Hmmm. Where to begin? Some highlights from the last couple of weeks...perhaps pictures will come later, if I have time and energy...though having both together is a rare thing these days!
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October 13 - 16
I was away on yet another Stampin' Up! trip, this time to the Leadership Summit, a new training event for Senior Executives and above as well as past and present Advisory Board members. Since I promoted to Sr. Exec. last May, I qualified to attend, and I am so glad I did. It was completely worth the investment of time and resources. We did have to do some juggling at home, as Ted had to attend a conference that week at Nellis. Thankfully good friends stepped in to help. Kenna stayed with Debi and her family and did quite well, even taking naps and sleeping pretty well in a strange environment. Charis spent the time with her friend Addie and her family and enjoyed visiting school with Addie on Tuesday. And the boys spent the days with my friend Heather and her kiddos--Ted dropped them off early in the mornings and picked them up in the evenings. I'm grateful for the opportunity to receive some valuable business training as well as the opportunity to give feedback to a company I have grown to appreciate more and more over the years.
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October 17
I had stamp club at my house that day after running errands in the morning. More errands in the afternoon, and then prepping for the babysitter and Charis' first play rehearsal (a read-through, actually). We dropped Charis off at the director's house and headed out for a date night. First we had dinner at a fabulous Thai restaurant we discovered with my parents last December. Then we went to the MGM Arena to watch some of America's Got Talent top performers. The show was quite good but very long--we ended up leaving before Neil Boyd had finished his 2nd song.
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October 18
Charis and Arden's birthday! Later I will definitely post more details and pictures from Saturday's "Fall Family Fun" party. I can hardly believe Charis is 8 and Arden is 5! We had a great party, and it will be well worth telling about.
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October 19
Church and another rehearsal for Charis. I was gone from 7:45 a.m. to about 4:30 p.m. So much for a day of rest!
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October 20
An attempt at a normal day of homeschooling, followed by a planning meeting all afternoon for the medieval history party that I headed up for our homeschool co-op.
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October 21
I gave up on trying to do school and focused on the medieval party, which was a huge success. We had 8 different stations, including 4 crafts and 4 activity stations, and over 70 kids plus 10 preschoolers were in attendance, along with a plethora of parents. We got some great feedback, and I was very thankful all went well but was more than a little bit tired when we got home that afternoon!
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Guess that's the news in a nutshell. And now for some answers to FAQs, in case you were wondering:
1. No, we haven't heard anything else about Ted's application to teach at the Academy.
2. No, we have no idea when we'll know anything about that.
3. No, I haven't had my ultrasound yet. But my next appointment is tomorrow, and they should schedule the ultrasound while I'm at the office, so sometime in the next month it will get done.
4. Yes, we plan to find out the baby's gender, and yes, we will share that information with whoever is interested.
5. Yes, I look pregnant, but no, I haven't started wearing maternity clothes yet...however, I DO need to find the maternity clothes box sooner rather than later...
6. Total weight gain so far is 5 pounds.
7. I'm feeling fine, but exhaustion is pretty much a perpetual state of being. I'm not sure what happened to the "renewed sense of energy" that is supposed to appear in the 2nd trimester. That seems not to have surfaced.
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In other news, Kenna can now work door knobs. This is not a good thing. I bought 2 extra packs of door knob covers to keep her out of various places...but the problem is that the kids can only seem to work our old knob covers and not the new ones! I'm forever having to open a door for someone! And we are apparently one cover short...today the challenge has been to keep Kenna OUT of the laundry room cabinets, which house miscellaneous items such as light bulbs, batteries, odd socks, plus a good portion of our games and puzzles. As soon as Ted gets home I will beg him to put up more cabinet latches in there!! I'm not sure why today Kenna has decided that THAT is the room to be in...she hasn't seemed interested in going in there before!
I hear banging around in the kitchen downstairs, so I'd better go see what she's up to. Thus endeth this random post!!
October 22, 2008
October 07, 2008
Christmas Play
It's official...Charis is IN the Christmas musical "Nick Saint!" Her part is small, as we knew it would be--she wasn't old enough to audition for the main speaking role for the kids. She'll be "Wendy," who is described as "the cutest little girl ever." Really! Go to the cast breakdown, scroll down to see the description of the chorus, and you'll see that description actually listed. :-)
In addition to her few speaking lines (and I do mean few), Charis will get to perform with the chorus, singing and dancing for various scenes. Plus, she gets to go through the whole experience of putting together a real, live stage production--quite a step up from the kids' Christmas play she was in last year! What a great opportunity, and one more good reason to homeschool...no worries about late rehearsal nights!
In addition to her few speaking lines (and I do mean few), Charis will get to perform with the chorus, singing and dancing for various scenes. Plus, she gets to go through the whole experience of putting together a real, live stage production--quite a step up from the kids' Christmas play she was in last year! What a great opportunity, and one more good reason to homeschool...no worries about late rehearsal nights!
October 06, 2008
Academy Application Update
It's been awhile since I first posted what Ted was going through in regards to the application process for teaching at USAFA. So here's a quick update. On Monday morning, September 22, he had a phone interview with the Department of History. He thought it went quite well and expected to hear from them later that day. (They had told him they would call back.) Long story short--it was a week and a half later before he heard anything. (You can imagine the nail-biting around here!)
The good news: They want to hire him!
The bad news: His career field hasn't released him.
But good news: USAFA submitted official paperwork requesting his release from his career field.
And more good news: They tell us that they have pretty good success with this particular situation.
So, we are cautiously optimistic but obviously in a stage of waiting...yet again! That seems to be the story of this whole ordeal. Waiting for signatures, waiting to hear something, waiting for an interview, waiting, waiting, waiting. Thankfully we know that God makes all things beautiful in HIS time, and we know His plans are perfect.
In the meantime, we wait...not for man, but for the Lord!
The good news: They want to hire him!
The bad news: His career field hasn't released him.
But good news: USAFA submitted official paperwork requesting his release from his career field.
And more good news: They tell us that they have pretty good success with this particular situation.
So, we are cautiously optimistic but obviously in a stage of waiting...yet again! That seems to be the story of this whole ordeal. Waiting for signatures, waiting to hear something, waiting for an interview, waiting, waiting, waiting. Thankfully we know that God makes all things beautiful in HIS time, and we know His plans are perfect.
In the meantime, we wait...not for man, but for the Lord!
Catching Up, Part 2
So here's a quick rundown of our week with Grandma and Grandpa here!
Sunday--Went to church in the morning. Mom & Dad picked up KFC for a quick dinner, and Charis and I headed back to church for her official audition for a Christmas musical that will debut at our church in December. She had already done an acting read-through, so all she needed to do was the singing and dancing part of the audition. I was very proud of her--she wasn't sure what to expect, but she did her best. I was so glad that she has had several months of taekwondo experience plus over a month of ballet/dance lessons--that gave her much confidence.
Monday--"Normal" day of homeschooling. The kids spent most of the afternoon playing games with Grandma and Grandpa while I napped.
Tuesday--We ditched school and took Mom & Dad to Red Rock Canyon, where I had taken the kids a couple of weeks before. We packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed tromping around. The weather was still quite hot, unfortunately, but we did find a shady spot for our picnic.
Wednesday--I left the kids with Mom & Dad and drove downtown for what was supposed to be a stamping demonstration for senior citizens at the same recreation center where I do the workshops for my group of deaf friends. Unfortunately, not a single person showed up...so I made the 40-mile round trip for nothing!! Sigh. I was able to hit Trader Joe's on the way home and stock up on some favorite items from there though, so there's something to be said for that.
Thursday--PE in the morning for the older kids. Then I drove the rest of us to Sonic to pick up lunch and take to the park for afterwards, so we had another Sonic-picnic lunch at the park where we had eaten the day Mom and Dad came into town. I don't know when we've ever had so much fast food in so little time without it being a road trip!! Charis had her dance class in the afternoon, and Tobin went to taekwondo class.
Oh, yes...I almost forgot! Ted and I got a DATE NIGHT on Thursday!! We went to see Fireproof, the new movie with Kirk Cameron. It was quite good. There were obviously some amateur actors, but I thought the writing was smart and the characters were realistic. The humor was great, too! Afterward we went to the Cheesecake Factory for some cheesecake and caramel apple cider. Yum! It was a fun evening for us both.
Friday--We played hooky from homeschool again and drove to Mt. Charleston for another picnic lunch and some exploring. The weather was so beautiful--quite cool, actually. We were the only ones in the picnic area for quite awhile, and the kids had a blast hiking around. They came up with "Indian names" for themselves...Tobin was "Blackfoot" (quite appropriate given the state of his feet at any given moment), Charis was "Morning Star" (which is ironic, because that was the maiden name of my grandmother!), and Arden was "Red Feather." It was very cute to hear them calling out each other's new names as they played in their own imaginary world. Unfortunately, I realized that the diaper bag was NOT, in fact, in the van, so our visit was cut a bit shorter than we may have liked. Kenna rode home wearing a swim diaper and her swim suit, the only wearable things we could find in the van, after she soaked through her original diaper and outfit!
Saturday--Mom & Dad left that morning to go visit some friends in Arizona and then continue their way home. The week really did fly by--no wonder we didn't get much schooling done! Not that I had planned to, so it wasn't a problem! We very much enjoyed our time together as a family.
Sunday--Went to church in the morning. Mom & Dad picked up KFC for a quick dinner, and Charis and I headed back to church for her official audition for a Christmas musical that will debut at our church in December. She had already done an acting read-through, so all she needed to do was the singing and dancing part of the audition. I was very proud of her--she wasn't sure what to expect, but she did her best. I was so glad that she has had several months of taekwondo experience plus over a month of ballet/dance lessons--that gave her much confidence.
Monday--"Normal" day of homeschooling. The kids spent most of the afternoon playing games with Grandma and Grandpa while I napped.
Tuesday--We ditched school and took Mom & Dad to Red Rock Canyon, where I had taken the kids a couple of weeks before. We packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed tromping around. The weather was still quite hot, unfortunately, but we did find a shady spot for our picnic.
Wednesday--I left the kids with Mom & Dad and drove downtown for what was supposed to be a stamping demonstration for senior citizens at the same recreation center where I do the workshops for my group of deaf friends. Unfortunately, not a single person showed up...so I made the 40-mile round trip for nothing!! Sigh. I was able to hit Trader Joe's on the way home and stock up on some favorite items from there though, so there's something to be said for that.
Thursday--PE in the morning for the older kids. Then I drove the rest of us to Sonic to pick up lunch and take to the park for afterwards, so we had another Sonic-picnic lunch at the park where we had eaten the day Mom and Dad came into town. I don't know when we've ever had so much fast food in so little time without it being a road trip!! Charis had her dance class in the afternoon, and Tobin went to taekwondo class.
Oh, yes...I almost forgot! Ted and I got a DATE NIGHT on Thursday!! We went to see Fireproof, the new movie with Kirk Cameron. It was quite good. There were obviously some amateur actors, but I thought the writing was smart and the characters were realistic. The humor was great, too! Afterward we went to the Cheesecake Factory for some cheesecake and caramel apple cider. Yum! It was a fun evening for us both.
Friday--We played hooky from homeschool again and drove to Mt. Charleston for another picnic lunch and some exploring. The weather was so beautiful--quite cool, actually. We were the only ones in the picnic area for quite awhile, and the kids had a blast hiking around. They came up with "Indian names" for themselves...Tobin was "Blackfoot" (quite appropriate given the state of his feet at any given moment), Charis was "Morning Star" (which is ironic, because that was the maiden name of my grandmother!), and Arden was "Red Feather." It was very cute to hear them calling out each other's new names as they played in their own imaginary world. Unfortunately, I realized that the diaper bag was NOT, in fact, in the van, so our visit was cut a bit shorter than we may have liked. Kenna rode home wearing a swim diaper and her swim suit, the only wearable things we could find in the van, after she soaked through her original diaper and outfit!
Saturday--Mom & Dad left that morning to go visit some friends in Arizona and then continue their way home. The week really did fly by--no wonder we didn't get much schooling done! Not that I had planned to, so it wasn't a problem! We very much enjoyed our time together as a family.
Catching Up
I'm pleased to announce we have had 3 Mondays in a row of our regular daily, homeschooling routine! That's about it, though. I can't believe how crazy life got the last half of September. A rundown of the week after my Founder's trip looks like this:
Monday--"Normal" day. Good to be homeschooling again after a week's break.
Tuesday--Dropped kids off at Cindey's house and drove downtown for a Silver Belles workshop.
Wednesday--Dropped kids off at Heather's house and drove to base for my first OB appointment. I heard the heartbeat (yay!) and the doc verified my due date as March 31. Goodbye, Hawaii; hello, spring baby!
Thursday--Took kids to PE in the morning and Charis to dance class in the afternoon.
Friday--Minimal homeschool activities in the morning and stamp club in the afternoon.
I thought Saturday would be a day to rest and clean the house a bit. (I never clean before stamp club--we have anywhere from 10-20 kids running around the house, and without fail juice ends up on the floor and then tracked all over...so really, why bother?!) Ted helped some friends move, which ended up taking longer than he anticipated, so he was gone much of the day. I started our mountains of laundry and slowly began cleaning the house in anticipation of my parents' arrival the next day. We took a break and grabbed lunch at Sonic, then ate at a nearby park and had some playtime.
Back at home, I puttered around in my stamp room, trying to get the "Stamp Suite" ready for guests, and continued with the laundry. Just about the time I was considering a nap, the phone rang. It was my parents--they were in St. George and headed for Las Vegas! Yikes! I wasn't even planning to cook that night...leftovers, chicken nuggets, whatever. Well, all that changed! I finished up cleaning as best as I could (the kids helped when they came home from a party at the neighbors' house) and made some chicken spaghetti. By the time Mom and Dad arrived, the house was reasonably clean, the futon was clear, as was the surrounding carpet in the office, and dinner was almost ready. The kids were so excited to see both Grandma and Grandpa--it had been since last Christmas that we were all together. Mom came to visit us in the spring, but Dad didn't. They were both amazed at the changes in Kenna and constantly amused by her antics, as we all are!
So--it was a whirlwind end to a busy week!
Monday--"Normal" day. Good to be homeschooling again after a week's break.
Tuesday--Dropped kids off at Cindey's house and drove downtown for a Silver Belles workshop.
Wednesday--Dropped kids off at Heather's house and drove to base for my first OB appointment. I heard the heartbeat (yay!) and the doc verified my due date as March 31. Goodbye, Hawaii; hello, spring baby!
Thursday--Took kids to PE in the morning and Charis to dance class in the afternoon.
Friday--Minimal homeschool activities in the morning and stamp club in the afternoon.
I thought Saturday would be a day to rest and clean the house a bit. (I never clean before stamp club--we have anywhere from 10-20 kids running around the house, and without fail juice ends up on the floor and then tracked all over...so really, why bother?!) Ted helped some friends move, which ended up taking longer than he anticipated, so he was gone much of the day. I started our mountains of laundry and slowly began cleaning the house in anticipation of my parents' arrival the next day. We took a break and grabbed lunch at Sonic, then ate at a nearby park and had some playtime.
Back at home, I puttered around in my stamp room, trying to get the "Stamp Suite" ready for guests, and continued with the laundry. Just about the time I was considering a nap, the phone rang. It was my parents--they were in St. George and headed for Las Vegas! Yikes! I wasn't even planning to cook that night...leftovers, chicken nuggets, whatever. Well, all that changed! I finished up cleaning as best as I could (the kids helped when they came home from a party at the neighbors' house) and made some chicken spaghetti. By the time Mom and Dad arrived, the house was reasonably clean, the futon was clear, as was the surrounding carpet in the office, and dinner was almost ready. The kids were so excited to see both Grandma and Grandpa--it had been since last Christmas that we were all together. Mom came to visit us in the spring, but Dad didn't. They were both amazed at the changes in Kenna and constantly amused by her antics, as we all are!
So--it was a whirlwind end to a busy week!
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