school tax levy

I wanted to blog about the tax levy vote that we have coming up. I had lots of thoughts rolling around in my head and on my heart. But then, my good friend, co-worker, family-by-marriage, and (to many people) twin look-alike, Erin, blogged and said everything I wanted to say and more. So if you want to know what's on my heart, tune into hers:

http://erintallman.blogspot.com/2009/03/tax-levy.html

Thanks Erin!

That said, VOTE YES and save our schools!

Easter Pictures

HAPPY EASTER, FOLKS!
I'll hopefully be doing a few more with some live animals and then a few with Colby & Emma, but we got started today as Natalee does better in multiple settings. Enjoy...let me know which you like, which you love, and which you're not wild about!!!
(numbers reference the photo above)

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

check it out

I WON!

On a whim I entered

this contest

that I stumbled across while commenting on a Thousand Word Thursday post. AND I WON! Now, for those of you who know me, I'm not a winner. Lucky? not so much. Lucky in life, just not in contests,drawings, raffles and the like! But, he, he, he...I WON! I'm ever so excited to get my book. Thanks Elle Bee!!

chicks anyone?

Hello folks...I have a proposition for you. I want to get a couple of those darling colored baby chicks from MFA to use to take some of Natalee's Easter pictures (provided that they have them again this year). However, I don't have a place (or the will) to raise chickens. If I buy them do any of you want them when I'm done? I promise we're not going to mishandle them...just let them run around a bit and see if I can get any kind of cute pictures. Come on, free chickens...you know you want them!
Let me know...

but Mooooom...

If Natalee could talk, I imagine this morning when I put her hat and coat on that she would have said, but Mooooooom! My girl's never been a fan of the clothes or of being bundled up. She was so happy when I finally took her car seat cover off and even happier when she could leave the house in her seat with no coat and just a light hat. But here we are, back into winter. She'll be ever so upset if it snows!
Anyways, as I was bundling her up this morning, she didn't fuss but did give me this brow furrowed, "I'm so annoyed & not at all amused" look. Man, I love this girl and all her expressions!

Here's hoping you stay warm with the snow a'comin'!

sick and tired

No, I'm not sick (maybe a little tired) but I am sick and tired of everyone else being sick and tired. I know they can't help it but I'm trying soooo hard to stay healthy and everyone else being barky, sneezy, and otherwise drippy is really wearing me down.

I see 12 kids daily...of those 12, 4 are gone today sick, one was in the ER with a high fever last night (but is here today, don't you worry), and another was sick last week but is here this week (although still very drippy).

I'm the meanest teacher in the world...I don't let my students throw their kleenexes away in "my" trashcan by my desk...I have a whole nose-blowing station set up with kleenex, a separate trashcan, and a humongous bottle of germ killer. I've been spraying my desks down everyday with disinfectant and wiping them clean, and today I reorganized everything (partly because I needed to make a time-out corner for a student) and cleaned while I reorganized. I hope it helps. I've also been opening my windows everyday to encourage some fresh air in and some stale, germy air out. I have NO sick days because of maternity leave so pray that I can keep up my health and not get what everyone else has and can't seem to get rid of!

Thousand Words Thursday

If you tuned into my blog last Thursday you learned that my husband was out of town on a business/youth sponsorship trip all week. He got home late Saturday night after Natalee was in bed so they didn't see each other until Sunday morning. Sunday, she stirred early but wasn't ready to get up for the day and Mike tended to her. When I woke up to get ready for church there was an intruder in my bed. I rolled over and this is what I saw...do you think they missed each other?

Just so you know, Natalee does not sleep with us on a regular basis. She has her own cradle (which she's reverted back to from her big bed) that is in our room, but once in awhile she snuggles in with mommy and daddy.

It's Called Sleep Deprivation

Mercy on me, my baby didn't sleep last night. And by didn't sleep I mean we'd put her to sleep, lay her down, she'd sleep 30 minutes and then she'd be up fussing. Hungry? Nope. Wet? Nope. Gassy? Didn't seem to be. Mama's conclusion? Teething. Yep, gums are a little swollen this morning. How many teeth is she supposed to get in the near future? Mama can't do sleepless nights. I finally dozed off in the chair with her at about 2 am for a very satisfying 4 hours of sleep (yeah, that was sarcasm). I think it's worse when you have a great sleeper and they regress all of the sudden.
So spill it...what were your sure-fire, get you through the teething stage secrets? I'll be waiting....

And mercy on all of you who had babies who didn't sleep night after night after night...I'm saying an extra blessing on you today because THIS IS FOR THE BIRDS (or the owls...don't they like to be up at night?).

Shakin' It

This video is a week old but it's still cute.
We were playing before church on Sunday last week...
she loves it when mama sings (poor girl!).

Enjoy!

Pureeing Princess

So, I'm not really sure why, but I got it into my head that I was/am going to make all of Natalee's baby food. Besides being healthier, it truly is a cost cutter on our budget, plus I'm still living that "I only have 1 baby super-mom ego" life.

Friday night my girl and I went grocery shopping. We spent lots of extra time in the fresh produce section looking over all they had. We finally settled on avocados, pears, plums, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, & nectarines (I thought I grabbed peaches but I didn't; we worked them up anyways). In addition, we bought frozen peas and green beans.
My pureeing partner and our produce!

She's got her spoon ready to sample the yum-yum's
(actually she likes to chew on it!).

Saturday we went to MOCHIP, came home and had lunch and then we got started. I started in on the avocados and I'm sorry to say they were a bust. They weren't ripe enough and having never cut up avocados before, I didn't know it until I'd ruined 5 of the 6 that I bought (it was a learning moment). Anyhow, feeling slightly discouraged I started in on the frozen things, thinking I surely couldn't ruin those. I was right. My partner gave up on me and traded in helping for a nap, but she slept right through the blender which was awesome!

Mom stopped by on her way to go grocery shopping and I was having sooo much fun that she stayed and helped. That was a blessing...things were getting a little overwhelming, just because I was doing too many different things at once. Anyhow, we plugged on...blender going continually and we were a success! I've very pleased with the finished product and excited for the Little Miss to try things out. She's eating pears right now and she loves them. After the "four day wait" I'm going to introduce a veggie. all the goods minus the avocados, pears (we worked them but refrigerated them b/c that's what she's eating now), and the bananas (not ripe enough)I'm not just being caddy...When Mom first put her up there I was trying to get her attention and she couldn't take her eyes of the yummies!

My helpers!

I know lots of people think she's awfully young for food already but she's a hungry monkey...she'd gone to eating 4 oz every 1 1/2 hours (but couldn't manage to get down 5) and so we started with the cereal and she's done wonderfully on it. I tried the homemade applesauce that I made this summer but the apples made her tummy hurt, but the pears have gone wonderfully!

If anyone wants to know how we worked something up let me know! My kitchen smelled like good home-cooking all day!

Daddy, Where Are You?

Natalee and I have talked to Micheal a couple of times a day both days he's been gone. When he calls, I put the phone on speakerphone so she can hear his voice. Both times she's just not sure what to think. When she hears him her arms go to flailing and she looks around and then gets really serious like she just doesn't understand why he doesn't come swoop her up. Tonight I showed her the phone to see what she would do. Still not sure...hard concept to understand that you can hear daddy but not see or touch him.

Daddy? I can't see you.

Are you in here?

Mommy, I don't get it!

Sure doesn't smooch like Daddy!

Hmmm, Daddy's not around to tell me no so I guess I'll suck on my fingers!

Love you Daddy! I promise my hands aren't chapped and neither is my chin!

because I care

Refrigerator Recall

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09145.html

Maytag Recalls Refrigerators Due to Fire Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product.

Name of product: Maytag®, Jenn-Air®, Amana®, Admiral®, Magic Chef®, Performa by Maytag® and Crosley® brand refrigerators

Units: About 1.6 million

Manufacturer: Maytag Corp., of Newton, Iowa

Hazard: An electrical failure in the relay, the component that turns on the refrigerator’s compressor, can cause overheating and pose a serious fire hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: Maytag has received 41 reports of refrigerator relay ignition, including 16 reports of property damage ranging from smoke damage to extensive kitchen damage.

Description: The recall includes certain Maytag®, Jenn-Air®, Amana®, Admiral®, Magic Chef®, Performa by Maytag® and Crosley® brand side by side and top freezer refrigerators. The affected refrigerators were manufactured in black, bisque, white and stainless steel. They have model and serial numbers printed on a label located on the top middle or left upper side of the refrigerator liner and have the following model and serial number combinations:

	Serial Numbers ENDING with	AND Model Numbers BEGINNING with
Side by Side Refrigerators	AA, AC, AE, AG, AJ, AL, AN, AP, AR, AT, AV, AX, CA, CC, CE, CG, CJ, CL, ZB, ZD, ZF, ZH, ZK, ZM, ZQ, ZS, ZU, ZW, ZY, ZZ	ARS, CS, JC, JS, MS, MZ, PS
Top Freezer Refrigerators	AA, AC, AE, AG, AJ, AL, AN, AP, AR, AT, AV, AX, ZK, ZM, ZQ, ZS, ZU, ZW, ZY, ZZ	AT, CT, MT, PT

Refrigerators with freezers on the bottom are not included in this recall.

Sold at: Department and appliance stores and by homebuilders nationwide from January 2001 through January 2004 for between about $350 and $1600.

Manufactured in: United States

Remedy: Consumers should immediately contact Maytag to determine if their refrigerator is included in the recall and to schedule a free in-home repair. Consumers should not return the refrigerator to the retailer where it was purchased.

Consumer Contact: For more information, contact Maytag toll-free at (866) 533-9817 anytime, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.repair.maytag.com

Thousand Word Thursday

I shot this series of pictures Monday night. Mike was trying to spend as much time with the Little Miss as he could because he knew he was leaving Tuesday night for a technology conference followed by a junior high youth group trip which will land him home past midnight on Saturday. Some may say she's too little to know the difference but I'm here to tell you that when Natalee heard her daddy's voice on the speakerphone tonight her legs got to kicking and her face lit up. She knows...and she loves you, Daddy (mommy loves you, too!). Have a safe drive to Columbia and St. Louis tomorrow. Hugs and kisses from your girls!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Mike is off...I won second place at BUNCO...Natalee is snoozing away.

Must get to the dishwasher, the carpets, and the shower before bed...but first a picture for Daddy of his favorite girls...

We love you, Daddy! Have a safe, fun trip!

mix

I'm a mix of emotions. Not like an emotional wreck, because, well, the weather's just too dang nice for that, but just a mix. Excited about Bunco tonight but nervous about being a single parent until Sunday. Mike's leaving for a tech conference for work tonight and then will meet up with the church's junior highers in St. Louis for the Believe conference before coming home late late Saturday night.

This is the first time I won't have my 'teammate' since becoming a mommy and although many of you will call me corny, we really do miss each other when we're not together. Sure, there are some days when we have a little too much togetherness...you have to consider that we do go to work together everyday, but for the most part we love that we have the opportunity to spend so much time as a family and we hate being apart.

I'm so blessed that Natalee's not a demanding baby or I'd not only be missing Mike but I fear that I'd be resenting that he's gone. As it sits now his girls will look forward to having him back home but we'll do just fine flying solo. I'm grateful that he's such a strong presence for the youth group kids and know that they need him this weekend so I guess we'll share!

Please do pray travel mercies over Mike as he will be driving by himself down to Tan-Tar-A tonight, then back to Columbia on Thursday to meet the youth group bus. Then, pray mercies over the bus as it travels with the kids & sponsors to and from St. Louis.

Ill be posting lots of pictures and videos so that daddy doesn't miss any of Natalee's growing (which seems to be happening astronomically everyday!).

I think...

...they should pay me extra for not only being the special education teacher here but for also being the copy repair woman. If I had a nickel for every curled up piece of paper I've pulled out of that machine I'd be a rich woman. Or a dime for every time I've burned my hands on the inner-workings of the machine. We're becoming quite good friends, the copier and I. She's just like the one I used to have at the church when I worked there. We were also good friends (you are still considered a friend even when you kick each other once in awhile, right?).

Enough of this foolishness...I'm off to enjoy the weather!

Thousand Word Thursday

March 8, 2009


Last night in her cradle...this is the cradle that Daddy slept in when he was a baby. She was just getting a little too wild in there, so after she fell asleep Mommy picked her up and put her...

...into her pack-n-play for the first time. Yes, she has a beautiful crib, but our room is upstairs and hers is down, which means something could get to her without going through me first. Don't ask me when she's moving down to her own room. She naps in there during the day when we are home but she may be a teenager before we let her stay down there alone at night!

(notice how in the 2nd picture she threw her hands up in the air...ahhhh, so much space!)

I am sick. Why the little font? It's a whisper. Why the whisper? I don't have a voice. Okay, I always have a voice...but it's faint, it's scratchy, it's manly. My head is full of junk and I. don't. feel. bery. dood. Oh, did I mention my illness has impaired my abilities to make all of my consonant sounds? You try teaching speech impaired kindergarteners when you can't make all the sounds...it's a good time!
And to top it off, Mrs. Beeler left her classroom window open all night. Why? To blow the stink out...get rid of the germs. I had intended on closing it before I left...but alas, I forgot!

So, here I sit, stewing in my own germs, bathed in Germ-X, and I can't go home. To much to do. Parent/teacher conference week. IEP's to write. Children to teach.

On the up side, the school served a delicious ham and cheese scone with a side of a chocolate chip muffin (yeah, I know, they don't go together). YUM-O!

Miss Jenn did NOT appreciate getting up in the dark.

As a result, Miss Jenn is going to bed EARLY!

Hope ya'lls internal clocks are adjusting better than mine!

Happy 3 Months, Baby Girl!

We love you more everyday, Natalee Cynthia! You make us smile in the morning and stand watch over your crib in awe at night. We can't get enough of you and only wish you wouldn't grow so quickly!

#1

# 2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

Grandmas, Papas & Aunties...comment or e-mail with which ones you want. I think for her 1 mo. pictures the aunts got 5x7's & grandparents got 8x10 (guess you would know, they're probably hanging at your houses). We'll also be ordering wallets.
Pictures in her Easter dress will be coming closer to time. (If anyone is buying those adorable colored baby chicks from MFA please let me know...I'd love to borrow/rent them for a photo shoot!)

I'd love to hear what everyone's favorite is!!

Remember this girl?

She just texted me and she got a
FULL RIDE TO C-SC
FOR THEIR NURSING PROGRAM!!!

Congratulations, Sista!!
We couldn't be prouder of you!
Love you bunches!
Mike, Jenn & Natalee Cynthia

Thousand Word Thursday

A DO-IT-YOURSELF PICTURE WALK ON HOW TO BLOW SPIT BUBBLES

by Natalee Cynthia

Moisten your lips...it's very important to have just the right amount of saliva on them.

Pucker up.

And give a little whistle!
If done properly tiny bubbles will dribble in waterfall fashion down your chin.
No need to wipe up your handiwork.
It will soak into your shirt or your hand will get it when you are sucking on your fingers!


**Then, find someone who is willing to lay on the floor with you for 30 minutes so that you can have a tongue sticking out contest.** This person is usually in the form of a man called Daddy, sometimes spelled S.U.C.K.E.R.

HAVE FUN!

MOCHIP

Andrea told me about this MOCHIP event being held at the school in Queen City on March 21st starting at 10 a.m. MOCHIP is an organization that records children's data and gives you all those records to be kept safely in the event that your child is ever abducted. They take digital photos, fingerprints, a dental bite, and record personal information and emergency contacts for your child. They retain NONE of the records, but instead give you everything on a CD. In the event, Father help me, that your child is ever taken, the CD is Amber Alert compatible. It's free and I think it'd be worth your time. I know...we live in rural MO, it's never happened here before, and we pray it never will...but if it did and you didn't take this opportunity to screen guard your child how would you feel? I have an e-mail out to one of the organizers to see if babies can attend...if so you can bet I'll be taking Miss Natalee.

I'm sure many of you heard about this because you got hand-outs at school...in the same breath some of you have toddlers not yet in school and others are homeschoolers so I thought I'd pass along the information.

finally...

Today Corin wishes you happiness...I wish you that, too (thanks, Corin!). She wanted to make you smile with a super cute video of her sweet boy laughing, but she couldn't get it to upload. But mine did...I FINALLY caught my baby girl laughing on camera. Even a squeal tucked in there somewheres! The thing I'm shaking in her face?...that's her foot with a bootie rattle on it. Isn't she just the cutest? Did she make you laugh, chuckle, smile at least? I hope she made you happy...she makes us happy everyday!