in our classroom. I will say that the kids sat the stillest and focused the hardest when they were lacing their cereal onto the yarn-wow! We also took them to the activity room where they got to "buy" ingredients to make a snack mix for their family. The teacher really stressed that the kids were only supposed to take one of each thing, so when they got to each table we, the adults would say, "how many do you need?" and they would shout, "I've got one!" It was kind of like watching the Price Is Right.

Marcus, Cale, and Ewan are holding up well with VBS. I have Cale in class with me and he does a great job and isn't clinging to me. Marcus loves his class. His preschool friends are mostly there and his preschool teacher is teaching the class. Ewan hangs out in the nursery where I'm sure they feed him all the snacks he wants. Two more days! I always say that I get my teaching act together halfway through the week and then we're almost done....

VBS update: day 1

Today was the start of VBS @ our church. The theme this year is "Service with a S-M-I-L-E" and every day focuses on a different Bible story that deals with service. Anyway, I'm teaching the 2 and 3 years old class. Monday we had 13 kids in there and 4 adults. The Bible story for the day was about Ruth and how she took care of Naomi. I got the kids to dress up with headdresses and "look" for "grain" (fake flowers) like Ruth did in the fields. The kids walked around in their headgear, hunched over, saying "I'm so hungry" as they searched for the "grain". Priceless-and I didn't have my camera. Other highlights of the day include: the potty in my classroom overflowed b/c of excessive amounts of toilet paper being used, a 2 year old had a 15 minute tantrum b/c we put in time-out (sitting in a chair, mind you) b/c she was throwing toys. Tomorrow should be interesting....
Andy taught the 5th and 6th graders and made them pull weeds outside....and those kids were excited that Andy was teaching their class....

On a whim...

I decided to post some of my old textbooks on amazon.com. So far, I've sold four of them. It's been nice to clear out the bookshelves of books that I will never look at again. I've kept a few textbooks for now, but I can't decide if I will actually need them or not. Most of the information I need, I can find online. So it's a struggle: do I just get rid of all my books, or do I save some books "just in case" I need them?

more park pics

We started going to a new park in Noblesville. It's nice to have options about where to play. The boys love it b/c the park has different toys to play on, a merry-go-round, and a mini-golf course. Quite the hit :-)

Pics from the park

Ten Things Tuesday

Let's see what I'm thankful for this week....

1. A pantry full of food.
2. New batteries for our cordless mouse. Are you kidding? Who knew that was all it needed to work better!
3. My kids love the park and the library.
4. We started going to another park just for variety-it's so nice and shaded by trees-and different play equipment, too!
5. Marcus is riding his bike without training wheels!
6. I love that Andy thought it would be fun to get a new pet (aka Mr. Orange)! I thought I was the pet person around here...
7. Did I mention that I passed my nursing boards?:-)!!!!!
8. VBS is coming up next week. I'm thankful that we can help with it and are able to teach some of the classes.
9. I love our summer schedules. Andy has been off for most of July. August will be tough with the start of football.
10. Clean water. I love to drink it and I wish everyone in the world had access to a clean drinking supply.

Other people have things to be thankful for, too. Click on the clouds at the top of this message to find out!
Have a great day!

Meet Mr. Orange!

Here's our new kitten-Mr. Orange! Andy saw a "free kitten" sign on the way home from class on Thursday. He asked me about it b/c he thought the boys would like having a kitten and that a kitten would mix things up for our other cat. (The other day in the car Marcus was talking about getting a kitten. This is what I heard, "...a gray and white kitten and I will tickle its belly..."). So, on his way home from school on Friday, he stopped at the house and checked out the little guy. He called me at the boys' hair appt and I said "hey, do you think we should get the kitten" to which Andy replied "I already have, we're coming home now". I've always been partial to orange cats anyway :-) Mr. Orange fits in well-he sleeps, he eats, he tries to play with our other cat and the boys think it's very cool having such a little thing in our house.


Well, I didn't get a picture of Ewan and the kitten. But, I thought this one was just as cute!

And....

I passed.

RN

That test kicked my hiney yesterday and I left the testing site feeling like I needed some more test questions to prove my competence. The only positive point to the end of the test was that the last few questions were the good, higher level thinking questions that are important to answer correctly. I got the results back fast. I finished the test yesterday @3pm and my license was posted by 850am local time.

It's a great day for me! Now, it's time to take the boys to get their hair cut!

Ten Things Thankful

Late, as always, here is my list for the week.... someday, I will post sooner. It's just a little hard since I'm working Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights.

1. I'm thankful that we had a nice trip to Chicago with the kids. They traveled pretty well for their ages and experiences.
2. I'm thankful for that portable DVD player again! I'm telling you-being stuck in traffic is a lot easier knowing the kids are entertained. Don't leave home without it!
3. I'm thankful that my NCLEX exam is over with. I took it today, and while I won't know the results for a few days, I'm glad the prep for it is done.
4. I'm thankful that Andy's class is almost over. His last day is tomorrow and I know he's glad he won't have to drive so far for awhile.
5. I'm thankful the weather we're having. It's hot and sticky (it is the midwest), but we get to play outside, or at the park every day.
6. I'm thankful for the opportunites to help at our church. I like to contribute to the different activities going on there.
7. I'm thankful that I have the time to help at our church.
8. I'm thankful for my babysitter that gets up super early to come watch my kids before I get home from work and so Andy can leave for school. I have her for another month before she goes back to college and I'm going to miss her.
9. I'm thankful for my friend who took time out of her family reunion last weekend to come let our dogs out while we were in Chicago. I'm also thankful (and I think she is too) that she did not get locked out of our house when she was chasing our cat in the garage.
10. I'm thankful for my niece Madalyn, who turns one next week. The only girl grandbaby on my side of the family.

To see other folks' thankful lists, click on the clouds at the top of this message. Have a great day!

a trip by ourselves

From July2008

This is our trip to Ingleside, Il for a reunion of cousins on my side of the family. It was our first trip with the kids and no extra help. Usually, we have my mom or Andy's parents with us when we travel. All in all, it was a pretty good trip. We left Friday for Chicago, and got stuck in traffic before we made it across the state line. (see above)

A stop at the Hindsdale Oasis was exciting for the kids....




Ewan saw me packing the swimsuit that morning and wanted to carry his. He carried it the entire day...into the oasis, to dinner at Outback Steakhouse, to the grocery store after dinner...

Finally time to swim! The kids were pretty good at the hotel. Going to sleep was rough. We tried to wear them out, but finally put in a Baby Einstein DVD to relax them enough to fall asleep.

Here is Marcus jumping into the pool. What an improvement in his swimming and water confidence!

I don't know if you can link to the rest of the pictures by clicking the first one, but I have to go to work and will post more later!

Pictures from Marcus's birthday

Here are a few photos from Marcus's birthday. We got him a couple little things, mostly of the Transformer variety. And, one more cake. What a lucky kid-three cakes/celebrations in all!

Ten Things Tuesday

We went to Illinois last week so my list comes from things associtated with that trip...

1. I'm thankful for my kids' good behavior while they were at their grammy's house and during the drive back.
2. I'm thankful for family members who love my kids enough that they want to keep them for a few days.
3. I'm thankful for safe travel to Illinois and back.
4. I'm thankful for our portable DVD player-what a lifesaver for long car rides!
5. I'm thankful for the time we had to be with Andy's family.
6. I'm thankful that I got to see my nephew Xander (for the first time since Christmas).
7. I'm thankful for a van that runs and transports us with no problems.
8. I'm thankful that our dogs are good travelers in the car.
9. I'm thankful that we can afford to travel.
10. I'm thankful that our work schedules are such that we have more flexibility to plan trips-really, for the month of July, Andy is pretty much off work. Yet he still gets paid-very nice.

You can click on the picture of clouds above to take you to a blog where you can find other folks' thankful lists.

Marcus turns 5!

Today is Marcus's birthday, although he will tell you he's been 5 years old for a while. We will celebrate later today with another cake and a few more presents. Right now, Marcus and Cale are at a preschool fun day and Andy and Ewan are killing time in Kokomo until the fun day is over. I'm cooking the 3rd birthday cake and picking up the house. But, before I go back to cleaning, I wanted to share 5 things I love about Marcus-in honor of his 5th birthday:

1. Marcus, I love that you still play with my hair. I don't think you know you are doing it but, I'm pretty sure it relaxes you.

2. You are a big helper with your brothers and other younger kids. You are an especially good helper for our babysitters.

3. I love your imagination. You can take any television show and turn it into an interactive event.

4. You love to learn. You are excited to go to preschool, Sunday school, or to have Daddy or Mommy teach you something new.

5. You love to be active and play all kinds of sports. I love that you want to be up and moving around instead of sitting around. And, you're actually quite good at the sports you play!

So-Happy Birthday Marcus! I hope this is a great day for you!

The week in review

We're back home from Illinois and have had a great time seeing everyone. Some folks might be wondering what Andy and I did all week while the boys were gone. Well, it was quite exciting...
Sunday: boys left with Linda, Andy led a small group at church and then studied, Tracy went to work
Monday: Andy went to class, studied, started to refinish a table; Tracy came home, slept, and went back to work
Tuesday: Andy went to class, studied, and kept working on the table; Tracy came home, slept and went back to work
Wednesday: Andy went to class, studied, and kept working on the table (do we see a pattern here?); Tracy came home and slept (no work again until Sunday night :-)); and we actually went out to dinner-a nice grown-up treat
Thursday: Andy went to class and came home to wrap up work on the table; Tracy ran errands-with no boys-I felt very light, came home, and packed; then we were off to Illinois to get the kiddos

July2008

Friday: spent time with Andy's family, including Jeff and Lindsay and Ron, Maura, and David; my mom and sister-in-law Courtney also came over, bringing baby Xander

In the afternoon, I took Marcus and Cale over to Chris and Kim's house for their neighborhood block party that included a "parade" for the kids, games, crafts, and an inflatable water slide.


Before going to this event, we had another celebration of Marcus's birthday. He was a little upset/confused that the cake had a number 5 candle on it. After all, didn't we just celebrate his 5th birthday?



On Friday night, Andy took Marcus and Cale to the fireworks and I stayed at his parents' house to put Ewan to bed. Then I watched one of my favorite movies-Return to Me-I love it!
Saturday: spent the morning with Andy's family and then left for home in the afternoon. The boys have been bathed and put to bed and now I am playing catch-up with the laundry. To see all the pictures of the weekend, click on the photo of Andy, Jeff, and Chris . I leave you with a few pictures of the boys with their cousins.... click on the photos to enlarge them...

Ten Things Tuesday

I found this blogsite one day while I was surfing the internet. I love the idea of listing things you are thankful for. I think it really gives you a perspective on how good things actually are. So, I'm going to try it. Here goes-it's kind of all over the place-no real theme. You can tell I can't organize my thoughts that great after three nights of work :-)

1. Today, I'm thankful for my kids' great health. You can't put a price on that. I see what other parents go through with their sick kids and it definitely makes me appreciate what I have.
2. I'm also thankful that my kids are at their Grammy's house this week. This means extra sleep for me when I get off work :-) I miss the kiddos, but, this extra sleep has been fantastic.
3. I'm thankful for our pediatrician. She's so great and is always willing to squeeze the kids in if they are sick-which isn't that often.
4. And I'm thankful that the kids have an awesome preschool to go to. The teachers truly love my kids and the boys are excited to go there.
5. I'm thankful that we have the opportunity to send Marcus to Heritage Christian in the fall. I hadn't considered private school until Andy started working there last spring.
6. I'm thankful for my bike. We dusted it off after several years of storage and now can enjoy bike rides as a family-or on my time-sometimes I'm more thankful for that!
7. I'm thankful for where we live. The subdivision is super-close to a park and the town is big enough to supply some of our needs without losing that "small town" feel.
8. I'm thankful for internet ordering. It's so much easier to buy gifts and have them shipped directly to the recipient.
9. I'm thankful that I have grammies who are willing to take our kids for a few days. I know the boys are loving the time they get to spend with their grammies.
10. Mostly today, I'm thankful for coffee. It keeps me going at work and is keeping me up right now. Unfortunately, the effects are starting to wear off and it's effecting my typing. Time to see if I can link this to the other blog site....more coffee please!