Pop's Release

I think I mentioned a while back that we like a good wine. My husband's favorite wine is Pop's Reserve from Huber's. Meghan invited us to the release party tonight at Huber's. We got a free chili dinner and got to sample the wine. I am not a fan of Pop's, but Bob was so excited. It was nice to spend adult time with Meg. I love our girls, but sometimes it is nice to have grown-up conversations.

Thanks to my Momma and Dad who watched the girls so we could go.

Ariel

What this girl does not come up with...

She loves dress up, and this is the outfit the she put together. She says that she is Ariel from the Little Mermaid.

Birthday

Happy Birthday Princess

My big Princess is four years old today. She amazes me everyday. She and Eme woke up this morning about 7:30. They were hungry and talked Bob into making them pancakes. He made them in the shape of Micky Mouse :) Meg came over about Noon and the crying began. Both girls needed naps because of the late bedtime and early arise. After Meg left with Eme, I put the girls down to bed. When we all work up, I needed a nap too, we got ready and went out to Gattiland to celebrate E's birthday. We met up with Mom, Dad, Nick, and Tyler who wanted to go with us. I am sure Mom loves celebrating her birthday at Gattiland, but she never complains. We had a great time. Later that evening we went to visit with Papaw Jenkins to wish him a happy birthday as well.

MY ELLIE

* You are the sweetest, most kind hearted little girl
* You are wonderful with Maddie, and share (most of the time) you toys with her
* O'Charley's, McDonalds, and Texas Roadhouse are your favorite places to eat
* You are in size 4T-5T, although you would much rather not have clothes on
* Eme is your best friend, but you talk about Willow and Gabrielle (your boyfriend)
* Your favorite foods are bread and butter, milk, chicken nuggets, macoroni and cheese, and jelly sandwiches
* You are not a big fan of sweets, but when you do eat them you prefer Reese's or Hershey bars
* You love preschool and are starting to learn new things
* Getting you to bed is a challenge these days, but most of the time you are an easy riser.
* You still tell us everything you are doing before you do it (and I mean every little detail) but I am sure one day we will miss that.
* You are so facinated by Rapunzel and in love with Flynn Rider
* Dress-up is your favorite pasttime
* You love your Bible Jesus (Southeast Christian Church) and your class-you get excited everytime we pass it

Sleep Over

Ellie had her first sleep over tonight. Meg brought Eme over after work. Meg was convinced that she would be back over before the night ended to pick her up. Ellie was so excited, as was Eme. The girls normally have a cycle: 1 hour of fighting and bickering, 2 hours of never hearing them because they are off somewell playing so well together, and finally constant fighting because they are both so tired that they can no longer stand each other. But last night was great. They never once fought until it was time to go to bed. Then Eme wanted to push Ellie out of the bed. But once Bob got that settle they slept fine. It was so cute listening to them giggle and talk. It brought back memories of when I had sleepovers.

The next morning :)

Never Gets Easier

One of the hardest things about teaching is becoming close to the students over the years. You form connections, listen to their stories, watch them grow into adults (well some of them). At Scottsburg I taught two subject in multi-levels, so I would have some kids all four years. You really get to know those kids. Over the weekend I saw on Facebook that one of my students who graduated last year was killed in a single car accident. I did not have him in class last year, but everyday he would walk past my class during passing period and tell me good morning with a smile on his face.

I drove to Madison tonight to attend his viewing. It was hard seeing my past students/his friends so broken. But what made me more sad was his mother alone by his side to greet everyone coming in. Attending a viewing of a 19 year old is so different then that of an older person. There is always a void and the normal "he lived a good life," or "she accomplished so much in blank years," does not fit.

Please say a prayer for this family and his friends as they seek to find understanding in this time of trial.

My Dancer

Today at dance I got to sit in and watch E's rehearsal. It was so cute to watch all of them, and to see E's progress. She really enjoys dance, and I hope she stays involved. I now know that my hard earned dollars are going to a valid cause (I was worried about her not really getting anything out of it). I can't wait to see how she has improved in January.

Twelve Angry Complete

Tonight I wrapped up my first production at CHS, as the director. All in all things went well. It is not up to the level I had at Scottsburg, but I had been there for five years working with those kids. I have a lot of talent at CHS, and I cannot wait until the Spring. But I am glad that it is over for now. I need a break (and I am sure my husband needs one from watching the kids by himself so much). He has been an excellent daddy this last week. Also I want to thank my Mom for keeping the girls lots extra. She loves them so much and that shows.

Happy Halloween

Tonight we took a break from the usual Halloween festivities. This year we decided to actually go trick or treating. We went with Meg and Eme to her sister's neighborhood. It was really nice and the girls enjoyed it and the nice weather.

she could not hold out

Maddie-11 Months

My Dearest Maddie you have grown so much over the last few months. You have turned into your own person. Here are some of your highlights.

• You are sleeping in your own bed like an angel. Well most of the time. You still wake up sometimes once during the night. But as soon as Mommy or Daddy walk in and you see us, you lay back down and fall asleep.
• You are in size 9 months clothes and size 2 diapers.
  
• Clothes are not your favorite, and you spend a lot of time trying to take them off.
• You are on table foods for the most part, but you still like eating baby foods.
• We have switched you over to Whole Milk about a month early, and you love it
• We have had a few rough bed times over the last week, and our guess is that you are teething.
  
• You are still not a big fan of traveling, but you are doing better since we put you in a front facing car seat.
• You love playing with your sister and you would much rather play Barbie's than any of your toys.
• Some of your favorite words are Dada, Chloe, Ellie, and just recently you started saying Mama (but only when you are crying and want something).
• You are quite bossy and can be a little mean if you do not get your way.
• You show Ellie who is boss and do not allow her to push you over
• You are starting to become bashful and hide your face when people talk to you.
• You are in to everything. You love to climb and I am starting to believe that you are fearless

You are such a special little girl who brings an interesting piece into our life. We love you so much and can not wait to watch you grow.

Happy Birthday Ry-Ry

Happy Birthday Aunt Shannon

My Love

Today marks nine years since I snatched up my wonderful husband. I love him more and more each year.

Happy Anniversay Love!

Kids in the Kitchen

Today I took Ellie (and Maddie tagged along) to Adrienne Bakery in Jeff for their kids in the kitchen. If you have not taken your child there you should definitely consider it the next time they have one. It was fabulous. They got to decorate two cupcakes, a cookie, and they made a pumpkin rice crispie treat. Well worth the $7 that it cost. Maddie was pretty good, most of the time, but she gets a little squirrly once she is not the center of attention for awhile.

Getaway

Bob and I just got back from our first trip where both of us were away from the girls over night. We decided kinda last week, that we would go to Gaitlinburg for Fall Break weekend. We had a nice travel down on Friday. I love traveling with the internet on my electronic devices. I ordered Maddie the cutest pair of Sperry's. I can not wait to get them in.

It took quite a while to get to our room once we got off the exit. Traffic was horrible. Of course, my husband who has no patience was trying to take side streets that ended us up in either more traffic or at a dead end and back on the main road. But eventually we did find a "alternate route" as the GPS calls it where we bypassed the majority of the traffic.

We decided to stop and eat at our favorite restaurant there, the Apple Barn. We also noticed that they have free wine tasting. Now alcohol is not something that I have ever been in to, but I sure do like to wine taste and to have a glass every so often. Not only did they have free wine tasting there, but there is a trail of two other places along the main strip. We decided to go into Gaitlinburg Friday night because we had nothing else better to do. The weather was perfect. 70s during the day and cool at night. I really did not find much. Bob says that it is the same stuff every year and it never changes. :)

Saturday was spent mostly shopping. We went to the big outlet mail. I did get "a few" items there. We went back to the room and rested while Bob could catch up a bit with work stuff. Then we went back out to enjoy "our" little shops around Pigeon Forge and of course to play Fire House Golf. Ironically my best friend Meghan was on her way home from Daytona. She called to let me know that they were going to stop in Gailtinburg for the night-hmmmm. When they got into town we met them for dinner.

This morning we were pretty tired so decided to head straight back to town, plus we really missed the girls. We were home before 1:00. I finally had some time to get caught up from the weekend away and spend time loving on the girls.

The Gang

I first would like to say YAY it is FALL BREAK. I get excited about days off (that are scheduled-I hate snow days). It is not that I don't like my job, but it is nice to sleep in and spend extra time with my girls once and a while. And I have been looking forward to some quality time with my husband (more on that later).

But today was actually a little more busy than normal. I did not get to sleep in much because E had preschool, but I did get to take her. Of course it was raining. The good thing is that Mom was keeping Maddie, and I did not have to get her out in the rain. I am now convinced why I am a high school teacher. I walked into the preschool and immediately became stressed out. All of the little kids and their questions and hugs for the teacher was overwhelming to me. Ellie made me so proud though. She was such a big girl and knew exactly what to do.

After I dropped E off, I had a few errands to run. Then I met the gang in Scottsburg for lunch. I love CHS, but I sure do miss my friends. It was nice to catch up with them.

Next back to Ctown for play rehearsal. It was not really a rehearsal but more of a identify with your character opportunity, and we sorted out the costume room.

Then finally, I had to go to class at IUS. Again I do not know why I do this to myself.

Max and Ruby

A couple of weeks ago a friend posted on facebook that she would like to take her daughter to see Max and Ruby at the Palace. I had just received an email earlier that day for a presale code. I messaged her about the code, and she asked if we wanted to go with. I thought that Ellie would enjoy it, plus it was at the Palace and she had never been there.

I don't think that I have ever wished for something in that forum to be over like I did at Max and Ruby. I have a huge creeper problem with adults playing adults on kid/toddler shows. E is not allowed to watch those shows when I am around. There were a few adults (who played adults but acted like kids) in the show. I don't know why I have such an issue, but I do. Ellie really enjoyed the show, and was excited to see Ruby. She could not wait to come home and have a "birthday party" just like they did in the show.

Love the Palace

Ellie's New Do

I finally convinced E that she should cut her hair. It is beginning to get really stringy and with the upcoming dry weather I figured it would be much more manageable. I had done a great job of preparing her, but I forgot to prepare myself. I was really nervous when Melissa starting cutting. She was so good. After it was done she looked so cute, and she loved it. She would just toss her head and laugh.

before...

after :)

Happy Birthday Aunt Tricia and Fall Festivities

Today was a very busy day. We started off at Montgomery Farms with Meghan and Eme. It had been a long time since I had been there. I was not as impressed with it as I am with other places around the area, but for what the girls needed to occupy them, it was enough. They really enjoyed riding the cow train.

Best Friends

They loved the cow train

They found their pumpkins

Love this pic of Eme

Some yummy Jeeves and Company for lunch

Later this evening we went to Tricia's surprise 40th birthday party. The girls were pretty tired, but had fun anyway.

This is the only good picture I got of the evening

Beautiful Subject