Parent/Teacher conference with Shay and some other things

Parent/Teacher conference was a lot better for Shay this time. Last time we were told that she talked too much and wasn't getting her work done. This time she was working so hard and doing a great job. Her grades are so good and we are very proud of her. I can not believe how well she is doing. She rarely gets less then a hundred percent on her spelling tests. She is in a second grade reading level and is doing very well in math.

Shayna we are so proud of you! Love you tons little girl!!

Friday night my Mom and I took the kids to the U of U gymnastics meet. We figured it would be a pretty cheap night out since the tickets were only $8 each. But then we decided we needed hamburgers and drinks, cotton candy and dippen dots. By the time we left there we had spent $30 in food. But it was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed spending the time with them doing something we normally wouldn't do. And the U won so that was good!

Saturday we went to Britton's soccer game.They played against nine and ten year olds and those kids were huge. Britton's team lost which ended their un-defeated score but it was ok because they played well and gave the older kids a good game. Tyler is seriously such an amazing coach. He has really whipped this team into shape. We have never had a better team and I strongly believe you are only as good as your coach. Of course I have to give credit to the kids but not all of the kids on our team have a lot of talent. Tyler knows how to use the talent they do have and make it work for the best of the team. We have great kids and I am so proud of all of them!

Sunday was our SuPeRbOwL PaRtY! I seriously do not like watching football on TV. I have never been excited for Superbowl nor have I ever wanted to go to a Superbowl party. We usually just have my Parents come over to our house and Tyler and my Dad watch the game while my Mom and I occupy ourselves with other things. And if for some reason I do watch the game I always fall asleep. Always.

This year was a little different. I'm not sure why but it was. We had an amazing dinner thanks to Tyler. We ate Turkey, stuffing, cheesy potatoes, Frog eye salad (thanks to me) and Apple pie (thanks to me). And my parents brought over a ton of snacks. Chips, dips, veggies, salsa, cinnamon rolls....all kinds of good stuff. I stayed awake during this game and I think I just figured out why. I seriously ate for four hours straight.

I'm not complaining.

I had a good time.

Parent/Teacher Conference

We had Parent/Teacher conference for Britton last night. It was so cute, he helped us to our chairs and when he sat down he said "Mom and Dad, welcome to Parent/Teacher conference. Then he got to show us all of the things he thought were the most important things he has been working on. At the end of the conference he thanked us for coming. His Teacher had each of the kids in her class do that. I think she is an amazing teacher and only wish they could all be like her. Actually Britton has had nothing but great teachers!

Of course he is doing well. And is above average in everything he does. I knew we didn't need to worry about him at all. It's always fun to go listen to the teacher tell me how much they love him.

I fell down last night, so that was awesome. We were coming out of Brittons classroom and for some crazy reason there is a gutter right at the bottom of the stairs, just off to the left of them. As I was coming down the stairs a gust of wind blew my hair across my face and I couldn't see anything and completely tripped over the gutter. Luckily I didn't get hurt but my nice boots are destroyed. The toes got scuffed so bad. The leather I am afraid is un-fixable and I am mad as a hornet. I love my boots.

SO.
SAD.

Anyway, Britton we are very proud of you and knew you would be the very best!! Love ya Buddy!

One down, one to go!

Tragedy struck our house on Friday of last week. I mentioned in the last post that Shay had been sick so we both stayed home all day. As I was cleaning the house I picked up Shays Hamster cage to clean all around it and noticed that sparky wasn't moving. I'll be honest, I was hoping that this would happen soon and we could just be done with them. But when I saw Sparky just laying there my heart dropped. I knew Shay would be devastated and I wasn't ready to tell her. I sat the cage back down and prayed she wouldn't notice until Tyler got home to deal with it. I wasn't about to deal with the dead rodent body and I didn't want Shay to see it and know that is was laying there dead all day. Tyler called shortly after to let me know he would be home a little later then expected. Oh Great! That is not what I wanted to hear. I told him what happened and he said he thought he knew of a way to deal with it.

6:00 Tyler finally got home. He went down stairs to talk to her and she started crying right away. She cried so hard. So hard. The can't catch your breath type crying. And I felt awful. She looked at me with the saddest little face and asked me if Sparky would be happy in Hamster heaven. Then Britton got all teary eyed and asked her if she wanted to help him take care of his Hamster. I was fighting back the tears big time.

I don't like the hamsters. I think they are gross, but I can't stand to see my kids so upset. This is the first experience we have had with the death of a pet. My heart can't take it.

I had to go to the grocery store so we all went together. We told Shay that she could pick out a little prize to make her feel better. She chose a yo-yo! How symbolic. That's just how my emotions were feeling. So happy to get rid of the dang thing and yet so sad for my little girl.

Shayna says the cutest things

Last week Shay was sick. She missed school on Thursday and Friday. After we dropped Britton off at school on Friday we went back home and I told her to grab her blanket and she could lay on the couch and watch cartoons. She asked me to come sit with her and snuggle, so I did. She then said to me. Mom, we just need to relax together and get to know each other better.

We both started to laugh and she said "that was a silly thing to say. Your my Mom so I know you very well".

What a cute girl!

The good, the bad and the ugly

The good, that was this weekend. The bad happened back in December and the ugly happened at the beginning of this month. It has taken me this long to finally be able to write about the bad and the ugly because it is just that. Bad and ugly. I have had a hard time coming to terms with bad and ugly. It just proves that I am not a perfect Mom and sometimes that is a hard pill to swallow. The bad is still bad and it stings a little to talk about it but the ugly has become a really funny story. It took some time to lick my wounds but now I just laugh....it is pretty funny. And I know that all Moms have their "moments". We are all forgetful and we all have stories that are mortifying at the time. Thank goodness I can look back and laugh.



Ok, enough of that. Let's start with the good.



My Parents wanted to have the kids over for a sleep over on Friday night, actually my kids begged them so they asked if it would be ok. So while they were there getting spoiled and having the time of their life Tyler and I took advantage and went out to dinner. We went to Hibachi House which is known for their sushi. I don't like sushi but Tyler loves it. I wanted to try it so I ordered the green roll. All it is is rice, cucumbers and avocado rolled in seaweed. Once I dunked it in ginger sauce and added some wasabi I actually really like it. Ok, so I unrolled it and got rid of the seaweed but I really liked it. Tyler ordered some sushi that I thought looked really good. It was deep fried so it was cooked and he said it was really mellow, not really fishy. So I tried it. I wish I could take it back. We were sitting in the restaurant and I was heaving. Like major dry heaves with the watering eyes. I had to put my napkin over my mouth so the rest of the customers didn't have to see it. It was funny and gross all at the same time. I also ordered the avocado salad and pineapple chicken with noodles, It's a good thing too or I would have starved. Then we went home and watched a movie. Thanks Mom and Dad for taking the kids. They had a ton of fun!



Saturday Britton didn't have a soccer game so I took advantage and cleaned the house. I actually had it all done before they even got home from my parents. When they got home we all got ready for the day and went to costco for some items then we told the kids we would take them to buy some toys. They have money that they have earned that they wanted to spend. Britton was able to find some things but Shayna couldn't find anything she wanted to spend her money on. while we were at the store we got a call from my parents saying "we are here to pick you up, where are you guys?" OOPS! We were supposed to meet them at our house at four so we could all ride out together to Dennis and Charlene's for dinner. Dinner at Dennis and Charlene's was so good. Dennis is an amazing cook. We had the hardest time getting the kids to leave. They were having so much fun playing on the pool table and catching fish in the bathtub. Yep, the bathtub. And yes, the fish were real. To bad there were only two out the five that survived the evening.



Sunday afternoon was open play at the indoor soccer facility where Tyler plays. We never get to watch him play because he usually plays late at night so we took advantage and went to watch him. He played for two hours straight. When we got back from his game I took Shayna shopping again hoping we could find something for her to spend her money on. No such luck. I told her I would take her to Toys-R-Us. Hopefully we will have more luck there.



Ok, on to the bad. This one still gets to me. I have struggled with this for over a month now. The guilt is hard to get rid of. It's not THAT big of a deal. And I have been forgiven. I just can't forgive myself. Shayna's ballet class always does a Christmas recital. They just do it at the studio and they don't wear costumes, they just learn a dance to some Christmas music and show it off to their Family. Shayna had been really sick and missed a lot of ballet. I had been sick as well and was really overwhelmed with every thing that December has to offer. I forgot all about her recital. My Mom had a hair appointment, Tyler and I were at work and my Dad had Britton so he just dropped her off and left. NOBODY was there to watch her. She was the ONLY one without family. They had gotten out a little early so by the time Britton and I got there to pick her up she was sitting alone on the bench waiting for me. As soon as I pulled up to park I knew what had happened, my heart sank and it sank even lower seeing her sitting there. This is ridiculous but I am in tears just writing about it. Anyway I scooped her up and told her how sorry I was and how awful I felt about it. I told her I would take her for an ice cream cone and I silently cried all the way there. She was so good about it. She said she was sad but that she understood we were all busy, she didn't get mad at all and she told me I was still a good Mom. I wish she would have just screamed at me and threw a tantrum, I probably wouldn't have felt so bad then. But her sweet attitude just made me feel worse. She forgot all about it by the time she got her ice cream cone so why can't I get over it? Honestly if that's the worse thing that happens I think we are in pretty good shape.



The ugly, which has since become funny....Thank goodness! I feel I should give a little history here first. Britton is the worst eater on this planet. He hates everything and every night is a huge chore getting him to eat something besides chicken nuggets and corn dogs. I am beyond sick of making two meals. We always make him try to eat what we are having but we always end up making him something else. I am beyond sick of the whining and moaning at the table because he doesn't like something or he doesn't want to try it. I am beyond sick of him asking me what we are having for dinner and then I tell him and the arguing starts before dinner is even ready. So, one night a few weeks ago Tyler had to work late so I was the cook for the evening. I had spent a long time trying to figure out a meal that Britton would eat so we could all eat the same thing and eat together. He came into the kitchen and asked me what we were having. Chicken strips I said. Whoa....you would have thought the world was coming to an end. He took one look at them and said "I am not eating those, they look sick" So then Shayna starts in, if Britton doesn't have to eat it then I'm not eating it. I don't want chicken. I want wendy's. AAAHHHH!!!! I could feel myself losing my temper. I shoved the chicken into the oven and slammed the door shut. I told Britton if he wasn't going to eat dinner he could spend the evening in his room WITHOUT food and he wasn't allowed to come out until his Dad got home. I also told Shayna she could do the same thing if she wasn't going to eat. So off to their rooms they go. About a minute later I hear Brittons door open and he walks out and grabs the phone. I thought he was going to call his Grandma to tell on me for yelling at him. This is when Shay walks out of her room. I asked Britton who he was calling and he said he was calling the cops. I asked him why and he said because it is abusive to not feed your child. I told him to go ahead and call the cops. I was actually yelling at him. I said go ahead and and do it. They will just take YOU away from here, they will put YOU in a foster home and good luck getting them to cater to YOUR every need. And besides that, what do you think they will think of YOU when they come into our home and find ME cooking. That doesn't sound very abusive to me. By this time Shayna was hysterical. She was crying and screaming and so, so scared. He turned around to Shayna and said I was just pretending I wasn't really going to call them. I told him to bring me the phone and I didn't think scaring his sister half to death was funny. I started walking towards him to get the phone from him and I think the pissed off look on my face scared the s***t out of him because he set the phone down on the floor and took off running to his room and shut his door. I yelled at him to not come out until his Dad got home. Meanwhile I had to console Shayna. About 15 minutes had passed and I was pulling the chicken out of oven and here comes Britton. Mom, I'm really, really sorry. I'm really hungry and I want to try your chicken. So we talked about our argument and gave each other a hug and said I love you. Then he sat down at the table ready to eat his dinner. Guess what he said. He said, this is really good Mom, can I have some more? Are you serious Britton? Did we really have such a big ordeal over that?



Anyway Dad got home and everything was taken care of. Ahh! (Sigh of relief). I love it when Tyler gets home.

Happy Birthday to me!

I love that my Birthday is right around Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It means I get a day off right around my Birthday. Today my Birthday happened to fall on Martin Luther King Jr. Day which meant I got my Birthday off and because of this special holiday my kids were off of school. They also had Tuesday off for Teacher Comp day so I took the day off as well and got a very nice and much needed five day weekend. Unfortunately Tyler had to work so we celebrated my Birthday during the weekend.
Here are the Birthday events in order:
Friday was the usual Friday. I went and worked in Shay's classroom then picked up Shane and went grocery shopping. When I got home I had lots of Birthday cards in the mail and that was very exciting. My Parents went to their condo so they left me a card as well. All of the cards were filled with MONEY!!!!! How lucky am I? Thank you Mom and Dad, Mom and Dad Carver and Grandma.
Saturday we picked Shane up from work and went to Britton's soccer game which they won 8 to 1. Then we all headed to Texas Roadhouse for dinner.
Sunday we took the kids swimming then we rented the movie Despicable Me for family movie night.
Monday (my actual Birthday) Tyler went to work and the kids did not want to get out of their jammies. So we stayed in Jammies all day and watched Despicable Me again then I cleaned the house and did all of the laundry and made dinner. When Tyler got home he surprised me with my favorite pie from Marie Calendars. Tyler was exhausted so he went to bed around 9:00 and the kids and I went downstairs and watched spongebob and had a camp out. The kids slept on their cots and I slept on the couch. I haven't had such a terrible night sleep in a long time. But it will be a fun memory.
Tuesday Tyler got home from work a little early so he stayed home with the kids and I went out shopping with all of my Birthday money. I had the best Birthday. I appreciate Tyler and my kids so much. They really know how to make me feel special.

Thank you Britton and Shayna for working so hard on decorating my bedroom door. I love all of your art work and your sweet notes. I love you both SO MUCH!!

Last year I gave Shayna my old camera, every once in a while she will get it out and take pictures or record events that she thinks are important. On my Birthday she did several different recordings of her telling me Happy Birthday and how much she loves me. I need to get them saved so I can keep them forever. They are very special! Thank you Shay, You are a very sweet girl.

Happy New Year!

We had a great time this year. Friday we had planned on going to the rodeo but the weather was so bad we didn't feel like driving that far so we ended up taking the kids swimming instead. Shayna has become such a good swimmer. She can flip from swimming to her back with no problem. Britton on the other hand needs some work. We have tried so hard to get him swimming but so far he just isn't interested. He would rather goof off in the shallow end then have to excert any energy in actually swimming. It's quite annoying but what do ya do?
Jordan and Kolay were in town and got to spend several nights with us. It was so much fun getting to spend that much time with them and getting to know Kolay even better. It's a good feeling having Family members that you truly enjoy being around and Kolay and I have so much in common it's scary. Even if I am waaaay older then her!
For New Years Eve Jordan and Kolay spent the night with Jim and Merilyn (Ty and Jordans parents) so it was just us and the kids to celebrate the New Year. This year the kids were actually able to stay awake until Midnight. This was the first time ever. Tyler and I struggled but we had already had a lot of late nights. We made it though and rang in the New Year in style. (not really)
The kids played on the Wii and I laid on the couch until it was time for the count down.


Tyler and the kids laid on the couch and watched the ball drop while I took pictures and recorded the whole thing.

Shortly after that we could hear a bunch of fireworks so we ran upstairs and looked out the window and we could see the golf course's fire works so we sat and watched that for a couple of minutes and then we were off to bed. We all made it to 12:15. I don't think the kids have ever fallen asleep so fast. New Years is not my most favorite holiday so as exciting as it wasn't, I thought it was perfect!
Jordan had a soccer tournament over the weekend so we spent all day Saturday hanging out with Family and watching the games. Jordan and Kolay came back to our house for the night so we could spend a little more time together before they had to head back to Iowa. We were really sad to see them go but we will try our hardest to visit them often.
Now it's back to work and the kids are back to school and I am so sad. I would so much rather spend everyday at home and never have to have the kids go to school. That would be the life.
Did anybody make a New Years resolution. If so tell me all about it. I didn't make one, I chose not to disappoint myself :)