Yep, I'm bragging

I am so proud of my two little girls!

Jocie was just awarded the "Arts, Academics, and Athletics" award at her school. She was the only student to be awarded this honor from her class, and one in only 7 4th grade Pinewood students (about 200 4th grade students total)! This is a big deal...she got her name announced over the intercom during morning announcements and also got her picture taken while enjoying milk and cookies with the principals. Way to go Jocie!!

Ella just started dance class last week. She is attending a ballet/tap class every Thursday evening. She is VERY excited about this class, and does a great job during it. She follows directions from her instructor right away, and tries her very best at everything she does! Yeah Ella!

Pictures to follow...

Oh the FUN mornings!

Although I adore being a mother (I'd better since I've got another one coming), I have to say, being a working mother in the morning in not the most rewarding part of my mothering job. Mornings are, without a doubt, the hardest part of my day (followed by bedtimes at a close second). I know I am not alone in this thinking. To all you mothers (and fathers) out there that can relate to my AM situations, I thought it might be fun to do a quick run down of the festivities.

5:45am - The alarm clock rings for the first time, and without even thinking, I hit the snooze button

5:51am - The alarm goes off yet again, and again I hit the snooze

6:02am - The alarm goes off, and I finally surrender to the inevitable. Roll out of bed, trip over the dog and step into the shower

6:03am - I just remember that this is a horrible time to take a shower because our water softener is recycling, so have little to no hot water

6:04am - hop out of the icy waters and freeze some more

6:05am - regular morning getting ready time

6:30am - realizing I'm having yet another bad hair day, rush into Jocie's room to wake her up

6:32am - go into to Ella's room to (try) wake her up. "Ella my baby, wake up sweetheart"..no response

6:35am - pour myself some cereal while Jocie is eating her cereal in front of the TV

6:36am - the dog needs to go outside, so put my cereal down and stumble into a jacket and boots to stand outside to freeze until Mario does his business

6:38am - come back inside to finish soggy cereal

6:45am - go back into Ella's room "Ella girl, time to wake up. Do you want some breakfast? Arthur is on! (bribe)" - still not a stir

6:46am - after failed attempt #2 - I just carry her sleeping body to the couch. Still no signs of consciousness.

6:55am - rush Jocie in the bathroom to get hair brushed and done, teeth brushed, and face washed.

6:58am - "Ella, we really need to get up now honey. Mommy can't be late".....nothing

7:00am - give up and try to dress Ella while she is sleeping. This pisses her off and she starts crying and kicking. Instead of getting dressed she decides to run back to her room and into her bed because "my eyes won't open, mommy!!"

7:15am - after and major battle with my second born, she is now dressed (finally), and is in the bathroom and crying while I do her hair (while she is shaking her head), and get her teeth brushed and face washed.

7:20am - Sign Jocie's school planner, while Jocie just remembers that I have to proof read an assignment for her. Also get her snack packed and make sure she has hat, gloves, and scarf packed.

7:30am - officially running late. Jackets, hats, mittens on. Pile in the car. Garage door won't close, have to get out of the car, close it from inside the garage, walk around back and get back into the car. Driving down the driveway, Ella shouts, "I forgot Donna!!! Mommy please get Donna!!" Get out of the car, open the garage door, back into the house, dig through her room to finally find Donna under the bed. Ella is soooo happy to see her, it's hard to be mad....but still kind-of am.

7:42am - REALLY LATE - drop off Ella at daycare

7:45am - realize I have no gas, quick stop to gas up

7:58am - arrive to school 8 minutes late, and slip into my office unnoticed (woo-hoo)

8:00am - boot up my computer and take a deep breath...now I can relax....before 30 screaming kids run into my gym...ugh

I did not write this as a pitty party, because I know every mother is reading this and asking herself if I'm actually writing about their morning! I usually spend most of my morning wishing to be a stay-at-home mom, until I realize that their mornings are just as busy as mine, and then they have to continue dealing with the craziness all day!!

To all you mothers (and Fathers) who have to deal with what I'm dealing with, I raise my glass (of non-alcoholic wine) to you!!

Cheers!

A lot to be Thankful for!

Wishing all of you had as great of a Thanksgiving as we did! My step-sister Sarah and her family hosted again this year at their home in Eden Prairie. The house was crammed with food, fun, and family! It was fun watching Ella and Jocie run around with cousins, having a great time :) After dinner, we had fun playing around with their new Wii! I never knew I could laugh so hard at a video game!

The rest of the weekend was spent at our house with my sister Ali, niece Daysha, brother John and his fiance Beth. We were also visited by my dad and step mom :) We had a great time watching Sioux Hockey on Friday night at Joe Sensors. I really miss watching them play on a regular basis! We also got in some shopping on Saturday, and celebrated my nephew Jake's 1st birthday.

I am in my 18th week of pregnancy, and feeling wonderful! I am feeling the baby move quite a bit . . . I had forgotten how cool that felt :) Carl and I are looking forward to my up-and-coming ultra sound on December 15th.

Happy Holiday Season!

Halloween Shenanigans

We had yet another festive Halloween! Ella dressed up as Cinder-Ella and Jocie dressed up as Anastasia. Ella thought it would be a great idea if my mom could come down and dress up as the Fairy Godmother...and she agreed! Nanny tried her best to dress up as the famous character. . .and I must say. . .she NAILED it! The girls were ecstatic the first time they saw her in her costume.

After dinner, we headed out into the neighborhood. We were very glad to have such warm weather. Because of the great weather, we were able to stay out for 2 hours! The girls were so excited that they ran to every house (the only "healthy" thing about Halloween). Ella was a little too excited. She ended up falling twice, and also ran right into a tree. She suffered some road rash, but got over it shortly.

The girls are very lucky to have such a cool "Nanny". Ella already has an idea for next Halloween. She wants to be Tinkerbell, she wants Jocie to be Wendy (Jocie is not sold on this idea), and she wants Nanny to be Peter Pan. I would not be surprised if this idea became a reality!

From man-to-man to a zone

Hi Everyone,

I'm sure most of you know this by now, but I know I haven't been able to talk to everyone. Carl and I are expecting our third child :) I am almost 3 1/2 months along, and the baby is due May 3rd. Since I know I will be having yet another C-Section, they will probably schedule delivery for the very end of April, since delivery is usually set around 39 weeks.

I'm am excited to be into my second trimester! Although it could have been much worse, I'm glad the all-day nausea, constant hunger, and feeling like I need a nap 24/7 is over!! :)

Everyone is very excited about the idea of another addition to the family. Jocie is excited to by a big sister again, and of course Ella is looking forward to having a "real" baby in the house. We have also decided not to find out the sex of the baby early. So, unfortunately, you won't know until we know on the actual birthday.

Carl and I are also very excited, but also a tad nervous. Three kids seems like a lot more than two.....I know that sounds weird, but to us it makes sense. One of Carl's friends told him having the third child is like going from a man-to-man defense (in basketball) to a zone defense. Because now the kids out number the parents, so you need to know how to cover them all :) We liked this analogy, and now feel that we're up for the challenge!

Annual TC Kid's Marathon

This weekend was the annual Twin Cities Kid's Marathon in St. Paul. Since the first week of school, I have been training some of my fifth grade students to participate in a 5K, 1 mile, or 1/2 mile race. This year, I had 11 kids come down (4 participated in the 5K, 5 in the 1 mile, and 2 in the 1/2 mile). I made sure to get all my runners up to the very front of the pack at the starting line. While at the starting line, we were interview twice! Once by the race official (over the loud speaker!!), and once by Diana Pierce herself (Kare 11 news woman who sponsors the event) All my students did incredibly well in there races (thanks to my training of course)! One of my students actually ran the 1 mile race in 5.48 minutes and got 3rd over-all out of over 1,000 kids participating (WOW)!!

Carl, Jocie, and Ella also participated. Carl and Jocie ran the 1 mile race. I was so proud to see Jocie running super hard through the finish line. She also did an awesome job and finished the race in 7 minutes! Ella participated in the Toddler Trot :) As soon as "go" was heard, she was off like a shot, and looked as if she got 3rd place out of all the 3-year-olds. I always get a kick out of watching how serious some of the parents of the toddlers can be....scary (probably future stage parents...yikes).

We had a beautiful day, with beautiful surroundings of the State Capitol and the St. Paul Cathedral. The day was a lot of fun and a huge PINEWOOD Elementary success!

School, School, and umm, School

Sorry to keep you all waiting! I'm sure you've been on pins and needles waiting for this post (yeah, right). As you all know, school has started and we are incredibly busy.

Jocie is loving the 4th grade. She has a great teacher and really likes the friends she has in her classroom. She is studying for her "bones" test on Thursday and is also hoping to be apart of the new Pinewood Newspaper. She is also anticipating her up and coming basketball season. She will be playing on the Monticello 4th grade traveling team (I'm being serious. . . if you ask me there shouldn't be such a thing! I think kids should focus on skills and the basics of the game . . . not traveling the state!) Carl will be her coach, and I'm sure she'll have a blast with her friends.

Ella is having a great time playing at Missy's house with all of her friends. She especially likes playing house with the babies (big shocker).

Carl is keeping (too) busy with school, coaching 9th grade football, working on his masters and trying to squeeze in a few drivers training hours! Last weekend he finally got some "me" time when we were able to go up to Argyle so he could ride horse with Jocie and his dad. Obviously some much needed relaxation time!

I have also started my master's program. I have class every Wednesday after school until around 9pm (yuck) and also have some random Saturday mornings (double yuck). It's been an OK experience so far. . . even though I disagree with some of my professor's grading procedures. I'm sure if he could, he would be correcting my blogging ability :)

I hope this message finds you in good spirits and good health. I will try to do a better job keeping up :)