Turned a corner.

I hope I don't jinx myself by writing this but I think after 3 years B has finally turned a corner.  Three years people!!!!  Three years of giving the girl miralax every.single.day.  I can hardly believe it.  Someone crack open the bubbly.  This is cause for celebration.  I am sooo ready to be done with poop talk around here.  Unfortunately, I think I may still be asking,  "Have you pooped today?"  for some time until I am finally convinced this is for real.  Someone pinch me.  A person should not be this happy about something like this should  they?

March 2014

It

It's a busy month.  I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Jeff's car bit the dust.  1.5 years after we purchased it.  It was the one that had the odometer rolled back, remember?  We really got jipped.  Hoping this new set of wheels gets us through a little longer than 1.5 years.  We upgraded quite a bit this time.  Still no car payment though!  Shew!  

Our annual Chamber of Commerce Black Tie event.  The only day out of the year I go shopping for formal wear. The dress looked much better in person.  Bad picture.    I can't wait until next year when my hair is long enough to put up. If I don't give up and chop it by then.

 

 

This is my new baby.  I call her Pearl because of her mother of pearl inlay around the sound hole.  I set out to learn how to play her since I was given money to spend on a classroom set of ukuleles.  I can't even begin to tell you how much fun I've been having with her.  I really love teaching kids instruments.  It's my favorite!

Sometimes you just feel like crap and you just get desperate.  I had no meds, my nose wouldn't stop running, and I couldn't get through folding a load of laundry without blowing my nose every 2 seconds.  This was my fix to help me get through my chores.  Chores don't wait for you to feel better.  Worst part was, it didn't even last long enough for me to get done.  I had to replace the kleenexes half way through.  B decided her nose was running when she saw me do this and did the same thing.  Really hers wasn't running, but she must of thought it was cool.  LOL.  I almost didn't post this. Embarassing.  But then, haven't we all done this?  If not, enjoy a good laugh. 

I am not into taking selfies.  The only reason for this pic was to show my husband that I actually got ready on a snow days.  All other snow days were spent in PJs, without makeup, without even brushing my hair.  I had to prove to myself at least one snow day that I could act like a real human being.

I think this snow day pic actually happened in Feb.  I lost track.  Anyhoo...B insisted on snow ice cream which she later decided she didn't like.  K chose hot chocolate.

We have added 2 more days onto our snow day total for this school year for a grand total of 18 snow days!!!! Unbelievable.  This was the sight on one of those days.  A blanket dance floor with little girls in dance costumes (aka swimsuits).  Quite amusing I must say.

Kadyn's 2nd grade music concert.  She was so nervous.  It was cute.  She is hard to see, but the girl in the camo dress.  She had a special part in the performance.  She was the only one who got to play the G boomwhacker.  She took her part VERY seriously.  The music teacher bragged about how her part was the most important part in the song because all the other kids followed her part.  Yep! I'm raising me some little musicians.  K has asked for a ukulele for her birthday.  Surprise, surprise!

It seems fitting that this is the month of Kadyn since it is her birthday month.  She also was one of 3 students selected in her grade at the school to be featured in a local kids art show.  The show was held at a neighboring city art exhibit.

Busy, busy month!  Time is flying by.

Plugging along

Haven't blogged much.  Doesn't seem like there's much to blog about.  We have been busy plugging away at our lives.  It's busy, but a good busy.

So here's some updates on us in case you keep up with the Bilberrys:

Jeff-     Jeff has started the next round of classes that will count towards his Certifiied Financial Planner's license.  This means late nights at work.  But the good news is he will be done in a year and half and then he will get another pay bump and the opportunity to make partner in his firm at some point.  We're excited about this next step.  Jeff spent 6 months without an assistant and has finally found the right person for the job.  It was a stressful 6 months for him without the extra help.  It's nice to see that set back gone.

Kadyn-Kadyn is doing great in school.  She seems to finally have settled into her new school and doesn't seem to have issues with finding friends anymore.  That is always stressful for this Mama.  Nothing worse than hearing your child tearfully say she is having trouble making friends and knowing you can't really do anything for her other than give her some advice, pray for her, and love her through it.

Brennan- B is going through some sort of phase right now.  Let's just say she is testing her boundaries with a little defiance and has shown and incredible stubborn streak that drives us parents a little nutty.  Her teachers adore her because she is a "chatty Kathy."  It cracks them up.  On the other hand, she has tried her hand at being a "sassy pants" to her teachers on occasion.  This baffled Jeff and I.  We have never received anything but praises about our kids' behavior.  Needless to say, we knew she was testing things at home, just were surprised to hear she was trying a few things at school too.  I have zero tolerance for bad reports from school, so we have acted promptly.  Sure hoping this doesn't become a more frequent occurrence.  Three times is three too many in my book.

Me-  I have put soooo much effort into winning my 5th and 6th graders over to me and music.  I have spent tons of time seeking out inspiring material to use in class and researching different ways to manage their behavior that is effective. It is a tough age.  Above all else they need to know I care about them. This has really helped a lot. I can honestly say I have all but a handful on board.  That handful is the same handful that give ALL their teachers trouble so I'm not taking it personally.  I have started a reward system for days they do great called classroom dojo.  The program helps me track their behavior and give them points for good choices or takes away points for bad choices.  I can run a class report at the end of class to see how they did overall.  After so many classes of a score of 90% or better they earn a reward.  It really has been incredible how well the kids have responded to this.
 
     Probably the most exciting news is that I was given a sum of $3000 to use in my classroom.  I've been told by the other teachers to spend every penny because I will probably never get this opportunity for the rest of my career.  Pretty rare.  I was totally shocked.  So....I bought a lot of stuff to help me learn how to do this choir thing (remember my experience is primarily instrumental), then I bought a classroom set of ukuleles.  Words can't even express how exciting this is to me.  I'm really want to inspire the kids.  I also want to help them get better at singing.  The number of kids that sing out of tune is astounding. A real challenge for me.  How great that I can teach them an instrument that they can sing along with.  I get to do both!!!!  One teacher said when she started Ukes her non singers suddenly became singers.  I bought one for myself and have already begun learning it.  It is a blast!!!

Well that's about it.  We have had 17 or so snow days.  I can't remember exactly, they are all blurring together now.  So I will be working into June.  Booo!  AND....there is snow in the forecast for next week.  Geese!  I really shouldn't complain because I'm so thankful that our school plays it safe and I never have to worry about making my commute on slick roads.  Slick roads and these crazy hills don't mix!

Hope my readers are all healthy and living life to the fullest.  We are so blessed and happy around here!

A great purchase

For Christmas we go the girls a Kindle Fire. Kadyn has started asking for bigger kid stuff and, of course, ipads, ipods, and a computer is on that list.  I One of the biggest reasons I allowed for this purchase was that it fulfilled a need. My girl is expected by her teacher to read each night for 20 minutes.  She is way above grade level and it's hard to keep her stocked with new reading material. I don't have time to take her to the local library and they don't have books hard enough for her at her school (or so she says).   She reads things too fast, so buying new books would be ridiculously expensive.

We have subscribed to a service that allows Kadyn to read as many new materials at her level as she likes.  It's a virtual library.  Perfect fit for our busy lives.  No worries of getting to the library or returning books.  The best part is, this service allows us to put limits on the use of the kindle.  I can limit how long she reads, how long she plays games, etc.  She basically needs a password to do anything on that thing.  The password is secret to her so I have to  type in the password, this allows me to be in the know of what she is about to do on the device.  We also have it set up so she can't access the web on it.  

Then I thought of yet another way to use it that is genius!  Every week Kadyn has a list of spelling words to work on.  This has always been a pain to fit into my schedule.  After work, keeping up with the house, making meals, cleaning up meals, making lunch for the next day, and making sure kids take baths and get their homework done, teeth brushed, and off to bed on time makes for busy weeknights. Sitting down and reading Kadyn her words felt so time consuming so I got into the habit of trying to read her her words while getting something else done at the same time, which usually resulted in hearing a lot of "Mom.  MOM!!! I'm ready for the next word!!!"  In addition, she always seemed to have a foul attitude about studying her words.

SO I solved the problem with the kindle.  Now I record myself reading her words.  When it's time for her to study she can push play, hear the word, push pause, write the word, push play again and hear the correct spelling of the word to check her work.  It's perfect!  She seems to enjoy doing them this way much better.  She doesn't have to wait on me to read her the words.  She can go at her own pace, and because she loves being on that Kindle so much, her attitude about studying them has gotten better.  Shew! Problem solved.

This summer I am thinking about enforcing quiet time for each of the girls.  Brennan takes naps at preschool, but that's because she gets up at 6.  In the summers when we sleep in each day, naps aren't necessary.  So I'm thinking of sending them to different rooms for 30 minutes for a little quiet time away from everyone else.  That way we all get a little break from each other.  The kindle sure will come in handy on those times.

Needless to say, the kindle fire was a great purchase for our family.  I'm glad I took the plunge and got them one.

Add mine to the bunch

Everyone is putting up their new year's resolutions.  I don't like to call them that, as it seems so final.  Like once you've done it you check it off your list forever.   I guess mine are more of an ongoing kind of goals.

1.  I want to do a better job of living in the moment and clearing out all the chatter that goes on in my brain about the future.  The future will come in it's own time.

2.  I want to do a better job of being active in various ways, instead of just picking an exercise and doing it over and over and over.  I'm horrible about overkill.  No wonder I get burnt out so easy in the exercise department.

3.  I want to be active with my family whenever and as often as possible encouraging us to get out and do things together that are more physical.

4.  I want to let go of the worry that the carpet will be pulled out from under me at any moment.  Sometimes we convince ourselves when things go right that there is something bad lurking around the corner and we don't deserve the happiness we have been given.  A complete lie!!! I'm so over that.  I want to just trust in God's plan for me and my family and bask in the season he's put us in right now which a really happy one.  So thankful, soooo blessed!

5.  I want to quit over analyzing things beyond my control and just let it be

6.  I want to be less judgmental

7.  I want to continue to be better at piano

8.  I want to continue to build relationships with my older students

9. I want to put more trust in my God to protect my littles when they are outside and not be a total control freak about it so they can still have a normal childhood.

10.  I want to stop being an over planner and plan enough to be responsible but not so much that I can't be spontaneous.

There you have it!

He's our baby

This week I thought about why people call their animals their babies.  Some people find it totally repulsive to refer to a furry critter as  one of their children or "baby."  But... I totally get it.  Harry is our "baby."  He is tiny like a baby.  You can cuddle him like a baby.  He is curious like a baby. He can be hilarious like a baby.  He has an innocence like a baby.  He can be ornery like a baby, or should I say toddler.  He can be moody like a baby.  He adoring like a baby. He needs us like a baby.  He sleeps a lot like a baby.  AND the best part is, he won't ever grow out of these things and he's not as much work as a real human baby.

I know if I still had children in infancy or toddler ages, Harry would just be my cat.  But since my girls have grown out of those stages and stepped into new roles in our family dynamic, the position of baby was open and he has gladly filled that spot in our lives.  The best part is, the girls are totally getting to enjoy the experience of having that "baby" in their lives as well.  They are very helpful with Harry and love on him and enjoy him every single day.  He makes us laugh a lot. I have had two other cats in my life, but Harry definitely tops the cake.  He is Mr. personality. He is definitely one of the Bilberry clan and we can't imagine life without him.

Watching a movie with the gang.

This is one of my favorite pictures.  That little ornery look of his. I think he wished I would have packed him up and taken him with us.  

Caught in the act of yawning.

The Bilberry penthouse, aka the top of of the kichen cabinets.  I would have to climb the counters to get him down, so I just let this one slide.

Curious cat.  Took a water bottle to finally convince him it wasn't a good idea after 3 tries.

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This cat lets the girls carry him around everywhere like a baby.

Doesn't this pic just give you warm fuzzies all over?

This is a common sight around our house.  He just lets it all hang out.

A sleeping cat is almost as cute as a sleeping baby.

Everyone needs a Harry baby in their lives.  Highly recommend it!

Happy 5th Birthday Brennan!

I'm late on this one, but better late than never.  B had her birthday on December 4th.  She took her healthy birthday treats to school the day of and opened one gift that evening.  We didn't do much on the actual day as Jeff couldn't even make it home to celebrate because of work.  I did decorate her door for her to find when she woke up the day of as I do every birthday for my girls.  We had a small party with cake and gifts later that weekend and braved the snowy slick roads Saturday to make a trip to the Fun Spot happen by request.  The fun spot is basically like a Chucky Cheese.

Brennan is pretty much meeting all my expectations for a 5 year old.  I'm trying hard to cherish her at this age because it seems like the last age of being little and innocent.  I love my kids getting older because it makes life much easier when they can take care of themselves and help out around the house.   However, I will miss being able to snuggle comfortably because of her size.  I will miss the funny innocent things she says.   I will miss having her pass out on my lap when we go to a show, and she just can't make it  through because it is too late. I will miss her wanting little kid things like stuffed animals, dolls, and dress up clothes.  I will miss little Bren.

Made this box look like a birthday cake...kind of.  To hold the birthday healthy treat eats.

Harry is always an active participant in all family activities.  Even watching B open her presents.

He never jumps up there, but his curiosity about B's new puppy game got the better of him.

Like I said, Harry and family activities go hand in hand.

I lost count how many blows it took her, it took awhile.

Healthy birthday butterfly eats!