Back to School

I don't have any pictures today - I had an in-service from 9-4, and didn't take any when we came home. I REALLY like the staff at school. We laughed a lot today, which is a good sign. I got teased a lot, which is also a good sign.

Not a good sign? The one that will say "SOLD" across the street at Tanja's house. They sold their house today, and even got a little over asking price if they would leave the washer and dryer. So, I'm happy for them, but selfishly sad for me. They close on their new house next week, and are relieved to have sold this one first.

Other big news...one of my bridesmaids just told me she is getting divorced. That is a bummer. Another bridesmaid had an uncle die yesterday, and she is in Germany and didn't make it home. That is a bummer.
So, here is a list of things that make me happy. Why end this evening on a bad note?


1. new school supplies
2. pink levi's on sale
3. towels just out of the dryer
4. waking up, looking at the clock, and realizing I can go back to sleep
5. getting mail from friends
6. stripes
7. curling up with a good book
8. keeny beeny ice cream from The Creamery
9. vacuuming
10. FOOTBALL SEASON!!

Tomorrow is the beginning of the festivities...so check back!!

Mikey's Open House

This is Mrs. Lebold, one of Mikey's teachers. His other teacher, Mrs. Lee, is from Seoul, but she was busy with another child and couldn't pose. You see how much Mikey likes having his picture taken! He is hard to catch happy in front of the camera, so it seems most pictures are of Molly the Ham, with Mikey running away or hiding in the background.

Mikey was lucky to get into this class. Out of the 16 kids, 14 are returning from last year, and there are two new ones - Mikey and Stacey. Mikey jumped ahead of a long waiting list, but as the director says, "My staff is my first priority.." Hey, that's why I took a lousy paying job. My kids educations comes first, not the pay. That, and now that I am there, I LOVE the staff and the school. Everyone is always so happy, laughing, carrying on, teasing each other. The parents really like the school and are happy their children are there. I consider providing young children with a sound, Christian education my ministry. Teaching 3's is just so YOUNG. Tomorrow is the first staff in-service, so I'll let you know any new epiphanies tomorrow.

Wink, Wink
As you can see by the second picture, Molly is learning to wink. When she is just sitting, she is pretty good at at. When she tries to do it in a picture on her own accord, she is just scrunchy-faced. But adorable. Chris says she is practicing to be in her sorority. We went to McLanahan's today to check out the PSU apparel. The kids had these hats on and attracted quite the crowd they were so cute. Needless to say, they have new winter hats. Today was also Molly's Open House at school to meet her teachers. Ms. Lonnie is on the left, and Mrs. Pritchard is on the right. God bless them.

Cute quotes from today's bathtime:

Molly: (singing) "A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, CUPCAKE!!....ha ha ha ha ha ha" (She laughs at her own pathetic jokes - at least I know she takes after me)

Mikey: (pretending to be reading a tub book) "So he took his frog to school. Then, the frog DOODOO'd ON HIS BAND-AID!!! ha ha ha ha ha"
Why is it boys love to talk about bodily functions?? And, why is it they never outgrow this??

The First Scab

You know how as a kid, if you had a scab, you just HAD to pick it?? Well, I found my first "scab". Everytime I walked by this border at the top of the steps, I'd just give it one little pick. By the end of a week or two, it looked worse than the original border, if that is possible. So, upon the advice of my little sister, I squirted the border and wallpaper with a mixture of Downy and good ol' water. Boy, that paper scrapes right off! In just a few hours, I had done two whole walls!! What were the kids doing this whole time? Playing. A little bit unsupervised, but all was well. They weren't playing in the street, they were in their rooms for the most part!

So, now I have the hallway going down almost done. Just a few more walls, and a zillion miles of border to go. At least I have the tools! I even took the railing off - I'm so proud of myself....

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head.....

Today it rained. All day. A steady, cold rain. We let the kids go outside to play in it since it wasn't thundering or lightning. Mikey LOVED the "river" running down the gutter and ran down the street in it until we called him home. We came inside, dried off, popped popcorn, watched some TV, and played some games. Candy Land and Go Fish were very interesting. What a great way to spend a rainy day...

A New Toy!!

We "bought" a scooter from Chris's mom, and charged it up. Let me tell you, the kids on the street LOVED it. Chris was definitely the 'big man on campus' today as they lined up for rides around our cul-de-sac. (Did I just say sac? LOL) The street was having a neighborhood garage sale, but since we just moved, and don't have much to sell, our gains monetarily were little, but we managed to meet a lot of neighbors. We have a street cook-out in two weeks, so then we can actually sit down and talk to them. They clost down our end of the street, we all pull out grills and tables, share food, the kids play.... sounds like some ideal place, huh? Well, it IS. It is Happy Valley, and there is only ONE WEEK UNTIL THE FIRST HOME GAME!!!

Friday is the Farmer's Market

Every Friday since we've been here, we've gone to the Farmer's Market. It's not huge, but it's something to do. Our adventures start at a hotdog stand called The Happy Dog. The kids each eat a hotdog while I eat pizza from Brother's Pizza next to the stand. We then walk towards "the market" and pet the pigs. These are statues that were erected (ha ha, I said "erected") for the centennial of State College back in 96, I think it was. Anyway, we pet and climb on the pigs, and continue on our way.

The market is less than two blocks long, and it runs between College and Beaver Avenues, the two main streets in town. They have had vegetables, fruits, flowers, and some prepared baked good that the Amish bring in. All we needed today was a basket of raspberries, some whoopie pies, and a few zucchini to make some bread.
So, we stopped to smell the flowers, bought what we found we couldn't live without, and left for yet another week. Next week is our last week before school starts - good thing the hours are from 11:30 until 5:30!

Just Another Day in Paradise....

It seems that every day here we are more settled in. The kids love going the 100 yards to the park to ride bikes and play on the playgrounds, the kids play with Pia and Ben most days, I head up to school to work on my classroom. Today was my big Open House to meet the kids and their parents. Very encouraging. The kids were sweet, the parents very friendly, and everyone was so excited. It is the First Pre-School Experience for most of them, and that thrills me. To be able to get those kids pumped to learn, and try new things, and make messes to clean up, and learn about manners, taking turns, standing in line, not crying when Mom or Dad leaves....I just can't wait.

Tonight I am going to try to get my craft table set up here in the basement. Quite a daunting task when you look at this place, so I had better get busy.

New Kids on the Block

Once again, the Solo kids are the "new kids on the block". No, not Justin Timberlake wanna-be's, just new. The family across the street and down one house, Pia, Ben, and Tacia, (and parents - Tonja and Brian), have welcomed us with open arms. The kids all watch out the windows to see who can go out to play first in the mornings, there is getting to be a well worn path between the two houses, and they are all so comfortable together. We have made our first friends. It's a shame their house is up for sale,huh? Luckily, their new house is only about 5 minutes away, but is will be more difficult than walking out the front door!

Hopefully, if the new family has kids, OUR kids can be as welcoming and make the newer ones feel like they fit right in. They've had a good example to follow....as a mom, I just hope as they get older, they follow the good examples and make sound decisions. Most moms I know have times of self-doubt, days when we feel like the worst mommy ever....all we can do is pray they go in the right direction.

Chris had the kids today while I worked in my classroom. He is whooped. hee hee. Sometimes I think it does a daddy good to be in charge for a whole extended period of time. He is extremely capable, as he showed when I stayed in OH for four days in the middle of the move! I like to call it "Job Appreciation".

1, 2, 3 strikes you're out!

Today the kids went to their first baseball game - the State College Spikes. It is only a single A team, and the kids know NOTHING about baseball, but it was fun. My new director gave us the tickets as a "welcome to State College" evening. Sweet, huh?
Some highlights of our trip:

Mikey says "I smell giraffe poop. Does anyone else smell giraffe poop?" (We were near the chicken coops, I guess.)

Mikey kept asking "When will it start?" It HAD started, but he was waiting for the "big boom". He could hear the games in Colorado Springs begin by the fireworks they started the game with. Once he explained he was waiting for the "big boom" I had to show him they were already playing. He was bummed he missed the beginning.

Molly says "Are we outside?" Now, mind you, this was after 4 innings of baseball...Geez, we hope she gets a good sorority bid and marries a nice engineer...

Molly screaming for cotton candy - she throws a HUGE fit, and in the middle of it screams "THEN BUY ME SOME ICE CREAM!!" What a princess.

Mikey asked "why can't EVERYONE couldn't play baseball?" oh, and "Why can't I stand on the dugout?"

We did manage to last until the 5th inning, which isn't bad considering it started at 7:05 and the kids are usually in bed around 7:30.

It's after the ninth inning here at home, the garage looks a lot better than it did this morning, and I'm off to bed.

Everything is so GREEN here. It has rained several times now, and this is what I see as I sit on the couch and watch the Earth being cleaned. Luckily, the rain doesn't last all day, and it isn't accompanied by lightning, hail and strong winds like in Colorado Springs - it is just a nice, gentle rain. Thought you might like to see my view of the world.

Anna and Co. used to come over to play in our driveway about...oh...3-4 days a week, and the kids miss their friends terribly. So do I. Aren't computers wonderful? That, and unlimited long distance.

Molly, Mikey and Karina had a lot of fun a few nights before we left town, playing in Karina's backyard. I'll have to save this picture for Mikey, because when he gets older, he'll think he was quite the stud.

Today we went to Ag Pro Days here at Penn State. Mikey loved the big tractors, and Molly just wanted to do whatever Mikey and Daddy were doing. Agriculture is HUGE here in PA, so you will see lots of events like this from us. We are slowly unpacking - no big rush, we just want it mostly done before school starts, and we have another week and a half.

Isn't Molly just adorable in the tractor tire? Sometimes I wish she'd stay little forever...

Here it is, Home Sweet Home. We are still unpacking as we scrub a filthy house and are starting to be able to find things. I have made myself a promise that I will NEVER leave a house in the state that we found this one. Hair and filth everywhere. Yuck.

It is on a quiet cul-de-sac, we have wonderful neighbors, and we will love it here. It is incredible to be back in Happy Valley, and Kevin is coming to visit for the weekend. I am so excited!

I can't believe I was successful in creating a page! Now I just have to figure out how to add to it and edit it. So, for now, you can see our two angels playing in our Colorado Springs yard - they were figuring out water displacement!