Enjoying the Weather!

Wow, it is gorgeous 'round here! the kids are having a ball playing outside, the house is opened up, and of course we are enjoying the first few grill-outs of the season! With warm weather comes the outdoor mishaps. Tuesday, Joel came to me in a panic because Hanna fell off her scooter in the driveway. Apparently she landed on a piece of something because she had split her eyelid. This was my first "Do I go the ER for stitches or will she be ok?" incident. This family has some pretty close (and practical) relatives, so I called up Aunt Cindy for some advice while Hanna lay crying with a cold washcloth on her eye. We were lucky because Cindy was actually on her way toward us. After her second opinion, we decided it was in a bad place for stitches and they probably would be able to do nothing for her, so I modified a butterfly bandage and patched her up. Cousin Kara played the part of deathbed nursemaid as Hanna was her drama queen self. I asked Hanna if she needed us to draw up her will, and she snuffed and mewed, "yes..." She may have a little scar...I'm a touch worried about that so we're using Mederma liberally. Two days later and she's parading around telling everyone and showing her trophy wound.

In other news, Andy just finished building me a new scrapbook area...in the bedroom! My front room work space is slated for the big remodel this summer (barring job loss), so Andy whipped up another one. I think he did a fantastic job! I'll post pics later; we're almost out the door to go pick up Andy from the bus garage and be on our way to Illinois for the weekend. One of these years, I really wish our school Spring Breaks would line up so we could relax and have a few days without one of us worrying about jumping right into school the moment we return! (It's always me, hence the griping!) Yeah, spring weather...more please! Happy Easter all!

It's Spring...Time to Pull out the Blue Eyeshadow!

The weather here has been spectacular over the past few days. But alas, the conversations have turned to how cold and how much rain and wet snow we're in for by tomorrow! I'm sure many in the midwest are having that conversation...I think my parents are getting a good dose of the white stuff as I write this! I saw a scrapbook embellishment that says, "Even the most fierce of winters fears the spring." I, for one, am ready to see spring fight back ASAP! The walks, the fresh air and sunshine...it does a body good after the winter doldrums.

In other news, I got some scrapbooking done today! It may be the last time before the whole scrapping area gets moved in preparation for our interior remodel (assuming I have a job come June 1). It felt good to get the heck out of school stress and the like. Joel earned his Tiger Cub Scout badge this afternoon. Later, we went for a walk in the neighborhood and met some new neighbors...they have a 3-year old and 1-year old. Joel and Hanna (mostly Hanna) are thrilled to have a new playmate. And......Monday is Andy's birthday! I can't wait to give him a present we've been hiding for awhile. I think I'll bake his favorite kind of cake and give him the night off from cooking for us! Tee Hee!

Well, someone's bugging me to come into the livingroom, so I'm off! Happy First Day of Spring! See you on the other side of this crazy weather! Oh, and I just thought I'd throw a crazy pic in here for good measure...I'm so proud of my little beauty queen! :0)

Time to Play Catch-Up

Joel is enjoying Optimist Basketball...

Joel raced a cool car at his very first Pinewood Derby. He even made it into the local paper

Here are some pics from oh, say, the last 2 months!!! Pretty bad, huh? Everything's going by so fast I guess. Joel is participating in a few extra activities, school is keeping me busy, and I have found myself in the throes of planning a major Cub Scout event at the end of February. Don't expect me to stay on top of things from this point on, either. Family and friends know how busy Feb./March gets with performances.

An additional thorn in my side this year is the gut-wrenching reality that budget cuts may kick me out of a job. Schools all around us are axing their specials teachers right and left. Every single time finances get tight, they go for the fine arts jugular. It's pathetic and cowardly to assume that the related arts aren't an important backbone in the life of every child. And don't get me started on the disparity between our elementary building and all the other schools in our district. We have the lowest SES demographic in the district. Our kids need absolutely every teacher and assistant we can muster. Yet, our building is ignored by the district while everyone else is under new construction and has all the bells and whistles. While our sister school has a full-scale rock-climbing wall in their gym and the board has approved additional bleachers for the space, our kids are having school in a building bathed in darkness with little natural light (due to budget cuts), a boiler that is on the fritz, second-hand playground equipment that sits rotting, and gymnasium bleachers that have threatened to cave in for 2 years. Boy, could I go on and on....!

Thanks for reading all that miserable venting! The sad thing is, that's not even half of the surrounding problems. I am scared for my livelihood. If I get RIF'd, who in their right mind is going to hire me when EVERYONE is cutting the arts? (and a master's degree to boot!) Deep breath in.....deep breath out.... Honestly, I had not intention of unloading in this post. I was simply aiming to catch up on the blog a bit since it's been sitting idle. Guess it just comes out easier when you know there's no one out there talking back to you and telling you to relax and quit worrying, and that there are far greater problems out there than my puny little elementary school job..............................How 'bout I just focus on the beautiful and joyous things in my life through pictures, eh? (I tried uploading a cute video of Hanna, but it never fully processed...I'll try again later.)

Christmas With The Plague

If a discussion of sickness is not your thing, stop reading now. For I bring long-overdue news of the black plague, a.k.a. creeping crud, stomach flu, and now sinus infection. The Walton household is responsible for the downfall of many a relative these past weeks. It all started with Joel bringing home the stomach flu from school on December 18th. The first and second grade was hit hard with it, so it shouldn't have been a surprise. It was passed to Daddy and Hanna, then Grandma E., baby Trevor, MaryAnn, Rylee, and Wendy. (In fact, every child in the above picture was blessed with it!) I thought I had gone untouched until it hit me over Christmas weekend while my folks were here. Now that it has passed, we are all feeling a bit full of phlegm, but none so bad as my poor Joel-Bean. He has drainage like no other and has been coughing horribly for nearly a week. After antibiotics, several rounds of Mucinex cough, 2 doctor visits, and many sleepless nights, the word is that we just have to wait this one out. So the Walton household will ring in the new year to the sound of a cool-mist humidifier, gunky snoring, and "Mommy, don't let him cough on me!!!!" Alas, Happy New Year to all, and many thanks to the wonderful family and friends out there who both filled our holiday with joy and fun gifts, and who have not booted us out of sight because we carry the plague! :0)

From One Holiday to the Next!

I am well aware that it is incredibly pathetic that the last post was "Happy Halloween". To be fair, I have a semi-decent excuse; called finishing the master's degree and being a music teacher at the holidays! For those that check our blog, I'm really sorry! To make up for it, I've given you the cutest darn pictures of what appears to be my angelic children. We all know they are far from angelic, but these sure capture a tiny moment of sheer sweetness!

So... Merry Christmas to you all out there! This momma is breathing a ginormous sigh of relief---I graduated with my M.Ed this weekend! The holiday programs and fundraisers are done, and tomorrow is the last day of school. Now I have 18 months worth of mothering, wife-ing (??), housekeeping, and recorded television shows to make up! Happy Holidays from the Waltons!

Happy Halloween!

Meal-Makers, Mummies, and Mermaids, oh my! That's Halloween for 2009...Andy threw on his chef jacket, apron, and hat to go around the neighborhood with the kids. Hanna was lovely in her mermaid costume from Aunt Cindy, and Joel...well, Joel basically t.p.'d the whole neighborhood! It was fun, but the numbers were REALLY slim this year. In our neighborhood, you can fill your bag in 3 houses because people know it's slim and they give you half their supply with joy!

Apple on a Stick

Could I have an apple on a stick?

Dipped in caramel, gotta eat it quick

A tasty treat to keep the doc' away

Here on this autumn day...