the mess

This is what my kitchen looked like yesterday morning. Even though you can't see the living room, trust me, it looked like this or worse. I worked all day and evening cleaning yesterday, and the house looks much better now! I have a couple of rooms left which should be getting done now, but I believe my body is taking a day off today. I have piles of laundry to do- haven't started it. I need to clean up the tutoring room- haven't looked at it. I need to think about what's for supper- haven't wanted to. I am lazy today and that's all there is to it. I do seem to be having plenty of computer time however- haven't seemed to get my hiney off this chair.
Been thinking about the new year- goals I want to make. I have a hard time with resolutions. It seems I have never kept one, so making one seems to be a guarantee for failure. How's that for a positive attitude. I also chose a word for the year (from Ali's blog) last year and had fun with that. I am pondering a new one for this year. I will share those probably on New Year's Day when my family is glued to football while I get to do as I please!
Alright- I must get a load of laundry in at least.
Toodles!

Back to the mess

I have been working all day trying to put the house back in order. We had Christmas as a family here at home on Tuesday evening. I made homemade pizza (Gary's request) and then the boys opened gifts. They got a Wii and all the accessories and were quite excited! That was pretty much it for them since that all was quite expensive. Gary and I have not exchanged gifts for the last several years. Instead we usually buy something bigger. Some past purchases have been the video camera, digital camera, etc. This year we bought ourselves good bikes the day after Thanksgiving. We've got a great bike trail from here to Indianola so hopefully we'll get some good use out of them (after the snow melts, which could be awhile). Anyway, we had fun playing Wii that first night. My Wii fitness age was 63 the first time I tried it and I cut it down to 43 today! I was psyched. And I rule at ski ball. I am the top scorer right now (Bradley doesn't like to be beat so I'm sure he'll work on that. I plan to play tennis later. We'll see how that goes! Anyway, with the Wii comes a lot of trash and boxes! We left right away on Wed. morning for the next 4 days to families' homes, so I left the house a wreck! We had fun with Gary's fam and mine. I just love spending time with everyone. When we got back yesterday I had a fabulous nap while my husband caught up on football and the boys were back at the Wii. Today I took all the Christmas stuff down. I am one of those people who can't wait to get the tree up. 3 times out of 4 my tree is up before Thanksgiving, but it's always down before New Year's. After Christmas I am so ready to clean up the mess and get the house back in order. I have all the decorations down and the living room cleaned up. The kitchen still has junk all over and my tutoring room is untouched, but I needed a little break. My back is hurting. I'm getting old! I got some new computer software for organizing pictures and hopefully to do a little digital stuff, so I'm wanting to install that tonight and play with it. Hopefully in the next couple of days I'll get some of my Christmas pictures posted!

Today would have been my mom's birthday. I've been thinking about her a lot today and miss her terribly. She always loved Christmas so much-having all of her kids home and together- it's just not the same without her. And I miss the house- Anyway, I'm feeling a little nostalgic today. I have several pictures and things saved in a box. I have been wanting to put together a scrapbook of mom but just haven't been ready to yet. I'm hoping I can get it done soon.
Enough blabbering for now. I need to get back and work on cleaning up the kitchen. I was hoping the maid would come while I was gone, but she apparently didn't get that memo!
Toodles!

Christmas message from an 8 year old boy...

The shirt says it all.

Little Mother

I just love this picture- Makes me laugh every time I look at it! Little Maizy is "supervising" the piano practice- making sure Brennan plays those notes right!
She is my baby girl. We've always had boy cats- this is the first girl cat I've ever had! She certainly has a mothering personality, which I've never seen. She watches out for everyone in our family, but she is especially partial to me and Brennan. She was so precious last week when I had the flu. She stayed nearby at all times. She wanted to be right next to me when I was sick, and at one point when I was leaning over the toilet emptying my guts (sorry for the graphic picture), I turned around and found her peering in the bathroom door, looking very concerned, as if to say, "Mom, are you alright??" After I'd been sick for about 24 hours, my back was hurting so I stretched out on the floor with the heating pad over my head (I had a throbbing headache). She came right over and ducked her head under the heating pad to check on me to see if I was OK! Too funny! She kept a constant vigil during my flu, but when I was finally up and around, she was so exhausted from keeping tabs on me! I think she slept for a whole day to recover from her "nursing" duties! She likes to mother Oreo, but Oreo doesn't really think he needs mothering! I've tried to use this logic with Gary to get another kitten ("Maizy needs something to mother") but it's not working. Go figure.
I'm just enjoying a minute of peace and quiet here between tutoring and piano lessons. The boys had an early out today, and although it was quite a ruckus here earlier, they are now over at the neighbor's playing. Ahh... silence is golden, someone once said.

A good reminder

Our pastor gave a great message at church this morning. It was a wonderful reminder to keep Christ in Christmas and not get so "wrapped" (pardon the pun) up in all of the presents, baking, etc. It really hit me as I have a tendency to want to do, do, do, during this time of year instead of reflect, remember, and rejoice. I want to be intentional about talking with my boys about what this season is really about, not about what we've turned it into. Pastor Phil said this quote, and it has stuck with me all day. I hope that you will let it sink into your hearts, too, so that Christ remains the focal point of this beautiful season.

"During this special time of year, don't let the only begotten Son of God become the only forgotten Son of God."

SURPRISE!

Last weekend I got Gary good- He turns 40 in December, but the surprise party came early! He didn't suspect a thing! His family surprised him on Friday night and then Saturday night after the adults went out to eat, we came home to a house full of family and friends. It was a fun night! The cake says "Over the Hill." Not homemade- HyVee is my friend.

I got him a party hat that said "I don't wanna grow up!" I think it fits him perfectly. Love ya babe!

more layouts

Once again, the color is terrible, but here are a few more layouts I've done recently. For some reason, scrapping Christmas is always hard for me. So I finally got around to doing the 2006 pictures! I was bound and determined to get them done before Christmas '08!

I really love this bike layout. I knew I wanted to do lots of circles based on the bike theme, and it came out fun and colorful- 2 words that describe my scrapbook style. The close-up of the title is a few pics down- still haven't figured out how to move things around on here.

These pics of Gary and I are from two separate occasions- back a couple of years I think. I have loved this circle paper from the first time I laid eyes on it, and I cut out the hearts from another piece of patterned paper. And, of course, a little bling never hurts!

I love how this one came out. Gary and his father have a special relationship, and this picture certainly exemplifies it. This was taken this summer when his dad took a day off of work to come and help him side the house and garage. Without watching and learning from his dad, he would never be able to do all of the handy things he can do. Not just that, but his father has taught him so much more, and he truly views Doyle as his hero.

Other than that, it's been a busy couple of weeks. I threw Gary a surprise 40th birthday party, and it was a success!!! I am so psyched to have pulled it off! Pics to come soon.

I have a couple more days to finish a stupid on line class (which is what I should be doing now), and I can't wait to be done with it!

I've been staying up too late, and I need to get to bed. Mornings come too soon, and I never want to get up!!

Later-

scrappy stuff...

I have been wanting to share a few layouts for awhile, but never seem to get the job done. I do not do a good job of taking photos of my layouts. I never seem to have the right light. In fact, I took all of these one day using natural light (which I always try to do) but I still see glare in them. I actually took the pictures of these layouts again on another day, but those aren't uploaded to my computer yet. So, I will post the crappy photos anyway. You get the idea.
This pic was taken at Adventureland this summer. Bear in mind, I had already been on the log ride and got COMPLETELY drenched! But I love the picture anyway. We had a fun day. My sister and her 4 kids came with us and our boys loved being with their cousins. I love how the layout came out. I made the flower pot out of scraps I had. I always seem to struggle with knowing how to include programs and such. Do I make a pocket? Adhere it right to the layout? Slip behind a photo? I wanted to include the program for the boys' piano recital, so I hole punched, reinforced the holes, and tied with pretty ribbon. It can easily be taken out if someone wants to look at it. The boys each played a solo in the recital, and they played a duet together as well. I was so proud of them!

I love pink, and will use it on my scrapping whenever I can! I also love to get away from traditional reds/greens for Christmas, so I was happy to be able to use this paper for the Christmas photo of the cousins at Papa's house. I just recently took on the monumental task of organizing all of my ribbon (and believe me, there was a lot there!). Before the organization it was literally stuffed in a large plastic bag. I bought floss holders, and wound them all up and then organized them in two plastic compartments ROYGBIV. I love how it turned out, and I know it will help me use my ribbon more often. Before, it was just too hard to dig through it all to find what I was looking for.

This page has a special memory involved, and the journaling tells the story. I gave the boys each some money last year before Christmas and told them they were to use it to pick out a gift for Grandma and Grandpa. Brennan decided to use his money to buy the materials to make Grandpa and Grandma t-shirts. So one afternoon, he (and Bradley) worked on decorating the shirts with puffy paints. He was so proud of his creations (and I think Grandma and Grandpa liked them as well). I just love seeing Brennan create. He has joined me several times recently while I'm down working in my scrap area. He likes to use my acrylic paints and go crazy! He recently made a bookmark that we use every night in the book we read before bed.

I have more to share-I just went to a crop on Saturday, and got some layouts finished there. I enjoyed my day and sat by the nicest two ladies.

I've got a sick kid. Poor Brennan has been coughing nonstop for the past couple of days. I tried everything to get it to stop, but to no avail. After unsuccessfully trying to get into our regular clinic for an appointment this afternoon, I got desperate and took him to an Urgent Care clinic. He has asthmatic bronchitus, and we headed home with three meds. So far, we're not really seeing a lot of improvement, but I'm hoping by tomorrow evening things will be a little better.

I start two new tutoring students this week. One has come before, but he hasn't been here for over a year. He started having trouble again, and asked his mom if he could come back. I thought that was pretty mature of him!

I've subbed a couple more times. I think I'm adjusting to it. I went back to a classroom I was in earlier in the year, and it was so much easier the second time around. I really enjoy the variety of grade levels I get to be in.

I got a facebook account this week. That's been fun, so I've been spending time learning that. Bradley made his own yesterday, and believe it or not, Gary already had one before either of us. That was a shocker!

Well I need to hit the hay. I haven't slept much the last few nights because I've been up with Brennan. Who knows what tonight will hold.

Toodles!

It's been awhile

This was taken last weekend at Race for the Cure. We had a beautiful day, but in the morning it was a bit on the chilly side. The sky was blue, so no complaints! Gary ran the 5K and the rest of us did the mile walk. It is a tradition for us. This is our fourth year to do Race for the Cure.


I love this pic of the boys horsing around with the Capitol building in the back.

As we were walking up to where the Race was located, I saw this gorgeous fall tree in front of the Capitol and thought it was such a great shot.

This was Brennan's Halloween costume. He declared himself a "hobo troll." He loved the wig and knew he wanted to wear that, and decided he needed a pitchfork too. So maybe a "devil hobo troll??" In any event, he was happy and that's all that matters! No costume for Bradley this year. He stayed home and handed out candy while I took Brennan out trick or treating. Dad was in Connecticut on business.

That's it for now! I'll update more later.

Toodles.

Fall is here

Brennan was ready to go out and rake leaves on Saturday. We hadn't had many fall at that point yet (however today's rain and wind have changed that) so it didn't take us too long. He was envisioning the huge pile we have had in past years perfect for jumping in, however we couldn't quite make that happen from what we had! So we raked until Oreo brought us a little gift in his mouth (a praying mantis!). I love these two photos we took together. My little man is growing up!

birthday gift

A couple of months ago I was shopping in Family Bookstore. I saw this print on the wall and instantly knew I wanted it in my living room. We used to have a clock here, but after it konked out, we never had replaced it. Since we have a big clock in the dining room, we really don't need another one so close. So the wall was empty for a good year or so. I knew I wanted something there, but didn't know what. I wish I could say I have a knack for decorating, but that would be lying. I usually have to see it done somewhere else or find an idea in a magazine. I am a terrible decision maker when it comes to decorative stuff as well. I am not a visionary, I guess. Anyway, this one struck me. So I decided I would use my birthday money to get it. It was normally $150, but with a 33% of coupon that came in a flyer, I got it for $100! I was so excited! After I (my husband) hung the print, it looked really bare by itself. So I was off to find some sconces. I found these two at my favorite store, Gordmans, and once again, I scored them both for $11 after a 20% off coupon I had. The little candles are actually battery operated ones. This whole wall makes me so happy every time I look at it. It makes me feel peaceful, even when the boys are having a WWE wrestling session just inches away.

This is about as close up as I could get with my lens. And the color isn't very good either. I just love the serenity of it. I can picture myself sitting out on this porch after dinner, when I'm old and retired, enjoying a summer evening.
And best of all, one of my very favorite Bible verses is printed on the bottom of it. I was reminded of this verse at my ladies' Bible study today as we talked about priorities and how often things seem so messed up because our priorities are not in line with what they should be. Our pastor's wife, Bonnie, is such a blessing. After we study at our groups, she gets up and speaks for 20 minutes or so. When I come away from listening to her, it's all back into perspective for me. It's very simple and although her message is delivered in many forms, the heart of it is always the same. God, husband, children, and circle of influence. Those are my priorities. That is what is important. Those are my primary areas of ministry. Many times, I get way too wrapped up in all the extra garbage of the day that ultimately doesn't really matter.

Well, I need to head to bed. I stayed up way too late last night too. But the quiet hours of the night to me are what many early risers feel the quiet hours of the morning are to them-my time of peace. And there are nights I'm not ready to let go of it...even for my (new) very comfy pillow.

Still alive...

I have kept waiting to post because I planned to put some pictures on with my post. But in order to put the pictures on, I have to download them first. And in order to download them, I have to preview, folder, and delete the duds of the hundreds that need to be downloaded. And in order to do that, I need more time than just a few minutes at a sitting- which seems to be all I've had these past few weeks. So I decided to jot down some thoughts and I will download pics this week (I hope!!). My week always seems to fill up and be gone before I know it!

I've had to sub the last couple of days. 6th grade resource on Friday and kindergarten today. This Friday I will be in 4th grade. As a whole, I am enjoying the subbing as a whole. I like the variety of classes and grade levels. I like being able to leave at 3:30 with no paperwork or responsibilities. I like meeting and working with the teachers that have/have had my children. I like helping the students and getting to know them. I don't particularly like the 6 AM phone call, the not necessarily knowing if I'll be working that day or not and not knowing how to make plans, the classes with little plans/direction. But for the most part, it's been a good experience and is definitely good for me- I need to be pushed out of my comfort zone and this would qualify. I do feel it will get easier as I sub longer. Today, even, was better as it was my second time in kindergarten. I knew the snack/milk/dismissal routine and felt more comfortable with it.

I'm doing an on-line class to keep my teaching license current. It's on China, of all things. I went through the entire professsional development catalog and that's the best I could find. I was discouraged that it didn't seem they had more useful beneficial classes to offer. I haven't started any of the assignments and need to get on that.

I am writing three lessons for RBP at the moment and those all need to be done by the end of the month. I intended to get started on that last week, but that never happened so I must get busy this week. On that note, I received a package today of last quarter's RBP curriculum with my first two written lessons in print. It was a really cool feeling to see something I'd written actually printed and published! That was encouraging and felt good.

I actually got my kitchen/dining room painted (for the 3rd time, mind you)!! Finally! I have had about six swatches of color painted on one wall for over a month. I couldn't decide what I liked, but one night, one of them popped out at me and screamed, "I'm perfect!!" And I agreed. My family, on the other hand, all hated it. But I think it's growing on them, and it is perfect. I couldn't be happier.

I finally bought my birthday present. I'll share that soon with pics! I love it!

Brennan and I have been very crafty lately. I have had some projects in the works and got some time to work on those this weekend. He has enjoyed being down in the craft room with me using lots of my acrylic paints. I love watching him create. His creativity amazes me. I hope that never goes away.

Alright, enough blabbering for now. I'm hoping the next time I post I'll have pictures to accompany!

Toodles.

School picture day

Heard 'round the Hydorn household this morning...

"I hate this comb- it's for girls!" (when I wanted to run over the hair with a vented brush)

"I can fix my own collar! I'm not a baby! (when I tried to fix the collar that was all crooked)

"I already combed my hair! (when I merely tried to brush down the untouched pieces sticking straight up on the back of his head)

"This shirt's stupid!" (how dare I pick out a shirt that doesn't have a sports team or a number on it)

"Hairspray makes your hair all crunchy!" (while I was spraying- praying and hoping the hair will still look decent in 3 or 4 hours when the picture finally gets taken)

"I'm not wearing make-up!" (when I wanted to put a little concealer over the bright red pimples on the face)

"I don't care!" (said very matter-of-factly to everything I suggested about the day's grooming)

"I want pose number one. All of the others are dumb!" (even though I liked that pose the very least)

"My hair looks fine! Don't touch it! (when I tried to do some touch-up)

"I hate picture day!" (offered more than once in the 1/2 hour before school)

These choice comments were spoken by my lovely cherubs as we prepared for school pictures this morning. I, on the other hand, handled it much better as I responded with a few choice phrases of my own...

" I'm done with your attitude!"

"Let me help you!" (as I had to chase Brennan around the kitchen table while he tried to escape me fixing his collar)

"Well I do care! I'm paying $30 for these stupid pictures!"

"You're not wearing a hood! It will mess up your hair!"

"Please do not "rake" your hair forward with your fingers before your pictures (knowing his usual method of "combing")

"Smile nicely. I'm not paying good money for one of your goofy smiles. I can get that for free any day."


it's no wonder I hate picture day as much as the boys do-

And he's sick again...

A week later and the stomach flu has now hit poor Brennan. He woke up at about 1:30 last night and he (we) have had very little sleep since then. This virus has been pretty rough on him and,twelve hours later, he is just now getting to stay on the couch for more than 20 minutes at a time. Really hoping this doesn't hit anyone else. I am planning a little scrapbook getaway with my dear friend Dawn this weekend that I am so looking forward to. Gary is extremely busy at work with an employee who just recently left and quarter end stuff to do. Bradley woke up this morning with a nose full of junk, so I think his defenses are down already. And it's not even winter yet...Ugh

He really was sick

You know I said that Brennan had said it hurt when he breathed on Monday, but yet I wasn't sure how sick he really was. Well the asthma came through loud and clear on Monday during the night. He was very barky and congested so Dad and I were plugging in vaporizers and nebulizers in the middle of the night. He didn't sleep well at all that night, so I let him sleep in thinking he wouldn't feel like going to school on Tuesday. But by 9 AM, he was up, dressed, and ready to go. Last night he did sleep well, thanks to my good friend, Nyquil. Hopefully we started the asthma treatments soon before he gets completely miserable.

In happier news...

Bradley's team won their first football game Monday! 20-14!!!

I have been exercising faithfully this week, and this morning I ran farther than I ever have! and

I am eating lunch with Brennan at school today. Cafeteria chicken nuggets, here I come!

Mrs. Gordon

Yes, that's my new name, according to some kindergarteners. I subbed for the second time on Friday. This time I was in kindergarten class. Unlike last week's resource room, I had no down time to speak of! It was busy, busy, busy all day, even though there were only 15 kids! Each age has bright spots. The great thing about kindergarten is that they warm up to you quickly (I even got a beautiful picture made for me!), they don't try to pull one over on you to get away with things they shouldn't, they are overly anxious to help in any way that they can, and the curriculum and activities are so fun. Lots of singing, etc. On the flipside of that is that they have a very structured routine usually (with calendar and specific ways of transitioning, etc) and can have difficulty adjusting if you don't do things exactly the way Mrs. _________ does it, they tattle and tell (which drives me crazy), and they cannot seem to remember my name. I always write it on the board and make a big deal of practicing it (we wave "hi" for HY, and I point to the door for DOR, and then we add an "n" sound. So these precious, not yet reading, children look at my name, make valiant efforts to sound it out, and usually fail, which sometimes results in hysterical laughter (only on the inside) on my part. I have been Mrs. Hydork, Mrs. Hydorf, Mrs. Hydron, and, my personal favorite, Mrs. Hardon. Friday brought a new name- Mrs. Gordon. I think they remembered the OR sound because we had emphasized that, and he went with Gordon. The funny thing was when one little boy started saying it,(and he said it every 5 minutes because he had many important things to tell me!) everyone began calling me Mrs. Gordon. We practiced again a little while later and then they began getting it right! Oh, the funny stories I will probably accumulate as I sub in many different classrooms this year!

I have a sick one home today. Brennan is complaining of a stomachache. I'm still trying to determine exactly what the issue is. I know he is not feeling 100%, I can tell that, but I'm not sure how "sick" he really is either. Allergies and his asthma might be a factor because he told me it hurts when he breathes. Hmmm... It's so hard to know what to do on days like these. I would hate to send him to school when he really isn't feeling well. As a teacher, I have seen that done too many times, and I always felt so sorry for the student who really should have been at home, but yet I don't want him to think he can just tell me he's "sick" and then get to stay home because TV seems more appealing. I won't let him play. He does have to lay down, but I do let the kids watch TV.

Not much else to report. The garage is almost done. Just the back side for Gary to side, and then he has to paint the house and garage. The siding project has gone on for exactly 3 months now, and has pretty much consumed all of my husband's free time. I am proud of him for working so diligently on it. He has an incredible work ethic, and the job looks wonderful.

Bradley's first football game is tonight. We have to go to Adel. I hope they win! All I know is that they have been practicing hard for weeks. He comes home dripping in sweat every night from all of the running and plays they have done. Don't get me wrong- I think it's good for him. It would be good for me to come home dripping in sweat from exercise!

Well, I best get something done. Toodles for now.

I learned tonight...

from listening to this program on my way home from church that the average child smiles 400 times per day while the average adult smiles about 15 times per day. The realization of that is pretty sad and startling. Sometimes I think we get so busy with the routines of each day that we forget to appreciate the little, seemingly simple things of our every day. Today I smiled when...

1) Maizy was lying on the pillow so pristinely looking like a very plump princess.
2) Brennan headed off to school on his bike, like such a big boy.
3) my dear, sweet, wonderful father-in-law took a day off from work to come and help Gary put the siding on the garage.
4) I received 6 yummy cupcakes as an early birthday present.
5) I tasted my first bite of one of those lucious cupcakes!
6) sang "happy birthday" and gave a precious little 3 year old a Strawberry Shortcake doll and cake for her birthday.
7) read Cathy Z.'s blog. She is one of the funniest people in the world!
8) I watched Oreo follow Brennan down the street on his bike.
9) Bradley told me he aced his Spanish test
10) I saw the new scrapbooking paper at Michael's.
11) I finally found the perfect frame for a picture of Brennan in Florida this summer.
12) the sun was shining and it was 80 degrees- the perfect day!
13) I read the nice thank you note from Brennan's teacher.
14) I inserted my first link in this blog post!
15) I kissed my husband goodnight.


I know there were many more smiles, however this statement challenged me that I don't have enough of those carefree, special, happy moments with my children especially. I feel like a drill sergeant much of the time- nagging and barking orders so as to keep us on schedule. I want to leave with this song. It is one of my favorites right now, and rings so true for this very topic. Actually I think I was smiling while I was belting this out in the car on the way to the Dr. today (thankfully I was alone so no one else had to be subjected to my terrible singing voice!). Listen carefully to the words. Life is short. Don't waste a minute of it.

So, what made you smile today??

celebrating a birthday today...

Seven years ago, September 14, 2001 Bradley asked the Lord to be his personal Savior. Today he is 7 years old in the Lord.
I will never forget that day. It was just 3 days after the 9/11 attacks and emotions were running high as it was. I was teaching at Grandview Park Baptist School at the time and Bradley was in kindergarten there. After school, each class stood outside waiting for their rides and busses to pick them up. He would be dismissed to come to my "box" before we'd go inside. After all of the kids were gone, he said to me, "Guess what I did today? I asked Jesus into my heart." Immediately tears of joy came to my eyes. We discussed it a minute, and then I went to his teacher's room to find out some more details. At their chapel time, they had been discussing the Lamb's Book of Life. The two kindergarten teachers and the associate all gave their testimonies about when their names were written in the Book. Apparently the Spirit was working on him because later on at snack time, during the prayer, he asked the Lord to be his Savior. He told his teacher he'd done that shortly afterwards. As soon as I got back down to the room, he called Daddy to tell him the good news, and Daddy was brought to tears as well. We had prayed for this, of course, and had specifically prayed for it to be a decision completely on his own volition. I never wanted to feel as though we had pushed him into it, or him say he wanted to get saved just to please us. We wanted to know that it was a genuine decision on his part. God truly answered that prayer, and I'm so grateful. We have seen his faith grow over these past years, and God answered another prayer last winter when he decided he wanted to get baptized, and he was on January 27. That was another precious day. We are so proud of the young man he is becoming and continue to pray that God will use his gifts and talents for His glory. I love you Bradley Scott!

quick update

Just a quick update on the goings-on around here lately. It's busy as usual!

*Bradley got his braces on last Thursday. He has been doing very well with them. The first few days, his poor lip was cut, but I think he's learning them. He told me tonight that it is hard to play his trumpet, so I hope that will get easier with time.

*I have been a painting maniac this weekend. The pretty flower border in my upstairs bathroom (which I loved) was peeling and just not looking good anymore. So I took it off and just repainted in the same blue color it was. I just need to finish a couple of things in there and that room will be done.

*I am also repainting in Bradley's room. We are doing Cyclone/Carlisle Wildcat yellow and red. The yellow is on, and we just need to touch-up the red. He is also due for a new comforter and some Cyclone decor so I am on the hunt for some of that. I've been scouring ebay and Craig's List for deals, but so far, none yet. I do have a bid on a Cyclone golf ball holder that, hopefully, I'll score.

*Our new recliner chair came in on Friday, and we went right away to pick it up! I love it! It's so comfy and cushy- it's a Lane, microfiber, kindof a neutral taupe color. Maizy seems to love it as well as that has become her napping spot.

*I had my first subbing job today in Carlisle. I was in the 2nd grade resource room. It was OK, but I had a lot of down time, it seemed. and the day dragged a little. Next time I'll be sure to bring a good book! I'll be back in that classroom in about a month and a half again. It was fun being just a few doors down from Brennan's classroom, so I got to peek in there a time or two!

*Tomorrow I start a new ladies' Bible study. I am excited to be under the teaching of our pastor's wife. It's been awhile since I've been in one of her studies. She is such a godly woman, and I always seem to learn so much from her.

*I guess that's enough blabbering for now. I'm tired and ready for bed. I haven't slept real well again the last few nights, so I'm hoping for a more restful night tonight!

Toodles.

*

conversation today...

Mom: "Brennan, go potty before bed."

Brennan: "Would you stop saying 'potty?' I'm not two!!!"

(I guess he told me)

2007 recap

I actually finished this layout several months ago, but am just now getting around to sharing it. I don't do a good job of taking pictures of the layouts- photography isn't my strong suit- so I never think the picture does them justice. Anyway, I really like these recap pages. These tend to really speak to me as I look through past pages I've done. If I could ever get around to organizing my pictures in a better fashion than shoving them into a big tub, I might be able to create more layouts like this.

It was a nice weekend. Friday night, Gary and Bradley went to the Carlisle high school football game, Brennan played here at home, and I scrapped to the 80's. One of the local stations plays all 80's, all night, and I LOVE it! I began working on our Florida pictures, and got several pages completed. Saturday, we slept in, Gary and I went for a walk (I am up to running 9 blocks now!!) and then I went to the grocery store. He was working on painting the trim on the house and garage. Then we were asked to be sponsors at a baptism. We felt very honored to be asked. Sunday was church, a nice afternoon nap for me, and then we hooked up with some friends we hadn't seen in over 2 years! It was good to get together again. We went over to their house and had burgers and hot dogs, and just enjoyed chatting until after 11. They have 2 boys as well, so our kids had fun playing together. This morning we took advantage of sleeping in, and then Gary was out painting again. I had a tutoring student over to scrap. I am almost done with our Florida pictures. The boys hung out with the neighbor boy, we grilled brats and chicken for supper, and then played a game before baths, showers, and devotions. It was so hot today too! The actual temperature was 90 degrees with the heat index close to 100! Ugh! It was a nice weekend. It's nice to have a few of those that are not jam packed with activities and places to go non stop.

In other news...

*Bradley got 12 (yes, 12) spacers put in last Thursday in preparation for braces this week. He was a hurting unit after that and had to come home from school because he was in so much pain.

*I bought paint for the bathroom and Bradley's room. Our bathroom has a pretty flower border on the bottom part of the wall, and I still love it, however it's coming off and is starting to look bad. So I'm just going to take that off and repaint the same blue color (or close to it). I want to keep it nice and bright in there, so I'll accent with yellow, orange, and green towels and rugs and hopefully find a pretty picture for the wall. Bradley has had a Braves room since he was about 4 and he's kind of tired of it, so we're planning to do Iowa State/Carlisle Wildcat red/yellow. Thankfully, the red is already on half the wall so we're going to paint the top half yellow (I say "we," what I really mean is "me!" Anyway, hopefully I'll get started on these projects this next weekend.

I need to get to bed. I'm trying not to stay up so late during the week.

Toodles!

Back to school

My baby is a 2nd grader! I know, I know, Gary is groaning as he reads this. I am not to call him "baby" anymore. And I don't- in front of others and when it might embarrass him. But he will always be my baby, no matter how big he gets. Here he is with Mr. Mitchell, his 2nd grade teacher. He was SO excited to have a guy teacher. After having a week os school under our belts, all is going well. He comes home happy every day. He has been riding his bike to school and home and "locking" it in the bike rack during the day. He is so proud of that! He did his first spelling homework packet tonight. And he told me this morning that the 2nd graders get to pour their own ketchup at lunchtime! Little things mean a lot!

It's bad enough that my baby is in 2nd grade, but my oldest is officially a Jr. Higher! Being the scrapbooking maniac that I am, 1st day of school pictures are a must. I have been officially banned from entering the school premises with my camera (by the older one), so I am limited to taking pictures out in front of the house. Thankfully I still get a decent smile. Soon enough he'll be too cool to smile, I'm sure. After a week under his belt, I think he's liking school pretty well. He says social studies is probably going to be his favorite class. He's had homework (not much) pretty much every night, and football started this week after school.

Just look at the glee on this face! He's ready to go!

And, of course, the silly picture. Any chance to wrestle, horse-play, mess around, and possibly cause bodily harm to one another, they must take. Boys-



I need to get to bed myself. I've not been sleeping well lately. I've been trying to train my body into going to bed a little earlier, but it just doesn't want to sleep- then anyway. But, oh, do I have to fight to stay up and get busy after the boys go to school. That's when I'd love to lay down for another hour or two!
The last few days have been spent...
cleaning various household items
baking and cooking (yes, real meals!!)
taking Brennan to the park
spending time with my sister, neighbor, and dear friend
uploading summer pictures from my camera onto websites so I can place a big order of pictures
exercising- I made the stupid mistake of pinkey swearing that I'd do a 5 K next summer- I must have been in a really weak moment- I DON'T RUN!!!! I HATE TO RUN!!!!!!!! But I ran 7 blocks tonight, and that is a big deal! I like to walk, but the running thing I will have to work into slowly, ever so slowly. I'd like to will myself to like it. Of course, I really would like to lose some weight, so the exercise is necessary. I am trying to do it right after the kids go to school. Developing the habit is always the hardest part.

I'm gearing up to (hopefully) paint the bathroom this weekend. Nothing major- just needing to tear off wallpaper that is peeling and put a fresh coat of paint on. I'm not sure if I'm sticking with the same color or not. We'll see what strikes me when I hit the paint store.

That's about enough rambling for now. Toodles!

some recent (and not so recent) layouts

I thought I'd post some layouts I've done from the last couple of months. This first one is from last year's Race for the Cure. We have a tradition of walking in this as a family. Gary's mom is a breast cancer survivor, and his parents join us as well. It will soon be upon us again so I figured I'd better get last year's on a layout. I love the butterflies on this layout. They pop up and are dimensional. I wish blogger would have a larger image than this, but this is the biggest. You can always click on the image to see it larger if you want to read the journaling.












This next one is about my childhood home- the one I lived in until I got married. It was sold last fall, so I'm still feeling pretty sentimental about it. I saw a layout done by Stacy Julian a few years ago similar to this documenting memories of a home. I knew I wanted to do the same thing. The layout had been done for awhile, but I needed time to think about the journaling. It was done late one night (after midnight- that's when I do my best thinking!) It was great just to sit and reminisce about my childhood and all of the wonderful memories in this home. I think it would be fun to give this same "assignment" to all of my siblings and see if we have anything in common on our lists!












I love everything about this layout- the picture, the paper, the simplicity. That's really the kind of scrapper I am- clean and simple. The paper is glitter cardstock by Doodlebug, which I am all over. They have matching glitter lchipboard letters, and I have about 4 different colors of those too! If it's blingy, I like it! This was Brennan after swimming lessons. He loves the pool!















This was a "memory" page. I try to incorporate memories and stories into my scrapbooks, as well as event pages, like Christmas, birthdays, etc. Even though my "baby" is 8, he still loves to be rocked. He would ask me this question each night. These are the things that I get afraid I will forget someday. I love it when I go through my scrapbooks and I am reminded of something cute one of the boys said or something funny that happened. This is the reason that I do what I do- not only do I not want to forget, I don't want my kids to forget either.




In other news, school started today. Bradley's response to the question, "How was school?" resulted in, "Boring, as always." Brennan's response was, "Awesome!" But what do you expect from a Jr. Higher and a 2nd grader?

Still here...

It's been a busy, busy week- I'm hoping this week will provide a little breathing room. The boys go back to school on Wednesday!!! I can definitely tell it's time. They begin fighting more than usual and my patience level is less than usual! I will take them out Tuesday for "fun day" as we've termed it around here. This will be year 3 of taking the day before school starts and doing something they want to do. I believe they have chosen golfing at Sleepy Hollow, like last year, and then perhaps catching a movie. I have lots of household stuff I'd like to get done, too, so we'll see if that happens or not.
More later- I need to head to bed- got one last busy day of tutoring before I get the rest of the week off.
Toodles!

When you think about your house, what comes to mind as one of the

smelliest...

stinkiest...

grossest...

dirtiest places that you don't even like to have to go near?

In my home, that would be my 12 year old son's dirty laundry basket. Ugh!

Apparently we all don't feel that same way-(or one of us doesn't have a sense of smell anymore) that's exactly where Oreo had a long afternoon (into evening) nap the other day all curled and nestled in with his nose knee-deep in adolescent sweat. (Note the look of disgust because we're disturbing his nap).

Got the crud

Why do I always get a nasty cold in the summer?
I'm feeling pretty yucky today, thanks to Bradley. He started this junk on about Tuesday. I think he went through 2 boxes of kleenex himself. I had to break into the school supply kleenex stash! He felt miserable most of the week, and just did a lot of laying around. I started getting an awful sore throat yesterday, so today I pretty much laid around all day- did a lot of napping. I'm trying to rest since I have another busy week and can't afford to be sick. I did manage to pull myself off the couch around 5 to scrapbook a bit. I'm trying to finish a couple of projects before next weekend.

Let's see-what's happened since I last posted...

Last weekend my sister and her 4 kids came to go to Adventureland with us. We go once a summer with Gary's work. The kids had a blast! They loved the new Kokomo Cove (water slides) they added this year. I got some great shots and will post soon. I haven't put them on the computer yet.

Bradley went to football camp for 3 nights. He won the punt competition on the last night, so that was pretty exciting for him!

I attended a two day class at Heartland. I have to take 5 credits to keep up my teaching license. I took a Microsoft Powerpoint and Word class. It was really good! I did my first powerpoint ever! It was a slide show for Gary for our anniversary. It came out pretty well, however our system at home and the system I worked on at Heartland were different, so some of my effects didn't show on our computer.

Speaking of our anniversary, we celebrated 15 years on Thursday! My sweet husband brought me 15 beautiful red roses! I made him a CD with 15 special songs on it (however I didn't copy them in the right format, so it only plays on the computer at the moment ARGGHH!!!- just when I think I might be learning a thing or two, I am proved wrong!). I am going to try to burn it again at some point. Anyway, I "hired" (ie paid) Bradley to watch Brennan and Gary and I went out to dinner at Applebees and then looked for a recliner, however didn't find what we wanted. Bradley was a great babysitter, and I think I only checked in 3 times!!!

We had friends over for supper on Friday evening and played some games.

I took Bradley shopping on Saturday morning for football cleats, school shoes, and backpack, all of which we found. He is pretty much ready. He really doesn't need any clothes, so other than a few supplies, like markers and more kleenex, he's set. Brennan and I will go at a later time. He didn't want to go on Saturday.

Brennan has been spending a lot of time in the neighbor's pool this past week. It has been pretty hot (today it's 95 and tomorrow will be even hotter) so he's been cooling off the best way possible!

Well I've rambled long enough. Have a good week!
Toodles!

Vacation part 4

Well I decided to use a green font in honor of the green photo- I have no idea why it's green. I took 3 of these, and hopefully this didn't happen to the other ones because these are great shots of the 4 golfers. We were on the 9th hole of the golf course, so we were able to watch them on that hole from our balcony.

Now this was probably one of my very favorite moments of the trip. Let me back up a minute. Last year, we went to YMCA in Estes Park, CO for a Fox family vacation. When we were talking to some friends at church, we discovered that our families were vacationing the exact same week in the exact same camp! What are the odds of that? We saw them the very first night of the trip as we were going to the swimming pool- and I'm pretty amazed at that because the YMCA Camp in Estes Park is HUGE! So fast forward to this year. I was e-mailing one of my very best friends in the word, Dawn Bauman, who now lives near Chicago Illinois. We used to teach together at Grandview Park Baptist. She and I got very close, and I was devastated when she moved about 4 years ago. Now I only get to see here about once a year. Anyway, I was telling her about our vacation. She called me and said that they were going to Panama City, FL the very same week as we would be there!!! I was so excited! In turns out, they were about a mile down the beach from us! So the four of us went out one evening to Pier Park. We had dinner and shopped a little and just had a wonderful time! It was so good to see them. I wonder who I'll hook up with next vacation?
The Hydorn family on our last night. We visited Ci Ci's Pizza a couple of times!
A picture's worth a 1000 words. DOUBLE TROUBLE! Don't they look so innocent?

Vacation part 3

My nephew Hayden did not venture very far out into the ocean with us. He preferred to stay right next to the beach. I caught a good action shot here of him jumping the waves.

We spent a lot of time hunting for shells. I have been to the beach before, but not very often. And I don't think, throughout the course of my 37 years, that I have ever really looked for shells! Since this was the boys' first time at the beach, they hadn't either. Here Bradley is showing off some of our finds. We brought a big bag of them home, along with some sand, and so far I have filled a candleholder with sand and shells. I have one of those hollow ones that the candle fits into. It's so pretty. Another thing I plan to do is decorate a frame with some of the shells, and put a vacation picture in it.
My nieces, Haley and Hanna. There's those cute shades again!
Gary, his parents, and his brother Kevin
Another favorite photo (I guess I have several!). These two hung pretty tightly all week.

Wow! A post three days in a row! That's got to be a record for me! Things seemed to have slowed down a bit since we got back. I have had some more down time. I actually scrapped a couple of layouts last night, I have cooked every night this week, and I have taken a walk these past two evenings- a habit I would love to continue.
Happy news:
*IT'S SWEET CORN TIME!!! We have had sweet corn the last two nights. There is nothing better! I have made a trip to the little stand outside of town each day, and will continue to until there is no more to be found!
*I've lost two pounds since coming back from vacation! I am consciously drinking more water during the day, doing some exercises, trying to take a daily walk, and trying to snack on healthier options. I know I don't have a lot of willpower, so this is going to be a challenge, but after having to look at myself in a swimsuit all summer, I am feeling more motivated.
I ordered my pictures from vacation, and I got them cheap! I ordered from a new company and got 4x6's for 6 cents each!! I hope the quality is good.

That's about it for now. Toodles!

Vacation part 2

Since I was behind the camera most of the time, this is a rare photo that I'm in- that's OK- the swimsuit is not my most flattering outfit (hence the headshot only!).

I have several favorites from the trip, but I love this one of Brad and Dad. He looks so grown-up to me here!
I had to laugh when I got this one. I think the waves surprised them!
Another favorite- Daddy and Little Man. Brennan loved the beach! He had a big smile like this most of the time! And normally, he doesn't tan well. He was a blondie when he was born and stayed a towhead 2 years, and then it started to turn more of a sandy color. But he really got dark on this trip. I love his little swimtrunk tan line (brown back and white bootie!!).
Just a picture of the beach. Ahhh, I miss it!