1st Grade Egg Hunt!!

Abigail's class Easter Egg hunt was Thursday and she had a blast.  I still remember how exciting egg hunts were as a kid..  When I was little we would have a big egg hunt at my Grandparent's house every Easter.  All my cousins on my Dad's side would come and we would hunt those eggs like nobodys business.  I still remember waiting anxiously inside the house with the shade drawn over the sliding glass door, while the grown-ups would hide the eggs. Oh the anticipation!!

Here are a few pics:

Waiting for the hunt to begin!

On your mark, get set....

Lets count them!

 Each kid brought 12 eggs with their name on all of them.

Icecream sundaes after the hunt!! Yum Yum!!

 Abigail and Mrs. Allee

Mrs. Allee is Abigail's substitute teacher while Mrs. Weaver, Abigail's real teacher, is on leave. 

Abigail loves them both so much!!

Playing some egg toss games!

Happy Spring/Easter Break!!

A little of everything

Ok so this post is not really focused on one particular subject, just a little bit of everything.

-Abigail is on a trip to visit family in Oklahoma with my parents.  She is so excited that it's just her and Nana and Papa.  It's about a 12 hour drive to where they are going.  I don't feel nervous about her going that far away without me because I just know she is as safe with my parents as she would be with me.  I missed her about an hour after they left.  They will be gone until Wednesday.  In six years that will be the longest and farthest we have been apart.  I can't wait to hear all about it.

-I hate to jinx it, but Jackson has been sleeping a lot better lately.  He's back to waking only once in the night and going back to sleep.  He is, however, an early morning riser.  He is usually up and raring to go by 6 am. if not earlier. 

-Austin is finally not sick.  He is a joy to be around lately.  He is so funny.  Last year when Abigail first started t-ball he was a little terror in the stands.  He didn't listen.  He threw fits.  We had a time-out spot at the ball fields.  We had her first practice this week and he couldn't have been better behaved.  

-Abigail and I got hair cuts this week.  We trimmed about 4 inches off of Abigail's hair and it's still pretty long.  I had mine trimmed, layered and lightened.  I really like it.  I feel like it has a style now.  Before, my hair was so bland and straight.  Now it actually looks fixed after I fix it.


I'm using this as a before picture.  I am the chubby one on the right.  Look how dark and blah my hair was.

Below is my After Pic!  Still chubby, but definitely better hair. 

-Austin went to the hair salon with us and hung out while we had our hair done.  He was so good there too.  He talked to everybody in the place.  He can be quite charming when he wants to be.  All the ladies there thought he was so cute and well behaved.

-Brent is waiting on word about a new job.  He applied for an assistant manager position at Tractor Supply.  The manager there called him and asked him to come apply for the job.  Brent went through three rounds of interviews and was pretty confident he had the job.  Now we have been sitting around for 3 days waiting for a phone call to make it officially.  I think he is starting to get a little bit down about it.  He really wants this job.  It would mean better pay and better hours.  I'm not sure how much longer we could put up with the pay and hours of his current job.  We are still praying and trying to remember that God is in control. 

Busy Busy Monday!!

This past Monday was crazy.  Right after school I had a dentist appointment, ugghh.  I just had my teeth cleaned, but it was a different lady than normal.  She was so rough with her little sharp tools. 

Right after my dentist appointment I had to rush over to get Abigail from my Mom's house and bring her to dance class at 4:15.  After dropping Abigail off at dance I had to rush home and pack up everything that any of my three kids might possible need while we are at the ball field for Abigail's first t-ball practice. 
I literally made a list so I wouldn't forget anything.  Honestly, I make lists for everything.  I love a good list!

-diapers/wipes
-snacks for boys
-juice for boys
-water for Abigail
-clothes and shoes for Abigail
-Abigail's glove and bat
-toys for boys
-sunscreen
-bug spray
-ipad for Austin to play

Dance class ended at 5:00 and t-ball started at 5:00.  So I picked Abigail up and rushed over to the ball fields, only to find hardly anyone there yet. 

She had to quickly change her clothes and shoes while I got the boys out and all our twenty pounds of stuff into the bottom of the stroller.  She was really excited for t-ball this year.  She was excited last year too, but didn't really understand what she was getting into.  We have  the same coach this year and he is a really great guy.  He's veryl patient and sweet with the girls.  Abigail loves him. 

For those of you who don't know, softball was pretty much my life/love from age 6-18.  Starting at age 12, I was playing almost year around on tournament teams.  During High school, I started as a freshman and made first or second team all-district every year. 

I'm really not trying to brag, I just want you to understand why it is so hard for me to sit in the bleachers and watch other people coach her.  It takes everything I have to not run out on the field and start teaching. 

You might be asking yourself, "Why doesn't she just coach then?"  Well I would love to but I have these two other little boys that I have to watch.  Brent's schedule stinks, so he is never home to watch the boys or help coach her team.  I tried to convince my Dad to coach her, but didn't get anywhere with that. 

So for now I will just hold myself back and sit quietly on the bleachers, and be thankful we have good coaches. 

The other thing that keeps running through my mind is "What on Earth will I do when Austin starts playing t-ball next year? or when all three are playing?"  The boy's and girl's fields are clear across town from each other.  I don't know how I will be in two places at once.  I don't even want to think about it. 

Midweek Confessions!

Alrighty here they are:

-I love love love chewy chips ahoy.  You know the chewy chocolate chip cookies.  I can't eat just one.  In fact I can't eat just three.  I almost always grab about four of those bad boys.  I think I pretty much took care of 80% of the last box.  Not proud of that.

-I think my kids ate fast food 3 or 4 times this week.  Jillian Michaels would call that child abuse.

-I have too many confessions that deal with food.  No wonder I need to lose weight.

-I went to work last week with baby spit up (or something like that, I'm not really sure) on my pants and didn't notice until late afternoon.  Nobody said anything!  Thanks students and coworkers!

-My first baby, now 6 years old, is going on a 12 hour road trip with my parents and I don't feel as nervous as I thought I would.  They are headed to Oklahoma to visit family.  They'll be gone for about 6 days.  Maybe after she leaves I'll get a little more anxious.  I don't know maybe I just know that my mom is more overly protective with my kids than I am, so she will be well taken care of.  I will miss her though.  As I am typing this I am starting to feel a bit sad.  I will miss hearing the crazy things that come out of her mouth every day. 

-Of course I have to end with another food confession.  I seriously love cereal. Right now my favs are Raisin Bran Crunch and Frosted Mini-Wheats Touch of Fruit in the Middle.  I never have time in the mornings to eat cereal, but I eat a bowl almost every night like an evening dessert.  Brent gets mad because I will demolish a box before he even gets one bowl.

Ok, after all this food talk maybe I should go workout. 

On second thought, maybe I need a snack :) hehehe

Hunger Games Premiere!!!!

I should probably apologize right now for how ridiculously excited I will sound throughout this entire post. 

For those of you who didn't know, Kelsie and I went to the midnight showing of The Hunger Games last Thursday night.  If you don't know about The Hunger Games, check out my previous post here.   I could hardly keep my eyes open at the work the next day, but it was totally worth it. 

We got to the theatre at 7:00 to check out if the lines were starting.  If they weren't we were going to kill some time walking around the mall.  That didn't work out because when we walked in there was probably about thirty people already in line, so we grabbed our spot.  Yay!! 

(it was quite claustrophobic in that line)

While waiting in line, some girls we know ended up right next to us which was nice and helpful in killing time.  The theatre had a photo booth in the lobby where you could take Hunger Games themed pictures, so of course we had to experience that.  So fun!! Yay!!



The middle shot is my favorite.

Luckily, they let us into the theatre at 8:45 to wait comfortably until 12:01 am.  Thank goodness, because my feet were falling asleep and I am pretty sure the people sitting behind me were tired of looking at my bootie crack hanging out.   I tried to keep it covered, but when you wear jeans and sit on the floor sometimes it's just unavoidable. 

We got in and grabbed our seats to wait out the next 3 hours.  I brought snacks and drinks, a magazine, and a crossword puzzle book.  After an hour we had pretty much run out of stuff to do, but it was fun to watch people and listen to their conversations. 

(all the essentials)

We ended up sitting next to the only two girls in the entire theatre that weren't excited to be there.  They were constantly complaining and making fun of everybody for being excited.  It took all my willpower to keep from asking them why they came.  To top it all off, the girl that was complaining the most was a total arm rest hog.  Her elbow was totally hanging over my side of the seat.  I had to practically lean on Kelsie to keep from rubbing arms with this complainer.  This was the only down side. 

The movie was AWESOME!!!  Of course they had to leave a few minor details out and make a few little changes, but for the most part I can't think of one single complaint.  We loved it.  The only thing that disappointed us, was that it didn't keep going.  I can't wait for the next one to come out. 

I think I might try and go see it again.  I definitely need to reread the last two books before those movies come out.  I read them too fast. I know I've probably forgotten so many details.

The whole experience was so fun!!  My Mom decided she didn't want to go with us and majorly regretted her decision once Kelsie and I left for the theatre.

  Some people might think we are crazy for sitting on the floor for 2 hours and then in a theatre for 3 more hours just to see a movie and I think they might be right, but I wouldn't trade the memories we made and the fun we had for anything. 

Message to my mother:  Kelsie or I will buy your ticket next time and you will not be allowed to make the decision about whether or not you will be going.  You will go and you will love it!
  

Shopping

On Saturday, my Mom took Abigail and Austin to see The Lorax at the theatre.  I decided that Jackson and I would tag along and shop in the mall while they saw the movie.  I had been wanting to add some spring colors to my wardrobe and I am so happy with my purchases. 

These are the capris that I bought.  I love the brightly colored pants that are in style right now.  This is about as bright and daring as I will go. 

I also picked up these new pajamas for Jackson.  He is quickly outgrowing his 6-9 month clothes, so I bought these 9-12 month zipper pajamas at Children's Place.  I LOVE these!!  They have zippers instead of buttons and rubber grips on the bottom of the feet. 

Getting Jackson dressed is like wrestling a bear, so zippers are the best.  Now that he is pulling up on everything the rubber grips help keep him from slipping.  I think Children's Place will be our one stop shop for baby pajamas from now on. 

Good Day of Shopping!

                                      I'm just throwing in this picture because I think it's sweet!!

Biggest Loser Winners!

I posted before about the Biggest Loser competition that I organized at school.  You can read about it here.  I promised I would update you when it was over so here it is.

 First Place: Angelle lost 11.6% of her body weight    

$100 Prize

Second Place: Christy lost 8.9% of her body weight 

$50 Prize

Third Place: Jennifer(not me) lost 8.53 % of her body weight

Prize $31

I am so motivated by these ladies hard work and dedication!! 

Congrats to all the participants and keep living healthy!

Obsessions!!

                             Today I am revealing my obsessions and linking up over at Saige Wisdom.

-Pinterest: I know this is every one's obsession right now, but it really has changed the way I look at things.  I have made a vow to stop pinning and start doing.  I have been trying to do one pinterest thing a week and then post about it every Friday. So far so good.  It's been a great motivator for me.  You can check out what I have done so far by clicking here.  Don't get too excited.  I usually pick pretty easy and simple things. 

-Circus peanuts: I don't know what it is about circus peanuts, but when I start eating them I can't stop.  I will make myself sick off of them. I need some self control.



-Hunger Games: My sister and I went and saw the movie at midnight last night and it was awesome.  Totally worth the exhaustion I felt at work today.  The bad thing is that I have a 7 month old that will most likely not let me catch up on my missing Zs.  I think I will go see it again!  I CAN'T wait for the next one!!!

They had a photo booth set up in the lobby of our theatre. 

-Spring weather:  I feel so rejuvenated when I walk outside and feel the sun and see all the blooming flowers.  It's so refreshing.  Unfortunately in the south we only get a few weeks of this, if we're lucky, before the torturous humidity hits us.  I bet it would be nice to live somewhere that actualy has four seasons. 

Pinterest Challenge: Toilet paper tubes!!!

One of the first things I ever pinned on pinterest was this link.

Check out the pin here.
I was just amazed and could hardly believe that all those wall pieces were made out of toilet paper tubes.  I knew I had to try it.  I have been saving our toilet paper and paper towel tubes for a couple of months.  I am super pumped about how these came out.

Here we go starting with supplies...

A bunch of toilet paper/paper towel tubes cut into about inch or half inch strips, Elmer's glue, paper clips, and spray paint.

Next-

Start with two pieces, glue together the tips and slide a paper clip over both pieces to hold together while glue dries.  Then repeat until you have four pieces together like this.

A slight problem that I ran across was different size toilet paper tubes, which I didn't notice until after I started.  So be careful to make sure they are all the same size.

                                                                 (slightly different)


Repeat the steps above until you have as many of the flowers that you need for your wall piece.  Then you can start connecting the tips of the flowers together and fasten with the paper clip to create your design.

                                                 I just made my first one into a square.

                      With the rest I made a sort of cross design. Then I had to lonely flowers left by themselves.

Lay them all out on newspaper or any old paper you have around.  Mine is the back of valentines wrapping paper. Then you are ready to spray paint. 

The first coat I sprayed on very light.  I didn't want a bunch of drippies.  You will have to pick it up and angle it all sorts of ways for the spray paint to cover all the insides of your toilet paper tubes.  I let them dry for an hour and put on a second coat and made sure it was all covered well.  Then I let them sit and dry for a few hours before finding a place to hang them on the wall.

My Toilet Paper Tube Decor!!

This is how it turned out.  I am pretty happy with the result.  I definitely think I will try some of the other design ideas that are on the link.  So cheap and easy!!

The one thing I would do differently next time-  Cut my strips a little thinner and more uniform in size.  
                                                           

Goodbye Old House

This is my parent's house.  They have lived in this house for almost 16 years.  Since I was in middle school.  I remember it was so exciting moving into a HOUSE.  Before the house, we lived in a fairly small mobile home.  Mom, Dad, and us three kids in a 16 by 80 trailer was a tight squeeze.   I remember feeling rich for the first time when I saw my new room and how big it was, plus I didn't have to share with Kelsie anymore.  It's not a huge fancy house, but in my little kid mind it was enormous and we were rich.  

The house was actually really outdated, even 16 years ago.  It had a 70's look to it, you know yellowish kitchen appliances and linoleum floor.  My parents saw the potential the house had and were ready to make it their home.  For the past 16 years they put blood, sweat, and tears into this house.  There was almost always some major project going on.  In fact, for the past few months my Dad was finally remodeling their master bathroom, which they had been putting off for quite some time.  That project will never be completed. 

My parents received a letter in the mail a few weeks ago from Sasol.  Sasol is an international integrated energy and chemical company.  One of the many chemical plants we have in this area.  Sasol is building it's largest location here in Westlake, Louisiana and they want to do it on my parents property.  They are buying up most of the houses in my parent's neighborhood and tearing everything down to build their new plant. 

My parent's were not thrilled.  In their minds they would live in this house either until they died or couldn't take care of it anymore.  They were done moving.  They loved their house and had absolutely no desire to move.  Not to mention they just had a pool put in their backyard late last summer.  I have actually never had the opportunity to swim in it and they have only used it a few times.  Putting that pool in was a major headache for all involved and now it was all for nothing.  Perfect timing right? 

Sasol has given my parents a good offer on their house and has told them to take whatever they want out of it.  It's all being demolished anyway.  So Brent and  I are actually coming out pretty good from all this.  We are getting mom and dad's french doors, kitchen island, kitchen counter tops, cabinet hardware, shutters, and hutch.  They don't need any of this old stuff because they have already picked out their new house and it's only four years old with all brand new appliances and fixtures in it. 

Their new house is, in one word, AMAZING!!  It is so new and modern, but still feels very comfortable.  They will be able to move in and not have to do a single thing before hand.  The backyard is huge and already fenced in.  The property they are buying is actually on two lots, so there is plenty of space.  The neighborhood is really new so their aren't many houses out there yet.  It is very quiet and peaceful.  I know they are going to be very happy there. 

The closing date is April 30th.  Hopefully everything will go smoothly, because I know that they want to be moved in and settled so they can refocus on Kelsie's wedding.  Yeah, good timing again right?

Things I will miss about the old house:

• Being able to see the room that was mine for about 7 years of my life and all the memories that pop up when I go in there.
• The fact that it is literally about 3 minutes from where I live.
• My parents theater room with a painted on projection screen.
• Never getting to swim in the brand new pool.

Things I will NOT miss about the old house:

• The noise from the high traffic road that runs right next to the house.
• The small driveway where almost every one in the family has backed into someones car.
• The fact that Dad had to constantly be fixing or updating something, because that's just what you have to do with older homes.
• The kitchen island, counter tops, and hutch, because they will be in my house now.  I will see them everyday!! lol
• The cracked tiles, because the foundation was probably shifting. 
• One particular neighbor.  (only those in the family will understand that one)
• The bars on the doors and windows.  Sorry Mom! I know they make you feel safe and all, but they are really an eyesore.

So hey, more things that I will not miss than I will miss.  Of course, I don't live there anymore and my attachments to the house are not what they used to be.  I'm sure it will be sad the day they finally move out, but I think it will also be a great new start to the next wonderful chapter in my parents lives.

P.S. Tonight is the night!!  The Hunger Games midnight premiere!!!  Kelsie and I will be in line and waiting at about 7:30.  Don't worry I will document everything and have a nice post about it in the next few days!!

Midweek Confessions (I know you love 'em)

I confess......

-I had trouble thinking of confessions this week.  It's not because I am a perfect person and don't do anything wrong.  It's because my life is just that boring.

-Our Governor is radically reforming our public education to the point of destroying it and all the teachers are up in arms about it.  People are passionate and outraged and threatening to walk.  I am also not very happy about any of this, but mostly I am scared out of my wits.  I am ignorant when it comes to political things.  I am scared for my own kids and my student's futures in public education.  I am scared to walk out, although I would if our faculty decided to do it all together.  I am scared that I will not have a future as a teacher if things continue in the path they are headed.  It just makes my stomach hurt. 

(Here is my little protester at our peaceful rally we held after school.  We wanted to show the community that we don't agree with the Governor's plan, but we aren't going to abandon our students.)

-On a lighter note,  I confess that I am super pumped about seeing The Hunger Games midnight showing Thursday night.  I am even wearing a Hunger Games shirt!  I know, I 'm a nerd but I love it!!

-I love it when one of my students has a birthday and brings cupcakes or some sort of sugary delicious treat.  I have my students trained well, so they always bring enough for the class and me!! 

Will it ever stop raining? and 40 before 40

Ok, so it seems like it rains at least 3-4 days a week for the past couple of months.  I know it wasn't long ago that we were in a drought, but come on.  I enjoy a rainy morning to sleep in, but I thoroughly hate when the bottoms of my blue jeans get wet because they take all day to dry.  Anyways, this post was really just supposed to update/remind you about my 40 before 40 goals.  So here goes..

Way back in spring of 2011, when I first started my blog, I posted my 40 before 40 list.  These are 40 things I want to do before I turn 40. Click on the tab above to see my list. I follow several blogs and many of them had similar lists, but they were 30 before 30 lists. Since I am already 28 and have 3 small children I decided to give my self more time.  I have only been able to scratch off two things since I created my list.  Many of the things on the list require money, which I don't have, but not all.   My goal is to scratch off at least 5 more things before the end of the year.

 If you don't have a list of goals you are working toward, I highly recommend making one. I like the sense of accomplishment that I feel when I mark something off my list.  

 I would love to hear about some of the goals you have set for yourself, or some that you have already accomplished.  Please share!!

my beloved weekend

Despite Austin being somewhat sick still on Friday, our weekend was quite an enjoyable one. 

On Friday my mother-in-law kept Abigail and Austin overnight, so Mom and I took advantage of having only Jackson and headed for the mall.  We ate at one of our favorite places, Chick-fil-A.  Jackson had a good time riding around in his stroller without the car seat.  He is such a busybody and likes to see everything.

We didn't buy much. Thanks to Nana, all three kids got a new outfit. 

Then on Saturday morning, our little guy woke up at 6 am ready to play.  I tried to coax him back to sleep for about an hour before I gave up and decided we would check out some garage sales.  Surprisingly, Brent even woke up and came with us.  Brent loves to sleep in, but he had been wanting to go hit some garage sales, so he came. 

We found a few things. 

                                 This is everything except two tool things that Brent picked up.

(I just noticed I left the three books we bought out of this picture.)

This is what I found for Abigail: Dress and Sandals= $2.50

                    This is what I found for Austin: swimming trunks, uniform shirt, and truck= $1.25

These are my favorite find of the day: Old Mason Jars for Kelsie's Bridal Shower= $3

Three Harry Potter books for 50 cents a piece.  We love the movies, but haven't read the books.  We figured we might as well get these for 50 cents since we will eventually be buying them anyway. 

So total spent for all our goodies $8.25 plus $5.50 for Brent's tools.  It was a pretty good morning.

Saturday evening, Brent's mom brought the kids home and then we went to eat at Taco Bell with my Mom and Kelsie.  Abigail has been dying to drive past the new house my parents are buying (future post all about this), so we took a quick drive past it.  She was really worried it was going to be too far away, but I think her mind is at ease now. 

Sunday I woke up with some stomach issues, so I stayed home from church with the boys while Brent and Abigail went to church. 

After Church we spent most of the afternoon working outside on our patio area. 

Sunday night we went to our home group for church, ate some spaghetti, and had a good time of fellowship.  Mostly we visited because the video were supposed to watch wouldn't work.

All in all we had a very fun and productive weekend.  Usually, when Monday rolls around I feel like I wasted my weekend, but not this one.  I even caught up on the laundry.  That is like a miracle!

Have a good week!