Is it still Monday?

I must not be sleeping well because I definitely had a difficult morning this morning. I tried to be as positive as possible, but that lasted about 5 minutes! The boys were on my LAST nerve, although to be fair to them, they were doing a great job getting ready to go. My meeting this morning was as annoying as I have ever had them be, which I usually enjoy because we can have good discussions about best teaching practices and I feel like I get good feedback. Instead I just felt completely "off" today and really just angry at NOTHING at all. I really had no reason, but I
was just overly tired and ready to get started with my day.

As you can see, we still have a mooch in our fridge! :)

He likes to throw things OUT of the fridge. Its been quite the hassle because he'll get there very quickly should he even think you might open the fridge. Supper-time is getting to be a lot more work!

And, Malachi LOVES graham crackers, just like Logan does. I'm not sure I can remember a morning since Logan was 1 that he didn't ask for crackers when he woke up. Malachi's the same, so I am thankful for my little portable dust devil that makes cleaning up messes a little easier.

We're still waiting for the bruises on the head to go away so we can get our 1 year pictures.

Tonight, Shawn and I finally sat down and filed our KS taxes. UGH! We did our federal taxes at the beginning of February, but somehow always manage to mess up our KS taxes. The website is so confusing and we have so many things we deduct federally, but KS doesn't accept, so oh well! Last year, it was kinda irritating becuase we were lucky enough to get audited! And, they corrected our return and we paid it in full (which I did have them mail me a form saying I'd completed the payments in full!). Then, in January, we got a notice that we owed about $50! Having NO idea where that came from, we called them up! They were in a budget crunch and re-looking through taxes that they might have missed. Huh? Why didn't they find this on the first audit???? Interesting, yes! How politicians and tax people must work- I'm guessing so! I don't complain all that much though because it is my paycheck and I do appreciate every bit of it.

Tomorrow is Wednesday, but it does feel like it should be Friday. Today was the most stressful day yet in testing! I had 6!!!!!!! students all testing individually and didn't have a break at all. I had about 10 minutes to warm up a pizza pocket and scarf it down before I started testing again, hoping to get done in enough time by the end of the day. I finished with about 10 minutes to go before the bell and as I walked back to my classroom I realized that I hadn't even gone to the bathroom all day! It was one of those days! I'm trying to get some kids made up so I can have a little time off to go to Logan's allergy appointment on Thursday morning.

Here's hoping that tomorrow is more positive and less stressful of a day. Then again, it will be April Fool's!

a bad day.

Today went about as bad as a Monday could go. I guess I should have known it when last Monday went so great, even though it was Logan's procedure and my birthday. Today was just off! I was in the middle of a state test and a tornado drill goes off, we go back and the computer froze up! I did manage to get a lot of kids tested today so hope to stay caught up. I've really been struggling about going to Logan's specialist appointment for his allergies, but am so scared to ask for yet more time off. So, I know I'm being a terrible mom right now. Shawn will take him, but I just worry that the right information might not get relayed or something might be missed. And, I know that Shawn doesn't always relay information back to me in the most informational of manners. I think its a guy thing, not anything at all wrong with Shawn or the way he is a great father, so I'm just worried a little about missing this appointment with Logan.

Tonight, Malachi didn't want to go to me when I picked him up from daycare. Yes, I know its awesome that he loves his babysitter (I know my other boys had quite the opposite experience), but for him to scream and try to wiggle out of my arms, really kinda broke my heart. Then, the screaming lasted all 25 minutes home! It rose my blood pressure just a tad as I felt helpless and frustrated. I got home and Shawn was making chicken enchiladas for supper. It smelled amazing, but we were using a different recipe, so I was getting hungry. Well, they sure did NOT turn out and it made him upset that he didn't cook it right (which he did, the recipe just stunk!) and the boys wouldn't have anything to do with it. So, he slaved over it and we were all so hungry for it and ended up eating quick oatmeal and some other odds and ends of left-overs.

Than Malachi has had terrible diaper rash tonight! Its clear up his bottom. I'm wondering if he's teething. He has been fussy and just wanting to be held all night. Logan's allergies sure are acting up again since he's been off his meds and he's constantly grossing me out with the snotty nose. He's also itching his head non-stop, so any ideas how to stop a rash in the back of his head, would be appreciated!

My meeting after school ran over, so I was LATE picking boys up which really kinda makes me mad because I am a person that HATES HATES HATES tardiness no matter what and kinda get frustrated when others have a disregard for keeping things on time. I'm not rude enough to just walk out though.

And, so all these frustrations have accumlated on top of me just not having much strength today and I'm exhausted, grouchy, tired and ready for another vacation! Yet, its only Monday! Oh, and I almost forgot the worst thing yet of our day- Logan's room flooded! Thank God we haven't finished the basement to have the expensive carpet installed. We just have "get-us-by-but-looks-good" carpet that we installed, so we propped his bed up, set up the dehumidifier and fans, and tried to keep the boys from playing in it. We haven't had leaking since before we started that room and thought we'd had it all taken care of. So its a bit unnerving to know that we aren't quite sure where the water's coming from.

I've been doing a lot of thinking and writing (on my Word files) about teaching and the profession there of. Since I was threatened and submitted to that to take my teacher blog down, I feel a bit hushed or quieted about my views and my professional growth. I thought I knew where to draw the line by not naming names and speaking in only hypotheticals, but obviously offended many with that and so as I will continue to reflect on my teaching practices (because that is what good teachers essentially do!), I cannot recieve constructive feedback about that. I just think that's interesting and very thought-provoking. I wonder when I post if I should even mention my profession or if that in itself is crossing a line because than people associate that with the things I do at home with my children. I am not sure. Can I even say if I've had a bad day at work or does that just go to offend some that have no idea at all what I'm talking about and just assume things that are ridiculous!? So, I've been pondering and Monday's seem to provoke the most thought as I analyze situations and figure out how to become a better person and a teacher. That is my main goal- to be a better teacher in all the areas that I can.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of Logan and Malachi. They are from Western KS when we visited the Plogers over spring break.

Leprechauns, Snow & Walking Babies

The most exciting, yet sad, news of the day- MALACHI IS WALKING!!!! Last night, out of nowhere, he took off walking across our entire front room. I yelled at Shawn to watch because it was completely unexpected. Then, we tried to prop him up and get him to do it again and he wouldn't, not even a few steps! Then, this morning, he did it again, and again, and again. He also started walking around other rooms in the house, many steps at a time until he got so excited he'd lose his balance.


And, where is my camcorder that I have not let go of since we bought it 5 years ago? Its in KC with my sister as she works on her wedding video (hint, hint Jarin- PLEASE send it back!). Another funny thing is that Malachi LOVES junk food, especially the Puffcorn which tastes like popcorn. My brother was babysitting him today as the other 2 took naps and he would throw pieces out to him like Malachi was a duck at the zoo! Malachi would monkey crawl FAST to each piece and got so excited. He got really mad if Brady stopped throwing pieces out! Again, wish I had the camcorder!
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On to my little leprechauns! (And before you look at the pictures, please know that I'm still trying to figure out the different settings on my new camera and obviously haven't got it mastered because these turned out REALLY blurry!) At Zachary's school, I guess a "leprechaun" got into his classroom and disrupted the entire room- upset chairs, made messes, etc. (you get the picture hopefully). I thought this was funny and neat and it sure was exciting for him. Well, who knew it would continue at our house. While Shawn and I were fixing supper we noticed a certain calmness and then heard giggling and running. When we opened the doors, we saw a HUGE mess!

Zachary and Logan decided to pretend to be leprechauns! They upset all Malachi's toy baskets, the crayon basket and several other things. (I grabbed my camera a bit after the fact.) Here they are already starting to clean up. I made it pretty clear that if leprechauns are caught, they have to clean up the mess and that's never as fun.

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Snow!!! Snow!!!! Snow!!!! Of course, on my day off (God, did you hear me praying for a snow day on Friday!?) The snow finally arrived last night and although we didn't get several feet of snow or drifts as many of my friends and family did, we got just enough to play in and enjoy the morning. Of course, I didn't step foot out the door (as you can tell because I didn't zoom out on the camera), but I did enjoy a peaceful morning as Shawn took Zachary and Logan and helped shovel at the church. Shawn tried his snow-blower, but I guess the snow was too wet and heavy so it really didn't work well.

And here are a few pictures from this afternoon. Logan FINALLY got his hair to lay down! We tried a different kind of conditioner in it and that seemed to help. However. . . . the babysitter has said he's been itching the back of his head a lot lately, so I checked it- no lice (and believe me, I've seen my fair share of lice!). But, he does have a LARGE rash moving up the back of his head. I am not sure if it has anything to do with his allergies or what not, but he sure has had his fair share of health stuff lately.

My camera sure was blurry. I really need to work on the settings, but didn't want to not post these pictures because they are cute! (yes, I'm a bit biased) Our neighbor came over to play with the boys while Shawn and I worked on tackling several "to-do" projects that we just haven't gotten to with 3 boys under our feet all the time. Malachi loves Josh and sometimes its nice to have a distraction for the boys. Here they were watching a movie this afternoon.

Spring Break 2009- Garden City Zoo

Here are some pictures from the Garden City Zoo. It is a really nice zoo, especially for the price (FREE!). It really meaks me wonder about Manhattan's zoo because we've never been too impressed with that, although we've always kept our membership renewed to allow us into other zoos for free or half price.

Logan was really excited to see the train, who I guess looks just like "Neville" from Thomas.

Here we see the nice, friendly rhino:

We kept watching it, saying how neat it was that it was coming up to the fence to greet us.

And, I even read this cautionary sign: Danger- Rhinos urinate toward sidewalk to mark their territory! I sure didn't think about it until it was a bit too late. Thankfully, Logan just recieved a little of the "mist" as he is a fast runner! :) It was hiliarious though.

Here was a giraffe without a head! :) Just kidding. I can't believe I cut the head off in my shot!

The park for kids was really cute and they had a lot of fun (including the big boys).

Ah, a ladybug! (Bring back memories Kelly!?)

Malachi liked to crawl on the animals too but was a bit cautious of them at first.

Shawn liked the playground just as much.






Malachi fits into the family perfectly as he LOVES the animals in the zoo.



Grasshopper:

Well, unlike several of my Facebook friends, we did NOT have a snow day today, but that's okay as long as the roads were safe to drive on, which they were because so far, we have NO snow! I'm wondering where this several inches to feet of snow is!?

I'm hoping that if its going to snow it will snow and get it done with because I have things do to and places to go! I am on a mission to get my energy back this weekend and get my house CLEAN!!!! I'm tired of the clutter and want to get it cleaned so its easier to maintain. That is a huge task to sort through all the boys stuff, so we're hoping Grandma isn't too busy.

Spring Break 2009- Bowling

During our time in western KS, we went bowling. Shawn might just kill me if he reads this, but out of Blake, Nicole, Jaxon (almost 4 years), Logan (4 years), Shawn got the LOWEST bowling score. Granted the 2 little kids had gutter bumpers, but still! :) Overall, it was a great time. Malachi took a nap, so I just held him and watched bowling.

Malachi's 1 dependable word: ball! And, he sure does love any type of ball!

Logan LOVES bowling and get so animated:

As you can see, his eyes were bothering him a little bit, but he was starting to do better from the MAJOR swollen episode he'd had.

Jaxon & Logan- the 4 year olds that beat Shawn! :)

The 4 kids:

Testing is going very well (or so I think since we haven't gotten scores yet). Thanks for the prayers. Spring break really spoiled me with sleeping in and having lazy days so I'm really looking forward to summer.

Logan Chicken Pox & Malachi Surgery

Well, this is what Logan looked like Monday night: (he could not get his eyes to stop watering!)

Tuesday, he woke up and had blood-shot eyes and was sneezing non-stop, so we called the doctor again. He went in yesterday afternoon and got a shot and by last night he was doing great! His eyes were looking clear, not watery and he was back to feeling like his bubbly self. We go to the allergy doctor in Topeka next Thursday to figure out what might be going on and what we can do about it. He's on Zyrtec and Singulair constantly and now the new allergy eye-drops AND benedryl most days! So, we have to stop those for 5 days prior to the appointment to get an accurate read of what he might be allergic to.

Last night, he caming running to me saying he had chicken pox!

And, they didn't quite wash off, so we still have the toxic blue pox today! :)

Malachi's surgery for ear tubes went really well this morning. I'm just getting home and will get a couple pictures loaded before heading back to school. I felt like the WORST mom last night when he woke up and just wanted a little of his bottle before heading back to sleep. I got up and held him, but it only made him scream more. It was obvious he didn't want me, but something to snack on, so I had to just put him back in his crib and go to bed, trying to drown out the screaming. It was AWFUL, as any mother would know if they've experienced the helpless feeling of not being able to do anything for your baby.

He screamed the whole way to town this morning, but as soon as we got around other people, he started to act more cheery and playful. He loved the cuddly toys they gave him.

And, when he got his gown on all the nurses the came in kept calling him a girl! UGH! It was so annoying and I'm not the type of person to rudely interrupt and correct them, but I did with one after a few too many times she wasn't getting my responses when I said, "No, HE hasn't had anything to eat this morning. No, HE doesn't have a problem with allergies, etc." As much as I thought he was going to be a baby girl when he was born, he wasn't and its just a little annoying when people keep saying "her" and "she".


Isn't he cute! :) He did great for the surgery and is going back to daycare since I have to get back to work today.

Spring Break 2009- Visiting the Plogers

Here are some quick snapshots of our visit to western KS to the Ploger's. I am not sure I'd ever stay sane with twins! It was hard enough keeping up with just my 4 year old. Logan is 4 months older than Jaxon and they sure hit it off- both good and bad. They were so much like brothers it wasn't even funny, but for the most part, they did really well together.

Logan and Jaxon were trying to make silly faces at the Garden City Zoo.

They liked the shamrock cookies. (And of course, they never looked at the camera at the same time!)

Ok, I lied, they did have a picture where they looked at the same time. Logan LOVED this hat. We ended up buying him a cheaper version of it on the way home.

Malachi was kinda on his own, but he's pretty much used to that. Poor baby!

He did really well on the trip out there and back.

Logan liked Jaxon's Micky Mouse ears too.

This was right after we got there. Jaxon wasn't quite sure what to think of Logan. Logan quickly makes himself right at home.

Movie time!

Malachi & Jaxon:

Just what Blake needed for his workout!

We're continuing on with state testing. Now its math season! :) Ah! The joys of NCLB.

Malachi will be going in tomorrow early morning to have his quick surgery for the tubes in his ears. I'm hoping everything goes fine and he can start feeling better. He's been a bear all week, waking up at night, just wanting to be held, and spiking a fever at random times.