Lauren's Blog

Anderson Loves Beagle Bagel

2010-03-22T21:18:00.005-05:00

...and I think it's because of the yummy cookies!

2009-04-15T16:54:00.001-05:00

swinging on the porch at The Mermaid Cafe last night

raise your hand...

2009-04-01T20:18:00.002-05:00

if you think that Taylor looks like her Aunt LaLa...

poor kid.

Crazy day...

2009-03-23T21:19:00.000-05:00

Well, we had dreaded today since before Christmas break, because we were having to stay after school until 6:30 and have parent conferences about report cards. Tonight was also supposed to be the PTO Talent Show, but I was NOT staying an extra hour for that (as interesting as it may be). That just makes for a really long day. I leave my house every morning around 6:15 and I would not have gotten home tonight until 7:15 or so. We've spent all week getting things ready for these conferences, and today would have to be the day of the storms. So we ended up in the hallway TWICE this afternoon, we were 30-40 minutes late for lunch, and I was giving a test, so it made for quite an insane day!!! Then at the end of the day, the office decided to postpone the conferences and the talent show until Monday, so we have that to look forward to all weekend...joy... But the good news is that Grey's is new tonight...FINALLY!

funniest kid ever...

2009-02-23T18:36:00.004-06:00

I found this picture on my mom's camera from a while back. It was too funny not to post! I seriously want to make this the background on my computer just because I would laugh out loud all day!!!

2009-01-25T21:28:00.001-06:00

Taylor Elizabeth Ueltschey

2009-01-22T12:41:00.003-06:00

Taylor was born this morning at 10:50. She weighs 6lb 14oz and is 19 1/2 in long. I think she looks just like Anderson-even the head full of black hair! It was so much faster than when Anderson was born. I went over to Michael and Rebecca's last night around midnight and stayed with Anderson. Around 7:30 this morning Michael called and said that Rebecca was 3-4 cm dilated, so Anderson and I took our time having breakfast, watching Sesame Street, getting dressed. He called back around 9 and said she was already 7 cm, so we were flying around to get everything together. By the time we got here, she was at 8, and next thing we knew, Michael came and said she was ready to push. Rebecca is feeling good (already had Wendy's for lunch). Anderson didn't know quite what to think, but Sitty took her home with her for some fun time. I'm sure Rebecca will be blogging soon. I only uploaded pictures from my phone so far, so these are not the best quality. Don't worry...I'm sure we will have PLENTY of pictures up in the next few days.

2008-12-19T16:29:00.000-06:00

This kid cracks me up.

Long day...

2008-12-18T21:30:00.002-06:00

I am officially worn out! We were crazy busy at Smitten today...not that I'm complaining! We are SO blessed to have great customers, and we are being discovered by new people every day. A good bit of our traffic for the past few days has been due to Barnes and Noble selling out of Elf on the Shelf. They have been sending moms, grandmas, and even dads to Smitten for the cute little guy! We only have a few left, so if you haven't gotten one this year, come see us SOON!!

Tomorrow we are heading to Camden Elementary for our 4th annual "Christmas at Camden" project. I am so excited to see everybody, and I'm hoping that the kids will be surprised. Maybe since I'm not there anymore and they have a new principal, they've assumed it's not happening again this year...maybe. I'll post pictures (but it'll have to be from somewhere other than the barn, because I'm not patient enough to deal with the DSL!).

I'm off to take a long, hot bubble bath with the 3rd book in the Twilight series. By the way, I'm in love with a fictional vampire...*sigh*...be worried! And seeing the movie did not help matters-he's HOT!!! Is it crazy that I want to go see it again? Anybody want to go? :)

ok, so this time it's been MONTHS...

2008-12-17T16:58:00.003-06:00

but things have been a little crazy! We opened the store in August, so it was kind of weird not going back to school like I have for the past 9 years. I think it's going to be even stranger not getting off in June and July, but I'll be ok! :) I have been crazy busy monogramming ALL kinds of stuff, but haven't taken the time to take pictures of any of it. Maybe I'll be better about doing that after Christmas! I am obsessed with finding cute new fonts and graphics, and I love to applique with cute fabrics.

I moved back to the barn in October, so I'm just about settled (except for my MILLIONS of books that are still boxed up!). Hopefully when things slow down in January I can get my "library" organized. Let me know if you need a book...maybe I'll even make my own little cards...no, just kidding! I love being back at the barn. I have the best view from the deck, and some days I rush home just to enjoy the sunset. It just feels like home to me and is the perfect size for one person. I don't know how Rebecca, Michael, and Anderson lasted here as long as they did! It's a good thing that they found a great house before baby 2 comes...which will be soon! I can't wait to meet the little one! (I still think that it's another girl, but I could be totally wrong!)

Anderson definitely has me wrapped around her little finger! She know that her "YaYa" would do anything for her (and always will)! Anytime she sees my phone she says "Dora" over and over until I turn Dora for her to watch. She loves the one with the ABCs and sings along with Dora and Boots repeatedly.

Well, I have several things to monogram, and I was going to leave some pics of Anderson but this slow DSL won't let me upload them right now. I'll have to try later...

I've been monogramming...

2008-07-30T19:21:00.008-05:00

It's definitely been a learning experience! I have made many mistakes and have learned from all of them, hopefully. Most everything has turned out pretty cute, and I love the different fonts we've found!

I have to laugh about this now, but it was very frustrating at the time! As it was sewing, I was thinking, "WOW, this is looking great! No pulling, no stretching, no looping! I did a really good job on this one." Yeah, then I took it off the machine and tried to take the hoop out...and realized that I had sewn the back to the front!!! UGHHH!!

Anderson's New Chair

2008-07-12T19:27:00.003-05:00

Mimi ordered Anderson her own armchair from Pottery Barn. She and Monkey sit there and watch Dora. I made this my wallpaper on my phone, and when Anderson pushed the home button and saw it, she said, "ah ah ah"...which is her monkey sound. Then I asked her who it was, and she said "dada"...sorry Michael!

Get Ready to Shop!

2008-07-12T19:15:00.002-05:00

Rebecca, Emily, and I are getting the last few things done while our build-out is being completed! Hopefully we will have our doors open in less than a month. We are working on a website, a blog, and our email list. If you would like to be on our mailing list, send your email address to smittengifts@gmail.com. I have spent the past week learning how to monogram and I've had so much fun downloading new graphics and fonts. Here's my latest project:

Dear Anderson...

2008-06-04T14:53:00.005-05:00

PLEASE hurry up and get to Destin! It's a long trip (especially for a one-year-old!), so when you see this you'll know you're almost here:

We are going to have so much fun!!! Mimi and I went to Wal-Mart yesterday and got you this so we can play in the pool:

In case you forgot, this is what you'll see when we're hanging out on the balcony:

See you on Friday!
Love,
Aunt Lala

Anderson's 1st Birthday

2008-06-01T15:01:00.003-05:00

I took so many pictures and couldn't decide which to post, so I just made a slide show.

Bubbles

2008-04-23T19:22:00.004-05:00

Anderson and I got to hang out last Saturday night while Rebecca and Michael went to a wedding. I tried to take pictures of Anderson in her pool, but this was all I could get. Apparently The Barn is the next Chuck E Cheese.

I brought Anderson a bubble machine, and she had a blast...playing with the package!

Anderson was trying to figure the whole bubble thing out...and so were the deer.

We heard that Poppy needed some help with the grass, so Anderson decided to help one blade at a time.

March happenings...

2008-03-20T21:59:00.004-05:00

John Parker turned 1!!! He's SO funny!

Anderson got a taste of chocolate chip cookie (then Rebecca took it away and she cried!) at Preston and Bethany's crawfish boil.

"You have a baby...in a bar." On our first night in Destin, the bartender at The Lucky Snapper made Anderson a special treat (a happy face made of whipped cream, cherries, and an orange slice), which she ate on the bar as we waited for a table.

Then the sugar kicked in and she danced on the bar!

She is a marathon shopper! We spent the whole afternoon in Seaside and she was such a trooper.

More Christmas pics...

2008-01-22T21:49:00.000-06:00

More Destin pics...

2008-01-22T21:36:00.000-06:00

I finally ordered a card reader so I could get all of my pictures from my camera. These are some that I took when we were in Destin back in November.

Catching up on pictures from Destin...

2007-12-27T00:15:00.001-06:00

Anderson with her penguin from Royal B's

Seaside

Eating ice at Bud & Allie's

Baytowne

2007-12-25T23:21:00.000-06:00

Well, I got my new computer! I can now post pictures from my phone, but I can't find my cord to my real camera, so I have to either find the right cable or buy a card reader.

This picture is the only one I took the day of Christmas at Camden...Anderson, of course! It was crazy, and I was running around like a crazy person. The kids were so excited, and we were so glad that it was the last day of the semester!

These are the few pictures I took of Christmas on my phone. I took way more with my camera, so hopefully I can post those soon.

Slightly ridiculous, yes!

Rebecca was explaining how different Anderson's dirty diapers are now that she is finally eating baby food (peas for the last few days).

Yay for 60% days!!!

2007-12-20T21:09:00.000-06:00

This semester has been crazy! My poor computer died (or has a bug or something...) so blogging has not been one my of priorities. I have been using a laptop from school and pictures won't load right, so I gave up.

Thank goodness that tomorrow starts Christmas Break! The kids are leaving at 11:30, and we get to leave right after them. I'll try to post pics of our Christmas at Camden project going on tomorrow morning. We have several companies that have adopted each class, and they are bringing a gift to every student at CES! This is our 3rd year to do this, and is probably my favorite day of the year! The older kids have it figured out I think, but we lied to them and told them that the wish list they filled out last month was just a survey for the high school kids' project. They might have fallen for it...we'll see tomorrow.

After I leave school, I'm off to shop. I have only bought 3 presents (and 2 are for Anderson!), but I KNOW what I'm buying, so that should make it easier. Unfortunately, the places I have to go are scattered all over town, so it'll probably take a while. My goal is not to have to get out at all on Christmas Eve, but I always forget something and am running around like a chicken with my head cut off (I always have to explain this expression to my students...not pleasant!). Oh well, we'll see... and rumor has it that Santa is bringing me a new computer for Christmas, so maybe I can keep up with my poor abandoned blog more often!

Ok, happy, Rebecca?!?!

world's worst blogger...

2007-09-05T14:58:00.000-05:00

...would be the award I would get. Yes, yes, over a month, I know (as my super-blogger sister reminds me!). Of course Rebecca has a little more to blog about than I do. Everyone would much rather read sweet little Anderson's posts and see funny pictures of her than read about my boring life.

Let's see...we started school, my kids are well, um, I'll say "interesting" for lack of a more appropriate word (one has already gone to alternative school!), and I've been totally exhausted for the past month. We're talking major dark circles! I would show you a picture, but you all know by now (all 4 of you that read my blog) that I don't do pictures. Every year I keep thinking that I'm going to be caught up, feel comfortable with what I'm teaching, but they have to keep changing it up. I guess they want us to earn the big bucks they are paying us...ha. This year not only did they change the math framework and let us know that the state test (MCT) is going to be much more difficult, but I also have to teach health one day a week! This may not sound bad, but when I'm already worried about the math test and science test, and they haven't given us any curriculum, this means more time looking for activities! Leah, don't forget your promise to come talk to my class (maybe even twice!)!!!

Anyway, since I'm sure you're bored out of your mind reading all of that, here are some pictures of Andie and JP that I've managed to take. All of these are from my phone, so they are not great quality, but they are pictures of the cutest kids in the world! Enjoy!

Anderson had SO much fun at Mark & Amanda's reception!

Anderson & her cousin Erin watching "The Singing Bee"

First time in her exersaucer...that thing was in a million pieces!

Apparently, my phone doesn't resemble a camera, because John Parker actually smiled!

Okay, maybe he figured it out by this point!

Turning 30...

2007-08-03T15:29:00.001-05:00

is not so bad when you have a fun surprise party! My parents and sister threw me a great one Tuesday night. I only thought that I was getting to babysit Anderson! They are pretty sneaky and everybody lied to me a lot, but Michael says that it's okay to lie if it's a surprise party. Anyway, my family and friends were awesome to go to all of the trouble of braving the heat and cooking out at Patrick the Pavilion (see Rebecca's page for explanation). They were sweet enough to bring gifts, too. Of course the most exciting was an iPhone from my parents! I was so surprised (even though I have been talking about it ALL summer (obsessively)!!
I got other really cool things, too, like gift cards, candles, Tervis tumblers, picture frames, earrings. Anderson went ALL out! I'm thinking that she really takes after her mama, because she is so thoughtful and loves to give gifts as much as get them!!! She also wore her new cupcake outfit for me!

Amanda used her new scrapbook room at their new apartment in Hazlehurst to decorate a paint can for me. I'm going to use it to put my bribes, I mean candy, in at school! I haven't loaded pictures of that yet, but I'll get those up soon! She is just TOO creative! Leah, John Parker, and I went over there yesterday to help her unpack and wash kitchen stuff. She has the den looking really cute. I took these with my iPhone camera...

End of summer...

2007-07-31T16:20:00.000-05:00

Not much has been going on since we got back from Gulf Shores. Leah has been working during the week, so I've gotten to hang out with John Parker a lot. I had to go to school last Wednesday and Thursday to look at our new curriculum, and I'm already stressed out! So now I'm a little sad that this is the last week of summer. It seems to have flown by! Of course, it doesn't help that this is also the last day of my twenties. That was really weird to think about this morning! Tomorrow I'll be 30!!! Yikes... I keep thinking that I haven't really done everything that I expected to have done by 30. Oh, well, at least I have read the whole Harry Potter series...haha! Here are some pictures of John Parker. I'm sure I'll have some new ones of Anderson tomorrow. I'm babysitting for her tonight, so I'm hoping to get some cute ones. We have to work on getting some good ones of them together soon!

I LOVE my fingers!

What? Do I have something on my face?

AHA!! I found the thumb!

This was from the morning that I kept both of them. It reminded me of working in the baby room at Colonial Heights Daycare...except there I had 5 at at time! (of course, I WAS a bit younger then!)

The Beach Wedding

2007-07-17T22:04:00.000-05:00

This week we have been in Gulf Shores for Mark and Amanda's wedding. At 11:00 yesterday morning, it was storming so bad that tents were literally tumbling down the beach, and The Weather Channel reported that it was going to get worse throughout the day! But by 3:00 it was actually sunny again, and as you can see, the weather was perfect for a beach wedding!! Amanda looked beautiful, and even during the worst of the storm, she stayed calm. It was a sweet intimate wedding, and I'm so glad I got to be there. Here are some "unofficial" pictures that I took. Amanda's friend Jenny took pictures, so I'm sure that Amanda will post those on her blog soon!Thank you Lord...our prayers were answered and the storm disappeared!

Mark seeing Amanda in her dress for the first time

The Wedding Party

The Smith Family

You may kiss the bride!

The Sand Ceremony...very sweet!

Yes, yes...actually a picture of me. Leah gave me the ultimatum of having my picture taken with John Parker then or the next day in my bathing suit...

Last day at the beach...

2007-07-10T11:15:00.000-05:00

I'm so sad that we have to leave tomorrow, but I do miss Anderson and John Parker. I forgot that I had these on my camera from Anderson's last day here. We were sitting out on the balcony watching the boats in the harbor while the rest of the family took a pontoon boat out.

This is right after they dropped Mimi off and picked Rebecca up.

Anderson's photo shoot

2007-07-05T22:18:00.000-05:00

One of the most fun parts of this week is watching Anderson really become aware of what's going on! She is really funny and smiles when you talk to her (mostly in the mornings!) and watches everybody walk around. Rebecca said that she heard me laugh from one end of the condo to the other and grinned...that might be a coincidence, though! I've loved spending so much time with her, but I do miss John Parker. He got to eat his first baby food today, and I'm so sad that I missed it! I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to catch up next week, though!

4th of July in Destin

2007-07-05T21:57:00.000-05:00

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

We got to watch the Destin fireworks last night from our balcony. We heard today that it was about $150,000 worth, and I can believe it! It was the most amazing show I've ever seen! This was the finale (but it's pretty long!). Anderson slept through the whole thing!!!

Anderson at the Beach

2007-07-01T20:34:00.001-05:00

The Condo

2007-07-01T20:31:00.001-05:00

DESTIN!!!

2007-07-01T20:21:00.000-05:00

This is the view from our balcony. These all might start to look the same, but the view looks different at different times of the day.

Trivia and Brainteasers

2007-06-27T20:59:00.000-05:00

1. Why are manholes covers round?

2. You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position do you finish?

3. If you overtake the last person, then you finish in what place?

4. A man builds a house rectangular in shape. All sides have a southern exposure. A big bear walks by. What color is the bear? Why?

5. If you have only one match, and you walked into a dark room where there was an oil burner, a kerosene lamp, and a wood burning stove, which one would you light first?

6. How many animals of each set did Moses take on the ark?

7. Name the only sport traditionally played in America which the ball is always in possession of the team on defense, and the offensive team can score without touching the ball?

8. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

9. Where are the lakes that are referred to in the "Los Angeles Lakers"?

10. It's the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh. What is it?
11. There's one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends. What is it?

12. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?

My cousin, Mark, brought these home from his class. Some of these were pretty obvious to me, but some I TOTALLY didn't get! Take a few days to think about them...

What happens when you miss poker night... and other ramblings

2007-06-27T14:35:00.000-05:00

I have to say that I have very creative friends! Sarah and Maggie threatened to roll my yard if I didn't show up for poker night, but since I have two very small trees in my yard, that wouldn't be very fun. So they "forked" my yard with an added touch...cards! As I was cleaning them up this morning, I thought that this was a new take on "52 card pick-up" that my dad was always pulling on us!!!

Not too much has been going on these last couple of weeks. I'm not used to being bored since this is the first summer in several years that I haven't at least worked part-time. I've read probably 15 or 16 books so far (some of those I bought for the family beach trip but just couldn't wait!), and I went to The Bookshelf the other day and bought 8 more. I had to make sure I had plenty for the beach.

We're leaving on Friday for Destin, and I am SO excited! I haven't been down there since I was about 14 or so. Michael and I are going to reread the 6th Harry Potter book while we're down there in preparation for the 7th book coming out in a few weeks. He better be prepared to read fast, because I've been known to read those in a weekend. My students are always amazed by that. I think that with book #5 (or maybe it was 4), I started it around 9am and stayed up until 4am to finish it one Saturday. I just get so involved, that I have to know what's going to happen. Yes, I can hear Rebecca right now calling me a nerd, but I just can't help it. I've also been furiously watching the 2nd season of 24. Everyone else has already seen season 2, so we are planning to watch season 3 while we're there. I don't think that I'm going to finish...I'm only on hour 16 I think! I may have to watch the last few on the way down there, but then I might get carsick, which I tend to do easily(especially with Daddy driving!). Well, I have plenty of Dramamine, so I might take my chances.

Hopefully we'll get some good pictures while we're down there (probably ALL of Anderson!!). I think that we'll have internet in the condo. It's supposed to have wireless, but not everything is finished, so that's probably not priority. We were afraid that we weren't going to get to go at all, so we'll deal with the fact that all of the amenities aren't up and going (including the spa :( !). I'm sure we can find some ways to keep ourselves busy while the boys play golf! Anybody know of a nice place down there to get a manicure? or any other fun shops for that matter? We are definitely going to the scrapbook store down there! I think that Amanda is a little jealous about that, but I guess she has a little bit more on her mind.

I'm sure that it will rain some down there so we'll have time to post some pictures.

2007-06-20T16:24:00.001-05:00

John Parker at the Pool

2007-06-12T11:16:00.000-05:00

Some others that I haven't posted yet...

Amanda's Shower

2007-06-12T11:01:00.001-05:00

John Parker helped us decorate!

We had lots of yummy food!

Amanda & Hollie made the cake...too cute!

Amanda's already contemplating what she's going to buy...

Didn't John Parker do an excellent job decorating?

John Parker and his future girlfriend, Sara Beth (who were born the same day!)

2007-06-06T14:16:00.000-05:00

I just can't stop taking pictures of her!

2007-06-05T14:04:00.000-05:00

John Parker came to visit Anderson again yesterday, but we didn't manage to get any pictures of them together. I guess we have plenty of time! I'm headed to WalMart to finally print some of the 500 pics of Anderson that we've already taken. We haven't printed any of John Parker in the last couple of months, so we have to catch up on that, too! They're going to hate to see us coming...

These are from Anderson's photo session yesterday!

2007-06-02T02:39:00.001-05:00

Anderson's 2nd Day

2007-05-29T23:03:00.000-05:00

John Parker is not quite sure about his new little cousin!

practicing for late night TV sessions with Daddy...

She's finally here (and worth the wait)!!!

2007-05-29T08:26:00.001-05:00

She's absolutely beautiful!!! She has all of this dark hair and LOVES her hands! We already need to buy some bows for all of that hair! With her big hands and long legs and feet, Michael already claims that she is athletic. She is going to be so spoiled...who am I kidding...she was spoiled before she even got here!!! The hardest part is going to be not holding her all of the time! It's amazing that you can love someone that you just met yesterday. I can't wait for her and John Parker to meet.

Almost time...

2007-05-28T01:27:00.000-05:00

Apparently, it wasn't a false alarm! Rebecca is in the process of pushing...Michael came in a few minutes ago and said that he had seen her head and she has lots of dark hair!!! We have a waiting room full (literally only one empty chair) on the edge of our chairs...

Waiting on Anderson

2007-05-27T18:41:00.001-05:00

Well, I'm finished with school, so now we're just waiting on Anderson to get here! Rebecca woke up at 4am feeling some contractions, and they finally went to the hospital around 5 this afternoon. We all thought this might be it, but apparently Anderson is going to be as stubborn as her mother! Rebecca said that these must be Braxton Hicks because she hasn't dilated any more. It looks like they might be coming home in a little bit, but we know that at least she'll be here by Tuesday when she's scheduled to be induced. Be prepared for LOTS of pictures of the little one!!! As a matter of fact, when I first heard that she was having contractions, my first thought was "Oh, no!! I have to go get a new memory card for my camera...and some water, and some snacks, and a new book..." Yes, I should have done this weeks ago (my present card is full of John Parker), but this is the queen of procrastinators...

Okay, this is fun...and a bit addictive!!

2007-05-13T15:42:00.000-05:00

My first attempt at digital scrapbooking...

2007-05-11T22:31:00.000-05:00

This has been a bit frustrating learning how to do all of this!! This is not fabulous, but I have a lot to learn still...

Poor little Scrappy!

2007-05-09T19:46:00.000-05:00

Scrappy had to have surgery last week...something to do with intestines and a hernia, I don't know...and has a VERY long incision considering how little he is. He figured out how to remove his staples with his teeth, so he had to go yesterday to get a cone put on his collar. However, the sneaky little thing got to some of his staples last night, so he had to go back today to get a bigger cone!

promised pictures...

2007-05-09T19:22:00.000-05:00

Almost summer...

2007-05-08T21:04:00.001-05:00

We're done with state testing now, so maybe things can get back to normal!! Even though I haven't posted in forever, we HAVE been taking pictures of John Parker!!! I have a LOT to post, so just be patient while I put them all on here!!! getting ready for bed

how sweet!!!

pouty face

He loves to be up looking around!

He also REALLY loves to pull long hair...and it HURTS!!!

I call him a mermaid (or would that be a merman?) when he's swaddled.

Anderson's Room

2007-04-13T10:33:00.000-05:00

Rebecca and I worked on decorating the walls now that the furniture is in. She still has a shelf to go above the dresser/changing table, but it's a bit heavy. We figured we shouldn't try that on our own. I believe it's going to involve drills and finding studs and such... That thing would probably cause some major damage if it fell on her while she was getting her diaper changed!!!

I love these letters. We found them on ebay. Here is the seller's page. They are made to order in just about any color, and you can choose from different hanging options.

The canvases were painted by Mary Katherine Segrest. She is SO creative! See her blog for her other creations.

Well, now all we're waiting on is little Anderson! She has so many cute clothes and toys. She even got a little pillow from a friend of Rebecca's. Rebecca and I still sleep with our little pillows. Our cousin, Mark, who is about 6 weeks older than Rebecca, used to steal her pillow and say, "Rebecca, I've got your pillow!" I can just hear little John Parker teasing Anderson the same way a couple of years down the road!

Catch Up

2007-04-06T22:06:00.000-05:00

Well, weeks 3 & 4 we figured out that John Parker does not like the weekly photo sessions! Of course it could be that we keep waiting until late at night to take them...

Field Trip

2007-03-23T13:54:00.000-05:00

Our other exciting event of the week was the field trip that we went on today. We toured the Madison Co. Business & Commerce Center in Canton (which some know as the Vo. Tech school. I never realized until last year when we made this trip how many different programs they had going on for 10th-12th graders. I guess I just assumed that it was all trade type classes (auto mechanics, construction, etc.) for kids not interested in college, but they have a medical class (for those wanting to go into any part of the medical field), marketing, and several other technology fields. Our kids were really interested and asked a lot of questions. I would love to see some of my students (especially those that have such trouble sitting and being attentive during instructional time) enroll there in a few years! I also saw some of my former students that I taught in 7th grade who had won awards at different competitions!! After we left there, we took the kids to the Gray Center (which is part of Camp Bratton Green) to have our sack lunches and to have a little play time.

4th 9-weeks

2007-03-23T13:42:00.000-05:00

Well, we've officially made it through 3/4 of the school year. After Spring Break, things get pretty crazy! We are counting down until our state tests...24 days!!! This week was long but pretty exciting. We had technology funds from a grant, so our principal ordered a laptop cart with 15 laptops and a wireless internet box. My classes got to be the first to use them on Wednesday. It amazes me how quickly kids pick things up! Hardly any of our kids have computers at home, so the only exposure they get is at school. I love to teach them how to use different programs and see what they can do. Several of them figure things out before I do, so I'm learning from them, too!!

2 weeks

2007-03-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

John Parker wasn't very happy when we took these Friday night!! He had a lot of visitors and was worn out by the time we got around to taking these!

Playtime...then Naptime

2007-03-15T14:26:00.000-05:00

Hanging out with Leah and JP

2007-03-15T12:51:00.000-05:00

Since Aunt Gaye is working W-F of this week, and I'm on Spring Break, I get to hang out with Leah and JP! He has the funniest little expressions, but we just can't seem to get them on camera! Instead, we have some sweet pictures...

Letters for Anderson's room

2007-03-14T16:16:00.000-05:00

My sister was looking at letters to put above Anderson's crib (which is not in yet), and found some really cute ones at an online store. The problem was that they were $18 per letter! I decided to research a little and found a seller on ebay that had letters in the same font, but they are only $5 each! They can be painted any color, and they can be hung 3 different ways: with ribbons (in bows or loops), O hooks, or a floating look. We'll post some pics once we get them hung in Anderson's room.

1 week pics of JP (a little late)!

2007-03-13T20:54:00.000-05:00

We got this idea from Jennifer White...it's amazing to see how they change so quickly! We couldn't decide on one...they were all too cute (and of course we couldn't leave out the one with Scrappy)!!

Little Tiger in honor of Uncle Mark

2007-03-10T22:15:00.000-06:00

Getting some practice before May...

2007-03-07T20:44:00.000-06:00

Rebecca and Michael have some things to learn before sweet baby Anderson gets here! Next lesson...changing a dirty diaper!!

GiGi and Papa John

2007-03-07T20:41:00.000-06:00

Gloworm

2007-03-07T20:29:00.000-06:00

Poor little John Parker has to have a bili blanket 24 hrs a day for jaundice! He looks like a little gloworm! I told him that I needed to borrow it when he was done since I won't be getting a tan next week during Spring Break!!!

Coming home...

2007-03-06T14:40:00.000-06:00

...and more!

2007-03-05T15:55:00.000-06:00

He definitely has Leah's mouth!

Scrappy is already SO protective of John Parker!

I just LOVE the spit bubbles!

More pics of sweet John Parker!

2007-03-05T11:40:00.000-06:00

Uncle Mark

Aunt Amanda

My new cousin...John Parker

2007-03-05T10:01:00.000-06:00

I am so excited that my cousin Leah's baby boy is finally here!! It seems like we've been waiting for FOREVER!! He is SO cute and snuggly!!!