A day in my life...

This morning started around 7:15 when to my surprise my children woke up.  I heard them as they were walking down the stairs.  Which to me is a great sound in the morning because this means they did not sleep with me.  They do a lot since we have moved into the new house.  I understand why, I get kinda scared upstairs too. So I got up and we got breakfast and started to get ready school.  Today was a very special picture day for Adelyn, she got to pick out her own outfit and hair.  We have a rule that I control EVERYTHING on picture days and she gets every other day of the year.  School pictures are not as important to me because I don't buy them.  I did curl her hair a little so she looked nice for the class photo.  We got her off to school on time and looking very pretty.  Then I went to go about my day going through the mail and doing the bills.  We got 2 new kittens yesterday (pictures to come soon) so Ash was outside holding them all morning.  Oh ya I also put a roast in the crock pot for dinner.  I got a lot done around the house and then sat down with Ash for some lunch.  We then got him dressed and ready for school.  We were actually early for school today!!  I was so proud of myself, I know lame but it has been hard for me.  I swear I look at the clock and we have plenty of time and then I start doing something and before you know it we are running out the door and hurrying as fast as we can to school.  So we rode our bikes and on my way back I rode up to Fonsbecks Greenhouse to get a much needed Diet Coke.  (the only place in Mendon that sells anything and thank goodness they do)  I decided that I would go in and look around and while I was there I got a call from my boss reminding me I had to be to work in 30 minutes.  I had looked at the wrong schedule and didn't relize I worked.  Well Todd drove to work this morning so I had no car.  Adelyn had dance right after school and it was her very first day.  So I was freakin a little.  Luckily I found someone to switch with so I didn't have to go in.  Then I finished up my TO DO/CHORE list for the day.  The kids got home and so we rushed Adelyn to dance and then me and Ash played a little mario.  We Adelyn got home we started homework and it took forever.  We didn't even finish before I had to get dinner all ready.  So I prepared the rest of dinner and we sat down and ate.  I think Adelyn is going through a growing spurt she had 3 helpings of roast a big scoop of potatoes and lots of carrots.  She said that I was the best cooker ever and Ashton agreed.  Ashton didn't eat as much roast but he ate 3 helpings of potatoes.  They really are good such good eaters it makes me so happy.  Then after dinner I totally spaced the rest of homework and started baths.  By the time baths were done and hair was dry it was 8:30.  I don't know where the time goes.  I feel like my life is so rushed all the time and I never time to sit and breath.  Tomorrow I have the same thing but I work from 9:30-3:00 and Adelyn has Girl Scouts instead of Dance.  I have always thought it would get easier the older the my kids got but between activities, homework, housework, dinner, work, and everything else that gets thrown into the mix I think it is getting harder.  And to top it all off it is 9:10 and Todd just called and said he is just now leaving the job site and will be home in an hour after finishing up his day of work.  Man 5:30 is going to come really early for him tomorrow. 

A Mothers revenge

A friend sent this to me and I think it is too funny not to re-post.  I would give anything to send Todd if I really could... 

  He would literally die if he had to walk a day in my shoes!!

THE
NEXT SURVIVOR
SERIES
Six married men
will be dropped on an island with one car and 
3 kids each for six weeks.

Each kid will play two sports
and take either music or dance classes.

There is no fast food.

Each man must 
take care of his 3 kids;
keep his assigned house clean,

correct all homework,
complete science projects,
cook,
do laundry,
and pay a list of 'pretend' bills
with not enough money.

In
addition, each man 
will have to budget in money
for groceries each week.

Each man 
must remember the birthdays
of all their friends and relatives,
and send cards out on time--no emailing.

Each man must also take each child
to a doctor's appointment,
a dentist appointment
and a haircut appointment.

He must make one unscheduled and 
inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care.

He must also make cookies or cupcakes
for a social function.

Each man will be responsible for
decorating his own assigned house,
planting flowers outside, and keeping it
presentable at all times.

The men will only have access to television
when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.
The men must shave their legs, 
wear makeup daily, 
adorn
themselves with jewelry, 
wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, 
keep fingernails polished, 
and eyebrows groomed.

During one of the six weeks,
the men will have to endure severe 
abdominal cramps, back aches, head aches,
have extreme, unexplained mood swings 
but never once complain or slow down
from other duties.

They must attend weekly school meetings and
church,
and find time at least once to spend
the afternoon at the park or a similar
setting..

They will need to read a book to the kids
each night and in the morning, 
feed them, 
dress them, 
brush their teeth and 
comb their hair 
by 7:00 am.

A test
will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be
required to know all of the following information:
each child's
birthday,
height, weight,
shoe size, clothes size,
doctor's name,
the child's weight at birth,
length, time of birth,
and length of labor,
each child's favorite color,
middle name,
favorite snack,
favorite song,
favorite drink,
favorite toy,
biggest fear,
and what they want to be when they grow up.

The kids vote them off the island based on performance.

The last man wins only if...
he still
has enough energy
to be intimate with his spouse
at a moment's
notice.

If the last man does win,
he can play the game over and over and over
again for the next 18-25 years,
eventually earning the right
to be called Mother! 

After you get done laughing,
send this to as many females as
you think will get a kick out of it and
as many men as you think can handle it.
Just don't send it back to me.... 
I'm going to bed.

3 things that must go...

Here are my 3 things that must go...

1.  "Last time I took her to a Professional Photographer"  said by my customer

Really??  Did they have their I am a proffesional photographer certificate framed on the wall.  Or was it because they had a nice camera and a office in there house??  Or maybe because they had a website??

I have been taking pictures of screaming, annoying little brats for over three years now!!!  Every once in a while I actually get a cute kid that is fun to interact with but YOU always get cute pictures from me.  Wether your kid is a devil child or an angel because I know what I am doing!!  I swear the next time someone says this to me I am going to tell them they should go back to the "PROFFESSIONAL" they came from and have them take the pictures because I do not help Jack Asses!!!!

I really do love my job!  I just hate dumb people and let me tell you there are a bunch out there.  I am surprised everyday with the way people act. 

2.  My husband banging the garage door opener against the steering wheel. 

If it doesn't open the first time what makes him think hitting it against the steering wheel or swearing at it will help??  It seems to work for every time when I just push it nicely.  Or better yet he could probably change the batteries and fix the problem at it's core. 

3.  Rude Cashiers

Especially the one that works graveyard or early mornings at Maceys.  Is it my fault you have a crappy job?  I hate that I am here at this hour as well but at least I can smile and tell you to have a nice day.  Seriously where has customer gone.  I have ran into this girl so many times and this I asked her name wrote it down and I am calling them to tell them. 

Family Pictures

Before the wedding we took some family pictures.  I think they turned out pretty cute.  

I would have to say I think we make a pretty good lookin bunch!!

Jaleen and her 4 kids.  Rob and his boys. 

I just LOVE Adelyn in this one. 

It was a fun day filled with pictures, pictures and more pictures...

Rob and Jaleen's Wedding

Todd's dad got married last June.  This weekend they brought up the discs so we could look at all the pictures.  It has been really fun getting to know Jaleen and her family.  She is so sweet and nice to our family and the kids just love her.  The wedding was a lot of fun for everyone.  Adelyn and Ashton especially enjoyed the fire dancers.  Ash said in a very loud and excited voice "MOM they put fire on their tongues and it didn't even start on fire." 

This is Todd's cousin Angela's little boy Jay, teaching Ash his moves.  It was so funny watching these two dance all night long.  Jay is quite the little dancer and has some pretty good moves.  Adelyn and Ashton both love Jay.  They get so excited when we get to go down and see him.

Todd's cousin Mark and his 2 girls came.  The last picture is Jay's mom and dad Angela and Mike.  Angela claims she taught Jay all of her old moves.  Julie and Chad also came with their 3 boys but somehow managed to stay out of all the pictures. 

Top: Rob's sister Jeanie and her mother.  (grandma Sleight)  Middle Left:  Ruth and Rob  Right:  Matt and Grandma  Bottom:  Rob, Jaleen, Bill, (grandpa Sleight) and Ruth

The whole Gang...  Jaleen has 2 Son who are married and 2 daughters who are not yet married.  The little baby girl is her first granddaughter Paige.  Now together they have 9 kids and 3 grand babies. 

 

 

Todd and I just love these pictures of our beautiful kids.  When Todd saw these he asked  "do you think it just sucks for other people when they see our kids cuz they are the cutest kids ever"  I thought that was pretty funny and sweet.  He sure is a proud a daddy.  I love these 2 because they show their little personalities so well!! 

Adelyn was the flower girl and Ash was the ring bearer.  It made them feel so special to be able to be such a big part of grandpa's wedding.  The flower girl and Ring Bearer walking down the isle.  Being so careful not to trip or drop the rings.  They both are a little shy when the spotlight is on them so it took a lot of courage for them to do this.  I was so proud of how well they acted. 

Finally the lovely bride and groom.  It was so nice to see how happy they are together.  They are both such great examples to there children and grandchildren. 

Labor Day Weekend

I was kinda bummed going into this weekend due to the fact we were supposed to be in Oregon.  We decided to postpone our trip for a later date.  It turned out to be pretty fun.  We got a lot of stuff done around the house and in the yard and so that was really nice.  It was so fun to have a 3 days off that Todd also had off.  I normally work a lot of weekends to help save money on BB sitters.  Todd took Ash hunting 2 days and Adelyn and his dad went on the last day.  They had fun but weren't able to get any of the birds they were looking for.  They are just getting into this whole hunting thing so I think it will be easier for them as time goes on.  Todd's dad and his wife Jaleen came up on Sunday and spent the day with us.  The kids had so much fun with and really enjoy the time they get to spend with them.  Uncle Matt also came out for the day.  The kids love him to death and just have a great time with him as well.  They were able to get in a couple games of Wii bowling.  Surprisingly Adelyn and Ashton are very good even though it was like there 2nd time of playing.  I tried a new recipe for dinner that night and it turned out really yummy.  I made Jalapeno Chicken Enchiladas.  The recipe made so much I thought we would be eating leftovers forever but we ate them all.  Even the kids had seconds.  Then Monday while the kids were hunting with Todd and his dad I went to the Wellsville Founders day Parade with my Dad, Sandy, Joann, Adam and their 2 boys.  It was pretty fun but I missed having my kids there.  Then after the parade Joann, Adam, the boys, Rob and Jaleen came over for a BBQ.  We had a great time visiting and playing a few more rounds of bowling.  Now Todd and I are relaxing with no kids.

Teachers

I am so happy about this year.  I think that my kids have great teachers! Adelyn had a wonderful teacher at Edith Bowen last year.  She really improved towards the end of the year and seems to be at a more average level.  I wish I could say that about her Kindergarten teacher.  I don't know if it was because it was her last year or if it was just that Adelyn required a little extra attention.
When Adelyn first got into Edith Bowen I was pretty happy everyone asked how I got her in and who I knew.  So many people just raved about how good the school was.  After about a couple months I thought what is so great?  It seemed to be pretty normal to me and then as time it got worse than normal in my opinion.  Every teacher taught a different way so every year the kids had to learn a different way of learning.  This seems pretty easy for kids who are already very smart.  Adelyn is so smart but has the hardest time focusing so this was not easy for her.  They had more half days and days off than anyone else I knew and not to mention the countless assemblies they had.  They seem to waste a lot of time on things that did not seem academically challenging to me.  Needless to say I was so worried about her so I decided to pull her out and we are now going to Mountside Elementry in Mendon.  They ride their bikes to school!!  SO NICE!!!!

I never life altering Elementary is for kids.  I don't remember much but I do see so many things in Adelyn that I remember about myself.  I know that I was the kid left behind year after year.  It is so frustrating that teachers can do this.  I know that it is not always the teacher who is at fault.  I didn't pay much attention during the entire 12 years of my education.  I liked elementary but I didn't seem to have a teacher who cared enough to help me learn.  Then by the time I got old enough to realize that I wasn't very good at Math, English, Spelling, Reading, History and whatever else there was, it was to late.  I certainly wasn't going to give up my Friday nights with friends to stay home and study what nobody cared enough to teach me along the way.  I have a friend who teaches in a middle school and she has discovered children who have severe learning disabilities and handicaps.  She teaches 6th, 7th and 8th grade, really no one noticed before then?  I think some teachers just pass kids on so they don't have to deal with it.  How sad is that?  Why is it that schools do not have something to help kids from getting ignored and pushed out of the way?  I am almost 30 and I do not know how to use the word there, my spelling is getting a little better but mostly thanks to spell checker.  I learned to add and subtract quickly from working at the Owl and having no calculator or computer to do my change for me.  I can read a lot faster after reading 300,000 books to my kids each year.  It really makes me feel jipped.  I know that I could have tried harder once I got to high school but I don't think I should have had too.  If I would have been taught from the beginning then it would have been a lot easier. 

Thanks for listening to my venting.  I just really want the best for my kids and I am so worried about the school system.  It is so scary to me that we are trusting the future of our kids to complete strangers.  I think most of them are great and wonderful and do a great job like they are supposed to.  But it still scares me.  I try to be as involved as I can because I feel that at least if they know me and know I am going to be in the classroom once or twice a week they can't ignore my kid.  Right?

Ashton starts Kindergarten

Ashton started Kindergarten today!  I just don't know how he got this old.  He seems so little to me still, but I know he's not.  Whenever he was asked if he was excited his response was "no".  He told his the lady who is now watching him before school he didn't like preschool so why would he like Kindergarten.  He is such a smart little boy he will do so well.  He is already reading some words and sounding out the rest.  He has asked so many questions his whole life I am sure that there is not anything he doesn't know.  He remembers everything and I mean everything!!!  It has been so fun to be able to spend so much time at home with him this summer.  He talks and talks and talks.  Sometimes we have to have quiet time in the car because he is talking so much I can't concentrate.  He really is just a great kid and I am so thankful that he is mine.

Ashton running to get his bike so we could leave.  He was upset this morning that he wasn't able to go with his sister.  They are both very excited that they get to ride home together after school.

 Happily on his way.

He was a little nervous about going in but he did pretty well.  His teacher is so sweet and so good with all of the kids.  I am going to be his room mother and do the flouride in his class once a week.  I am real excited to get to know all the kids in his class.