Settling into Summer

Well, it has been a week since the kids got out of school. Sarah is still in Daytona with Anna, and will be back late this Saturday night. I can't wait to see her. I am missing her sooooo much. I was talking to her on the phone last night, and she said, "mom if you are missing me like this now, what are you gonna be like when I go to college?". I politely told her to be quiet and that I didn't want to talk about that. She seems to be having so much fun. She calls me with her daily updates, but is quick to say she misses us, but isn't ready to come home. I am not feeling the love.....LOL
Bailey and I are trying desperately to keep busy. For some reason, she thinks that I am the entertainment committee for the summer. I am here to tell you, I am really sick of hearing, "What are we gonna do today, mom?" already!!! Next week will be better as Sarah will be home and Bailey will be taking an art class at the local college each day. Boredom comes quickly to her so I am hoping taking these classes will help her. I have been working on scrapbooks, which I haven't done in a long time, so I am happy to be doing that. I am avoiding driving too many places as we are trying to watch our gas consumption. We will be doing enough travelling in June and July.
Well, there is really not much else to report. I will post pictures of Sarah's trip when she gets home. Have a great rest of the week.

School's Out!!!

Well school is done for the girls now! They both did VERY well on their report cards, and are moving on to the next grade. That is the hard part for me. Bailey is moving out of the primary school, and on to the elementary school. It is hard for me to believe that she is going into the 4th grade which is what Sarah was in when we moved here to Tifton. Boy time has flown.......
And the hardest pill to swallow is that my Sarah is now officially a high schooler!!! AHHH! She is a freshman.....God that is so hard to say! I really am having a tough time with that one. I remember me being a freshman like it was yesterday, and here I am with my own child going into 9th grade!!! Both my girls promised me when they were little, that they would never grow up and they would always be my babies.....what the heck happened to that promise? LOL
Bailey had a tough time yesterday saying goodbye to her teacher. Ms. Dozier is moving to Florida to get married, and Bailey has been sooooo close with her. The two of them held each other and boo hoo'd for about 10 minutes at the end of the day. She has been a great teacher for Bailey because she understands how "sensitive" Bailey can be, and knows exactly how to handle her......we will miss her. Bailey wanted me to put a picture of her and Ms. Dozier on the family blog, so there it is!
The other two pictures are of the girls from this morning. We went to the cemetery this morning to help the veterans put flags on all of the other veteran's graves in honor of Memorial Day. They had to put out 3500 flags, so we felt like we could go and do our part in helping them. It was kinda a wet and yucky morning, so we looked like drown rats when we were done, but it was well worth it. It is the least we can do for all they did for us. It also was a nice "lesson" for my children. They got to meet some veterans that were there, and they both did ask questions as we were doing it, so I felt like it was well worth the time.
Well, Sarah is heading to Daytona Beach with her best friend, Anna, and her family today. They are going to stay with Anna's grandparents who have a condo down there. She will be gone for 8 days, so I am gonna miss her! Bailey and I are gonna have to find things to keep us busy. I am gonna hopefully work on Bailey's school scrapbook some. It has been so long since I have scrapbooked, I don't know if I will remember how, but I am determined to complete something by the end of summer, if it is the last thing I do!!!!!
Well, I guess that is all for now. Enjoy your holiday weekend and try to relax a bit! Hugs to everyone.

Creativity is my Sanity

Okay....I am the first one to admit I am spoiled. If I want something, and if it is within reach and doesn't put us in a bind, I get it.......not bragging, just stating how wonderful my husband is to me. I have wanted a Cricut for quite some time now, and it is not a cheap item. What is a Cricut you ask? It is a laser cutter that can cut diecuts from 1/2" to 24". It is what any paper crafter would want in their array of many gadgets and I got one delivered to my house on Friday! All I can say is it is the bomb!!!! I have been playing with it all weekend. I found myself getting lost in my "craft room" more often than usual this weekend! LOL I made gift tags, cards, and this gift frame for Sarah's band teacher to name just a few. I love the way the frame turned out. I used my Cricut to do the "thank you" on it. We are giving it to Liz because she and Sarah have become so close...almost like a big sister/little sister relationship. Since the girls' last day of school is Thursday, we have been working on end of the year gifts for the teachers as well. So as you can see, we made these flip flops for their teachers as well. I made 4 pairs total, and they turned out cute I think. I am not a froo froo person, but most of their teachers are, so I think these will be fine. We are also giving them gas gift cards, so that way they are getting a practical gift as well....and God knows we all can use some help in the gas dept.....it is ridiculous, isn't it? So needless to say, I did get to exercise my creativity this weekend which in turn kept me sane....I just love to be creative.
The other picture is of Sarah at her band concert yesterday. Not a great picture, kinda dark, but I couldn't get my camera to cooperate yesterday. They had a Calvalcade of Bands at the high school. It was all the bands in Tift County, sixth grade thru high school. It was neat to see how far the kids have come from beginning band in 6th grade. And I am not just bragging on my child's band, but everyone else was too....they played better than the 9th grade band, and sounded just as good as the high school band. They got a standing ovation, and none of the other bands did......pretty good huh?
The last picture is of Sarah this morning with a group of her friends. They got to go over to one of the local elementary schools today to help with their field day. It was gonna be a "wet" field day, so I had to run her swim suit over to her so she could where it under her clothes. She was just glad to get out of school for the day. She has finals tomorrow and Wednesday, so a day of fun is nice for her to have before the big tests!
I guess that is all for now....have a great week!

My Drama Queen

Bailey had her musical last night at school, and it was so cute. The first part of the concert was eight songs played on the recorder.....picture 200 kids playing recorders at the same time....I am going to spare you the video on that one. It is a bit "loud". But they did a great job. Then they switched over to singing which was so much more "pleasant".....LOL The videos I added to this blog are her singing "All for One" from High School Musical. I showed you this one cuz Bailey is so dramatic when she is dancing.....most of the kids were very nonchalant when they were doing their moves, but not Bailey. Everyone was saying after the concert that she needed to be in the theater cuz she was the most entertaining to watch. I am seriously considering letting her take a theater class this summer they are putting on at the local theater. She was so funny. The other video (at the bottom of this post) is of the kids singing "You Raise me Up" which is one of my favorite songs of all time. I started crying when they sang it. At the end of the concert she came up to us just a boohooing, which I thought she was doing because she maybe screwed up or something. When I asked her why she was crying, she broke down even worse and said, "Momma, I don't like to see you cry, and Ms. Dozier (her teacher) was crying too, and it just makes me so sad". It was so cute. The kids did a great job though! We took her out for ice cream after it was all over.

The pictures are of Bailey and her music teacher, Ms. Betsy Jones, whom Bailey loves. Ms. Jones is a real sweetheart. The other is of Todd with a fish he caught in our back pond this evening. He made me take a picture cuz I never believe him that there are decent size fish in our pond. I keep waiting for him to catch the fish that makes a "wake" when he swims by, or so he says, but that is one I will believe when I see it. Until then we will just go with this picture....LOL

Today was my last day of Preschool.....woohoo! I am done for the summer and it has been a long year to say the least. I left school and went right to Longhorn where I decided to enjoy a margarita and lunch by myself to celebrate. It was a small moment of victory for myself! I will have a few days to myself before the girls are out for the summer. Their last day is next Thursday and I know they are looking forward to it as well.

Happy Mother's Day! / Weekend Pictures

Happy Mother's Day!

We have had a very busy weekend....as usual. Friday was Bailey's Field Day at school. You can see a few pictures of it above. Bailey challenged me to a hula hoop contest which I am proud to say at 41, I kicked her behind not once, not twice, but all three times!!! Who says you have to be young to do those things? She had a blast on the blow up slide they had also. It was a hot day, but a nice breeze was blowing, so we didn't mind the heat as much. Todd even got into a good game of baseball with the kids competing against the parents. Then they were off to do the grade level tug-a-war. Bailey's class was the champion team....and I have to say that was with the help of a very loud and aggressive father cheering them on...."come on, pull, come on, you can do it, come on, pull, pull, pull"....right in the poor little third grade boy's face. This aggressive man probably had all the parents talking about him like, "look at this guy, he is taking this tug-a-war thing a bit serious....get a life dude". This man was my husband.......his competitive side tends to come out at times.....needless to say, it was all in good fun, and the kids thought he was hysterical. It was a fun day together.

Then on Saturday, Bailey and I loaded up the car to head to Northern Alabama for Sarah's honor band concert. It ended up taking 5 hours to get there. We stayed for the concerts and then headed back home for another 5 hour trip. It was a long day, but oh so worth it. I have to tell you, I am not only impressed with my own child, but with all the kids that were there. What an impressive experience and a glimpse of the hope of our future generation.....what a great bunch of kids. Sarah got there on Thursday where she had to audition immediately after getting off the bus. She had to play her chromatic scale and then do a sight reading of a piece of music she had never seen before. She got 7th chair out of about 47 flute players. Originally she had thought she had gotten 8th out of 20, but there were some issues with the results and postings. She was put in the "Southerners" band, as the kids were divided into 5 separate bands for performances. So for her first experience with honor band, she did great. The kids then went to their dorms on the University campus to unload their stuff, and then headed to dinner in the campus dining hall. They then went to a concert put on by the Marching Southerners, which is the name of the university's band. Friday was a day of total intensity.....10 hours straight of rehearsals for the concert to be preformed on Saturday. The kids were given 6 pieces of very difficult music to learn in one day.They are directed by "guest conductors"...who all were University Professors from colleges like Auburn, Alabama, Troy, Georgia, and Tennessee. Talk about impressive. It normally takes a half a school year to prepare for a normal concert. These kids did it in 10 hours......it was awesome too. I guess I was just expecting the kids to do one song......boy was I wrong. I am gonna order a cd of the concert, and I will burn copies for family to hear it. I was proud to say the least, but that is a mom's job, isn't it?

Speaking of Moms....to all my female friends and family.....Happy Mother's Day! I hope you take the day to just relax and enjoy a bit. Mother's Day has always been a bittersweet day for me. I am always happy to enjoy the day with my girls....Todd is always busy on this day due to it being one of the busiest days in his business, but he always is sweet to make time for me sometime during the day.....but, I also hate this day because it is always a reminder of the fact that my mom isn't here anymore to celebrate it with. Although my mom has been gone since I have been 20 years old, I have always kinda felt sorry for myself on this day....selfish, but true. And if you have lost your mother, you understand exactly what I am saying. But this year, I have reflected on how lucky I am.....I not only had a wonderful mother who gave birth to me, and raised me to the best of her ability with the help of my father. She laid all the groundwork and instilled in me all that makes me who I am today. For that, I am extremely grateful and humbled. Especially since I am now a mother myself, and I am constantly reminded of how hard it really is, but also how rewarding it is. I am so proud to have called her my mom......always and forever she will be in my heart.

My grandmother is another person that comes to my mind and heart on this day. I miss her so much, and the wounds are still fresh for me as far as her loss. She was such an inspiration in my life. If I had to think of a word to describe her, I would say "hero". She was an absolutely incredible human being.

But today, I want to tell you about someone else I am so grateful for. She has been a wonderful mother figure in my life...my stepmom, Sharon. Sharon doesn't get much credit from me very often, but I have been so blessed to have her in my life as well. God sent her to our family when we were all hurting and lost. I know it hasn't been an easy road for her having to put up with our crazy family....in fact, I know it has been down right miserable at times. But she has hung in there through it all. She has been there to bounce ideas off of, wipe away tears, keep the peace, tend to those in our family who have been sick or hurt, but most of all she has loved us. She didn't have to do any of that. She could have been the stereotypical stepparent.....but thank goodness she wasn't. She didn't have to be there for us, but she chose to. She has now been in my life almost as long as my own mother had been. She is a part of me, just as my own mother is. So Sharon, if you are reading this, thank you for being you....for being there for us....for being there for dad.....for trying so deperately to keep a positive outlook in what at times with our family seems like an impossibly negative situation....for being so supportive to all of us....for being a wonderful "Nana" to my children....and most of all for just being you and fulfilling a role that you have always said you "never wanted us to feel like you were trying to be", but you did it in your own gentle way. Thank you.....I love you more than you know.

So, Happy Mother's Day.........go hug your mom either physically or in prayer.

Honor night and Strawberries

Well, Bailey and I decided to go strawberry picking on Tuesday after her orthodontist appointment. We had fun just the two of us....we picked 12 pounds of strawberries together and then brought them home to make a special dessert for Daddy and Sarah. We will freeze the rest for future eating....Yummy! That is one advantage to living in agricultural South Georgia, fresh produce right off the farm. We concluded our picking with a treat of Strawberry Ice Cream which felt good on Bailey's teeth, since they were hurting from her ortho appointment.
Sarah had her honors night tonight. She not only received her certificate for her honor roll status, but she also was awarded the Top Band Student award! The picture directly above is of her band teacher, Liz Ryan, and her. They are very close as Ms. Ryan has been her teacher for 3 years running. Sarah is gonna really miss her next year! Sarah was also recognized for being one of the few kids going to the Jacksonville State University Honor Band, which is in Alabama, not Florida, this weekend. She leaves tomorrow for it. She will have auditions for chair placement tomorrow afternoon, and then rehearsals all day on Friday and early Saturday morning. Then on Saturday afternoon, they will have their concert....which I will tell you is quite a feat to receive and learn all the music for a concert in a day and a half. Bailey and I will make the trek to Jacksonville, Alabama on Saturday to see her. It is a 5 1/2 hour drive there and then we will watch a 2 hour concert, and then drive back 5 1/2 hours to Tifton....so it will be a long day, but I wouldn't miss it for the world.
Well, I guess that is all for now. I am tired and ready for bed. Have a little running to do, but Todd is off tomorrow so we are gonna try and get a little time in together. Bailey has her 3rd grade field day/graduation on Friday, so I will not be working that day as I will be with her. I probably will not get to post again until Sunday where I will post the pictures of Sarah's Band stuff and Bailey's graduation/field day stuff.
Have a great evening!

Happy Tuesday

Hey there. Not much going on in our world so far this week. We had a nice relaxing weekend, going to the Love Affair for a bit on Saturday. Then Sarah went to a friends house to spend the night, and Bailey had a friend come here. Sunday we did the church thing and then came home for a bit. Beth and Susan came over to stamp for a bit, and then when Todd got home we went to a church picnic in the evening. Monday was quite boring. Today Bailey has an orthodontist appointment in the afternoon, and Sarah has Brigade practice until 6:30. Tomorrow we will be going to Sarah's honors night, so I am sure I will have pictures to post on Thursday.
Hope you are all doing well so far this week. Hugs from us to you!

Our Happenings

It has been a few days since I posted. Believe it or not, I don't have any pictures to post. So does that mean we haven't been busy? No.....actually we have been quite busy. Sunday, the girls and I went to see Grease at the local Tift Theater and then went to have an ice cream float at the local ice cream shop. It was a total "50's themed" afternoon. Monday we all went back to school/work. I had a pretty good week with the students. My coworker on the other hand is another story. She is at this point not speaking to me. She was told the Friday before spring break by Diane (my boss) that she would not be returning to the three year old classroom next year, and I think she is blaming me. Not sure why, but whatever. She really is not cut out for the job. She is pretty much what at our house we call a "woo" which stands for "waste of oxygen". She does nothing and when she does do something, it is a complete mess. You almost just need to see it to believe it. So my week at work has been a little bit draining. I did make the decision to go back next year. I know I originally said I wasn't, but Diane has wore me down in her begging, and I agreed to come back at least for the first few months. We will see how it goes and then I will make my final decision. It is a long story, but I am comfortable with my decision.
Todd worked on my car all day today; changing oil, flushing my radiator, vaccuming and washing it. It was so sweet of him to do it for me. He also changed the locks in our house yesterday and did a bit of yard work. All his energy, made me exhausted......LOL
We have a full weekend ahead as it is the annual Love Affair Arts Festival here in Tifton. We will go to the festival in the park probably most of the day on Saturday. It is always a fun time for all of us.
Well that is about all for now. I hope you are all doing well. Please keep our friend David in your prayers. He has a doctor visit tomorrow that we are hoping has a good outcome. Thanks!