How Tired Would You Have To Be?

Lately, Ayden has been getting into trouble during nap time. He does not want to nap so he stays awake by getting into everything in the room he should be sleeping in. Today, he did get into something but then promptly fell asleep. It was Brooklyn's pink rain poncho! Caleb went to check on him and asked why he was on the floor and he said it was comfortable, then he fell back to sleep. Comfortable? The floor and plastic poncho are comfortable? Thanks for telling me that now kiddo, that knowledge would have saved me some money.

I apologize for the quality of this picture but it was too cute to pass up and the camera was doing weird stuff. The kids have played with the settings until I can not figure out what is wrong with them.

Frid

I am starting a new idea of posting my follies of the week every Friday. I figured it would be funny and why not laugh at myself? Chances are there were ten times as many as what I post on here. I'd love it if you joined me and did the same! It would be fun if you left a comment saying you did the same on your blog and I can laugh at you too! Join me!

I was really out of it this week and it sped by. Some of my follies are not my own but what happened at work or what my kids did to me:

• Did you see the heading of this post? Yeah, it was a goof up but I decided to leave it there to make people wonder.
  
• We have projectors that hook up to our computers in the classroom. One teacher was using the projector with a power point which quit on him/her unexpectedly. When it did their home page came up and in the search box in the upper right corner they had been searching bedroom erotica. The kids talked about it for days!
• Taking the kids to the sitter in the morning really pushes it for me to get to work on time. She doesn't officially start until 7:30 but lets me bring them ten minutes early. Both mornings this week I was out the door, just in time because I have to be, only to scoop up Dillon and discover he was poopy. Five minutes late to work each day.
  
• I went grocery shopping and talked to everyone about what they wanted and got everything on my list for only $4 over budget, guess who I forgot to get stuff for? You guessed it, yours truly.
• I watched the two hour episode of Grey's Anatomy last night and my adrenaline was pumping so hard I could not fall asleep. I was alone and wide awake at 11pm. I'm so very tired today. If you never watch Grey's or if you just missed this one you should watch it. CRAZY!

What was your week like? Anything crazy and exciting or just plain stupid? Share!

Friday Follies

I am starting a new idea of posting my follies of the week every Friday. I figured it would be funny and why not laugh at myself? I hope I can remember all my follies! Chances are there were ten times as many as what I post on here. I'd love it if you joined me and did the same! I have no feed thingy and no clue how to do one - no interest really either. It would be fun if you left a comment saying you did the same on your blog and I can laugh at you too! Join me!

*It seems I have doomed myself to doing this on Saturday. GRRR. I was sick yesterday though so it that a good excuse?

*I have really messed up the settings on my computer upstairs. I'm not sure how but I cannot see the pictures when I am looking at them in a folder, just an icon, and my right click on my mouse does not work. These are both extremely frustrating!

*I made a wonderful dinner Thursday and managed to set off the fire alarms in my house. I suppose I will need to cover them like my friend Lissa.

*Now all of a sudden, this very instant my right click works. What is up with that?

*I had to miss work Friday due to illness which means: I am out that day's pay, I missed my Myth Club meeting, I missed my student teacher's last observation and I have no grades in the computer for my students.

*Is this a folly? Not sure. I wrote a scathing email to the Virginia Department of Labor. Did you know they have no labor laws here to protect their employees - as far as requiring a break or limiting the number of hours one is required to work? So, an employer can have a 16 year old work a ten hour shift and give them no break and break no laws. Interesting. See here is their mission statement. And here is where they go against it, proving they are hypocrites. Not only that but an employer can simply fire you and not have to give any reason what so ever. Great state this Virginia. No wonder you never here Virginia Proud like you do Texas Proud. Really, google both, you'll see what I mean.

Friday Follies

I am starting a new idea of posting my follies of the week every Friday. I figured it would be funny and why not laugh at myself? I hope I can remember all my follies! Chances are there were ten times as many as what I post on here. I'd love it if you joined me and did the same! I have no feed thingy and no clue how to do one - no interest really either. It would be fun if you left a comment saying you did the same on your blog and I can laugh at you too! Join me!

*Of course the most glaring folly of all is that I am doing this on a Saturday. Oh well, it will be clear in the next bullet why this happened. I hope.

*I waited until Friday night to complete four, yes four, major assignments for my graduate level course that were due the next day. I was up until 2:30 in the am. Go me. I did finish and they weren't too shabby if I do say so myself though I was rather delirious by the time I was done.

*I lost a cell phone. Well, I think Brooklyn lost it but regardless, we can't find it and are still looking.

*I put my name in the pool of candidates for English department chair. What was I thinking?! But I kind of want it and I kind of don't.

*I let Dillon have some pop from my straw and ketchup. BIG mistake. The messiest baby ever has just turned into the shrieking messiest baby ever.

*I keep forgetting that now that I'm older, days of the week and dates on the calendar no longer creep up on me but bum rush me.

This is not a folly - it's just a cute boy. Isn't he getting so big and precious?

Holy What?

I worry about some of the things my children pick up from me and my husband. What habits do they see that they will surely imitate, probably in a quiet library or their class at school? Sometimes I get a preview. Today was a good one. Let me set the scene, it's a tad tacky: I have entered the bathroom to take care of my three year old's bottom after he has gone number 2.

Me: Whew, that is stinky Ayden!
Ayden: Ewww! Holy crap!

I busted out laughing. How could I not? I was just thrilled he used it in an appropriate setting. This kid is smart!

Did You Ever Do This?

There is a preferred way to go down the stairs in our house, though I'm told it only works well in footie pajamas.

Friday Follies

I am starting a new idea of posting my follies of the week every Friday. I figured it would be funny and why not laugh at myself? I hope I can remember all my follies! Chances are there were ten times as many as what I post on here. I'd love it if you joined me and did the same! I have no feed thingy and no clue how to do one - no interest really either. It would be fun if you left a comment saying you did the same on your blog and I can laugh at you too! Join me!

Follies for 4/9/10:

* I tried to cut Brooklyn's hair. It is super thick. It is halfway down her back. It was a big mistake.

* I gave my three year old the ultimatum that if he didn't put on his underwear I was going to put him in a diaper. He chose the diaper.

* I nicked Seth on the ear when I cut his hair. Then lied and said I didn't.

* I tried to do a no housework day.

There are more, I am sure, but I wasn't consciously trying to remember them all week. Next weeks will be much better! What kind of goof-ups and mishaps did you have this week?

When they sing about it they don't tell you...

the ugly part. When I hear "Let it Snow" or "Frosty the Snowman", snow sounds fun. When I look at pictures of snowy landscapes and falling snow it is beautiful. But the reality is, it's a pain in the rear to drive in and this is what you have two weeks later:

Doesn't that look fun? Isn't it just gorgeous? Oh and it's ice folks. Not fluffy. There is no way to pick it up and make a dirty snow ball out of it. Just big, dirty chunks of ice. Yeah, love the scenery.

Catching up with Ayden

This school year has been so busy and it's going by fast, thank goodness. By the time I get home, help with homework, make dinner and put kids to bed, it's nine at night and I'm beat. I looked over the blog the other day and realized that I had not put any recent pictures of Ayden up. I feel badly about that but then I remember that every other post was Ayden related for quite some time. Now it's Dillon this and Dillon that. The first year is just so full of new experiences that Ayden has been blog neglected. I want to correct that. This probably won't be interesting to anyone that isn't family but I thought the grandparents and the aunts and uncles would like to see how well he's speaking and how much Ayden has grown. When we moved here he was so small, still such a baby. Now he's almost three and has a very strong, dominating personality.

Ayden is into taking his clothes off. He often is missing shirts or pants. Friday I stayed home sick from work and Ayden took a moment to cuddle on the couch with me.
Ayden regards Dillon as some kind of toy. He is protective of him but wants whatever Dillon has. He is also quite territorial. He does love him though and loves to play with him, even though he's too rough most of the time. Brooklyn was playing with them downstairs by herself this morning and caught a tender moment - they're rare.
Ayden speaks fairly clear now and can be understood most of the time. He does not always have the vocabulary that matches what he wants or needs and becomes frustrated, but most of the time he communicates what he needs and wants very well. Here he is, asking for his favorite show - Imagination Movers. I was trying to get him to talk more but as soon as he saw the camera he got a bit shy.

This School Year... so far

Not that I've been promoted but having five preps makes me feel like my wheel has gotten larger. It definitely makes going to work more of a chore.

First Day of School and Dillon

Dillon is nine months old now and I realized that I have not done monthly pictures for about three months. I still don't have a month shot but we did get some photos of him playing with Daddy and I got a video of him just being himself. He likes to climb, stick out his tongue and babble. He wants to go everywhere he is not allowed to go. He is playful and easygoing and never cries. We moved him into a crib in Ayden's room and he's doing very well. Ayden is too. I was worried that if Dillon cried at night Ayden would be a pill about going back to bed, but he's totally fine with it. Sometimes he'll ask what's wrong but all I have to do is answer him and he just goes right back to sleep. Wow!

Beware to anyone who lays on our living room floor. We have an attack infant.


Dillon found a niche. He's so funny.
Ayden likes to take the cushion off our chair. It's lower anyway but once that cushion is gone, it's the perfect size to climb up and hang out!

Seth's Harry Potter wand finally came. I bought it for his birthday and had to call and have it resent. He was so excited, it was worth it.

Caleb and Seth decided to have a duel now that they have two wands.

The first day of school dawned... well, it didn't dawn. It was dark! Very dark! The boys were ready at 6am, an hour early. I woke Brooklyn up a bit early so I could get a photo before I had to leave. Here are my three (big) babies on their first day. Brooklyn is in 6th grade now, Caleb in 4th and Seth is in 3rd. They are growing up so fast.
The night before school I made a special, back-to-school dinner of pot roast, potatoes, and carrots. Then we all had strawberry shortcake with real whipped cream. They each got to build their own master piece. It was our one last celebration of summer. Good bye summer, welcome fall!
I guess I need to do an Ayden update next. He's been sadly absent from my posts. I'll get right on that. He has been just hilarious lately but I'd never get it on camera. I'll manage something.

Things I must say/do too often...

Having children is a great way to figure out the things that I say too often. Everyone has catch phrases, I can only guess that the following are mine since Ayden is using them ALL the time now. All the time.

"I'll get it!"
"In a minute"

Not too bad. Sure. At least there aren't ten of these and at least he's not spouting curse words. But the clincher was when Caleb and Seth both had the same response to praise. Example:

Caleb lets Seth have a sip of his drink.
Mom: Thank you for sharing Caleb, that was nice of you.
Caleb: Are you being sarcastic?

Seth shows me an item on Amazon that he wants to purchase with his money.
Mom: That's nice, I think you'll like that.
Seth: Are you being sarcastic?

Do you think I've been teaching middle school for too long? I have been trying so hard to give my children positive feedback and I guess they are truly baffled. They think every nice comment I make is sarcasm.

A Sigh of Relief and a Surprise To Go With It!

SOL - that does not stand for something nice in my book. It's an abbreviation for a rather crude term. Here in Virginia is stands for something else entirely! It's their Standards Of Learning - their state test. For those of you used to Texas -it's the TAKS. I really wish that there was not so much emphasis placed on this test. As a teacher, I hate it. I don't see how one test can be created to measure the learning of every child. Honestly, the idea is absurd. Nevertheless, children have to take it and trickling down from the very top is the pressure to pass. Again, as a teacher, I am very mindful of what the results mean to the school system.

Brooklyn and Caleb took the SOL test in late May. Brooklyn felt very confident. She did well on all the exercises and practice tests. She was worried about social studies since Virginia history would be on the test and they studied that in fourth grade, when she was not here. The teacher worked hard to review with her and Brooklyn did her part by reading and studying. It must have sunk in. She was one point away from Pass/Advance on that part. She did pass/advance on math, reading and writing and made pass/proficient on science. That is a lot of testing for a kid and I am so proud of her! She worked very hard on her studies this year and did it, pretty much, independent of me. She did her homework with no prompting and only asked for help in studying for her tests.

Caleb was not so sure. He wasn't so worried either. He was not doing well on any of the practices or exercises. He told us that he didn't read everything on the test because it was just too much. I was worried. I was worried because without practicing for the test, giving it his best, he would not build the stamina he would need for the real one. He had to take four tests in third grade: Math, reading, science, history/social science. That seems like too many tests for someone in third grade. I encouraged Caleb to read everything. Bobby and I reminded him to take all the time he needed. Not only did Caleb pass every test but he made pass/advance on his history/social science! I think he is pretty proud of himself. He grinned and looked down and said, "I told you it was easy."

Way to go kids - good job!

Nanners

Nanners on fingers,
Nanners on toes,
Nanners on mom.
I like them and all
But I must admit
My fingers taste best.




And on a last note....
Never a truer statement...

We Know How to do Laundry Around Here!

But we don't know how to put on hats...


My friend made this hat and scarf for me. Isn't it gorgeous! And just in time, it's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow morning.

Tag - I'm it!

I don't know if I'm the Heather to whom Jeanette was referring, but I will assume it. I got bored waiting for Bobby to get Home from work anyway. LOL.

Rules: It's harder than it looks!
Copy to your own. Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real. . .nothing made up! If the person before you had the same first initial, you must use different answers. You cannot use any word twice and you can't use your name for the boy/girl name question.


1. What is your name: Heather
2. A four Letter Word: Hint
3. A boy's Name: Henry
4. A girl's Name: Holly
5. An occupation: Health care worker
6. A color: Hot pink
7. Something you wear: Hat
8. A food: Ham
9. Something found in the bathroom: Hand towel
10. A place: Honalulu
11. A reason for being late: Headache
12. Something you shout: "Hey you!" That one was too easy
13. A movie title: Harry Potter
14. Something you drink: Half-caff
15. A musical group: Hall and Oates
16. An animal: Hare
17. A street name: Harwin
18. A type of car: Honda
19. Something scary: Halloween
20. Ice cream flavor: Half-Baked (one of my favs)

A thank you to my Husband who came Home Halfway through this and Helped me.

I tag: Marla, Brooke, Holly and Dallas. Have fun!

Hanging out

We are trying to turn off the TV and other media interference and spend more time together. Last Friday Bobby decided that meant put in Kung Fu Panda, again. I know that is technically the TV but we all sat and watched it together. Well, we tried. Take a look at Seth and Brooklyn. I guess it was a long week. And this from the kids that tell me they are never tired.
We have had some pretty cold weather. The entire family was crossing fingers and toes for a snow day. Especially me. This is all we got though. I wish Bobby had gotten the back because there were big icicles hanging from the car and porch railings.
The kids and I played a game tonight after I put Ayden to bed. We had a surprise when Dillon rolled over. I did get the second roll on video but it was too big to upload. It took so long for him to roll over that, I guess, the video was too long. He rolled from belly to back. This is the earliest any of my little ones have rolled. He is so strong though! People are surprised when they find out how old he really is because he is so alert and holds his head and body so well. The startle reflex is the give away though!

A Funny Mess

I know I need to do a Thanksgiving post but that will have to come later when I'm on the other computer with all the pics. This really is just a funny story about what Ayden did after everyone left. I was cleaning up in the kitchen. Bobby's parents, his sister and her daughter were in the living room. It was awfully quiet in the boys' room and I wondered where Ayden was. I called out to him and I heard him going "huh?". He walked out of the downstairs bathroom. I yelled, "Oh no! Ayden!" I guess I sounded distressed b/c it scared Bobby. Well if Bobby saw what I saw he would've yelled too! Ayden walked out of the bathroom bare naked! He had brown smear on the inside of his thighs. I could just picture the condition of the bathroom and braced myself for the worst. However, he had been so neat about the whole thing. His clothes were on the floor. His dirty diaper was in the trash and a piece of toilet paper was in the toilet. He had been trying to clean himself! Poor guy had to - that diaper weighed about five pounds! I had checked him not that long before so I don't know how it got that full that fast. Anyway, he then insisted on sitting on the toilet while I cleaned him. When I got him onto the floor in front of me to make sure he was all clean, he wanted to lift the toilet seat. I thought he was just playing with it, but he started to pee! EEK! He wanted to stand up and pee in the potty like a big boy! It was so funny and so cute. I guess I need to get him some training pants and see if he is ready to potty train or not. He seems so young to me but with two older brothers, maybe he's ready. I would've taken pictures but I thought they'd be a bit disgusting. Just a bit. ;)

Having Dillon here just makes Ayden seems so much older. He's adjusting fairly well. He loves the baby and does not get upset with him but he is a bit more emotional than usual. He has spent the day wanting to sit on my lap or Brooklyn's. He saw me put the baby on the ottoman for a moment and ran over to sit with me and cried when I picked Dillon up before he got to me. I handed Dillon over to Brooklyn for a bit and held Ayden. I am sure he needs some reassurance. I'm impressed though with how sweet he is to Dillon. He's tried to share his sippy cup of milk with Dillon when we talked about the baby being hungry. He also runs to help with diapers and loves to point to Dillon and say 'poopy' with a scowl on his face. It's really cute. Brooklyn, Caleb and Seth are great with Dillon too. They always fight over whose turn it is to hold him and ask me if they can hold him. I'm sure they'll enjoy him more as he gets older.

Just So You're Not Wondering...

I know I haven't posted in a while. It is simply b/c NOTHING is going on. Nothing. Wait! The baby has dropped down. Yay! Now my body's labor will not be pointless. Now if my body would just labor. That would be nice. Since I am already on maternity leave Bobby and I have taken advantage of the time to get some Christmas shopping in. We've really enjoyed our afternoons together - well, the two that he was off anyway. As we were cruising the aisles of Toys R Us we came across this Mattel Barbie Doll. What do you think??? I have name for her...


My name for her? Little Red, riding through the hood. Is it not disgusting?

Fourth of the Fourth

I think Naomi tagged me, unless she tagged a different Heather. I hate how common my name is. By the way, I love the name Naomi, I have since college. Anyway, if I understood it correctly - and that may not be the case - I am supposed to include the fourth picture from my fourth folder. And... drumroll please....

Oh man, it hasn't been long since I put this one up... Sorry. That is my boy. He chose that outfit all on his own and stole an empty diet coke can. He's so fun.