Snow Day

Last weekend we went to Denio's Farmer's Market and then headed up to the snow to go sledding.  It was very crowded but we had a good time anyways.  That's the bummer of having school-aged kids ... you have to do everything on the weekends.  Here are a few pictures.

A cute one of K and Brian.  (I made that scarf ... isn't it cute?)

She got very, VERY wet!  Thank goodness she's tough.

Snow-angel time.

My turn.  All I have to say is OUCH!  I can't believe I don't have bruises on my butt.  We kind of made our own slope.

We survived and we're actually laughing.  K's foot was trapped under the sled but she's still laughing.  Like I said, she's tough.

M is cracking up in this one.

Sorry I haven't blogged lately.  I've been so tired.  It seems like I've been getting 5 hours of sleep a night which isn't enough for me.  Brian functions fine on 4 hours and I'm not sure how he does it but I definitely can't.  I've worked or he's worked or we've had things going on for a week straight and I've been working mostly 12 hour days.  I've been a Debbie Downer for sure.  Last night I went to bed at 9:30 and slept all night (other than getting up 4 times).  See what I mean?  K was thirsty, M wet the bed and the dog wanted to go outside and an hour later wanted back in.  I feel much better today that I have the last few days.  I've been a grouchy mom ... my tolerance level was very low.

I have a parent-teacher conference with M's new teacher today.  Can't wait to see what she has to say.  Lucy is adjusting well to our house.  The only problem we're having is that her days and nights are mixed up.  She wants to sleep all day and play all night.  She's very affectionate and wonderful with the kids.  She's very gently with them even though they carry her around like a rag doll and chase her through the house constantly.  I've grown very attached (and so has Brian ... but he'd never admit it).  Roscoe wants to play with her but she won't have anything to do with him.  If he so much as looks her directions, she hisses and growls. 

Big Changes

Last year we tried to get M into a charter school in the area but they only take 60 Kindergarten students per year and we didn't get in.  It's a lottery system and we drew #15 on the waiting list.  A lot of parents want to get their children in (one of our neighbors is #175 on the waiting list).  We hadn't thought too much about it but last month we received a call that M got a spot but he'd have to start mid-school year.  We had 24 hours to decide so I called Brian at work to talk about it.  We both knew what a wonderful opportunity this was for him.  Hopefully K will get in when she starts.  Siblings get preference but it's not a guarantee.  So far, we love it but then again we were perfectly happy at his old school also.  Mrs. Heu was absolutely wonderful.  His new teacher is great also.  She has a much more kindler-gentler approach for sure.  We were worried that he would be sad but other than a few comments here and there about missing some of his old friends, he is excited to go every morning.  They are working on science right now and somehow they have the budget to do a lot of hands on experiments.  (They do a lot of fundraising and have more donations from parents - very different demographics than his old school)  He has specialty classes like Spanish, Art and PE.  Each grade level focuses on a continent of the world.  This year it's North America and next year will be Australia and Antarctica.  The class sizes are 20 until the 4th grade.  We are so happy.

1st day of new school.

They made "goo" at school the other day.  Silly boy.

This is why I haven't been blogging lately.  I have been working on my 2009 blog book every spare moment I can get and am finally on December (page 270 or something).  I can't even tell you how many hours I've put in ... I think I started it back in August or so of LAST YEAR.  It's a lot of work but it will be totally worth it when I get it finished.

Just a cute picture of Lucy with M.  He can't wait to see her when he gets home from school.

More later.

The newest addition to our family is ......

A beautiful kitten that we've named Lucy.  She's 5 months old and we got her today.  The kids and I have been talking about getting a cat for some time now ... Brian wasn't crazy about the idea but was out-voted.  The kids were so excited to go and get her today.  When we got there, they didn't have any kittens!!  Can you believe that?  I had made my mind up that we were going to get one today and we were so bummed.  As we were walking out, someone brought 3 kittens in!!  We took one look at her and knew she was the one for us. 

She's been pretty scared since we got home but is a little better now (since the kids have gone to bed).  Do you think she could be nervous because K picks her up by her neck?  M's definitely fallen in love.  M held her while we read tonight and said, "She's so cute ... her fur is so soft ... she loves me, Mom."  And on and on.  He held her all day.  I'd get to hold her for about 2 minutes before he'd say it was his turn.  One things for sure, she's not crazy about Roscoe yet.  After I brought him in, she began to hiss, growl and arch her back.  They're both inside right now but he's on the floor, she's on the couch and is watching his every move.  Roscoe could care less about her. 

Lucy.

M giving her love right after we got home.

K's turn.  This is later in the day.  Lucy scratched K's face already.  Roscoe was inside and K came screaming and running over to Lucy and she flipped out.  K mostly got her feelings hurt.

Such a cute photo.

K came running out of the bathroom today yelling, "Mom, I wiped my bottom after I poo-poo'd really well, I'm a Potty Trainer now.  Hey M, I'm a Potty Trainer now!"  Here's M ... "I heard you K."  Annoyed of course. 

She can be quite the brat stinker lately.  I was sitting at the table with her the other morning and eating something really dry.  I asked her if I could have a drink of her milk and she said, "no."  She wasn't even drinking it so I asked her again.  She said no again and began drinking it.  Then she took the rest, walked over to the sink and POURED IT OUT!!  Are you kidding me?  Let's just say we had a little talk and she got a time-out.  I wasn't happy with her behavior AT ALL.

I'm off to go and cuddle with Lucy ... now that I can finally have a turn.

Music

I wasn't thinking when I made the Disneyland Slideshow with music and now it's on all the time (if you scroll down).  If the music bothers you, scroll down to the 1st Disneyland Slideshow and turn it off.  The only way I can turn the music off permanently is to make another slideshow which I will do when I get time. 

Hope everyone is doing well.