To Volunteer or not...

I woke up this morning and had decided I needed to be at the girls' school Halloween parade. So I arranged to miss lunch and teach the two P.E. classes I would miss for the parade during my lunch. The girls looked so cute and were all ready with their bags to trick-or-treat and the beautiful cupcakes we made the night before (18 cupcakes with two bottles of sprinkles and half a bag of candy corn on top).

Well, we arrived and the girls clung to me like a dryer sheet on a blanket. Mikayla cried the entire parade...if I wouldn't have been there, they would have got over me leaving and would have had fun with their friends and teachers. Even Amelia was upset and didn't even want me to leave to just take Mikayla around when it was her class' turn. Oh well...tonight they will have fun trick-or-treating...if I stay home!

Utah vs. Georgia

When Dave told me we were moving across the country, I had no idea that I would also learn a whole new lingo and way of life!

Utah vs. Georgia

• Pop vs. Coke (any drink from "sweet tea" to lemonade --it's all "Coke")
• Shopping cart vs. Buggy (the first time they asked me if I needed help with my buggy, I looked for my baby stroller)
• The Church (LDS religion) vs. The Church (Georgia football)
• 12 inches of snow (life goes on) vs. 1/2 inch of sleet/snow (all schools, business and roads close down)
• 30% chance of rain (don't even bother with an umbrella) vs. 30% chance of rain (wake up an hour earlier to pack umbrellas, rain boots, a hat and leave early to face the grid lock rainy day traffic and know that a complete downpour will happen around 3PM)
• "It's a long drive to the grocery store" (have to actually get in a car to drive two blocks down to the nearest Smith's) vs. "It's a long drive to the grocery store" (use Mapquest to map out the nearest route to a Kroger which is still fifteen minutes from home on one highway and three different roads)
• 948 W. 1400S S. (use the grid system and find a home in two minutes) vs. 4589 Glenhaven Drive (once again, use Mapquest and hope that the neighborhood actually is a paved road--not just a gravel road that the neighbors all paid to put in and then wind your way through backwoods and countless trees and hope for the best)
• Rambler vs. Ranch
• 30 minute commute (a terribly long drive each day that takes exactly the 30 minutes) vs. "30 minute commute" (that's just to get out of the neighborhood onto the nearest highway to then get stuck in traffic and drive 20 miles to work, taking approximately 45 minutes --if you're lucky)
• 4 kids under the age of 8 (not so unusual) vs. 2 kids under the age of 8 ("Wow! How do you do it? You must be crazy! I could never handle it!")
• Barbecue vs. Cook Out
• Swimming Suit vs. Bathing Suit
• Mountains vs. Mountains (the small, leafy tree covered hills, but just ask anyone...they are REAL mountains)
• Jesse's Mom (the title kids give to their friends' moms) vs. Miss Stephanie (every woman over the age of 16, whether married or not is given the title "Miss")
• Ya, sure vs. Yes Ma'am
• Oh my heck (gosh, dang, shoot, dude, etc.) vs. Just Say it!
• Ill (sick) vs. Ill (cranky, crabby and ornery)
• Mow the Lawn vs. Cut the Grass

I think I'm finally getting it all down. I make mistakes and get confused sometimes, but it's quite the adventure! Hey, I'll add to the list as I remember more...there are tons!

Princesses

A Friday Adventure

I really was off to a good start yesterday, I promise! I woke up and got Amelia off to school and then got an oil-change with Mikayla on my recently just-hit-100,000-mile-but-it's-paid-for car and then hit the stores with just one child in tow. My house is in such disarray that I decided the one room in the entire house that is not waiting for paint to dry, my decorator's input or unsanded and unstained hardwood floors that I can't do anything with, is the girls' bathroom. So $200 later (what in the world did I buy?) their bathroom is done. Gone are the navy blue and gold fish that I have had for eight years in three different houses and here are the black and white accents and baby pink walls that my awesome decorator friend suggested (that I do love by the way.)

Anyway, back to my day...I arrived home with Mikayla and madly got everything put away and hung in the 45 minutes I had before I needed to pick up Amelia early so I could run up to the elementary school for a meeting with the choir teacher about the Christmas play. I picked up Amelia and we ran up there in the pouring rain. I came prepared with cookies and cheese and lots of water and then Amelia had to go to the bathroom. I showed her where the nearest one was, and when she came back she said, "Mom, there is red in the toilet." I was busy and just kind of said, "Um, okay, thanks, eat your cookie."

We came home and went to dinner with neighbors. Then our plan was to put the kids in bed and then head next door (with the baby monitor, of course) and play cards. I made Amelia go to the bathroom before bed because she had had an accident the night before (the second one in her ENTIRE life). I looked down and (forgive me) there was indeed a lot of "red" in the toilet. I called her pediatrician at 9PM who told me to rush her to the E.R. We ran Mikayla (sound asleep) to another neighbor's house and got Amelia to the hospital. Two hours later (not too bad, considering it was an ER visit) they gave her an antibiotic for a UTI...poor kid. She tried to tell me, and now it dawns on me that she really hadn't been feeling well all week. I will not be winning any mother-of-the-year awards.

My crazy world

I love teaching P.E., but running around with Kindergarten through 7th grade kids one class after another all day long is physically draining. I get up every morning and work out and try to stay active, but this has made me realize that I'm not as in-shape as I thought I was. Anyway, we were able to use the gym for the first time all year instead of being outside in the humid Georgia weather. Then after school, I have to be refreshed and ready to pick up my little girls that haven't seen me all day.

So Thursday I worked all day and picked up my girls and a neighbor girl to come and play until her parents got home from work (a weekly thing). I came home and the painters were here doing my bedroom and the girls' bathroom. Then, I had told the 5th grader that I tutor to come on Thursday because Amelia was sick Tuesday, so she showed up during all the chaos. By the time I got the girls bathed and to bed, I was exhausted...an average day in my life.

I am excited to have my house redecorated and for the hardwood floors and paint, but I want it done NOW! I hate to live with only some things done and things in somewhat of a mess (no door or sink in my downstairs bathroom, for example!) I'll post pictures when I figure out how this works.