It's ballet season! Last night was the first class of the season and Corinn's first class ever!!! She has been counting down for months, and has been telling everyone "I'm going to start dance class!". She did great and was super excited about finally getting her own professional ballet slippers!
Gabrielle started her 2nd year and now she's in the pre-ballet II class (Corinn is in pre-ballet I). She was excited about the fact that they get to start doing bar work in pre-ballet II.
The only issue we had last night was when the pre-tap class lined up to go upstairs for class. I simply can't afford to have the girls take more than one class, so Gabby had to choose between ballet & tap. Well, when she saw some of her friends taking both classes and all of them lined up in their pretty little tap shoes, getting to go upstairs for class (ballet classes are downstairs).....Gabrielle all of a sudden changed her mind! We talked through it, but she was still a little upset the rest of the night.
Now I have this hard mommy decision to make....stick to my guns and make Gabby stick to her decision? Consider letting her switch (even though the dance studio really wants the girls to take ballet in addition to any other classes they'd like - the director would let her switch if we decided to)? Hit Nana & Grandpa up for some tap class sponsoring? Hmmmm....decisions, decisions!
Here's the girls on our way to class...
And here's Corinn with her new ballet slippers on...
We made our usual Labor Day Weekend camping trip again this year and of course, it was a blast! The best part was that Curtis didn't work and got to spend the whole weekend with us!!! This time, we opted to not get a cabin (since all we ever do is sleep in it and spend our days at my parent's site) and instead, the kids slept in my parent's RV with them and Curtis and I went home to our own bed/shower and returned the next morning. The weather was amazing! And the kids had a great time biking, swimming, fishing and running Grandpa ragged. Here's some pics of our fun...
I emailed Gabby's pre-K teacher yesterday just to check in. Of course, she's been coming home with smiley's on her daily report....but I just wanted to make sure the teacher didn't have any questions/concerns for me. Here's the response I got...
"Hi! Gabrielle is an absolute delight to have in class. She is eager to start each day. She is kind and caring to others in our class and looks out for them. I know that she is going to have a great year. She is always smiling. :) Hope you have a great day!"
Ah, music to a mama's ears!
This was this morning before school (for Jaden & Gabrielle) & daycare (for Corinn). I wanted to show off Gabby's dress - just the green portion was a Walmart special that she LOVES! But as she got taller (all 3 are shooting up like weeds lately!), the dress got shorter and daddy made it very clear that she could no longer wear her favorite dress outside of the house.
Well, mama & Gabby came up with a plan....let's sweetly ask Nana (my mother) to help make it longer! Mama can sew a little, but has neither the time nor the patience for such a project. Give me a fallen off button - that I can take care of! So Nana added a little ruffle skirt to the bottom and made a matching belt to replace the worn green one that came with the dress. Gabby was THRILLED! And so was daddy!
Right after getting Gabby off the bus on her first day of school, Curtis realized I had a tire that was low.....we went to the closest Exxon and by the time I made it there, it had gone completely flat! Unfortunately, it couldn't be patched and I needed a new tire.....luckily, the service station had a used one that was in good condition that they gave me for $25.
Then today on my way to work, I get a call from Curtis.....guess what, he's got a flat tire too! Two in one week? Again, it can't be patched......luckily, he made it almost there and a co-worker came and took him the rest of the way to work.....but we both had to take a 2+ hour lunch break so that I could go get him and his tire, go get a new one mounted and balanced and then take him back to his car......no used tire this time, had to pay for a new one! Now i'm worried because things come in 3's......I'm crossing my fingers that the 3rd one is just a patch! oh, and my mom is making a trip to her sister's tonight.....I'm praying it's not her that's the third!
Gabrielle's first day of pre-k was today! My little girl is all grown up!
She did wonderfully! And actually, I did too.....I cried for Jaden's first day of kindergarten and thought I'd cry today, but I guess it gets easier.
All 5 of us had breakfast at the school today and then we walked Gabby to her class. She was a little shy at first and I got nervous cause there were 3 other kids in her class crying, but she did fine. Mrs. Hinkle showed her where to put her folder and hang up her backpack. Then she got to pick a table/activity until class started. She gave us hugs goodbye and that was it! She didn't give it another thought!
I also took a late lunch to go and catch a pic of her getting off the bus at the daycare. She is the only one getting off at her stop so I was nervous about that as well. Turns out she woulda been just fine without me there too! But at least I got the pic and got to hear all about her day! She was excited because she saw several friends at school that went to her old daycare. She told me about getting to play on the playground (which we've done hundreds of times, but I guess it's different when you go to school there) and what they had for lunch. What a big girl!!!
Thanks to my friend Autumn and all the wonderful bloggers that she has linked on her page, I've decided to join the club! :0)
I've been blogging on my myspace page for a while now, but I thought this might be a better way for me to share my blogs with family/friends that don't belong to myspace as well as keep everything together and documented. Nothing really to report for now - just trying to get the feel for this and see how everything works.
Things are busy as usual in our home - school starting, extra curricular activities coming up in the next week or 2, labor day weekend camping, of course work and CAKES!The cake gig is booming and September is one of my biggest months this year (3 weddings this month and tons of other requests)! Hope this finds you all well - have a spectacular weekend! :0)
I'll leave you with a pic of Jaden's first day of school this year (yesterday). He started 1st grade & Gabrielle will begin pre-k on Monday. You know there will be more pictures for that one!!! And I know there will also be some tears shed - mine, not her's! :0(
ok, i'm going 2 try something...today is really 3/16/09 & i've officially given up on myspace
but there's some old blog posts (from b4 i ever created this blog) on there that i don't want 2 lose
so i'm going to make this post 2day, but date it 4/26/06 (when my first myspace blog was posted)...it'll b one long post, containing all the myspace ones i don't want 2 lose....the spacing will probably look funky, some of the pics might b too big, some of the slideshows may no longer work, but i'm gonna try it anyway
hopefully, this post will just fall in behind my already published posts & no one will even realize anything new has been added....i'm so sentimental & don't want 2 lose some thoughts i had way back when (especially the 1st post about our wedding ~wink~)
here goes...
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4/26/06 -
well, the excitement is over.....i've taken the final plunge and am officially someone's wifey!!
as many of u know, curtis & i have been together for 7 years and have 3 beautiful children together.....we finally made things official and were married this past saturday (4/22/06)
i've never been more stressed about anything in my life! i promised myself that i wouldn't get like those crazy brides and stress myself out over our wedding.....and i did a pretty good job at that, until the day before.....i took off from work friday (thank God!) and ran around like a chicken with my head cut off from early morning till late night! it didn't help that i was making my own wedding cake, but i knew it would b an added stress going in.....thank God for my sister Kelly, sister-in-law Katie, and most of all my friend Misty! all 3 made sure that i had help coming from every direction and that saturday would b all about me.....i may have stressed myself out on friday, but all i had to do on saturday was get myself ready.....they even took care of getting my daughters bathed, hair done and to the church (curtis had the boys to worry with)
saturday was absolutely beautiful & i couldn't have asked for anything more! the rain looked as though it might pour down on us all day, but it was around just enough in the morning to give us that good luck, and then it was gone before i had to walk outside with my hair done
things ran smoothly, the ceremony was beautiful, all the important people came (i had 75 RSVPs and planned for 100, only about 50 came - i think the rain may have had something to do with that) and we all had a blast at the reception.....that was my goal, to make things fun! i wasn't worried about impressing anyone or what anyone else thought....i did things my way, and pretty well (if i do say so myself) on the small budget that i had!
my mom sang during the ceremony, my dad walked me down the aisle (with Gabrielle on the other side since she was too scared to walk down with Corinn, the youngest, and throw her petals ), my uncle married us, our family and best friends were at our sides....all 5 kids had parts and everyone looked gorgeous!! like i said before, i couldn't have asked for more!!
no honeymoon at this point....it's difficult to find sitters for 3 kids for more than a day or so.....we got rid of the kids that night and then we took off work on monday and spent the day together (kids at school & daycare), so that was nice....and we're planning a long family vacation to a condo on the beach in june (can't wait for that!)
thanks to everyone that has sent us well wishes, helped us out through all the chaos, and who supported us for so long when we were just 'shacking up' ~lol~
here's a slide of all the fun...
love u all!
mrs. sharon skates!! (~lmao~ i love it!)
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5/10/06 -
Current mood: sick
i woke up with a headache on saturday morning (which believe it or not, isn't too out of the ordinary).....but when it still wasn't gone by monday, i started to get worried.....i get migranes and so does my mom.....she has a prescription for her's so i tried one of those and it didn't phase it......also, starting sunday nite, i started getting a fever that would come and go, so i didn't know what to think.....i went to work on monday and was miserable all day.....then called in sick on tuesday because i knew i wouldn't b worth much at work with the pounding headache and fever.....my dr couldn't get me in this week, so i finally decided to go to emergicare yesterday afternoon......what do u know, the dr there was stumped too! it's not strep cause my throat doesn't hurt or look bad, it's more than just a bad migrane because of the fever, no bladder or any other kind of infection.....well, let's test for the flu.....the nurses were shocked when they found out the were giving me a flu test because the last case they had seen was 3 weeks ago and we're out of the flu season now.....but they were even more shocked when the test came back positive!
since i've had the flu since at least saturday, it's too late in the game for antibiotics....but that also means i'm most likely not contagious.....they did give me a prescription for hydrocodine for my headache, but i can't say it's working too well (other than making me a little loopy).....oh well, i'm excused from work for the rest of the week (they're just afraid i'll make them sick)
i've learned to deal with the headache by now and luckily, i never got any of the upset stomach stuff.....the only worry i have now is the wedding cake i'm making for this sunday.....i had to cancel 2 other cake orders for this week so that i can devote my time to getting well and working on the wedding cake.....please pray that the bride is happy with the cake and it makes it to MD in one piece! ;0)
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5/22/06 -
Current mood: thankful
well, for those of u that care....
our family drove to north carolina friday nite to visit with our amazing friends misty & shane.....we got there late (round 11pm) and shortly after misty got home from a wine auction that she had gotten all dolled up for she looked so pretty!
after getting my kids in bed, all 4 of us stayed up and talked for a while, but hit the hay finally at 1am because misty and i had big plans for the next day
the next morning at 5:30am, misty and i were out of bed and getting ready for the wine festival.....misty works for the yadkin valled chamber of commerce in NC and was practically the head honcho at the festival.....we got there at 7am and started setting up....people weren't admitted into the festival until 11am, but there was lots to do to get ready.....i worked at a different entrance than misty, so didn't actually see her until we shut my entrance down at 3pm.....the festival ended at 6pm and we stayed until 7pm when almost all of the vendors had packed up and left.....needless to say, we were exhausted! and the really sad thing was that after being at a wine festival all day long where 19 wineries were pouring, we didn't taste or buy a drop! we actually stopped at neighbor's on the way home to pick up a couple bottles! ~lol~
meanwhile, at misty's house.....curtis and shane had our 3 kids for the day....they rode horses, went to the park, caught tadpoles and pretty much spent the entire day outside which made mama very happy!
curtis had already bathed the kids (what a man!), so i got them ready and in bed and misty popped the cork on some wine.....all 4 of us watched a movie and chilled for the eve
the next day was for the guys to enjoy alone, so misty and i took the kids to lazy 5 ranch (an hour drive from misty's).....it's a 3.5 mile drive-thru safari where u can buy buckets of pellets and feed the animals from ur car.....jaden was the only one brave enough to hold the bucket and he had 4 emus pecking away at the bucket with their heads in misty's car at one time (and he giggled more than i've ever heard as they went to town on the pellets).....we also fed llamas, deer, rams, pigs (corinn's favorite! she'd point out every pig we saw and would make her piggy sound), ducks, geese, and many more.....we weren't allowed to feed some animals, but saw zebras (jaden's favorite - he actually was leaning out of the car and petting them), buffalo & water buffalo, long horn cattle (that scared the bejesus out of us when they wouldn't let us pass and brought their horns a little too close for comfort to misty's car), giraffes, a rhino, camels, lemurs, and tons more! the girls were getting braver as we went along, leaning out of the windows to throw pellets to the small animals....they loved the babies! it was sooooo much fun and the kids had a blast!!! it was well worth the mess that misty's car was in afterwards from all the spilled pellets inside and the animal slobber up and down the outside ~lol~
we spent more time outside and visiting before we had to pack up and leave......got home at midnight last night and i'm still tired today.....but it was a GREAT weekend!!! thank u misty & shane!
ps. i'll share pics soon
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5/25/06 -
Current mood: happy
Jaden has been asking for a turtle for months now. Our last 2 fish (that had lived for 3+ years) had finally died, so we were due for a pet.
In going to the few pet stores in the area, we found out that they only sell turtles 4" or bigger. These usually grow to be fairly large and need fairly large tanks as well. We asked around and finally got a call last night that a little turtle had been found.
Jaden had named his turtle 'Socks' almost as soon as he started asking for one. Attached are pictures of Socks. The 2nd pic isn't very clear, but it's to give you an idea of his size. :0)
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5/30/06 -
Current mood: mellow
camping is big with my family! i'm happy to say that i've turned curtis onto it! he had never been camping before he met me and now, he's a pro!
the kids absolutely love it! we go every holiday weekend (memorial & labor day, july 4th, etc.) and also here and there throughout the summer.....i've even had curtis tent camping with me in the middle of no where! he really didn't want to take it that far....he was content with staying in an RV or cabin, but i insisted......and yet again, he can't wait to go back!
this weekend, we went back to our usual spot in Verona.....there's an awesome KOA there! we rented a cabin to sleep all 7 of us, and that's really all we did there.....if we weren't off exploring & playing, we were hanging out at my parents RV......this KOA has a pond and river for fishing, 2 nice playgrounds (my parents always get an RV site right by one of the playgrounds), a nice pool, a short hike down the river takes you to a beautiful little waterfall, game room, putt-putt.....the list goes on and on!
this was the first year that we rented tubes to float down the river.....it was relaxing, but would have been nicer had the water been a little higher.....u had to push yourself off the rocks in some spots.....corinn rode on mom's lap and gabby on mine.....it was so relaxing that corinn fell asleep about halfway down
needless to say, the kids didn't want to leave and we're all anxious to go back!
ps. there's a slideshow with pics running on my profile and a video in my viedos
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6/5/06 -
in march, my parents bought jaden and my neice deandra new mini 4-wheelers.....there were already 3 regular size 4-wheelers at my parents house (2 are my bother's and one is my dad's).....since then, 4-wheelin' has become a fun time at my parents house! the kids especially love it! in the winter, we pull sleds and in the summer, we tear dad's grass up!
jaden is a daredevil and scares me to death most of the time.....the girls like to ride slowly with an adult or pulled in a cart behind a 4-wheeler.....here's some pics of the fun we have (we were just riding again saturday!)
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6/12/06 -
i just wanted to share what we did this weekend...
friday eve, i made it home just in time for the t-ville parade.....we live downtown, so the parade runs right in front of our house....my sis and her fam came by (mainly using our driveway for free parking) and watched with us :0)
well, then curtis worked this weekend so it was just me and the kids.....luckily, he got off a little early on saturday to go with me to a co-worker's wedding.....i made the cake and would have had one hell of a time delivering it alone with all 3 kids! it was a beautiful wedding right beside lake shenandoah.....here's a pic of the cake....
then sunday, my aunt and i took our kids (she has 3 too) to trout pond in WV.....it's a huge man-made lake with a little beach.....the kids love it! little minnows swim right around u and my cousins were even catching salamanders.....it was a nice time because the weather was supposed to b not so nice and then changed it's mind.....it was sunny and beautiful, but the beach wasn't crowded at all! here's a couple pics of our fun there....
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6/6/06 -
Current mood: exhausted
well, we're finally back and getting into the normal swing of things
we left on june 24th and got there around 7pm.....checked into the resort, unloaded the car and started unpacking, fixed the kids dinner....all while fighting off a killer migrane .....curtis made me lay down and after a 20 min power nap, i was feeling a lot better....it was too late and we were all too tired to venture the beach that night, so we settled in for the night
the next morning, we were on the beach right after breakfast......the kids were soooo anxious and i was surprised at how comfortable they were on the beach! jaden would barely let the water touch his toes and he'd take off running.....the water was pretty cold....but the longer we were there, the braver he got until he was out in the waves with me (water coming up to his chin) .....the girls immediately starting digging for china and all sand toys were in use.....the girls weren't as comfortable with the water as jaden but took turns creeping up to the edge.....we spent most of the first day at the beach and exploring the area/resort
kelly, travis, deandra & bryan (my sis and her fam) made it down that eve, just in time for dinner and then we headed for the beach again......it was low tide this time and a little calmer, but all in all, i was surprised at how high the waves were so close to the shore
our daily routine was to have breakfast, head for the beach (though i admit, we were a little later every day ), back to the condo for lunch and nap time for the kids, to the beach or pool (depending on the weather) again after nap, dinner and back out again......while there we also visited the NC aquarium where the kids got to touch the sting rays, Bodie Island Lighthouse, the sand dunes, the Nags Head fishing pier, and of course shopping at Wings ~lol~
it worked out that the day we hit the aquarium there was a tropical depression coming in and the beach was closed for swimming.....other than that, there were a few rain showers here and there, but we didn't let it get us down.....we just hit the indoor pool at the resort.....the kids loved the beach, but also begged for pool time so that they could use their goggles and snorkeling equipment
curtis and travis did a LOT of fishing and even entered the resort tournament.....after beating travis' butt all week, curtis was disappointed that he came in 2nd to travis at the tournament (that's alright, there's always next year)....i couldn't believe they were the top 2 out of all the ppl from the resort that were entered!
kelly and i got to sneak away a couple times to check in with the outside world....there were computers available in the office ....but we decided that the guys had WAY more alone time than we did ~lol~
the last night, we hit the beach at low tide and had a great time catching moon jellyfish (that are harmless) and the little crabs that scurry under the sand....the kids were amazed
we had a blast all week and the kids did NOT want to come home.....we can't wait for next year!!!
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7/10/06 -
Current mood:proud
Yesterday, my baby turned 6!!!
Jaden began telling me months and months ago, that he wanted a dragon birthday cake (if you know Jaden, you know that he's obsessed with dragons!). Then we got 'Socks' the turtle in May and the cake request then changed to a turtle cake. He was very happy with how his cake turned out and he named the turtle cake 'Ank'. :0)
We had a small birthday party at my mom's and everyone had a great time! I asked Jaden last night if he had a fun birthday. He grinned and said, 'Mom, you're the best mom ever!'. I wanted to bawl!! :0)
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7/21/06 -
Jaden lost his 4th tooth last night. The first 2 he lost were his bottom fronts and his grown up teeth are almost completely in now. His top fronts were the next to go. Now he has the cutest gap!!
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8/21/06 -
Current mood: chipper
well, Jaden has learned to whistle! :0)
i really think his top 2 teeth missing has helped out with this.....he learned last Thursday and hasn't stopped since!! it's cute, but i have to say....it's driving us crazy!!! :0P
here's Jaden whistling while brushing his teeth.... here's Jaden whistling while walking through the house... here's Jaden whistling the whole way to Northern VA on Saturday...
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8/28/06 -
Current mood: cheerful
last evening, i took the kids over to my parents to play....jaden of course, got out his mini 4-wheeler while the girls hit the 'grandpa park'....a little later, gabrielle asked grandpa if she could ride deandra's (my neice) 4-wheeler....i was nervous as hell about my 3yr old riding....but she quickly got the gas/brake concept and was staying pretty slow.....she did a great job and LOVED it!
here's a pic of us all (of course daddy was working as usual)....check out my videos to see gabby in action! :0)
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9/5/06 -
As usual, we went camping over the Labor Day weekend.
Curtis was only able to join us Sunday night at 8pm until 7am the next morning because he was working both jobs all weekend. :0( I felt like a single mom packing up the car Saturday morning, setting up at our cabin when we got there, doing the everyday thing with the kids, then having to pack up everything to go home yesterday....all by myself. Thankfully, my parents go camping in their RV and we hang out down at their camp site most of the time. My dad helps out a ton with entertaining the kids and they supply all the meals (it sure is nice to not have to cook all weekend!). :0)
Now that Jaden can ride his bike without training wheels, we rarely see him. He's all over the campground (gated and secure) by himself. And my parents' site is right next to the playground, so the girls spend a lot of time there.
The kids had a great time and of course, they didn't want to leave yesterday!
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9/6/06 -
Current mood: amused
Gabrielle started taking pre-ballet last week and tonight will be her 2nd class.
The pre-ballet class is for 3 & 4 year olds so Corinn won't be old enough until season. The class runs from September until May, with 2 recitals in May. When I took Gabby last week, I wasn't sure if she'd act too shy to participate or if she'd jump right in. Well, it was the latter! :0) She loved it and has been asking me ever since, 'How many more days until ballerina class?'.
So that Corinn wouldn't feel completely left out, I got her some ballet style bedroom slippers and a tutu. Gabby was trying on her new leotard, tights and ballet shoes last night, so I let Corinn put on her bathing suit and her ballet gear. It was so cute to watch them both tip toe and spin around! :0) I've attached some pics.
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9/11/06 -
My niece Deandra turned 6 on 9/7/06 and had her birthday party Saturday. I made her a horse cake (she LOVES horses) and the kids had a great time at her pool party. Here's some pics.... the cake....
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9/15/06 -
Current mood: ecstatic
well, little Matthew is finally here! :0) he is the son of my younger brother Sam Wilkins Jr. (I call him CJ) and his wife Katie Wilkins (formerly Whetzel)
Matthew was born on 9/14/06 at 6:45pm.....he weighed in at 8lb 4oz and was 21in long.....he's got a tiny bit of blonde hair and is the cutest little thing ever!!!
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9/20/06 -
Here's pics of my 3 meeting little Matthew for the first time.
This was Saturday, 9/17 - the day that CJ & Katie brought Matthew home from the hospital (he was 2 days old).
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11/9/06 -
Current mood: thankful
well, only 18 more days until Gabrielle (my middle child & oldest daughter) turns 4
i can't believe my baby girl is all grown up (well, u know what i mean).....she is sooooo smart and has such a grown up personality! i can't imagine how busy she'll keep me as a teenager! actually, i don't even want to think about it she and corinn together....i'm sure will be TROUBLE! but seriously, i admire her open eyes....the way she questions everything and wants to know every detail.....she's my planner, she starts off her day by asking me what our schedule is....'where are we going today?...after that, what will we do?...what are we eating for dinner?...who will be here/there?' sometimes it drives me crazy, but mostly i adore it! she's so sweet and affectionate, but at the same time can be demanding and put on the diva hat with a quickness! ~lol~ she's definitely daddy's girl (they both are) and will use that 'daaaaaddy' cry forever, i'm sure.....now it's only when she's in trouble with me or i'm brushing out that long, long hair that can get oh so tangled....but i'm sure at 12, 14, 16, etc....it'll be 'well, daddy always lets me!' ~lol~ i guess i need to enjoy her at this age while i can.....God knows how fast these last 4 years have flown by.....she'll be leaving home before i know it!
it's cool tho, because until February (when Corinn turns 3), my kids ages will be 2, 4 & 6 they're all so grown up and make me so proud! how did i get so darn lucky?!
----------------- 11/27/06 -
Today Gabrielle is 4!!! :0)
I have a slideshow running with some pics from her 'Princess' party this past Saturday. We had 8 girls total (counting our 2), plus family over. We played pin the tail on the donkey, made picture frames (which I'll put the pic of all the princesses together inside for each girl to keep), had pizza, and of course ate cake and ice cream. Everyone had a great time and Gabby got more presents than she'll ever need!
Here's a slide of the party...
Sharon
ps. This pic is of Gabby this morning before daycare. I let her wear her crown and ribbon. :0)
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12/4/06 -
Current mood: cheerful
I waited and waited for an opportunity to put up our Christmas tree with Curtis at home, but finally gave up and we did it without him last night (he works 2 jobs so is hardly ever at home ).
Here's pics of the kids helping me decorate. Of course, after they went to bed, I had to move a bunch of ornaments up higher. It was so much fun...it's so cool to see them really get into it!
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12/7/06 -
Current mood: cheerful
Every year, Santa visits the daycare and we opt for this instead of going to see Santa at the mall.
Last year, Corinn was terrified of Santa and we had to throw her on his lap, snap the picture and then scoop her back up again. This year she didn't freak out, but she still didn't want Santa to touch her. She agreed to stand in front of him so that mommy could take their picture. And she still didn't want to take her eyes off him.
Jaden & Gabrielle took their time and made sure Santa knew all the things on their list (only about 2 or 3 things each). Happy Holidays!!! Sharon
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12/12/06 -
Current mood: loved
I'm a little late on this blog, but I blame Misty's computer and it's delay in getting the pics sent to me.
Last weekend, Curtis and I drove to NC to my best friend (Misty) and her husband's (Shane) new home. They bought this house that needs some work, but is just perfect for them, their horse and the new one coming! Misty is 6 months pregnant with their first child and her husband, Shane is still recovering from breaking 4 ribs and puncturing his lungs in October. I call them both cripples (even though Misty acts like she's superwoman!) I had my mom watch all 3 of our kids for the whole weekend (with a little help from my sister, Kelly too) and Curtis and I went down to help Misty and Shane get some work done on their house. There's a lot to do before their little one arrives, and I felt we needed to go and try and help, even if it was just for 2 days.
First of all, let me say....these are the 2 nicest, most genuine people that I've ever known! Misty and I say all the time that we are sisters, seperated at birth. We met in 2001 when I started working at a home building company where Misty already worked. Since then, we've been inseperable! We have so much in common, we think alike, do/buy the same things without knowing about the other one's plans, and can finish each other's sentences. We both have the same values and beliefs and I really don't know what I'd do without her in my life! Granted, she moved away from me and went all the way down to Mayberry (literally, she lives very close to Mount Airie where Andy Griffith was filmed)! But I still love her dearly and we have to talk almost every day!
Shane and Curtis have grown very close over they years as well. They both are so much alike and get along so well (which is way more than Misty & I could ask for!). Shane is a great man and was actually a groomsman in our wedding. I'm so happy for these two and everything that is happening in their lives right now! They both treat our kids as if they were their own and I know they'll be the best parents ever!
Here are some pics of the house......Misty and Shane have already done a great deal to the house, and I love this place!
Curtis and I helped with getting their living room closer to finished. We pulled down paneling and did the sanding/painting thing. Curtis cleaned out their gutters and pulled out the old dishwasher to make room for the new one coming tomorrow. Then Shane helped Curtis put brake pads on my car. And we even had time to get a tour from Shane of the stain glass place where he works. It's sooooo cool! I was into stain glass back in the day and would love to do it again. His job does way bigger scale stuff of course, but he sent me home with a crap load of scraps to play with. Here's their website addy and a pic of our visit... http://www.ahstainedglass.com/
After our tour, Misty & Shane took Curtis & I out to Red Lobster and we had a great time just hanging out! It's so different with no kids around.
Thank you Misty for being the best friend ever and for always being there! I'm so thankful to have met you and I plan on you guys being a big part of our lives forever! We're family!
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12/27/06 -
Current mood: cheerful
I hope everyone had a safe and blessed Christmas!! I can't believe how quick it comes and goes every year!
I try and keep up with these blogs so that I can look back and read about all the wonderful things that happen in my life. So let me run down the Christmas holiday that my family had....
Saturday, the 23rd....we headed to Falls Church VA to visit with Curtis' parents and grandparents. The kids love going there because their condo is on the 11th floor and they love using Grandpa Perry's binoculars on the balcony.
On Christmas Eve, we always have dinner at my Grandmother's house (my dad's mom). I love that my kids are able to know their great grandparents! It gets a little more cramped every year, but it's great that our family is so close and carries on this tradition every year. The kids get a few gifts from great aunts and uncles, plus great grandma Tolly and they have a blast playing with all their cousins!
Before we left to go to my grandmother's on Christmas Eve, Jaden realized that one of his teeth was so loose, he could lay it down flat with his tongue. It only took a tiny tug from me to pop it out. This is his 5th lost tooth at 6 years old! So when we got home, we made sure to put his tooth under his pillow for the Tooth Fairy. Jaden has lots of questions about the Tooth Fairy and Santa coming in the same night.
On Christmas morning, Gabrielle was the one to wake us up with 'Mommy, Santa was already here!'. Jaden was awake too, but we had to get Corinn out of bed. All 3 were busting to open their presents, since it was pretty obvious that Santa had brought them all new bikes! We opened presents, had breakfast, played with our new toys (including having a tea party with Gabby's new set), and then went outside to try out the new bikes. Of course, the rain put quite a damper on that but we improvised and went across the street to ride under a business' car port.
At noon, we arrived at Nana & Grandpa's house (my parents) to open presents & have a big lunch. All 3 of my siblings and their spouses & kids (well, except for Joe - he's not hitched yet & doesn't have any kids that we know about), were there and it was again a full house!
I'm so thankful for my close family and that we all value our relationships! It's so important that my kids grow up with tons of family around! The only thing missing this year was my step-sons. We're having a lot of trouble with their mother lately and they're also at an age (14 1/2 & 15 1/2) where they'd rather be hanging out with their friends on the weekend instead of coming to stay with us. They live in Northern VA and we miss them a lot! I hope that one day their mother will realize that trying to hurt Curtis, only hurts his relationship with his boys. I pray that she'll eventually stop thinking about herself, and about her sons! Jaden & the girls miss them a lot too and always have questions about why we don't see them much any more. It's hard to explain the situation to them at their ages. I thank God daily that Curtis & I are together and that my kids will grow up with both parents in the home!
The kids are home from school and daycare this week. I was home with them yesterday and will be Friday. Curtis is home with them today and tomorrow. They're so enjoying their time home with their new toys & bikes!
Here's a slide of all our holiday joy!
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12/27/06
Current mood: anxious
Well, we've officially decided.....Gabrielle will be getting those beautiful curls cut off tomorrow at 10am! The only time anyone has taken scissors to that hair, is when she was just 1 1/2 years old and I trimmed up her 'mullet'. The top and back of her hair would grow way faster than the sides and I would sometimes do some 'trimming' to even things up. Since then, her hair has grown into these beautiful locks all down her back. The downside of her gorgeous long hair is that when it's left down, it turns into a tangled mess! We've tried every product known to man (wet/dry, before or after shampooing, oils, lotions, detanglers, etc.) and nothing has made the job of brushing her hair any easier. It's to the point that unless it's a special occasion, we always pull her hair up in a pony tail and even braid the pony tail too. She knows that this is the only way (except for putting it up in a bun), that will ensure the next hair brushing isn't torture, so she insists on me doing her hair this way daily. On top of it all, she's very tender-headed. So after a lot of discussion, Curtis, Gabby & I together have decided to have her hair cut to shoulder length tomorrow. I'm so nervous and my biggest fear is that Gabby will regret it because she's so proud of how long her hair is....but I really think it'll make all our lives easier and I know she'll be just as gorgeous as she is now! :0)
Here's some pics of the locks before they go...
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12/28/06
Current mood:proud
Well, Gabrielle was nervous but sooooo good in that chair! Even after snipping off a little bit this morning to show her it wouldn't hurt, she still was afraid it would hurt. So she sat very still, but once she saw the pony tail that they cut off, she was all grins! Here's a slide of the whole thing. Afterwards, we went into the mall to get a new hairband and some new clips and she's loving swinging it around now! :0)
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1/5/07
Current mood: giddy
sorry i'm late in getting this posted....been crazy busy lately
anyway, for new year's, i dropped off the kids at my parent's for an overnight (yipee!) and curtis & i went to mindy & mark's for a dinner party/new year's celebration......we all decided to dress up even tho it was just us 4......none of us r into the club/party scene too much any more, but we still wanted to do more than just sit and watch the ball drop
mark roasted a turkey and mindy made mashed potatoes & green bean casserole.....i hooked up the gravy with the turkey drippings and brought my gingerbread/pumpkin triffel that mindy & mark love.....i also brought a bottle of tequilla and margartia mix and ice
we had a great time and the food was mmmmm, good! i think mindy and i had more fun than the guys....but that might have something to do with us finishing up the beer & frozen margaritas and moving onto the tequilla shots! ~lol~
thanks for a fun night out mindy! we need to do it more often!
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1/31/07
Current mood: amused
Yesterday, I went along with Jaden's kindergarten class on a field trip to The Harrisonburg Children's Museum.
First, the class gathered in a seperate room to learn all about water and how to predict if something will sink or float. They then had to make boats out of some misc. supplies (paper cups, foil, wax paper, straws, popcicle sticks, etc.) and test it out in the water. Jaden's boat floated!
Then it was free time! The museum has lots of cool things for the kids to do - there's a rock wall to climb, a stage complete with dress-up clothes and a working spot light, a barn/garden/market/house area for the kids to play 'pretend', a puppet show stage, a craft area, face painting area, and tons more. To the kids, it's just one big play room!
Jaden mostly enjoyed the rock wall & the barn. He also had me paint his face like a lion (his favorite thing in the whole world right now). Then I had a line of boys (and one girl) that wanted their faces painted in different designs too!
A good time was had by all. Below is a slide of our trip. Sharon
ps. To all BHS grads- check out the pic of Jaden & his buddy on the John Deere - recognize that lady in the back? Yep, that Alma Ritchie! She's the grandmother of one of the kids in Jaden's class.....weird, i know! There's also a couple of mothers in that class that I went to high school with.....it's crazy to run into ppl that way!
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2/2/07
Current mood: confused
Gabrielle has been dealing with acid reflux for quite some time now......her pediatrician put her on previcid for 2 months and when that didn't help at all, she referred us to a specialist at UVA......they did some blood work to rule out 3 major diseases that reflux is a symptom of, and continued her on the previcid for 2 more months at a double dose.....still no change, so they scheduled her for the endoscopy.....it's where they give her a anesthesia thru an IV to put her to sleep and then stick a camera down her throat.....they were looking for 3 things: the rare chance that the blood test didn't pick up one of those diseases, any ulcer or inflammation/irritation, and infection.....they saw none of the above and took a biopsy.....the biopsy results will b back on wednesday, but chance r that she is doing this herself.....the dr says this is actually pretty common at this age (Gabby turned 4 in Nov.) and that she'll outgrow it.....he doesn't see any reason to continue her on the previcid unless it starts to erode her teeth......this is so new to me! anyone ever heard of this? she actually brings chunks up in her mouth occasionally (sorry if this is grossing any of u out!).....i'll notice it and ask her about it and she'll quickly swallow and act like there was nothing there.....of course, this was my first clue that she was doing this on purpose, i just didn't really want to think that was it.....anyway, i'm glad she's not abnormal and that hopefully this will end soon.....it doesn't really effect her at all.....she still eats, sleeps, grows, etc. normally....it's just something i wish she'd stop!she was so brave today and i was amazed at how quick she was out when they gave her the meds to put her to sleep! i'm just thankful that there's nothing seriously wrong!
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2/15/07
Current mood: cold
This kids were so happy that they finally got to play in the snow this time! The last 2 times it snowed, we had to go to work, school and daycare and didn't get a chance to play in the snow before it melted.
Of course, since everything was covered in ice.....sledding is really the only thing you could do in this snow. The girls would FLY down the hill, just skimming over the ice. Curtis would send 'em down and I had to grab 'em at the bottom.
Here are some pics of our fun time sledding!
Sharon
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2/22/07
Current mood:proud
well, another year has come and gone.....my baby is not even a toddler any more!! boohoohoohoo!
corinn iyanna skates is 3 years old today and i know all mothers say this.....but this girl has to be the most fun, intelligent, outgoing, sweetest child ever!!! she surprises me every day with her humor and quick wit and she brightens up the room with her beaming smile! and what a personality! she potty trained right after she turned 2 and has been talking in complete sentences forever! she always gets bumped up early to the next class level at daycare because she's so advanced for her age.....she LOVES to sing and dance - and boy, can she get down! she loves stickers, drawing/coloring, barney the dinosaur, curious george & the movie 'over the hedge'......her favorite foods are chocolate, chips and chicken nuggets
we're having her bday party on sunday and she has chosen a cinderella cake (complete with pumpkins and mice ).....her big present is the TJ Berrytales bear that reads books to you.....this girl is a reader! she even has to have a book in her lap when she's watching TV.....at daycare, i'll show up and all the children are having 'free play' - corinn is sitting in the loft reading......and she always holds the book like a teacher does (so the class can see the pictures)....it's too cute!
i'm crazy booked with cake orders this week (as usual), so i just made simple/cute cupcakes for her bday party at daycare today (which she still loved!).....i let her pick out her own clothes and accessories this morning and she announced to the entire daycare that 'It's my birthday!' when we walked in.....she was super excited about handing out the party favors to her classmates too i have to say.....out of all 3 of my kids, she definitely gets the most excited about birthdays!
i'm 3!!!
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2/26/07
Even though it snowed all night Saturday night, and we woke up thinking we'd have to reschedule....Corinn's party still took place at the normally scheduled time and she had a blast! It was actually just family (and that's enough with our big family) getting together for presents, cake & ice cream. Corinn loved all her presents and was thrilled with her Cinderella cake! She picked it out months ago and was soooo excited to wake up Sunday morning and see it in real life!
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3/1/07
Current mood: amused
our 3 children have all inherited a passion for music from both their father and i....every time we get in the car, one of the first things i hear is "mommy, do u have the ipod?" because they're anxious to start throwing their song requests at me another phrase commonly heard in my minivan is "turn it up please!"
they all have their own personal preferences....jaden is my son of rock & reggae.....his favorites are kid rock and damian marley.....gabrielle is my pop princess! she knows every word to almost every song that plays on the radio!....her favorite artist for the last couple years has been kelly clarkson.....and corinn is still my innocent little girl....mostly she requests the kid's sing-a-long songs on our ipod or the occasional familiar tune from a kid's movie soundtrack
we try to take turns and give every genre some play.....and of course mommy gets a turn here and there.....usually when i tune the radio to 98.5 or any other rock station, gabby chimes in 'no mommy, not that song!'.....but this morning when i changed the station, 'Purple Haze' was on......i was ready to hear gabby's usual whine, but didn't.....instead, when i had heard enough and flipped the station again, she said "but mommy, i liked that song!" it was the perfect opportunity to tell her a funny story....
when i was pregnant with gabrielle, i found out my due date was november 27, 2002.....i knew that would b close to thanksgiving, but other than that, i didn't recognize the date as significant.....well, my brother joe sure did.....he informed me that it was also jimi hendrix's birthday (he's a huge fan).....for the rest of my pregnancy, joe insisted that regardless of whether i was having a boy or girl - if the baby was indeed born on november 27th, i HAD to name him/her Jimi
well, sure enough....gabby was born on her due date.....but i obviously decided against naming her jimi
so, i told gabrielle this morning that the song she like so much was sung by a man named jimi who has the same birthday as her.....i told her how uncle joe said we should name her jimi and she found this completely hilarious! she said that she's glad i named her gabrielle and not jimi, that it would b silly for a girl to have the name jimi!
i guess i need to download a few more hendrix songs onto the ipod....now that gabby has made her special connection
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3/6/07
Current mood: envious
i'm back from North Carolina.....i made the 4 hour drive to Yadkinville, NC on Sunday morning to meet my new 'niece' , spent 28 hours there and then drove back home last night
my BFF Misty and her husband Shane, gave birth to Miss Willow Dawn Matthews on 2/25/07......thankfully, i had one free day with no cake orders and was able to find sitters for when Curtis had to work so that i could make the trip down there alone....of course i was anxious to meet my week old baby girl! but my main goal was to help out her mama.....Misty is the sweetest, kindest, most patient woman i know and it was killing me to hear that her precious angel wasn't letting her sleep! Willow seems to have her night & day a little mixed up and likes to stay up until 2-4am at night! Although mama didn't let me stay up with her the night i was there (first time mama's will understand why), she did get in a nap shortly after i arrived on Sunday and then let me take the baby at 7am on Monday so that she could sleep in.....Misty also had a chance to go out and run some errands....we took hand/foot prints, changed a poopy diaper together, i got to feed & change her lots, and even wash/lotion her up and get her dressed.....i felt like i should have been doing more, but hopefully i helped out some......it sure was nice to take care of a newborn again.....Curtis is just hoping it doesn't give me any ideas
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3/7/07
Current mood:proud
Jaden started T-ball last night and had a great time at practice! He's on the Pirates team (arg!) The coaches are helping us figure out what hand he'll throw/catch with. He's always favored throwing with his left, but the coaches wanted him to try his right (same thing happened at school - he was able to write with either hand but favored his left some....they taught him to work with his right hand and now that's the one he uses to write with). He has both a righty and lefty glove, so we'll see. -------------------------
3/8/07
Current mood: busy
Last evening was Gabrielle's weekly pre-ballet practice. At the end of practice, the teacher let us come in to see what the girls had just learned (their ending for the recital coming up in May). They all end up the dance by lying down in one long line....it was so cute!
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4/4/07
Current mood: cheerful
This past weekend was very busy for us (as usual). But it was the good kind of busy!
Saturday, I helped throw an 'After the Baby Shower' for my best friend, Misty. She lives in NC, but all her family still lives in MD, so that's where we held the shower (a 2hr drive for me). We did it after Willow was born so that Misty didn't have to make the long trip pregnant, and in the middle of winter. And also so that everyone could meet Willow at the shower. I was in charge of invites, the cake and games/prizes. Misty's step-mom handled the rest. Everyone had a great time and Misty received a lot of great gifts! Below is a slide of our fun.
The games were a big hit! I had the 'Guess the baby food' game where there are about 15 jars of baby food (without labels) and you can taste, smell, look at the jars to try and guess what kind of food it is. Then we played the melted candy bar in the diaper game - I melted about 10 different kinds of candy bars in baby diapers (so it looked like poo) and you had to try and guess the brand of candy bar by just looking and smelling the diaper. This game makes for great pics! Last was a relay - partners try and diaper a stuffed animal with one hand behind their back.
It was great to see everyone - of course, especially the Matthews family! But it was all over so quick and we didn't get in any good quality time. I'm already anxious for my next visit!
Here's a pic of my 3 kids on the way home from the baby shower Saturday night... And here's a pic of them on the way home from my grandparents 40th wedding anniversary get together Sunday afternoon. You think they had a busy enough weekend?
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4/9/07
I just wanted to share a slide of our Easter fun.....Curtis had to work both jobs this weekend, so we didn't see him much. But the kids still had a great time!
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4/18/07
Current mood:proud
Last evening was Jaden's 1st T-ball game and he did great!
Let me first explain how T-ball works - it's not at all like little league....
-the teams are made of of kids ages 4-7
-there are only 2 innings
-the batter gets 5 tries at hitting off the coach's underhand throws
-if they miss those 5 pitches, they get to swing at the ball off of the tee until they get a hit
-every player gets a turn at bat and runs just to first base (no doubles, triples, etc.) when they get a hit
-each player advances one base as each new batter gets up and hits
-when the last kid has batted, they all run the remaining bases and come home
-of course with no outs and everyone hitting/running, there is no counting of runs and no winner
Jaden hit the ball off the 3rd or 4th pitch both times at bat! He would forget that they're only allowed to run 1 base though - when he was on first and the batter hit the ball, he was rounding 3rd before Curtis got his attention and got him back to 2nd base. He did well in the outfield too. It's funny because everyone runs to get the ball when there's a hit - it's just one huge mob on top of the ball until someone finally surfaces with it!
He had a blast and asked me this morning if he had another T-ball game today.
Below is a slide of the pics I took as well as a video of Jaden at bat. Sorry that the video is sideways - I just assumed that you could rotate it after uploading, just like regular pics. Not true - I've been trying all day and can't get it to flip (grrrrr).
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4/20/07
Current mood: sad
Virginia Gov. Kaine on Wednesday declared Friday, April 20, a statewide day of mourning in Virginia for the victims of Monday's tragedy at Virginia Tech. He encouraged other communities in Virginia and across the nation to hold their own simultaneous ceremonies.
Our office gathered outside to observe the moment of silence and to release maroon, orange & white balloons in memory of the victims & their families. Below are some pictures.
We remember...
Ross Abdallah Alameddine
Christopher James Bishop
Brian Roy Bluhm
Ryan Christopher Clark
Austin Michelle Cloyd
Jocelyne Couture-Nowak
Kevin P. Granata
Matthew Gregory Gwaltney
Caitlin Millar Hammaren
Jeremy Michael Herbstritt
Rachel Hill
Emily Jane Hilscher
Jarrett Lee Lane
Matthew Joseph La Porte
Henry J. Lee
Liviu Librescu
G.V. Loganathan
Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan
Lauren Ashley McCain
Daniel Patrick O'Neil
J. Ortiz-Ortiz
Minal Hiralal Panchal
Daniel Alejandro Perez
Erin Nicole Peterson
Michael Steven Pohle, Jr.
Julia Kathleen Pryde
Mary Karen Read
Reema Joseph Samaha
Waleed Mohamed Shaalan
Leslie Geraldine Sherman
Maxine Shelly Turner
Nicole White
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4/24/07
Current mood: busy
hey all! i haven't posted a blog about what's going on in my world for a little bit so thought i'd play catch up....
this past weekend was busy.....after jaden's tball game on saturday, we went to my nephew's 3rd birthday party.....bryan loves the movie CARS and of course i made him a CARS cake.....he got lots of presents, one of which was a slip n slide.....my sis got it out for the kids to play with since saturday was such a gorgeous day! they had a ball and it looked hilarious.....since we weren't prepared with swimsuits, we were borrowing suits from my neice (who was bigger than a majority of the other girls) and my son even wore his uncle's shorts! we ate, laughed and had a great time.....thx kelly & travis!
sunday was mine & curtis' 1 year anniversary! (april 5th marked 8 years since we started dating, but april 22nd 2006 was our wedding day) in exchange for bryan's birthday cake, my sis agreed to watch my 3 kids so that curtis & i could have a date night.....we did the dinner & a movie thing......that might not seem too exciting for most people, but for us, it's perfect! eating dinner slowly, having uninterrupted conversation, being able to hold hands and play footsies without hearing the kids go 'ewww, gross!' .....it was great! then snuggling at the movies and just having alone time with my hubby for a good 4 hours! what could b better?! thx again kelly!
no weigh-in yet this week.....hopefully before the end of the week.....if not, i will for sure next monday so stay tuned
busy weekend coming up......got another wedding cake on saturday, t-ball game, a bday party the girls are attending, my step-sons will b visiting, etc......bring it on!
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5/1/07
Current mood: busy
our weekend was chuck full, but so much fun.....i'm sooooooo glad the warm weather is finally here and we made sure to spend as much time in it as possible this past weekend
my step-sons were in this weekend.....it's been a minute since we'd seen them and i was very happy that they made some time for us......they're almost 15 and 16 and not exactly thrilled to come to the country very often.....they live in NOVA and have 'more important' things to do on the weekends usually (friends, sports, etc.)
saturday jaden had t-ball, i had a wedding cake order, then curtis headed to his part-time job and me & the 5 rugrats went to visit my parents.....we spent some time outside and then headed home.....sunday, we skipped church, curtis took the boys home (2hr drive - one way), and me & the other 3 kids headed to my brother (cj) and his wife's (katie) house to babysit Matthew (nephew) while they attended a wedding.....we took Matthew with us to Nana & Grandpa's again to suck in some more outside time, then hung out at cj & katie's house till they got home around bedtime
monday morning was gabby's preschool screening and she did great! she was able to write her entire name perfectly and draw a picture of herself - really impressing the preschool teacher! that's my girl!
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5/8/07
Current mood: geeky
well, i finally came to terms with the fact that i couldn't see shit far away....i went to the optometrist and found out i'm near sighted and have an astigmatism....luckily, i don't have to wear my glasses all the time....just when driving or needing to see farther away
do i look smart now? ~lol~
sharon
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5/11/07
Current mood: nostalgic
it's really hitting me lately that my kids are growing up right before my eyes! they are becoming so independant, and their personalities are shining! they are such characters and i'm amazed/intrigued/spellbound every day by the things they do/say! i'm trying to remember to cherish every moment! i still can't help but wish they'd stay little, just a little while longer!
2004: just yesterday:
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5/14/07
Current mood: cheerful
what better way to spend Mother's Day, than to spend it enjoying the day with your children?! i decided a couple weeks ago that we should take the kids to the national zoo on mother's day.....it was the only weekend for a while that curtis would be off work and i didn't have any cakes planned.....the kids have been itching to go and the weather couldn't have been more beautiful! we had some trouble finding parking....i assumed mother's day would b a quiet day at the zoo - NOT! they were so busy, that the zoo parking lots were full (which has never happened to us!).....but once we found parking and walked to the zoo, the day was great! it was busy, but not crazy packed and most of the animals were out and about enjoying the nice weather too.....the kids hadn't been to the zoo since the summer of 2004 (corinn was just a baby and jaden had just turned 4) so it all seemed new to them this time.....jaden is an animal nut and had a blast 'hunting' for the hiding animals with his binoculars.....the girls' favorite part was the petting zoo in the kids farm which totally cracked me up.....we see those kind of animals every darn day just riding down the road!
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5/17/07
Current mood: amused
i posted a bulletin the other day with some of these pics, but added some more and wanted to get a blog up with the slide.....they're such posers!
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5/17/07
Current mood: excited
last night was the dress rehersal for gabrielle's ballet recital....the entire recital is pretty lengthy, gabby is of course in the ballet section and it's a wizard of oz production (lasts about an hour itself)....the other dances will be performed by the tap, jazz, hip hop & acrobatics classes (the recital is friday eve at 7pm and again on saturday at 3pm at harrisonburg high school if anyone is interested - tickets sold at the door, donations accepted)
i'm so excited - oh, and gabby is too - but i'm also anxious for this week to be over, besides the normal practices, there's been tech rehersals, pictures, dress rehersals, etc and i'm about to lose my mind! it'll b nice to not have to bus her to practices this summer....but it'll all start back up in august and twice as bad cause corinn is now old enough to join and boy, SHE CANNOT WAIT!
i've created a slide show of the wizard of oz ballet....hope u enjoy!
here's a pic of gabby's class... silly pic... then their teacher told em to shake their booty... and here's corinn completely enthralled...
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5/21/07
Current mood: happy
both performances of the dance recital were great! gabby did awesome and we're both glad that she's done with ballet for the summer!
friday night was the best because it was exciting and new and gabby was anxious to perform.....saturday wasn't as exciting (been there, done that), plus it was in the late afternoon and nap time got skipped that day
here's gabby's ballet class taking their bow after the entire recital - she looks scared but was just looking for us.....once she saw me crouched down front taking this pic, she grinned and waved really big
here's a pic of gabrielle with her rose and balloons after the performance
here's a pic of gabrielle & jaden snoozing on the way to saturday's performance
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5/21/07
Current mood: chipper
it's that time of year again....the weather gets nice and it's time to break out the 4-wheelers.....my parents bought 2 of the kid-sized 4-wheelers last year.....jaden is now a pro at riding his at full speed and my dad keeps saying that he's outgrown this one and needs a bigger one.....i'm not so sure about all that gabby just really took to riding this year and is getting pretty good.....i'm impressed at how careful she is and how quickly she picked up the whole concept - gas/break & even reverse......corinn is still too small to join in the 4-wheeling (thank God), but enjoys riding around in one of the power wheel toys
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5/23/07
Current mood: content
for those of you that don't know my son, jaden....let me introduce u to my first born angel...
jaden is 6 1/2 and is the friendliest kid you'd ever meet....it's amazing to me how many people in our area know him....every time we're out, someone i've never seen before in my life is saying 'hi jaden!'....he's OBSESSED with dragons! he loves the movie Eragon, has about 20 dragon figures, 4 or 5 stuffed dragons, key chains, posters, books, the works....he is a very imaginative boy who can memorize a movie after watching it only 1 or 2 times
i had a normal pregnancy and delivery with jaden - he actually came on his due date after only 20 minutes of pushing....he was a very calm, easy-going baby....i thought i had to have been the luckiest mother on earth to have been blessed with such an 'easy' child! he started talking/walking at the normal age....he was just a normal kid! at around 2 years old, we started noticing that he was learning words, but that most of his talking was gibberish....he wasn't putting 2-3 words together to form sentences and the words he did know, weren't completely comprehendible to others (we were his 'translators')....he'd make mostly the vowel sounds and drop off the beginning/ending sounds
it was at this age that i first took him to a developmental clinic in winchester....i had good intentions but really don't think i was prepared for what they might say....they of course diagnosed him with speech delays, but also brought up autism....my first thought was rain man and i thought they were crazy! u guys only 'evaluated him' for 20 minutes - my baby boy isn't autistic! he just needs some speech therapy!
so, i enrolled him in 'child find' - a resource through the public schools (we were living in Warren county at this time) for kids that aren't school age yet, but that need special education services....he started speech therapy once a week and did great! he slowly made progress and the autism word never came up again
jaden continued with his speech therapy in warren co. schools and then transferred to rockingham co. when we moved back here in january 2005....he started kindergarten that fall and on top of his now twice a week speech therapy, he also started working with a resource teacher for 90 minutes of his school day....he was struggling during group learning sessions in class and thrived with the one on one learning....he did fairly well in kindergarten, but we (me, his regular classroom teacher, speech teacher and 2 resource teachers) definitely had some hurdles to jump that year....mostly, we had to establish a way to help jaden become more independent - before school with putting his stuff away, getting out his folder, sitting down and beginning their morning activity, etc - we worked together to figure out what worked for jaden all around (learning, behaviorally, etc)....we discussed the possibility of jaden having OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) because he was so set in his routine and would be outwardly emotional if he was to say, miss the pledge of allegiance in the morning or couldn't find a particular crayon that he liked to use
as the year went on, we started discussing the possibility of jaden repeating kindergarten....he was excelling in math and was doing great with the speech therapy, but he was not meeting the benchmarks set for the PALS testing (the kindergarten version of SOLS) and was still struggling with reading - believe it or not, you learn to read before you leave kindergarten now! the school left the choice up to me, but i really felt that another year would be good for him....so he started kindergarten again last fall with a new teacher and we didn't increase his time with the resource teachers because he was doing well, learning from the other kids in the classroom setting.....the speech teacher was now focusing more on the social aspect of speech (giving people the appropriate amount of 'personal space', using eye contact when speaking, how to give the appropriate response in conversation, etc) and jaden took off with flying colors!
about halfway through the school year, i went in for a normal parent/teacher conference....things went as usual, only better! we still had our 'brain storming session' but this time we were also discussing how GREAT jaden was doing in school! it was if things had just clicked for him! he was grasping concepts that he just didn't get the first year (rhyming, blended consonant sounds)....we were again talking about the possibility of OCD and all of jaden's 'quirks' and his teacher mentioned Asperger's Disorder....up until now, i hadn't heard of it and was very interested....his teacher had done a study in college on a little boy that reminded her a lot of jaden....there were other signs and they agreed that it would be worth checking this out
so, i made an appt with his pediatrician and she agreed that there were some indications that this might b the case and referred us to the Kluge Center at UVA....i got an appt made but had about 6 months to wait....in the meantime, i did a TON of research online and things were really sounding familiar....i was now at a point where i could deal with the idea of my son 'being different' and was ready to accept the fact that this might b something bigger than just a speech delay and learning disability....the only important thing was that i do WHATEVER needed to b done to guarantee jaden every opportunity in life....to make sure that all available resources were explored and that i was doing everything i could to help jaden
our appt at UVA was yesterday and first let me say, the people at the Kluge center are great!!! so friendly and helpful! the doctors gave jaden a basic IQ test, they did different activities with him to see where he was at socially and it didn't take them long to determine that yes, jaden has Asperger's! because i had done my research and was already pretty sure that this was indeed what jaden had, this was actually good news....now there's a 'reason' for jaden's quirky ways and we know how best to continue on with jaden's education.....the UVA dr's gave Plains Elementary major kudos for the work they've done and the accommodations they've made for us thus far! and they were proud of me for doing my homework and already implementing some of the learning techniques that work well for AS kids into jaden's life....they said we were already a step ahead of most parents that have children diagnosed with AS and that at this point, there are really no changes to be made to jaden's life/schooling....he explained how extra-curricular activities are especially needed to help him learn appropriate social interaction....not so much team sports because AS kids have trouble as they get older - they have their own ideas of how the game should go and get upset if things don't go their way (so like jaden!)....so we're looking into martial arts and boy scouts....the dr said that unless jaden starts having issues in school, we'll continue on as is
this year, he's finishing kindergarten with amazing grades! he not only met the benchmark for the PALS this year, but he is only 2 points short of the highest possible score! his teacher actually broke down in tears yesterday when i took jaden back to school - she's just so proud at how far he's come....he's passing the other kids at this point and is way farther along than where we'd hoped he'd be at this point! he'll start 1st grade in the fall and after a month or so, we'll take him back to UVA for a re-eval....he'll need the normal time to adjust to 1st grade because it's so different from kindergarten and there's a lot more group learning, but after he has time to settle in, we'll see if his resource time will need to be increased or if even meds will need to come into play....i'm really not wanting to go that route, but again understand that if it's in jaden's best interest then that's what needs to be done....i'm so happy that he's not a candidate for meds at this point - usually, ADHD & OCD is bundled up within the whole AS category and ADHD meds are given as well as sometimes Paxil, Zoloft, etc. (sp?) are used with AS kids....but jaden is doing great behaviorally and academically and we're going to continue on until issues arise
i'm so happy that my baby boy is lucky enough to have such caring teachers that really want the best for him and that i have such a great husband and family to support us through all of this....after all, bill gate's was diagnosed with Asperger's at 9 years old! i might just have the next bill gates living in my house!!!
here's a really great description of what Asperger's is from a helpful site called O.A.S.I.S.(ONLINE ASPERGER SYNDROME INFORMATION AND SUPPORT)
http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/
Asperger Syndrome or (Asperger's Disorder) is a neurobiological disorder named for a Viennese physician, Hans Asperger, who in 1944 published a paper which described a pattern of behaviors in several young boys who had normal intelligence and language development, but who also exhibited autistic-like behaviors and marked deficiencies in social and communication skills. In spite of the publication of his paper in the 1940's, it wasn't until 1994 that Asperger Syndrome was added to the DSM IV and only in the past few years has AS been recognized by professionals and parents.
Individuals with AS can exhibit a variety of characteristics and the disorder can range from mild to severe. Persons with AS show marked deficiencies in social skills, have difficulties with transitions or changes and prefer sameness. They often have obsessive routines and may be preoccupied with a particular subject of interest. They have a great deal of difficulty reading nonverbal cues (body language) and very often the individual with AS has difficulty determining proper body space. Often overly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells, and sights, the person with AS may prefer soft clothing, certain foods, and be bothered by sounds or lights no one else seems to hear or see. It's important to remember that the person with AS perceives the world very differently. Therefore, many behaviors that seem odd or unusual are due to those neurological differences and not the result of intentional rudeness or bad behavior, and most certainly not the result of "improper parenting".
At this time there is a great deal of debate as to exactly where AS fits. It is presently described as an autism spectrum disorder and Uta Frith, in her book AUTISM AND ASPERGER'S SYNDROME, described AS individuals as "having a dash of Autism". Some professionals feel that AS is the same as High Functioning Autism, while others feel that it is better described as a Nonverbal Learning Disability. AS shares many of the characteristics of PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder; Not otherwise specified), HFA, and NLD and because it was virtually unknown until a few years ago, many individuals either received an incorrect diagnosis or remained undiagnosed. For example, it is not at all uncommon for a child who was initially diagnosed with ADD or ADHD be re-diagnosed with AS. In addition, some individuals who were originally diagnosed with HFA or PDD-NOS are now being given the AS diagnosis and many individuals have a dual diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism.
here's another good site if you're interested in finding out more...
http://www.aspergers.com/
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5/29/07
Current mood: tired
every memorial and labor day weekend, our family hits the verona KOA campground....it's a great place to go that's far away from home, but not too far.....i'm sure i blogged about how great of a campground it is last year....to tell u briefly, the skates fam rents a cabin (little log cabin that has a queen sized bed and a bunkbed set plus A/C, a front porch with swing and a cable hook-up) but we mostly hang out with my parents at their campsite for their 5th-wheel camper....they do most of the cooking and we all have a blast hanging out and playing together.....jaden pretty much stays on his bike the whole time and the girls love playing at the playground that's right next to my parent's site (we can watch them from our lawn chairs!).....there's a river that runs right by the campground and we've gone tubing down it on previous camping trips (not this one tho)....we take many walks/bike rides to the waterfall on the low end of the grounds.....curtis enjoys fishing with the kids and of course we make multiple visits to the pool.....there's also wagon rides, a local band & karoke at night, game room, hot tubs, the works.....we always have an awesome time!
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6/1/07
Current mood:proud
this morning was jaden's kindergarten graduation.....it was so cute! they sang songs and were awarded with their completion certificates plus good/perfect attendance awards......my baby will be a 1st grader soon!
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6/4/07
Current mood: bored
just wanted to blog this slide of some random pics.....i'm bored and have cute pics to share
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6/6/07
Current mood: annoyed
i'm sure most of you with kids have already heard about this....
Effective July 1, 2007: Child restraint devices (car seats) are required for children through the age of seven (until 8th birthday). Safety seats must be properly used and approved by Department of Transportation standards. http://www.vahealth.org/civp/safetyseat/laws.asp isn't this madness?! don't get me wrong, i want my kids to be safe when riding in a vehicle, but how come they lowered the booster seat age to 6yrs old a few years back, and now all of a sudden, they're pushing it back up to 8yrs old?!
jaden will be 7yrs old 8 days after this law goes into effect......he's been riding without a booster seat for almost a year, and now i have to put him back into one....luckily, he's not upset about it, he thinks it's funny i was worried that he'd be too big.....the child is only almost 7, but he weighs 88lbs and is 4'5" tall already! luckily, he does indeed still fit into a booster seat (but barely)
The only exception is if your child is 4'9" or taller.....jaden still has 4" to go!
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6/11/07
Current mood: busy
as usual, our weekend was chuck full of fun!
saturday morning, gabrielle and i got up early and snuck off for a girl's morning of pampering....i was due to get my hair done, and gabby was needing some trimming and layering as well (summer heat + gabby's thick, thick hair = miserable gabby)....my aunt does nails at a hair salon in west virginia (an hour+ drive) and i go see this awesome chick there to get my cut & color done....while i was getting my hair done, my aunt was pampering gabby with a mani/pedi....then while my color was processing, gabby got her's cut/blown/styled.....she thought she was something else!! gabby's do... my aunt tracy & gabby... gabrielle's nails... then we rushed home to make it to jaden's tball bat-a-thon.....we didn't get to find out the results that day, but he did well and had fun... the girls have been enjoying a lot of meals/snacks at the tball field lately....i'm happy to say that this is the last week of tball.....things get so hectic with both curtis & i working 2 jobs (cakes are my 2nd job), 5 kids total and all their activities no time for nap time this day.....we ran home and grabbed a cake order i'd done the night before, delivered it to grottoes and then headed back to my aunt tracy's house (yes, back to WVA again) for a cook-out and drinks.....curtis is usually working and never gets to join us, but he made it this time....that means mommy had a designated driver! my cousin ricky (tracy's son who's a little older than jaden) & jaden talked us into letting jaden stay the night there....in turn, my 16 yr old cousin jazmine came out to stay with us and have a slumber party with the girls....of course by the time we got home, the girls were passed out in the car....but they enjoyed jaz being around the next day
jaz & i took the girls to church on sunday.... then headed home for nap time (finally!)....while the girls napped, i finished up another cake order.....i delivered the cake, curtis went into work his 2nd job and the girls and i went back to WVA one more time to pick up jaden and drop jaz off.....u could tell jaden had a blast.....he was exhausted and fell asleep before we were even 5 miles up the road!
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6/18/07
Current mood: chipper
saturday was jaden's last tball game.....after their game, the coach handed out trophies (which made jaden's day!).....then the players that participated in the bat-a-thon, got a prize.....our team raised the most money in the tball league, so each participant won a portable DVD player!
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6/22/07
Current mood: excited
yeah!!! it's finally here!!! we leave tomorrow morning for our most anticipated trip to atlantic beach, NC!
i made the dumb mistake of taking 3 cake orders this week and i have been busy trying to get those finished (2 down, 1 to finish tonight - i will post pics when i return from vacay).....on top of the normal every day deal with work & the kids and of course packing for the trip
we'll be gone for a week and to pack for 7 people for a week (including most of the groceries) is certainly a task! well, curtis jr & corey will b bringing their own clothes from home of course, but they account for a lot of the groceries.....they do their best to eat us out of house and home plus being the anal planner that i am, i feel the need to prepare for everything! games, movies, etc for rainy days....first aid kit, kids' meds, extra changes of clothes, clothes for different types of weather, etc.....i'm working on this and have gotten a lot better!
anyway, we're staying at the Peppertree Atlantic Beach Resort.....curtis get a sweet deal through RCI since they manage the condos where he works up at Massanutten.....we stayed at one of the RCI resorts in Kitty Hawk last year and it was really nice....this one is supposed to be even better! one day, we'll have enough money to fly to hawaii or somewhere really nice since we get such a super deal on the week in the condo
the 8hr drive down with 5 kids and all our stuff in the car should b fun....wish me luck!
oh, and if u have an upcoming cake order, never fear.....i'll b in touch as soon as i return.....i may be checking in on u guys while i'm down there....we had a rainy day or 2 last year which gave me the perfect opportunity to use the resort's computers/ISP.....but i hope to b frying in the sun and playing in the sand with the kids every day! u know i'll come back with TONS of pics!!!
pics from last year...
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7/3/07
Current mood: rejuvenated
well, we're back and i've finally had time to post this blog and slide show.....i only took 368 pics (you know me )! the slide below has 94 of them.....sorry, i just couldn't narrow it down any more!
first, let me say.....we had the most absolute best time ever! this year, we went south of the outer banks to the crystal coasts.....atlantic beach to be exact (on the same island as emerald isle).....the island is called bogue banks and really isn't that big.....but the beaches are amazing and the resort we went to this year (peppertree atlantic) was the bomb!
we ended up having somewhat of a routine.....we'd wake up (well, the 3 youngest kids would wake the rest of us up), we'd do breakfast and then head down to the beach for the 1st half of the day, until lunch time....we'd head back to our villa, do lunch, lay the girls down for nap, jaden would watch a movie while the older boys would go play some basketball or whatever.....then after nap, we'd head out to explore the island, join in on the resort activities, or just walk the beach.....dinner, then pool time in the dark.....bedtime was super late for the girls (normally bed time is 8pm, but they were up till 10-11pm most nights).....start over the next day
it was really nice to have the boys with us .....they will be 15 & 16 in august and they really surprised me with the maturity and responsibility they showed this year.....they would help out without having to be asked, they actually wanted to stay with us and do the things we were doing (instead of roaming off on their own) and curtis & i actually woke up one morning to find all the kids already sitting around the table for breakfast.....curtis jr had gotten them all cereal instead of waking us up! of course, they're teenage boys so i had to remind them to pick up after themselves, make their beds, etc....but i have to remind my hubby of that sometimes!
the resort had it's own private board walk and beach, but the beach all along the island was spectacular! it's was such soft sand (not as gravely as the outer banks) and the water was so clear.....there was a sand bar (i guess that's what you'd call it) that would run out from the shore pretty far, so after spending the first 2 days standing right next to jaden out in the water, i finally realized that he could hold his own....the water level would only be up to your knees/thighs, but the waves would still come in pretty high (sometimes over your head).....he'd have his swimming mask on and would dive right into the waves.....there really wasn't much of an undertow, so as long as he was out there with someone (the boys loved him tagging along, believe it or not) and i kept my eye on him, i felt completely safe letting him do it on his own......the girls and i would sit in the sand and let the waves carry up the most beautiful sea shells.....or we'd catch sand & ghost crabs or little minnows with our nets.....we would build a little fish pond in the sand to hold our daily catch until it was time to head back and then we'd release them all back into the ocean.....the girls were really brave this year and loved having curtis and i hold them and walk out into the waves.....and we got to see about 4 or 5 dolphins swimming just out past where we were standing on our 2nd day there!
we hated coming back, but are super anxious about next year.....we think we've found a new regular spot for our yearly trip
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7/5/07
Current mood: chipper
we did the usual for this 4th of july.....we always hit our fav spot on the Shenvalee golf course and watch the New Market fireworks from there.....there's plenty of room to stretch out, not a lot of people and you can see the fireworks really well from there......i think something must have gone wrong with the finale tho....it's usually pretty good, but this year it kinda blowed......regardless, the kids had a blast and i always enjoy watching their faces as the fireworks are going off
first, we went by Nana's house (my mom) to hang out while waiting for it to get dark.....Curtis & my brother Joe, got a little baseball game going to kill time
of course, here's a slide...
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7/9/07
Current mood: nostalgic
well, my first born is 7yrs old today! and he's made sure to tell everyone that today..."I'm 7 years old now!" where have the years gone? i can't believe i have a 7 yr old!!!
we had his birthday party yesterday at the pool.....we had the usual family & close friends join us and what a good day it was to b at the pool!
since above 90 degree weather + cake/icing/fondant = disaster....i ran home when it was cake time to grab Safira (the cake - made in the likeness of Jaden's fav imaginary dragon).....he got lots of cool presents and everyone had a blast!
of course, here's a slide...
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7/11/07
Current mood: amused
i can't wait to have a house so i can plant a garden! mom & dad's is always so unbelievable! they've had a few years practice tho it's hilarious when we go over to their house.....corinn and gabrielle (mostly corinn) go straight to the lettuce and pick some to eat.....corinn will make multiple trips to that section and will also have nana peel her a cucumber and she'll eat em warm right out of the garden gabby started some bean plants from seeds at daycare and they're now a foot or so tall, growing up grandpa's fence......she's so proud of what she grew! we take home squash, cucumbers, peppers and corinn can't wait for the tomatoes to turn red/yellow! beans are coming in now and soon we'll have corn, broccoli & cauliflower, cabbage, etc.......it's so fun seeing the girls really get into this and i'm glad my parents get to share it with them......i just can't wait to have one of our own!
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7/12/07
Current mood: bored
usually, when i'm busy with cakes orders, after getting the kids to bed in the eve, i start baking/decorating and will either have the radio or the tv on as background noise (curtis is usually working his 2nd job in the eve).....i listen to the shows, but really can't pay too much attention......i just need the noise, i hate silence!
since vacation, i've had some down time with cakes (starting tonight, i'm back in the full swing of things), so lately, i've been able to sit down and watch some tv with the hubby after the kids go to bed (he's had some time off recently too )......we caught some entertaining shows this week and i wanted to share my opinions....
America's got talent - not a show i thought i'd enjoy, but there are a couple really talented ppl on there...
Cas is my absolute favorite and he made it to the top 20 last night!!! Click here for his first performance which i thought was even better than his 2nd! Here he is with his band Woodbelly he's so freaking awesome!
my other fav is Butterscotch - here she is in the 2nd round......and here's her first performance....she also made it to the top 20! she's just bad-ass!
So you think you can dance - this is a show i've loved since it first aired! i've missed this season so far (since it's not really a show u can just listen to), but got to watch last night.....they're up to the top 6 i think so it's only the really good dancers now!
i don't have a fav couple yet, but dominic & sabra were so damn hot last night!!!
Singing Bee - this was on tuesday night and i thought it would b so corny! but curtis and i ended up getting into it and competing with each other.....it was funny! last night there was another one called don't forget the lyrics on with wayne brady, but it was boring and i turned it after like 2 minutes....it was more like watching karaoke, only not as fun
anyway, no real point to this blog.....just bored at work and thought i'd share.....let me know if u watch any of these shows and what u think about them
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7/16/07
Current mood: cheerful
this weekend was the Brady reunion......my mother's maiden name is Brady and all her fam traveled in to get together this weekend......she has 4 sisters and 1 brother living everywhere from here in virginia, nearby in west virginia, from north carolina to texas......mom's mother passed away 9 years ago, but her father and all the siblings made it in! it was sooooo good to have everyone together and we've promised to make this a yearly thing from now on!
my sister and her fam are at the beach and my youngest bro had to work.....so they weren't able to make it......curtis was able to hang out saturday and sunday eve, but he had to work during the day and missed a lot.......never the less, it was great catching up with everyone and having some of the family meet my kids for the very first time!
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7/20/07
Current mood: excited
today is the girl's last day at daycare.....well, at least at the one they currently attend......monday they will start at the home daycare of a dear friend.....she recently stopped working to stay at home with her 2 youngins and is starting her own home daycare......normally, i'm not too game on home daycares.....but i trust this woman to no end and she's really doing this professionally.....she has a schedule, curriculum, menu, a discipline policy, etc......her deciding to do this came at the perfect time......the teachers at the current daycare were dropping like flies and they've been short-handed for quite some time.....my girls have learned lots from attending there.....gabrielle has been able to write her full name forever and has been mastering all the letter sounds.....both girls have really shocked me with how smart they are already! but they are also picking up some very undesirable behaviors as well......it's really not the teacher's fault......they have soooo many kids to keep tabs on and free time is just so chaotic......i love the ladies there and i know the girls will miss them and their friends a lot......but i think it's time to draw them back in and have them at a smaller, better managed daycare......we sent a flyer home with all the kids this week with our phone number and address so that the girls can keep in touch with their friends and lots of parents have given us the same......this morning, i took 45 of my famous cheeseburger cupcakes for snack and the girls were already getting hugs when i dropped them off......one little girl brought gabby a present and i know their day has probably been full of fun and love! i can't wait to pick them up and find out all about it!
even tho they'll miss their friends, the girls are totally psyched about going to the new place......for months, they've been asking 'are we going to miss stephanie's house today?'
also, gabby will hopefully start pre-k in august......they haven't sent out all the acceptance letters, so i'm not sure if she made it in (now that's a rant for another blog - how local schools don't have room for all the kids in the area that need to go to pre-k).....she'll ride the bus to the new home daycare in the afternoon, if/when she starts pre-k
in case you're wondering.....jaden will continue at the current daycare.....he's in summer school right now for half the day and then rides the bus to daycare for the school-age program which he loves.....they go to the pool 3 times a week and he would hate it if i stopped letting him go there.....plus, my friend is just going to be looking after the younger kids....gabby will actually be the oldest......i might put gabrielle back in the daycare for the school-age program next summer.....that all depends on how mature she is and if i think she's ready to do the pool thing without me being there
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7/20/07
Current mood: hungry
taco night is the favorite night in our house.....but a close 2nd in homemade pizza night! mmmmmmmmm....
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7/24/07
Current mood: chipper
this weekend was awesome! not only was the weather kick-ass, but curtis didn't work one minute the entire weekend!!!
saturday was pretty chill.....after delivering a cake, we enjoyed just spending time with the kids, going to the park, ice cream, etc....then we went to a birthday party at the broadway pool that eve.....of course, it's usually still hot out in the evenings, but this weekend was so nice that the eves were actually a little chilly.....the kids of course didn't mind and were mad when i finally made their shivering selves get out
sunday, we had another family reunion to attend.....i invited one of gabrielle's BFF's along....Callie and her family moved to North Carolina this past fall/winter and Gabby hasn't seen Callie since like February when she last visited......they were soooo cute, holding hands every minute and giggling constantly......we had fun at the reunion (at Lost River State Park in WV) and then headed to Vacation Bible School at my church that eve......Callie went to VBS with Gabrielle too.....they really enjoyed their day of quality time together and i hope to be able to get them together more this summer before Callie heads back to NC
and the slide...
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8/3/07
Current mood: thankful
today is the end of the girl's 2nd week at their new daycare.....all i have to say is Miss Stephanie is the bomb!!!
since starting at Steph's home daycare, the girls have been more patient, more helpful (not only picking up after themselves, but jumping to help out each other or me), more understanding of hearing the word 'no', they don't fight with each other as much, they've been over the top with using their manners (they've always been well-mannered, but it's unreal how polite they are now), the list goes on and on......i've always been proud of my well-behaved children, and was getting really discouraged by what they were bringing home from the last daycare (fighting with each other, tattle telling, whining, not listening the first time they're told, etc.)......but they have taken a total turn for the better since starting with Steph!!! She is encouraging, quick to nip the bad habits in the bud, rewarding (sticker chart that earns them kick ass prizes), and sweet/loving/kind!
Thank you Miss Stephanie!!!
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8/6/07
Current mood: nostalgic
it was good seeing a lot of old high school friends on saturday.....some i already see in town regularly, some that i've seen a few times here and then since high school and some i hadn't seen since graduation.....the turn out was so/so, but it was still a lot of fun.....it was a 2 part thing, a family lunch at noon at the park and then dinner for the adults at pano's that eve......here are some pics of the fun
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8/6/07
Current mood: productive
Our turtle, Socks, has grown quite a bit in the year that we've had him! We got him last June and at the time he was already a year old (according to my turtle expert), but he was only as big as two of my fingers! Now, he's as big as 4 or 5 fingers and will get to be about 5-6" in diameter when he's fully grown. A co-worker was trying to get rid of her old 50 gallon tank, and Socks was starting to outgrow his 10 gallon tank, so we made the switch. Plus, we're considering getting Socks a friend. Jaden really wants a dog, but since we still rent and he's not old enough to take full responsibility for a dog.....he'll have to settle for another turtle. Check out Socks' new digs...
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8/15/07
Current mood: chipper
Curtis & I took off work yesterday. Originally, we had planned on taking our yearly trip to Kings Dominion with my sister and her family. But our schedules, funds & other things going on forced us to change the plan this year. Instead, my sis took Jaden along with them (he's the same age as her daughter) and Curtis & I spent the day with the girls.
we started our lazy day with breakfast on the porch. we couldn't believe how nice & cool it was outside, and we just HAD TO eat on our new kiddie picnic table that Grandpa made for us! (side note - the new table is a blog/slide show of it's own - waiting to get those pics off my sis's camera - camera madness! ) daddy made mama an omelet & the girls their fav (and his too).....bologna, egg & cheese sandwiches
then we leisurely got ready for our day and headed to Charlottesville for our 1st Build-a-Bear experience!!! I knew that this would be something the girls would LOVE....and they did! For those of you that haven't been yet, you pick out what bear or other animal you'd like (everything from dinos to turtles, to cheetahs, to bunnies...etc.), then you put a little heart inside and you get to help them stuff your bear.....then u pick out the outfit (and choose from a million different accessories if u want - we stayed away from that ).....then u name ur bear and get to print out a birth certificate.....Gabrielle chose a pink kitty (that she named Mittens) and dressed her in a ballerina/fairy outfit & sparkly flip flops.....Corinn chose a striped kitty (named Precious) & a Cinderella outfit......both thought this was a super cool place!
after Build-a-Bear, it was time for lunch (late lunch since we had late breakfast).....the girls wanted eggs, so we had breakfast again at IHOP! hey, u can never get enough breakfast, right?!
then home to re-charge and off to the fair we went.....we watched the Fearless Flores motorcycle tricks, checked out the animal barns & petting zoo and the girls rode a few rides....a good time was had by all!
after the fair, we made a Kline's stop and headed home.....the girls finally got to bed around 11pm, but they still beat Jaden.....he didn't get home until 1:30am! needless to say, i had 3 very tired/grouchy kids to drag out of bed this morning
here's a slide.....sorry for the poor pic quality - these were taken with my cell......but yeah, i finally got my camera back today! back in business!
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8/17/07
Current mood: envious
look what i walked in the living room last evening and saw......daddy painting gabby's toenails! can't wait till she's old enuff to really understand how well she has her daddy wrapped around her lil finger! when the girls reach 12 & 13 - that's when the fun will really begin!
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8/20/07
Current mood: cheerful
here's corinn taking her turn getting spoiled last night (check out my last blog of daddy painting gabby's toenails).....she's getting a 20+ minute massage before bed time! can't complain, he does this for me too
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8/20/07
Current mood: loved
my BFF in the whole wide world, and her 6month old angel came to visit us this weekend! i so appreciate misty braving the 4+ hour drive with little willow and i'm glad that willow did pretty well for her mommy's long drive! we didn't do anything too exciting and of course the visit was way to short, but we got to visit and talk, go to the park, have my siblings over for dinner, go see my mom......it was great just getting to spend time with misty and get to know willow (haven't seen her since she was a month old!)......i miss them so much already and can't wait till we'll be driving down to misty & shane's in october (they live in NC)......here's a slide....
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8/20/07
Current mood: amused
i finally got the pics from my sis' camera......this lil picnic table was custom made by my dad (grandpa) and the kids LOVE it! i had him make one for my girls' daycare as well....
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8/20/07
Current mood: bored
on 8/12/07, i took the kids to trout pond in WV....my aunt and her 3 kids went along too....these were more pics that were on my sis' camera and i'm just now getting uploaded....if u've never been to trout pond, u should go - the kids love it! it's a lake that has a roped off beach area where the kids can play in the sand, swim and catch minnows.....too cool!
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8/22/07
Current mood: sad
last night was our elementary school's orientation.....jaden starts 1st grade tomorrow and gabrielle starts pre-k on monday!!!
are my babies really that grown already?! where did the time go?
they got to meet their teachers last night (even tho i think jaden must know everyone at that school already! ) and take a ride on the school bus (gabby's first ride - shoot, corinn's too for that matter).....tomorrow is gabby's school physical (including 4 shots that's she's NOT happy about!) and friday will be her 'at home visit' with her teacher that i don't quite understand.....but who am i to question the state requirements?
today, i have like a million papers to fill out and sign! can't imagine when corinn starts pre-k next year and one more pile gets added to this mess!
i will of course post pics and blogs of both kid's first days....now, back to the mountain of paper work!
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8/22/07
Current mood: disappointed
i actually got to watch TV last night and lucky for me, the finale to america's got talent was on!
but i have to say that Cas Haley was totally freaking robbed! i can't believe that Terrry Fagget, er i mean Fator won!!! a freaking ventriloquist?! i admit, the dude was talented.....but no one topped Cas! Even Butterscotch should have beaten out the puppet dude!
check out Cas' version of Walking on the Moon - it's my current profile song.....the dude is BAD!!! he's definitely still got a future in the music biz! and here's his myspace page with his band Woodbelly... http://www.myspace.com/cashaley
and don't forget to check out Butterscotch - a mad talented, bad-ass chick!
http://www.myspace.com/butterscotchmusic
note - i picked Cas & Butterscotch as my personal favs back when the show first started and they came in 2nd & 3rd!
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8/23/07
Current mood:proud of my kids!
well today was jaden's first day of school.....the big boy is in 1st grade now!!! he's a pro at this now (after 2 years of kindergarten - see previous blog regarding jaden's diagnosis of asperger's) so he had no worries/aprehensions about his 1st day!
here's a pic of all 3 when we dropped jaden off this morning....the weird faces r due to the mist that was going on.....corinn kept saying, "but mommy, the water is hitting my eyes"
then i dropped corinn off at daycare and took gabrielle to her pre-k physical (pre-k doesn't start until monday).....they checked height/weight (she's in the 95th percentile for both!), did vision/hearing tests (perfect on those!), took a development test (u continue to have them answer questions until they get 3 no's and then stop - gabby filled the entire sheet with yes'!!!), they took blood via a finger prick (ouch!), and gave her 4 shots!!! i swear the entire building could hear that child screaming.....she's known that the shots were coming for weeks now, but it didn't make a bit of difference.....she hid and then it took 3 of us to hold her down! of course a lolipop and just getting out of the building made everything all better!
sitting pretty for now... taking the hearing & the development test...
then came the bad part...
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& that's it....i started this blog the very next day (8/24/07) & the rest is history! :0)
We talked through it, but she was still a little upset the rest of the night.
Hmmmm....decisions, decisions!
Mama can sew a little, but has neither the time nor the patience for such a project. Give me a fallen off button - that I can take care of! 
So Nana added a little ruffle skirt to the bottom and made a matching belt to replace the worn green one that came with the dress. Gabby was THRILLED! 
And so was daddy! 
Unfortunately, it couldn't be patched and I needed a new tire.....luckily, the service station had a used one that was in good condition that they gave me for $25.
My little girl is all grown up! 
i promised myself that i wouldn't get like those crazy brides and stress myself out over our wedding.....and i did a pretty good job at that, until the day before.....i took off from work friday (thank God!) and ran around like a chicken with my head cut off from early morning till late night! it didn't help that i was making my own wedding cake, but i knew it would b an added stress going in.....thank God for my sister Kelly, sister-in-law Katie, and most of all my friend Misty! all 3 made sure that i had help coming from every direction and that saturday would b all about me.....i may have stressed myself out on friday, but all i had to do on saturday was get myself ready.....they even took care of getting my daughters bathed, hair done and to the church (curtis had the boys to worry with)
sick 
thankful 
and the really sad thing was that after being at a wine festival all day long where 19 wineries were pouring, we didn't taste or buy a drop! we actually stopped at neighbor's on the way home to pick up a couple bottles! ~lol~
which made mama very happy! 
it was sooooo much fun and the kids had a blast!!! it was well worth the mess that misty's car was in afterwards from all the spilled pellets inside and the animal slobber up and down the outside ~lol~
mellow 
exhausted 
.....the girls immediately starting digging for china and all sand toys were in use.....the girls weren't as comfortable with the water as jaden but took turns creeping up to the edge.....we spent most of the first day at the beach and exploring the area/resort
), back to the condo for lunch and nap time for the kids, to the beach or pool (depending on the weather) again after nap, dinner and back out again......while there we also visited the NC aquarium where the kids got to touch the sting rays, Bodie Island Lighthouse, the sand dunes, the Nags Head fishing pier, and of course shopping at Wings ~lol~
chipper 
amused 
ecstatic 
loved 
Misty is 6 months pregnant with their first child and her husband, Shane is still recovering from breaking 4 ribs and puncturing his lungs in October. 
but we improvised and went across the street to ride under a business' car port.
anxious 
giddy 
The museum has lots of cool things for the kids to do - there's a rock wall to climb, a stage complete with dress-up clothes and a working spot light, a barn/garden/market/house area for the kids to play 'pretend', a puppet show stage, a craft area, face painting area, and tons more. To the kids, it's just one big play room! 
There's also a couple of mothers in that class that I went to high school with.....it's crazy to run into ppl that way!
confused 
Curtis would send 'em down and I had to grab 'em at the bottom.
envious 
busy 
But it was the good kind of busy!
geeky 
they are becoming so independant, and their personalities are shining! they are such characters and i'm amazed/intrigued/spellbound every day by the things they do/say! 
bored 
annoyed 
hungry 
We got him last June and at the time he was already a year old (according to my turtle expert), but he was only as big as two of my fingers! Now, he's as big as 4 or 5 fingers and will get to be about 5-6" in diameter when he's fully grown. A co-worker was trying to get rid of her old 50 gallon tank, and Socks was starting to outgrow his 10 gallon tank, so we made the switch. Plus, we're considering getting Socks a friend. Jaden really wants a dog, but since we still rent and he's not old enough to take full responsibility for a dog.....he'll have to settle for another turtle. 
and here's his myspace page with his band Woodbelly... http://www.myspace.com/cashaley
