It's coming down!

Ice that is! Since just after noon today, we have been getting icy rain which is falling on top of the already 5+ inches of snow we got last night! Me or either of the girls had school today because of the snow, they didn't have school on Monday either because we had gotten about 2 or so inches on Sunday. Now for tomorrow, school is already cancelled again because of the ice. Even the college is closed again. As I sit here in the quiet of my home looking around on the net, I hear the ice/rain coming down (it's coming down as rain now but is freezing as it hits the ground) and I have heard 3 trees fall (maybe they were just branches but they sure seemed loud). All this brings back the bad memories of the ice storm we had back in 2003, we were without electric for several days, therefore had to go stay with other family because we had no heat. We came out of that storm with, other the inconvience of staying with someone else in the dark, no damage to our selves, our home, or our cars. However MANY people around our area were not so lucky. Many people were hurt from not having heat, from falling on the ice, trees fell on homes, vehicles were destroyed from crashes and falling trees, many homes suffered damage from busted water pipes, etc. The area looked like a war zone! I am just hoping and praying that it's not that bad this time!!

Need to take a break

I know I don't post very often on my blog anyways but I feel if I make a post about this then I will be more willing to hold myself to it. I am only going to have ONE "not for school" Internet day a week. That day will be Saturdays. So from here on out I plan to not visit my boards, my blogs, or any other site that doesn't pertain to school on any day other than Saturdays (and I can't guarantee I will even have time every Saturday). I thought I would have plenty of time to do school work in my free time BUT I didn't realize not only do I have class and lots of homework (and man is it a lot, A LOT of reading, A LOT of writings, and lots of class projects), but I also have field time that wasn't scheduled in. I thought Wednesdays and Thursdays were going to be free, those and Tuesdays were going to be my days to get all my work done so that evenings were pretty free to do all the evenings normal mom stuff. However after having my first days of all my classes I realized that isn't going to be the case. Wednesdays I have to go to one site for one class, Thursdays I am volunteering with Big Brother, Big Sister for another class. Then I have to fit in visits with 4 teachers from at least 2 different schools for my intro in Early childhood ED class and then observe one class room with a literacy center and begin working with a student for my literacy class all within the next 2 weeks!!! So i am off to go set up some field time, see you Saturday... maybe :)

Our milk, it don't come in gallons

Elianna started going full days at preschool this week. She was only staying till 11am now she is there till 2pm. She was SOOO excited about it. She was most looking forward to...nap time, getting to watch a movie, and getting to eat lunch at school. I'm not sure why she was excited about nap time, she never naps unless she is sick, and we have rest time here everyday so that wasn't something really new. I knew she would be excited about eating lunch at school because her first week, she was really disappointed that she didn't get to each lunch. So I pick her up after her first long day, ask her how her day was. She was all excited to tell me that they get to watch a movie AT nap time (humm, just like rest time here, so why was it oh so exciting when it happens at school). Then as we were pulling out of the parking lot she says with much excitement "Mommy, at my school, our milk, it don't come in gallons." It's just too funny the things that a 3 year old gets excited about.

It's official!

I am now a college student!!!! again. I even updated my profile :) I had my first class yesterday. As I sat there hoping I wouldn't be the only "old" person in the class, I look up to see one of my best friends from high school walking in the door!!!!!!

We had lost contact with each other some time after I got married. When Bethanie was about 3, she got in contact with me and we got together for dinner at Pizza Hut (the place we always went to in and right after high school). We made plans to get together on a regular basis but it didn't happen. This summer, after I hadn't seen her for a few years, I get my All You magazine in the mail, sit down to read it and low and behold there she is in the magazine!! She had moved about 10 hours away. I try to find her online but had no luck. Finally I stopped by where her parents use to live, not knowing if they even still lived there. Her mom still did. I asked about Jeanna and gave her my phone number to give to her. A week or so later she called me. She was getting ready to move back here so we made plans to get together when she got settled in. Then I never heard from her and DH deleted the message she left with her number (it had been on the answering machine for months, he didn't realize I was saving it for a reason). She called me on Christmas eve to wish us a Merry Christmas, we talked only a few minutes, she told me she was going back to school and I told her I was too. Never would have dreamed that we would have a class together! So after class yesterday, we went to eat together and got caught up on each others lives. It's so weird, when we first started college after high school, we would always try to get our classes together. Now here we are 16 years later (OMG, how could it have been that long ago!!) and doing it all again. I am just SOOO happy that I have someone I know in class with me and that we get to reconnect after all this time.

Looking back on babysitting

This week my Your gonna miss this is very easy. Yesterday was my last day to babysit for my nieces. I never dreamed it would be as emotional as it was for me. We didn't do much during the day, just had a go with the flow kinda day. The older niece ~ Alyvia, Elianna, and I made snow men, and I just let them play and have fun. I was fine all day. I gathered up the baby stuff for my sister to take with her. My sister came that evening to pick them up, I was in a good, happy mood. We were laughing about some things the girls had done, I even felt a little bad because I felt good about it being my last day. As I helped my sister load the baby stuff into her van, my mood suddenly changed but i do not know why, suddenly I felt really sad. Then my sister tells me she got the OK to go into work late on Monday and told me about her boss asking her if she was going to cry all day on Monday. As soon as she said that I started crying, total surprise to me, but I did. I tried to not let her see me. I got myself together, then out of nowhere I would start crying again. When they finally went to leave I asked Alyvia, the oldest, for a hug and then I really started crying and couldn't keep it hidden from my sister any longer. I look at her and she starts crying too. She leaves with the girls and I cry off and on for the rest of the evening. Then today I was perfectly fine, had thought about the girls many times, had thought about starting college on Monday and I was fine, didn't feel sad about it at all. That is until my sister-in-law called, I was telling her how hard it had been and I started crying again and have continued every time I think about the girls since then. I am so going to miss them! I know I will see them at least once a week but it just won't be the same. I have babysat them since they were each 6 weeks old. As crazy as babysitting made me feel I was going at times, I will really miss it, and especially the kids, I love them all.

I first started babysitting when Elianna was about 7 months old. I started off just babysitting my cousin's little girl, Alyssa, who is 2 months older than Elianna. It was difficult at times having 2 babies but it was also fun.

(Elianna and Alyssa)

I continued to babysit her and then in April 2006, Alyvia was born. About 6 weeks after she was born my sister went back to work and I started babysitting her as well. During the summer it was just my girls and Alyvia because my cousin was out of school.

Come late summer I hear that a close friend of the family was looking for a babysitter. She had 2 girls, Katricia who was 3, and Abby who is 2 months younger than Elianna (1 1/2 at that time). I decided I would do it. So for the rest of the summer I had Bethanie~ 6, Katricia~3, Elianna and Abby~1 1/2, and Alyvia~ 4-5 months. After school started Bethanie went to Kindergarten and I started babysitting Alyssa again who was now almost 2 ~ 4 babies under 2 what was I thinking!! They sure kept me busy but it was also alot of fun.

(Bethanie, Katricia, Elianna, Abby, and Alyvia)

(Katricia, Abby, Alyvia, Alyssa, and Elianna)

(Alyvia, Katricia, Abby, Elianna, and the turtle we found in the yard)

Early the next summer my cousin had a little boy, Ethan. And once school started back up the next year I babysat for him as well. At that point I had Katricia ~ now 4, Elianna, Alyssa, and Abby~2 1/2, Alyvia~ 1, and now the first boy who was about 4 months.

(Elianna and baby Ethan)

The following February, my sister had her second little girl, Bailey. About 6 weeks after she was born, I started babysitting her as well. Katricia has now started preschool and would only come sometimes on Fridays.


Summer came and again I didn't have to babysit Alyssa and Ethan. Abby and Katricia would sometimes stay with their papaw who had just retired, so I had them less and less that summer. Then this school year started. Bethanie went into 2nd grade, Katricia to kindergarten, Alyssa and Elianna to preschool (not the same one). I only kept Alyssa a couple times at the beginning of the year, and Ethan started staying with his papaw (his best buddy). Abby came less and less. So most of this school year I have spent with just Alyvia and Bailey.





I will miss ALL the kids but Alyvia and Bailey I will miss the most. They have both been here since only weeks after they were born. I saw them do many things for the very first time. Alyvia called me mommy for the longest time, both of them are happy to see me every morning, I have a closeness with them most aunts don't get to experience with their nieces. I love these 2 girls as if they were my own.


I'm gonna miss the things they do that make me laugh

(Bailey drinking water from the sprinkler)

(Alyvia putting on MY makeup)

(Here's that picture again :) still making me laugh every time I see it)

(Alyvia playing dress-up)

I'm gonna miss seeing them sleep and especially having Baily fall asleep in my arms







I'm gonna miss the closeness, almost sister like closeness, that my girls have formed with Alyvia







I'm gonna miss the fun things we use to do like go to the park and paint or just play out in the yard

(Alyvia)

(Alyvia, the other kids painted rocks, Alyvia painted herself)

(Alyvia)

(Bailey)

I am going to miss their smiley faces and seeing them everyday.

(Alyvia, 9 months)

(Alyvia, 2 years)

(Bailey, 5 months)

(Bailey, 8 months)

I love you girls!!!! I'm gonna miss you terribly!!

To see more You're Gonna Miss This Moments visit Pam's blog.

2008~A year in pictures!

I saw this idea for a year in pictures over at Amy's blog and again at Lori's and loved it. So here is my...

2008

January:

Elianna painted herself with her new paint set,

High winds destroyed our trampoline :(

and Elianna got her hair cut into a short bob. It was her first real hair cut.

February:

We went to Go Diego Go Live,Elianna turned 3, we celebrated with a fancy princess tea party.

March:

Bethanie lost her first top tooth

and we celebrated Easter

April:

The weather warmed up and we enjoyed getting outside to play.

May:

We went to a circus,We were overtaken by Cicadas (It only happens every 17 years so i HAD to mention them :) ) Elianna, although she freaks at the sight of bugs of any kind, dearly LOVED these creepy things and was really sad when they went away.

I went with Bethanie's class to the zoo, so many parents from her class went that only 1 parent chaperon had more than just their own child.

June:

Bethanie finished first grade.

July:

We celebrated the 4th of July by dressing patriotic, going to a cook out, and watching fireworks.

We celebrated my birthday with a picnic at the park after stopping at the local thrift store to buy me a dress (because Elianna insisted she get me one for my birthday). While at the thrift store we found hats for all the girls so I could get lots of cute pics.

August:

We had a regular visitor in our back yard

We went to the zoo and got up close with a tiger (there is a very thick piece of glass between Bethanie and the tiger. It was so cool being THAT close, that tiger would walk back and forth along that window, I don't think he could see through it though.)

Bethanie started second grade!

September:

Bethanie turned 8. We celebrated with a cookout and a Hannah Montana cake at the lake.

Elianna went to her first day of school after flat out REFUSING to go on the actual first day of school.

We met the newest baby idol - Hannah Banana Montana (this picture cracks me up every time I see it so I just had to add it in here :) )

Both girls played soccer

October:

Bethanie won 2nd place for her flower in a pot costume.

Elianna dressed up as a pack of smarties but should have been a pack of cry babies (remember those?).

And we carved pumpkins (the girls drew the faces, I cut them out)

November:

We got our tree up the day after Thanksgiving.

December:

We got a snow day with more than normal amount of snow for December.

Santa came to Elianna's class party and she happily sat on his lap :O

We had a great year and have ALOT to be thankful for. As I look forward to this new year that we have started I see many changes that are about to happen, they make me sad that my time as only full time mommy is over, yet excited for what the future holds. I am nervous as I prepare to go back to college after 8 years of no work or school outside my home but I can only lean on the Lord for guidance as this new branch of my life begins. Please keep me and my family in your prayers that we can adjust and do out best at getting through these changes.

HAPPY 2009!!!

May it be a great year for all of us!