teacher appreciation

well, here's the finished product! as a gift for josh's teacher, mrs. matice, i had each child draw a self-portrait on a 3x5 card and then i created this:


i thought it could be something that she hangs in her classroom for many years to come so i made it ultra bright and happy.


i have to say, i think it looks great. in fact, i may use this method as a way to display some of the kids' artwork. wouldn't this look so cute in a playroom?

kindergarten countdown

josh had his kindergarten awards ceremony today. it was so cute to see him and all his buds hamming it up for the cameras. he really loves his teacher, mrs. matice. he's really going to miss her. and his little friend karli. only 12 and a 1/2 days of kindergarten left--and then he'll be a first grader. in the first grade. my baby. honestly. too. much.

isn't she a doll?

i'm off to work on mrs. matice's gift for teacher appreciation week. i'll be sure and post a pic of the finished project--that's if i ever get it finished, or started for that matter!

my shadow

anna has been my shadow all day long.

this morning we gathered and sorted laundry together and made beds. then we planted our vegetable garden and sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

later we drew silly pictures in the driveway with sidewalk chalk. flowers, mermaids, monkeys.

ben watched contently from the stroller.

we watched josh and the boys run from yard to yard and play an impromptu baseball game at the neighbor's.

the weather has been perfect. we all have farmer's tans and pink cheeks. flipflops are all back to being the shoes of choice.

the kids gorge themselves on hotdogs and capri suns. and they are all in bed at 8pm with no whining, exhausted from the sun and carefree afternoon.

summer is here and it feels great.

random reflection

i spent some time surfing tonight while john was playing poker with the guys. somehow found this and it got me thinking. maybe i was supposed to read this, like a gentle nudge from God up above. funny too, ironic even, because i spent a lot of time today thinking about aunt bon and how much i miss her. it breaks my heart over and over again. but sometimes, i feel her around me and i know she's helping me take care of my little baby boy. she is the only one who cried with me and told me that i would do my best. she helped me believe i could. but, like the author of this story, i have so much more to learn.

feeling better

There is nothing like a chicken soup to heal the soul. In this case, it wasn't chicken soup, it was strawberries. After a huge bowl full, Josh became an eating machine. Mozzarella cheese sticks, soup, chocolate pound cake, more strawberries, ginger ale...not the best foods mind you, but he ate...and ate...and ate some more.

Then we hit the swings. In his pajamas. It was a cool breezy evening, perfect for swinging and playing tag.

All better.

morning chatter

Heard around the house this morning:


1)Anna: "Daddy can we go to some yardsales this morning?"
John: "no, we can't. Our country is in a recession."

2)Josh: "I'm not sick anymore! I can bang my head on the wall and it doesn't hurt."

3)Anna: "Josh if you're not sick any more, then the next time I'll be sick."
Josh: "Ok, but I'll be like ten by then."

happy friday

josh is still home sick today. last night he felt a little better, especially after a shower and some supper, but this morning he complained of tummyaches and has gone right back to sleep. poor sweet boy.

my other sweet boy, ben boy, hasn't been himself lately either. don't get me wrong--at home he's happy as a lark, all smiley and ornery--but at daycare, he's been crying a lot and doesn't seem content. i'd be lying if i said it didn't bother me. truth is, it kills me and i wish with all my heart that i could keep him with me at all cost. i would even quit my job and be a stay-at-home-mom if i could. i'm hoping and praying for him to feel more comfortable and easy in his new class and for his teachers to have patience with him. they are such loving and dedicated ladies that i have no fears there really, but they also have seven other children to take care of and they can't and shouldn't spend all their time making ben happy. physically he's getting stronger and stronger everyday. he just needs some reassurance every now and again. i hope it gets better.

on the home front, our to-do list is getting bigger and bigger every weekend. there is so much we would like to do around the house, so many little projects, and a few biggies. one biggie i really would like to do is refinish my kitchen cabinets to kill the sea of wood i have in there. check out this from southern living and be sure to click on the pages at the top to scroll through all of the neat details of the update.


i think i could do this. looks easy enough, right? famous last words!

First thing this morning

We had a busy morning (already). Josh is home sick today--first time this school year. He had a fever last night and fell asleep on the couch super early. I knew something was wrong when he wasn't bugging me to go outside and play with Garrett. He ate dinner, didn't complain about eating his vegetables even (another sign??), but then did not move from the sofa. This morning he even slept in until 7am, so we decided to keep him home.

The other kids however were in rare form this morning. Anna got a special new dolphin in the mail yesterday from Nana & Poppy. She loves animals anyway, but dolphins are like the holy grail of animals to her! I bet you'll never guess it's new name...Hannah Montana Dolphin! Oh and Anna also wants us to call her Anna Montana. Please help me.


Ben was full of smiles and all kinds of wiggly this morning. John said he would not stay on his back for one minute while he was trying to change his diaper. He is sooooo active now and just wants to go here, get down here, stand here, roll here...etc. I just don't think John was all that into the action this morning, what do you think?

We even had Ben's speech therapist here at 8am for his monthly evaluation. She brought us a Nuk brush to play with and help work with his tongue and other oral development.

There are so many neat things out there to help kids now and it's amazing--catalogs and catalogs of "talk tools". He really didn't care too much about it one way or the other, but we'll try and use it everyday, even for a few minutes and see if it helps.

But amidst all the craziness, I happened to notice my climbing rose while letting the dogs outside. It's amazing to me how much this thing has taken off! And while I realize it's a little wild looking, I've waited so long to have beautiful fragrant roses in my garden that I can't help but love it.

Anna told me that she thinks the roses blooming are a gift to her from Spring. I think so too.