New Stuff

Well, again I have fallen behind on my blog. So here is an update...

David has now officially passed all requirments for being a teacher. We got his final test scores back yesterday and he nailed it!! He has interviewed with a high school right next door to the kids' elementary school for a EH class. They have asked him to coach football IF they offer him the job (sounds like a good thing). He is excited but nervous about a new career. Now, we just have to wait for a contract :)

Hannah finished her second ever triathlon last weekend in the pouring rain. She did a 200-m swim, 2 mile bike and 1 mile run in 25:26. Not the best but certainly not too shabby either considering her mother would pass out after 1 lap in the pool. She is also singing in the district-wide choir on Tuesday. Hannah and her friend Lyndsey will also be performing a popular Hannah Montana tune at the school Talent Show in May. I have not been allowed in the rehearsal site due to secret stuff but I am very much looking forward to their debut performance. She is really looking forward to middle school and is taking advanced level classes, including 7th grade math or pre-algebra.

Knox is skateboarding more than ever. He loves going to the local skate park and hanging out with friends. He is also just started a cartooning class this past Saturday. I am looking forward to seeing what he can draw. They teach them how to create a storyline and also how to make things look 3.D. As much as Hannah is looking forward to middle school, Knox is dreading it. He has it in his head that someone is going to bully him. He is quite small for his age and more immature than the other boys so this is probably a realistic fear for him. I have tried to assure him that things will be okay but I am just an old person who doesn't remember or maybe never was a middle schooler at some point in her life.

Katy is still riding her horses. She now wants her own saddle (fat chance) but LOVES being at the barn. She recently wrote a biography at school that included her future--going to Clemson and becoming a vet. Her grades keep getting better & better so we are so proud of her hard work. I hope that she keeps her dream in mind all through high school. She has tons & tons of friends who all take their Webkinz to school and create a whole story to go with them. They all have names and characters and must see each other on the weekends. If they don't, they get cranky. The child really should be an actress :)

Macon was recently tested at school for reading. Turns out, he reads on a late second-grade level. He also surpassed all the kindergarten benchmark tests, getting 100's on all but one. When asked what we should do with him, his teacher's reply was "I am not sure". We are going to the instructional coach next to see what options we have. I think most of his behavior can be attributed to boredom but we also have rapant ADD in the Rushton men so we have started Macon on a small dose of Adderall. It seems to help some but I am not sure I like it. Only time will tell if this will do the trick. He is doing gymnastics too which he LOVES.

I am finishing up my last year on the PTA executive board. I'll run the school carnival next fall but that's it. I am planning to do my student teaching next Spring and have set it up to be able to do it with a 4th grade teacher at the kids' school.

David just came in with Macon so I must go. I'll do pictures next time!!

Katy's Birthday

Katy turned 10 last week! Yikes, time flies when you are having fun. Her birthday was on a Tuesday so we celebrated on Sunday night with the family. David's parents, my parents, my brother & fam came over for cake and presents. Katy got a shopping spree from us on Tuesday but everyone else brought gifts on Sunday. Jonathan & Marissa brought her a new Webkins (a pony, perfect for Katy), mom & dad brought lots of clothes to which my dad could genuienly act surprised when he saw them, and David's parents gave her sewing lessons & money. The really great :) gift came from Katy's dad, Lee and his new wife April. Katy got a hamster!! We did talk about it first but it has caused problems every night. We knew hamsters are nocturnal (Katy did lots of research in preparation) so we put it on the landing upstairs on a bookcase outside the girls room. I am listening to it run on its wheel right now. Katy woke up at 3am two nights ago, crying because it woke her up and she couldn't go back to sleep. Last night, we had to bring it downstairs because both girls came down complaining. I am not sure what we are going to do. Good news, though, it doesn't smell like I thought it might. Katy is taking VERY good care of it It is kinda cute but I haven't held it yet. You are supposed to leave it alone for the first week while it adjusts to its new digs. But, David keeps getting it out for the kids. Anyway, we have a new member of the house, Katy had a great birthday and we celebrated our blessings. Now, I think I have a birthday coming up next (yikes).

Lego League Video

If you have an extra 4 minutes and 30 seconds, take a look at my lego League video. These are kids I worked with over the past 7 weeks. We had our awards ceremony at last night's science fair. I'll start this week with the 5th graders!!

Science Fair

Don't know if I mentioned it before but I recently completed not one, not two but THREE science fair projects. Of course, Hannah, Knox & Katy actually won the prizes for all my hard work but there wasn't an over-30 category. (Tee-hee)

Anyway, Hannah had done her project on who would be more likely to pick up a dropped object, a boy or a girl?? (Girls)--although, this friend of Knox's admitted that he would pick up anything Hannah dropped. The admission came with lots of blushing.

Knox did his on who takes more steps in a day, boys or girls? (girls)

Katy did hers on who has more bacteria in their mouth, a dog or a human. (humans)

THEY ALL THREE WON!! Really, we had our science fair last night and they announced the winners. The projects had been judged over the past week by 8 different people, including parents of non-participating students, teachers from different grades, and even a district judge. No names were on the projects to ensure fairness. Of course, plastering your kid's picture all over the front was allowed. Hannah & Katy will both go on the district-wide competition and Knox received honorable mention for his. The girls have to go and stand with their projects so we are going to have to over exactly what "they" did in case the judges ask them any questions.

Macon Reading

This is a video of Macon on the morning news at school. We do a program called Reading Counts where kids earn points after reading a book and taking a comprehension test on it. Every ten points earned is rewarded.



Macon is the only Kindergartener with more than 10 points!! Yes, I am bragging :)

Macon's Kindergarten Project

Take a look at Macon's recent project for school. The requirements were for him to pick a topic and be able to creatively share three facts with his classmates. We did research online and through books. This was mostly Macon-generated but Mom-directed. He was soooo proud!! The day after he shared it with the class, he was called on the speaker to the principal's office. "Mom, I was shakin' cause I thought for sure I was in trouble!!" (For Macon, this is a realistic fear.) Anyway, she had heard about the video and wanted to watch it with him.

Exciting News!!

Yeah....I think?? David passed the Special Education portion of the Praxis (the education exam). Now he just needs to pass the Education portion to become Highly Qualified. Don't ask me what it means, just know that he needs it to finish his certification. He is applying for an open position at an Elementary school across town. If accepted, he would begin this fall which means a whole summer of working waaaay too many hours but also with a light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, he will still see clients to make up for the slight drop in pay but he wants to get his phD while doing this so I may not actually see him more. The "I think" comment is because this is unchartered terrority for us but exciting because it allows him to keep all the benefits of the state system while getting out of the craphole he is in now. He is nervous about the whole thing but putting on a very brave face. If you know David, you know that this is pretty much his approach to life anyway. But, still, it is a BIG step for us all and I am proud that he is even considering the change.

Meanwhile, I have put my teaching plans on hold (once again). Teaching would not be my first choice unless I could handpick my job, students, classroom, pay, etc. etc. which obviously isn't going to happen. I would never hate teaching, I just have other things that get me excited. I think I keep putting off the inevitable. Inevitable because of the flexibility teaching offers those of us who have children.

Anywho (as Katy says), we are steadily marching towards a career change. I'll let you know how it goes!

Puberty

Hannah and Knox just came back from the fifth grade field trip to our school district run science center. Topic: Human Growth and Development, otherwise known as Embarrassing Subject with Lots of Giggles. Hannah approached it like her normal self. A learning experience that she must get the most out of, she was very adament about everyone using the correct terminology. It's not an egg, it's an ova...that kind of thing. She had lots of questions, all of which sent Katy into fits of laughter. Hannah was indignant because Katy is only a fourth grader and didn't need to worry about it until next year. Mind you, I had already told both of them all the girl part information minus the sex. They knew all the names, all about monthly visits and how babies grow and get out, they just didn't know (from me anyway) how the babies got there in the first place. Hannah asked no questions about that!!

Knox and David had a man-to-man talk before the trip, none of which I know about. I was worried that Knox would freak out because, as far as I know, he was clueless. But, David gave him the low-down. The night they came back, Knox asked David if you could have sex without having babies. Uhhhh, was David's first response. But, he did tell him the truth along with the prudency of waiting until you are married.

Now that Hannah and Knox's innocence is gone, I am afraid that they will grow up much more quickly. This seems to be the last big secret of adulthood that they now know about. Santa is no longer magical, the tooth fairy is in the distant past, and middle school looms on the horizon. My beautiful first born will be 12 in 8 months and is asking about using tampons at swim practice. Knox has lived with me more than half his life (7 years now) and is asking if sex is fun. Just yesterday we took pictures of them in the bath tub with Katy doing the "see no evil" thing for the camera. Just yesterday, Hannah was calling Katy "Tay-tay" and frowning over reading workbooks. Just yesterday, Knox was learning how to pee standing up and letting his sisters dress him up in their dance costumes. Just yesterday, they were babies and now they are on the verge of teenage angst. I look forward to their growing but boy do I wonder where the time has gone!!

Snow Days

We had a double-dose of snow this past week. For months, we had planned to visit David's brother and his family in Maryland over Martin Luther King weekend. On Thursday (leaving day), Greenville got snow. School was cancelled and I freaked at the thought of driving at night through the snow covered mountains of Virginia. So, we left Friday instead. 10 hours in the car, two days at their house, 10 hours back led to one tired family. But, Maryland had just gotten six inches of snow so my kids were in heaven. They spent hours outside sledding. Inside, Macon got to play with his cousin who is only a few days older. It was a very nice time, just the getting there that was hard.

Hannah has her last short-course swim meet next weekend then we have to decide if she will continue once the pool switches over to long-course. I think she will stick with it. She has gotten much better and if she keeps going, the benefits of this exercise will stick with her for life.

Knox signs up for baseball on Saturday. He is excited about it, although I am not. I have never been a big fan of baseball anyway and he is not the greatest player. It makes for a long season. But, he really wants to and I think it is important for him to be involved on a team.

Katy is riding still after a haitus over Christmas break. She took her horse over the "jump" today for the first time by herself. Meaning, no lead from the instruction but keep in mind that the jump is just a 6-in pipe lying on the ground. Basically, as long as she steers towards it, the horse just steps over. Anyway, she was excited about being back but it was cold!!

Macon is still Macon. No sports for the spring but he wants to play tackle football this fall. I don't know if we can handle it but he needs a sport where he doesn't have to wait very long for his turn. He actually did the best in gymnastics so if I can get over the whole "this isn't really for boys" thing then maybe we will go back to that.

David and I are hosting a Wii party this weekend for our grownup friends. It ought to be interesting. My friend who conked her kid in the head asked if it was a BYOH party---Bring Your Own Helmet!

Prayers of Little Ones

Tonight, Macon asked God for money so that Macon could pay off his debt tomorrow. He said thank you for a dad who works hard and has to drive in the dark to get home. He hoped that God had made a lot of friends up there (maybe in case God was lonely??).

I guess we all have things to be thankful for....mine tonight is for an insightful, caring and empathetic child. My heart is filled up with love for this little boy!!

Happy New Year!!

It's 2008!! Lots of exciting things happen this year. Knox and Hannah start middle school in August, Hannah turns 12 (yikes!), Katy begins her last year of elementary school and David and I celebrate our seventh year of marriage. It will be neat to look back over this blog and see how life develops throughout the year.

We spent most of this morning playing around so right after lunch we kicked our cleaning into high gear. It's nice that the kids are old enough to really truly clean now. We take turns with who does what so no one can say "life's not fair" I still have to finish laundry and run a couple of errands but for the most part the house is clean!!

The big kids all have science fair projects due in March so we are beginning to work on those. Hannah is testing to see if girls or boys are more empathetic, Knox is testing to see if bigger wheels make a difference while skateboarding and Katy is testing to see if dogs or humans have more bacteria in their mouths. All exciting and all tailored to each kids interest. We'll have to post some pictures when we are all done.

Well, the momentary peace and quiet just ended when the kids came in from outside. I'll have to write more when they go to bed!

Oh yeah...

I meant to tell you that I set the Roomba loose in the toy room. It came back and told me that my kids are pigs.

Follow-up to our Sleepover

Remember how I mentioned that Macon had a friend spend the night and how he almost never gets to have kids over?? Well, it may be a long time for the next one, thanks to the Silverleaf gossip mill!! Macon woke us up the night Ryan stayed, throwing up. He threw up at least once an hour all night. Ryan woke up around 8:45 and David basically chucked him in the car and drove him home. Macon didn't eat anything but 5 small crackers yesterday. He took a loooong nap and then still went to bed around 8pm. He slept through the night and has tried to eat everything in the house today. In fact, he just called up here asking for a snack. He is still in his pj's (his choice) and we have played our new electronic Monopoly game. I am proud to say that I have not yet run out of money but Macon owns all the expensive properties so I am sure that will change.

The big kids are still gone. The girls were going to come home yesterday but with the sickness, I asked if they could stay one more night. Now, they ditched me and aren't coming until tomorrow (Today is Lee's birthday). David is running his drug/alcohol group tonight and won't be home until 9 so I asked Mom and Dad to come eat dinner. I have ham, black-eyed peas, collards and cornbread. Obviously, I was expecting a crowd, not just me and Macon!! We have been invited to a party in the neighborhood that includes kids but with the recent upchucking, I think just David is going to go. Clemson plays tonight at 7:30pm and I'll be watching it. Good thing Macon doesn't realize that it is New Year's Eve and I can go ahead and put him to bed like normal. He would be a bear the next day if he doesn't get enough sleep.

David is off tomorrow so hopefully it doesn't rain and he can get the lights off the house. I love the way it looks but come January I am ready for it to come down. We have a lot going on between Market for Mom's stores, David's test, and our trip to Maryland (is it snowing there??). The last weekend in January, our school has its annual Family Clay night. You purchase clay, make it into something (we have lots of bowls at our house), paint it, then the art department fires it and returns it to you. It's a lot of fun and because it isn't PTA sponsored, I get to relax and enjoy it. So busy, busy January but mostly fun stuff.

Oh yeah, I forgot, Camp Willow Run applications come out Jan. 26th. We will be first in line this year, I hope. The kids have loved it immensely and I enjoy going back to visit. Brings back fond memories!!

The Calm after the Storm

Christmas is over, even thought the decorations are still up!! It has been raining here so David has not taken down the outside stuff and I have been too busy/lazy to do the inside. I think tomorrow will be a good day since we have played with all the toys!!

The big kids are gone for the weekend so Macon had a friend come play today and then sleep over. David went upstairs a little bit ago and found the two of them in the same bed, Ryan on his stomach and Macon on his back, arms flung out. Very cute when you are six, not so cute when you are 38 (David sleeps sprawled out). Poor Macon gets left out of the friends' thing a lot. The big kids can just go from house to house to house but Macon, we have to call and set it up. Plus, all of his friends are the youngest in the family and I think we Moms are tired a lot. Anyway, I am trying to do better because he really likes having boys his age around.

The big news is that we got a Wii from Santa. It's sad to say but David and I have played it more than the kids. We have never had any type of game system so this is super exciting for us. Except we have now realized that our family room is not big enough for four people to play tennis. Our friends were over tonight after a dinner at Fuddrucker's. Terese conked Ryan in the head with the controller while swinging at the tennis ball. He now sports a knot on his forehead. Otherwise, she is a good mother.

The other big news is I got a Roomba for Christmas. Yes, it was actually on my list. Our friends, Andy and Miriam have one in Florida and when we visitied, I was very impressed with how well it cleaned. So far, it has found a book under the sofa in the family room, hangers under the one in the living room and a whole bunch of dust and dog hair hiding under the chairs. Next, I am going to let it loose in the kids rooms and see if we can find some missing socks.

David will be taking his Praxis (a professional exam for teachers) in January and, if he passes, will then become hireable (is that a word?) in South Carolina as a teacher of emotionally handicapped students. I questioned his ability to teach but then he has reminded me that he has been counseling kids with these problems for 10 years. Sometimes it is hard for me to realize that he has a whole nother life out there that I am not a part of. He leaves in the morning and comes home at night without me helping at all. Well, other than making his lunch occassionally. I guess because I have never had a "real" job I don't relate to that part of his day. But, he is a real professional who currently supervises almost 60 people serving over 1500 clients. I guess that means he can do his job well!! Too bad he is bogged down in boring paperwork and not getting paid what we would like. You know it must be bad if he is considering teaching as a better-paying job.

School starts back next Thursday and while I have really enjoyed having this break, it will be nice to get back to our routine. I think David and I are going to have a grown-up night with the Wii. Kick the kids out, move the furniture around and try not to whack each other in the heads!!

"'Twas the Night Before Christmas"

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

The Rushton's excitement, one could not douse

The church clothes were hung by the bed with care

In hopes that all would soon be dressed without snare

The children were wrestled all snug in their seats

And we were off to the church to sing with a beat

And Perry and family lead a wonderful prayer

For all of us to remember the Son Mary did bear...

When, out of the church, our tummies like beasts

Off to Grammy and Papa's for a delicious feast!

Long ago, when young, Papa's mother did cook

Yummy seafood casserole, and so, by the book

Grammy will fix it for her family

The same great dish derived from the sea

Then home again, home again, home again quick

For it is time to get ready for jolly St. Nick

More rapid than computers the children they came

And Mom whistled and shouted and called them by name

"Now, Hannah! now Knox! now Katy and Macon!

On David, let's hurry, you think this's vacation?

To your rooms in the house! to your warm, comfy beds!

Now dash away, dash away, lay down your sweet heads!"

As the cookies were placed on a plate by the fire

and carrots and celery, for that's what reindeers desire

New jammies for all 'cause last year's they outgrew

And little voices insist, "Mom and Dad, go to bed too!"

And then, in a twinkling, they heard on the street

The jingling and jangling of bells on his feet

Down the road St. Nicholas came with a bound

With cars driving past and honking their sounds

He was smaller than last year, with no loot to boot

And his clothes were quite shabby, like a second-hand suit

But the children believed and Mom and Dad sighed

"Not too many more years" as a tear fell from their eye

Then, into the darkness, he disappeared

and our children screeched out "Will he come back here?"

As we got them tucked in their soft warm beds

And thanked God for the Present, my little ones said

"This year's the best, Mom, keep on the night-light"

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!!!

and the Conclusion!!

Well, the real conclusion is...I found the stupid stocking!! I was pulling Christmas presents out of my closet to finish wrapping tonight while David is at work and, lo and behold, it was down in the corner. Why?? Who knows how it got there. Anyway, that means NO going out to a store tomorrow!!

The previous story, titled "A Year Without a Stocking", is a fictionalized event. All characters are purely figments of the author's imagination and do not reflect real life. The child named Hannah would NEVER be so awful to her mother and the mother would never be harried on Christmas ;)

"The Christmas Without A Stocking"

Once upon a time there was a young lady named Hannah (I have it on good authority that this young lady is certainly not a child anymore). Hannah was very excited about Christmas because she had asked for all new, all expensive presents that every 'tween child, I mean, young lady that ever stands a chance of having friends or, more importantly, a boyfriend, would ever need. Only one thing stood in her way of the perfect Christmas....her overworked, overwrought, very evil mother. This awful person had done the impossible. She had LOST Hannah's stocking. Now, it didn't matter that the stocking was one of those red felt ones with the white fur trim that this same evil person had purchased at the exclusive and tawny store, Garden Ridge, for a ridiculous price of .99 cents. It didn't matter that Hannah's name had been very carefully applied in red glitter across the soft fur by the unsteady hand of her terrible mother. What mattered most was that Hannah and only Hannah (not her better-loved siblings) had no stocking for Christmas morning. What's an evil mother to do??? Well, this mother will be heading out into the fray to find a CVS, another very exclusive store, to purchase a stocking for her beloved daughter two days before Christmas morn so that it may be filled with all the wonderous things a stocking can hold....oranges and impossible-to-crack nuts. The conclusion of our story finds the harried but still evil mother grumbling about Christmas and the beloved but now slightly scarred daughter having something to discuss with her therapist when she gets older.

To be continued....

Late as usual!!

Wow...I said not like Jonathan and yet, here I am, a month later, trying to pretend that I am on the ball. Actually, nothing is on the ball right now. Our Christmas tree is still not decorated. The kids have been gone every weekend in December so far, either to the exes or Hannah's swim meet. On the bright side, David and I have bought every single Christmas present without the use of a credit card. NO MORE DEBT is our new slogan.

Hannah just competed in her first out of town meet. It was kinda neat because it was in Rock Hill, which is where I started college, met Lee and fled after three years. Lee's mom was able to come and see her swim though. Hannah had her best meet ever, dropping seconds like it was nothing. So much so, that her coach has decided to move her up to the next training group. I get this email about it and print it to show Hannah. She was reading a bedtime story to Macon that night so when she was done, I went in to say prayers with Macon and handed the email to Hannah on her way out. She closed the door, I turned out Macon's light, knelt down to start prayers and hear Hannah say, "Yes!" Then I feel the floor start to shake and paper begin to rattle as she does a happy dance in the hallway. Needless to say, she was excited.

Last night, Hannah had two girls spend the night. I was gone when they arrived, picking Katy up from a birthday party and driving her back to Lee's to spend the night there. When I got back, David was playing Monopoly with the giggling girls. I remember when we first got serious about dating, he asked me why the girls made that noise. "What noise?" as silly sounds emanate from the other room. "That noise....the high-pitch sound coming from their little bitty lips" Oh, the sounds of little girls and here he is making them giggle by pretending to have stolen their Monopoly money. What a long way we have come in seven years!!

I have three parties to attend this week, a cookie swap, Bunco and a couples' party Saturday night. Thank goodness they are all on different nights because I cannot wait for them all!! The cookie swap and Bunco are two different groups of women and I love both of them. The couples' party is at a good friend of ours and they have invited lots of fun people. The kids are spending the night with David's parents that night so David and I get to stay out WAAAAY past our bedtime.

Speaking of past bedtime...I have to go to bed now. Macon is our only child in the house tonight and I think I have convinced David to let me sleep late in the morning but I cannot count on it. Macon is my little alarm clock. He'll sneak in to tell me what time it is. "Mom, mom, it's seven--dot-dot--zero-two. That means it's time to get up." I LOVE to sleep and have never been the mom who wakes up the minute her little darlings do but with three Rushton men in the house, that is hard to do. They get up early and they make no bones about the fact that if they are awake, then everyone else should be too!! Bless David's heart, he cannot be quiet to save his soul. He also has a tendency to wake me up in order to ask me what time I want him to wake me up. My response is always the same. "Well, what time is it now??" "Seven--dot-dot-zero two (He and Macon tell time the same way:)" "Well, then, wake me up at 7:02."

I'll try not to let so much time pass.....you know how it flies when you are having fun :)

Deliquent!!

Okay...so I have been terribly deliquent in updating my blog. Somehow, the enthuasism left for awhile but I visited Jonathan's page and realized that I couldn't be like him so....also, the fact that my DAD has one now too is kinda motivating me to get back in the game.

Anyway, quick updates about me, David & kids....

David has sent his PACE application into SC Board of Education. He is thinking of joining the teacher ranks as a special ed high school teacher. That way, he keeps his state pension and benefits but gets to leave the mental health center. Plus, he will get back to working with kids which he enjoyed more. If the Board of Ed accepts him, then at least he has a choice!! He is also thinking about the possibility of taking a full-time position with the drug & alcohol comission where he has been doing part-time group therapy.

Hannah has been swimming now for almost 3 months and I cannot say she LOVES it but at least she still enjoys it. Last meet, she swam a 200-meter IM under 3 minutes, which for the first time, is a good time. Actually, just the fact that she swam it amazes me. Someone would have had to pull me out mid-way because I would have drowned. Anyway, she gets better and better each meet and it is fantastic exercise.
She is also quite the little socialite, which for those who knew her when, is quite funny. This was the child that hid behind me whenever anyone dared look her way. She had her 11th birthday party at our local park with about 20 kids. Of course, she threw up towards the end but we bravely partied on!!

Knox has finished standing around on the baseball field, uh, I mean, playing baseball this fall. It was excruitating to watch. He was scared silly of the pitches and being the youngest and smallest on the team, always got put in the outfield. For some reason though, he really wants to play so I guess it is back to spring ball after Christmas.
He is about 1/3 the way through with his braces and the difference is AMAZING!! Best $2000 we have ever spent. I don't have a close-up pic but I'll have to post one and then you can comment on how AMAZING the change is!!

Katy has started horseback riding lessons again. When we pulled up to the barn the first time, she just about had tears in her eyes. She looked around and reverently said, "Mooommmm, look at the hooorsssesss!!" The man 1/2 of the couple that own the barn is European and Katy cannot understand a word he says. It's great fun to watch him try to tell her something while she is riding and her just stare blankly at him. Her trainer has to translate his English for her. I think we may be destined for a horse someday, after I win the lottery.
A little boy in her class has got a massive crush on Katy and I am friends with the mom. We are planning a June wedding.

Macon is, well, Macon. God bless him, he is going to kill me one of these days. The child has got to be the most stubborn person ever created and I thought I was horribly stubborn. Suggest something to him and he is sure to do the opposite, unless you try to use it against him, and then he is sure to do something completely different. He doesn't outright disobey, neccessarily, but, whoo boy, does he like his way.
He is involved in a reading program at our school called Reading Counts where students take tests and receive points for books they have read. He just completely a second-grade book. Uggh, what are we doing in Kindergarten??
He is also playing flag football. They are actually running plays, which of course the kids completely telegraph by pointing and yelling, "Hey, coach, I'm running that way, right?" It's been really really fun because we have a group of five boys from our neighborhood on the team. The parents of this group are the troublemakers :)

I am still busy on PTA. I have figured out that I am pretty good at what I do. I think I mentioned before that I wish there was a job where I could get paid for doing what I am doing for PTA. I like helping out the school but we sure could use the money for that horse!!

Okay, so I said quick but anyone who knows me knows I cannot be quick when I am talking!!

Live from New York

Well...we have been in New York for two days now, going on the third. So far, cons of New York---trasportation, or lack thereof, people who do not smile at you when you smile at them (for southern people, that will send you straight to h-e-double hockey sticks), and rain. Pros of New York--FANTASTIC food (each restaurant we've been to has been fabulous!!!) and FANTASTIC shopping (and that's only Macy's, Sak's and Toys R'Us---hey I've got 4 kids).
We did the touristy thing today and went on a bus tour. Got to see all of NY in 5 1/2 hours. Then we went up in the Empire State Building, the one thing Knox asked me to do. Did not like it. Too many people shoved into little bitty elevators going up waaaay high off the ground. We did get an audio tour that was very interesting. If I can remember some of it, Knox will be very interested. Like it took only 14 months to build, only 5 men were killed, every 20 floors there was a cafeteria of sorts and the limestone came from Indiana.
We've taken tons of pictures so the kids can see what I've been up to. Hopefully, some of them will be good!