My Blessed Little Life

Believe it or not, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.  It has been a crazy busy few months, and I'm sorry this little blog has gotten a bit neglected.  School is wrapping up, and we only have 12.5 insane days left...everyone is to the "I'm way past done" stage of the school year, and nerves are getting mighty thin.  I'm hoping that the projects that we have planned for the next few days help to keep the roof on the building. Life at home is just as crazy.  Three teens in one tiny house is not a great combo, and with everyone's end of the year schedules, it is becoming a bigger mad house. Here is to summer break, lazier days, and working on projects that I choose, not that are chosen for me.  I'm ready to tackle some of the household chores which sadly get neglected during the school year...like sorting through clothing.  Goodwill, look at...we are heading your way very soon!

My nephew is getting baptized this afternoon, so my family (immediate and extended) have all traveled to Gillette, Wyoming to celebrate with him.  My husband and I will serve as God parents for baby Zane, so the trip is extra special for me.  From our house in Missouri,  it is a very long 16 hour drive, so we tried to find attractions that would break up the trip.  We drove to Mitchell,  SD and saw the Corn Palace, and continued on. The Badlands were our next stop, where we hiked out on some pretty amazing sights.  God's creation is awe inspiring!  Who knows where we will head on the way home, but it is fun to watch my kids learn and explore. Enjoy some pictures from the trip so far.  I love the question mark on the end of trail sign...kind of sums up how I feel right now.  Things are ending, but it isn't the end of the trail for me.  A fitting metaphor for life right now.

I can't believe it is almost here...spring break!  I have waited for spring break for weeks now.  With our wonderful weather lately, spring break is a welcome thing.  I really was jealous of all of the other school districts in my area who had a week off last week.  Why were we in school and everyone else is all off having fun? Our district never really has a break, but we always get Good Friday and the following Monday off.  I have really longed to have a little break...just time to regroup and refocus on the end of the school year. The spring seems to drag out, and it could be because the weather has been a little unpredictable.  One day it is beautiful; the next it is down right miserable. We have two days left after today...two days to suffer  to make it through before we can hit the highway in search of family and fun. Oh course, the 16 hour drive both ways won't be the highlight of the weekend, but we will soldier on!  Road trips are f...

Today has been the sort of day when I go from sun up to sun down. We were at school bright and early, then felt as if I rushed around all day. We created flip books for parts of speech notes, so I rushed from table to table to answer questions. Most did well, but some of my friends just can't follow directions! After school I tutored, and then came home to fulfill mom duties. We are leaving for my brother's house in three days, and needed to find Easter clothes for the kids. Noah was able to search his closet for clothes he liked and fit (hallelujah!) The girls however needed something new. Every dress they own is two short or not church appropriate. So of we went. We also took care of haircuts so that was taken care of too. Luckily, the girls were successful. Me not so much, but I am sure I can dig something out of the closet that will work just fine.  I took so long running around that I missed my monthly bunco night with the girls, but that's ok. There is always n...

  17 of 31 for the Slice of Life Challenge from Two Writing Teachers Today is one of my favorite days of the year.  It is the day that everyone wears green (my favorite color) and pretends that they have a wee bit of Irish blood in 'em.  As someone who does have tiny bit of Irish blood, I can happily celebrate with the rest of the world. I'm not into the drinking and carrying on of St. Patrick's Day.  In college (go Bearcats!), this day always meant Kegs and Eggs and the World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day parade (between the two bars on a street...basically half a block).  The drinking part was never my scene.  I felt connected to a culture, though, which was a new thing. Growing up, I created the family tree like most kid do in elementary school.  I have to say that my family's background is nothing exciting.  In fact, it is pretty dang vanilla compared to others.  On my dad's side, I am French Canadian.  On my mom's side, I am...

  13 of 31 for the Slice of Life Challenge from Two Writing Teachers When my husband and I were first married, we lived with my grandma to help save money.  I was in my last year of college and beginning student teaching, and my husband started a brand new job two weeks before our wedding.  It really made sense to do this.  While we cooked separately most of the time, from time to time grandma would cook for us all.  One of my favorite meals from my grandma was not a fancy one at all.  We always knew that March 17th meant a celebration of our Scots Irish roots. Every March, Grandma would buy corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots at least a week in advance.  She was convinced that if she didn't do this, she would miss out on our St. Patrick's Day meal.  She would study each cut of meat, looking for the piece that had just the right amount of fat.   I always wondered why she went to so much trouble for a meal, but this meal alwa...

  7of 31 for the Slice of Life Challenge from Two Writing Teachers This will be short and sweet tonight because we are on the go! Tonight I'm taking my kids to a presentation that is being hosted by our school district.  This is on cyberbullying, so I am excited to go and have my kids hear the message.  Tina Meier, the mother of Megan Meier who was cyberbullied, will be speaking about her daughter and what can happen when online behavior is taken too far.  I think this is such an important message for kids and adults to hear!

  4 of 31 for the Slice of Life Challenge from Two Writing Teachers I home with a sick boy today.  Is there anything  than more heartbreaking for a parent than watching your child feel crummy?  His poor eyes are glazed over, and he just wants to sit and cuddle with me, which is really saying something because he is 11!  I always feel so helpless when they are sick. When my three kids were younger, I think it was easier to care for them when they didn't feel well.  I could give them medicine and cuddle with them,  Rocking them to sleep often worked wonders.  Now that my kids are all teens/preteens, they refuse to take medicine (unless it is their idea) and are too big to cuddle with and rock to sleep.  I feel that I can't really do anything to help them feel better, and they really are making their own choices about what they need.  I hate to watch them suffer when they could do something about it, but I am no longer in control...ma...

My baby brother Ben turns 35 today.  He shares his birthday with Dr. Suess, which I've always thought was appropriate, since Ben is the epitome of Oh! The Places You'll Go .  He has always had a very adventurous personality, and has never been afraid to try new things.  My brother and I haven't always gotten along. My mom says it is because we are so much alike...I'm not so sure about that  Our interests have never overlapped that much.  As kids, we spent so much time fighting...about nothing really.  He always had a better relationship with my sister, the middle child and peacemaker.  Now that I'm a mom and have three kids of my own, I see my own kids fighting with each other about nothing too, and have to wonder if they will end up like my brother and I.  He lives in Wyoming and I'm in Missouri, so we don't get to see much of each other at all.  I wish that we were closer in distance, so that we could participate in activities togeth...

Yeah for Friday!  After two more snow days this week on Tuesday and Wednesday , our time in school has been very messed up, to say the least!  It is always hard to get back into the groove after a break, and having two snow days last week and two more this week have not helped with getting back on track very much!  It seemed that everyone at school was a little surly and had completely forgotten everything I've taught.  How is that even possible??  I have to say that although my own kids were driving me a little crazy,  going back to my classroom was not appealing at all this morning when that alarm went off at 4:30am. Sleeping in was a really nice treat! I hope that the weather will decide to play nice and spring will move in soon.  The weatherman was saying that there could be more rain and snow next week, so I hope that the chance of snow lessens, or that they were just wrong!  I'm so over winter right now! Tomorrow I start the Slice of Life ...

I guess the Walking Warriors didn't really pan out...I think everyone started off well and then kind of just slowed down. Life happens. Since I have this set up already I am going to use it to keep track of my exercise progress. I started to be more consistant with diet and exercise in June, and have lost about 10 pounds since then. Yeah! I've become my own Walking Warrior! Today was the first day for the Couch to 5K program that I have been interested in...it went well. I ran 4 of the 6 running intervals. I powerwalked through two intervals. I have never really been a runner, so running for the 4 intervals of 60 seconds is a pretty big deal for me. I am proud of myself for trying to do this, and I look forward to seeing the progress as I continue over the next 9 weeks. If you are looking for a great exercise/diet/ healthy lifestyle site, I highly recommend SparkPeople.com . It is completely free and has made a tremendous impact on my life!