Funny thing just happened on the way to....

a clean diaper. Riley was slightly stinky, so she laid down for me to change her. Imagine my surprise as I open her pull-up to find.......Chick-fil-a mint wrappers stuffed down there!!! I started laughing so hard. Earlier that morning she and Caleb had found the mints that were left over from our "we just got home and I am not cooking" meal last night. Caleb was stuffing them in his pocket, and apparently since Riley didn't have any shorts on and there are no pockets on her pull-ups she thought this spot would work. I love my daughter!

Just got back

Hello all! We just got back from our week in FL. I will try to get some pictures up today, but it might be later in the week as I have to get ready for work and get a few things done. We had a good time. The Red Tide was there while we were so that limited our time in the water, but we got some good shell hunting done and had fun with rainy day activities. Tell you all more about it later!

Please excuse....

the sideways photographs on my recent updates. The program we use flips them when you view them, but doesn't keep them turned. I'm not sure how to fix them by using blogger, so hopefully tonight Matt can sit down with me and teach me how to do it. So for now, you will have to turn your head to the side- sorry! :)

Here is my new niece/nephew-

I love photography! Am I great at it? no, but I think I am pretty good. And the best thing about our digital camera, is that I can delete the not so great photos. While I was in Indiana, I decided to take some pictures of Heather and my new niece. Yes I got some of Miss. Kait too, but I wanted to get these up here. I'll post more of Kait and Riley soon. Oh, and she tried to tell me she wasn't showing! :)

Every October, Vanderbilt has employee appreciation month. They always have neat activities for the employees and for their families. One evening, Matt came home and told us about the Hot air balloon rides. So we gobbled up dinner and went downtown to see if we could ride. The boys had a blast. Riley- not so much. I couldn't even get close. She had a heart attack. So Daddy and the boys went on the ride. They got to go up and down a few times. They could barely see over the basket, but they had so much fun.

My Classroom

Well here are the after shots of my room. I didn't get any before shots, so if you close your eyes I will give you a mental picture. Think of peach colored wallpaper, with little brown "><" on it, then picture large flowered border at the ceiling, mid way down and the bottom and you have my room. I went with a cool yet energetic blue and we all really like it. I finally got some posters on the wall and still have some decorating to do. It is small, but a good size for my 12 students. I just attended a work based program training, so here with in the next 3 months I will start using the wooden work bench in the back of the room. My kids are tough some days, but with the backgrounds they come from, I expect that. One day I will get their pictures up here so you can see them.

We decided to take the kids to the Wilson County Fair this year. It was a lot of fun but really HOT! So we didn't stay too long. Hopefully next year it won't be so hot, that way we can stay longer and ride more rides.

Showing off their swords from their big win
Purity Ice Cream is always a good choice
Why don't they have hair?
He can't get out right?
What Riley did while the boys and Daddy rode
Way up high in the sky!
Waiting patiently....
How awesome are we????
They loved this ride!

Behind the Camera

Usually I am the one behind the camera, but since I have started work I have gotten a few pictures of me with the kids. I thought I would post my 2 favorites. I love Riley's smile in the first one. For a few days every time I got the camera out that is the smile she would give me. This picture cannot do it justice! The last picture, was on a Friday night while we were watching a movie. Mommy had a rough day and needed some lovin'. This is what I got- perfect huh?

The Battery is Charging

As I wait for the battery to charge so I can download all the pictures, I thought I would do a small update since in my effort to be a better blogger, it has been one week since I wrote something. But hey at least it was only one week right? This last week has been one of doctor appointments, getting "car things" done, a quick trip to Louisville, and spending time with the kiddos. After 2 days of running all over Nashville, I now have my car tags correct and current though, so it was all worth it. Riley had her ears evaluated by the hearing specialist (audiologist) and by the ENT. It was determined that she was unable to hear certain decibels due to the fluid on her ears, and since she was other wise healthy we get to have tubes placed. What little girl does not know is that the day after her 2nd birthday, she goes in for surgery. But hopefully we will get it all resolved with one shot. I will be taking Caleb in to the same ENT and Audiologist in a few months to have his hearing checked. We have noticed he is always asking us to repeat what we have said. The audiologist did a quick fluid check on him and he does have fluid in both ears, so we may have to go the tubes route again with him.

This last weekend I went to the St. James art show in Louisville with my MIL and SIL. We had a blast. It was a little rough since it was so hot, but especially on Heather since she is now in her second trimester -YES SHE IS PREGNATE AGAIN!!!!!! I can now tell the world since she is past the first trimester. So far she is doing well, a little more tired than last time (expected with a 1 year old). While there, I took some really good pictures of Heather. So as soon as I get them on the computer I will get them up here.

This week we are getting hair cuts (pictures to follow since this will be the "first" in a salon), dentist appointments and errands for our FL trip. I feel slightly guilty since I will be missing a week of school to go to FL. Matt's whole family is heading to Mexico Beach for a week. We knew when I started work that the dates didn't work out for when I was on my break. I know my students can handle me being gone, but I am still and dealing with guilt. Anyway, I'll head in tomorrow to get all the stuff ready for the sub and to get a note on the board to the kids so they know what is going on.

Well during nap today I will get some pictures up here and try to get as many as possible throughout the rest of the week. Thanks for being patient, I'm sure no one checks the blog much anymore, but maybe they will come back after I get some things on here.