Last one for 2008

Well I think this will be my last blog until NEXT year!  Seems like such a long way away . . .  : )

2008 was an interesting year to say the least.  We moved out of our house, moved up to Fort Wayne and are ending it still at my parents' house.  Did not see that one coming.  We are planning on being here until beg. of April so we can bank some income and not have to move in the snow (hopefully!)  

 

Austin is back in school and is doing great!  He loves to be around other kids I can tell, I am not as thrilled about some of the stuff he learns from those boys :)  BUT he has a great teacher and the kids are good kids.  I have fun when I volunteer on Wednesdays; inside recess = Uno time! Austin is in 3rd grade reading and math and loves math which is great.  I always wished math came easy to me but it didn't.  He has also started cub scouts and is enjoying that.

Andrew is a complete charmer.  He smiles at everyone and waves to people in restaurants.  Old ladies (and men) love him!  He is a happy baby, but let me tell you I know when he wants something NOW!!  He is a boy with his own time schedule.  It is weird to have one child that started walking on textbook baby time and one who thinks it is just faster to crawl or be held!  He takes steps now but hasn't bought into the whole "walking is better" thing.  He will do it on his own time - as long as he is grooving before his 18 month appointment, I am fine with that!  

Tony is getting ready to start his pre-reqs for PA school this semester.  Hard science classes but he likes those kind.  I may or may not start this semester, Butler is taking its sweet time getting me my transcript.  Maybe I will just start in the summer.  Then I have more time to get used to going back to school.  Hopefully in 2 1/2 or 3 years I will have all the classes finished and be an RN.  Then after Tony is finished w/school we can go on mission trips together and do medical stuff!  That is probably what I am most excited about being an RN!  

For 2009:  

• Lose weight - not be all huffy puffy for running
• More time myself and God - that has fallen by the wayside lately and I can totally tell!
• Focus on goals and don't sweat the small stuff
• Find more fun stuff to do in Fort Wayne with my boys
• Pay off the van (definitely) and possibly the car also

Late Christmas present

Drew walked today!! Took 2 steps then 6 then later 2. I am so excited!! It's what I wanted most for Christmas!

Ahhh the Spa

I went to the spa last night for four relaxing hours.  I had a pedicure, manicure and massage which I have had all before.  And I had a facial which was a first.  It was a pretty good experience.  I felt like I wanted to laugh when she put stuff on my face with what felt like a paint brush.  It tickled!  And she did that three different times.

My massage was by far the best part of the night.  I think I would get one every week if I had the time/money.  It was so relaxing and the only thing I would change would be that I could sleep right there for a few hours after it was finished.  

When I got home Austin said I smelled like flowers.  That is a nice thing to hear from my 8 year old, especially when since I know he tells it like he sees it (or in this case smells it).

Waiting for the ice/icy rain to hit, wondering if Austin will have school tomorrow.  His teacher already gave their spelling test and gave them the gift she made.  Darn me that I didn't send in his teacher's gift today!!  That's what I get for procrastinating - I have known what I wanted to get her for a long time but just finished getting it all today.  And I attempted to make a bow out of ribbon.  It kind of turned out but looks weird.  Oh well my first attempt I can't be too hard on myself.  I have always wanted to learn to make bows so my packages can be really beautiful.  I dream of wrapping packages that look like those in movies and on TV.  Of course with my boys it would only be for my benefit.  Maybe I will just practice and make pretty packages for decoration around the house next year.

Okay I went on a little tangent there.  I am hoping for at least a delay for Austin and we will see maybe no school! 

School school and more school

  In an effort to be able to make some actual money when Tony is in PA school I have decided to go back and get a nursing degree.  Since I have been out of school since 2003 (and even that was part time!) it is FREAKING ME OUT!!!   I think this next semester will be part time since I have some classes done but still a few pre-reqs to get into the nursing program so that will be good to kind of ease back in.  I want to be able to watch my nephew through the summer and then if I go full-time in the fall my sister will have enough notice to find a good place for him.

   I am also homeschooling Austin again starting after Christmas break (99% sure).  I haven't officially pulled him out yet but that's what next week is for!  So I figure he will learn more about anatomy and physiology than any other 8 year old out there!  I am still not happy with his school, I do think his teacher is a great teacher, but the way they do the curriculum is not how it was described to me when I signed him up.  He is in the highest reading group a 2nd grader is allowed to be in, but he is still bored by it.  As for math, he is kind of between 2nd and 3rd grade and there isn't a level for that.  I have been supplementing with stuff in the evenings (since he actually likes to do harder math!)  

  As Tony said the other day, we don't do easy. He is also going to be taking a few courses to fulfill pre-reqs for PA school.  We are going to be in learning mode AND kid mode AND teaching mode AND working mode.  So I'm sure I can handle all this stuff but I think I am just really nervous about going back to school.  Plus if I'm a lot older than the other students it will be very weird!  

   This craziness is the reason we moved back to Fort Wayne where there is lots of family!! 

Let it snow

It's snowing!! Pretty snow since before I woke up. I love to watch the snow fall when I have no place to go and don't have to drive in it. It is b-e-a-utiful!!!

We drove around downtown last night to look at all the lights - the Santa, wreath, Sunbeam building, and many other lights. Austin was not excited about it before we got down there but he got into it and I think really enjoyed finding lights before Tony and I.

Today we are going to do our Christmas craft. Usually we paint birdhouses in red, green and white but since all my stuff is packed up and we have no place to put them this year, we are coloring wooden pieces that stand up. Austin picked out a train for himself, a woman w/packages for me, a nutcracker for Tony and a small penguin for Drew. It definitely won't be as messy as painting!

hello from drew

Drew has been wanting to type like crazy so here goes . . .

    ,l,jhhjnng n çcnnbvnbt4ja nfmndsndfmn,. cvzbzzzzzn g nxghbpbhdlbnnn;;;;;;n,vbvnnbbc,b,l-lm,bvvbbb,0iop[;gfjvlklfn

bfgggf9bhgghhhhhgghgg hjjm

,inlktfghaaxvcccvcccccccccvfnnnnvv b

jzuer./

krkr.,drdrh i/       ll,.

bb.,b.,.

b cxcncbxbxby                   bm,p

I think what he typed is "Hi I have the BEST Mommy in the world Bye"

Yum yum!

Thanksgiving = yummy food. Yesterday we ate at my parents' house. Today we went to Tony's brother's house and ate again. (They made everything from scratch - even the whipped cream!!) Afterwards Drew was crawling around on their floor and checking stuff out. Well he decided he was still hungry so he ate a piece of dog food!! He really liked it and even crunched it in between his front teeth. Yum yum! I guess that filled his little tummy because he didn't go after any more pieces.

Fort Wayne - Indy

I like being able to go on a date with my hubby and having free childcare. The zoo is pretty fun - hopefully next year it will be evven better with the new Africa part opening. No real rush hour - if I don't time my driving right, it doesn't matter. Seeing family and hanging out more often.

I miss the fanatic support of the Colts. The Indy skyline. Our church. Austin's friends he has known since he was 3/4. Being closer to my grandparents. Will probably really miss Indy in the month of May for all the 500 stuff. The Children's Museum. The newscasts and meteorologists -these fort wayne newscasts are bunk. The basketball and soccer leagues at our church for Austin.

Fort Wayne was just voted the best city in Indiana to raise kids. My brother said "yeah in the summer" and we will see after this winter, but I think I might agree with him. Not so much to do in the cold months - science central is small and quite a few of the exhibits don't even work how they are supposed to!! I'm sure I will find more things as I look for them.

my cutie pie second born

  I am sitting here watching Drew eat his breakfast and talk to Gracie the dog (and feed her) and he is just so darn cute!!  He is starting to talk a lot more these days and says "hihihi"all the time and "bye  bye" and sometimes kind of says Papaw but I don't know if he knows it yet.  He's learning a lot of words from his older cousin, like "stuck" and "uh-oh" Can you tell my nephew likes to get into things?  Drew has yet to say Dada, which I kind of feel bad about but Austin said that WAY before Mama so I am okay with it too!  Tony's grandma said when your baby says Mama first, then your next kid will be a girl.  Here's hoping!!

   Drew loves loves loves to dance!  He jams to music, toys that play music, Hi-5 (tv show) and anything else.  Sometimes I think he has a song in his head!  He seems to like music with no words better to dance to.  It is just so fun to see his little bottom bopping around to the beat!

Well, off to the races!  I think I'm going to the library today to see what I can see.

what what what

nursing

music therapy

do i really want to go back 

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

definitely not teaching, engineer, business, no desk job

what what what

Bottle that and use it

As I was getting frustrated at the fact that it seems only I can run my parents' disposal, Tony said to bottle that and use it when I talk to my dad.  I've decided the only way to get him moving on the house thing is to nicely nag.  I don't like to nag and ask constantly, but come on he has had six months to work on stuff. It doesn't directly affect him so he puts it out of his mind.  Trust me, I know my dad.  So we talked the other day and I looked up everything he asked for and sent it to him and sent him another page I had done a month or so ago.  Here's hoping.  I just need to (sweetly) get on his butt and make sure it gets done.  We have a house in mind that would be a great deal and great layout (bed/bathroom for m.i.l. if needed) and quite frankly it may not sell anytime soon since it has been on the market almost a full year (foreclosure).  I think I have already said this in a blog since I am having deja vu.  

Here's hoping the plan works . . .

Two super good reasons to homeschool:

1.  Austin did not get sick last year.  Today I had to pick him up early.  Plus last year he couldn't pass anything to his little bro.  Therefore, his little bro didn't get sick AT ALL in his first year of life.  This past week was the first time.

2.  Austin has been learning assorted middle finger alternatives from boys at school.  He was dared to put his ring finger up at a teacher and see if he got into trouble (thank goodness he didn't!) and also has learned what the kids say is a chinese "middle finger" (pinky up) and word.  Super!  

Times he comes home and tells/shows me those things are when I most wish we were still homeschooling.  At least I know he wouldn't be learning that stuff at school.  cub scouts maybe, but not school! : )

Congratulations to President elect Obama.  I didn't vote for him but I will be praying for him and his administration to lead the country with integrity the next four years.  My only hope is that he leads more like his campaigning and less like his very liberal voting record.  

   My mom asked Austin who the president was yesterday and he said Obama and she said "nope!  it's President Bush".  She asks her classes that every year when a new President is elected and rarely does any student answer correctly.  

Christmas is coming

  Christmastime is coming!! Well I can't very well decorate super early this year since we aren't in our own place yet, but I am getting excited! I love when the calendar turns to November and I start thinking about Christmas carols, what to get people, how I want to decorate, etc. I found a unit study on different Christmas carols and their origins and I think I might do a scaled-back version with Austin. I'm not sure if they will sing any in school or not . . . (gotta be PC and all). I may get my nativity set out of storage if we are still w/my parents, just to have on decoration that is our own.  Maybe our small tree also . . .

  My poor baby boy is sick today.  He has a fever and threw up all over Granny.  I mean, it was one of those entire contents of stomach things (parents you know!)  After he got her all messy I gave him a bath and then he fell right asleep on me for about 1 1/2 hours.  He has been sleeping off and on today and just now woke up after being in bed for an hour.  So it might be one of those nights, but that's okay.  I actually love how my boys stop moving constantly and cuddle with me when they are sick.  I wish they were healthy and cuddly, but I'll take what I can get I guess!  Austin's stomach was hurting him when I put him to bed, so we will see if it's sympathy sickness or he might be cuddly tomorrow too!  He has a bucket by his bed just in case.  

  Those of you who aren't parents, sorry about the last paragraph - once you have kids you will understand the bodily function talk!! :)

  With 25 seconds left in the third quarter the Colts are beating the Patriots.  WOOHOO!!!  Hopefully they can keep it up and beat their butts this year!

Election

I am very very very glad that the election is in less than a week.

I am so very very very tired of the never-ending talk and debate and plain meanness by people on both sides.

Don't forget to vote next Tuesday!! And not just for president, vote for the other races as well please.

bagging rant and other things

Why can't cashiers and baggers learn how to bag properly?? I worked in two grocery stores and I knew to bag non-foods with non-foods, frozen with frozen, etc. It's not like I had any extra training on this - I just have common sense. It wouldn't bother me as much if I didn't organize AND put small spaces between my sections of food on the conveyor belt. Then, when I rebag things right there (shampoo does NOT go with bananas!!) the cashier gets a little pissy. It's not like I was holding up the line, there was no line. I didn't make her re-do it, which I have seen people do. I didn't even say anything to her, just did it. I really don't think she was greatly inconvenienced by my re-bagging my stuff. AHHH I wish people used common sense in bagging.

So three houses I've had my eye on just got lowered in price. I guess one is out b/c there is no place for Tony to have an office space (he works from home). I told him he could have part of the huge master closet but he wasn't super excited about that idea. : ) I wish we had the cash and could just buy one outright. How easy would that be, right? LOL.

Drew is not a fan of broccoli or acorn squash. Squash was actually the only baby food he had that he never liked. We had both for dinner tonight and he didn't eat more than one or two bites. Austin did pretty well once he got some cheese on his broccoli, but hey he ate it!

We are going next week to visit my friend who had a baby last month. It should be nice, she has a little girl Austin loves to play with and a 1 1/2 yr old Drew will probably follow around. We haven't hung out since Drew was able to play with other kids so it should be cute. And who doesn't love little babies??

Resisting Naps

 As I sit here during nap time and listen to my youngest cry instead of sleep, I still wonder why little ones fight naps so badly.  Drew has given up his morning nap and the past two days has only taken a 1/2 hour afternoon nap.  Austin won't nap unless big consequences are threatened, or I make him nap with me. 

 I guess they didn't get the "Doerr gene" as my brother and sister like to call it.  My nephew seems to have gotten it - he takes 3 or 4 hour naps AND sleeps in!  How nice that must be on the weekends for my sister.  Us Doerr kids (what good English!) could sleep all day if possible, and the latest I have ever slept in was 4pm.  That was back in the day before I had kids.  I do still enjoy sleeping in, although now a great late morning is 10am!

 I wonder, in 5 or 6 years, if I will have to make Austin get OUT of bed or wake up from a nap by threatening big consequences!!  

 

 Ahhh . . .  Drew is quiet now.  

Three (new to me) Movies

I have seen a few movies recently and really enjoyed two of them. . .

"Fireproof" - Tony and I went on a date (yay!) and saw this in the theater. This is a great movie for anyone who is married or even seriously dating. It is very honest about some of the struggles people can go through in marriage. There is a book to go with the movie called The Love Dare (I think it is out?). This movie is made by the people who did "Facing the Giants", which I also highly recommend. I wouldn't let Austin watch "Fireproof" for quite a few years though, there are some intense scenes not appropriate for young ones.

"August Rush" - okay so I like most anything Keri Russell is in. Loved her in Felicity and Waitress is a good movie too. This movie is predictable yes but it is an enchanting sort of story about a boy who wants to find his parents and does so through music. Austin walked in halfway though this and he sat down and watched it until the end. He really liked it also. I love stories about parent-child bonds/love and this one incorporates music, another of my loves. I got to explain to Austin what a prodigy is during the movie!

"Indiana Jones 4" - I love the Indiana Jones trilogy! BUT I felt that this movie was a bit campy to really fit in with the others. Some of the dialogue and situations were just out there. It was okay and I always like watching Harrison Ford be Indy but come on people could you have thought of another plot?? It was a bit far-fetched for me. SPOILER ALERT: And Austin can't watch it until he gets over his fear of aliens (or interdimensional beings that sure look like aliens). He has had issues ever since Tony let him watch "Signs" in spite of my protests. I think I will still to the first three Indy movies.

What movies have you seen recently that you like?

It's all going to work out

That happens to be something Tony kept telling me as we moved up here and he didn't have a job and I wasn't happy with Austin's school and we have a civic and an old truck to try to fit 3 kids in (when I watch my nephew) and let's see what else. . . 

Tony has a job now and starts training in (ironically) Indy tomorrow.  Yay for that!  He doesn't have to be on-call!  Also he will be working from home a lot so I won't always have to take the little boys to pick Austin up from school. 

My grandparents have decided they don't need two vehicles anymore and are giving one of their really nice vans to my parents.  There is a high possibility that we might be getting or buying for cheap one of my parents' vans.  Awesome!  Then I don't have to beg my dad to borrow his van when I have all three boys in tow.  He always lets me but I feel bad about him having to drive his truck which doesn't get good gas mileage.  

Although I love my hubby very much I am excited about him being in Indy for 3 nights.  I get my own bed and get to spread out and put the pillows anywhere I want!!  Also Austin can't sleep with me because every night is  school night!

I have a lot of exclamation points today . . . 

I am still not so sure about Austin's school but I am giving them a semester and watching, watching, watching.  I am helping out every Wednesday, so I get to regularly see what they do.  His teacher is really nice and does a great job with the kids and never seems to lose any patience!  I would love to set her up with my brother : )   I still feel that Austin is not being challenged with the work and I have not seen science or social studies happening.  I know he is loving being around other kids, even though he doesn't love all the kids.  And he learned how to give the finger/what to say in Chinese today.  Don't know how accurate the kid who taught him is but isn't it just wonderful that they teach each other things? : )

Top 100 book list

Got this from Matt's blog. . .

A post I recently read claims that the average American adult has read only six of the top 100 books ever written. I'm not sure who put this list together, or what (if any) significance there is in the numbering, but I thought this would be fun. Try your hand at the list.

The Rules:
1) Look at the list and put one * by those you have read.
2) Put a % by those you intend to read.
3) Put two ** by the books you LOVE.
4) Put # by the books you HATE.
5) Post. (Don't forget to tag me.)

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen %
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte %
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee*
6 The Bible **
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte %
8 1984 - George Orwell*
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman #
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens*
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott**
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare*
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien**
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell*
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald*
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams**
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck*
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens %
33 Chronicles of Narnia- CS Lewis**
34 Emma - Jane Austen %
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis**
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini ** (awesome!)
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the pooh - AA Milne **
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell*
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery ** (read this over and over as a kid)
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding*
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan % (I've started it)
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens*
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon*
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck**
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas*
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker*
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett **
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens*
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White *
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle*
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad *
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery** (french class!)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare ** (my fav shakespeare)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl *
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo *

32 out of this list, not bad. Some I have started and just can't get into them - wonder what that says about my taste in books? : ) A few I have read to Austin and are better as an adult I think. I love to read and will keep on reading books I think are good!

Disjointed ramblings

Austin is EIGHT YEARS OLD!!  Holy cow!

There are some things I can't get out of my mind lately.  One house in particular, which I know is not a good idea to get b/c it has foundation issues!!  Other than that is is great! : )  4 bedrooms, nice kitchen, even a basement.  If only we could find out how much it would cost to fix ahead of making an offer . . . 

   Something Tony and I used to be involved in is also constantly in my thoughts.  When I hear certain things said, or songs, see certain cars etc I always think of it and wish we still did it.  The people we met were some of the nicest and most genuine people I have ever met.  This may not make any sense to anyone reading it but it does to me.  

  Well this post is a bit of a ramble but sometimes that is good right??   Still praying for the right job for Tony, he has had some interviews but none have panned out yet.  Hopefully we will be in our own place before Christmas, I would like to be able to decorate with my own decorations and do our family traditions surrounded by our furniture.  Although I am so grateful that my parents are allowing us to stay with them, it is so vastly different from being in our own place. Also, I would prefer not to move in the middle of a snowstorm, and we are usually pretty safe until mid-December.  I am watching a "Home Improvement" Christmas show  - I really do love this show!  Ahhh Christmas!  Less than three months away!!

My kids rock!

  Tony and I took Drew in for his one year old shots.  Five of them - 5!!  He didn't cry until she poked him with the second needle, then cried until I could cuddle him and he calmed down right away.  He is so good with the shots, I am very glad.  BTW the Supershot location near Parkview is very nice.  I thought we would have a long wait by the number of people in there, but it was around 20 minutes or so.  

   We all got library cards today since we just moved.  I let Austin pick out three books to read but he ended up getting only two.  He put one back that was a "comic book" book because he knew I didn't really like him reading those.  I was going to let him get it, I have decided it's better than nothing.  I am very proud of his decision making ability.  

   One of my friends is supposed to have her third baby tomorrow and I pray for her a short and (relatively!) easy labor.  I can't wait to meet him or her!

Updates

Tony has already had one job interview and has two more this week.  Praying for the right job to come through.  I know he will do great in any of them.

ANDREW IS ONE!!! My baby is not so much a baby anymore!  We had a little family party on the weekend and then on his actual birthday made pizzas, since that is one of his favorite foods.  He seems to really like his new toys - so do his brother and cousin!

Tony and I went and got our new licenses today, so we officially live in Fort Wayne and we can vote in the election.  I am very glad about that, I didn't want to be someone who tells others how important it is to vote and then not do it!  

I pray that I either grow to like the church we have been attending or we find another great one up here.  So far, I haven't "felt it" while I have been at that church.  The people seem nice and the sermons seem right on with what I have been taught and believe, but for me I am not connecting how I feel I need to.  

I am going to work on getting a better schedule during the day.  With Tony being home, I have let myself be a little lazy and not do housework and/or go many places.  I am going to get my library card soon and check out the nearest branch and well I don't know what else.  I have told Austin's teacher that I will volunteer one morning a week at school, so that should help things. 

We are taking Austin to a Bishop Luers home football game this Friday.  He is excited and it should be a fun time for the three of us!  Hoping for no rain and chilly but not cold weather.  I am actually looking forward to it! 

what to do what to do

Austin is in his third week of school at Imagine.  So far I am not impressed.  I am trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but he has been switched classes and I have not even gotten ANYTHING from his new teacher say "hi this is me"  I think he could find time to type/write a little note saying that.  Also the pick-up procedure is very unorganized, as well as the lunch money/ordering.  They say they need parents but then don't take up on the offers of help.

(Yay I am so happy that this autosaves - my computer battery died and it is still here!)

All that complaining to say - I want to pull Austin out so badly!  But I don't know if it is b/c last year I had total control with homeschooling and I need to adjust or if it is as bad as I think.  If I still feel as strongly when he has finished a month (and if he is still doing single-digit no carrying addition) I think I will talk seriously to Tony about pulling him out.  For now I am praying and trying to find the silver lining of this school.  Maybe it is just beginning of school craziness who knows.  

A kid must be bored when he asks his mom to teach him borrowing if they aren't doing it by October!!  No joke.  

UPDATE:  We got a call a few days after I wrote this last post that the other Imagine school had an opening and got him in there.  I like it better, the facility is larger and nicer, they seem to have better communication.  I am still giving this semester if they are not teaching what up to his level.  He might be a bit ahead of his grade level, but that is part of the Imagine schools - they teach to each child's level, not just all the kids lumped in together.  I have high hopes and he can stay there until high school (if Tony gets his way - BLHS) or through graduation.  We will have to wait and see, but I am a bit more optimistic.

Can't we all just get along?

I will say right off I am a conservative.  I will vote for John McCain in November.  I am not a fan of Obama at all.  Now having said that, I did watch some of the DNC last night (mostly because my parents wanted to watch) and I was proud to see Obama accept the Democratic nomination.  I even believe he is a great speaker, and while I don't agree with what he says I do like to hear him speak.  

  Why are some people (who say they are open-minded) the most close-minded?  If you want others to allow you your opinions and beliefs, allow them to have theirs also.  Why feel the need to berate and name-call people who believe differently than you?  If I did that I would have almost no friends, since a lot of them are supporters of Obama.  State your opinion but don't be rude and disrespectful of others opinions.  So there is my blogging soapbox for this week. . .  

Go McCain!  

Back home again. . . literally!

  I am now a Fort Wayne girl (again).  The little boys and I moved up here today, back in with my parents.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to stay with them until we find/fix up a place but it is really weird living with my parents again at the age of 27.  One perk is that until the end of the month I have my own bed! woohoo!  Tony works in Indy until the 29th and hopefully will pack up a lot of boxes before I go back down there.  He keeps saying he will be bored :)  

  Austin starts school next Monday.  I am excited for him but a little ~frustrated~ by the lack of communication from his school.   Still don't know his teacher or what room he is in.  I am going in tomorrow and I fell like I will be that "annoying" mother.  Oh well they want parental involvement right?  

   I've been watching Michael Phelps swim and wow that man is such an amazing swimmer!!  I hope he gets all his golds.  Go Team USA!

To Mississippi we will go

Tonight my mom, sister, her son (1), my two boys (Austin 7 , Drew 10 months) and I are traveling down to Mississippi. It's baby boy's first long trip! We are starting around his bedtime so hopefully he sleeps most of the trip and in the morning his brother and cousin can keep him entertained!

Are we crazy to assume we can do this? Tony has to work so he won't be with us and I am starting to freak out that there won't be enough room for all the stuff I need to take. It's only a four day trip but I need a bed, bathtub (blow up), I would like a high chair but I don't think any of us has one that folds up. It will work out, right?

I am excited though because I haven't seen a lot of my family in awhile. We're going down for my cousin's wedding on Saturday. Most of them haven't met Drew or seen Austin in years.
I'm a little nervous about seeing one of my uncles who reacted badly (massive understatement!) when I told him I was pregnant with my first. We have not really talked much since then but he has expressed regret to everyone else in my family. It will be interesting to see what if anything he has to say to me, or if he acts like everything is cool. I have done my best to forgive him but it hurt me badly at the time. I would love an apology but don't know what will happen.
We will see. . .
In the meantime I am very excited about seeing my cousin looking beautiful in her wedding dress and marrying her love.

Well hubby says it's time for me to write a blog.  Maybe I should tell people about it so someone reads it! 

   I just signed our older son up for school.  Ahhh ...  I homeschooled him this past year and feel like a failure since I am not continuing on with it.  But hopefully he will have fun and it will be less stressful at our house.  I really liked the planning and teaching - when he would do school.  A lot of times it was a struggle to say the least, especially towards the end of the year.  Funny how he has no problems with authority unless it's me!

   I think he will really like the new school; it is a charter school that many people have heard great things about.   I met the principal today and he used the phrase "I/we are blessed . . ." three times when I was talking to him.  That always makes an impact when people say that instead of "I'm lucky  . . ."  So it helped calm my nerves about signing him up for this school. Although I hope they have A/C - they are doing construction on the school now and it was mighty hot in there!

  It will be interesting having him wear a uniform everyday.  He didn't even have  uniforms at his Christian school.  I am okay with uniforms, it simplifies the buying of school clothes and I know there is less of a chance for him to be distracted by what someone is wearing (or not wearing as he gets older!)

  I am and will be praying for a great start to his new school.  If anyone who reads this wants to send one up please do.

    

last night

Sometimes I envy my husband. He can lay down in bed and immediately (no joke!) fall asleep. Me, it takes me an hour or more sometimes. Last night I was so tired I went to bed around 9p and baby boy woke up at 10:15. After I got him back down, I couldn't go back to sleep. So I watched the office and sex and the city and no idea what else until 2AM. Then I felt it - my body would let me go back to sleep now. It's amazing how many commercials there are for sleep aids late at night : )

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's May and that means my husband is excited beyond measure. I truly think this is his favorite month of the enitre year, because of the . . . INDY 500! We start the month by doing the 5k downtown (not quite up for the mini marathon yet!) then there's opening day, pole day, bump weekend, kids day downtown with the rookie run, and finally THE weekend. Memorial Day weekend is now called Race Weekend in our household!
Tomorrow is Pole Day so I need to get our kiddos earplugs. I've seen some nice ones for babies/toddlers that are like earmuffs, but I have no idea where to find them! It will be fun and shouldn't be too hot or rainy (hopefully). It's baby boy's first time to the track!

Hello!

I thought I'd introduce myself first. I'm a 27 year old Christian wife and mom of two gorgeous boys. Right now I am homeschooling our oldest, next year is up in the air. I love to read and my oldest knows that the first thing we do at the library is go to the new book section! I also enjoy making cards and scrapbooking, but haven't made much time for that since my youngest was born in September. So now you know a little bit about me, here we go!
(fyi: not very experience with all this, just thought it would be fun)