Big Brothers Have Their Advantages

Gracie has learned about one of the great advantages of having a big brother... wearing his old t-shirts to bed. She put one on for fun the other day and said, "Mommy, I wuv dis! It is very comfy!" Now this is the only thing I can get her to wear to bed. This works out great for us, we will save lots on girly p.j.'s.

* Notice Rosie at the bottom of the picture. I can not get out the camera and tale pics of the kids without her trying to squeeze her way in. I swear she LOVES to have her picture taken more than Abby (and that's saying something!).

Today Gracie started her soccer career. I think everyone was second guessing my putting her in soccer, especially with her sister's former Pee Wee soccer exploits. Although she was eager to play when we signed her up, she was reluctant to play today. She felt a little better when she found out her friend Austin would be on the team. Let me tell you, she LOVED it. Not only was she always the first person in line, but she often tried to slip back into the front of the line so she could get another turn. She only took herself out of practice once, and that was only to get a quick drink. Our only problem was that we didn't bring a ball for her and she had to share with others. She tried very hard and was really wanted to know when she would be getting her "soccer clothes." She will not have practice again until next week, so maybe we will have to have her practice with her big brother and sister.

"Ocho Cinco" returns to Cincinnati

Well, this weekend brought the return of Abby Thompson to organized sports. For those of you that have been around awhile you may remember when a younger Abby walked off the field at 3 years old in the middle of a game saying that she was too tired to play. Then there was the following year when we gave her another chance and she decided to stay in one place. If the ball came to her, fine, she'd kick it. She wasn't going out of her way or anything. One the last game of the season the coach from the OTHER team picked her up and ran with her to the goal to let her score a goal. We even tried softball last year, but the long innings in the outfield were too much for our attention challenged girl.

This weekend, in this heat, Abby had to play 2 games and I am proud to say she did a great job! Even though they were not able to practice and Abby had NO CLUE what to do, she really went out and tried her best. Now, if you are looking for Abby in the line up, she is the one that is at least a head shorter than anyone else. She was an absolute WRECK the entire day. Her coach, who luckily enough is my good friend Rachel, says she knew Abby was nervous because she hadn't spoke in 2 days. Although her team suffered a loss yesterday, they won today. Hopefully the weather will cool down and they can practice a little and Abby can get rid of the nerves!

Did I mention over 16 pounds of babies?!?

Shel... you are amazing! Love you all!!

Is it hot enough for ya?

If someone else ask me that, especially someone who doesn't spend their day in an un-air conditioned room, I think I might SMACK them! Today my thermometer in my room maxed out at 100 degrees around 2:00 today. I don't know exactly how hot it really was, but, it was truly unbearable. I am a little worried since tomorrow is suppose to be hotter. We are already dismissing 2 hours early on Friday because of the heat. Makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it!

Other than the heat, I had a good day. My class seems to be very sweet. I am looking forward to a great year.

Poetic Justice?

"Denial" ain't just a river...

It is 12:19 am and I am trying to capture the last minutes of my summer. I know that as soon as I go to bed, my summer is officially over. The real world will start again for me tomorrow, which is really later today, when my alarm will go off at 6:30 am for our 1st day of school. So how have I spent these last few hours of my precious summer? Getting caught up on laundry to make life easier? Heck, no. Working on school stuff so that I am prepared for the little darlings on Wednesday? Nope. I have been playing online Gin and watching Wild Hogs on DVD.

Now I am off to bed to read and make my summer last a little longer. Tomorrow is going to be a long day...

Strange Bedfellows...

I went into wake up the girls this morning and this is what I saw...



Does is need further explanation?

Abby's new hair cut

Here is Abby's cute new hair cut. It will be really cute for school. Makes her look too grown up though!!!

SUPERMOM!!

No, I am no talking about me. I am talking about my cousin Shelley who is a proud new mom today. Now some of you may be wondering what Shelley could have done for me to label her a "Supermom" on her 1st day. Well, let me tell you. Shel delivered TWO healthy baby boys today. Bryce weighed in at a wonderful 7 pounds 2 ounces and was 19 inches long. His big brother Tyler weighed in at a whopping 7 pounds, 15 ounces and was 22 inches long (do the math ladies). Now, some of you may be wondering what kind of wonder woman could carry these babies 38 weeks. She must be good sized girl like her cousin, Dee. Well, let me tell you, Shel is maybe a size 1 (that's right, o-n-e) and 5'10". I have NO IDEA where she was keeping these babies. It boggles my mind. But, she already showed what a great mom she is going to be. I wish so much that I could be there!!!

Well, since all my good kharma is being sent to Shel, my own children are falling apart. Each one in the last 24 hours has had some kind of issue.

Grace: Came down stairs after a day of swimming a threw up all over the kitchen floor (at least she missed the carpet!)
Abby: Almost lost an eye when her little sister got mad at her and threw a pair of scissors at her. They missed her eye by less than an inch. Abby has a cut.
Alex: Who I just returned from the emergency room with. 1st soccer practice, kicks the ball the wrong way and after 4 hours and 6 x-rays is told to have seriously sprained his ankle (there was a "popping" noise).

Tomorrow we are heading to the dentist. Say a little prayer...

I am such a GEEK!

And not just about one thing. OK, first, not only did I stay up until 2:00 am last night to see the Perseid Meteor Shower, but I let Alex stay up, too!! Now, we were all ready to watch last night, laying on the back of Chris' car, looking up at the night sky. I saw one in the 1st minute. The next thing that few across the sky was a small bat. Now, even though I am a hands on science teacher, this was WAY too much! So, I practically knocked Alex off the truck to get into the car. We drove around the neighborhood until we decided to park on the street and roll down the windows a little and watch the show. So yes, Alex and I sat in the car for an hour and watched it meteor shower.

If that wasn't enough, I just got back from seeing Hairspray for the 3rd time and let me tell you, I could see it again. I just LOVE this movie!!! The music is awesome! The energy is great. I promised the kids I would take them to see it again, so I get to see it again this week. The best part is, I was able to fuse my geekiness...

Alex and I were listening to the Hairspray soundtrack while watching the meteor shower.

Taking Pleasure in the Little Things

It is funny how the smallest things can just make your day. This being my 1st real week off this summer, we have had a few chances to go swimming this week. Today I took my kids and Kyler to the Y pool. Gracie has been practicing "putting her head under" by holding her nose and putting her mouth and part of her nose in. For a child that was terrified of the water at the beginning of the summer, this is a major step. Today at the pool we were actually putting our whole face in the water WITHOUT holding our nose! It was ridiculous how happy this made me. I know what a big deal this was to her! Way to go GRACIE!!!

Makin' the most out of 2 weeks off

Well, the kids and I are making the most of our time off this week. Even though it is surface of the sun HOT, we have enjoyed these days. We spent yesterday afternoon at a pool party. The kids have been attending vacation bible school. Tomorrow I think we are heading to Sunlight Pool at Old Coney. All of our school friends are coming over for lunch on Friday to do a little planning. We may even go see Hairspray again in the afternoon. Then on Monday we are heading to the Beach Waterpark with our friends. At some point I am going to have to get into my classroom to work. Maybe once the temperature in my room is under 100 degrees then I might make it in.

Hangin' with the fishes

Today we spent a great day down at Newport Aquarium, even though it seemed like everyone else in the greater Cincy area had the same idea. I had never been to the aquarium and I was impressed. They had lots of hands on stuff for the kids to do. Kyler was very disappointed that he didn't have his fishing pole! They had a great rainforest bird room that you could bring in a cup of nectar to feed to the birds. Although all the kids got a cup of nectar, only Abby was brave enough to allow a bird to climb on her. It repaid her by quickly biting her! After a walk through the shark tunnel, everyone got to pet the sharks. Alex was shown up by his little sisters who were both eager to touch the sharks. He never quite got up the nerve. We finished our afternoon with a great dinner at Brio, a nice Italian restaurant. Thanks for the great day, Granny!!

Goodbye Jill!

I was very sad to hear that one of my teaching partners is moving. I work with a great group of ladies. We really care not only about our jobs, but also for each other. It is amazing how much of a family we form with the people we work with! Now with Jill leaving comes lots of changes. We will have a new family member to welcome in. As hard changing will be, I know we will manage it together!

Jill- best of luck to you and your family. I know how much you wanted to stay home with your girls and I am so glad you are getting this opportunity. Indy is a short drive! We will expect you for all the Girls Night Out!