Black Friday

We had a nice Thanksgiving. I always enjoy spending time with my parents. The dinner was good and my mom's birthday is coming up Sunday, so she opened her present and I always enjoy watching people open presents. I got her some lotions and she loved them. Thanksgiving night we decided to go out shopping at Wal~Mart. I said last year I would never go again and I should have stuck to that. I was wanting the 700 thread count sheets, but there were people everywhere and I actually told Karl I wanted to go home. He did go over to see of any sheets were left, but they were out. We went back out today...not for bargains, but Christmas shopping for decorations and we had fun. I was able to get some sweats and a new jacket. We got Josh 2 pair of pajamas and Karl got a jacket too. We got a few new decorations. I do not know what came over me, but I took out the decorations this morning and I just did not want to use them. We got some new Christmas decorations for the house and came home and decorated for Christmas. It was late when we finished the inside of the house, so Karl will work on the outside tomorrow. I love Christmas lights. We are almost done with Christmas shopping for the family. The kids are done, except for Josh. We have Josh, my mom and dad and Karl's mom to go. Josh is fun to buy for and he is easy. Josh had to see the orthodontist the day before Thanksgiving, so he was sore Thanksgiving day and he is actually still sore. He has lost all of his baby teeth at this point and so they added some new things in his mouth, so he was extra sore. He is also getting a cold, or his allergies are bothering him. I feel bad for him. I hope he feels better soon. I am loving this time off. I forgot to mention we got a new tv for the living room, nothing special, but it is a 39 inch LED 120 Hz tv. We got that at Best Buy last week. I like it, the picture is brighter and we are adjusting to that, but love it. We put our other tv in our room on the wall and I am getting a treadmill so I can start working out again. Well, that is all for now. Have a wonderful Christmas season!!!

Thinking of Thanksgiving

Since last we talked things actually have settled down at the preschool. We continue to get more kids and our morning class is full, but the kids are settling in and it seems easier. We also have a set of extra hands one day a week to help us, so that has been nice also. We had a local church adopt the preschool as well and they have been bringing us snacks for the kids and they also got coats, hats, gloves and shoes for our kids. What a blessing. I have never had this much help before and it is awesome. Karl is doing fine, but he is laid off right now. Pray about that if you think about it. He is the one that actually makes the most money and we are doing ok, but it would be nice to have his income back. Hopefully at the beginning of the year he will be able to get back to work. This happens to him on occasion because he works commercial construction. I am hoping work starts back up soon. Josh is still doing great in school and making all A's. Bless his heart, he has to go to the orthodontist the day before Thanksgiving and he is so mad. He says he will be too sore to eat. There will be leftovers though.

Thanksgiving is at my house this year. We are planning just a traditional spread of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green beans and carrots, hot rolls, stuffing, deviled eggs, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, coconut cream pie and carrot cake. This will be all since it will just be my parents and Karl, Josh and I. This will be way too much food for us. I am sure we will eat it though. Karl and I went to look at tv's today. We are thinking of getting a bigger tv for the living room. I will update you on that later. Josh is at Stained Glass Theater today, they show Christian plays. He is with Karl's parents and some people from their church. They always have fun. He will be home later tonight. The dogs are all doing great and I hope you are too!! I miss you all so much and am hoping to be able to visit blogs over Christmas break. I decorated for Christmas here at the blog so I will not forget. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!

where does the time go?

Hello blogging friends!! Sorry I have been away for so long. The truth is, I have been really tired. We are in full swing at the preschool and we have a LOT of kids this year. It is a bit overwhelming at this point for all of us working there, so we are hoping things get better and calm down. That is not usually the way it goes though at the preschool, it usually just gets busier as the year moves on. I have been saying my prayers and asking for help from God. We have a super cute class though. I have also been getting some visits from my former students this year and that makes me soooooooo happy. I miss them so much and it is just good to see them doing so well at "big school". It has seriously been forever since I have posted. There is too much to write about. I have decorated my house and the preschool for fall. That is my favorite to decorate for. I went Halloween here at the blog. I could not find a background I liked for Fall. I am enjoying my fall scents I bought back in the summer and I got some Scentsy scents for my birthday that are fall smells and they are yummy also. Josh is doing good in school. He is in 8th grade and this year seems to have a lot of homework. He is currently working on a research paper for choir of all classes. I hate homework. Josh goes to the orthodontist next week for a check up on his braces. I have been trying to do some clothes shopping. I got a few things when I got my first paycheck, so when it starts to cool down here, I will have some new things to wear. I want to get like one new thing each month to build my wardrobe up. It is fun to shop for clothes. I have my pants, so now I can focus on new tops and I enjoy buying new tops more anyway. I have also been picking up some fun jewelry. I have done more than this and I could tell you some crazy stories about people asking about our house here lately, but I better wrap up for now. I hope you are all doing great. I miss blogging and hearing how you all are. Thank-you for understanding my schedule and visiting anyway. Have a great October!! Just so you know, I did make paragraphs...blogger seems to have crammed it all together, I had a hard time reading it...sorry about that.

Happy Birthday Josh!!!

Well, we had a sick dog last Sunday. We woke up and Meisha had a mess in her crate. We think she ate some taco meat we had the night before. Maybe some was dropped on the floor or something. Anyway, Sunday was a long day for her and she was not completely better until Tuesday afternoon. She had two baths on Sunday and another on Tuesday. Glad that is over though.

Josh and I went out birthday shopping with my parents for Josh yesterday (Thursday). They got his school shoes and some socks. I was also able to find some capris for work for me, 2 pair of shoes and my fall scents for our wall flowers in our house. I think I got more than he did, but we bought a lot of his birthday in Oklahoma when we were there. Then we went to eat at Olive Garden. My mom and dad and I had fettucine alfredo and Josh had cheese stuffed ravioli. It was so good. My back did great and today I feel fine. Today Josh is going to see a play with Karl's family and tomorrow (August 4th) is Josh's birthday. He will be 14 years old!! I cannot believe it. He will be in 8th grade. I have only one week left of vacation before school starts and I am thinking that next week I am going to need to spend some time getting my classroom ready. I love doing that, so I will have fun. We have a really big class returning, so it should be a fun year. We also get to pick up Josh's schedule for classes and get him enrolled next week.

We have been enjoying the Olympics so much. I have loved swimming and gymnastics and I am so happy for Gabby for winning gold in the all around. I love the Olympics, they are so much fun to watch!! The little graphic and my sigtag are by Karin at Pixy Corner Well, I guess I better get off of here. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

dentist...check

Josh and I went to the dentist on Tuesday to have our teeth cleaned and Josh did well, I had a small cavity. I went back yesterday to have it fixed. So all is well with that for 6 months. Josh also went to spend the night with my parents. I took him down and had dinner with them and then I came home. Josh will be home later today. My back is doing better. I am not having to take pain medicine (ibuprofen) for it anymore. I am still going to rest it because next week we have things planned for Josh's birthday and we will be out and about. When I turned 30 years old, I pulled my back out bending over doing laundry, moving the clothes from the washer to the dryer. Ever since that happened my back pulls out easy or tightens up. I can go years and have no trouble with it, but when I am down, it hurts. This time it was getting better and when I went shopping with my mom it tightened back up. I could hardly walk and sleeping was hard because it hurt to move. Anyway, it is much better now. I am so glad. I also took Josh to pick up a few school supplies the other day, but not many because I did not have a school supply list. They have e-mailed it out now, so I just need to print it off and get the rest. That is what we have been up to this week. They say we could get rain today, so I am praying they are right!! It has been in the 100's all week. Have a nice almost weekend!!

my back

I think I failed to mention that I threw my back out a week ago or so. It was before I went shopping for my work clothes. Anyway, it still hurts and was getting better until I went shopping with my mom last Tuesday. It tightened back up and so I have been trying to relax. It is getting a little better now. I wish it would feel better so I could get out and shop some more before school starts, but I do not feel like trying on clothes right now. I have been taking it easy like I said except for Saturday. We went to see The Dark Knight Rises. We found out on the local news that night that while we were in our movie someone came in the theater we were in carrying a handgun. That is normal here for people to carry guns openly, but I was surprised after what happened in Colorado that someone tried to carry a gun into a theater. They were asked to leave and get rid of their gun and they did. The sheriff was called. We never even knew. It was all resolved before we left. It was a really good movie. Then we had church on Sunday. We watched Dateline or one of those shows last night about Colorado. I just hate that all happened. Tuesday we go get our teeth cleaned. I wish I could say I was excited. This is supposed to be another week in the 100's and no rain. I so wish it would rain for a few days.

the shots

My mom and I went to Ross, Marshall's, JCPenney Home Store and Bed Bath & Beyond yesterday. I was so excited to go to Ross because I found so many good things in the Ross store in Muskogee, but this store was either picked over from the Grand Opening that was on Saturday or it is just not as good. I was looking for stuff for my house. I found one thing at Ross and all of the rest of my purchases were from Bed, Bath & Beyond. They had a lot of nice things, but their prices are higher, so I did not buy as much. Anyway, once we were done we had some lunch at Red Robin and then headed home. I got almost all of my wall hangings up while my parents were still here at our house. They liked them. Josh stayed home with my dad and they had fun together. This morning I took Josh to get his shots. He got the booster of the chicken pox and the first shot of the Hep A. It will be 6 months before we can get the second shot and she said even if I would want to wait until next summer that would be fine...that is probably what I will do. I am glad we have those out of the way. She explained to me that the chicken pox booster was because they were finding kids were still not protected with only one dose and were still getting it, so they went to two. I did not realize that. It is mandatory now for kids to have the second dose before 2nd grade...that was not the case when Josh went to 2nd grade, so anyway, he is caught up now and I feel better about that. When we were done with the shots we ran by Wal~Mart and I picked some things up. I am still looking for a school supplies list, I am thinking I may have to look online for middle school. Then I went to Dollar General and now we are home for the day and I am doing laundry. I will let Josh rest his arm. Have a nice day!! Found this at Toni's blog:

Your Life Will Be Huge in Ten Years

You are driven and energetic. More than anything else, you want to be successful - and you will be. You are happy to work hard to get to the top, and rest assured, your work will pay off. Ten years from now, you'll probably have your dream job, your dream house, and your dream life. Make sure to seek some balance too. Your relationships will suffer if you let yourself become a workaholic.

What Will Your Life Be Like in Ten Years?

Blogthings: We Have a Quiz for Almost Everything

shopping...

We went to see The Amazing Spiderman shortly after it came to theaters. We really enjoyed it. Josh was not wanting to go, but he had a good time. The next movie we plan to see is the Batman movie. It looks so good. I took Josh to the Orthodontist last week and he got his bottom braces on. They hurt for a couple of days, but he seems to be used to them now. I am glad, I was not sure how that was going to go. He is still losing baby teeth, so this is very slow going, but his teeth are changing. They will look nice. Today my mom and I are going to the new Ross store. They had their Grand Opening on Saturday, but I HATE crowds, so decided to wait until this week to go. I am redecorating my house, so I will be wanting to look for things for the house and if we find any clothes/shoes that will be a bonus. I think we are also planning to go to Marshalls. I went shopping again for clothes for me last week. This time I picked up some clothes for work. I am terrible about buying clothes to lay around the house...sweats, t-shirts. I made it a mission to make sure I was only shopping for work. I got several shirts. I am still looking. Maybe I will find some things today. Wednesday I am taking Josh to get some more shots. Do you remember me asking about the immunizations? I got some good feedback and talked to friends here and most parents are getting them for their kids, so I am taking Josh for the chicken pox and the 1st shot of the Hep A series. Once he has the second Hep A shot, he will have them all. I will feel better. Those are the highlights. I better go for now. Have a nice week.

Happy 4th of July!!!

Well, Josh and I went to Oklahoma about 2 weeks ago with my parents. We did some shopping, spent time with my Uncle and Aunt and just relaxed. It was fun. We stayed about 3 days and then came home.

The picture is of me is outside the Cherokee Heritage Center. They had a Trail of Tears exhibit that was so neat. There were statues of Native Americans that were walking on the Tail of Tears, you click a button and it tells stories of each statue, in the meantime there is a sound byte playing that sounds like wind blowing to make you feel like you are there. It was an amazing place. We could not take pictures, but this photo is of that room from the website. My mom is Cherokee, it was very emotional.

Josh also went to the Muskogee city museum, he really enjoyed that also. I stayed at the hotel that day hoping the sun would come out so I could swim, but it never did. I enjoyed shopping at Ross and got lots of wall hangings for my house. I re-decorated my living room and I am working on my bedroom. They are opening a Ross here in a couple of weeks, so I am very excited about that. Karl's birthday was Friday, we got him a birthday cake and card and we got him a little gift. We also went to see the movie Brave. It was really good. We rented Sherlock Holmes...the 2nd one. It was so good. We also rented Red Tails which was also very good. We have been watching the Olympic Trials. I am very excited about our chances. The Olympics are so much fun to watch. Well, I better go. Have a fun and safe 4th of July!! I am not sure what we will be doing. I am enjoying getting to do fun things on my time off and not having to go to classes anymore.

movies

Thank-you for the input on the vaccinations. I appreciate it. I think I will get the Chicken Pox booster for him as well as the Hep A and call it good. He is ready for school now though, so that is good. I took Josh to the Nature center. It is just a conservation area here, they have a small area to look at animals and then you can go outside and walk trails. We did that one day and we went to see the movie The Avengers. We loved it!! We have been watching a lot of movies. We rented Mr. Popper's Penguins...very cute. We also rented The Iron Lady...Josh wanted to see that one and it was not bad either. My parents dropped by the other day and they had bought me a purse. They were by one day and my mom was showing me some purses she had bought and she told me to pick one out. i LOVE this purse. It is a little crazy like me..LOL!! I think you can click on the image to see it better. It is leather. Ok, so like I said, we have actually had time to go see some movies, so let me know what movies you really enjoyed. Has anyone seen Snow White and the Huntsman? What did you think? There are some movies coming out soon we are wanting to see also. I want to see the new Batman movie and that movie/cartoon Brave. Well, I better go for now. Have a wonderful weekend.

vaccination question

Friday we took Molly to the vet and everything went well with that and I was able to get their flea medicine while we were there. We use Revolution and love it. It also contains heart worm medicine. Molly just needed her yearly shots. Then that evening we watched The King's Speech. I think most of the people who visit my blog are into movies, so you already know how awesome that movie is. We loved it. Saturday Karl took Josh to play golf and 18 holes this time, they have been playing on junior courses and playing 9 holes. They also got a golf cart and I think Josh really enjoyed that. Then Josh headed to my parents house to stay the night. He has been going to church with them the past two weeks. My parents haven't been to church in a long time, so it is a good thing. Karl and I went to church on Sunday as well. Today I took Josh to get his 8th grade shot. It was the Tdap...it contains pertussis and whooping cough. I also did the meningococcal (meningitis). Anyway, they also suggest a Hep A and Chicken Pox vaccine booster. So for anyone who might be visiting with 13 or older kids. Did you get all of these vaccines for your kids? They also suggested the HPV which at one time was for girls only. I was just curious if people were getting all of the shots or just the required ones. I guess I am going to go for now, Meisha is wanting to go out.

this and that

It was a kind of quiet Memorial Day here at our house. We stayed home and grilled. Josh went to visit my parents. It was nice though. We watched some movies also. We saw We bought a Zoo and The Vow. I really enjoyed We bought a Zoo and The Vow was just ok to me. Josh had told me We bought a Zoo was not very good, but this coming from his school friends. I liked it. I was really wanting to see The Vow and was a bit disappointed. It was a little boring to me, I know it is a true story, and I sort of liked it, but it was just ok. The other movie is based on a true story also. Anyway, then Monday night we began watching The Hatfield's and McCoy's mini-series. I LOVED it. We have Silver Dollar City here which is a theme park and they really play up the Hatfield and McCoy feud being a turn of the century theme park. It was a really interesting mini-series. It had Kevin Costner in it and was on the History channel. This week Josh and I wandered out to Wal~Mart to pick up some things and then went to a local restaurant to have some ice-cream. I ended up eating lunch because I was so hungry, but Josh had some ice cream and when we got home Karl tells me we got a $500 check in the mail from a insurance policy we had canceled. It was kind of unexpected because we canceled the policy a few years ago. It was a nice surprise. I also took Josh to the orthodontist yesterday. Things are going well. They said next time they will be putting the brackets on his bottom teeth. He does not have braces on his bottome teeth yet because he had not lost all of his baby teeth. He has lost all but 1 now I believe. We had a storm last night and we had also lost our interenet earlier in the evening, so I was not able to get online last night. We do not have much planned today, but tomorrow Molly has to go to the vet for her yearly check-up. I hope you are all doing well. Have a nice weekend!!

We had our last day of school at the preschool last wednesday. It was a half day. Josh had his last day on friday, so it is summer vacation here at our house!! Yay!! I had mentioned in my last post that I was going to teach summer school, but long story short I decided not to. I think it is the right thing for me because I have not been home all of the time for Josh because of my classes the last 4-5 years and he is getting to the age where soon he will be the one that will not be home. I want to spend as much time with him as I can. Josh and I went to a store called IPA yesterday and I was able to do some shopping for the preschool. I had my purchase order in hand and was able to spend $200, so we got in there and stocked up on things that we needed for the next school year. Josh enjoys teacher things, so I took him with me, he had never been to IPA and we had so much fun. We also had to go to Wal~Mart and pick up a few things, but that was not nearly as fun. Today my friend and co-worker Pat dropped by and brought me some things for my kitchen. She is redecorating and I am wanting to change decorations when we move, so I bought her things. She has a beautiful home. She decorated with the french coffee theme and the colors are really rich browns, black and burgundy. I wish we could sell our house. We haven't had many lookers lately. I am hoping that changes in June and July. I spent the weekend shampooing the carpets on and off. The rooms have all been cleaned, but I was working on some stains in the carpet and they are looking good now. Karl and Josh went to a baseball game on Sunday and that gave me time to work on the carpets. We are going to visit my mom and dad later today. My mom is cooking dinner, and that is always nice. She is a good cook. Josh has not been to visit them in a long time, so they will enjoy him. I guess I will wrap this up. I need to get in the habit of coming in here to post. Have a wonderful day!!

updates

It has been a while since I have posted. I have not been that overly busy, just haven't been by here. Well let's see. We went to Karl's parent's church for Easter. Josh was singing in their choir. It was really good. Then we went to my parent's house for Easter dinner. It was really casual. We had sandwiches per my request. I had told my mom not to go to any trouble, we just wanted to spend some time with them. It was a nice day. Josh and I had spent Good Friday with them also. That was a nice little break for me as I was off Good Friday and the Monday after Easter. Josh had to go to school.
I had to take a second praxis test, which is teacher certification to work at the preschool. My certification is in early childhood education. This certification is for special education-preschool. I passed it, so I am really done now with tests and school. In fact, I am planning to teach summer school. I do not know if I mentioned this last fall, but I was telling everyone I could not wait to have the whole summer off to rest. I changed my mind. I have been done with school long enough, that I am in a new routine and not so tired and ready to teach some summer school. It will be a small class and only a half day, so that will be nice. I will still have plenty of time with Josh, which is what is important.
I heard a snap, crackle, pop in our kitchen a couple of days ago while cooking dinner and well, the stove went out. We got our new one today. It is nice. The other one was really old. It got the job done though.
Karl and Josh have gone to a baseball game tonight. That is probably why I am able to post something. The weather is still so nice. It was 75 degrees today. Supposed to be cool tomorrow though...in the 50's. I will take it.
Well, I will stop yapping. This is what happens when I do not post. I hope everyone is doing well.

back to work

Josh and I had a nice visit with my mom and dad. My mom made fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, baked beans and deviled eggs. It was really good. I am glad we got to see them.
We did not do too much for St. Patrick's Day, but today (Sunday) I am doing laundry and getting ready to go back to work for me and school for Josh. It is hard to go back after a nice break, but once we are there it is ok. Karl did mow the lawn, it seems everyone is out doing yard work. The weather is so nice. We are supposed to get storms this week, so the grass, trees and flowers will get some water.
I went ahead and decorated my blog for Easter. It will be here before we know it. I hope you all have a nice week coming up!!! I will visit as soon as I can.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

It was so nice catching up with the blogs. This is something I really miss doing. I will definitely do daily blogging in the summer when I have the time. I also have an Easter Break next month, but those are usually busy, so we shall see. I just enjoy "really reading" about what is going on instead of just a status update at facebook. It is hard for me to piece together what is going on with everyone that way.
The weather here is gorgeous, in the 70's and 80's, it has been a perfect Spring Break,but my allergies are driving me crazy too. I will take it though. I love warm weather.
Today Josh and I are off to visit my parents. My dad fell a couple of months ago and he is in physical therapy, doing ok, but still hurting a bit. My mom is doing much better after her over medicated issue...I think there is a post about that, so I am not going to repeat. Josh is doing good. He is sitting here by me reading a book. He has been out a lot with the dogs over the break. Karl is working and that is always a good thing. I pray he stays working. It hurt us last year, he was off several months.
Well, tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day!! I hope you all have a great one. Happy St Patrick's Day!! I am going to visit blogs again before I head back to work, but not sure if I will make another post or not. Have a nice weekend.

The Lorax and other things...

Today was a busy day. Josh and I met with a few of my co-workers and we saw The Lorax in 3D. I have to say, I was a little worried because this is my favorite Dr. Seuss book and I didn't want it messed up. I knew they had added some things that were not in the book, but I loved the movie. It was funny, we went in and we are behind a wall that leads into the theater...Natalie says, well we have to pick where we are going to sit. Cyndi and I both thought there was no one there and we walk in and there is like 4 rows of little kids with their 3D glasses on. I wish I had a picture. They were so cute. Then after the movie we turn around and they are dancing. Kids are great. It was a fun time.
Then I worked on cleaning the house a little because I was sick all weekend and I am behind on getting things done and then I went to Petco to get dogfood and treats for the dogs and to Kohl's to look at clothes this afternoon. I got some new shorts and a new t-shirt.
I have several things I need to do still over Spring Break. I will try to visit blogs tomorrow or the next day. Have a great week. It was 82 degrees today and will be near the same the rest of the week.

I wish I could say I have been busy and that is why I haven't posted, but I haven't been. I have been enjoying not having to go to college classes anymore. I am still working on a second certification though, so I have been studying for that test. I take it this weekend. We also start Spring Break next week. I am so ready. We had almost every single student out at different times last week with different sicknesses and by the time it was all over all of the staff was out too. I stayed home Friday, but I was lucky and did not get as sick as everyone else. We had strep throat, flu, bronchitis, fifths disease and some other things going around. I, needless to say an taking Aireborne. So, we need some time off for the kids to get better and rest. They are back this week and seem ok.
Josh had a band competition over the weekend. The band got a 2, but he got a 1 on his clarinet solo. I am so proud of him. He acted like it was no big deal.
Karl is working and has been pretty steady for a while now. It is all well here.
I do not think I posted anything here at my blog, but I went to the dermatologist and had some things removed, but nothing serious and that is over. It was quite an experience and if you read my postings on facebook you know what I mean. I really meant to post about it here so I could remember it.
It is hard to believe it is March. The tornadoes hit Branson, but they are getting it cleaned up. I am concerned about what Spring weather is going to be like.
Well, I better go. I will try to make visits over Spring Break next week. I am looking forward to it.