Only 3 days away

I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring break. I need some "stay at home days" with nothing but noisy children, birds chirping and the sun shining. Finishing a good book would make it pretty great as well. My mind is racing with all the things I would like to accomplish while at home for seven days. Fortunately, the outdoors will be luring me into it's splendor and I will be playing much more than checking things off my To Do list. Anyone up for a hike at Red Rock or Mt. Charleston?



Some of the things I hope to do on my vacation in Las Vegas...

1. Go for a hike at Red Rock & Mt. Charleston.


2. Take some morning walks and mid-day bike rides to all our favorite playgrounds.


3. Listen to a book on my ipod, catch up on my Hillside Sunday Sermons.


4. Finish Eclipse and start Breaking Dawn.


5. Purge and sell stuff we don't use any longer.


6. Scrapbook


7. Hang out with friends.


8. Go on a few family dates and a date with Mo Mo.


9. Bake something yummy.


10. Make the best memories I can so that my children don't want to go back to school. They love it so much they'll just keep asking when they go back. I shouldn't be complaining about that should I?

What are your plans for Spring Break?

Staycation at JWMarriot

It has been a whirlwind of a weekend but a fun one at that. Saturday, the kiddos and I checked into an awesome room at the JW Marriott resort for the CCA Silent Auction, "A Night in Wonderland". Ava was having her 7th birthday party at a horse ranch so we ran over there for a few hours and played. Reece and Raine had a ball feeding the horses then actually riding them around the ring. We were a filthy, dusty mess, so we stripped off all our dirty garments and jumped in the shower. While the kiddos showered, I sat in the humongous tub relaxing. We were all the bathroom having a blast in the whirlpool tub and cool rain shower so we didn't even hear Mo knocking. He had to go back downstairs and get himself a key. He was landscaping all day and ready for a shower also. The kids climbed up on the king size bed and watched cartoons while Mo and I prepared ourselves for a fun date night with the Feldman's.

I was excited to hang with Tina, as it has been sometime since I've chatted with her. We enjoyed some yummy blue raspberry martinis and placed our bids on a few items around the room. Dinner was scrumptious, filet, carrots, smashed taters and amazing cheesecake was for dessert. The live auction was really fun to watch with Christian and Sherry hosting the chaos. Then it was time to dance. I was freezing and honestly ready for that super cozy looking king sized bed. When we returned to our room we found Raine sound asleep with her glasses still on and almost crashing onto the floor, Reece propped up by some enormous pillow, mouth hung open like an old man who fell asleep in his chair and Shelby hanging off the other side of the bed. It was quite a site. Noelle was hanging out in a chair near the TV. It looked like they all enjoyed themselves since there were food crumbs, wrapper and game pieces all over the floor. We made a little sleeping area for Reece and Raine near the bathroom and climbed into bed ourselves.

Sunday was a nice, relaxing day spent by the pool.  The kiddos loved swimming all day and made friends instantly.  I enjoyed my book and Mo read a magazine or two.  It was just what we all needed.

Life isn't a guided journey...

and I sure need a port to dock my ship. I need this weekend like a flower needs sunshine.

Tuesday I had a meeting after dinner for 2 hrs then went back up to school for 3 more hrs.

Wednesday I had class from 4:30 to 7:30 and then went back up to school for 2 more hrs. I didn't even get to have a green beer!

Thursday I worked from 8:30-7:30 because we had family literacy night.

Friday I crammed to get papers graded and only completed a quarter of them. I guess I will try and fit that in my happy hectic weekend.

Tonight I am gathering with 3 other Twilight obsessed girls to buy the movie at midnight. We will then enjoy us some sexy vampire and werewolf cinematography. I can't wait for some dreamy relaxing with good friend, I just wish Shontell could fly in!

Saturday we have sports class and another bowling birthday party. Hopefully, I won't be too tired.

Sunday we have church, a rollerskating birthday party and an opportunity to see Lion King at Mandalay Bay. I am really looking forward to that, it has been something I've wanted to see for some time now!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMMY BABS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMMY BABS!

We hope your five days of celebrating have been as amazing as you! We wish you the best this upcoming year. We are counting down the weeks until we see you in June.

Love you, Reece & Raine

Fun Weekend Ahead

Thankful for so many things this Thursday:

• Fun week of teaching, tried new things to spice up the humdrum of our Language Arts block.
• Mo & I made yummy dinners out of the simplest food and leftovers.
• I am able to attend a 5th grade planning meeting for extra funds. I am also planning and teaching my staff about writing ideas for extra funds.
• Listened to my kindergartner read 5 level 10 books to his sister before playing Uno with his daddy.
• Went to bed early, even though I really wanted to watch my shows.
• At the tail end of organizing the Sea Camp trip for the 5th graders.
• Meeting my family at REI and Claim Jumper on Friday night.
• On Saturday, I will be building a tabletop basketball hoop at Lowes with the kiddos.
• Reece & Raine will go to their sports class and learn more about soccer, praying it goes better than last Sat.
• Meeting a friend at a playground for some adult conversation and children screaming.
• Relaxing in Forks, WA before getting gussied up for a night out with my hot hubby.
• A date night at J.W. Marriot with friends, free drinks and free food, thanks to the Feldmans.
• Finally attending service after 3 weeks of missing it due to sick kiddos & teaching 2's & 3's.
• Taking the kids to a bowling party after church then relaxing in Forks, WA again.

I am so thankful we have a fun filled weekend ahead, I need to be busy or I get bored...

Wonder

I am smiling because:

• my report cards are submitted to my principal
• my hubby tutored and welded tonight for our summer vacation fund
• my hubby started a simple but yummy dinner of fish & chips & corn on the cob
• Reece could have probably eaten all 4 pieces of corn
• my kids devoured our dinner
• my darlings bathed like they were swimming in the ocean & couldn't stop giggling
• my little man read 2 books to his mommy and sister
• I still have time to grade papers while I enjoy some Bailey's

Joy

Mine keeps coming and going, why won't it stick around for a while?

Sunday morning it was overflowing. I woke up to some serious cuddling and conversation with my main squeeze. Raine joined us for a bit but then wanted to watch cartoons. I took a wonderfully hot shower, got ready for church and went to make coffee. Mo was pulling out eggs, ham, cheese and English muffins for breakfast. We don't usually eat such a super delicious Sunday morning meal because we are late for church. Mo was even sweet enough to make me my own egg because I dislike slimy ham and Swiss cheese. Reece couldn't get enough of the special egg breakfast and kept telling Mo what a great meal it was. When we finally finished getting ready for church; we were once again a bit late, but I wasn't about to pass up that awesome family breakfast.

I taught the 2 & 3 yr olds and had so much fun. I had no clue what I would be teaching so I skimmed through the lesson and made it up as the kids colored. It was on the good Samaritan, a simple concept that kids grasped pretty well. We pretended to ride our donkey and help the wounded man. The kids were so cute pretending to be injured and helping each other get up on the fake donkey. On the way home I my allergies hit pretty hard; I was having sneezing fits left and right.

We ate pbj for lunch and I found my way to the couch to enjoy some Nick Jr. with Raine while Reece worked on his leprechaun trap with Mo. It was good boy bonding for the two of them. He kept coming back in the house to give Raine and I updates. Raine was starting to fall asleep so I put her up in her bed and then had to put her back into her bed two more times. I should of got my lazy allergy butt off of the couch and put her in for a nap sooner, but I was really enjoying cuddling with my baby girl whom I never see.

I like to cook on Sundays because I have time and energy. Before I layed down I started a crockpot full of chicken and enchilada sauce, not sure what to do with it when it was done cooking, but I would figure it out. My plan was to pull the meat apart, scoop it into tortilla shells load with cheese and warm in the oven. I was nervous because I never did it before, but it worked out well. Mo even liked it and said he would have it for lunch tomorrow. I also made a batch of cookies for dessert, not the best but a treat none the less.

Joy was all around me yesterday, I just had to push through the yucky parts of my day to experience it. After watching the last hour of the oscars, I went to bed a pretty content girl.

My little reader

Tonight I had one of those heartwarming mom moments. While I was finishing up on the computer, Reece was slowly getting ready for bed. I asked him to hurry up and climb into bed but when I walked into his room to tuck him in, he was sitting on the floor reading his level 2 Transformer book. I secretly sat outside his door and listened to him sound out the words and read aloud. 32 pages later, he came out of his room so pleased that he read one of his favorite books all by himself. He went downstairs to tell his daddy how proud he was, but came back up with tears in his eyes because daddy was already asleep.

Reece is a becoming quite an avid reader. He is a typical kid who gets annoyed when I ask him to sit down and read, but once he is doing it, he truly enjoys it. Reece loves to find words around his environment and read them aloud. He loves sounding out words and figuring out what the letters say. I need to take a video of him reading aloud to treasure these early moments. He is growing up so fast, I can't believe he only has 3 more months left in kindergarten.

Dr. Seuss Story Hour at Target

Happy Birthday Doc

I LOVE DR. SEUSS.

Which books are your favorites?

Top Ten Lists

I am having a hard time finding JOY in the daily routine of my humdrum life. Maybe a list of things will help me get out of it...

10. Having a job, a wonderful husband, 2 awesome kids, food on my table and a roof over my head.

9. Being able to play on the computer to see what my friends are up to.

8. Music helps me feel less annoyed with stuff.

7. Hugs from my little ones and the words "I love you mama."

6. Extra money in my paycheck for time spent on ridiculous tasks.

5. New books from Scholastic book orders.

4. Zany packages from my father in law. Mo got his high school baseball jerseys and fraternity jacket yesterday.

3. When I put on pants and they look ridiculous cuz they are so baggy.

2. My 5th grade students from last year come back to visit me.

1. Spring break is only a few weeks away!



I need to see life through the eyes of Reece. He is 5 and finds joy in:

1. picking out "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" out of the Redbox.
2. being aloud to watch cartoons before he has to get dressed in the morning.
3. dessert
4. going to Fresh & Easy, he loves the free samples.
5. playing Batman & Bolt on games-now.com.
6. running around the halls of school with his friend Parker.
7. coloring with his little sister.
8. beating his dad at a game of Uno.
9. playing in his tent and sleeping in forts.
10. LIFE