The Last Day of August

Tomorrow is it. The last day of August. I don't know what happens, but it seems that once August ends, summer is officially over. In fact, Chad just said last night, "Well, I guess we should think about closing down the pool this weekend." What?!?! Close down the pool? Are you crazy? Let's not go nuts here! If we close down the pool, that will definitely be the end of summer. Let's take it day by day. Breathe in, breathe out.
Okay...better!

Some big things have happened over the last few weeks. Life-changing, mind altering things such as:

1. Noah got his first zit.
And...
just in time for school pictures...
..........which were today.

2. Sydney got four inches cut off of her green hair.
No one noticed the drastic change in length, even though it used to stop at the top of her
backside now it stops at the middle of her back and is curlier than ever. However, now if she wears just the right shade of turquoise or green or blue....man oh man does the pool greens ever stand out! P.S. Everyone notices that!

3. Puppies, puppies, everywhere.
That's all that needs said on this subject.

4. Elijah's voice keeps getting deeper and he is now taller than me. *sigh* I can't stand it!

5. Noah officially has the hardest head this side of the state line.
I know this firsthand.
I have the bruise to prove it.
It's in a very noticeable place.
Front and center, above my eyebrow.
Here's a tip to all you moms of rambunctious boys..... wrestling with your sixth grade son
can be very dangerous to your health.
(I am still taking Advil and it's been more than 24 hours since the "incident!")

6. I have never been afraid of heights but found today that I am liking heights less and less
especially if a very tall ladder is involved! I realized this while making a new program layout/ display for the library. It was twelve feet tall and I had to use a ten foot ladder to staple, mount, layout, and perfect the display. Thankfully, I didn't wobble, trip, or even fall but I can honestly say that I didn't enjoy one second on that ladder! The very ironic thing about this entire situation is this; while I was fearing for my life on that ten foot ladder, the display I was creating was a TEN FOOT LADDER! (I know this doesn't make sense, but picture a tagline like this: Reach new heights while reading! Catchy, huh?)

7. Last but certainly not least... Chad has more patience than I've had in my entire life.
And...
I'm a tiny bit jealous of that.
I have the patience of....
well....um...
I don't have much patience. There!

Okay...enough, enough. I've got to get some shut-eye. I mean this in a literal sense...my eye is killing me because of the head-butt I received from Noah yesterday. I'm telling you...his skull is made of steel!

Our little puppies are five weeks old! I can't believe how fast they are growing! We are enjoying them. They are eating canned food twice a day and soon we will start them on a moist kibble. They LOVE their food. The second picture is of Belle and Oscar. Belle's face is very messy because she had just finished eating. They are getting teeth so being nibbled on can sometimes be a little painful! Belle is still our tiniest. Ace comes in at a close second and looks like a snowball with a head. Oscar and Zeus are nearly the same size however Zeus weighs more....he should after all he eats!

All the puppies can get out of the box now. This isn't exactly a good thing even though it is so cute to watch. As soon as they get out, they run as fast as their short, stubby legs can carry them only to slide and tumble on our wood floor. So, we scoop them up and kiss them and put them back in the box. If you'll notice, this picture is of the puppies ready for escape. Two seconds after I took this, Oscar tumbled out of the box. They also cry and whine when we put them in the box and walk away from them. They are such affection hounds! They love to be cuddled, loved on, and held. That's a very good thing because we can hardly keep our hands off of them!

They are so amazing and we are having such a good time playing with them. It is so fun to hear them bark and growl and watch them wrestle, jump, and run. This has been such a fun experience for us. We have loved every second of it!

First Day of School

Here are the May children getting ready to walk out the door for their first day of school. They all had a great first day. We were especially nervous for Noah since it was his first day in the middle school. But he is doing great and is loving it. Sydney is our only child left in elementary and while I don't see her much (she is in a different part of the building than me) I hear she is doing great and she is enjoying fourth grade.

Elijah is just happy to be back with his friends. His classes are going to be harder this year (he is taking honors English and Math as well as Spanish plus his regular classes) but I think he will have a great year. Oh...Elijah also made his competitive company hip hop class and is thrilled. He will start dancing in two weeks!

Get Inspired!

Wow! I read this today and it just completely struck a chord with me. I have to credit my friend, Scott whose wife, Deanna, is a daily blogger. Her blog is fun to read just because they are where Chad and I were a few years ago. They have two very young boys and I can see so much of my young parenting (frustrations, joys, and concerns) in her. Mind you, this is not a quote from Deanna but from a pastor at a church up north. Anyway, I hope it inspires you as it did me today.

"Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion!"

New Puppy Pics

I've been getting lots of requests (mostly from my husband!) about getting some new pictures on here of our adorable foursome!

They just keep getting more and more fun. Everyone has their eyes open now. Because of this new fact, Gidget gets completely attacked as soon as she steps in the box. It reminds me of a parent bringing take out home to four starving teenagers. "Mom's here!!! Time to eat!" I did start feeding them canned food once a day. They love it. Our biggest boy and our little girl get the most into it. After most feedings we have to wash them down with soap and water. We have one puppy that is the most vocal. He barks a lot when he plays. It's so cute. Their ears aren't open just yet but I know they will be any day. Life will change drastically when they are able to hear. I'm sure they will become a lot more vocal.

We are loving just being able to watch them and see what they do next. They are also starting to get their own personalities. We have named them just so we can tell them apart. Here is the lowdown so far:

Zeus - he's our biggest boy. His lips and nose are the darkest so far in color. He is also the fuzziest and fattest. He also dives right into to meal time and gets the messiest. He is the most playful and likes to nibble on fingers (or tails if they are presented the right way.) He also tends to growl during play which is so cute! Zeus loves his tummy rubbed and will lay on his back anytime.

Oscar - not quite as big as Zeus but close. He is very shy and sweet. He's not as active yet. He's the most shy around the canned food. He likes it but doesn't act real interested. He tries to chase Zeus but rarely catches him. He's very content to sleep cuddled up to Ace. The top of Oscar's nose is still pretty pink. He and Zeus have many of the same features.

Ace - (aka Active Boy) Noah and Sydney picked the name for this one. Ace is our tiny male. He was our third puppy to open his eyes. He is a cuddler and loves to be held but HATES to lay on his back. He sleeps a lot still but loves meal time. He and Zeus love to wrestle and Ace usually ends up being the one flipped over. Ace is also our most vocal puppy. Lots of random barking!

Belle - She is our only girl and the last to open her eyes. She really loves meal time. She gets right in there and it's fun to watch her and Zeus fight over the food. She's pretty quick and is the one that probably covers the most "mileage" around the box. Belle sleeps on her back a lot with feet straight up in the air. She loves to have her tummy rubbed. She has a very sweet disposition and at this point acts the most like Gidget when she was a puppy.

Anyway enjoy the pics. They are three and a half weeks old. They are getting big fast. I will be getting them registered within the next week. For those of you that are interested, the puppies will be ready by the end of September.

P.S. Last night when we were taking pictures, the only puppies awake were Zeus and Ace. I'll try to get pics soon of the other two!

Good Weekend

I had a really good weekend. I turned 36 on Sunday (that part of it wasn't the greatest...after all, I'm on the downward slope towards 40!) however I got to spend my birthday weekend with lots of family which is always fun!

On Friday, my brother, his wife and daughter came over. They brought an ice cream cake and we played cards. We had such a good time laughing and being silly. If you know my brother, Todd, then you know how incredibly hysterical and completely rotten he is. We played euchre (and endured Todd's feeble attempts at cheating!) ate cake and had the best time together!

Saturday, Elijah had dance company auditions. I dropped him off and got to do some shopping of my own while he was dancing his little heart out. I needed shoes desperately and was so pumped when I found not one but TWO pairs of adorable slip-ons. I also got to browse the isles at Hobby Lobby and picked out some really cute fall decorations for my room at school.

Sunday, we went to Mom and Dad's for lunch and just spent the afternoon hanging out with them and catching up. It was a really good day and a very nice and relaxing way to spend my birthday.

At 9:12 p.m. however, it became official. I was 36 years old! So far I have really enjoyed my thirties. I am hoping as I slide towards 40, these years get better and better. I am forever thankful for my amazing family and the support system they lend to my life. I am very blessed!

It's almost time!

I can't believe school starts next week! Yikes! I still have so much to do and my time to do it is dwindling quickly. Most of my anxiety rests in the simple fact that I have school supplies yet to purchase. Last year we had a prong folder emergency and had the worst time trying to find all the colors we needed. This year I started a little earlier so I have all the prong folders I need HOWEVER now I'm missing the other necessities such as pencils, erasers, steno pads, and buying the dreaded Trapper Keeper folder!

I worked yesterday and today at registration at the school. It was really fun to get to see all the students, answer phones, and catch up with the staff. But my favorite part was getting to tell the students who their teacher was for the year. In most cases, they were excited and it always cracks me up to watch their little faces beam with excitement as they look up at their parents waiting to see if they have the same excitement. However, there are always a few that are disappointed and they will look up at their parents and plead silently as if telekinetically (is that spelled right?) they are saying, "Please, Mom. Do something about this!"

Our staff at Albany Elementary is amazing! They are all such great people and do such a fabulous job with the kids. I feel very blessed to be a part of such a fun group.

At any rate, even though I am sad summer is quickly drawing to a close, I am ready to get back to work. I miss my friends at school and I miss the students. It will be good to get back into the swing of things again.

We have eyes!

Yes, it's true. Our puppies now have eyes and they are open! Both of our big boys opened their eyes Friday night and Saturday morning. ADORABLE! They are so cute. They are becoming more and more mobile and it is so fun to watch them move around the box.

The smallest boy hasn't yet opened his eyes but it will probably happen very soon. Our little girl, Belle however, acts very content with her closed eyes and it looks as if it will be a couple more days for her.

They are really getting big and have started to get so fuzzy! Their tummies are so fat and they are starting to make actual barking noises. It has been so much fun to watch them grow and change.

Here are a few recent pics. Enjoy!

Harry Potter Mania

Ohhhh yeah! Love, love the Harry Potter books. AND...can I just say that I am completely sad that the series is over? I won't reveal anything especially for those of you who are not big readers or will wait for the movies to come out. But....this book was so great! I love the way Rowling writes and how children and adults alike are sucked into the incredible story lines. WOW! I highly suggest this book. I bought it and read it in five days...which means, I didn't get much else accomplished during those days, but hey! It was vacation! I'm allowed!