Back to Work

Spring Break has come to an end. I go back to work in the morning. It's been very unproductive but I've had a great time with my kids. This is the first break in a long time that I haven't spent a lot of time doing school stuff. We played at the park, baked cakes, went to baseball games, went to the library, shopped, painted the kids' bathroom, went to the zoo, read books, colored, and watched Dora & Princess movies to excess. It's been quite a break. I'm sure I'll really miss my little buddies tomorrow. I just have to keep June 2 in my sights. :0) Here are some pics from the break. Most of them are from our day at the zoo but you can also see their new bathroom and a picture from Scott's ballpark.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Today is Scott's birthday. Unfortunately, he's spending most of it at the ballpark again this year. I'm hoping to see him for a late dinner tonight. The girls and I spent most of the day yesterday preparing for his birthday. We shopped for cake supplies first thing in the morning. Then, Ryann and I baked the cake. We tried to make a chocolate & green checkerboard cake. It didn't come out as perfectly as I would prefer but it was cool. I tried my hand at decorating with fondant while Ryann was napping. I've been wanting to learn so I just went for it. Here's a picture of the "finished" product. I'm thinking of taking a class at Michael's to improve my technique. It's super fun but tricky. Anyway, Scott didn't want to wait until his birthday was over to have some cake so he enjoyed some last night and took more to work today. That was pretty much all the excitement for the occasion. Of course, Ryann can't stop talking about her birthday coming up. I made her calendars today so we can cross off the days. I hope that will help her get through to May 16. :0)
We spent our morning at the library. I took the girls for story time. They really liked it. Now, the girls are sleeping so I'm catching up on some things. Hopefully, we'll see Scott in a few hours.

My Cuties

Here are just a couple of pictures I thought I'd share. Aren't they adorable? I think so. :0)

Avery doesn't hold still much so she's a little blurry.

Time to Breathe

Finally, the third quarter has ended and I am on Spring Break. Ahhh! It has been a hectic spring so far. My mom was here last week to help us through the week without daycare. It also helped with the after school chaos of softball games, parent conferences and so on. Mom was kind enough to bring Ryann this Tinkerbell outfit.

Now, I have 2 weeks to spend with my little ones. We went to a spring training game on Saturday. It was fun to see a game at "Daddy's work." We saw the Indians and the Rangers. Scott and I went to a movie that night. It was quite an event to get out without the kids. We saw "Cop Out." Scott really liked it. I thought it was ok. It was just nice to go on a date.

Sunday, Mom and I took the girls to church and shopping. Then Mom headed back to frigid NY. Monday, the girls and I went to "Mommy's school" and made all the copies I need for the fourth quarter. That will save me a whole lot of time during the quarter. I miss the days of BOCES and sending copying out. It's a ridiculous waste of teacher time. I'll work on a few more things at home until next week when we get serious about getting back to work. Today, I took the girls to the park by our house to play and have a picnic. Other than the super chubby boy that hissed at me, it was a nice time. We might head to the library tomorrow and then do some shopping. Who knows where the wind might take us. :0)

Madness!

This spring is nuts! Scott is working like crazy and my life has turned to a whirlwind lately. I have been teaching all day, tutoring after school, then coaching softball in the evening. Whenever I'm not doing those things, I'm with my girls. I've been having trouble finding a way to get groceries or do anything else. Two kids in a shopping cart just doesn't work. :0) Luckily, reinforcements are on the way. My mom is coming to get us through the next week. It's my busiest week of the spring. I have 2 softball games, report cards are due and I have Parent/Teacher Conferences on Thursday and Friday. Thursday we're required to stay until 8pm so childcare was going to be an issue anyway. Then, we found out that our daycare person's husband won a trip so they'd be out of town for the week. Panic!!!! I called my mother and she agreed to save the day. Just to make things more interesting, Ryann came down with a fever today. She was very mad at me because she told me, "make me better," and I just didn't get the job done. Maybe Grandma will do the trick. :0)

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Unbelievably, we've been having a very wet winter. Actually, we consider it spring as soon as February hits. All of the spring things begin early here. The trees have buds, our neighbor has beautiful flowers out front and spring sports have started. I'm coaching middle school softball. We've had 3 practices so far but it got rained out today. It's quite nice because I was able to get the kids home at a decent hour. Scott has begun his Spring Training craziness. It's even crazier than expected because he was recently promoted to Supervisor. It's a great opportunity but requires more time and stress.

Anyway, we've been getting quite a bit of rain here lately. We've even had streams of water in our usually dry river bed. It's great for the desert but a pain for sports and school. Ryann had 2 of her 6 soccer sessions cancelled due to rain. At school, our classrooms open to sidewalks outside. That means that when it rains, we all get wet.... all day. It's really quite annoying to have wet feet all day due to trips to lunch, specials, etc. That's not to mention my dismissal duty. I stand outside and escort kids to their cars. That's a very wet, cold duty at times. Today, the rain stopped in the afternoon. The worst part about today was that we were on a"rainy day schedule," which means that we had to pick up our kids at 7:25 rather than 7:40 and couldn't have morning recess. The kids go nuts here when it rains. They yell, run, jump, etc.. It's quite a phenomenon. Rainy days are rough for keeping things orderly. As you all know, I like things orderly. :0)

I'm grateful for the rain for our thirsty desert but I'd prefer to save it for weekends.

Avery Is 9 Months Old!

Our little Avi-bug is 9 months old! I can't believe it. We went for her 9 month pictures this week and she had her 9 month doctor appointment today. She's 28 1/2 inches long and weighs 16 pounds 15.5 ounces. That puts her in the 75th percentile for length and 25th percentile for weight. She's still long and lean. Her doctor says she's doing great. She's pretty drooly but perfect in our book. Isn't she just the cutest thing ever?