Taco Night!

Jay had been wanting tacos for dinner for about a week. Would you believe we have been so busy that I couldn't find a night to squeeze them in? We had other dinner commitments a couple of times, then we had Unity and gymnastics on other nights so those were quick dinners. By the time we had a night open, it had become this big thing and we decided to go all out and invite our friends over. The first "opening" in our schedule was Friday night so we decided to make it an official Taco Night.
So they came! Eight adults, six kids all in taco heaven! My friends brought dips and appetizers so we enjoyed munching on those for a while. Lisa makes the best corn dip! I've made it a couple of times but it doesn't come out as good. She also made a bean dip (very spicey). I made guacamole and had some black bean salsa and sour cream. Albie brought some homemade salsa. After the eats, we played an 80s music trivia game. And then the guitars came out...

The boys had to get the Guitar Hero out - I don't think they could help themselves.

Here we are! From L-R Allen and Natalie Watson, Phil and Tara Noblett, Joel and Lisa Turner, Ashlyn, Jay and me! And those are little Mary's hands up in the air in front of me. We wanted an adults only picture but those two little turkeys had to get in on it. Did I mention that we celebrated Lisa's birthday? It was really last week (the day of Alex's bday party) but they were in NC visiting Joel's mother. Mary and I decided to bake a cake and decorate it for her. It turned out well! Happy Birthday Lisa!

Ashlyn spent the night and they had a good time. They stayed up late and had their "slumber" party. But I couldn't complain because they kept it neat and quiet. We had a pancake breakfast this morning and are now just enjoying the fact that we have nowhere that we have to be today! Yeah!!! It's a good start to the weekend!

Unity

Tonight I hosted my Unity group here at home. I love to have my Unity friends over but always feel slightly guilty at making them all drive out to my house. But this time I decided I wouldn't feel guilty because I do plenty of driving in the other direction! Linda and Nelda were providing refreshments so I really didn't have to do anything. It was weird to host something and not have to worry about the food! I ended up making a couple of things just because I couldn't help myself. I did try a new recipe that I looked up after trying it at Cindy's house for Bunco. It was bacon wrapped smokies - take your pigs, wrap them in a small piece of bacon and secure w/ a toothpick, sprinkle w/ brown sugar. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes and YUM-O! I also made some mini blueberry muffins but I don't think anyone ate them. That's okay - the kids will have them for breakfast. I was so glad that Pat came! She has been on our email distribution list forever but she never comes to the meetings. She has been going through a rough time w/ her mom's illness so I was very glad she could come and enjoy some girl time. Wendy had us do a fun activity tonight. We always get a little nervous at her activities because she has some pretty crazy ideas sometimes but this one was fun. She gave us a piece of yarn and we had to talk until the ran was slowly wrapped around our finger. We were supposed to tell about ourselves so others could get to know us better. We learned a lot! I ran out of ice so I had to borrow some from the Turners. What would I do w/out them?

I love getting together w/ my Unity friends. All in all, a good evening - PTL.

Dinner with the Girls

I went out tonight to help celebrate my friend Vicki Tyler's birthday. There were 13 of us total and we headed out to Urban Flats at the Avenue at Webb Ginn. It was fabulous! We each ordered something different and shared so we all got to try a variety of flavors. We stayed for a good 3 hours just talking and laughing. It was good to get together with them - even though I see them all 2-3 times a week! It was different to just hang and relax.

In the picture from L-R: Stacey Trainer, Morgan Tyler, Barbara Peterkin, me, Kim Macenczak, Terri Mauger, Christy Stansberry, Dawn Schmeelk, (next row) Vicki Tyler, Diana Thomas, Becky Barber, and Judy Ruiz. There's a group of us that go out regularly but this time the guest list was expanded and we got to enjoy some new people. It was great to get to know some of the ladies better. And it's always good to hear Terri's laugh - she has the best laugh! I can't wait until the next get together!

Thanks Jay for staying with your kids! It's always good to come home though. Even if I come home at 9:30pm and my husband is already in the bed fast asleep. Which is why I am here blogging! At least Otis is keeping me company.

Birthday Party

Well, the party was a success! I just can't get over how much easier boys are versus girls when it comes to parties. Olivia always has to have a big production. Not Alex. He wanted 5 friends to come over and play Guitar Hero with him. So that's just what we did. Alex Noblett, Nathan Ford, Mitch Williams, David Knight, and of course Hannah too. They played, they jumped on the trampoline, they played upstairs, they had a really good time. And the phrase of the day: Everyone's a winner! We had prizes for playing Guitar Hero - the best that the Dollar General had! And there was a pinata too. Fun for everyone.

Jay and Olivia had a date tonight - they went to the Father/Daughter dance at her school. She got dressed up and I did her hair. She looked so pretty! Daddy looked messy but he wouldn't let me help him. I hope it was dark!

Happy Birthday Bubby!

Alex has been so excited about his 7th birthday. I think he has been more excited about this one that any other. We took cupcakes for their snack last night at church and the kids sang Happy Birthday to him. Seth announced his birthday at dinner and had everyone in the Fellowship Hall sing him Happy Birthday too. He was SO excited. Ms. Wendy had a gift for him and several other people had cards for him. He was loved on all night. On the way home, he told us that this was the best day of his life.
This morning he woke up and found a big present at his seat at the kitchen table. There was also a balloon tied to his chair. Jay had gotten him a new guitar for the Guitar Hero game. He was so excited and proud to have his very own guitar! He opened his card and it had $7 whole dollars in it! One for each year. He offered the money back to me to help pay for his birthday party. How sweet. He went to school on cloud nine today. I sent money to school so he could treat his classmates to ice cream but since it was an early release day, his teacher said they would have the ice cream tomorrow. He was fine with that. So now he's playing with his Dad (who took a 1/2 day off) and they are having a Guitar Hero play off. We will be going out in a bit for his birthday dinner - Frontera, of course, and I'm sure it will include a sombrero and some singing!

Wearing the Birthday Sombrero at Frontera!

Having a Guitar Hero playoff with Jay - using his brand new guitar!

And here is the birthday boy with everyone (except me - the photographer!)

Toy Food

Jay and I met today for lunch. It was probably our only chance to have something of a Valentine's Day date. And of course, Mary was with us. But that's the way it has to be! We went to a restaurant in Grayson, one that I've been wanting to try for a long time. It's called JinWulu. It's Japanese/Thai/Chinese. It was alright - we had the sushi lunch and of course now I wish I would have had the Pad Thai. But it was all good. We both had the miso soup - Jay didn't like the tofu in it but Mary did! She kept asking for more Toy Food over and over again. Who would have thought? She loved it!

Oh Olivia

It's always something with that girl!

Liv has had a weird rash on her arms and her legs and perpetually flushed cheeks. I looked up her symptoms on the internet and found several possibilities as to what she could have. The most likely one was Fifths Disease. The rash is characteristic, as are the flushed cheeks. The weird thing about it is that according to the web, if an adult gets this, there is usually a lot of joint pain and swelling. That's exactly what I had a week ago! The weird arthritic condition! So I probably had it and passed it on to Liv. The bad thing about it is that Liv had her first tutoring session with Mrs. Parker last week - well, Mrs. Parker is very pregnant and FD is dangerous for pregnant women. The doctor said she is probably fine but I still sent an email to her to let her know what was going on. So, there is no treatment, no medication, nothing that can be done for her until it runs its course and passes. It's an after the fact diagnosis so she is no longer contagious.

The school nurse called so I went to pick her up. We went home for her to have lunch and then I had to work out a plan for everyone so I could take Liv to a 2:30 doctor's appointment. We picked up Mary and then had to go and check out Alex (I tried to find someone to get him off the bus but I couldn't), and then we headed to the peds office. We ended up getting home just as the bus was coming down the street. Oh well, who could have known? It usually takes us hours at the doctor's office.

So, add this one to the books....Fifths Disease.

TGIF!

Happy Friday! It was a good one! I took Alex and Olivia to school this morning and then came home to get Mary ready for school. She and I left out and then I had to go and meet my dad at Mt. Carmel. After that it was off to teach my Friday classes. I did stop by the printshop to check on the printing of my Women's Ministries Directories. I was so proud of how they turned out! It was pajama day at the preschool so the kids were very excited and anxious to share about their pjs. Vicki came by to chat and tell me all about the newly revised preschool church program she is getting ready to implement. I keep forgetting that Melinda and I are the only two preschool teachers! She said that soon she is going to split the 2-3 year old class. Sounds very exciting!

After my classes, I picked up my directories and headed out to pick up Mary. I was so looking forward to coming home and watching my Spanish story! We stopped by Kroger really quick ( because I got the brilliant idea that we should invite the neighbors over for dinner) and made it home just in time. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. McKennah called for Mary. Off to the playground we went. It was actually a very good time. It was Stacy and Linda, Lisa, Sharon and Eric stopped by and all the kiddos. The big kids got off the bus and joined us at the playground. We stayed out until about 6:00. Jay came home and Lisa and I took off for the gym. She made me take a Pump class. Actually, I'm glad she made me go. I always feel so great and proud of myself after I complete one of those classes. The plan is to go tomorrow morning again but we will see how we wake up!

All in all, a very good Friday. PTL.

Just Do Math!

Why is math so hard for some kids?

Every day it is a struggle when it comes time to do Math homework. And tomorrow there is a Math test. Livi forgot to bring her math book home. How do you study for a test if you left the darn book at school? Does that mean that she wasn't even going to try? Is it so far down on her list of priorities that she couldn't remember to bring it home? Ok, so we didn't have the book but we had all the weeks homework. We could practice right? Practice makes perfect, right? Well, after I suggested that, all I heard for the next hour was whining, crying, and complaining. Back in the day (did I really just say that?), if I had homework - I did it. If I had a test - I studied AND I got a good grade. If I needed to study - I brought the book home. No questions. I was expected to just do math! I could have whined and cried but no one at home would have cared a bit. And I know no one would have gotten me a tutor if I was having trouble! So Liv,we just want you to do well. We would never ask you to do something we didn't think you were capable of. You are so smart - you just have to be careful and take your time with your work. We know you can do it! And Lord, please put the right words in my mouth when I'm dealing with Liv. Please guide and direct me and show me the right way to deal with her. Let the patience flow!

This and that

Thankfully, Mary's illness was just a 24 hour bug. She had a fever, slept all afternoon, vomited once, and woke up the next day wide open. No sign of sickness left! Definitely a big praise there.

Jay? Now that's another story. He was "sick"all through the weekend, though he managed to participate in all of our activities. He stayed home "sick" Monday and Tuesday, finally went to the doctor on Tues afternoon - official diagnosis: sore throat. So back to work he went today! Men are such wimps.

Livi started tutoring with Mrs. Parker on Tuesday. She seemed to do well. Turns out Mrs. Parker lives in our neighborhood and has offered to bring Liv home after tutoring. Very nice! So for $35/hr we get tutoring and a chaffeur. Still a bit pricey if you ask me. But we can't let the little girl get a bad Math grade, can we?

There was bad weather around here today. Lot's of tornados, rain, etc. The worst part was watching the "Severe Weather Watch" on the tickertape news. It drove me into a panic wondering if I should go and get my kids out of school and bring them home. Luckily, the weather died down and Iwas able to relax. Mary's field trip was canceled though. I was going to take her to work with me after the field trip but now there was no need. Instead I met with Ruth Anne Fellows - a lady I met through Mrs. Depue who needed some help with Spanish translation. It was a lot of work but I'm glad to be done with it. I think preparing adoption papers for an international adoption is a little above my translation abilities. I wished her good luck and I hope she doesn't feel the need to call me again!

We met McKennah at story time at the library the other day. Mary and McKennah get along so well. I just wish McKennah would come and play here for awhile. I know she will eventually.

Diana Thomas was baptized tonight. Congratulations! It was wonderful to watch and to see her evolution as she has grown in her faith. It inspired me to continue praying about being baptized myself. I haven't been yet. Well, I was as a baby but I know now that infant baptism is not scriptural. The bible clearly says, "Repent and be baptized" in Acts 2:38. Infants cannot repent!
Alex has been asking a lot of questions about being baptized. I need to learn how to speak to him about it - I ask him questions and he answers correctly but I still wonder if he GETS it, kwim? I think it would be so moving and meaningful to see one of my children being baptized. I just thought it would be Olivia first. But I know she will do it when she feels led to.

Bonko was last night - Fun as usual! I am so glad that I am now a permanent member of the group because it is such a fun group. The gifts were from Victoria's Secret - I got a consolation prize which was some Vanilla scented lotion. Don't tell but I have already re-gifted it! I gave it to my Secret Pal at work. It was just packaged so prettily and looked so nice. I hope my SP enjoyed it.

That's all for now! Adios!

sick

Mary is sick. Jay is sick. I have some weird arthritic condition that came on all of a sudden. I guess we are more or less down for the count. Alex is in great shape though! He has a soccer game tomorrow and I'll bet he tries to play sick for it.

Liv is at Emily's house. They are going to an early, early movie tomorrow so Liv is going to spend the night. Last night she was doing her homework and Otis decided he had to help her. It was very cute and I had to take a pic.

He loves to lay across an open book or open computer. He is a good cat!