REWIND!

Looking back through the pictures on my phone, it became really clear to me how much I haven’t documented. I apologize for any lost sleep to my 2 readers, please forgive me?

For Halloween, I dressed up like a tooth fairy. I decided in August that is what I wanted to be. Of course, I waited until the weekend before Halloween to gather the materials for my costume. I overheard that teachers in the upper grades didn’t recommend dressing as a tooth fairy because it would ruin the idea of it for kids. Um, isn’t Halloween supposed to be when you get to be whatever you want, real or fantasy? I thought so too. I also thought it was very fitting since I sent home about 6 teeth the 2 weeks before Halloween.

Below are snacks that were sent for our Halloween party. Very cute!

This is a random but super cute picture a little friend drew of Batman. :)

The same child that brought the fun Halloween snacks did not disappoint for Thanksgiving.

These are cupcakes with a dallop of icing covered with caramel. The 'stuffing' appeared to be graham cracker crumbs with green sprinkles.

We also had bite sized caramel apples.

You can't pass Thanksgiving without making at least one thing with hand turkeys!

"Look! My turkey is on top of the boy turkey." --why?
"Cause he loves him." --oh, is that how you love someone?
"Yeah. Sometimes when my mom wants a kiss, she wrestles on my dad."

We also made these cute little hand Mayflowers. I got the idea from pinterest!

Our 2nd graders were in charge of the Christmas program this year. This is my handy work at helping create some sort of decoration. One of the other teachers wanted to make it but needed help executing it. How do I get roped into these things?

Christmas Around the World

La Befana- the friendly witch that some believe deliver gifts in Italy

 These are some poinsettias we made to remember Christmas in Mexico. The other kindergarten teacher had traced petals and leaves so hers were all neat and looked the very similar. Ours on the other hand was a last minute, 'our book got messed up in the copier, here's a sheet of red paper, cut your own leaves' project.

You can definitely see that no two poinsettias are alike.

Ok, that should get you through until Christmas break started. We were on the go during my two weeks off so that will have to be another post.

Well, Hell!

Dear blogspot,

I have prepared an exceptional post of many of the great photos on my phone but I can't upload them!
I hope to be able to publish pictures again...


Sincerely,
Behind in blogging and trying to catch up



In the meantime, our 5th Annual Sapulpa Truck Touch will be on Saturday, April 21st from 10-2. You should mark that on your calendar (ahem, Courtney) and plan to attend. Yours truly is running the show, with lots of help!

A Long Lived Life

I have been informed by more than one person that I am behind in blogging and yes I know.



While it is long overdue, I have to go back to the beginning of December. I should have posted it when it all happened but it just didn't seem as easy then so here it is now. On Monday, December 5th, heaven was graced with another angel. At the ripe age of 90 years and 334 days, my Grandma passed away. While it is a sad thing, I highly consider it a blessing. Her passing happened within a 5 day period. She was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with pneumonia, released back to her nursing home, to turn around and go back to the ER. At this point a doctor said they were not equipped to handle this degree of a stroke. She was transported to Mercy Hospital in OKC where she lived out her last days.

I took off of school for 2 days (Thursday and Friday) to go be with her. She was medicated for comfort and was unaware we were there. I am glad I got to spend time with her but made the personal decision that I did not need to be with her when it happened. I had a 1.5 hour drive home and spent at least half of it weeping on the way home knowing I had said my final goodbye to her.


This might sound silly but I didn’t know it would be so difficult. Yes, my mother passed away, but I was so young then, I didn’t really understand it all. While it was confusing, frustrating and sad to have lost her at 12 years old, I see it as a blessing to have been so young.


Anyways, back to Grandma… She was always spunky. She would always have something sassy to say about anything. As a kid, I always remember her dressed to a tea. I remember celebrating Christmas Eve Eve with her and then her coming to see what Santa brought us on Christmas day. I remember receiving a few unforgettable gifts too. One in particular was a watch on a black leather band. It wasn’t just any old watch… it was a gold padlock that dangled off of the band. Needless to say, I have no idea what happened to that watch but it makes me giggle thinking about it. I remember feeling like I was her favorite (maybe it’s all in my head…). I remember earning a quarter for the straight pins I would find around the house from her sewing projects.


She (it was even there when Grandpa was around too) had this naked lady oil lamp that sat in her front entry at her little patio home. That lamp traveled to Burgundy Place too. It was prominently placed so you would see it when you came in. In the dining room, there was big wallpaper mural. I loved the built in desk in her room and the random drawer of paper and crayons for the grandkids. In the kitchen, the kids always sat at the ‘bar’ that folded down when not in use. Boy did that lady love her some Elvis too. She was also fond of Bob Hope and Bill Clinton. Couldn't say anything bad about Bill, even when we was receiving from other ladies... :)


Her ‘backyard’ was the Magic Garden to my friend Holly and I. She lived a mile or two away from us but I remember riding our bicycles to her house. Mom and Dad would either ride with us or follow us in the car. Any late nights spent there, you were sure to find me passed out in the car by the time we traveled the 10 minutes home. These late nights are usually when Brother would loan me his blankie when I left mine at her house (or at Nandy and Pa’s). I remember giving Grandma permission to sew new ‘sappin binding’ (also known as satin binding) to my blue blankie but later not truly loving it. All it really needed was some good loving to be broken it.I can also vividly remember a picture of me passed out in a chair asleep (which isn’t really uncommon for me, I can sleep anywhere) but my body wasn’t exactly in the chair. It was more like my upper torso and head. The rest of my body was draped off, thumb in my mouth backpack dangling off of my arm.


She was the first person to meet Hubby. {But, who knew then that I would marry the boy?!} You see, we had been to Edmond for Thanksgiving and I was driving her Oldsmobile down Waterloo Road, back to Highway 74, when a deer came out of the trees. I saw it was able to slow down but we still hit it. She didn’t freak out like I anticipated and we continued on our way home. (I am pretty sure my Dad and maybe brother were with us too.) The next week, Grandma and I head off to some body shops to get estimates on the very minor repair. At Merlin’s Body Shop is where she met him.


Grandma will be missed but I know she is happy to be with Grandpa again. She never was the same without him. I am sure those two are traveling all over heaven together.

The last '4 generations' picture from Claire's visit in October 

Grandma and the grandkids (she sure did love little Tobie too!)



Grandma and her kids



YAY!

Do you see that below??

That is how much this girl owes on her college loans! Outstanding Balance: $0.00! YOU ARE READING THAT CORRECTLY.... NO DOLLARS AND NO CENTS!

I graduated college almost 6 years ago exactly and feel super proud that I (we, Hubby and I) do not have to pay them anymore! I will say that as a teacher in a low income school for 5 years, I was given a $5000 discount but I still feel like I have accomplished something big.

Now if I could only get them to send me some little certificate saying, "Congratulations! You are no longer indebted to the government!" or "Thank you for being a responsible citizen and sticking with your payments!" I would feel complete. :) It feels good to know the only thing I owe money on is the house I live in, which is totally normal.



I should also give a little shout out to Peg, the motorcycle, since he helped make this possible sooner. He helped pay off the truck and then some on this loan. You have been missed by Hubby on several sunny days!

Adorable things I heard over Fall Break

This is long overdue! I typed this up shortly after Claire left but I guess I never published it! For your viewing pleasure....

In no particular order, here are some ADORABLE and funny things I heard this weekend:


While at Nandy and Pa's, their dog, Buddy, nipped Claire. On the 5 minute car ride to my Dad's she was talking about how much it hurt.
C- "He just has sharp teeth. But mine are sharper."
J- "Well, are you going to bite him back since your teeth are sharper?"
C- "No! I would never do that. It would hurt his feelings. It would even break his little heart."


About 10 minutes outside of Enid, Claire woke up from a nap. She started crying and seemed to be in real mess. Brother asked me to pull over so he could calm her down (which didn't do much). The root of the problem was that she missed Mommy but there was nothing we could do about that on the side of the road. When we started to drive again, she said, "Daddy, you are awfully mean to me." "You hate me." It was so sad sounding yet funny at the same time. We both tried explaining to her that she just wasn't listening to him. Neither one of us were successful so we just ignored it.


While eating dinner at Nandy and Pa's, Pa said (talking to Nandy), "You want some salad, Mom?" Claire followed up with, "She's not your Mom!" So, whenever someone was called by any other name than she knows she lets you know that is not their name. Pa called me Jennie Marie and she said, "That's Aunt Jennie, not Jennie Marie!" Later in the evening, we talked about people's 'real name', and how everyone has a real name. She thought it was really funny that Pa and her Papa have the same name.


"My Daddy called me a royal butthead." I must say, she was kind of acting like it during this evenings meltdown. Her and I had been playing Princess Sisters, after making tiaras with a little kit I bought her, so everything was 'royal' at the moment. When I asked him if he said it, he said, "Yes. She is acting like one."


Prior to that meltdown, while working on the tiaras and wands, everything was "we shall put on stickers", "shall we do this?" "we shall." It was very princess like.


"I want to be a real live princess." -when asked what she wants to be when she grows up.

She also told me, "I'm going to pay to work half time and take care of my babies."

I asked Claire what she thought a building was that was being built-- "Excuse me? I'm not the one who builds things. I'm a kid." I asked then asked her why a kid couldn't do it... "Kids don't build things cause they could get hit on the side of the road." DUH. Silly me!

"Are you kidding? That will make it brighter." -on opening the car window a little bit 

A new post was asked for...

I have been reminded on more than one occasion that I have not blogged since November 21st. Pa kept trying to tell me it was October but I knew I had posted about my principal kissing the pig so I knew he was acting senile. :)



Without further ado, here is another installment of Crazy Stuff My Pa says…..



“They say the average release of gas is 14 times a day. I don’t believe it, mine is about 28 times.” –this was said on Thanksgiving day. No telling what we were talking about


“I keep seeing ads for male enhancement pills and telling Nan I should try them. She keeps asking who I’m going to use it on.”

And last but not least, there is nothing like hearing your 83 year-old Grandpa call someone a slut! It was priceless.



Hubby has now gotten onto Pa’s list… yesterday, he told Pa he would email him some pictures of the new plant his company is building. Today, Pa promptly told him, via Skype, that “I didn’t get any picture emails from you.” BUSTED!

Angel Kids at Christmas

For the past 2 years, Hubby and I have gotten ‘Angel Kids’ for Christmas. This year was no different! We have get our kids from church and they have worked for several years with Osage County DHS to make sure their foster kids are not left out at Christmas time.

The first year, Hubby signed us for 1. It was a girl. The second year, Hubby sent in the form and we had 2 kids! A little boy and a little girl. This year, when I got home Hubby showed me that he had the information for our little kids. The paper was folded in half and I saw that we had 2 boys. Bummer, I thought. Then I saw that there were 2 girls on the bottom. That’s right… he signed us up for 4 kids! Poor little Tobie will have to go without dog food for a while but there will be 4 happy kids with fun new toys to play with. ;)

This is for our little 4 year old girl.

This is for our little 6 year old girl

This is for our little 8 year old boy.

This is for our little 10 year old boy. (Hubby was SO excited to get a bike!)

I tease about Tobie not getting any dog food when I really feel overly blessed. We had fun picking out toys and clothes for these little kids. Did I mention that we spent 2.5 hours at Wal-Mart for this shopping spree?! Well we did! That is like a banner event for Hubby to be there that long too!

I have very close family friends that do this with their 2 little boys, trying to get kids that are close in age to their own. While Gabe and Eli are helping pick out toys, they may not realize now how much they are helping someone else out but someday they will. I think it is a great way to teach young kids about compassion and hope to carry that on someday when we have kids of our own.