Third Grade in Review

Y'all, my baby finishes third grade today. I cannot believe how quickly times is passing by. Seems like just yesterday we brought her home and I was fumbling around trying to figure out how to keep my sweet angel from screaming long enough for me to make lunch, do a load of laundry or sterilize a few bottles.

Oh, how I love this little girl although she's just not that small anymore. In fact, as she finishes this school year, she measures in at 4'11" tall and wears a size 7.5 shoe. That's only half a size smaller than I do! Needless to say, she's a tall one and I'm already preparing myself to look up to her. Sooner rather than later.

So here are a few Mommy Observations from the last year:

• In the last school year, Miss Taylor has taken the TAKS tests out to the woodshed - she missed ZERO questions on the reading portion and only 2, which resulted in a Commended rating, on math. This after overcoming EXTREME test anxiety. So, so proud of you, little one!
• Dance has now gone by the wayside (it's too kiddie and boring) and we're moving full speed ahead with gymnastics. Two classes a week and one private lesson keep us busy.
• Miss Thang learned to play the recorder, performed her first solo in the musical SuperKlaus and did a fabulous job!
• She took her first real field trip to Inner Space Cavern and bought her own souvenirs.
• Bugga is increasingly comical, is mature way beyond her years and has a new favorite evening hobby, which is curling up with me and Dave in the bed and watching television before bed. Truth be told, I look forward to it every day as well!
• She experienced her first Baylor Homecoming Extravaganza, visited the State Capitol with Nana and Boppy, vacationed at Port Aransas, attended many Baylor athletic games (including jumping up and down when the Bears advanced to the NIT championship game), celebrated her 9th birthday, welcomed fall and Christmas holidays with gusto and nursed Mommy back to health after she had nose surgery.
• She took an award-winning photo at the HOT Fair and advanced to state, won a blue ribbon at the science fair, enjoyed the Mayborn Museum and Dr. Pepper Museum, Dallas World Aquarium, Mardi Gras and an Easter trip to Maw Maw's house.
• Golf is back in full swing (after a fall spent playing soccer) and she now enjoys going to the gym with us only because she enjoys playing in the computer lab (like there's not one at home?). Her favorite games are Toontown, Webkinz and Club Penguin.
• This was apparently the Year of the Pickle because I couldn't keep them in the house! She also loved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches "like Maw Maw makes," discovered the turkey melt at McAlister's (complete with veggies), still loves Goldfish and strawberries, and learned that she really loves lemon squares.

I honestly cannot imagine having a cooler kid than Taylor. She is the light of my life and has saved me from myself on more occasions than I care to count. I am so, so proud of you, Bugga, and can't wait to spend an action-packed summer with you before you begin fourth grade.

By the way, you might find it interesting that Miss Thang refuses to refer to herself as a fourth grader until the first day of school next year. She will be known until that time as a third-and-a-half-grader. At her request :-)...

Field Day '09

Miss Taylor participated in the ever popular Field Day a couple of weeks ago. It was on a Friday so Dave was already off and I headed over to Panther Field during my lunch break so I could watch as she put all the skills she learned in PE to use.

First, I would just like to say that I did not get the memo about tug o' war being THE signature event of Field Day. Due to work issues, I wasn't able to attend either her first or second grade day of fun so I had absolutely no idea how much these kids get into it. It was awesome!

This was actually the last event of the day but it was just too much stinkin' fun to put the pictures at the bottom.

Her class actually took second place in this event. They didn't fare quite as well with the overall competition but they certainly gave it their all.

Being cheered on by Mrs. Fertsch, her teacher for homeroom, reading, spelling and language arts.

This Mrs. Creppon, Taylor's teacher for math, science and social studies.

Demonstrating her soccer moves. This wasn't her best event...she really thrives when she's able to throw the ball instead of kick it. In fact, she throws really well.

The PE teachers.

Oh yeah - gettin' my run on!

Close-up of Mrs. Fertsch and, no, I have no idea why Tay was sporting a middle part and wearing that goofy grin.

Moving on to volleyball...

Waiting her turn...

There was lots of waiting around to be done...

If you click on this picture, you can see that she has on her hat that they made at the Christmas party for Field Day. I was so proud of her for keeping up with it for 5 months! It's white with a blue paw print on the front and her name is written - IN CURSIVE - on the brim.

Do the flip, man!

That concludes the excitement of Field Day. Unfortunately, I'm still not totally out of my funk yet so wittiness and amusing rants are eluding me for the time being. Here's hoping for better tomorrow :-)...after all, tomorrow IS the last day of school so it's quite possible the excitement will be infectious!

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Oh, friends, I truly cannot put into words how cranky I am feeling today - and for no apparent reason at all - so please accept my apologies in advance if this edition of Not me! Monday! comes off a bit sarcastic and biting.

For starters, I have absolutely not started picking my daughter up 10 minutes before her golf lessons are actually over simply so that I can enjoy an hour of working out at the local YMCA doing Zumba. Nope - not me - I would NEVER do that!

I also did not almost faint when my husband called on Friday and told me our boxer's well dog checkup cost $187!!! 

And I did not promptly decide the other two would just have to make do with the local shot clinic since they're healthier and don't have any issues. I mean, a girl has to be practical at times, right? Nope, not me!

I am also not looking forward to the end of third grade even more than my child is because I. just. can't. take. one. more day. It has certainly NOT been that rough of a year.

As the days tick and we get closer and closer to our Disney vacation, I am certainly not becoming absolutely obsessed and spending each evening reading books like Passporter's Guide to Disney, Idiot's Guide (not comments from the peanut gallery, please) to Disney and another I can't even remember the name of because it's over 1,000 pages long and I started reading it a LONG time ago. That would be CRAZY! So, nope, not me...

I am also NOT freaking out about my child going to preteen camp the week before our Disney extravaganza. I have not worried, prayed, obsessed and prayed again about any and everything that could possibly happen that would require me to drive up there and get her. 

But I DID buy her the absolute cutest sheet set at Ross this weekend that will match her quilt perfectly. I mean, if my baby's leaving me, she may as well do it in style, right?

I am NOT absolutely disgusted with Kate Gosselin and hope that all of the media coverage will go away quickly so this narcissist and her puppet, Jon, will fade into the sunset as they should.

I am not really looking forward to watching Wipeout this week. Love that show. Second only to Greatest American Dog.

I absolutely am not planning which shorts I take to Disney around which show off the least amount of inner thigh cellulite. That would be nuts because everyone KNOWS you're supposed to just be comfy and cool, right? Nope, not me!

And, as previously stated, I am not in the absolute worst mood of all time today. Seriously testy, cranky and annoying even myself. Well, actually I am, so I'm going to go now so I don't expose you to further ranting and raving...

Show Us Where You Live - Children's Rooms Edition

So this week over at Kelly's Korner we're touring nurseries/children's rooms. Miss Taylor was SO EXCITED that her room would be featured this week and, luckily, I had already taken pictures as she got "big girl furniture" last fall so I'm actually posting on Friday. Shocker, right?

Also, since Mr. Linky misbehaved a bit last week, you can click here to see my dining room (which has a bonus of the kitchen) if you'd like.

Looking up from the foot of the bed...we've since had to take the flowers down because, even though they were super cute, they didn't adhere properly and always looked like drooping flowers. Also, instead of the globe on the right side table, she now has a purple lava lamp.

A fairy my grandmother bought Tay when she was very little. It's now hanging in the middle of the window, which you'll see in the next pic. In its place? A disco ball - every 9-year-old needs a disco ball and lava lamp, right?

This guy's name is Gatorade because I bought him for her while she had the flu last year and I was pushing Gatorade down her every hour :-)

Her dresser

Her closet door is where she hangs her Baylor traditions poster. Training her early, my friends!

View of her bed in its entirety. She originally had the lavender gingham quilt you see at the foot of the bed on her smaller bed. Because I imagine we're getting close to the "I must have a room with many bright colors that don't match at all" stage, we just bought a new down comforter in yellow and used the original bedding as an accent to tie everything together.

Sleeping in her new bed for the first time!

Thanks for visiting, virtual friends. We'll see you next week for the Home Office Edition!

Journey to the Center of the Earth - Sort Of

Last Tuesday, Tay and her many third grade classmates set off for an adventure. The third grade field trip was a journey to the center of the Earth, or as far down as Inner Space Caverns in Georgetown actually goes...whichever came first!

She had her trusty class t-shirt (each class in each grade has a different color so the teachers can keep up with them; Grande sponsors them so there's no cost either - I thought that was an awesome idea when we moved here) and shorts laid out for days before the BIG day. She planned what she would pack in her backpack as they had been encouraged to bring books, electronics and games to keep them occupied during the trip.

She took her iPod, DS, a stuffed lemur (they all look alike so I can't remember exactly which one this was but, trust me, they all have names) and a few other toys so she was set. She even had a bag of Baked Lay's Southwestern Ranch chips and an orange Gatorade to go along with her PB&J sandwich and carrots. Life was good, I'm here to tell you!

She also had a disposable camera to capture moments from this special day (I've been a bit under the weather this week so I haven't gotten them developed yet). So as not to use one of her pictures, she brought me my camera as soon as she was dressed and requested that I take a "before" picture. I kid you not. Couldn't even make that up if I tried.

Cracked me up to no end but I, of course, obliged. Even took two. See for yourself.

Can you tell the child was a wee bit excited?

She had a blast and, while I had offered her $5 for the "reasonable priced gift shop" we'd been made aware of, she decided a trip of this magnitude called for some extra effort. So she picked up a few extra chores and scored an additional $3. Nothing like a whole $8 to make a 9-year-old's day, right?

I must say that the gift shop actually WAS reasonably priced. They also allowed the children to "pan for gold" and they each brought home a pouch of rocks. Unfortunately, none of them found actual gold...

We got home and she showed me what she purchased from the gift shop. She didn't have a penny left over but she did get a rather large keepsake. See for yourself. 

Her spoils from panning for gold on the left and her big purchase on the right. Isn't it cool?

And, yes, she also asked me to take an "after" picture to document her joy. So, of course, I took two. Because if one's good, two is great! At least in my economy :-)

This brings us to the conclusion of the photographic evidence I currently have about field trip day. Next up - Field Day, at which Tug of War is apparently the signature event.

Who knew? Well, not me...at least until last Friday...and, yes, Tay will be wearing the same trusty class t-shirt but I promise I washed it. And even dried it. 

Memorial Day

This year the Memorial Day holiday brought us time to do something we don't usually have time for during a regular 2-day weekend. We actually did a whole lot of nothing, ate really well and got some good ol' fashion R&R.

Saturday and Sunday were the usual - golf, gym, zumba (my new exercise addiction), grocery shopping, house cleaning, church, a second t

rip to the Y and lots of laundry. Once Monday rolled around we were excited that Dave was actually off (no small feat when you are a healthcare worker) and we set out to just enjoy our day together.

We cooked a giant breakfast, grilled turkey dogs for lunch and wrapped up our culinary experiences with country style pork ribs for dinner...complete with homemade potato salad, baked beans and toasted french bread. It was delicioso!

Just ask Miss Taylor...

During the middle part of the day, Tay and I attacked her pig sty - I mean room - and used our organizational skills, along with the cute new fuzzy baskets we picked up at Ross, to transform her room and closet (heaven help me!) into usable space.

I am proud to announce that we were successful in that endeavor and it only took four hours. Yes, I said FOUR HOURS...but it was totally worth it. She's so excited that I've offered her 50 cents per week if she keeps it all spic and span without any intervention from the parental unit. Along with her regular chores, this nets her 50 cents per week. We don't pay for the others - it's just part of helping around the house - but this one I'm willing to go out on a limb for because it was ROUGH!!

Bo and Prissy weren't even in the room and look how worn out they ended up!

Of course, they also got some wrestling time in with Dave. It's a puppy posse tradition, after all. And, again, Perkie was too scared of the flash to hang out for long...

I also began reading The Shack, which I highly recommend to any and everyone. We spent the evening grazing on the BBQ and watching a Deadliest Catch marathon. I could liken cleaning Tay's room to this deadly job but we didn't earn over $1 million for our troubles so I won't...

Besides, holidays are measured by the number of good meals you eat and how long you stay in your jammies, right? In that case - we totally scored!
And I hope your family did as well :-)

Show Us Where You Live - Dining Room Edition

Yes, I know I'm quite late getting our dining room up but, because I was such a slacker over the holiday weekend, I have a surprise for you...stay tuned...

But first, here's the dining room...when we moved from our house in Belton, we downsized from two eating areas (formal and informal) to one. Once Tay finishes elementary school, we're planning to buy a home that has both but, for now, you'll just get the nickel tour.

I kept our formal table because the other one was on its way to the furniture graveyard but took the center leaf out. There are only three of us so using only 4 of the chairs gives us each nice elbow room. And we have the additional chairs and center leaf handy if we need if...

This is the fabric I bought a few weeks ago so I could recover our chairs. Seems purchasing ones with a white fabric wasn't such a good idea after all...

There's our commemorative 'hey, the Astros went to the World Series' piece...

Since we don't formally entertain much, I keep some of our crystal on display...I can at least look at it on a daily basis, right?

The wall o' copper...

My mom gave me this candelabra. Remember, I heart candles so they're in every room...

Because I got in late on the whole 'Show us where you live' blog carnival, I'm also going to include my kitchen on this post because, really, they're in the same space so it just made sense.

The little one couldn't decide if she wanted to be in the photo or not so you're getting a sliver of a 'hello.'

The Holy Grail of the kitchen - soda, an old fashion gumball machine and homemade pound cake...m'mm m'mm good :-)

The sink...obviously...

Another angle...Dave opened the drawer in the corner the other day and the front came off...any bets on how long he'll take it fix it?

The often used, seldom scrubbed on the inside stove...

Miracle gadget of the room - the microwave!

We drink coffee so often (not!) that we only have a two-cup machine...

These were my man's brainchild and, I must admit, it was a great idea. We store our dishwashing liquid in these so it's always available but is also quite attractive...

I may or may not have accidentally ripped the front off of this drawer when I was a wee bit angry. Obviously it was on its last leg anyway, right?

A close-up of an old window my sister-in-law painted for Dave...I love it!

There you have it, my virtual friends, our dining room AND kitchen. It's a two for the price of one kind of deal :-)