Hello! Don't you just love this awesome Spring time weather we're having?? *insert sarcastic eye roll here* Well, last week's weather felt like Spring, but we were dressed for a blizzard heading to school this morning, haha. But it's all good. I took sooo many pictures this week, because there was so much going on! :o)
Monday:
The 4th Grade students were asked to design a t-shirt to wear for their big LEAP testing next month. Evelyn had her design all ready to turn in Monday morning. She said, "Mommy, you know how when I ask you, 'What time is it?' and you say, 'Time for you to get a watch!' ?" (Hehehe.) I said, "Yeah..." She said, "Well, that's how I got my idea for my shirt!"
What time is it?
Time for you to pass the LEAP 4th Grade!
Lol, I love it Evie! Later that week, hers and another girl's designs were voted the best out of their class (woohoo!), so they got together and used Evie's words and the other girl made a new drawing to submit, so yep. We'll see who gets picked for the shirt design soon. :o)
And it was my 29th birthday! Again! So Chris took us out for lunch at this awesome Chinese buffet place (seriously, I could eat there every day.) Emily got to go too, and dude, she had so much food to choose from, she didn't know where to start!
Very happy midget. :o)
And even with all that food on her plate, she still ended up eating most of my sesame chicken. :oP
Evelyn and Matthew were awarded their $25 Barnes and Noble gift cards for winning the Accelerated Reader challenge a couple of weeks ago.
Woohoo!
The kids were so excited that it was my birthday. :o)
They all sang to me over a Cookie and Candy "Pizza", and it was so sweet! Emily got that look on her face when we all started singing, and I asked her, "Whose birthday is it?" totally expecting her to say, "Emmy." But no - she smiled and pointed at me and said, "Momma!" Awww, just made my day even better!! :oD
Happy Birthday to me! :oD
Later that evening, we took Evie to her gymnastics class.
She's right there in front, stretching out her legs and working on those splits.
Then the coach walked over to "help" her out.
Get low Evie!
Hehe, no worries, she was fine, that's just how they help them stretch more, but yeah, she got lower. ;o)
Helping her hold her handstand, build that muscle girl!
Ahoy there Emmy!
Later that night after we'd finished homework and got the kids all put to bed, I found this on my pillow.
The note says, "Sleep with this tonight. Evelyn"
It's a Happy Birthday puppy dog that she has, and she left it for me to sleep with, hehe. Awwww. That girl is so sweet! (And yes, of course I slept with that darn thing!) ;o) What a great day. 29 has never felt so awesome!
Tuesday:
So, Evelyn had her first day of LEAP testing, the Writing portion. (She'll take the rest of the test in April.) She is so funny - the teacher gave them a "To Do" list as homework: Go to bed early, Get up a little early so you're not running late, Eat a nutritious breakfast (no pop tarts!), Leave your house early, but don't rush to school or you'll get stressed!, etc. Well, of course, Evie had to make sure we followed every thing on the list. :oP
Haha, it wasn't hard or anything, she was just so funny about it. We planned her breakfast the night before ("I need you to cook me a good breakfast because I just don't think the school breakfast will really work for this, you know?") And dude, I almost forgot to wake her up early! (I only had 3 minutes to spare!) But she was cool with it. :o)
Egg in a Nest, Grape Juice, and Cream Cheese with Toast
Yay Mommy! ;o)
Yeah, but even on the walk to school, "Mommy, we shouldn't walk so fast, we're not supposed to rush." :oP
Well, because it was only 4th Grade testing, the boys were out for the day. So yeah, epic sword battles ensued.
:o)
Oh - she got him!
Emily, Warrior Princess, strikes again. Bahaha!
Matthew wisely used half of his day off to work on his Math Fractions project.
Dividing his chocolate chip cookie into sixths.
And a Kit-Kat into thirds! (He even did his own stenciling!) :o)
Then they spent the other half of the day outside in the wonderful warm weather.
Taking a break from the heat. :o)
By the way, I completely forgot to mention this last week, but our fish Bilbo died. :o/
Yeah, neither one of the fish had been eating for a couple of days, and I still don't know why or what we might of done wrong, but yep, Bilbo didn't make it. I gave the kids the news once they got home from school and Joshua asked, "So... are we gonna flush him down the toilet?" ... After lots of thought, we decided that yes, that was best, because after all, "All drains lead to the ocean!" (Yes, it's true... Nemo says so.) :oP
So we took the fish in his little cup to the bathroom and we all crowded in. I said, "Okay, who's going to flush?" And they ALL said, "Me! Me!" Haha, they all wanted to do it! Joshua and Matthew started arguing over who should do it, and even Emily raised her hand and said "Me!" too. So I said, "Alright, let's let Emily do it this time." They said their goodbyes, and I dumped the little cup into the toilet. Emily looked down at him, and then I helped her flush it, and then - she lost her mind! She started screaming crying, "No Bo-bo! No! No! Bo-bo!!" Oh gosh - the 2 year old didn't understand that he was dead! And I hadn't even tried to tell her that he was dead before we flushed him!! (She's 2, what was I supposed to tell her?!)
So she's bawling her eyes out, because she doesn't know why we just flushed her fish down the toilet, and then Evelyn, who has been quiet, but dealing so well with all this, starts crying too! So I end up sitting on the bathroom floor, holding my 2 crying daughters, one of which is still screaming, "Bo-bo!" while both of those boys stand outside the bathroom door laughing their little butts off at us!!
Lol! Oh my, I can laugh about it now, but it was quite traumatic. I eventually convinced Emily that Bilbo was "broken" and no, we couldn't fix him. Those were terms she could understand, and yeah, wow.
Note to self: Make sure the 2 year old is on the same page as every body else before helping her flush her pet down the toilet next time. :oP
We still have Frodo and have since moved him to a bigger tank with a new shark-friend to keep him company, but yeah, he's still not looking too hot. But the kids are okay - they've already come up with new names for the new fish they'll get once Frodo dies too, hehe. :oP
Case of rum, case of rum.
Later that afternoon, we took Evie to her softball try-outs.
Look how happy she is to be out there. :o)
She's in the 9/10 group this year (last year she played 7/8) so yeah, she's a bit on the short side of most of the girls, but she doesn't care!
She stopped all the grounders headed her way, caught 2 out of 3 pop-up fly balls, and hit the ball all 3 times she batted!
Bring it on!
Oh - and she didn't tell me much about her Writing test, but she came home with a smile on her face and said that she feels like she did just fine. :o)
Wednesday:
Joshua's class has started a lesson on Economics using something called "Junior Achievement Biztown." And wow, I looked over his workbook with him, and was really excited about what they're teaching him.
Here's the description from their website - "The JA Biztown curriculum introduces students to personal finance and career explorations through 20 hours of classroom instruction complemented by a day-long hands-on experience where students apply learned concepts in a life-like community complete with a bank, town hall, medical clinic, post office, etc. During this on-site experience, students assume the roles of adults while they work at a business, receive a paycheck, maintain a checking account and purchase goods and services."
So yep, he has a field trip next month to this place to "assume the role of an adult" and "go to work" and all. Very cool! This worksheet was called "Transaction Actions" and showed him how to keep track of purchases he makes and checks he writes. I love that his purchases were for Nike, Walmart, and Gamestop. ;o) There was also a worksheet all about Free Enterprise and how we have the freedom to buy and sell property, to invest in business and earn a profit, and to choose where and how to work! I think I'm really gonna like this JA Biztown business. :o)
The kids had church class on Wednesday instead of Tuesday this week.
Joshua scored some chocolate from his teacher.
And Matthew put the final touches on his Math Fractions project.
He titled it, "Fraction Food Treats". Great job Matt-dog!
Thursday:
The mornings have been just sooo pretty.
Good morning, good morning!
Yeah, the princess was passed out. :oP
Lol, I didn't realize it was that cold until we were heading out the door. She was wearing her crown and didn't want to put her hat on, so we compromised - hat first, then the crown. :o)
And another sleepy midget pic, guess she was just really tired that day.
OH - this is right after the "Incident". *sigh* (Do I even want to share this?) ... She walked up to me holding her hands out, and they were covered in... something. I said, "Emily, what's that?" She said, "Poo-poo." I said, "WHAT?!?" She said, "Poo-poo. I sorry Momma. It's okay." :oP It most certainly was NOT okay... *shudders*
But we survived (barely!) and yeah, she's actually laying under that blanket in nothing but a pamper because getting new clothes was just too much of an effort after the "Incident". Lol, I know this kinda thing happened with the other kids, but I think I've just blocked that out of my memory or something! Man! Let's all just pray that never happens again. :oP
Yeah, she was all smiles later. ;o)
Matthew brought home the "All About Nonfiction Book" assignment that he did in class, and he got a 100 on it! Yay!
It was called, "All About Snakes" and was so cute. He even had a Table of Contents and a Glossary!
There were too many pages to share them all, but yeah, he did a most impressive job. :o)
"Mom, look what the school let me bring home so I could practice!"
Yes, it's a recorder, and yes, he practiced... and he practiced...
and he practiced. :oP
Lol, they learned how to read the notes and play just like we did back in elementary school, and yeah - he thinks he's cool now! ;o)
Evelyn's class got to visit a mobile Science center that came to the school called "Diamond Del's Gem Mining
Adventure."
She said it was "Amazing!" and got to bring home a bag full of different kinds of rocks and minerals. She told me what all their names were (and Lawd, I tried to listen) but I have no idea what she said. :oD But those rocks sure are purdy!
Later, we took her to a make-up gymnastics class for when we missed a day (for the tornado weather) last month. :o)
Friday:
Joshua walked backwards all the way to school. Why?
Because he could.
He tried to walk home like that after school too, but almost got run over by a bicycle, so after laughing at him, I said he had to walk like normal again. ;o)
Emily is still doing her daily breathing treatments, just once a day throughout the cold weather season to make sure that when/if she gets sick, she doesn't get sooo sick, you know? Well, I got her machine out, walked off for a minute, and came back and found this.
Hehe, she said, "Dor-dor do breathe treat." Lol. So after taking her sweet picture, "I said, okay, but only for 3 seconds, then it's Emily's turn." So she switched on the machine, we counted to 3, and then stuck the mask on her. She was so happy. :o)
Later, I found her like this.
Somebody partied too hard. ;o)
And she's still trying to be all independent, of course. We were having egg for lunch (it was Friday, can't have chicken nuggets!) and I said, "You want me to make you a taco?" She said, "No, I make taco!"
And she did. :o)
The kids spent the afternoon outside.
Evie and her friends warmed-up with some jumping jacks before practicing their softball skills. :o)
Weeeeee!
Evelyn got a late Valentine's lollipop from her friend.
And Joshua took a spin on the "Green Beast". Yes, I found out that is what they call it! Haha!
"Look, I dance!" And she spun around in circles until she fell down. :oP
Evelyn had another field trip that day, to the Louisiana Swamp Stomp Festival! It's kind of an mini-educational festival put on by Nicholls State University, so she got to learn a lot about Louisiana history, culture, and see a bunch of stuff made by local artisans.
She brought pine cones home for Emily and me.
And she bought this wooden spoon with a super-cute turtle carved out of it for her souvenir! :o) She said that she had a lot of fun, but, "There were too many bugs, I got bites every where!" Yeah, we remembered to put sunscreen on her, but forgot the bug spray. :oP Oh well, it's all good.
Hope it tastes good Emmy!
Saturday:
Wow, we had such a busy Saturday. I had a few errands to run, so I decided to drag those midgets along and let them do some stuff too.
After running to the post office and Walmart, Joshua noticed that Gamestop was open. So, since he so conveniently brought his wallet with him, we stopped in.
They really wanted to get this Lego Lord of the Rings game, but I had to say no! :o/
We are about 200 pages into the first book, and the game would totally show them what's going to happen! Somehow, they don't really remember watching it when they were little, so everything is new to them, and it's so awesome... So yeah, but I promised that as soon as we finish reading the books (*cough* next year *cough*) me and Daddy would buy the game for them. :oD
Then we ran over to Barnes and Noble so the kids could use their gift cards!
And yeah, we kinda got lost in there. ;o)
Seriously, I have no idea how long we stayed, but it was wonderful.
Emily was a bit of a handful, wanting every book she saw, trying to use the stickers out the book before we bought it, etc., but the train table made her much happier. :o)
And dude - look what Joshua found while we were walking out.
It's a Doctor Who comic book!! Lol, yeah, we didn't get it, but that's too cool. :o)
Everybody ended up getting what they wanted, and then we hit up the mall for some new Easter shoes.
:o)
After stopping by the house for a quick lunch, we ran to the Exchange and got the boys some much-needed haircuts. Well, while we were in there, it started raining! And my umbrella was in the car... and we had church later, so I really didn't want to get my hair wet, soooo....
Lol, yeah, I totally had him go to the car for the umbrella! He's such a big boy (and we were parked right in front) and dude - can you see how excited he was to do something so "grown up". ;o) He thought it was awesome that he got to do it, so it's all good in the 'hood.
Then we walked next door to the Commissary for a few groceries.
Is that a lobster or a crawfish?
:o)
And then we finally made it back home.
Emily held up her new Max and Ruby sticker book, "Cheeeeese!"
And Evelyn excitedly showed Daddy the new books she got.
:o)
And dude - check out what was waiting for us when we got home!
Eeek!! Isn't it awesome?!
I've seen them before and thought they were just so cool. Well, one of the wives on base makes them, so we ordered one, and man... I know it's just a sign on the wall... but it really means so much, and really makes me just smile so big. :o) Home is where the Coast Guard sends us, we make each new place a home for our midgets, and every new home we've had has just been perfect for them, because God keeps blessing us and giving us sooo much awesome. *sigh* :o)
It's now proudly hanging on my kitchen wall.
Sunday:
The kids were up bright and early and ready to enjoy their day relaxing at home (and not running all over town with Mommy). ;o)
Matthew and Daddy used his new "Battery Science: Make Widgets That Work" book to build an "engine".
I missed him actually turning it on, but Chris said that he got it to work and made the propeller spin and everything! So cool!
Joshua and Emily played Wii for a while. Oh yeah, he ended up buying a new game the day before - Call of Duty. Eek! I know, I wasn't sure if he should, because it is sooo very violent. But honestly, he's played the game before, mostly with some of his friends from Boys Club (which is 5th to 8th grade). I guess he's getting older too or something, and although we're careful about what they watch, he does see that kinda stuff in movies and TV shows. (We loved watching the new A-Team movie together, and people get stabbed pretty often on Once Upon a Time, the "fairy tale" show we still watch.) So yeah, it's all good. But we did make him swear not to play it in front of his siblings just yet. ;o)
Evelyn decided to devote 1/2 of her day to studying.
I love that little overachieving midget. :o)
Later, Joshua found a new game site on the computer that let him play old games - like Streetfighter! (And Donkey Kong, Burger Time, and Qbert!) Ah, it was so fun to watch him play. :o)
Matthew also got a new book on how to make awesome paper airplanes, so yeah, they've been flying all over the house! ;o)
The girls played puzzles together.
:o)
And we spent some time outside too.
Emily proudly showed her friend her baby doll, "This Dor-dor baby."
Hi Evelyn!
We brought the blocks out again, so Emily supervised to make sure everybody played nice. ;o)
Then we went on the slides.
Where she sat her Dor-dor baby down beside her so she could slide too!
"It's okay Dora! It's a long way down, but I'll cover your eyes so you won't be scared!"
Haha!
Later, Evelyn helped me make the best Chicken and Dumplings dinner ever!
And then Emily helped me make some doughnuts from the extra biscuits we had.
Wow, what an awesome day. :o)
What an awesome week! I know this post was kinda long, but man, there's always just sooo much going on! And we are loving every minute of it. :o) Matthew has a "Living Museum" project due this week, Evelyn has 3 days of gymnastics (another make-up day, we missed last week because of church class), and then they all get out of school early on Friday! And then Easter's here! :o) Hope everyone's doing well and staying warm. Have a very Happy and Blessed Easter!! :o)
Laters!
