Life in Everettville

The Facts of Life

2011-01-14T08:34:00.000-08:00

Being a child of the 80s I loved the television show "The Facts of Life". Being a bit of a tomboy myself, my favorite character was Jo and probably least favorite, although most entertaining was Blair. I had the neat opportunity Tuesday evening to hear Blair or Lisa Whelchel speak at a Ladies Night Out event at the Riverbend Retreat Center. Lisa shared a bit of her testimony about how she became a Christian at 10 years old and how she believes that kept her from falling to the perils of doom that so many child actors fall to. She said we are all made with a a hole inside us and it can only be filled by God. Those who don't find him, or accept him often spend a lifetime trying to fill that hole with a multitude of other things. Her style of speaking was very informal and it almost felt like we were just a big group of women having coffee together. I really enjoyed it.

We've had some very cold weather in our part of the world this week, and for the record I'm not much for cold weather. Bring on Spring.... I'm getting a little bit of cabin fever. I'm ready to be out in my flower beds and garden. I don't think I'd ever do well in places that truly have a winter!

So, as for now, I think I'll go clean out a closet or something so that when spring is finally here, my spring cleaning will be complete and I can play outside!

Until next time...

Beautiful Morning

2011-01-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

Kyle and I got up early this morning and after some coffee from the Keurig (I love my Christmas present) we headed to the church to pick up trash along the section of highway our church adopted years ago. We had a pretty good turn out, so it only took about an hour to clean up our section. If you've ever picked up trash along the highway, it sure makes you despise people who litter. We finished off our morning with breakfast burritos from Lupe's and then came home to find the girls up and watching television.

I'm getting the Jones to start running again. Last spring I injured my foot and things just having been right with it since. Every time I'd think it was healed and I would run the top would just ache. I know I should have gone to the Dr., and Kyle thinks I probably broke one or more of the tiny bones in the top of my foot, but I didn't. I guess Mom's are just stubborn that way... but, since boxing up my Christmas decorations and hauling them up to the attic made me so winded, I realize I'm not in the shape I used to be and I need to get back to running. Plus, since that big #40 birthday almost two years ago, things just aren't the same! I guess it's the metabolic slow down of middle age. I know my birthdate says I'm middle aged, but in my mind I'm still about 20.

We're expecting some really cold weather this weekend. I would love one snow this year, then I'm ready for spring. Green grass, suntans, swimming... that's how I love it. We're starting to plan our summer vacation. For years we've vacationed in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, but with all the drug cartel garbage going on, we haven't gone there the last two summers an instead spent on in South Padre Island and last summer skipped the vacation because of Kyle's knee surgery and us building a new office. I need sand and sun this summer. We've been looking at package deals from Grand Caymen and St. Kitts. Both places look beautiful, and as long as there is a beach, the kids will love it. Kacie loves lobster and one of her favorite things was the seafood night at the resort we always stayed in. She and I did our best to completely founder on lobster and shrimp. Glad my kids will try almost anything.

I'm reading a great book on my Kindle by Kay Arthur. She is an incredibly gifted Bible teacher and I've done a few of her Bible studies, but this is the first book I've ready by her. It's called When Hurt Runs Deep and it's very good. I'm not far into it, but it's basically saying that God is Awesome. We don't know what he's doing. He has a plan. We have to trust it. I know through my trials it has always proven to be true. No matter how awful various situations seemed at the time, once I got to the other side of them, God was glorified and it made a little more sense. We have to reap the blessings channeled through adversity.

Hope you all have a blessed weekend! It's a three day weekend for our kids!

Been gone too long...

2011-01-07T18:32:00.000-08:00

Kacie & Mrs Nix - 2010

Kylie & Mrs. Nix in 2006

Kacie & Raider

Kacie & Kenzie riding horses

First day of school

Blogger.... I've been gone too long.... There's no way I can catch things completely since it's been almost a year, but I'll try to hit the hightlights.

Total Knee Replacement

In February, Kyle had total knee replacement surgery. Kyle had a pretty bad knee injury his senior year in high school and had surgery the following spring. That was way before the did the laparoscopic knee surgeries, so they cut his knee open and removed the damaged parts. Now, almost 30 years later, he is bone on bone. After years of injections that now no longer work, a TKR was the only option. He was tired of the pain and tired of not being to keep up with his little girls as he wanted to.

TKR is a rough surgery. Very rough. Also, we found out post-op that he is allergic to morphine. Not a good thing when you're hooked to morphine pump, you are hurting and pushing the button every nine minutes. It took the nurses a bit to figure out what was going on. He first felt like he had fire ants crawling on him an biting him all over and his back was itching like crazy... then he started getting sick. I felt so helpless! They had to wait a period of time for the drug to get out of his body before they could try something else so he was in a lot of pain. After four days, he was finally released from the hospital and we got to come home! The next six weeks were tough - home health and a physical therapist came out every day for a couple of weeks, then he moved to outpatient rehab.

Kyle had convinced himself that because of his young age, he'd recover faster. He learned that actually health and age work against you in some areas with TKR. First, he has very muscular legs and since they cut your quad, he had more to heal. Secondly, when you are young, more of your nerves still function properly, so you feel more. And that makes hurt more.

I'm thankful to God for all he provides... I'm thankful that is behind us. I'm thankful he feels better. I'm thankful our business survived the financial losses of him being off work so long. I'm thankful for Megan (our awesome employee) who held down the fort during his absence.

New Office Building

Just as Kyle is getting his step back we began building a new office building for our business. After years of leasing, it was finally time to build our own place. Construction got underway in May and was complete in August... the only problem with that was that our lease was up at the end of June, so we had to move our office home... it was insane! The garage became our supply room, copy room, file room - my home office became Kyle's office - our dining room became Megan's office, and I moved to the room off our living room. It was stressful at times, but the blessing was that it was summer time and the girls could pop in and out of Daddy's office anytime they wanted. We are now settled into the new space and love it.

School Starts

Kylie began her sixth grade year and Kacie started her second grade year. We were so pleased that Kylie got the same second grade teacher Kylie had. This year has had it's challenges without doubt. We've dealt with more girl drama this year than I care to blog about, but I'm proud of how my girls have handled themselves. There was one situation where I wanted to march up to the school and have Kylie's classes changed, but after prayer and an almost all night discussion with my husband, we decided it wasn't in her best interest. She wasn't in physical danger, and God had allowed the situation to happen. It was our job to help her navigate her way through it, make good decisions, and figure out a few things about life along the way. If He allows it, then there is purpose in it... I have to hold on to that through these child rearing days!!! After Kylie's accident I reminded myself daily that God did not spare her life for me to rob her of a childhood. I am not in control. I have responsibilities as a parent, but I am not in control. Now, a few months on the "other side" of the situation, I've seen Kylie grow in maturity and wisdom. God is awesome and we may not understand what he's doing, but he is working it all out. We just have to trust him.

ACL Fest

Kyle and I went to Austin for the fourth (or is it fifth?) year in a row to the Austin City Limits Music festival. Kylie is a lover of music, and being a musician, he loves to see new and upcoming groups. ACL is an awesome venue to catch major named headliners as well as the new acts. It's three days of music across Zilker Park. This year, in a single day, I got to see Nora Jones, Switchfoot, Robert Earl Keene, AND.... THE EAGLES. We had a great time with our friends the Gilley's, the Frasers, the Smith's, and the Cooper's. Can't wait until next year!

As we move into this new year, I hope to blog more! Maybe my writers block has vanished... I feel inspired again....

Dogs, Goats, Coyotes, Skunks & Hospitals

2010-02-04T10:02:00.000-08:00

Coyotes Attack

Kylie and Kacie showed goats last year - well, actually Kylie is the only one old enough to show, but Kacie had a goat to keep Kylie's show goat company and she actually got to show it at the Huckabay International Jack Pot last year. Well, Kylie's goat didn't make the cut at Houston and went on to goat heaven while Kacie's goat, Buddy stayed in Stephenville deciding he'd rather be a dog than a goat. Buddy lived in our yard last summer until he ate my hibiscus plants to the nub, pooped all over the back patio and carport, and then began to feast on my garden. Kyle was in favor of sending the girls to my parents for the weekend while we had a big feast of cabrito, but I didn't think that was such a good plan, so Buddy went to live at Pop's house with some goats of my brother's. Buddy had been accustomed to $15 per bag show goat food, so getting adjusted to the rough life of pasture grazing with an occasional bucket of oats insulted his being. But he adjusted and if he only realized his other option at the time would have put him rolled up in a tortilla, I think his attitude would have been much better.

Three nights ago, coyotes attached the goat herd at Pop's house - by herd I mean a total of six goats (two being babies) that hang out with a couple of llamas. They killed a momma goat and one baby, but Buddy escaped unscathed. My brother has decided to cut his losses and is going to sell his goats, so Buddy is headed to the sale barn with them. He can't live here because I've spent too much on landscaping over the years, and I'll be planting my garden in a few months. The coyotes are thick as thieves here as well... just two nights ago Kyle had to fire a shotgun just to shut them up long enough for the kids to go to sleep. It's crazy. Anyway, Kacie is quite upset about Buddy the goat being sold, but it's part of being a country girl, and she'll eventually work through it.

Skunks & Dogs

Our Jack Russell Tuffy has all the character that is synonymous with being a Jack Russell. He's 12 pounds of pure cockiness and has an acute obsession for his ball. His ball is his heroine. If he can't find it, he goes a little crazy. Yesterday evening when I got home from church he didn't meet me in the driveway as he usually does. It was a cold, wet dreary day, so that was especially unusual. Normally he greets me with disgust for leaving him out all day. He much prefers to stay in when the weather is bad.

I immediately went around the house with a flashlight looking for him and calling his name. Nothing. I got in my vehicle and drove down our road to the neighbor (over a mile away) scanning the bar ditch with a spotlight thinking maybe he'd gone up to the road and had been run over. Nothing. I drove back home and pulled in the driveway to see a skunk scuttle out across our carport. I ran inside to get my rifle so I could blast him away, but when I came back outside, he'd run in the pasture and was between our house and another neighbor's work shop so I couldn't shoot him, but I sure wanted to. I'll get him eventually.... Anyway, it's raining, it's cold and I'm worried sick about Tuffy. The girls and Kyle hadn't made it home from church yet and I was dreading telling them the news. The goat issues had been enough animal drama for one week. I know this is small stuff, but it's big stuff to them. OK I admit it. It's big stuff to me as well. As I'm pouring all this out to God, walking through the pasture in the rain sporting my mud boots, rifle and spotlight, I hear a very faint bark that sounds like my Tuffy Dog... I yell louder and his bark gets louder... and here he comes running full blast. Soaking wet, shivering, covered in mud and very, very stinky. I wanted to beat him and never let him down all at the same time. He got a bath and a scolding and all is well today. He's in the house. Maybe he ran away from home because he was mad that we put him out yesterday... who knows.

Hospitals

My mom is in the hospital (that was included in the pouring it out to God moment in the pasture) with some low blood pressure issues that the Drs. haven't quite figured out. I'm concerned and frustrated all at the same time. More to come on that. They are waiting on some tests and should know more in the days coming.

Keep the faith..... Romans 8:28

Christmas Break & Ruidoso

2010-01-31T07:31:00.001-08:00

Wow... two posts in two days. Maybe I'll keep the momentum. Allergies have the Everett girls at home this morning, so I guess I can have a little computer time to recap a few things from last year.

We had a great Christmas break complete with a white Christmas followed by a quick trip to Ruidoso, NM for some rest and relaxation with Kyle's cousin Brady and his wife Windy. Kylie and I skied and we enjoyed just hanging out at the house. Kyle's grandfather owned this house and every year of our early married life we spent the week between Christmas and New Years there. After Kyle's grandfather's death, Brady and Windy bought the house and Brady lives there part of the year because of his job. It had been about six years since we'd been out there. It was so great spending the time with Brady and Windy and reminiscing about past years we'd spent with them there. Sure made us miss Dodaddy (their grandfather) and Grandmother. Ruidoso is Dodaddy. Just makes me feel close to him to be there.

I took Kylie skiing for the first time while there. She caught on very quickly and did great. We both can't wait to go again next year.

Me & Kylie at Ski Apache

Dad pulling the girls on Christmas Eve

Feeding the Deer in Ruidoso

Kylie skiing for the first time

Kacie has the camera...

Kacie & Raider

2010-01-30T19:52:00.000-08:00

I've been terrible about posting here, but I have to get this one down so I don't ever forget it... Last week we took Raider, our Boxer puppy to be neutered. As we're driving to town that morning, Kacie was very concerned about her precious puppy and was wanting to know exactly why we were having him "fixed." I explained things as best I could. About 45 minutes after drop off I get this email from Kacie's 1st grade teacher.....

You know------I live on the edge when Kacie wants to make public class announcements………. But I felt brave this a.m……..

She stands up and announces this a.m.--------

Well, Mrs. Priddy, today my dog is having his hoo-haws (is that how you spell that?) taken off so that he won’t get married and have puppies. Cuz it sure would be a pain if he decided to get married and have puppies and then we would have THAT to deal with………..

Thank you, Kacie, for that public announcement……….

I knew you needed a giggle today…..

TGIF-------

Laura Ann

And, no, Raider sporting a tu tu had nothing to do with getting neutered... he's just willing to go along with whatever Cinderella wants to do.

Electricity, Flu, Weddings, Puppy Dogs

2009-10-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

The Flu

Day three of staying at home with Kacie. Monday just after lunch her teacher called and said Kacie "just wasn't right"... apparently she'd asked to stay in the classroom during recess to take a little nap on Mrs. P's big sofa she uses during story time, a short time later when it was time to go to PE, she again asked if she could take a nap. Since the only reports I get from Kacie are about recess, lunch and PE, this behavior, in face, "just wasn't right". I picked her up early and took her home were she filled the rest of the afternoon with snacking and watching cartoons. No fever no aches or pains, just a little lazy for Kacie.

The next morning when I woke her and asked her how she was feeling she said, "well, my tummy feels a little funny," which oddly as it may sound is always how strep starts with Kacie. Since we battled strep nine times last year (and had her tonsils and adenoids removed in April), I was thinking oh boy, here we go again... strep. Plus her best bud at school had strep last week. So I take her to see the good Dr. Miller who tests her for strep and you know, while we're at it... flu.

Positive for Type A flu. Not good, but I was glad it wasn't strep. Ten days of a pretty awful recovery from the tonsillectomy needs to have value. No strep is good. Flu is not good, but not as awful in our case as it has been for others.

Kacie has no fever. No aches. No pains. A little bit of a runny nose and a wet cough, that isn't that bad. She feels fine, but just seems to "run out of gas" about mid-afternoon and has to take a little siesta. The Dr. says she needs to stay out of school the rest of the week. I understand that, and realize that this flu has reached pandemic proportions because people aren't staying out of the public and they are spreading their germs everywhere.

I had a friend tell me she was visiting the local library earlier this week and there was a little girl coughing her head off. She asked her if she was home schooled... the girl's mother piped in, oh, no, she's been sick. She missed school all week... she's had mono, the flu and..... you get the picture. Yet they were at the public library... coughing and spewing germs all over the place.

I don't like the idea of Kacie missing a week of school, but I picked up her work from school and we've been keeping up. It does make me certain that homeschooling isn't for us. We will both be ready for Monday.

Electricity

I came to the conclusion this morning that I really like electricity and all that it entails. Our power went out about 3:00AM and didn't come back on until nearly 9:00AM. I am usually sipping my first cup of coffee before 6:00 AM well before the rest of my family gets up. It's the nicest thing I can do for them because well, I'm not a very nice person until that first cup is flowing through my veins. This morning was rough on all of us. Getting your sleepy 10-year-old to get dressed by candlelight isn't a fun task either. Especially with no coffee. Oh, and did I mention that we have a electric gate?? No power makes it pretty difficult to open at 7:15AM to leave for school. As Kyle and Kyle drove through the pasture to our other entrance in the dark I was just praying that the four inches of rain we got last night wouldn't cause them to get stuck. Thankfully it didn't and when the power came back on the first thing I did was flip the switch on my coffee maker. I like electricity.

Puppy Dogs

Raider, our three month old boxer pup got to go to church last night. He was a special guest in the Cubbies class (Cubbies are the 3-4 year-old kids in the Awana's program). They were studying about how every thing God made was good. Raider was joined by a fish, a bird, a hamster. I was told the kids went on about how good God made Raider... his nose, his soft fur, his ears... and Raider was a perfect gentleman, sitting in the teacher's lap and letting the kids maul him. A bonus was he didn't poo in the floor. I really worried about that... How bad is it if your dog poos in church? I'm not sure on that one.

With all this home time, I've been doing a bit of Christmas shopping online. I may just do all of it online this year. I'm pretty excited to already have a few things crossed off my list.

Weddings

This past weekend our youngest was the flower girl in a wedding. The mother of the bride graduated with my husband, so the reality that we were old enough to have kids getting married kind of hit me. Kyle and I started out family a little later than most of our friends so I sometimes don't really think about the fact that we are older parents and could actually be grandparents. Well, maybe Kyle, I'm much too young. Unless I was a 20 year old mom, with a 20 year old child, that had a child. Wrap your head around that one. Shutter.... anyway, these friends have two girls, we have two girls. We've watched their kids grow up and it's flown by. The wedding was just a slap of reality on exactly how fast it all goes.

School, Bible Study & Anointing....

2009-10-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

Kylie seems to be on the mend so she went to school this morning and I haven’t heard from her, so that’s a good sign. She’s been over 36 hours with no fever/no meds, so I’m hoping she’s on the mend. I think I’ll keep her home from dance class today just so she can get to bed early and have a good supper. I don’t want a relapse of whatever this bug is.

Had a great Bible study this morning. I’m facilitating a study on the life of David at our church on Tuesday mornings. This is the same study we did at my house this summer and I’m looking forward to doing it again. It’s amazing how you can have such different insights when you do the same study with a different group of ladies. This morning was awesome and we had about an hour long deep discussion of all things spiritual. It was great and I really look forward to next week.

One of the things from this morning that struck me was thinking about the life of David. He was anointed king at the young age of 15. You’d think after an anointing like that, he’d be “majestic” from that point forward… but he wasn’t. The very next day, after his anointing, he was doing as he did the day before. Taking care of the sheep. Doing a menial job. Doing what he’d always done. Nothing grand, regal, or majestic. Just tending the sheep. But God was starting a work in him. I like to think all that time alone with nothing but the animals and nature prepared him for such great things later in his life. Nobody documented in the Bible “messed up” more than David. But David had a solid as a rock relationship with his God that could not be shaken. Sometimes David fell hard, landing flat on his face in repentance. And God never let David fall from his hand. If you’re a Christian, you’ve been anointed. God has a calling on your life. I think sometimes we tend to focus on things grand… missing what is right before our eyes. Our calling isn’t necessarily big or even titled. Our calling is to surrender to Him, and to please Him. We can start in our own back yard….

Fever gone?

2009-10-12T09:20:00.001-07:00

Kylie woke this morning with NO fever and we're hoping that trend continues through out the day. She's still coughing like a North Carolina coal worker, but feels better with no fever. Kaice is still coughing too, but her cough is more of an allergy/drainage type cough. They are different... funny how being a mom you become an expert on things like that. I can always tell when Kylie is sick or getting sick - her eyes turn from bright blue to grey. Kacie is different. She goes from well to very sick in a half hour with no notice.

Just got back from Kacie's school after having our first parent/teacher conference. I'm tickled that she's doing well and her teacher reported that she didn't have any real concerns with Kacie. Math is her strong subject, and I'm thankful the takes after her daddy in that area.

Hoping Kylie stays fever free today and that she can go to school tomorrow. I sure don't want her to get behind on schoolwork. That is almost worse than being sick!

Flu in Everettville

2009-10-11T09:32:00.001-07:00

Yesterday morning Kacie came in our room early to tell us that her sister was “really, really hot and had a headache.” The flu is here. Kylie had nearly 103 fever, complete with chills and body aches. I have her some Tylenol and called the Dr.’s office to see what we needed to do. The flu is rampant in both of my girls’ schools right now. We all had our flu shots a few weeks ago, but with so many different versions as well as H1N1, there is no telling what she has. Thankfully, or awesome pediatrician Dr. Miller called in a prescription for Tamiflu, so we got it started within 12 hours or so of her starting the fever. Hopefully we can kick it fast and none of the rest of us will catch it. I’ve kept Kylie mostly isolated in her room and she has carte blanhe television privileges. She loves the Netflix on her computer feature. They have a great list of kid shows she can watch instantly. That has kept her busy between naps. Tomorrow is a school holiday, so maybe one more day of rest and she’ll be ready for Tuesday.

Since the weather is cold and Kylie is under the weather, it gave the whole family a good excuse to stay in our jammies all day and just chill out. Kyle cooked a lot of meat on the grill last night so we can have a few days of leftovers… steak, ribs, and salmon. Yum…. I love it when we have leftovers like that!

Texas Tech kicked some major bootie last night. It was good to see a win like that since this season has been so disappointing thus far. I wish we could have gone to the game, but just decided last minute not to go. I guess that worked out well, since Kylie got sick.

Raider, our new puppy is growing so fast. He’s already over 15 pounds and is only ten weeks old. I think he’s going to be huge.

As you can see, I’m rambling about nothing… so I’ll go for now….

Until next time….

Three Day Weekend.... At Last!!!

2009-10-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

Today is cold and dreary, but I welcome the change from yesterday's high heat and humidity. I'm definitely ready for cooler weather. It makes me want to cook in the crockpot and curl up on the couch with a good book. We have no big plans for the weekend, so that may be exactly what I do.

I turned 40 back in May and I must admit this particular birthday kind of slapped me around a bit. I really didn't expect it to bother me as it did, but a few things that came along with the magic number kind of got me down a bit. Bifocals. Yep, my arms aren't getting any longer, so I now have bifocals. Extra poundage. Around the middle. I've always been very active and dieting is something I've never, ever done. If my clothes got a little tight, I might cut back on a snack or two, but I've never actually been on a diet. I've typically always weighted five to seven pounds less in the summer than the winter, simply because I am the pool girl, lawn girl, fixer-upper gal, and gardener extraordinaire at the Everett household. And I like it that way. However, this summer, no matter how much I did, I never lost my five to seven pounds. In fact, I gained. I'm not eating more, or any different. I just gained weight. I hear it's the dreaded "metabolism" slow-down. Darn it.

I don't like to work out in a gym. I'd rather weed a flower bed, or haul rocks than step on a treadmill or elliptical machine. It bores me out of my mind. I like the great outdoors, so I've sought an activity to get myself in better shape that does not confine me to a gym. That's when I discovered the Couch to 5K running program.

To be honest, I hate running. I played basketball in high school, and it was mandatory that you run track in the spring for basketball in the fall. I hated every stinking minute of it. In college I ran some just when I felt sick. I had a habit of bundling up very tight on a cold west Texas day and running until I "sweated the poisons out" of whatever crud I had. I still hated it. In the past 20-plus years, I have not run on purpose at all. Until seven weeks ago when I began the Couch to 5K program.....

The C25K program is designed to get you off the couch and running a 5K in nine weeks. It is a run/walk program that helps you build your endurance over time. I am notorious for starting something, pushing myself way to hard and quiting because I either injured myself or made myself so sore I couldn't even brush my teeth.

the first week of C25K after a five minute warm-up you jog 60 seconds and walk 90 seconds for a 20 minute duration. Each week you build on that. today after a five minute warm-up I ran for 25 minutes without stopping. I would have never believed this would be possible. The best part of it is that I feel good. I feel accomplished. I feel healthier.

I'm doing this program with a friend and it has helped to have an accountability partner. We run in our city park three mornings a week and I'm mostly inspired by a really old man that runs every morning. He is in such great shape and he laps us like we're sitting still. I want to be an old lady running like that someday. I might even wear shorts as short as his....

The weight??? Well, I've actually gained more, but my husband tells me muscle weighs more than fat.... I've lost an inch in my hips, thighs, and gained a half-inch in my calves. Couch to 5K... it's a great plan.

Our goal for now is to run in a local 5k this spring. With the rate we're going, it might happen sooner!!!! Do I love running? Well, not yet, but for the first time in my life, I don't hate it, and once I'm on that trail, I really, really like it!

2009-10-08T06:01:00.000-07:00

This week is flying by - again...

Our schools are having higher absences than normal for this time of year. The flu is in full swing, as well as a few stomach bugs. We're hoping to avoid them at all costs. All of our hands are raw from hand sanitizer. I'm really not a germ freak, but I've been preaching to the girls about washing, washing and sanitizing. We've had our regular flu shots, and I'm not sure if we'll get the H1N1 shot because it sounds like it will be in short supply.

When I picked Kacie up from school on Monday she was so excited - screaming to the point of me almost not being able to understand her. She'd pulled a tooth at school and was VERY proud of herself. The thing that grossed me out was that a couple of her friends helped her wiggle it. I just hope they were freshly sanitized.... LOL.. that is just gross. Yesterday when I picked her up, she'd pulled another tooth. She is now missing all four top front teeth. She tells me her corn on the cob days are over for a while.

Report cards come out today and due to wonderful technology, I already know the girls both made straight As for the first six weeks. I find it amazing that I can go online and check the teacher's grade book, and that I get an email notification every time Kylie takes an AR test.

It's laundry day in Everettville, so better get at it...

Until next time...

Mad, Glad, Sad....

2009-10-05T17:02:00.000-07:00

We play a game called "Mad, Glad, Sad" at the dinner table most nights to keep our conversation focused on the family and learn about each other's day. It starts usually with the youngest getting to ask anybody at the table what made them mad, sad or glad during the day. It's a really neat way for us to learn about things that happened at school with the girls, as well as a neat way for them to learn about our day.

As we're enjoying our tacos around the table discussing all the wonderful glad things, none too many sad things and progressing to the mad things, I was starting to think we'd all had a really great day... until it was Kacie's turn... Kylie - "Kacie, what made you mad today???" Kacie - "Barak Obama... did you know he thinks kids should go to school for TWELVE hours a day.... and NO SUMMER... now that just makes me mad."

Yep, Kacie.... that would make me mad, too... we wouldn't get to play our Mad, Sad, Glad game, or eat around the table every evening if that were to happen....

Flu season comes early...

2009-09-30T09:52:00.000-07:00

Seven kids are absent in Kacie's class today and rumors are flying at the number of kids being sent home each day with the flu. Yesterday morning Kyle and I both got our flu shots and I got an allergy shot as well. The ragweed is killing me this fall. After school I took Kacie by our pediatrician's office for her flu shot... she was elated to discover that this year she could do a nasal spray instead of a shot. She thought that was "way cool."

On our way to school this morning I was telling Kylie that she'd get her flu shot today after school... she said, "mom, you mean spray, I'm getting the spray..." I teased her telling her that our insurance paid for the shot, but the spray cost me $8.91 yesterday with Kacie, and I'd spent all our money, so she'd have to get the shot. I kept teasing her, asking how much money she had in her piggy bank, etc., if she wanted the spray... she only half believed my kidding. I finally told her I was teasing, but that "life wasn't fair" because their poor ole' momma had to get TWO shots yesterday...

Kacie's response was priceless.

"Mom, life isn't fair. The sooner you learn that, the better off you'll be."

Mom's words come back to haunt her....

Keep the faith....

... until next time...

A Mother's Pride

2009-09-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

Kylie made me cry yesterday. Cry in a really good way. Since the beginning of the school year, she's been telling me about a girl in her homeroom that failed 5th grade last year. Kylie describes this girl as one that is lacking a few social skills and one that struggles in school both academically and socially. Kids are mean to her. Very mean.

A few weeks ago, this little girl made the mistake of expressing her affection for a boy in their homeroom. The kids made a mockery of her - telling her that this boy liked her and wanted to kiss her on the playground... she went to meet him at the "secret place" only to be ridiculed by several kids. Kylie was steaming mad that afternoon when I picked her up.

This boy was teased by his friends because this little girl liked him, so his defense mechanism to that was to get ever more mean to her. Kylie said the girl tried to talk to him at lunch and he put his lunch box between them and said, "I don't speak beast." Of late, this little girl will walk with her lunch in hand looking for an empty seat and most will tell her all the seats around them are saved for somebody else.

Yesterday my daughter decided to be more brave than I ever would have at 10-years-old and did something about it. She saved a seat right next to her for this little girl. When one of her best buds asked if the seat next to Kylie was for her, Kylie responded by saying, "No, this seat is for *****" Kylie said the look on this little girls face when she told her she'd saved a seat for her was worth the strange looks she got from her friends when she said she'd saved the seat.

I am so proud of her. I don't think I would have been that bold at her age. I know I wouldn't have. I might not be the one making fun of this kid directly, but I certainly would have done nothing to stop it. I warned Kylie that some of her friends might start picking on her because of her actions. She says she doesn't care, she knows what she did was the right thing and she planned to do it again today.

I'm so proud of my little girl.

2009-08-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

OK, so I've moved over from blogging on Xanga, and I haven't been very good at updating lately. But here's to a new school year... I'll try to do better! I'm going to try to figure out how to move my old blogs over here... not sure how to do that.

We've just completed the first week of school. KJ started 5th grade where she now has seven different teachers and moves from classroom to classroom with her own schedule. Kacie started first grade where homework is a nightly thing now. Getting back on schedule has been good, but made us all a bit tired by the end of the week.

Started the C25K program last week... it's a running program designed to take you from couch potato to running a 5K in nine weeks.... wish me luck!

2008-09-23T07:49:00.000-07:00