Not as young as I used to be

We went out last night with a fun group of friends. We started out at Fuji's with the Thib's, Harpers, Henson's and Whittington's. Great food and lots of laughs. We later met up with the Franklin's and listened to people sing karokee. Its always fun when you are the sober one watching all the drunk people that think they can really sing. Ecspecially the 70 yr old lady. She was DEAD serious, but poor thing didnt do anything but scream into the microphone. We had a great time but before we knew it it was 1:20 AM!!! AM hasnt seen the sight of these eyes in years. I am really feeling the lack of sleep today. I am definetly not as young as I used to be. Not something I could do every weekend but was definetly a great night I wouldn't trade for anything. You only live once and I love every chance I get these days with our friends to make unforgetable memories.  Here is one pic we managed to get at the begining of the night. I wish everyone could have been in it. There's always next time!!

Black and White Day

I know I have said it a hundred times, but I love my class this year. They make everyday interesting and fun. Yesterday was Black and White day at school. They wore black and white clothes and we had black and white treats. Yummy.
Today is a gorgeous day. Was up and at the hair salon by 7:30 to have my hair done, already on my second load of laundry, cleaned the house up a little and looking forward to a great run. Tonight we are going out with a fun group of people. Looking foward to that. After a week of being pretty much home bound with a sick child it will be nice to be out with adults! :0) Here is a couple of pics from black and white day at school.

My sweet boys

My crazy but fun girls!

This is a normal day. :0) So fun!

Wishfull thinking

Ok, so yesterday I really thought she had beat this, well I was wrong. We were up on and off all night. 103 fever. I swear she acted totally fine yesterday. The more I hear the more I now know this is how this flu is working. On and off fever. One minute she is turning cartwheels and the next she is fussy and wants to be held. I just pray that she is the only victim in the house. Craig is gonna be gone Friday and most of the day Saturday and I just want some sleep. Thank God for my family that has really pitched in and helped.
On a side note, I am so glad my life is about quality and not quantity!! ;0)

Life is a Blessing

First of all, Pate is SO much better today. Another day out of school did her some good. Hopefully we'll be back in the swing of things tomorrow. Amazing how quick kids can bounce back. Today was gymnastics day but we didn't go so our house is her gym floor. Not that it isn't already but I had to help her work on her back handspring today. She has NO fear. I just cross my fingers and hope everything flings where its supposed to. lol.
Today is a gorgeous day and I look forward to my run with Mer. I haven't got to run with her in a while so we have a lot of catching up to do. Our other side kick, Tara, is a workin women today and is gonna miss out :0(. I am ready for warmer tempatures, I hate to be cold. It takes all I have to get out there.
I was reading something today that made me really appreciate how great my life is and how blessed I am. I have an amazing, healthy family and some of the greatest friends. Some great people have come into my life lately and I have had some of the sweetest things said to me when I least expected it and from the people I least expected them from. I have an amazing class this year at school which has made for a great year. I am maybe in the best shape Ive been in in years and I feel great. God has worked in amazing ways for me this year and I am so grateful. I am trying to do my best to live how He would want me to and I hope I am making Him happy. I feel that the way my life is now is because of Him and His way of showing me He is pleased. Life trully is a blessing. I wouldn't change a thing!

So much for a day off

Im home today with a sick little girl. I have done 3 loads of laundry, cleaned out 2 closets, got 2 bags for resale shop ready and 2 bags for my moms garage sale. There is still so much to do but I am started to feel a little feverish. I am gonna just pretend I dont feel this way and maybe it will go away. I called the doctor at 8 oclock this morning and already they had NO appt. She says, I have an opening in the morning. I guess they think I can just take off work like its not big deal. Not sure what Im gonna do. Just hope she gets to feeling better and if shes sick tomorrow than I have no choice but to take off again. Boy, will school be happy with me. When 46 other kids depend on me its hard to just skip even one day. My mom would stay home with her in a heart beat but they have to be out of their rent house by the end of the week and have ALOT still to do. Craig could stay home but there's no feeling like a mommas love when you are sick.:0) Plus, Craig is in the full swing of baseball and its hard for him to miss. So,I guess school will just have to flip out and get over it. I hardley ever miss so ..... Anyway, so much for a day off. I think I have done just as much work at home as I would of at school. Oh well, I am getting major snuggle time with Pate.

"I love Jesus, just not his house"

Every night is a battle for Pate to go to sleep. She will do all and everything to keep from it. She will try and talk about the most random things or ask the most pointless questions just to get me talking or to keep herself awake. Ive learned to just lay there by her and not answer her and pretend I am asleep and she will eventually quit talking. Well, last night this was her converstaion she was having with herself , and try to imagine this in a half crying voice. "Mommy, I dont want to go to church tomorrow, you have to be quiet in church. I mean, I love Jesus but I dont like his house. I do love his bathrooms though. " It took all I had to keep quiet. I love the thoughts that go through that little curly head of hers. She is one funny kid.

Relaxing weekend

Not much going on this weekend, which is GREAT!! My parents have offically started moving in their new house so we have been helping them do that. They should be all moved in by the end of the week. It has been nice having them here in town the last year and half. They wont be far but so much for JT walking to their house after school when I had things going on. We got spoiled by that. We have church tomorrow and then JT has baseball practice tomorrow. The team parents have been on a "biggest loser" diet and Craig and I got picked as the coaches. Me for the girls and Craig for the guys. Well, I wasnt planning on losing any weight, just maintaining where I was at and keeping up my running, but, I have lost a few doing it. Not that Im complaing but I never lose it where I want. It's mainly based on watching your calories. Its amazing the things I have learned are so high in calories that I had NO clue. So, on the bright side I have learned alot about healthy eating and portion control. Yesterday we ran to fort smith after school and on the way home the kids usally watch a movie in the car. Well, I ask JT what movie he wanted me to put in and he says "I dont want to watch one, I want to see what happens next in my book". What a proud moment. If you only knew how long it took to get to this point with him and reading. He has had some amazing teachers the last couple of years that have really instilled in him how great books are and its not all "boring". Anyway, I snapped a pic of him reading while he wasnt looking because it was such a proud moment for me. A book over TV!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heaven is for Real

I was recommended a book by a good friend called Heaven is for real. One of the most amazing books Ive read. I downloaded Kindle on my Ipad and bought the book on Amazon. Which by the way is my new favorite thing. I downloaded it last night and finished it this afternoon. I couldn't put it down. Every break I had at school and lunch break I read. It is such an eye opener and honestly makes you look differently at life and what your idea of Heaven is and will be. So, anyone looking for a great book, I highly recommend it. I promise you wont be disappointed.

A fear I want to overcome

For those that know me best know that I am scared to death of big dogs. I was attacked by a dalmation when I was in college and ever since I am very cautious around dogs. I feel guilty because I feel I have made my kids this way too. You just cant ever trust an animal. Running is my hobby and I NEED it. It is not only a great way to stay healthy but it is a great stress reliever for me. Tara and I went running Monday after school and we were about half way through when all of a sudden Tara says to me "Laura, stop". I immediately freeze. There about 20 ft from us was a white male pit bull. Every thought is going through my head and for a split second I literally could not feel my legs. I say lets just turn around and walk up to the house across the street. The whole time I have my back to it I am just praying that I dont get attacked from the back. I didn't have the courage to turn around and look. We get to the door of the house (which is actually the schools spec ed building) and just walk in. Calling out to see who's in there someone comes out from the back. They tell us we can use the phone to call the police. So, we wait for about 15 minutes on a police deputy to get there. All this time the dog is just walking around out front. We are not going anywhere! Finally, the police officer arrives and try's to get the dog but he actually is running away from the officer. Come to find out it belonged to the house across the street and the man didn't know that his grandsons had accidentally let it out. Im sure chances are the dog may have been nice but I cant take any chances. I have always have a fear of dogs when Im running but I really try to put it out of my mind and enjoy my run. Now, I am terrified all over again. I will now run with mace. I hate that it has to be like that. I wish people could just be responsible enough with their animals, ecspecially that breed. I want to feel like I can run and not worry about an animal attack. This is a fear I really want to overcome and I don't want my children to have this anxiety. I just want them to be aware that an animal can never be trusted.

Adult Night and Redecorating

We dont get many chances to go out without kids, which is ok, but I do like maybe once a month having an adult night out. We went to eat with Tara and Richie at Fuji's (yum!) and then to Mojo's to listen to Wingnut. It was more like a Greenwood reunion. I think literally half the town was there. They had a great turn out. It was great to see some friends that I havent seen in a while and to just have adult conversation.
Also, while JT was practing today the mom's ran over to Target and Kirklands. I bought a few things for the house I am really excited about. It will be little at a time but it is slowly coming together. When I get them up and together I will post some pics when I am all finished.  For now, here is a few pics from last night.

Me and Hubby

My sweet friend Tara and I

Fun Day

My day started out with a 5k fun run for Special Olympics. Not too big of a turn out but got a good run in. So glad the weather was nice. Then, had a FUN afternoon with 2 sweet girls from my class. They have been begging me for weeks to come to my house. They said they would clean or whatever. LOL So, I told them I would come get them and we would go work in my classroom. We got some things done at school and then had a great lunch at Fiesta. They are 2 of the sweetest girls and really make me look foward to Pate being that age. They are so fun and full of life. Tonight is adult night!!!! Havent had that in a while. Going to eat with some friends and then to listen to Wing Nut.

Tara and I after the run.

Harley and Madie. PRECIOUS!!

ELECTRICITY!!

Ok, I dont know the last time I have laughed so hard. My kids at school really know how to get me going. We were talking about electricity today in Science so I brought the old electricity ball in. They absolutely LOVED it. They had so much fun. The ones that are the quietest I think were the loudest today. We played with it way longer than I planned but they were having so much fun with it I couldnt tell them no. Definetly a day to remember. Here is one pic one of my kids took of me. We couldnt get a lot of kids hair to stick up but mine sure did. They loved that!

The day has come

Today was a big day in the life of Dave Ramsey. I made my last school loan payment. I am officially free off that debt. My mom has been trying to train me for the last couple of years to live by Dave Ramsey. She has followed him faithfully for the last 8 yrs or so and is debt free. They will move into their dream retiremtent home at the end of this month debt free. Payed cash for all. I wish I was as disciplined as her. I am trying though. So, now that school loan is payed off I will now roll that extra money over to another bill and hopefully pay that off earlier than expected. I cant lie,it is a great feeling to have a debt payed off. I just have to work on my spending habbit. :0) There is a reason ol' Dave is a guy. He doesn't have that natural instinct of shopping in him. I vow to "try" my best. Thats all I can do. NO promises. ;0)

This and That

This is definetly a day I needed to be off. After no sleep all weekend because of a sick child I needed to sleep in and catch up. Craig made it home from Nashville about 2 hrs behind schedule because of the weather. I ended up spending 2 hours yesterday morning at Pro Med with Pate for them to tell me exactly what I knew they would, VIRAL. Nothing we can give her, it will just run its course. Ugggg. When she wasnt on tylenol she ran 103 all weekend. I convinced myself she had the flu so I took her in. Of course she wakes up this morning bouncing off the walls , no fever, and ready to go play in the 1/2 inch of snow we got.
After going to a friends house for a Christmas party I decided I was ready for a change, with my house that is. I have been wanting to do something different for a while I just needed a little advise and a push to get started. So, while Craig was out of town I decided to start with paint. btw, he had no idea I was doing any of this. I repainted my kitchen and living room. I love how it all turned out. Now, I just have to start little by little buying the new things I am wanting for the house and it will be a finished project, for the next few years anyway. :0)
I am including some pics of the kitchen before, in the process and after and also some snow day pics. My mom and brother started on the living room while I was at school Friday so I didnt get a before pic of it.  Pate was the only one wanting to go out in the snow so thats all the pics I have. Craig did just take the kids sleeding so I could have some quiet time and tredmill time. I am in desperate need of both of those.

before

before, notice the brown trim

after the paint but before the painted trim

Finished project. The trim made such a difference.

Living room went from a burnt orange/red color to this.

Next project is paint the wall unit black.

My little snow bunny.

Long Night

It never fails. Craig has been out of town since Thursday and wont be home till tomorrow and I was up all night with a sick child. About 9:30 last night Pate was begging me to lay down so she could lay on my arm because she didn't feel good. This is the child we have to practically beat every night just to lay down. She said mommy I am gonna go to sleep because I don't feel good. She was out in 3 minuutes. I woke up at 11:30 with her laying next to me and she was on fire. My body was literally HOT from her. She was running a 104 temp. And low and behold NO tylenol in the house. All childrens tylenol and motrin had been recalled a while back so I threw it out. So, I layed there and couldnt sleep all night worrying about what to do. Should I take her to ER? I used cold wash clothes which would seem to help for a little while but.... So, since I couldn't leave her here I called my mom first thing this morning and had her go get some medicine. Now I cant decide if I should take her in to see doctor. No other symptoms so Im sure its viral which means nothing they can do. I am beyond tired and I know its gonna be a long day. All she wants to do is lay on me. I actually had a massage scheduled for today that Ive had to cancel. Oh well. Theres always next time :0). I hate when my kids are sick and I feel so helpless. I wish I could take her pain away. Pray is all I can do.

Hog Day at school and my soft hearted boy.

Yesterday was spirit day at school for the Hogs. Here is a couple of pics I took of my sweeties. I love my class this year, they are so much fun.

JT never seems to amaze me with how tendered hearted he is. When he was 4 it was the movie "My Dog Skip", today at 10 it was "Lasie". I got Pate the movie for Christmas and they have been watching it in the car. Well, we were on our way home from Fort Smith tonight and I was sitting in back with the kids watching it. The part came where a man's dog on the movie dies. He talks about it being his best friend for the past several years. I look over at JT and he is looking out the window. I ask him something and he doesnt answer. I put my hand on his and he grabs my hand and looks at me and just cries for about 10 minutes. He can be all boy but he is also the most kind hearted kid Ive ever known. It melted my heart. And of course who do you think thinks she has to cry because JT is???? PATE!! She tried real hard for a few minutes to force some tears out so some attention could be put on her but it wasnt happening. She definetly knows how to work it. That made JT laugh.

Jonsey's first basketball game of the year.

Well it seems like all I talk about is Pate. Probably bc a minute doesnt go by that she is doing something she isnt supposed to be so there is always a story to tell. So, today is about Jonesy (well mostly). Tonight was his first game. Basketball isnt really his thing but he does get out there and try. He played pretty good, just a little out of shape. hehe. I think his team may actually be pretty good this year too. Last year I think we maybe won 2 games. They won tonight 33 to 10. It is very rare that I get a pic of Jonesy but I actually managed to get one of him before we left for his game. And, of course than Pate had to have hers taken too so one is included of her too. Told ya it was MOSTLY about JT.

Great Start!

This year has started off to a great start. We had a great all day party at the Whittington's. Great friends and food. Pate went all day without a nap and actually did pretty good. Not something i want to make a habit of but yesterday went ok! Got up this morning and ran 4 miles on the treadmill. Not near as fun as the run with the girls. I wanted to make sure and get it in though bc i had a lot i needed to get done today. I have been putting off going up to school. I love my kids at school but i soooo love my time home with my own kids. So, i bit the bullet and went and got my things ready at school. This time of year is always hard bc it is the longest period of school with no break till spring break. This year has flown by so maybe this 9 weeks will too. Made the dreaded weekly trip to Walmart and it was a madhouse. Just glad thats done. I have a great outlook on 2011 and look forward to seeing what it has in store for me. I have promised myself to have a good attitude towards anything that comes my way. Living life to the fullest!!!! I refuse to let anyone or anything change that!