I hate it!

I hate it when one of my kids is sick and I can't make them feel better. I feel so powerless.

I think I need to go to the doctor

My finger is still hurting and still swollen. More so today. I think that's because I was doing so much in my classroom. I hate going to the doctor. They haven't been good to me in the past. I think it's just jammed though. So, does anyone know what to do for a jammed finger?

A trip to Gramma Foxy's

Rocking chairs just their size


Silly face.


Say "Cheese!"

Yay!!!

Got an email today saying that my iPod has been shipped!!! I can't wait. I've already decided what I want to put on it. Bon Jovi (of course), ACDC, Motley Crue, Van Halen, Poison, and many other 80s bands. Some Prince too. Good stuff for walking/running.

What's on your iPod?

The 5 Things Meme

I've been tagged. My friend over at The Sassy Southerner has tagged me with the 5 Things Meme. So, here we go.

List five things in your refrigerator:
1. Milk
2. Juice
3. Coke
4. Strawberries
5. Sour cream

Five things in your car:
1. Sippy cups
2. Air mattress
3. Trash
4. Kids' toys
5. CDs

Five things in your purse or backpack:
1. Wallet
2. Calculator
3. Calendar
4. Pens
5. Chewing gum (Big Red)

Five things in your closet:
1. Clothes
2. Shoes
3. Extra blankets
4. My hope chest
5. Joshua's guitar

Five things in the world you want to see before you die:
1. Ireland
2. Jon Bon Jovi live and in person
3. Hawaii
4. Titans as Superbowl champs
5. My bulldogs as National champs


Now to tag some folks:
1. Leesa
2. Aisby
3. Lisa
4. Sista
5. Ginger

Tired..............so tired

I'm completely exhausted. I worked really hard in my classroom today and I still have a lot to do. Tomorrow is useless since I have to be in in-service meetings all day. I am going to go in from 6:30-7:30 before my meetings start and try to get a little bit done. We have kids on Wednesday for 2 hours so it all needs to be done by then. I'm not sure that it's going to be done.

I've talked to almost all of the families in my classroom and I'm really excited about this year. I'm still nervous about teaching kindergarten, but I think it's going to be a lot of fun. I just hope that I am a good kindergarten teacher.

Titans training camp started today!!

WOOHOO!! Do you know what training camp means? It means that football season is almost here. I can see the light at the end of the very long tunnel called "the off season." I'm so excited!!!

Fans can go watch the practices for the entire camp. Which is pretty cool. Unfortunately I don't think we will be able to make it out there with school starting back already. Maybe I can talk Michael into taking the kids (or at least Joshua) one day when he is off work. I think he would love it.

One piece of news that came out of camp today is that our first round draft pick, Michael Griffin of Texas, was not on the field today. He and the Titans have not come to terms on his contract. Coach Fisher doesn't seem concerned about it though. Griffin is the only player not signed yet. I hope he gets it signed soon. It's never a good thing for a player to miss training camp. Especially a rookie. And, I won't get into my rant on holding out. ;-)

UPDATE: Griffin has now signed. Latest possibility? Simeon Rice? Could be.

I love furniture

I really do. I love furniture shopping. I like to virtually decorate each room in my house. Right now I am looking at bedroom furniture for Ari. She is such a girly girl and decorating her room is so much fun. I was never a girly girl so it's different for me. LOL I found a whole bedroom set that I really like at Century furniture. I can't wait until she is old enough to go shop with me and make her own decisions on her bedroom.

I think I jammed my finger

I have no idea how I did it though. It started hurting a couple days ago and since I've been working in my classroom and ignoring the pain, now it really really hurts. It's swollen and hurts to bend. I put heat on in last night and it felt better briefly. I wonder if it would be better to use cold instead of heat?

These are nice

I've been online looking at houses again. One site I found was Branson real estate and they have some really nice homes. I like The Woodland. It is four bedrooms and three bathrooms. It also has a family room AND a great room, but I think the selling point would be the huge amount of storage space!! Oh my goodness!!! The storage space!! The kitchen is pretty small though. I don't really like to cook though so that wouldn't be a big deal. LOL

Summer is officially over. *sigh*

Well, it's back to work for me. Tomorrow is our first day back at school. That means we will be up at 5am everyday. Yuck!! I'm definitely not looking forward to getting up that early. The kids and I are going to have to get used to going to bed early as well as getting up early. Well.......earlier. They both are usually up pretty early anyway, but 5am is much earlier than usual for them.

I have to say though that I am ready for my kids to go back to school. I think they are tired of playing with each other. They are fighting constantly. It's driving me nuts.

How long until your kids go back to school?

Our anniversary is almost here

On August 3 Michael and I will be married for five years. I found a great I can't believe it's been five years already. It really doesn't seem like it has been. Granted we've been together since 1996. It took us awhile to get to the point of marriage with a break up and me moving to another state, but I'm so glad that we did. I've never loved anyone the way I love Michael. I just hope that he knows that.

Since I've been thinking of our anniversary it stands to reason that I've been thinking about gifts. I think I've found an anniversary gift that we can get for each other. It's a pretty nice canvas picture. We could use one of our wedding pictures for it. I'll have to run it by him.

Update on things I need for my classroom

Well, my mom sent me some money and I went shopping today. I was able to get all the things I need for my kitchen set, a couple baby dolls with pack-n-play, blankets, clothes, and a couple things for dress up (boas only). I was lucky today and was able to get a small piece of carpet, but I could use another piece about 5x8. I still need a couple bean bags, tennis balls, table and chairs, puppets (these things are expensive!), and dress up items.

Anything that you could donate to a poor kindergarten teacher would be greatly appreciated.

I am not a mechanic

But I wish I could work on cars. It really irritates me when something goes wrong with my van and I'm not sure what it is. I don't trust those who do know to be completely honest with me. I know that is pretty pessimistic of me, but I've been burned more than once. It tends to leave you with a bad taste in your mouth. Maybe I should learn to at least do some of this stuff myself and learn how to use these automotive detailing supplies. Then I wouldn't be taken to the cleaners. LOL

It's sad when people let things get this bad

Ever known someone with a drup, alcohol or some other type of addiction? It is really sad to see people suffering from addiction. It breaks my heart. It's really bothers me when I see parents who are battling these horrible addictions and do not get any help. It is not a bad thing to go into drug rehab. It shows the people who care about you that YOU care about them. If you are one of these people please get the help you need.

I need a vacation......yes another one!

I've been working in my classroom almost everyday for the last week. I've been going to in services the days I'm not working in my classroom. I'm exhausted and school hasn't even started yet. I think I would like to go north this time. Just in time for the leaves to start changing. I think it would be beautiful farther north during that time of year. Maybe a Vermont bed and breakfast would be a nice place to visit in the Fall.

Help a teacher?

I am setting up my new kindergarten room for this school year. I have never taught kindergarten before and I'm coming to realize how much stuff I need to make it a good class. Here is a list of things I really really need. If you have any of this stuff and you would like to donate it to a teacher in desperate need please let me know.

1. Large scrap of carpet for my reading/phonics center.
2. Children's play kitchen items
3. Dress up items
4. Puppets
5. Small table and chairs
6. Tennis balls for chair legs (so there is no horrible screeching when the kids push their chairs back)
7. Bean bags
8. Any item you think would be helpful in a kindergarten classroom

I would greatly appreciate any donated items.

It's getting close!! Are you excited?

Football season that is! The Titans go to training camp next Friday, July 27 and their first preseason game is against Washington on Saturday, August 11. Granted training camp is usually full of bad news (you know.....so and so went down with ________ injury or so and so will be out for the season with _________ injury), but at least it's football news! Preseason games don't mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but at least it is a game to watch. I'll take what I can get. The off season is too long for this football fan.

Sweet!!

I've just read that our first 2 UGA football games (Oklahoma State 9/1 and South Caroline 9/8) are both late games. The OSU game starts at 6:45pm EST and the USC game starts at 5:45pm EST. And both are going to air on ESPN2. Late games are always fun. The party atmosphere lasts all day and well into the night. Especially when we win. LOL It should be fun having back to back late games. I'll be watching georgiadogs.com for times to be announced for the rest of the season.

WOOHOO!! It's about time!

XM Radio is going to start carrying UGA football this season! It took them long enough! They are going to broadcast all of the UGA football games, the majority of the basketball games (men's and women's), and select games for the remaining athletic teams. Can you listen to Larry Munson on XM? Yes you can. They will have a minimum of 8 games with Munson and the rest of the broadcast crew. I'm taking that to mean that it is possible they will have more with our beloved home team crew. Fingers crossed here!! I'm definitely going to have to check into this just so I can listen to Munson. I hate being in a state where I can't get him.

Happy Birthday Uga VI

I just read on georgiadogs.com that today is Uga VI's birthday! He was born in 1998. Your niece, my Georgia Girl, says happy birthday too! ;-)

This I like to see!

It always warms my heart when I see college athletes doing so well in school. You hear a lot about them doing poorly, but not so much when they do well.

UGA had several athletes named to the Academic Honor Roll for 2006-2007. In total there were 203 student athletes honored with 56 of them being freshmen. To be eligible for this award.....

To be recognized, a student-athlete must 1) have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or above at the nominating institution; 2) be on scholarship or a letterwinner; 3) have completed 24 semester hours of non-remedial credit at the nominating institution; and 4) have been a member of the varsity team for the sport's entire NCAA Championship segment.


I'm very proud that UGA had so many athletes receive this award. It says a lot about the importance placed on academics at the university.

May she rest in peace

Tammy Faye Messner lost her battle with cancer today. Rest in peace Tammy Faye.

Yay for Emmitt!!!

Emmitt Smith (you know, the NFL's career leading rusher with 18,355 yards) was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame today. Yes, he played for the hated Gators, but he is one of my all time favorite football players.

Here is an excerpt from the article.

Smith had a fine career, too, rushing for 1,599 yards as a junior, finishing seventh for the Heisman, and gaining 3,928 yards rushing in three seasons. Smith said the thing he liked best about college football is "it's the purest form of football.''

"No pay. You just play,'' he said. "You're motivated not only by an educational standpoint and motivated to win, but you're motivated to showcase your talents so you can position yourself at the next level. At the NFL level you have to be self-motivated. Sometimes when you're given a lot, it's hard to self-motivate. You have to find ways to be self-motivated......''

(Picture:Joe Raymond/AP Photo)

I really do like him a lot. He has a great attitude. I was a little disappointed when he left after his junior year for the NFL, but I was glad when he did go back and finish his degree. Shows he knows the importance of that education.

Congrats Emmitt! You deserve it!! (coming from such a huge UGA fan that should mean something! ;-) )

Edited to add: Emmitt said today that he thinks that the Feds are targeting Michael Vick in the dogfighting thing because he is the "biggest fish in the doggone pond right now." My thoughts on this is that it doesn't matter. If Vick has supported it then he should go down for it. It is disgusting and cruel. People who do stuff like that have no soul.

I really do not like people.

Some people are just so childish and petty. Get over it and grow the hell up!! You are supposed to be an adult. We've been out of high.......oh, I mean elementary school for a long time. Act like it!

Want an easy way to make some extra money?

I have found the easiest way to make a little extra money. I first heard about payperpost from a fellow blogger, Beth. I had been trying to find a way to make a some extra money to help out with paying off some credit card bills as well as saving for those things I label "I want." Right now I am saving for an iPod Shuffle and tickets to the next Bon Jovi concert. Of course, I'm using the money for those "I want" items more so than paying off those credit cards. LOL Now when those "I want" items are paid for I want to use the money I make for clothes for the kids and things for my classroom. I spend way too much money on things for my classroom and any little bit of extra will help tremendously.

I like payperpost because they let you choose which opportunities you want to write about and there is no set number that you have to do each week or each month. It does get difficult sometimes to get those "good" opportunities. You have to meet certain criteria like having a higher page rank from Google or a lower Alexa score, but they do give you ideas on how to improve your score/rank. The companies you are writing the post for can also rate you. This gives you a tack ranking. The better the reviews from the companies the better your tack ranking. It can get frustrating, but hang in there. The more you post the more those scores will go up (or down depending on which they need to go) and you will be eligible for more and more opportunities.

If you want to make a little extra money go check them out.

Police shooting on I-40

Ummm, it happened at my exit and if it happened just past Percy Priest Dam then I could have seen it from my house if I bothered to look out. Not only that, but I had not been home long when it happened. Just a little scary. I'm glad they got the suspected drug dealers though. I'm also glad I wasn't one of the ones stuck in that traffic. Here's a picture of if from Newschannel5.com. This isn't really a good picture of it though. The Sky5 chopper had better pics.

Cute site!

Go here and add your caption to Uga. Mine was "Where's the ball? Gemme the ball!" He's so danged cute!! LOL

I think I'm going to upload a picture of my Georgia Girl too. I'll post the link to her if I do.

The site is www.cuteshowdown.com

Ugh! Pink eye!

What is it with these crazy issues I've had this year? This is driving me nuts. I thought I had pink eye one morning while we were on vacation. It was fine the next morning so no biggie. A week or so later I thought so again. And again the next day it was fine. I woke up today with it all green and goopy again. This time I put the eye drops in and boy did it burn. Well, tonight it hurts. I haven't looked at it since this morning so I don't know if it is still red, but right now it is hurting and itching. I'm guessing that it really is pink eye this time. *sigh*

OMG!! How good would this be?

I just saw a commercial for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and they have this new treat!! It is a doughnut topped with soft serve ice cream and you favorite topping! It looks soooooo good!! I want one!! Diet be damned!! LOL

Ohh, here is a list of all their varieties! Yummy!!

Yay!!!

Men in Trees is back!! I've missed this show while it was on hiatus. It is back as of last week. Granted they are all reruns until Oct. (I think that's when the new ones come on), but I'll take that. It comes on ABC on Thursday nights at 10pm CST. Love it!!

I'm exhausted

It has been a long day. I was up early to go to school and move my classroom. I'm just moving down the hall, but it is still a big job. I guess I should give credit to my wonderful husband since he is the one who actually did the moving of the boxes. We came home for naps and then went back. I left the school at around 6:45pm. It's not easy unpacking all those boxes with 2 kids running wild in the classroom either let me tell you. They would not stay out of my sink and I had water all over the floor. I'll be back up there tomorrow and over the weekend. School starts on Aug 1 and my room isn't close to being ready. Ugh!!! It's usually all done by now. I hate having to move rooms.

Oh and can I just say that my whole body hurts? I swear that I've got muscles that I didn't know I had that are hurting. Who would have thought that your upper body can hurt from running/walking? I had to take 600 mg of Ibuprofen last night just to get to sleep. LOL I didn't get to go walking today since we went to school as soon as we got up and then Michael had to work tonight. I guess it will be the weekend before I get to do it again or maybe if I get up early enough in the morning, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

She looks so much older than 2!!

They grow up so fast. *sigh*

What is it with these dang football players?

Ugh!! More legal trouble for a couple UGA football players. DL Tripp Taylor is implicated in a brawl that happened back in May. He is charged with misdemeanor simple assault. This is the most serious charge of the two.

RB Caleb King was arrested for having a suspended license and driving the wrong way on his moped. This one isn't as serious and probably won't result in missed playing time.

Looks like there is lots going on off the football field this week. *sigh*

More Pacman news

It's possible that Adam "Pacman" Jones can attend training camp and play in preseason games. The more I think about it the more I feel that he shouldn't be allowed to do so. He is suspended for the season and I think that should include training camp and preseason games. It's just speculation right now since NFL commissioner Goodell hasn't said anything official as of yet.

What are your thoughts?

Michael Vick charged with felony

*sigh* I was so hoping he wasn't really involved. Vick was indicted in the dogfighting case today.

The AJC.com says:

The grand jury indictment charges that Vick and co-defendants Pernell Peach, Quanis Phillips and Tony Taylor spent six years "knowingly sponsoring and exhibiting in an animal fighting venture."

What the heck is wrong with people? This really sickens me. I hope they throw the book at them all.

Yay!! It's raining!!

We are in desperate need of rain. Yesterday was a tease. I could hear thunder and even see lightning last night, but no rain. We got it today!! Yay!!!

I love the sound of rain. Now I just wish I could curl up on the couch and read a good book or maybe take a nice nap. Not going to happen with the kids around though. *sigh*

Is it always going to be like this?

Is Joshua always going to do things to irritate Ari? Are the going to fight their entire lives? Is it because they are so close in age (19 months)? I remember fighting with my older brother, but not like they do. He does things that he knows is going to annoy her and make her scream/cry and then laughs while he does it. They are driving me crazy!!

Sometimes they do play nicely together, but only for short amounts of time. Usually after about an hour they are fighting and one of them is crying.

Someone please tell me that it gets better. Please!!

I know I've said this a thousand times, but......

I really am going to try to lose weight. I'm tired of feeling fat and frumpy. I've been exercising since last Thursday (minus the weekend). I went walking/running today. It's hard to do that when Michael and I work opposite schedules and I don't have anyone to keep the kids, but on those days I can use the workout tapes I got at Dollar General for $1. They are pretty good. I think my favorite is a 30 minute Pilates workout. I also have Tae Bo tapes that are pretty good. Those are hard though. Whew! I'll try to update weekly.

Busy........busy...........busy

Well, my summer is pretty much over. School starts back on Aug 1 and between now and then I will be very busy.

1. July 18--In-service---12:30-4:30
2. July 23--In-service---9:00-3:00
3. July 25--In-service---8:00-11:00
4. July 26--Work day---8:00-3:00
5. July 27--Work day---8:00-3:00
6. July 30--Work day---8:00-3:00
7. July 31--In-service---8:00-3:00
8. Aug 1--2hr school day--I'm there 7:00-3:00
9. Aug 2--Work day---8:00-3:00
10. Aug 3--full day of school---7:00-3:00

During one of those work days I will have to lead an in-service to teach our school personnel the new attendance/grading system. Not looking forward to that, but at least I'll get 2 additional hours of in-service for it. That means that I'm done for the year. I won't have to worry about it during the school year. That makes me happy.

Not bad, but could be better. LOL

My blog is worth $11,290.80.
How much is your blog worth?

Going through withdrawal

Anyone know when it comes out on video? I'm trying to be patient, but I really want to see it again!!!
Ahhhh, Will and Capt. Jack. It doesn't get any sexier than that. *sigh*

What were they thinking?

Someone was not really thinking when they installed the thermostat in our apartment. It is at just the right height to attract the attention of toddlers! Ugh! I was sitting here today freezing to death and couldn't figure out why. I just walked back by the thermostat to check it and one of the kids (no telling which one) had it set on 60!! No freakin' wonder I was freezing. I guess now I am going to have to pay close attention to it or our electric bill is going to be crazy AND I am going to freeze!!

Party at the pool

We went to the pool today. It was fun even though Joshua didn't want to stay for long. What's up with that? Joshua realized that he is getting taller. He can now stand on the bottom of the pool with his head is still above water. Just right beyond the steps, but still it is a big moment. He was so proud. Ari still won't get off the steps willingly. I hope she gets over that.

Anyway, here are a couple pictures that were taken today.
Here is Ari playing on the rail. I love that little face!


Here is Joshua standing on the bottom. He was so excited! Me too really. I can't believe how tall he is getting.

Ahhhhhh peace and quiet...............for a couple hours anyway.

It has been frustrating day so far and I even got to sleep in (thanks Honey). Joshua has been clingy (luckily to Michael and not me) and whiny all morning. We went swimming and he had to have his daddy carry him to AND from the pool. He whined about wearing his swimmies in the pool. He wanted to wear them and not practice those swimming lessons. He whined about where he wanted to sit for lunch and cried when he was told it was Ari's turn to sit there. He wanted a hamburger for lunch. I made him a hamburger. He didn't want it. He whined about having to eat it. He wanted some M&Ms after lunch. He didn't get any because he didn't eat his hamburger. He whined about that too. I made him go lie down to take a nap. He wanted a movie and quiet time (which is what he normally has instead of a nap) and I wouldn't let him because he has been so whiny today. He whined about that.

Right now both kids are asleep. I'm sitting in the living room with my laptop in front of me and the tv turned off. Ahhhhhh, peace and quiet.

Picky.....picky.......picky

This would be my kids. I swear they are the pickiest eaters ever created!! I don't know why. I didn't shy away from feeding them anything when they were babies. They ate veggies really well when they were eating baby food. They even ate them well when they first went to table food, but now neither one of them will eat any type of vegetable. It is so frustrating. I can't even get them to try new things. I have a set menu I can choose from if I want them to eat and even then there are days that they won't touch those things. I'm at a loss. I'm also incredibly tired of eating the same 'ol things.

They will both eat just about any kind of fruit you put in front of them though. At least that's something.

Those of you with kids..............were they good eaters? How did you get them to eat different foods if they were not? How did you get them to become good eaters if they were?

My kids need curtains in their rooms

I have decided that my kids need to have more than just those awful mini blinds in their rooms. They need curtains. Preferably room darkening curtains. They tend to wake up with the sun and want to be up the rest of the day. I, however, would prefer to sleep later than 5:30am during the summer and on weekends. They really need something to make it look better too. I really don't like just blinds unless they are decorative blinds which ours are not. I think I will check into getting them some custom curtains. Something that goes with themes in their rooms.

Student loans

My student loans were life savers when I was in school, but once I got out they became a complete pain in the you know what. I ended up with 3 different lenders so that meant I would have 3 different checks to write when I started paying them back. That added up to a major monthly expense for me. So I went to a school loan consolidation place. They were able to consolidate all of my loans into one and reduce my monthly payment. Because I paid out of state tuition and then went back to school my loans are quite high so my payment is still high, but nothing like it was when I was paying 3 different payments. I'll be glad when I get them paid off though.

Tattoos

I am thinking of getting one that represents my kids. I don't want their names, but some kind of design that maybe incorporates their initials. I need to be able to add to it in case I get that 3rd baby. It has to have Christian's in there too. Do we have any artists out there that could make a design? I don't want it big and I'm thinking of getting it on my ankle.

I'm watching it...............again.

I've only seen it a million times. Probably more! I'm watching it again. I swear that Grease has to be one of the best movies ever! How many times have you seen it?

They are at the dance right now. Dancing to Sha-Na-Na. They are the band on the movie, if you remember. They had a tv show in the 70s (maybe the 80s......can't remember how old I was. LOL) Who watched their show as a kid? I used to LOVE it!!!

My Georgia Girl is not happy with me.

Today was that day of the month that she really really hates. She got a bath, had her nails clipped, her ears cleaned, her flea medication, and her heart worm medication. She hates it all, but she doesn't fight it. She shakes like she is scared to death the entire time and makes me feel bad, but it all has to be done regardless. Poor girl. She is now sleeping behind my chair. I guess it tires her out. LOL

Ah, memories

Michael and I were talking about something last night and it got me to thinking/remembering. When I was in college I followed this band, The Thompson Brothers. Okay, I didn't really follow them, but I never missed a show when they came to our favorite honky tonk, The Country Rock Cafe, in Athens. They even recorded a song there for their first CD. I was there that night of course. LOL The first night they were there a friend of mine and I decided to run an experiment. We were taking a nonverbal communications class and one of the big things they talked about was eye contact being so powerful. We decided that we were going to try it out. We chose who we thought was the best looking guy in the building that night and didn't ever go talk to him, but made eye contact as much as possible. My choice was the drummer in the band, Matt. Every time I was dancing I would make eye contact with him. I'd smile. He'd smile. At the end of the night he ended up coming to talk to me. We danced the last couple dances. Every night they were in town after that we would dance when they were taking a break. One night he even got someone else to play drums while he danced with me. Yeah, I had a major crush on him. LOL He was a doll. Anyway, they used to live here in Nashville. Michael and I were able to go see them a few times. I'm not sure if they are still here or not. They had 3 CDs released, but I don't think they got much play on country radio. They were good though and a lot of fun. I wish I could find them again. Here is the only video they released. It played on CMT and VH1.

Last night was fun!

It's not often that my wonderful husband and I get a night out. Last night was one of those nights. The 17 year old came over for the weekend and he babysat for us. He was happy because we let his girlfriend come over too. LOL

We went to a party last night hosted by Kate O and Karsten. They had just finished the porch on their house and wanted to celebrate. Their house is fabulous! I'm jealous. I want a house like that. *sigh*

I met several of the Nashville bloggers for the first time. I've been reading their blogs for awhile now and I've missed several meet ups so I was excited to finally meet them. I really enjoyed my time with Sista Smiff, she was absolutely hilarious. She had me laughing all night. Ivy was very nice. As was Ginger. Ginger even offered me some clothes for Ari and I will definitely be taking her up on that offer. I never turn down free clothes! ;-)

There were so many others there, but those are the ones I spent the most time with. Everyone was incredibly nice and welcoming. I hope that we can join in the next time they all get together.

How the heck did that happen?

I've been getting PORN emails in my SCHOOL email spam folder!!! I don't visit these types of sites on purpose and I sure wouldn't be using my SCHOOL email if I did!! Why the heck am I getting those emails? How do I stop them? At this point I don't know if the entire school system is getting them or not so it makes me nervous. If the whole system (or school) isn't getting them then it could possibly get me into trouble. Ugh!!!

Wow, they had to forfeit a whole season?

The NCAA has handed down sanctions to the Oklahoma football program. Because of violations of some NCAA rules the Sooners must forfeit their 2005 season. Wow. Their record will go from 8-4 to 0-12. They will also lose 2 scholarships for the 08-09 and 09-10 seasons. Apparently there were some players who got paid for work at a car dealership that they did not do. These schools really do need to monitor their athletes more carefully. The NCAA doesn't mess around with their rules.

I painted Ari's toenails yesterday.

They are so cute!! She loves it. I bought a pale pink color and now she says she has "pretty princess toes." Pink is her favorite color. I'm really not sure how I created such a girly girl. LOL Lord knows I wasn't. Now I'm just waiting on her to realize that her fingernails could be painted too. I'm not sure if I will paint them though. Maybe when she is a little older.

I've been thinking about getting her ears pierced too, but Michael is not too keen on the idea. *sigh* I think it would be too cute. She even has an adorable pair of earrings that my dad and stepmom got for her.

I need to be here with my husband and no kids.

Yes, I know that I just came home from vacation. But, I didn't get much of a break from the kids nor a lot of time with my wonderful husband. We need to plan a trip to an island paradise in the next year. Just the 2 of us. Maybe my mom or my dad can keep the kids for us.

Petty rant----------------or pity party.

1. My house is a mess and I have no motivation or energy to change it.
2. I need friends here (see post below for those details).
3. I have tonight's dinner planned and I know that neither kid will want to eat it.
4. I think I have pink eye.................again.
5. I'm tired of watching children's shows on tv.
6. The dog needs a bath, but..........see #1.
7. I have a massive headache.
8. I feel guilty b/c my kids need to go outside to play, but again see #1.
9. I feel fat and frumpy.

I need more friends..................here.

I have lots of friends. It's just that none of them live close enough to me. I have a few friends here, but I'm not close enough to them to be comfortable asking them to help out when I need childcare. That is my dilemma right now. I had to cancel an in-service class yesterday because I couldn't get in touch with my regular babysitter. I have another in-service tomorrow that I cannot cancel. I still can't get in touch with my regular babysitter. This means that Michael is going to have to go into work late. Neither of us are happy about that. *sigh*

As we get older.

As we get older there are issues that we will have to deal with. Most of these issues are not pleasant. Some of them are even quite embarrassing. Incontinence is one of them. Now I haven't had to deal with this issue myself, but I've had family members who have. I can remember my grandma having to deal with it. She was completely frustrated and embarrassed by it. She used the disposable pads to help, but they weren't all that great. Now they have disposable underwear that looks like it is more effective. They look like they would be pretty discreet too.

Know a welder?

My brother and a couple of my uncles are welders. None of them are very internet savvy though so I've been looking around for them for new an innovative tools to help them in their work. I came across this thing called a plasma cutter. It looks like it is more precise in cutting metal than regular welding tools. I wonder what my welding family members will think about it or if they already know about it?

I think my daughter has her first crush. LOL

Today she was running all over the house playing. Joshua was watching Noggin. Diego came on while she was running through the living room. She immediately stopped and she squeals "Go Diego Go!!!" then does this cute little sigh. I lost it!! I think she is in love with Diego.

Did you notice?

There is only 1 month 22 days left until UGA's first football game of the 2007-2008 season! I can't wait! I'll have to go searching for tickets so I can take Joshua to his first game. If you know of any on sale let me know!

The birthday boy!

While we were on vacation Joshua celebrated his 4th birthday. I can't believe he is 4 years old already. Wow! He isn't a baby anymore. He is a little boy and he loves it! He was so excited to be 4. He even wanted me to tell the lady at the McD's drive thru that he was 4. LOL Here are a few pics from his Star Wars birthday party.



Happy birthday boy.


The Star Wars cake. Joshua went with me to pick it out.



Blowing out the candles..........they kept relighting and he got a huge kick out of that. LOL


The family.


The gift table.......there were a lot of gifts on that table! LOL Some of them were Ari's though.


Ari and Joshua in front of the cake table. He was very excited about all the Star Wars stuff and is "Birthday Jedi" pin.

I need new furniture

As I sit here on my 10+ year old recliner that no longer reclines and look around my living room I realize that we are in desperate need of new furniture. I also need a whole new set of bedroom furniture. That furniture is also well over 10 years old. Well, the bed is only a little over a year and I love it so that stays, but the rest can be trashed! So now I guess I'll be searching for home furniture not just for my dream home, but for my current home.

Hey I have pictures from vacation........finally!

Lesson learned.........no running by the pool.



She likes sitting there wrapped in a nice warm towel.





Maybe not.




A day at the beach.



My guys.



Beach day. Ari refused to take off her shirt. LOL

Oh my!! I really want one of these!!

I've been looking at things to put into my dream home again. This time I found some amazing bathroom vanities. They are gorgeous!!! They look like they are antique. I have to put these on my list of "must haves" for my dream home. I bet my best friend would love one for her house too. She is redoing it and one of these would look great in her bathroom. Did I mention that they are gorgeous?

I've been house hunting.

We have decided that we are going to move to Florida in the next year or so. Having decided that, I have been looking at real estate on Amelia Island. I'm thinking that we are going to have to go off the island to afford to buy a house though. Houses are pretty pricey on the island. While we was there on vacation I drove around looking at houses for sale. There were lots of them. I hope there are still a lot of them when we actually do move.

I'm still tired.

Our first day home and after all the unpacking and cleaning I'm exhausted. I even took a nap this afternoon. We had several errands to run today too. I had to do my most hated errand. I had to go to the grocery store. I hate grocery shopping. Not only did I have to go, but I had to take both kids AND it was raining. That is not a good combination. LOL

Now both kids are in Joshua's room watching a Dora video for quiet time and when it is over they will go to bed. Tomorrow I have an in-service from 12-3 and I can't get in touch with my babysitter to see if she can keep the kids. I hope she can do it. Otherwise I will have to cancel the in-service and try to find another to attend. I want to get them all in over the summer so I don't have to worry about trying to go to them during the school year. The one tomorrow should be a good one too.

As you may have noticed my poor blog has turned into advertising central. Sorry about that. I'm going to try to put in more personal stuff to keep y'all entertained. LOL I have a pretty boring life though so don't get your hopes up. ;-)

Home at last!

It's always nice to go on vacation, but it is so great to get home. We were gone for a little over 2 weeks this time. This is the longest we've ever been gone. I love going to Amelia Island and visiting with my family, but I really do miss my bed. The kids do too. Joshua was so excited today about getting to sleep in his own bed tonight. I'm sure we will all sleep well!!

Now is the part I HATE..................unpacking. Ugh! I look around my living room and see so much that needs to be done. No doubt it won't get done tonight. I'm exhausted after driving for 9-10 hours. I'll unpack the necessities and leave the rest for tomorrow. I'll need to make a grocery run tomorrow too. There is nothing in the refrigerator. Well, we did stop before we got home and bought stuff for spaghetti and some milk for the kids.

I'll post some pics tomorrow or maybe later tonight depending on how I feel. We didn't get a lot since I forgot to take the camera and Michael didn't take as many as usual. He did get a few good ones though.

More for my dream home!!

Okay, one thing that you can not have a dream home without is a mailbox. Stop laughing, I'm serious! You have to have a mailbox. There has to be someplace for the poor postman/woman to put all those bills that you have acquired since getting that dream home. I never knew that there were so many mailboxes to choose from either. Wow! I mean I thought you just had a regular old mailbox. Nope, there are so many different styles to choose from. Now, how to make a choice. *sigh*

There is a downside to being on vacation in the Sunshine State

The sun and the chlorine is really bad for your skin. My skin gets so dry when I am out in the sun and swimming in the pool so much. Right now my face feels so dry and tight. I don't even want to think about my feet! Ugh!! I need to find some good skin care products to take care of this problem. My regular soap and lotion is not working well enough right now.

My dream home......again

I have mentioned this before, right? I have in mind this dream home on the beach or in the mountains. I've also decided that I wouldn't mind living in Montana either (as long as I didn't have to go outside during bear season. LOL). Now all I need to do is get us out of debt or win the lottery so we can afford my luxury home dream home. *sigh* Ahhh, the power of dreams. ;-)

Oh how I love a vacation!

As y'all know I am on vacation in Florida with my kids. We have had a blast so far. The kids love to go swimming everyday. Lucky for me my aunt has a swimming pool. I'm not a big beach person really. We actually haven't even gone to the beach yet. Yeah, I know I'm weird. It is so much easier just to go to the pool than to drag all the required stuff down to the water only to have to drag it back and most likely carry the kids too a short time later. Not to mention that I HATE sand! I don't really mind going to the beach to walk or even play a game of catch. I'm just lazy and would prefer to go without the kids.

We have had lots of family in town the last couple weekends. We celebrated my aunt's 72nd birthday with some great food, a few drinks, and a little karaoke. We also had a baby shower for my cousin. So, lots of family in for those. It is always great to see my family. The kids have really enjoyed all the attention too.

Joshua took swimming lessons last week. That was not a lot of fun let me just tell you. He cried and cried. The first day he refused to do anything. It got better though. On the second day he cried the entire time, but he at least did what the instructor asked. As we are getting in the car he tells me, "Momma, I love my swimming lessons." Ummm, yeah well you could have fooled me. LOL He even talked about how much fun they were all day, but then told me later that he didn't want to go back. He had to go back. He did great the rest of the time. No more crying. Now we are just practicing everything he learned.

Ari is having a great time. She won't get off the pool steps though. Even with her swimmies on. And when I take her off she clings to me and whimpers. Pretty sad, but I so want her to get comfortable in the water.

They are both getting nice tan lines. I'm putting sunscreen on them, but you can still see the tan lines. They are so cute. LOL I'm just happy that they are not going to be fair skinned like me. Granted they are not going to be really dark skinned either. but at least you can tell when they get sun. You can't tell on me.................at all.

We all miss Michael. We've been gone since June 22 and we miss him a lot. He is flying in on the 4th though. I can't wait. We are putting off Joshua's birthday party until his daddy gets here. Did I forget to mention that Joshua turned 4? Yeah, I can't believe it either. Doesn't seem possible. He is very proud of that fact too. Today he wanted to tell the lady at the drive thru at McDonald's that he was 4 years old. He was quite disappointed when she didn't lean out of the window far enough for him to tell her. LOL

Well, it is midnight here and I'm tired (caught my mom's cold of course) so I will end this book. I forgot the camera so no pics. I'm sure Michael will remember it though so we can at least get some pictures of our vacation. LOL

Do you know the one thing a teacher can never have enough of?

Pens. I have found that as a teacher I can never have enough pens. It is crazy. I swear that I am always looking for one. I misplace them all over my classroom. They walk off my desk never to be seen again. People borrow them and never return them. I am often frantically searching for a pen so I can grade papers or just jot down a reminder. I need to get some with my name printed on them. That way I am sure to get them back or at least find the culprit who took them! LOL

You know that dream home I want?

No? You mean I haven't talked to you about that? Well............there is one. LOL I'm really dreaming when I write this, but I want a nice house on the beach or in the mountains. I don't care where it is. Not really. Anyway, I've been dream decorating it. I have found some really really wonderful chandeliers that I'd like to have in this dream home. I'm not usually into chandeliers, but I've found that they don't have to be the gaudy ones that you see in those huge houses/mansions. There are some really tasteful ones out there that aren't too pretentious. I can definitely go for those. ;-)

I want one

Okay, so I have to have a house first, but I would love to have an outdoor fireplace. My aunt has one at her house in Florida. It is so nice to sit outside on a nice cool night and stay warm. We tend to gather around it until all hours of the night laughing, remembering and singing a little karaoke. We also do a little drinking around it, but I don't recommend that unless the person manning the thing is sober. ;-)

The Great Smoky Mountains

Ever been? Ever wanted to go? It's absolutely beautiful there. I've only been a couple times in my life, but I loved it each time. I want to go back soon. The shopping is great and there is so much to do. It can also be very relaxing. I suggest staying in a cabin while there. The views are spectacular. A great place to rent a cabin is Pigeon Forge cabin rental. They are giving a $50 gas discount right now when you book online. That is a great incentive with gas prices the way they are right now.