A big girl and a concert recap

Friends of mine that I haven't seen in a while keep asking me or saying.

When did Alyssa get so big?

She's not a baby anymore.

I can't believe it either. When did my baby, because even if other people don't see it anymore...she will always be my baby, learn how to climb up and go down the slide by herself? When did she start hitting and have to be put in timeout at daycare? When did she start telling me no and getting dressed and undressed by herself? So now I'm realizing she is not only NOT a baby anymore but she has also hit the terrible twos a few months early I might add.

Also in case anyone was wondering, the Fall out Boy concert was fun. I loved spending alone time with my hubby which as I said before we rarely get. It was so nice to just talk. I also have to admit that I am officially too old because the music was too loud, I did not appreciate all the swearing from onstage, or the teenage girls with their boobies hanging out.

I got a glimpse of the teenage years with my girls. I picked out some sweet little girls at the show that were in converse sneakers and concert t-shirts and told my hubby with confidence that those are what our girls will be like. He said that those were the ones to watch out for. These girls really did rock out and had a great time and by the end of the concert they had changed into tank tops that were almost as revealing as the others. There really was no disgraceful behavior so once again...I hope that's what my girls will be like.

To end my concert adventures as the lights went on at the end I said to my hubby we are the oldest ones here. He said there's a lot of people older than us and to that I replied yes but they brought their kids.

Hoping for a fun night out

So it's my hubby's birthday today and we have a night out on the town. I can't remember the last time the two of us went out. I feel like neither of us are into it but especially me, although I'm trying really hard to hide it, but not succeeding at all. Months ago he bought tickets to see FALL out BOY at the casino. The only thing I know about this band is that Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson are married and have a baby thanks to my US Weekly subscription. I don't think I have ever heard one of their songs. I'm hoping that I'll be pleasantly surprised and have a great time but right now I'm just not feeling it! Tell me to snap out of it right now!!!

Close cousins

So this weekend my twin nieces spent the night and wow I am exhausted! It was so much fun. Here's the run down. A walk to the park and we thought that they would be a little tired out but no...after dinner and a mini break they were ready to go again. So hubby and I took them out to an arcade kind of place with a lot of kiddie games and ride on cars and such. I'm probably not explaining it well but they had an awesome time. So we stopped at Rita's on the way home for some treats. We were thinking italian ice but they wanted ice cream well actually custard but they'll never know. That night I thought they would never go to sleep and once they did I hit the pillow and was out too. This is this morning. After sleeping late and eating breakfast they played a game of Lucky Ducks. Their mom picked them up and we headed off to church with our girls. These cousins have such great time together and really will be close friends growing up. I just wish they didn't live 45 minutes away. I guess they could live a lot farther though. I love blogging about these everyday moments. I know that I will look back at this and smile.

Meeting the parents

So parent teacher conferences were this week and I really don't enjoy them at all. We get half days and then have an afternoon session and an evening one to be flexible for parents. I also find it strange that children come with there parents to conference. I never went with my mom but these parents can't find a babysitter. I'm just glad they show up. Not all of them do. So these are some pieces of conversations from the conferences.

Parent #1
Me: I know that ______ is capable of doing so much more, she just needs to focus

Parent: Well I've been away (in jail) so that may have been affecting her.

Me: Yes I think so...

Parent #2
Me: I know we just met recently and discussed the problems with _____'s behavior and I want you to know that I really appreciate you talking to her.

Parent: Uh huh.

Me: When you tell ______ that school is important...she hears you and it does make a difference. She is such a smart girl and her behavior is what keeps her from doing her best and off the honor roll.

Parent: She is who she is and ain't nothing gonna change that.

Me: Okay (her phone rings and she starts walking away) thanks for coming!

Parent #3
Me: I would really like to see _______ stop yelling out in the middle of my lessons. It is really distracting for the other students and for him.

Parent: I'm sorry and I've spoken to him about that

Me: I think it would be a good idea to discuss it again

Parent: What does he yell out?

Me: Mostly jokes and strange noises

Parent: Oh I see. Well he'll be going to a new school next year

Me: I think they will probably have the same expectations there.


I know that there are things that need to be said but I really hate giving bad news to parents, like that there child may have to be retained. I hate it even more when the parent acts like it the first time they are ever hearing it and is shocked. I guess they missed it at the last report card conference when I said it and the two progress reports that I mailed home and the letter saying that I was still concerned. Also the meeting that they were invited to at school on how to help their child because they were in danger of repeating.

To those nonteachers out there I probably sound terrible and when it's my child who knows maybe I'll be as shocked as these parents but for now I'm just annoyed. These conferences always seem to get me down. I love all my students and want to see them succeed. Can I really expect as much I do from my students after meeting their parents? I really believe I can! Don't get me wrong I also have lovely parents that make the job worthwhile and let me know how much they appreciate me and tell me that I'm doing a great job and that I make a difference.

Happy Earth Day!

I was planning on do a nature walk with my girls and pointing out all the things that we miss as we rush through. I'm was going to give them each a brown paper bag for them to collect their little finds and treasures. When we return back from our little hike, I'll give a piece of cardboard for them to create a collage with their nature treasures. I'm not sure I will still be able to go because it's supposed to be pouring but I'll keep my fingers crossed and maybe sneak out for a little bit and let our treasures dry overnight. So instead I think we'll be making the cotton ball tree pictured about. Here's the link to find out how to make it. So cute!!!

Cotton Ball Tree

Here's another easy and great way to celebrate Earth Day. Click below to plant a bulb:

GE is planting a flower bulb for each unique visitor to this page during April, up to 100,000 bulbs. Help blanket the landscape with flower bulbs by sharing Project Plant-a-Bulb with your friends and family.

A Windy Day at the Beach

Okay so it's not quite beach weather but we took advantage of this beautiful day and walked along the water, collected shells and even played in the sand. Last year Alyssa was too small to really enjoy the beach but from this little preview, I can tell we will be spending many days here over my summer vacation and I can't wait.

Gillian and Allison

Today is the last day of my vacation. We didn't really do much of anything and it was wonderful. Just what I needed! Spending time with my girls and relaxing. The highlight was getting a visit from my friend Kristin from My Art and the Mom in Me and her family. If you haven't checked out her blog you should, although she's is taking a break while she's away from home. They came all the way from Texas and those girls are amazing to be so good for that ride. My girls would never make it. We had such a wonderful morning together. Kristin said something that made me think. Gillian and Allison were playing together and she said, "You could just tell that they would be friends if we lived closer together." I realized that they are already friends. Kristin and I have been have been friends since high school and then got really close in college. I think Gillian can just feel the love I have for her and her family. She knows that she is meant to be friend with Allison too, even though we don't see each other a lot. I think it's the quality of friendship not quantity of the visits.See even as little one's they got along well. I can't believe how small they are.

This is last years visit. They had some trouble sharing but still had a good time.

This is our visit yesterday. Could they be any cuter and they are so grownup.

I also had to share the sweet gift Kristin made and brought along for my girls. She's so thoughtful and we already found a place in Gillian's and Alyssa's rooms for them to go. So now I just have to work on making a trip to visit them in Texas. I did have a picture of Kristin and I together that I wish I could share but that one came out blurry so Kristin you'll have to email me a copy of the one Bobby took when you can.

My Fictional Character

Kel at Girl in the Glasses had such a fun post today that I had to play along. Her post was which fictional character are you most like? I just recently found her blog but I'm already enjoying it. She makes me laugh and that is always a good thing :)

I thought for a while and went through all my favorites in my head. First I thought about Twilight since I just finished the series. I thought maybe Alice but she wasn't quite right. Then I moved on tho my favorite TV shows and couldn't find my match in any of the Desperate Housewives, Charmed, or House which are some of my favorite shows. So I moved on to Winnie the Pooh which is my all time favorite fictional character. Pooh is a very easy-going, likeable character. I figured a Pooh-person would be one that doesn't get upset very easily, if at all. She would tend to be quiet, slow moving, but quite philosophical about life. They may not appear to be very intellectual, but that may just be their simplicity in disguise.
But to my surprise I was actually Kanga. Check out the Stephanie's Thoughtful Spot to learn more about all the characters in the Hundred Acre Wood and to find out who you're most like.
100 Acre Wood Personality Test

All our girls

I'm exhausted from all the Easter excitement but we did have a wonderful time. There are six girl cousins that all get together for a giant egg hunt at one of the aunt's house. They all get along fairly well and have such fun together at the holidays and birthdays. We are in such big trouble when these girls are teens. At least I will have my sister in law and cousin going through it with me. I wonder if it's really true that you get back what you give to your parents. I hope not! There's Gillian and Alyssa in action. Gillian knew where to find all the good stuff and Alyssa did not give up until every egg was picked up.

She's truly enjoying all her eggs. I just had to share our Easter fun and we are now ready to start our vacation. We have no big plans just hanging out with some good friends and not having to work. Which is one of my favorite ways to spend a day and usually gives us some little adventures to enjoy along the way.

Tea and eggs

Alyssa was very busy while Gillian and I colored eggs. I came out of the kitchen to find my little waitress having a great time. I am surprised she could balance the cups so well. She was impressed with herself as well, as you can see by her face. Gillian on the other hand chose a very interesting egg coloring kit. I should probably read things more carefully but I actually bought her sparkly paint to color her eggs. She loved it but they don't include much paint in the kit. As you can see in the picture below that was all we had enough for. It also limited Alyssa's participation. I did mix my own food coloring, vinegar and water to dye some of the eggs that were left unpainted. Alyssa wasn't really interested in the eggs to be honest even just dying them. She enjoyed her own tea party and the fact that Gillian wasn't bossing her around and she could do tea her own way.

My other favorite girls

My April break from school is coming up next week and I am so excited for it. For so many reasons but one of the is that on Monday my girls and I are going out to breakfast with my other favorite girls. They are my friends from college. We went to a state school which I feel lucky about because now that we are all (well almost all) married and have kids we are all still nearby. I wish we were better at staying in touch regularly but we are when it come to the important stuff. So we graduated in '98 and this photo was in 2002 at my wedding. At first we got together once a month but over the years it's gotten to be way less.

I have so many memories of these ladies and feel lucky to have them all in my life. Each one of them has given me something special. Obviously some more than others but I think I need to make a point to tell them how much they mean to me. I be making some phone calls after school today :)

This picture is at the first of our 30th birthdays. So even this was a few years ago. I do realize I need to take more pictures.

Planting together

First of all I wanted to say thanks to everyone for giving me so much love after my last post. It was exactly what I needed. I got all those things out of my head and received so many supportive comments that really made me feel like someone else knows where I'm coming from. You are all awesome!

My girls have been noticing all the buds and flowers that are beginning to appear so we decided to plant some of our own today and had a great time. Here's Gillian showing off that her gloves from last year actually fit now.
We also discovered that teamwork is the best way to plant. That way no one and by no one (I mean Alyssa) starts to cry because she can't wait and not do anything. So we took turns digging, planting and patting down the dirt. We have started the terrible twos.

Finally Alyssa is quite surprised that her hands were dirty and is now wanting them to be cleaned immediately. This was simply a wonderful day.