Professional Gardeners

Grammie had this great idea to start a vegtable garden. She thought Jillian would learn a lot about seeds and plants. Plus the added bonus of eating fresh vegtables!!!

Jillian and her Grammie checking things out!!!!

Jillian started with a few green beans!

Then a tomato here and there!

But now things have taken off!!! Jillian now has to use a basket to collect all the veggies!!!

Even the cousins have come over to collect all of the yummys!!!

Now Rocco is not so interested in picking the veggies.....

BUT he is very interested in eating the veggies and must start eating them as soon as we start picking!!!!

So delicious!!!! Thanks Grammie for teaching my kids that veggies can be fun and yummy and good for you at the same time!!!

16 months old

Rocco is 16 months old. Such a big boy!!! He is quite the sweetie-pie! I think I forgot to post his 15 month stats:

Weight: 25 lbs 6 oz (60th percentile)

Height: 32 in. (70th percentile)

HC: 90th percentile

I don't know what is up with Rocco and Aidan but these boys have huge heads. Maybe their brains are so large that they will solve life's biggest issues - cancer, AIDS, war??? I'd like to think so. BUT it does make it problematic when putting on Rocco's shirts!!!!

At 16 months, Grammie is working hard on his speech. He can now say light, clock, he can "ruff" for dog, he points and says something like "plane."

BUT at 16 months, the biggest thing is his love for Poppy. Or "Pops" as Jillian now calls him. As soon as his eyes connects with his Poppy, he is squealing and grunting to be picked up and held by no one other than Pops.

He has developed a love of coloring. He will sit for a few minutes and color a page.

(You would laugh at how many comments I get that he looks just like me. I always thought that "darker" genes were stronger but obviously I am proving this theory wrong!)

He does not love the beach yet! He has to have some shoes on! He does not like the feel of the sand. In time, he'll come around!

Now he is getting into it!!

He was ready for a snack!

Here is a comparison shot! This is Jillian at 16 months old. One of my favorite pictures!

I can't wait for the summer to spend with my little man and his big sis!!

The Three Little Pigs

You know the story. It's a classic. The Three Little Pigs has quickly shot up on Jillian's list of favorite books. She loves to help me read when the Big Bad Wolf comes to huff and puff.

She likes the story sooooo much that we have started to play the "Big Bad Wolf game." I bet you can guess who gets to play the part of the Big Bad Wolf. I bet you can also guess who gets to play the part of the little pigs. The kids squeal in delight when I use my very loud, scary voice and say, "Little pigs, little pigs let me come in!!!!!"

But sometimes Jillian likes to play the part of the wolf. As you can see, I think she does a very good job!

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!!!

This is what I got this morning!!!

Listen carefully.

Jillian has a little Mr. Miagii in her.

Sometimes she calls Rocco, Rocco-son!

Then she decided to dress herself for gymnastics!

Her outfit is on backwards! She has on pink socks with her fancy sunday shoes. AND even though it was 90 degrees this morning, she needed her purple jacket!

So as you can see, I got to start my birthday off with a smile on my face!!!!

Funny Thing Happened.....

You know my last post....the one where I said everything about my house doesn't matter?? When I stressed that it is not our timeline that is important, but His timeline is what counts??? Well, God was listening like he always does....

Thursday night, we got an offer. On Friday, we countered. In the mist of teaching 17 children, making 17 Mother's Day cards, and trying not to get fired by my principal, I got my old lawyer negotiating skills out of the very dusty part of my brain and used them. AND I SOLD OUR HOUSE!!!!!! ISN'T THAT CRAZY????

The crazier thing is they want our house quickly. I have not been looking at any new houses out of a fear (some may say silly) of a jinx.

It is the busiest time of year. School is ending. We may have nowhere to live for a brief time but I have no fear. It will all work out like it is supposed to. It always does.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Pushing Through the Wall

Every teacher has the same experience. Once May hits, you hit a wall. The kids are done, you are done, everybody is tired, no one wants to be learning, and everyone has their eyes on the summer finish line.

I have hit that wall. I am tired, my students are tired, my children at home are tired and everyone is slightly cranky.

Our house has not sold. We have had over 25 showings but no big bites yet. That is a little frustrating!

I got home from my MOPS meeting late last night and our realtor called and said we had a showing today at 11:00. I looked around our house and it was a small disaster area. Toys everywhere, dirty dishes in the sink. Floors need sweeping and mopping. I felt like crying. I felt like giving up BUT I stayed up until midnight cleaning and straighting up because maybe, just maybe today is the day!

As I got ready for bed, I peeked in on everyone and this is what I saw....

and my heart just melted.

This week I have had sad news. One of my dear friends has been trying for several years now to have a baby. On Wednesday, she had surgery and lost both of her tubes. I listened to my pastor's wife at MOPS talk about their daughter's illness of seizures, hip replacements and no speech and she is not even 5 years old.

It doesn't matter about our house. It doesn't matter that school is hard right now. It doesn't matter that everybody is tired. We push through the wall and we will get to the other side.

Because we have our health and we are together. That is what is important!!

Finding a Cure

On Saturday morning, we had a very rocky start to our morning. We were tired, the kids were tired, there was a lot of crying, there was a looooong line for the park and ride, BUT we finally got there and
put on our happy faces! Although poor Gavin wasn't quite done with his crying when the picture was taken but that quickly changed! Our shirts read "Team Elyse" and the back of the shirt read "Walking for Grammie's Mammies (my idea)"!!!!

Here is the start of the race! 3 miles until the end!

The massive amount of people:

Everybody took turns pushing the 70+ lbs of toddler during the race.

Of course Bryan got stuck doing the uphill part!

Everybody took turns carrying the 25+ lbs of baby for the entire race!

This is SA so you gotta have Mariachis!! This is the Race for the Cure so the Mariachis have to wear pink!

Let me say it again! This is SA so here is the Alamo!

Finally, here she is - our survivor! She makes it all look easy!