3 Weeks to Winter Break....

I know it is just horrible that I need yet another school break......but I have been so busy this Thanksgiving break I had no rest at all!! Sorry no pics...to busy cooking, eating, cleaning up and painting this weekend!

* We had the entire crew here for Thanksgiving dinner. Everything came out yummy and we had very little leftover. I admit to being a total freak when hosting a gathering. Is perfection to high of a standard????

* I did NO shopping. I'll shop online from the comfort of my couch. If you plan on shopping online be sure to g00gle the name of the site you are shopping + coupon code and you should be able to come up with at the very least a free shipping coupon. ( I always wondered where to get the "codes" at the check out!!)

* Instead of shopping my Dad and I have been painting bedrooms. First we had to prime Ben's old room. The previous color was a dark green. The room will now be Hannah's room which is a lovely shade of light pink.....that paint job took us two days to finish. Today we painted all the trim in the guestroom (soon to be Ben's room) and painted the ceiling. I am taking Tuesday off from work to finish the guestroom and to hang out with my Dad.

* Hannah's christmas present will be here on Saturday. She asked for new bedroom furniture. We ordered her bedding etc. I will post pics when it is all finished. It is going to be really pretty.

Well I am off to catch up on the laundry I didn't do while I was painting.....

Have a great week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Round the table: Peace and joy prevail. May all who share the season's delight enjoy countless more."-Chinese blessing

I have been trying.....really!

Seriously. I have been trying to write a post since Sunday to recap our weekend....but I fell asleep Sunday night at 9:00. I guess I was a little tired. Well then the week started and Ben apparently downloaded some beast of a virus onto the PC that I usually post from, that left me downloading pics on my mac. Now I love my mac but it just easier posting from the pc, faster and my most recent photos are on that computer. (well probably not anymore. I guess I should look into shutterfly etc. for hosting my pics). Here is our old news:)

On Friday morning we woke up to a beautiful dusting of snow. We have lived in NC for 11 years and this is the first time that I can recall snow before Thanksgiving. I took this picture outside my classroom door. Lest you think that I work in a little red schoolhouse, I should tell you that you can walk 3 yards into the woods and find yourself in someones backyard in a cookie cutter subdivision...sigh.



Friday night not only brought us below freezing temps it also was the start of Hannah's soccer tournament. We spent Friday night and most of Saturday on the freezing soccer fields. The games were exciting though! Her team won their first two games, but soon were matched up with some "all star" teams and never made it to the finals. The girls did have fun and they all played well.



Here are just some stinkin cute pictures of Sophie at the soccer game...just because she is just too stinkin cute!!




My dad is also in town for a Thanksgiving visit. It is always lots of fun when Papa is in town!!



Last weekend also proved to be my lucky weekend! Looks like I made a new friend and her name is Kate:) Thanks Rebecca!

My French Fry Girl

Sophie loves some french fries! Krista may even remember Sophie doing the french fry dance:) Sophie loves MickeyD's french fries. Everyday when I pick her up from daycare she asks me for french fries. I reserve our french fry run for Fridays....cuz really can you think of a better way for a two year old to kick off the weekend??? And because she is my kid she is a bit of a smartypants (shocker). When I ask her if she is hungry or if she wants a snack she always asks for french fries, and when I tell her "No... french fries are for Fridays":) she will ask "why??" and crack herself up! Seriously she will ask for french fries for breakfast and then crack up laughing!

A new MickeyD's opened in town this weekend so decided that although it was not Friday, we would head over and check things out and grab some fries. Sophie had a great time in the new play area and of course enjoyed every single one of her french fries!

Catching Up

I am sure that you have all been on the edge of your seats wondering if I survived work this week or did I cave to the huge amount of stress that I have been under since returning to school....not to worry my friends:) I hit my my stress threshold last week so there really no where for my stress level to go but down!

*Last Friday I had a massage scheduled for 5:45 or so I thought. When I finally made it to the spa in happy anticipation of my well deserved massage I was informed that my appointment was at 4:45 and that they were closing in 15 minutes. I reacted like any woman at her stress threshold.....I cried. Not big boohoo tears but OMG I am not going to cry but it is quite possible that I am not going to make it tears. I think I even told the woman that how bad my month had been! I could tell she felt bad and she tried to reschedule me for another day, but I NEEDED a massage I was in full panic "I need to get a massage mode" and quickly assessed my options. I headed to another spa and was whisked away to relaxation bliss. My shoulders were so tight that once the massage therapist started she told me that it was going to be sore. She was right about that. It was a very good massage but I was such a wreck I needed some motr*n when I got home. I finally felt better Saturday night. This was the first massage that I have had that I did not fall asleep.

* On Monday I left a meeting after school early and headed to get some acupuncture to help me manage my stress a little better. It didn't hurt and I guess it seems to be working, or I just had a low key week. I have two little seeds under bandaids on my ears that I put pressure on when I feel my stress level increasing. Hannah says that the tiny bandaids on my ears look weird. I told her coming to visit her mother on the funny farm would be weird! Besides my hair covers them up!

* Only working four days a week is also good for decreasing my stress level:)

* I am not stressed at all about Christmas. Seriously there is nothing left to buy my (spoiled) children! Opening presents this year should be quick:)

* My Dad is coming for Thanksgiving and to help me paint the kids bedrooms.

* I am hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year. I could use some recipes if you care to leave your family fave.

* My Mom is coming down for Christmas. She will be here for her entire break. Chris and I are going to try to plan a little get away.

* Speaking of Chris:) We celebrated our 15th year of wedded bliss. We need to find some time and energy to celebrate.

* I am one lucky girl. I have job security ( really who the heck wants my job...LOL!) I have three great kids and a wonderful husband who loves me and puts up with my crap!

Hmmmm I think the acupuncture is working.

A Cure for What Ails You......

Sophie "picked" this movie and she has been cracking up ever since! It seems that our girl has one kooky sense of humor! Enjoy the giggles

What a Week!

Holy crap....the week isn't even over. I have to make through the day
tomorrow. So far this week I have met with our EC director to discuss
current procedural concerns our team is having, mix in a few report
card conferences, and one darling looking second grader with a
significant behavior disorder and you have one teacher asking herself
how long before freakin' summer vacation!!! My darling little student with the
behavior disorder had to be physically restrained twice
today.....*sigh*. I hate having to do that, it is not my thing, but she
was kicking over desks and screaming ( now you know why I make the big
bucks:) I can only hope that tomorrow will be a better day. If not, I
have a massage scheduled after school and an appointment with the
acupuncturist on Monday (my student teacher recommended it to help with
stress).....and I am thinking some adult beverages will also be in
order!!

Why I Can't Get a Good Night Sleep....

This was Sophie this morning from around 4:30 to 6:00. I had to wake her up to get her going to get ready for daycare.

Sophie has been sleeping in our room since we got home from China last year. She transitioned from her crib to a toddler bed...still in our room, right next to our bed....my side of the bed. This has been a good thing for Sophie and for us, but it is time for our girl to be in her own space, in her own room. (For the record Ben and Hannah slept in our room on and off until they were three years old. Bad I know) Sophie typically sleeps all night, but like any little kid she wakes up during the night, she is just not fully awake. Which of course wakes me up. Kids in my room was not such a bad thing when I was a SAHM, but as a working mom the lack of a good nights rest is kicking my butt!

I am hoping to move her into her own room during Christmas break so if it doesn't go well I can at least take a nap during the day:) Any suggestions are welcome to help her with the transition in to her big girl bed in her own room.

This and That

Hmmmm look who was playing with Mommy's camera....



I voted early and only had to wait 30 minutes. Next election I am just going to request and absentee ballot. I like the idea of voting from the comfort of my couch:) I spoke to a lady at the grocery store who waited four hours!





Sophie was a cute little frog for Halloween. Her tutu has little lily pads on it...too cute! We went to our neighbors and to Sophie's Godparents for free candy. The big kids are quite the social butterflies. Hannah had a cute costume but was out the door before I could even get a picture. She had a costume party to go to with the "girls". Ben and his friend David "walked around", no trick or treating for those two cool eight graders.

I think there should be rules for trick or treating. Seriously. Sophie's Godparents live in a "popular" trick or treating neighborhood. They typically give out 1000 pieces of candy!!! We sat out on the porch with them and I can't even tell you how many people came to get candy with INFANTS in their arms! Granted the baby was dressed up, but c'mon, you take the baby to see grandma not trick or treating!

Hannah asked for a bedroom set for Christmas and for her birthday...a practical but costly request. I have been checking out Craigslist. Can I tell you how much I love some craigslist! I found a set that Hannah and I both like and the cost is reasonable ( I emailed my aunt the details, she works in the furniture business). Today I got rid of an old dresser and I plan on cleaning out the guest room furniture soon! I found Sophie a big girl bed with a trundle....nice piece of furniture for a fraction of what I would have to pay for new...and well it is "new to me"! It looks like some musical bedrooms here along with having to paint Ben and Hannah's new rooms. *sigh* I hate painting!

I know that I had more to share with you guys....but I can't for the life of me remember. The extra hour really didn't help me out much. Well I was able to get more laundry done with that extra hour...*snort*