Deanna Rose Post

We went to Deanna Rose back in April when it was still nice and cool. It was a perfect day to be there. We, as usual, had a wonderful time hanging out and looking at all the sites. Here are a few of my favorites from the day.

Lincoln using the map- never mind that it is upside down.

Numbered stepping stones. Caiden can count all the way up to 30 and add small numbers. I forgot to include that on the update. I also taught him how to tell time (hours) yesterday.

Feeding the koi fish- a tradition for us.

Feeding the goats. I would say this is MY favorite part of Deanna Rose.

Driving tractors and a quick photo op in the shade.

A quick stop in the dairy barn to check out the cows and baby lamb. He was only a few days old!

Mining for gold. We got nothin but rocks but it sure was fun playing in the water!

The "Baby Playground". Both kids had fun here. Everything was made for babies who crawl or walk so Lincoln felt like a big kid. He even decided to go down the slide with no hesitation.

Easter Pictures

I realized the only pictures I have are the ones that I posted on here and facebook so here are a few of the Easter pictures from this year. Better late than never!

I couldn't tell you how many shots I took on the stairs. If I had any idea how to loop them together to make a video, I would. All I can say is it would be very entertaining.

2011 Quarter 2 Recap

Wow- I feel like so much has changed in just a few months! These boys are growing fast! I have several pictures on my camera still that I need to download to my computer. I still haven't re-installed any of my hardware from when my computer crashed. Now that summer school is out, this is on my list of things to do!

Lincoln-1 year 4 months

*STILL NOT WALKING- ugg! It's not that he can't, we've seen him. It's that he won't. Stubborn to the core. I have no idea where he gets it.

*Loves to play peek-a-boo with his blanket. It never gets old.

*Is a total pool baby! This kid isn't scared of anything! He will put his face in the water and everything. His favorite part of swimming is playing in the fountains in my parent's pool.

*Has started initiating hugs and kisses. Before, he would do it if you asked him to but now he will do it when the feeling is right. He hugged my entire family a couple weekends ago when we left (insert happy face)

*He is starting to get super picky about what and when he eats. There are a few things he will eat any time of day though- bananas (LOVES these), peanut butter crackers, cereal bars, yogurt covered raisins and grapes.

Caiden- 4 years and 6 months

*Is officially done with daycare! Thursday was his last day at Kerri's. We took rice crispy treat to celebrate. He isn't sad, he is super pumped about being at preschool full time. (I think it was hard gaining momentum when he was only there Mondays and Fridays).

*Has decided when he grows up he wants to be The Flash.

*Set off firecrackers all on his own for the first time this weekend. Now, before you start to judge, they were only smoke bombs and tanks. Jay and I stood there and helped him but for a kid who is as cautious as Caiden- this was a huge step!

*Started T-ball. This has been slightly disappointing. We have officially been in T-ball for a month but we have only gone once. There have been two weekends of rain and this weekend was a holiday weekend so it was cancelled. Poor kids! We have been practicing in the meantime though so he should be ready for this coming weekend.

*Caiden and I are currently dominating Jay in the Yellow Car Game. So much so, that Jay has finally conceded. Now we just play because it is hard NOT too!

*Loves playing preschool games on the computer. I would really like to get an iPad for him. They are not currently in the budget though. Maybe we could work something out with Mr. Claus though.

Melvin

If there is something I'm really good at, it's sharing my feelings. For me, this is a new set of feelings to share. I don't know what to say, so I'll start from the beginning.

April 2002- Warrensburg, MO

I decided the three jobs I was working wasn't enough; two bar tending jobs and a before and after school program teacher. I knew I was busy but for some reason I thought I should get a cat. I went to the Warrensburg Humane Society and immediately veered toward a kennel of kittens. I was told ALL of the kittens in this kennel were from the same litter which surprised me because there was maybe 9 total! I didn't realize that was possible?! I watched them play with each other and quickly realized I couldn't just have one, I needed two. How could one live alone after having all these siblings to run and chase?! I sat back and watched for awhile as these kittens skidded and scampered around the cage. After a few minutes I realized I kept watching the same two kittens. One was a black kitten ( who obviously didn't make the final cut) and the other was little Melvin. While all the other kittens were total spazzes, he was calm, cool and collected. He sat where he was and did what he wanted without a care in the world. I knew that very day he was going to be mine.

May 2002, Warrensburg, MO

The day I get to pick my kittens up from the kennel! I found out there was another person looking at one of the kittens I was wanting. At this point, I was in love with Melvin. I couldn't handle the thought of someone else taking him home and I panicked. Luckily, it was the black kitten instead of Melvin. Oh how life has a way of working things out.

May 2002-June 2011

Melvin was a cat FULL of surprises. He was definitely the more shy of the two. He wasn't as forward as Otis but he knew when he liked someone. He absolutely loved getting brushed and could sit for super long periods of time if he knew you were getting the comb out. Any time he heard the can opener, he thought it meant tuna and would run into the kitchen crying for just a bite. You would think bringing a dog and two children into his world he would change but no- he accepted both parties completely. Not once did he ever bite or scratch either one of my children. He would lay and let them pet him and if they got too rough, he would just get up and leave. How polite! If only I could teach that lesson to the kids at my school.......He was super awesome at head butts and face grazing- his way of letting you know he was feeling what you were feeling. Snuggling.....I can't even type it without the tears running down my face. Perfiect 10. Amazing. Melvin made a habit of sleeping every night on my pillow. That is actually how I came to find out he was missing. I can't go into detail about what happened because it is pretty traumatic- seriously. It was a freak accident that won't ever be completely explained or understood.

I can't tell you how many tears I shed when I found out he was missing, but it is nothing compared to the amount I have shed now that I know he is gone forever. I am so, so sad. Sleeping is super rough and I have no idea what to tell my boys. I can't tell if Caiden is more worried about me or Melvin (MOTY= this girl!)

What I have learned is that when I love- I love deep. My heart aches as though I have lost a child. He may have just been a cat but I loved him like he was my own flesh and blood. I will never forget him and how he has taught me to love unconditionally.

I miss you Melvin and love you with all of my heart.

A Post So Random It Doesn't Really Deserve A Title But I'll Give It One Anyway...Yeah.

I'm so tired, I could fall asleep standing up! We have so much going on- who doesn't! I have been really enjoying the moments I have with my kids but I have also been embracing the ones where it is just me and I can sit, read, shower or go to bed!

Some things I have going on right now:

I started Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. She has kicked my ass 2 days in a row now- and I love it! I have been wanting to get back into working out and it feels really good to be sore.

Summer school is officially in swing. The last two days have been super hectic but we have worked together really well at resolving any issues and making things as seamless as possible. For those that don't know, in my district to save money we only open 5 of the 10 elementary schools for summer school. Two schools join forces for 20 crazy days of summer session which means half of our kids have to learn new rules, new procedures, new teachers, new rooms and floor plans on top of the new schedules. Already today was a huge improvement from yesterday so I would say by the weekend we should have all the kinks worked out.

Pinterest is my new guilty pleasure. I just love going through and finding beautiful images and ideas for my life. The possibilities are endless.

My boys are both growing up so fast- I have no idea where the time has gone! I can't remember if I have said this or not but we have nicknamed them "Ham and Cheese". They both have their father's humor and LOVE to make people laugh. I really love spending time with them- whatever we are doing. For those that are curious- Lincoln is the "ham" and Caiden adds the "cheese".

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. This is an amazing book. It is a really long book and a hard start but if you can keep going it is well worth the wait. Jay and I started the movie last night. It is 2 -1/2 hours long and has subtitles so we only watched the first half of it.

Last of all- I got a new car! I actually got it about a week and a half ago but I haven't blogged about it yet. I wanted to include pictures but I haven't taken them off my camera yet. Since my computer crashed and I lost them ALL (yes, I am still super bitter and probably always will be for awhile) I haven't trusted dumping them on my computer. At least, not until I have time to upload them to another site. Anyway, I got a 2007 Dodge Durango. Caiden named it the Burango Durango which I think is super cute. More on this later though.

Work

Today was our last day with kids and boy was I ready! The last two days I have been in a super funk. The kind that is really hard to get yourself out of. A bunch of changes are coming my way next year and I am just not okay with any of them.

1. A ton of my friends are leaving me so this will be a big change. A total of 6 people are leaving this year and we had 4 leave last year.

2. We have added Library as a special. Now instead of seeing my kids roughly 60 times a year, I will see them about 35. In the times that we aren't teaching our specialty area we will be teaching Communication Arts. This will be in addition to the Math groups we worked with this year. So I will be teaching 8 totally different things a day and have 20-25 minutes to plan for them every day. Scary....and possibly not legal.....

3. We have added common assessments to our curriculum. While I do think this is a good thing, now that we are going to see our students less, it makes me worry how much time I will have to actually teach my specialty. I am thinking instead of doing about 20-30 projects a year, I will maybe get to do 10 at the most. Half the time, half the projects. I just hope Art is still fun and not all about tests.

I am ultimately worried about them phasing out specials all together. Already we are considered "Extra Adults" by our peers and administrators. That is one of the things that really irks us too. Extra, as if we are not needed. What happened to the "whole child"? So much of Art is about problem solving and analyzing which is very similar to math. Don't even get me started on comprehension!

With so much uncertainty about next year, I am really looking forward to my summer break. Even if I am doing summer school.

Baby Number 3?

Today has been one of those days! The kids at school are starting to get stir crazy and the teachers are starting to become impatient. I am guilty of it too.

When I get home it gets even crazier. My kids act like they haven't eaten all day and can't do anything until they've had some dinner. Caiden walks in the house and immediately goes to the refrigerator and gets out food.....like I'm not going to feed him. Lincoln will crawl into the kitchen and fuss until I put him in his chair with a snack.

Their meals are usually served in courses since they don't give me time to make it all at once. A typical night might be me heating up the stove to cook wheels (pasta noodles, the only kind Caiden will eat currently). While the water is heating up, I will stick a steamer bag with veggies in the microwave for about 5 minutes. While these things are heating up or cooking I usually give the boys something to snack on, maybe a cheese stick, cottage cheese, fruit or yogurt. All the while they are telling me they are hungry and asking for all the wrong things like candy, granola bars, goldfish crackers. It's lovely.

By the time I get them situated I try to find something fast to fix myself. Jay and I are still watching what we eat so it usually isn't hard to figure out what I am going to eat, it just takes awhile to prepare it. Oh how simple it would be if I could pop a frozen burrito in the microwave and call it good! Dinner was so much easier before I lost my metabolism!

With crazy nights like this happening quite often lately, it has made both Jay and I realize we are done having kids. Even with all the chaos we are a happy family and two kids just feels right. We have had several friends lately have their third child or are currently pregnant with their third baby and I just can't imagine! They are out numbered now! How do they get their kids up, fed and out the door in the morning? How do they fit in one car? What is it like to go places with that many bodies and bags? Now that there are three kids, can they find anyone to watch them while they go out and have a nice night together? How can they afford daycare for three kids? Do they hire people to clean their house and do their laundry?

I'm sure, as people do with one or two kids, you adjust. A system gets put in place and order is restored. You find ways to get to the grocery store, make dinner or fold the laundry. Our system is good here, even on crazy days. Our lives are blessed with the two beautiful children we have. One day, we may change our minds and decide to try for baby number three but for now we are happy and complete as a family of four.