Heard from the.... er... kitchen

Cassie holding an Ice Age movie (lots of squirrels): "Look mom, it looks like she's aiming for his nuts!!"

You can't make this stuff up...

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Craft Time -- Pokemon cards?

My kids are obsessed with Pokemon cards. OBSESSED. So a couple of weeks ago they decided to MAKE cards themselves. I just nod my head a lot at this point, ya know?

So, here's the pics...

This is Jamie (who is, as usual, annoyed with me) and our friend, J. J's mommy is mean and doesn't let her have Pokemon cards so she made some of her own. I think J's mommy doesn't let her come over as much because of the Pokemon craze that is going on around here (okay, maybe it's cuz everyone is back to work and school too) LOL


Jamie is always very serious about crafts. Sometimes I want to smack him and scream "Have a good time, kid!"


And here's Cassie waiting for inspiration to strike.

Heard... At School Pick Up

Cassie ran up to me saying "I made a friend!! I made a friend!!"

I asked what her name was and she told me.

I then asked what she looked like. She said "I don't remember. But I made a friend!"

Apparently they held hands at recess and that makes them BFF.
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So, how did the first day go anyway?

Me: "How was your first day of school?"
Jamie: "Fine, recess was fun"
Cassie: "Good."

Me: "What did you do at school?"
Jamie: "Nothing."
Cassie: "Nothing."

.... and so it begins...

From what I managed to badger them into telling me, Cassie "forgot" how to write Volente Beach (she doesn't know her ABCs yet, folks) but did manage to write her name (we've been practicing that at least). Jamie was supposed to do 2 worksheets, but only did 1 because the teacher ran out and said he didn't have to do the 2nd one because he was already smart enough. (?)

Yeah, so, as usual, I have no idea what they did all day, but that's okay. They came home EXHAUSTED and we got another Kissing Hand puzzle. I scanned it because I'm a dork like that. If you look, her palm made a little heart-ish shape where the ink didn't go. Awwww...


(click to make it bigger to read the poem thingy)

First day of school updates....

First things first...
*~*~* Happy Birthday to my Mom *~*~*



So, they BOTH started school yesterday. I'll post more about their days later on in the week, but I thought I would share some photos. The above is them getting ready to leave.

See Cassie's outfit? I picked it out. The shoes are even Hello Kitty. I bought it while I was out with a friend of mine hoping she would like it and agree to wear it. Amazingly enough, she did! We found the shoes at Target and I HAD to buy them. She looks so cute! Jamie is wearing skull and crossbones. They are even embroidered into his shorts. Heh. He's so cool. Way too cool to pose for pictures and even MORE too cool to give me a hug when other people can see.



We drove over to the school and walked them in. I stuck around for about 2 minutes to make sure Cassie got sat down and I got to give her a kiss. No tears from her (or anyone else, myself included - I dunno, I'll miss her, of course, but it's not like I'll never see her again. She's like 2 minute away!). I tried to put my arm around Jamie as we walked to his classroom next, but he looked at me horrified so I kind of patted his shoulder as he walked in, but first I made sure that no one was looking because well - MO-OM, it's embarrassing, donchaknow.

Then, Tom and I celebrated by taking ourselves out to breakfast - and NOT ordering chocolate chip pancakes that no one would actually eat anyway.

Okay, I cheated. I took a picture while they were at school. Actually, I didn't, they were GOING TO school. Jamie saw me grab the phone and slipped behind me though...


I thought this was so sweet. Tom saw that the pony's tale was getting matted on Cassie's backpack. Instead of leaving it alone or just cutting it off (umm, not that I would do that), he brushed it out and braided it. LOL.


So, I'm free. I get to work for ~7 hours without having to stop to entertain a kid. Wow.
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School Supply Drop Off

I'll post about their first days tomorrow... yesterday we had supply drop off. No problems, Cassie seems fine with the whole school thing. Jamie is excited that he knows quite a few kids in his class. And he got to see one of his best buddies from last year. You'd think they were 12 year old girls that hadn't seen each other in months they way they prattled on.

When did Cassie get so big? She was just a baby yesterday. What happened? Where was I? Such a big kid now.

One last hug before we left. Note: I am no longer allowed to hug or kiss Jamie in public. It is, apparently, embarrassing.


I made them sit on the bench and take some pictures. Rather than chase them around the first day of school with the camera, I thought this would better. Jamie was being difficult and Cassie silly, but it's all good. This is who they are, people! I should have threatened to hug him, huh?



I also made them sit at their chair so I could get a picture. They humored me so I would not bring the camera to school. I have a big old telephoto lens, kids. Don't tempt me to stand across the street and stalk your butts. Ummm... maybe not, don't they arrest you for that stuff? I also took the easy way out this year (again) and bought the school supplies from the PTA. $35 and they supply everything and I don't have to run around looking for a purple folder with 2 brads and only one pocket (or whatever the wild goose chase of the year is).

Jamie starting 2nd grade

Wow. 2nd grade. Moving up to the big time. He already makes me so proud.

Summer was a ton of fun. He kicked my butt at Smash Bro.s more than once, but I had to return the favor in Generals.

Here is to you, little man. I'll miss you while your at school. Just try to take it easy on the old man when you get home.

Happy First Day of School Cassie Girl!

Ok...so that is still tomorrow. But with all the rush and everything in the morning, I wanted to get this out today. The last 2 years have been an amazing experience for me. I have gotten so much 1 on 1 time with Cassie, more than most dads dream of getting.

Yeah...I spent more time playing her games than teaching her her letters. Ok, so she only just now started counting to 15. But you know what? I wouldn't trade those moments with her for anything.

We'll miss ya Cassie girl. Have a great first day of school. I'll be there waiting for ya when you get home.

Summer's End... School Starts...

School starts tomorrow for BOTH of my kids. BOTH of them. That's right, my friends, my little girl is starting kindergarten. I keep telling myself I'm okay with that and I am, but a part of me feels a little sad. I know they are both little pains in the rump, but they are also wonderful human beings. It also means a weird thing for me - the first time in 6 years or so that I can work without a child in the house on a consistent basis. I'm not even sure how I feel about that. On one hand, I'm thrilled, but on the other, I am a little bit sad. I won't cry tomorrow - at least not in front of the kids. And besides, it's not like I'm losing them, things are just changing and while watching them grow up and experience new things makes my heart soar, it also makes it ache just a little bit. It's the end of an era. A time for a change.

Having said that, Cassie will be great. She's so excited about going and Jamie is thrilled to be going back (wow, 2nd grade!) and showing Cassie the ropes. Tom will be substitute teaching there some while his role in our business changes a bit. I loved working with him, but he misses the interaction of other people (besides me) LOL. I'm okay with that. He'll still support me technology wise, which is what I really need. Change is good, right?

To that end, this is a picture from the night before Marie left. We took them all to Dave & Busters and let them play games and had dinner. They had a blast. Then we made plans for her to try to come back. The kids even decided to start their vacation boxes NOW instead of waiting until after Christmas so that we can all afford to go to Schlitterbahn next year (instead of sucky Volente).

Before everyone thinks we are horrible, the deal with the kids is that they have to save up enough to pay for their souvenirs and dinner out one night during vacations. We usually do pizza or Subway for their night so there's plenty left for their souvenirs. It's a great way to teach them out saving their money and the value of a dollar. We decorate a box each year, cut a slit in the top and they put at least half of their allowance - or any other money they get - into the box so they save it. Yes, they could open a savings account, but it's just a dollar here and there and they don't quite understand the whole bank thing quite yet, so we use a box. Plus decorating it is a good project.

We don't MAKE them put the money in. They have a choice, but they know that their choice directly affects their Summer vacation. They saved VERY little last year and learned a harsh lesson from it, I'm afraid. *laugh*

Marie wanted to start a box too, so she decorated with them. I gave them each $1 to start their boxes... So cute!

Our Visit to the Texas Memorial Museum

Okay, I can never figure out what the actual name to this place is - Texas Memorial Museum? Dinosaur Museum (that's what we call it!), Texas Science Center? Whatever... it's cool. http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/. Tom and I and Dy took the kids there while Marie was visiting... they had a grand old time, and so did I... it's actually a really cool place!

Could we have some budding scientists in our midst?



Marie and Jamie hanging out in the boat thing... "ewww... girl germs!"


Jamie and J touch a dino bone... they proclaimed it was cold and creepy!


Cassie and J touch a big rock (or meteor, I can't remember) - they said it was cold and cool!


Jamie wanted me to take his picture. He's pretending to swim with the fish - who aren't real anyway.


Here is Cassie creeped out by the snakes...

and creeped out by the fish over her head...

and creeped out by the bones...


I can't remember what the upper floor is called, but they have a small exhibit about evolution and human "stuff". This is apparently what the HIV Virus looks like. The kids proclaimed it looked pretty. (Note: We didn't explain too much about this floor, just not willing to go there quite yet LOL - wimpy parents, I know)


J and Jamie left a note (they have a notebook you can write down your thoughts or whatever in)


And here they are hanging out waiting for me to get some postcards from the gift shop for Marie - which we, of course, promptly lost.


.... and the one kid that cooperates with pictures and posing is J!



A good time was had by all though!

Meet The Teacher was last night.... and cha-cha-cha changes... (Long and Rambling)

So, the welcome walk was last night. Yes, they come to the house. There are joys to having a small community elementary school (350 students in 6 grades - plus Pre-K). How cool is that? Both seem very very nice, which helps seeing as I'm handing them my babies for 7 hours per day. And no, I didn't scream "baby stealer!" at Cassie's Kinder teacher.

Cassie's teacher came first and we had to call Cassie out of Jamie's room - they had been in there for an hour or more playing with legos. Earlier that day, we had made a pencil craft (with a pinwheel on top) and Cassie gave it to her teacher as a gift (something we started last year and appears to now be a tradition). She was very surprised and will put it in her room to show it off. Cassie was, of course, beaming. Cassie was a bit shy but I think she's fine and the teacher shook her hand and told she would see her Monday for supply drop off. We found out later that a kid she knows will be in her class so she's feeling pretty good about it all.

Jamie's teacher came a few minutes later. The lady was pretty nervous, but I have to admit if someone told me I had to go visit 18 kids at their home with their parents asking me random questions, I'd probably pee my pants and then go hide. I thought she might start crying when Jamie gave her her pencil. That has ended up being a pretty good ice breaker. The little girl next door won't be in his class like he wanted, but his bully will NOT be in his class (we requested it ahead of time), and he knows a few kids that will be in his class, so it's all good.

For those of you that don't know, Tom is moving to a limited capacity working with me. He's found that he really wants to see people during the day (well, more than just me). He took a contract job over the Summer and is considering substitute teaching a bit this year. I'm okay with that, but it will be a huge change. I actually really like working with Tom and while we have our moments (seriously? you didn't do that? You know it's like - OVERDUE - now, right?) I think we have worked super well together over the years. Having said THAT, it will nice to eventually have insurance that doesn't suck and other benefits.

He should hear soon about the substitute teaching. He had an issue with getting fingerprinted. Tom has palmar hyperhydrosis (which basically means his hands sweat a lot - and nearly all the time). They had some issues with the prints coming back as altered because when your hands sweat a lot the whorls and ridges aren't as pronounced due to the swelling or whatever. Anyway, we haven't gotten the final results yet so we are in a holding pattern until we hear back.

I'm very proud of Tom in that he will graduate this April (or June? I cannot remember) with his bachelor's degree. WooHoo! The degree is in Business Marketing. So, of course, he wants to be a teacher now. *laugh*

Actually, he's not even sure what he wants to be when he grows up (yes, my 36 year old husband is trying to find himself). I'm all for the teacher thing because you can't beat the hours or the time off - PLUS it has a great benefits. Frankly, that's becoming more important than the salary to me. He's also thinking of a starting a small hosting business for QuickBooks and Sharepoint, but he doesn't actually know what he wants to do at this point.

I'm going to really feel weird the first few weeks. I've had someone here while I worked for the past 5 years. But I'm also looking forward to a more focused work-time. It's going to be REALLY quiet! Not such a bad thing :)

So, there you have it... the update on our lives right now.

Work to do and a couple of kids are coming over for a last hurrah today to play with our kids. (I truly believe the more the merrier - they keep each other busy so I can work - plus I secretly smile when I hear them all playing nicely together). We are so lucky to have great kids in our neighborhood that get along so well. It's like stepford without the freakiness. *grin*

(Hey! I typed stuff and no pictures!)

Jamie The Helper Kid...

For the most part, I must say that Jamie is a great little helper. When we need something, he's always willing to do it. He LOVES to do stuff in the kitchen though. Make a cake, decorate something. Help cook. He loves it. The girls asked for bath tub paints when Marie was here so he decided to help me mix up a batch... you can find the recipe at http://www.recipezaar.com/66418 We always use hand soap and cornstarch. Works great.

I'm so proud of him. Watching him grow up and into himself is amazing. He's a good kid, yes, but I bet he's going to be a good person too.

Sliding and Swimming and Sunning And Something...

We had a few people over one weekend when Marie was here and they played on the water slide, in the pool and then had ice cream afterwards... we love having Marie here during the Summer!

When Dakota Met Marie...

Marie is apparently pretty special... Uncle Tom doesn't let just anyone hold his ugly ass lizard bearded dragon.

You notice Julie in the corner of this first one? I bet she's thinking "rub my belly" - why? Because that's ALL Julie thinks about - where her next fix belly rub will come from.

Who Peed in his Cornflakes?

I cannot remember if he's mad at me for taking his picture or interrupting his Gameboy time or just in general, but hey, I took a picture anyway... no worries, we aren't saving up for college anymore - it's going straight into a therapy fund for them...



Okay, I admit it... just seeing his wrinkled up nose makes me smile. I realize this means I may either be evil or sick... either of which I'm okay with...

Heard from the backseat

Harry: Jamie, you are my best friend. You are the only one I want to be friends with forever. . .

Jamie: I know.
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Making Cookies!

Okay, seriously, this was WAY more fun than Volente, cheaper, and I think we spent more time on the cookies than at the water park. *laugh*

I used my Pampered Chef cookie press to make it easy and let the kids go wild. Aren't you jealous of how organized I am? I lined a box with foil and wrote their names on it. Each kid got the same amount of the same cookie, a plate to decorate on, icing to share. Not one fight ensued. I was quite proud of myself! I had my two, my niece and the little girl next door (see her new ear piercings? She's quite proud.)

But speaking of which... people always wonder how I get stuff done (work wise) because I work at home during all this craziness. Yes, I work at night and weekends sometimes, especially during the Summer, but I also have to be prepared with stuff like this, organized - and at the same time willing to abandon an idea and throw them at the video games, ya know? I think Tom and I do a pretty good job, overall, of being prepared with stuff like this. We have a whole small dresser full of crafts and junk just for this reason. Anyway... here's the pics...

So this is the set up...



And here they are decorating their little hearts out...






And the finished products...





Doncha just love the beehive cookie? Marie figured out that one looked like a beehive. I never noticed! Smart kid!

Hannah Banana Montana

I detest Hannah Montana. I don't really "get it". She's Hannah, but she's Miley who is played by a girl named Miley, but not the same Miley - so where does that leave Hannah and why is her show so stupid and the jokes all flat? Give me Drake and Josh back.

BUT... Marie loves Hannah Montana. So, like the good Aunt that I am, I set the TiVo to record it and the next day we sat down to watch...

Errr... I didn't record the concert after the shows, which is apparently what was going to be in 3D. I suck. Thanks goodness Uncle Tom was able to... errr... retrieve it for them and they got to watch it. Popcorn and blow up mattresses... fun!

I still hate her though. Stop the identity crisis and learn to tell a REAL joke.

Jamie's Reading Has Come SO Far... video proof

Jamie amazes me with how smart he is... he can do math problems "easy" (as he says) and his reading ability is just... wow... I'm a big reader, love books, so it just makes my heart sing to see this...

The Big Trip To Volente Beach That SUCKED

If you read our review blog, you know we thought this place sucked majorly, you can even see in the pictures the kids are underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, they had an okay time, but after 2 hours, we were done and ready to leave. No one wanted to do anything again (well, they wanted to go to the "beach" again, but there were just so many rocks and we'd had enough of stubbed toes and slipping around. Anyway, without further ado...

You'll see pics of Marie, my 9 year old niece a good bit over the next week or two. She was here early this month and I'm WAY behind on posting pictures...

I'm still getting used to the little P&S water camera we bought, so some of them suck, but oh well. You will all live. Somehow.

Here they are walking from the parking lot, filled with so much hope and desire for fun...


Only to have those hopes dashed...




They did have SOME fun though...

She's Not That Innocent.... video of Cassie singing

Okay, so the kid won't be winning any singing contests any time soon, but this was SO funny - especially because while her little 5 year old fits have becoming less in quantity, they are definitely LOUDER. I dunno, I just thought it was too cute not to share!

Jamie and Marie living it up at Amy's Ice Creams on Burnet