Hey Hey, It's Wednesday!

I almost blew it this morning. I didn't set my alarm last night, so this morning, I awoke with that startling feeling-you know, eyes flew open and went directly to the clock. I overslept by 17 minutes, so it wasn't that big a deal, but it did mess my morning routine up a little. I had less time to concentrate on my farm on Facebook. Oh well, at least my body clock woke me up at that time. It's just a side effect of my job. Super tired. All. The. Time. I know I could go to bed earlier, but I feel like I am wasting my kid-free time.

Quinn got new cleats for baseball. His feet are so small. Our choices are limited. These are a 12, but he's just now in a 10 1/2. Baseball cleats run small-or else Nike's do. They are a pain in the ass to put on too. The cheap cleats were unavailable in such a small size, so we went with the more expensive Nike cleats with the changeable swoosh. Quinn can change the color of the swoosh, anytime he wants. Pretty cool. He'll need these Saturday, for baseball tryouts. He'll get on a team, but for some reason they have the kids try out. Soon we will be in the midst of baseball. Let the craziness begin.

Look who's cute! We have been practicing her sitting. See? She does very well. Today we also practiced "leave it." I put a treat on the floor, and then I don't allow her to take it. She has to sit, and look at me, and I feed her a treat. She did very well with it, and I have noticed that when she tries to eat the cat vomit outside (I know, gross), she will stop, if I say, "Leave it." Smart dog.

Here's my newest "World's Smallest 1,000 Piece Puzzle." I went to Michael's today and got it.

So much practice makes Maya a sleepy, sleepy girl. She was passed out, twitching for quite some time this evening. I even went to the back of the house, without her following, that's how passed out she was. She's passed out now too, wedged between me and the sofa, in her spot, with her head on my leg.

Happy Birthday!

You say it's your birthday, it's my birthday too. It is. I turned 42 today. If I was a Dugger, I could be having my 18th baby right now, and then next year, when I am 43 (like Michelle Dugger is currently), I could have my 19th baby...or not. Scary that I know so much about them, isn't it? Scarier that they have 19 kids.

The boys gave me the Mickey with the balloons. Isn't he cute? It's so colorful, and it has my favorite mouse! The cupcake ornament was bought for me, by Kevin, when we went to Copperopolis-was that Labor Day weekend? I bought the little cupcake plate at Marshall's for $2.99!

Kevin got me this! I am psyched, because I want to learn to digital scrapbook, and I want to design my own banners for the blog, and be able to do fun things with pictures.

I finished "The World's Smallest 1,000 Piece Puzzle," last night. I think I will go to Michael's tomorrow and get another one. It's pretty cute.

It was a very nice day. Lots of birthday wishes, and the dog only had one accident in the house today. What a day!

New Mouth

Well, the first day back to school, and Monday, are both finished. It was a nice day back. I was happy to see my students, and my friends. It sounds like everyone had a very nice break. I came home at lunch to check on Maya, and let her pee-which she did twice! It was so funny. While I was waiting for her to do her business, she was racing around the yard like a crazy dog, tail wagging. I guess she would catch a glimpse of something behind her (her tail) and she would stop, swing her head back, and look for it. Hysterical. It was her own tail she was trying to get. I swear that dog cracks me up. Why didn't we get one sooner? She's as fun as the kids!

Here's Quinn's new mouth. He totally skipped the toothless thing. I'm sad about that. Riley had the toothless thing going for him, at this age. It was so freaking CUTE. Of course he couldn't eat anything, except with the side of his mouth, which continued long after his big teeth came in. Although I am disappointed that Quinn's big teeth are already coming in, this is still a pretty cute look.

So Long Winter Break

It's official. Tomorrow I go back to work, and the boys go back to school. I guess I am ready. I figure going back tomorrow is the only way to get to summer vacation. Yeah, that will work. It was a lazy kind of day. We took Maya to puppy school. I will have you know that she is one of the smartest dogs at puppy school. You tell her to sit, she sits. You tell her to "leave it," she leaves it. She makes eye contact and is friendly with the other dogs-unlike a new dog, a pure chihuahua. Vicious little beast. The tiny thing kept trying to bite at the other dogs (all bigger than her), and she would growl too. Hysterical. Maya thought it was fun to sniff her. Anyway, Maya is a model student, but all hell breaks loose at home. Also accomplished today, a trip to Target, and then we all went out for dinner, to celebrate my birthday (which isn't until Tuesday). It was a nice day, and a good way to end two weeks off. 61 school days until Spring Break.

Maya, after puppy school. It's hard being a model student. It's just too bad that she doesn't have any toys to play with.

I worked on my puzzle. It's the "World's Smallest 1,000 Piece Puzzle." The pieces are super small, and the whole puzzle is only 17"X12".

Quinn drew this on the table at Macaroni Grill. That's a ninja. He's such a boy. Oh, and good news on the tooth front. Quinn lost the last of his front teeth yesterday. Kevin pulled it out. There was much crying and screaming-before it was pulled out. The actual removal was not a big deal at all. The tooth was hanging by one strand-it was completely backwards in his mouth. It was like a chandelier in his mouth. I'll get a picture of his new mouth tomorrow, as he's sleeping right now. His big teeth are already coming in though.

My mom and me, at Macaroni Grill. They sang the birthday song to me, in Italian. I got to have my cake, and eat it too. It was yummy. I also walked away with a Target giftcard, a Michael's giftcard, some really cute little veggie bowls that I talked my MIL out of (I can be very convincing), and a cute Mickey holding balloons-more on him TUESDAY. Yep, it was a very nice day.

January 2

My vacation is coming to a mighty quick end. I am both excited to go back, (to see my friends and my students), and dreading it, as I am still so tired. It's a long way to spring break. Oh well, I am sure the normal routine will kick in, and time will fly.



Here's Maya tonight, looking so sweet and innocent. She missed every single time we took her out to potty today, and we are outside with her every half hour. She has done her business in the house all damn day. She is proccupied with whatever is under our deck, so when we go out, all she wants to do is go under the deck. We got some bitter apple spray to spray around the deck, to try and keep her from crawling under it. It does nothing to stop her. We have many questions for the puppy trainer tomorrow.



See these? I got them at Pier 1, and you know I plan on using them!

I am no longer doing the Word of the Day. I think this year I will try something new, but I am still thinking it through.

2009, A Review in Pictures

It's the first day of 2010. How are you saying that by the way? Are you saying "twenty ten" or "two thousand and ten?" This is a discussion that Kevin and I had yesterday. I personally like "two thousand and ten." I know it's longer, but "twenty ten" does nothing for me-or Kevin. Just sayin'. Anyway, I digress. I am still thinking about 2009. It was quite a good year for us, full of fun trips, fun places, lots of family time, crafting, busyness, baseball, and good life. I have chosen 10 of my favorite pictures from 2009. They are in two posts, because I still can't figure out how to add more than 5 pictures to a post-it's all blogger will let me do.

In January we had gone to see the Harlem Globetrotters, as a scout activity. We got to go backstage before the game for a meet and greet. It was really cool. The boys got to have their picture taken with some Globetrotters.

Disneyland. Our first trip this year (We went twice as a family, but I got to go 4 times this year).

The Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

Quinn at a BBQ for scouts. I believe this was early June. This picture was taken by a teenager, and both Kevin and I absolutely love this picture.

From our family roadtrip this summer. This is Seattle. We stayed a couple of days here before we went on our cruise to Alaska.

Please read the next post for the next 5 pictures.

Oh, and Happy New Year! May your 2010 (two thousand and ten) be everything you want it to be, and more.

2009 Pictures in Review-Part 2

The last 5 of my favorite pictures of 2009.

I just like the "Gap" look that the boys have in this picture. They don't match at all.

This train was not moving. It was in Skagway, Alaska.

Quinn and Riley and the lumberjacks from the lumberjack show in Ketchikan, Alaska.

The boys and "The Bean," in Chicago this summer.

Riley as a mad scientist at Halloween.

Well, that's all of them. It was a big challenge to pick only 10 as there are so many others that I love. Yeah, we had a great 2009. It was awesome.