Rest easy

The girls got out of school at 11:30 today for Thanksgiving Break. Our afternoon went like this:

ate lunch. watched a tv show. one fell asleep on the couch. one asleep in my bed. and one in her bed with a headache and cramps, texting. i started feeling lethargic myself. ahhhhhh, what a nice way to start a vaca!

Tomorrow I'm planning on taking them to try on shoes and clothes, so I can get some sizes for Christmas shopping.

Christmas came early

Friday evening, I was invited to a Southern Living party. I didn't go because I've had a pounding headache all week that I just couldn't shake. The girls spent the night with Pop and Gran. Jason watched kung-fu movies and I went to bed (due to the headache).

Saturday, I worked all day. Brooke had basketball practice and Bella had a birthday party. When I got home, I found out that all 3 of the girls were spending the night out again, but at friends houses. I have been bugging Jason about getting some Christmas shopping done early, but to no avail. I decided since we'd be alone, that this would be a perfect time to get a major present out of the way!

Note: There was some good info in this space, but realized that the girls could easily click on my site and read it all....So, I had to do some deleting!

Tehya had her first JO team practice. There are 11 girls on the team. I found out we will travel to places that can be as close as 10 minutes away or 5 hours away. We are still excited, but with that many girls she's gonna have to step up her game to get some playing time in.....

A new hobby!

After reading a book that was based in a knitting shop, I decided to knit. No, I've never knitted before. I got a sewing machine for Christmas last year and attempted to sew the knee holes in my brother in laws pants. They looked like a voodoo doll by the time I was done with them, so it sits and collects dust. Back to knitting! I watched several You Tube videos Saturday night and Sunday evening I bought some needles and yarn, and went at it. It really isn't hard at all. I think my yarn sucks and I should have bought a bigger sized needle. Mine are a size 10. I also should have bought some wooden ones, mine are metal and the yarn slips easily. I can get to about 5 rows and somehow I mess something up. It's like the yarn splits. I try to work through it, but it makes the yarn get really tight, so I throw it away. My daughter is waiting for her scarf!

Christmas wish lists

I have been asking the girls for months to tell me what they want for Christmas. They really don't know. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. They've come up with a few ideas.

Isabella (5): bike
fake pet dog that walks
Ipod, she has an mp3 player
clothes

Brooke (9): bike
dr. stuff, she enjoys playing dr's office
clothes
American girl doll

Tehya (11): digital camera
bike
clothes
Vera Bradley purse
cell phone cover

We are getting them a Wii with guitar hero, and some rainbow flip-flops for whoever wants them. Movie gift certificates also. Maybe a certificate to MegArt. It's a place where you can paint pottery. We went before. They need things to do while on Christmas break. I thought about going skiing or tubing for a day. That would be a nice present. We might just give them money for the clothes so we can go shopping for them together. I can pick stuff out for Brooke and Bella, but Tehya is hard for me to fit. She is so worried about what people will think of her clothes, like if it is too goth or preppy looking. Brooke is not afraid to step out of the box and try funky clothes and colors. And if Brooke will wear it so will Bella. This is all we've come up with. Any ideas?

Bullybaloo

Last week we get a call from the principal saying that Brooke has been "bullying" people in her class. When I hear the word bully, I think of taking lunch money, giving wedgies, that sort of stuff, but name calling has also moved into that category. Her school uses bully reports (I'd never heard of them either) where the victim or witness can write down what went on with the bullying. So, here is a little run down of what's happening.....

Brooke and a boy cannot get along. They call each other names. She fills out a report on him "Jordan called me a loser", he fills one out on her, "Brooke called me a baby". So on and so forth. The guidance counselor talks about it with them, if need be the principle gets involved, which is what happened with her calling us. Evidently, Brooke has had "multiple" (5) reports filled out on her and they were talking suspension if it happened again...OH, HELL NO!!!!! Now we don't condone name calling, but to get suspended for calling someone a loser is ridiculous. He was in the same situation. Basically this report has turned into a form of tattling.

So, Jason and I meet with the principal and guidance counselor. They can't switch classes "because they are always going to have people they don't get along with" to which I replied, "Okay, so you suspend them for 1,2,3 days, they come back and they still have to deal with each other". We have decided to have Brooke and Jordan meet with the counselor for some more in depth discussions and role playing together to try to solve this issue between them. They had a meeting yesterday and it sounds like it was a good and successful one.

So, all that happened last week....then Monday my husband tells me he gets a call from the principal regarding Brooke. Read on for more excitement....

Brooke a boy in her class who LOVES to eat his boogers. He tries to hide it she says, but not very good. She watches him out of the corner of her eyes. I mean it has to be awfully hard to eat a booger in the middle of 18 children and a teacher, right? So, they were walking outside and he said to her, "I'm going to give you Jay germs", he picks his nose and wipes a booger on her, so she immediately pushes him to get him away from her. Yes, yes, yes, she got into trouble for pushing him, but he didn't get into trouble for putting nasty ass boogers on her. She had to sit in a 3rd grade class for the rest of the day.

I understand that pushing him was wrong. We have told Brooke this and that she needs to get her emotions in check. If she had told the teacher, maybe he would have gotten in trouble (doubt it), but she definitely wouldn't have. I don't know what we are going to do with her!

A travelling we will go

Our girls absolutely love volleyball.
Isabella isn't old enough to be on a team yet, but she is at every practice and every game. During this time she is constantly "bumping" the volleyball. She also likes to practice against the wall in my room. She cannot wait for her time to come.
Tehya has been playing for 3 years, Brooke for 2 years.
On Sunday, Tehya tried out for the Junior Olympics volleyball team (JO).They don't go to the Olympics....it's like challenge soccer. There were 20 girls trying out. She did really well, but I did not think that she was going to make it. There was some stiff competition....but SHE DID!!!!! We were so excited. Jason said he wanted to cry because he was so proud of her. We were heading to Subway when we found out. Jason went straight into the restroom...probably to shed a tear. We do know travelling will be involved as to how much we don't know. We aren't sure yet what we have gotten ourselves into, we'll find out more in 2 weeks when the first practice begins. We do know the dates of tourneys and the season lasts through April.
I'm so excited for her to learn some amazing things. This can all be passed on to Brooke and eventually Bella.
I have to say it feels like the Olympics for us!!!

Pumpkin Fest 2008

Brooke as a base

Isabella in her stunt

Tehya and friends

Auntie Amber munchin' on some grindage

The Pumpkin Fest was last weekend. i have been waiting all year for this. I had a gyro from one of the vendors last year. It was loaded with meat, and veggies, and the sauce......I couldn't wait to get another one. I also had to have a funnel cake. I didn't eat breakfast that morning, so i'd have room for the goods. There was lots of great food and entertainment. Isabella and Brooke's cheerleading squad performed a couple of cheers and a dance routine. They did such an amazing job. We had a great time and the weather couldn't of been better.

I'm back......

First 3 are Brooke's team. Last pic is Tehya's team!

I haven't blogged in about 3 months, been reading, just not writing. So, we've been busy with school and sports!

Tehya is in middle school and loves it. They just completed a fabulous volleyball season. I'll post a pic.

Brooke is in 4th grade and doing just as great. She completed her volleyball season with two trophies. Season champs (undefeated) and tourney champs.

Bella is cheerleading as well as Brooke. Their tourney is still going on.

Myrtle Beach

We made the long journey to Myrtle Beach on Saturday. It was supposed to take 4 1/2 hours, but I think it took about 5 1/2. There really isn't a direct route with highways there from where we live. We have to go on back roads where the speed limit is sometimes 45, 50, or 60. Anyways, we made it. We got to see my brother and his family and everyone else. The house we stayed in was beautiful. It was on Ocean Lakes Family Campground. We were in a 5 bedroom 3 bath house right on the beach. Every "lot" had golf carts and my parents had recently bought one of their own, so they brought theirs also. In the confines of the campground was a grocery store, laundry, a little fast food joint where you ordered from the window, a pool, rec center, vball, bball, a park, and several other things. I would definitely love to go again. The only draw back was that all the houses were smooshed together. There were all sizes of houses. There were RV's and tents, as well.
On Sunday, a wave took away my glasses, so I had to spend Monday getting an eye exam and ordering glasses at the one hour place. I guess it was a good thing that happened because it had been 3 years since my last eye exam. Now I can actually see!
The girls start school tomorrow. Thank God! I am sick of looking at school supplies that we have to give to their homeroom teachers. It's been laying around our house since the beginning of August.

So proud....

The bridal shower that I was going to Sunday was cancelled due to the wedding being called off. Long story! Needless to say I wasn't tempted by cake!!! I did however buy some cupcakes for a coworkers baby shower. I didn't eat a single one!!!! We had the shower at work on Monday. I saw the cupcakes there today. The were where I could see them. I put them out of sight and didn't even think about them. I gotta stop typing about them though! I've been going to the gym at least every other day. I've lost 4 pounds. I am 172 right now!!! 2 more until I hit the 160's. Maybe i'll be able to go poo and lose those!! Hey, "eating healthy" messes with the bowels. I haven't been to Starbucks since last time I said either. I am planning on going Saturday morning since we are leaving VERY early to the beach. AND I found out they have light mocha frappacino's. Wonder how those taste and what the difference is? I'll let you know!

Growing up!

My one month shy of turning 11 year old started her period this past Sunday! It just came all of a sudden. I handled it much better than I thought I would, but I have to say I was a little down all that day. Of course, Tehya's friend invited her to the lake that day. I preferred her to stay home because I didn't know how bad it was going to be being her first time and all (also we were spring cleaning before we head to the beach). Jason kept saying, "she can go, just let her go." I was giving him the eye...we had some drop in visitors at the time, finally he caught on. He really didn't want to talk about it. He said he's not ready for this. The whole situation wasn't how I imagined it would be...honestly I don't really know how I had imagined it. Anyway... she handled things pretty well. She actually showered everyday (you'll understand if you've read previous blogs). I'm glad it didn't happen this weekend (we'll be at the beach) and next Wednesday 8/20 they start school!
Jason and I are realizing that she is going through some emotional issues as well. Feeling certain ways that she probably can't even explain why she is feeling that way, so we are going to try to be more attentive to this. I know this is a scary and exciting time for her and we hope to make the best of it.
I read somewhere that said that children that are able (and do) talk to their parents about sex openly are more apt to not participate in sexual activities, or wait til later, due to understanding the consequences (pregnancy, disease) of having sex. This makes me feel better about talking about it with her.

Mouth Almighty

Ohmigod!!! As I am sitting here, Brooke my 9 year old pulls out her loose tooth. Bella my 6 year old tells her to make sure she puts it under her pillow for the tooth fairy. Brooke proceeds to say "The tooth fairy isn't real Bella". She says this just as calmly and as if it were every day conversation. With my back to them, my eyes fly open wide. I get up and now standing behind Bella I am pursing my lips together and making slicing movements across my neck in Brooke's direction. I think she got the point!!!! Bella went on her merry way. Thank God for the disney channel!!!

The forbidden word....d_ _ t

Jason and I decided we were fat and gross. We have decided to begin our healthy living lifestyle. We started last week. So, far we have changed our food intake and I (notice that says I) exercise at least every other day. Jason does go on the occasional walk with the girls. I want to do my 30 minutes at the gym and be done with the cardio. I can't seem to get into high gear though. For our wedding I was all over losing some weight, but now Starbucks Mocha Frappacino's are lingering in the back of my mind. I literally have to talk myself out of them. But I have decided yesterday that I will allow myself one a week. I just had one a few days ago. I'm going to a bridal shower on Sunday.... I'm already thinking about the cake!!!

Hairy subject!

Tehya has been asking if she could shave her legs for the past year and a half. She will be 11 in September and is starting middle school this fall. In the past I have always said no. We told her if you have to remember when the last time you took a shower was, then you weren't ready to shave your legs because you can't keep the basic hygiene duties up. She went camping earlier this summer and had on a tank top. I guess she had her hands clasped to the back of her head and Brooke told her to put her arms down because you can see her armpit hair. She was worried about it the whole time. They were baby fine hairs, but you could see they were long. So, before we went on our family camping trip I bought her the Veet hair removal with the "fake razor" with the agreement of her washing her butt on a regular basis. Using a real razor I shaved her underarms for the first time. She still has not shaved her legs, I don't know what she is waiting for!! Guess she is deciding to go "au natural" right down to her natural scent.

Now Brooke on the other hand decided to shave her legs without permission. Actually, she shaved to strips of hair in the front of both legs, but didn't do the sides or the backs. She was happy with her work not even caring she was in trouble! But I gotta hand it to her...at least she bathes.

Welcome home campers!!!!

Tehya and Brooke have been at camp since last week Sunday (7/6). Isabella has been MISERABLE! I did not have to work until Friday, but was called in on Tuesday and Thursday. She was not at all happy about it. Her and I did go to the movies Wednesday morning, and she got a "pedicure" without the "feet washing" as she called it. She was thrilled with her design and colors that she picked out on her own. She was very clingy to me all week. She slept with us all week. The girls came home today. Isabella was up and ready by 8 am. They had to be picked up by 10:30. It was about 1hour and 45 minutes away. We missed them alot! She is so thrilled to have her sissy's back. So are we! Now we can get the ball kicker, that's what Jason calls her out of our bed and into her own. Brooke is excited to be back home. She did not enjoy having to wake up at 7 in the morning. She loves to sleep late. She said she couldn't take it anymore. They were both exhausted and fell asleep on the way home.

Orange pics

Here are some pics from the orange kitchen. I tried to get some with the white door and the white curtains.

Silpada Party!

So, if you read my blog from yesterday then you know that I was running around trying to get ready to host a Silpada jewelry party. The party was this evening and it was such a success. My guests purchased close to $1200 dollars in jewelry. From this I earned about $355 worth in jewelry. I have already picked 2 items totalling $168, but am having a hard time spending the rest. I had a wonderful turnout and am very happy for my friend who was the representative. She said this is her most successful one to date! I'll have to take pictures of my "purchases" once I decide.

Never early

Did anyone notice the time that I am posting this blog??? It is actually 12:54 a.m. Well, we are painting our kitchen an orange color. It is called energetic orange. We love the color, but are having trouble finding curtains that would look good with it. Jason wants something "classy", but can't really describe that to me and I want something modern and kind of funky. We are going to hang some purplish/blue track lights in the near future..... Anyways, we have been painting for about a week and a half. It's an open kitchen dining room. Does it really take that long or is it just us. Yeah, I thought it was just us. Also, did I mention if anyone noticed the time I am posting this blog? We just finished painting about an hour ago. I am having a Silpada jewelry party here tomorrow evening. We have been wanting to paint for awhile (stark white walls with hand prints just wasn't very appealing anymore). Hosting this party has given us a reason to actually get something done. Well, since we can't really find a curtain, I think I am just going to get some plantation blinds for the windows. We decided this at 11:00 tonight. So tomorrow will be running around getting the cucumber and broccoli that Wal-mart did not have and returning curtains and purchasing/installing blinds. We are always sucking hind tit!No matter how early I start something or how early I get up, it is always rush, rush, rush!!! Oh yeah, did I mention the time? Off to bed, now! I'll let you know how it all turns out!

enjoyable weekend

On Saturday, Jason went to the "Dub Car Show" in Charlotte. He loves cars. Especially old ones. That started at 3pm, so they left about 2:30. Since he was going to be gone all day, I had planned a day with the girls, my friend and her son. We went swimming first. It started to thunder about 1hr and 1/2 and they kicked everyone out. My friend had just got there, so we hung out at her house for a few hours. Then came home to get dressed to go out to eat. We went to Olive Garden, which Kristi (my friend)and I love. Isabella is the only one of my children who has ever been there. Brooke and Tehya were excited about it. Of course, Brooke and Bella ordered chicken fingers. Tehya and I ordered the cheese ravioli. LOVE IT!!!!! On the way home we stopped at Coldstone and everyone had a kids scoop of ice cream. Jason and Aric (kristi's hubby) do not like Olive Garden, so when she and I get a chance to go eat alone....that's where we go! We hung out at Kristi's sipping on some buttery nipples and waiting for the guys to come home. We finally got home and to bed at about 1:30 am. I was so exhausted. I just can't stay up as late as I used to. Sunday morning we wake up and Jason says all he could smell on my breath was the Italian dressing from the salads. Crazy!!!

We had a lazy day on Sunday, which consisted of breakfast at 12:30. It rained off and on, then in the evening it started thunderstorming with the power flickering off and on. The satellite went out....so off to bed we went at about 11:00. Sometimes these days are the best....

Father's Day

Today is Father's Day....we call it Faja's Day. Last night Jason went to see the Hulk movie. So while he was in there, the girls and I snuck over and bought him a $30.00 movie gift certificate. He loves going to the movies. He really enjoyed it. When he came home from the movie, I had fixed one of Jason's favs. for dinner. Then this morning the girls and I were going to make him breakfast. It ended up with me cooking and Jason and the girls watching Nancy Drew. That was fine with me. After breakfast, which I should say brunch because we finished eating about 12:30. We finished the movie, Jason took a nap, we went to Brewster's for ice cream, went grocery shopping, then came home and ate hot dogs for dinner. It was a nice, relaxing day!!!

I almost choked on a fry!!!!

Okay, so we (Jason, me, and our 3 children) are at McDonald's Wednesday night for dinner. We are all sitting down eating when we shared this conversation......

Bella (5): Daddy how are you my daddy?

Brooke (9): Well, first you have to have sex.

Jason: What do you know about sex?

Brooke: Well the man puts his private parts in the womans private parts, and she goes "OOOHHH".

So, the whole time I'm sitting there with this grin on my face. Luckily I am sitting right next to Brooke so she can't see me. Tehya, who is 10, is steadily saying " Brooke, be quiet". I think she was kind of embarrassed about it. Isabella wasn't even paying attention, thank God. Naturally, I am wanting to know where this has come from. Brooke told me her friend told her. We haven't actually sat down and discussed all this yet. I think Jason is NOT looking forward to this at all. I know if I do it alone I will end up laughing (I usually do this at the wrong times) or saying something so crazy sounding. I don't know how long they've known about this. I'm still wondering if Tehya knew this already or if Brooke told her because evidently Tehya knows also if she didn't want Brooke to say anything about it. I'm actually glad it is out in the open somewhat. Now on with the talk.......

Field Day 2008

Field Day this year was pretty special. It was Isabella's first (she is in K), and Tehya's last. She is going into the 6th grade. We started at about 9:30 and went until about 1:30. There were several different stations that each class goes to. The 5th grade does the annual tug-of-war near the end. Tehya's class beat the 2 other 5th grade class. It was very intense. Kids were chanting the class name they wanted. Us parents are yelling "PULL,PULL" right in near their faces as if this was for the state championship title!! I guess in a 5th grade way, it was! The winning 5th grade class gets to compete against the teachers. Naturally, the children lost.

It was really hot outside. I got sun burn on the top of my head and flip flop outlines on my feet. At the end, the fire truck sprays the entire place. The kids love that part. If you don't run for your life, you will be soaked. I speak from experience. When all is said and done you have dripping wet children eating sno-cones. A little added bonus, they are exhausted when they get home. Can't wait til next years!!!!!

Blog Virgin

Yes, this is my first time blogging. An old friend said I should try it, so here I am. Actually, she'll probably be the only one to read them. Honestly, I enjoy reading hers and I enjoy talking about stuff.... anything really. And I do mean anything. Hopefully you'll like!