Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of my friends and family! What a wonderful time of year to reflect on all of our blessings. Most of all I am grateful for my girls and Dave. I am grateful to be at peace and I am grateful for my Savior. May peace be with all of you, especially my sweet sister. Losing a loved one is one of the hardest things that we have to face. It is a reminder of how much we need to love and show love while we have the chance.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.

A Little Fun!

Now, I am calling this "Just for Fun" for this reason: My entire research paper to get my degree was titled: "The Invalidity of IQ Tests." My argument was that IQ tests are biased, and therefore invalid. But I would like to think that I am a Regional Genius. BTW, what is that?????????? Thanks Candice and Audrey!

Little Monsters

No, they aren't really monsters. This is just a tribute to Aunt D:

Mikayla: Mom, where is Daddy again?

Amelia: Mikayla, Mom told you, He's in Paul's Mina Soda

Mikayla: Amelia, Daddy is not in a drink.

Me: Mikayla, Amelia said he's in St. Paul, Minnesota

Mikayla: I know, and he's not in a soda; he's on a trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They want me...I think!

I sat in a three hour interview yesterday...no exaggeration. You see, I heard that Horizon Christian Academy had a drama opening right now. It is for 6-12 grade, two classes on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. I am still desperately seeking a decent school for Amelia next year, so I jumped all over it. Anyway, I went in there feeling pretty good. I had no idea it would be so intense. His first question? So, why did you leave Cornerstone after working there three months? Um, ahh, umm, well....and then I rambled an answer. It did go uphill from there.

It will be a lot of shuffling around with the kids, but next year I can teach while the girls are in school and cover their tuition. When I left (after three hours) he informed me that he had interviewed two others and had one more to interview. They are all actors and have been in many productions. I am just a drama TEACHER. I'm not an actress. I was honest about that though and I also told him I was worried about my kids Tuesday and Thursday afternoons while I teach because neither one is in school at that time. I left the interview with an offer to teach ENGLISH next year (6th English, 7th English and 10th grade American Lit.) for just a couple of hours in the mornings. Amelia gets reduced tution and Mikayla can stay at Christ the King for Pre-K. It sounds good. It is a good school and I think it will work out. I will find out about Drama next Thursday, but I think I would rather just do the English next year and leave Drama to the more-qualified.

December Happenings (so far)

This is our fabulous entry into the annual Stout Family Gingerbread House contest. Check out D's blog for her entries. Personally, I think we won the colorful house award.

This is Mary (AKA Amelia) holding her baby, which happens to be the elf that has visited our house every night since December 1st doing random, crazy things each night. I guess he comes to life at night and then stands in for Baby Jesus by day. Last night he wrapped himself in toilet paper and left shreds all over the floor. The day before he built this:

By the way, Isn't Amelia's haircut cute? We both cut off 6 inches.

This was the clubhouse party. So far the list hasn't changed....Mikayla wants a big trampoline and Amelia wants lip gloss.

Okay, and last, Chel and Michael came to visit with Chayla. We got the girls dressed in last year's dresses that we never got their pictures in and decided to do our own. It was so fun and cute. It was nice to have family here. Chell, it's crazy to think that Jaxon is the same age as Chayla. I wish we could have celebrated his birthday with him.

Okay, that's all the December happenings for now. Hope you enjoyed!

Perspective

I've recently met a mom who I liked right from the beginning. Her little girl is in Amelia's class...the one the teacher is holding in this picture:

Anyway, her mom emailed me the following when I asked her about her sister that had recently passed away:

My sister? Well at 39, two days after she ran a Marathon, she was diagnosed with Liver cancer. She lived a painful 10 weeks, leaving Belle-4 and Oskar-1. She was my best friend and hero, it's been the most unbearable thing you can imagine.
She was one of those people that didn't smoke or do drugs, and barely drank, and still had more fun than anyone else at the party. She cheered from 3 until 25. She was soooo healthy, so we thought. Shawn called her earth mother. She was tiny and HYPER. She would wear you out. But you always wanted more. I miss her so much that it actually makes me stop breathing. My Dad is so mad at God, even though, we've tried to explain it's not his fault.

I have AMAZING friends that rallied around me and helped men get through it. Which of course, I will be the rest of my life. I guess it's why I really don't let things get to me that much, in the big scheme of life, nothing is that big of a deal when you get to keep raising your children.

Nothing is that big of a deal when you get to keep raising your children...

Christmas Questions

Thanks Chell for posting this...I thought I would do one of my own. Try it friends, it really reminds you of all the Christmas fun!

1. Eggnog or Hot chocolate? Egg nog, not a fan of warm drinks!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? wrap, except for the big present that is usually open

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? colored lights on the house (the kids love 'em) and on the kids' tree, white on MY tree!

4. Do you hang mistletoe? nope, don't need it ;)

5. When do you put your decorations up? The day after Thanksgiving...so exciting!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? all those yummy appetizers at parties!

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? my stocking...we always had the funnest stuff in there and everything was wrapped! I also loved the year I got my dollhouse.

8. How and when did you learn the truth about Santa? Much too late, I refused to believe there was no such thing

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? of course... new PJ's and my girls exchange gifts with each other (the ones that they picked out for each other) so they don't get lost in the shuffle the next day)

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? I love color themes...I usually switch between red and gold, blue and gold, red and silver, blue and silver, red and blue, etc. This year it's red and gold...my favorite! I also gave the kids free reign over there own tree this year. It is adorable.

11. Snow? Love it or dread it? dread it, but would like to see one good snowstorm for my kids ...maybe this year!

12. Can you ice skate? yep

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? my dollhouse when I was 10 or my skiis when I was 16 (which were stolen the next day up at the ski resort)

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Remembering and honoring Christ...and teaching my kids about Him

15. What is your favorite homemade holiday dessert? Pumpkin anything...this is a new thing for me....I used to hate pumpkin! I don't want to sound like a scrooge, but I really dislike "cookie exchanges" where you have to make 50 cookies and bring a container and then come home with 50 assorted cookies that I never really like...and frankly, what am I going to do with 50 cookies??????? This year to make it worse, my girls BOTH have one at school...so we will come home with 64 cookies...all made by 3 and 5 year olds! :)

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Everything about Christmas Eve...opening pajamas, setting treats out for Santa and his reindeer, reading the Chrismas story from the Bible, playing my violin with everyone singing, getting everything ready and set out for the kids (won't this year be fun with a trampoline to set up?????)

17. What tops your tree? a star, one tradition Dave loves

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? definitely giving, I love to shop for other people!

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? The First Noel, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year (I think that's what it's called, but it makes me happy), and I love to hear kids (especially my kids and my preschool kids) sing ANY Christmas song!

It's YOUR turn! Leave me a link so I can read yours! I love to share in the holiday spirit and read about other thoughts and traditions on Christmas.

Thanksgiving

We spent a wonderful Thankgiving with just the four of us. The girls helped with the turkey and Dave made his mom's fabulous mashed potatoes. I made real gravy for the first time, actually, I made turkey for the first time alone too. We missed our family, but it was so fun!

I'm grateful for Aunt Jo, and the beautiful china she gave Dave and me at our wedding. We never really get the chance to use it, so it was fun to set the table and pull it all out.

This was my beautiful turkey!

Celebrity Look Alike

Okay Friends, this is my celebrity collage. Candice did this on her blog and I thought it looked like fun. Give it a try!

Name Game

I was tagged by Jessi, so here it is:

Amelia Lee
After months of debating, we couldn't agree on a name. I liked Lauren, Morgan, Kristen or Jessica...Dave didn't. Finally one day I said, "How about Amelia?" That dated all the way back to high school. I had a friend who had seven siblings and the all ended in "a." Leah, Adria, Melissa, and Amelia (I don't remember the other names), but I always thought Amelia was so unusual and old fashioned, but so cute! Dave loved it, and from that minute on, that was her name. (Dave still thinks he first suggested it, but he didn't).

Lee is after Dave --David Lee, who is named after his Grandpa, Leland. It is also a family name on my mom's side, going clear back to John D. Lee, my fifth great grandpa ( of Mountain Meadow Massacre fame).

Mikayla Mae
I really wanted a boy the second (and last) time around. When I found out she was a girl, we talked about a lot of names. We talked about Mikayla but decided on Reagan. I had bought block letters for her nursery and everything! When she was born, I had two strong feelings: 1. My family is complete and 2. Her name is not Reagan. We just went back to Mikayla, which was one of about four we liked. It fit her and we loved it. The only decision was how to spell it. I just tried to be very phonetic so she didn't have to deal with a teacher trying to pronounce it, like I did! Mae is after the world's best grandma...mine! Her name is Wenda Mae and I love her and respect her so much!

Okay, so that's my name game. Now I am tagging Jayme, Chellie, Chelie, Candice, Nanette and whoever else reads this! Nan, yours will be especially fun with your six kids, so just put yours in my comments if you don't have a blog!

Out of the Mouths of My Babes

I have realized that overall, I am happy. I'm content. Sometimes I'm too busy, but I like being busy. Why am I happy? Well, there are a lot of reasons, but these two little ones and the crazy things they say keep a smile on my face. Here are some of the recent things I've overheard:

“But I HAVE to have gauchos so I can be a teenager!”

“HUBBA HUBBA” (Said when anyone is kissing or hugging)

“Mom, you are the best mom. You are better than all the other Moms. I mean, you play with me and take me to the pool and I get to go to work with you.”

“My name is Nora!” Her current name.

I had told Amelia about each of the kids in my preschool class. The next morning I was doing her hair and she said, “Mom, you know that boy that’s really polite and always says, ‘Yes, Ma’am’?” I couldn’t remember which boy that was, so I asked, “Now who are you talking about?” Amelia answered, “You know, the ribbon boy?” I was still very confused, until I thought about it a minute longer…. “Amelia, do you mean Beau?” “YES!” She replied.

“Mom, God made everything good, so I think he made string cheese.”

“Ms. Angie was driving fast and got a GOLDEN ticket from the police.” (Said after we had watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, where a golden ticket is GOOD!)

“Mom, I have veins in my face.” Me: “Yes, Amelia, you have veins all over your body inside. It’s what blood travels in and carries it throughout your body from your heart.” Amelia: “Mom, I don’t want you to talk about all that. I’m talking about VEINS hanging down in my eyes.” Me: “Amelia, so you mean BANGS?????” Amelia: “Ya, that’s what I said, veins in my eyes.”

Amelia to Nana on the phone: “I liked the horses you sent. I picked the vanilla one and Mikayla picked the vanilla and chocolate one.” (brown and white)

(After telling her that we would wait for her to get home from school to take down the Halloween decorations): “Mom, is it time now to up the CHICKEN (turkey) decorations?”

“Mom, I’m glad God made hats.”



Mikayla: “My name is Hillary Duff!” Her current name.

“But Barbie needs a boyfriend!!!!!” All Mikayla wanted from a little shopping spree at Toys-R-Us for Amelia to spend a birthday gift card was a Ken doll.

“Where’s my boy doll?” Now this is said constantly as Ken has become her favorite toy!

“Mom, I love you so much I’m not going to sell you in fourteen days.”

“Mom, I know what the frog says: Focket, Focket.” I guess it was a mix between Frog and Ribbit, but it was funny!

After buying a $4.00 doll at the consignment store for Mikayla: “Mom, I love her so much, I want to name her Ham.”

(While I was on the phone with Dad) “Tell Granddad I can do a cartwheel!” Then I saw Amelia trying to think of something she can do. Finally Amelia said, “Tell Granddad I can put my tongue in a bowl!”

Mikayla (while riding on Uncle Jerry’s shoulders at Jeff’s Raiders Football game screaming at the top of her lungs): “Go Way-Dohs, Go!!!!!!”

“You’re not the boss; God’s the boss!”

“Mom, I want to go to Lawn Mar for Ham decorations!” Translation (after a lot of thought and questions): “Mom, I want to go to Wal-Mart for turkey decorations!” and no, she didn’t hear Amelia’s chicken conversation! They are so confused about turkey!

“Mom, I want you to have another baby and I want it to be a girl baby and I want you to name her Aunt D!”

Happy Halloween!

Happy October and Happy Halloween: Here is blog in pictures:

Here are the girls at the preschool parade and fall festival. I'm not sure why the teachers put Mikayla's coat on over her Cinderella dress, but she's still cute! :) If you are wondering, Amelia is "Miss Behaved." She picked her costume out about three months ago!

Here's my sweet preschool class, complete with me and Little Red Riding Hood and Steph as the Big Bad Wolf. The kids weren't scared. Also, you will see Dave and me dressed as Napoleon and "Napoleon's Girlfriend." Yes, we won the costume contest....really. It was hilarious!

Here the girls are at their Halloween gymnastics class and then picking pumpkins out at a local pumpkin patch and corn maze.


Last, but not least, here the girls are with their friends at the neighborhood fall festival.

I gave in....

Okay, I gave in to two things...blogging again after a so-called "break" and letting my girls do a REAL lemonade stand (not selling water to the poor neighbors). Here they are:

The are quite the little salespeople. I am grateful for good neighbors who paid at least $1 for a cup of warm lemonade with dirty little fingerprints all over the outside (and probably inside too) because little Amelia didn't know how to make change. When all was said and done, they made $13.25....not so bad for a fun-filled afternoon!

Random Thoughts

I'm better....I just needed to vent, and get things under control around here! I think I'm taking a break from the blogging world for a little while. I will still read all of your blogs, of course!

On another note, I received this FABULOUS package in the mail the other day....filled with the most amazing scrapbook supplies you have ever seen! Jayme, you are so awesome. My other friends, if you haven't checked her blog, you need to (Best High School Bud). She is so talented...and so generous. Thanks so much Jayme.

On another note, I love Halloween. I love the costumes, decorations, the crafts, trick-or-treating, goodies, and orange and black.






On another note, apparently Mikayla won a contest at Kiddie Kandids that I didn't enter her in. The photographer called and left a message a few months ago, but I kind of spaced it and it was hard to understand what she was talking about. I just got a call from a neighbor that said she was in the studio and a huge water-color portrait was hanging in the studio of Mikayla that they had done copying the portrait...pretty fun...but I won't say anything else about that...kind of a weird situation because Amelia's pictures were taken that same day too.

On another note, I just commented on Jessi's blog and thought I would share here too: A hurricane comes through my house EVERY day. Today it was stamps and glue...everywhere. Then an impromptu "water stand" complete with every camping chair (and bicycle and stroller) we have pulled out on the sidewalk with the girls selling WATER to people passing by. Not only that, they got every cup out of the cupboard and filled them with water, spilling it everywhere because we didn't have paper cups. The nice people that stopped by had to guzzle water and leave the cups behind...so now I have a hurricane inside and outside.

On another note, my friend Candice just had her sweet baby and Candice is amazing and has amazing stories...I can't wait for the details on this one. Meanwhile, check out her blog.

On another note, check my grandparents' store's website. They have the cutest stuff!

On another note, I love warm weather. I think I start getting depressed in the fall. I love the colors and the change, but I really just like it to be hot.

Alright, those were my deep thoughts of the week....I'm signing off until I have something to say!

BYE!

AAUUUGGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stress! Actually, I'm not sure stress is the right word, life is just BUSY and I feel like I'm not giving anything 100%. I tutor once a week, I teach tennis for three hours a week, I teach preschool three days a week....none of those are full time jobs, so I still am at home most of the time, so my house still gets destroyed, and I'm still a "stay-at-home" mom without the home time that I need to keep things running. Does any of that even make sense?

I read an article in Parents magazine about a stay-at-home dad who gave up a 60 hour a week TV cameraman job. He said in the end, staying home was harder and more time-consuming, but much more rewarding. I guess that's where I am.

I picked up these little jobs out of obligation and because the extra money is nice...(Utah, we'll be home to visit soon), but is it worth it? Preschool is too much fun. The kids are so adorable and it's really fun to plan things, but it is time-consuming. I think if I can stick it out though, next year I will have it all planned and it will be so easy! Tennis is great money and it's physically draining, but easy...as long as my kids are okay running around for THREE HOURS after a morning at preschool. Tutoring is easy, but again time-consuming...and it takes time away from my kids...I love the girl I tutor and it has now been three years, so I felt like I needed to continue. Anyway, listen to me justify it all. Life has got to be more simple. I haven't sat down and had a real converation with Dave since Mexico. He is still sick and needs more of me than I can give right now. I have friends that I haven't hung out with in way too long. I am giving in so many directions that no one is getting all of me and nothing is getting all of my attention. Any suggestions before I lose my mind?

Cabo

There's not enough time to blog about our fabulous Cabo trip, but here are the highlights:

• Little D's beautiful wedding on the beach
• Seeing my "little" brother
• Meeting and spending time with D's new husband Eric
• Parasailing (on a 400 foot rope) over the Pacific and the Sea of Cortez
• Snorkeling at Lover's Beach
• Cabo Wabo (I love Sammy)
• Relaxing and getting a tan
• Getting smashed by the waves, losing my sunglasses and developing a new anxiety :)
• Going out for great dinners and hanging out with everyone
• Dancing

If I could have a second wedding, I would do the exact same thing. It was soooooooo fun! It's good to be home and the kids were so happy, but did great with us gone!

Sunday Scribblings: Google Magic

Hmmmmm, this week's topic finally gave me an excuse to find something out that I have wondered about for the last three years, and please excuse the lack of organization and research paper guidelines...my college days are SO done.

First, a little background: As I was driving in the realtor's car in Cumming, Georgia, having just one weekend to find a home on my first trip to this state, I made a comment to the realtor: "I'm really excited to experience the world. I have lived in Utah my entire life. Nearly every person I've met and known has not only been Mormon, but has also been white. I can't wait for my kids to grow up with some diversity...ya know, the 'real world'."

He paused for a moment and replied, "Um, normally I wouldn't say this, but you have just asked me to drive to a house (that I had found over the internet knowing NOTHING about the area) that is in Forsyth County. You'll definitely find diversity in religion, but not in race. Oprah even did some kind of show from there on racism."

I wasn't sure what he meant....after all, this is Atlanta, Georgia...or a suburb at least...there has to be more people of color than in Utah. I found the house of my dreams, in the neighborhood of my dreams, and we moved our little family across the country...to Forsyth County, Georgia.

So, after three years here I've learned that the realtor was right. I experienced more race diversity teaching at Farmington Junior High (which was 99% Mormon and 97% white among 1,200 kids) than I have here. So, what was that "Oprah Show?" What went on in this county? This is what I learned:

A reputation for racial intolerance plagued Forsyth County during the twentieth century. In 1912 the rape of a young white woman by three African American males sparked a campaign among the white population to rid Forsyth County of all African Americans. For almost a month, gangs of night riders harassed and intimidated the black population into moving out of the county.

While it is unknown how many African Americans moved as a direct result of the purge, by 1930 only 17 blacks resided in Forsyth County compared with almost 1,100 in 1910. In 1987 (1987...I didn't even realize how RECENT it all was) racial tensions again erupted in Forsyth County. In January a small march in Cumming to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday met with resistance from local members of the KKK, who threw stones and glass bottles at the demonstrators. The event received national attention, and on January 24, 20,000 marchers from around the country converged on Forsyth County. Led by numerous civil rights leaders, the marchers encountered 1,000 to 2,000 counterdemonstrators, but the presence of large numbers of police and National Guard troops most likely kept the event from turning violent. The event was one of the largest civil rights demonstrations since the 1960s and generated so much national attention that talk-show host Oprah Winfrey taped a show the following month in Cumming about the events.

In 1987, Oprah packed up the show and headed south to Forsyth County, Georgia, a place where not one black person had lived in 75 years. The Forsyth County Defense League was a white supremacist group established in 1987 (1987...really?????) in Cumming, Georgia, to counter efforts by Atlanta City Councilperson Hosea Williams, to integrate all-white Forsyth County. The group and its successor Nationalist Movement have won some prominent court battles on behalf of members' rights to support discrimination against non-whites, to march and to meet in public buildings. During the show, an explosion of racism ensued with the "n" word used over and over again to Winfrey.

Forsyth County, I learned is the second-fastest growing county in the nation in the 1990s. Forsyth in the 2000 census is still 92 percent white and its growth is mostly explained by the droves of white people moving in. For every single black person and every 10 Hispanics new to Forsyth in the 1990s, there were 100 new white residents.

The completion of Georgia Highway 400 (which I live right off, almost into Dawson County) in the 1980s turned Forsyth County into a suburb of Atlanta, further encouraging population growth. According to the 2000 U.S. census, the county's population was 98,407 (95 percent white, 0.7 percent black, and 5.6 percent Hispanic), an increase of 123.2 percent from the 1990 census. The county remains one of the most racially homogenous in the state.

So, this answered a lot of questions that I've had. I really wanted to know the history of this city and county. It's crazy to be in a place that you didn't grow up learning about. When I'm in Salt Lake going down Bangerter Highway, I can tell you exactly who that road is named after, but I moved to a strange place, and I knew nothing about it. I love it here, but I do hate that it has an ugly past (and present). I have even blogged about my racist neighbors before. My husband works much closer to Atlanta and has the opportunity to meet fabulous people of every color. Last year I had his co-worker's daughter come and spend her Spring Break with me and the girls. I wondered why my neighbors weren't so nice. I wondered why we got strange looks at the neighborhood family go-cart place...and guess what? I love it that I ruffled some feathers! I will teach my children tolerance. Good people are good and bad people are bad, and skin color means NOTHING....even in Forsyth County, Georgia.

Deep Thoughts

Today we were driving home from school, and I could tell Amelia had been thinking about something the whole way home. Finally, she asked, "Mom, God makes everything good, right?"
I quickly turned down the radio and mumbled, "um, ya." (I was trying to decide if I should go into how God gives men the BRAINS to make some things, but I settled with the eloquent, "ya.") She then said, "Mom, then God definitely made string cheese."

Mikayla's First Day

Mikayla chose her 4th of July dress to wear on the first day of school. She was "so fashion" just like her sister. I think these pictures (even though blurry) show how excited she was to start school today! Her favorite part of the day was "meeting her new friend Emma" (even though she's known her for three years now) and "playing with dollies."

Amelia's First Day

This is the outfit Amelia chose for her first day of school! She looked SO FASHION! She was very nervous but was very brave!
I'm not sure why she was striking all of thes poses, but she kept telling me she was a fashion girl.
This is the picture Amelia's teacher sent to tell us she had a great day today! She said her favorite part was swinging on the swings outside and coloring a picture of her family camping.

Sunday Scribblings: "The Monster"

I am a person who thinks about something for approximately 2.3 seconds and just dives into it (or just doesn't) but I refuse to ponder on things for too long. It's that impatient, restless being of mine. This Sunday Scribbling, however, I did ponder about. I immediately thought about my loveable monster....my youngest, three-year-old Mikayla, but after thinking more about the prompt, I thought about a true monster in our society: the way women are portrayed in the media.

I taught 8th grade English for five years. Are there any more difficult years than that of adolescence? A young women has so many hormones and insecurities WITHOUT looking in a magazine and seeing what is impossible to achieve. I know there are girls out there that have a size 0 or 2 body without trying, but why is that the goal? What is wrong with a perfect size 8, or 10 or 12 for that matter? Why is a size 2 the goal? It is causing turmoil in this crazy world of ours. I look at my sweet daughters and just get so nervous about what is in their future.

As my (extremely underweight) daughter stepped on the scale at the doctor's office today, the nurse said, "Oh my Goodness, I had the scale at 50lbs., but you haven't even hit 40 yet...are you really five?" and after my confused daughter stuttered that she was indeed five, the nurse finished, "Oh, well Lucky You! You barely weigh a thing." I saw the wind deflate from her sail as she slumped back to her little check-up room.

You see, I've been trying this reverse-psychology thing to combat this crazy media of ours. I constantly tell my girls, "OH YOU ARE SOOOOOOO BIG! OH, YOU'RE FEET HAVE GROWN ANOTHER WHOLE SIZE, LET'S CELEBRATE! AMELIA YOU ARE AT LEAST FOUR INCHES TALLER THAN THE NEXT KID IN YOUR CLASS....YOU ARE THE QUEEN! EAT YOUR VEGETABLES SO YOU CAN GROW BIG AND STRONG AND BE HEALTY!" When people comment to me, "She's so tall!" I turn to Amelia and whisper, "You are so lucky to be so tall. Don't feel bad for the little kids in your class."

Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that there is only so much I can do....my girls who watch almost no TV can still tell me that blonde hair is best and will tell me that the big girl on TV is "not fashion." I try my little reverse-psychology thing, "But look at her hair, isn't it beautiful? Look at her smile, doesn't she look happy?" But, they know. It's a monster....and it is going to creep up on my little girls, and I'm scared.

My Job

Mikayla enjoying the library center.

Okay, I just need to take a minute to tell my friends about how excited I am about my new job. I really didn't want to go back to work until Mikayla was in Pre-K five days a week and Amelia was in Kindergarten. I thought I had it all worked out, but the director from Amelia's preschool called and asked if I would take the 3 year old, 3 days a week class. I decided to do so, because I have to pay for both girls preschool this year and it would also be fun to be there with them.

We COULD NOT get the alphabet up above the cabinet, until we remembered we had AMELIA to climb up and help!

I've already written about how much I love this school, but I can't believe how nice the teachers are there. Everyone is so excited to be there. I woke up so excited to go to work...this is just the teacher week without kids. The best part is my friend Steph is my assistant teacher, so I get to work with someone that I love. She's so creative and very patient with kids. The other lady who teaches on Tuesdays and Thursdays is new this year too, but has taught preschool for many years.

They let me bring my kids, so they just run around and play and paint...and destroy what we put together. Amelia is our preschool consultant. She was there last year so she knows it all. Mikayla is the same age as the kids I'm teaching (but she'll be in the other class), so we can use her to measure how high to put things and whether or not a three-year-old can REALLY cut out a circle (they can't). It's fun to be out using my brain (surprisingly coming up with a center/play based curriculum based on monthly themes, shapes and colors was a little difficult). Most of all, it's fun to be at work WITH my kids. I'm so excited to meet my 12 little three year olds and embark on this adventure together!

This is the bulletin board where we are going to put the kids pictures in the frames and let them decorate them with circle buttons for the first day of school. I have 12 kids and the Tuesday/Thursday class has 12 kids.

This is the monthly big center we have set up...Home and Family. The kitchen and tool area is so cool! The bottom picture is where the kids are going to decorate frames for their family pictures. The other board is our circle time board with the date, star students and weather.

Sunday Scribblings: The Inner Life of Pets

It all started one morning when these guys came and took us out of our home in Hurricane, Utah that we had been working on for months. They stuck us in a little tube and put the tube in an envelope. The next thing we knew, we were in a very hot, dark place for about four days. We ended up in a mailbox in Cumming, Georgia.

This really nice, beautiful lady came and rescued us. She put us in the fridge for 10 minutes, which was pretty shocking and actually pretty rude. However, she carefully dumped us in to this sand habitat. Now I have these two little girls that come and watch every move we make...every tunnel we dig, every grain of sand we carry. They bring all their grubby-fingered friends to come and see us. They feed us and give us water. They really love us. We are pretty happy, although our life expectancy was drastically decreased, but with the good care we are getting, we think we will live longer than out in the wild, even in this hot and humid environment. Well, we better sign off. We have tunnels to dig and work to be done.