almost famous

Every once in a while, something on the NEISD homepage catches my eye. I'm usually checking the Parent Portal or cafeteria menus, but this time it was Oak Meadow hosts Brain Expo, first for district. Katie happened to be in attendance at that particular event so I clicked on it to see what they had written. To my surprise, there she was, with a quite disgusted look on her face, donning a lovely set of googles, getting her first close up look of a sheep's brain! The kid in the yellow shirt has a priceless expression too!

more Spurs

the Steubing Ranch Spurs, that is...

Katie put her name in the hat to be on the rotation for cheerleading during Friday morning announcements. She was selected to participate this morning! Here's how it goes...

We are (clap clap) Steubing Ranch (clap)
We are (clap clap) kicking up learning! (kick)

Here's another picture of Katie with her friend Rafael. He was on the announcements this morning promoting the Pennies for Patients drive. Last I heard, the kids had raised $1300+! Way to go Spurs! Rafael was diagnosed with leukemia 3 1/2 years ago and had his final treatment last week. He is now a survivor! Hooray for Rafael!

btw, the pictures aren't that great b/c I used my camera phone... still trying to get used it!

can you believe...

...what those girls are wearing?!?!

Shayne and Anna had a last minute opportunity to go to the Spurs vs. Lakers game last night (thanks Mr. B!). It was Anna's first time to see the Spurs, and she & Daddy were due for a date night. At some point in the evening, the Spurs Silver Dancers came out to perform and here's what Anna said... "they aren't wearing very many clothes, you can see their belly buttons, maybe you shouldn't look at them Daddy, look at me" ... oh, our sweet little Anna... and the innocence of childhood. I guess we've done something right. :)

Here they are... the Silver Dancers!

btw,
GO SPURS GO!
SA 103 LA 91

calm and compassionate

I started reading this book about a month ago and was mesmerized within the first few sentences. It's one of those things that I didn't go hunting for, I just happened across it. Funny how those things happen. We try to go to the library once per week, but it's usually for the kids - I rarely grab something for myself (as stated in #7 of my previous post, that's o.k. with me). I do, however, sometimes peruse the "new books" shelf and usually grab whatever looks interesting. That's how I came upon this...

CALM AND COMPASSIONATE CHILDREN: A HANDBOOK
by Susan Usha Dermond

Here's a quote that struck me:
"It is tempting to think that when our children are agitated and selfish, we need only to change them. But we will have more success if we first examine our own ability to relax and be dispassionate. The more serenity we have, the more calm our children be."

DUH! That totally makes sense. The whole book is full of information like that. She gives lots of examples, and at the end of each chapter is a section called "Practical Steps". Also, the way it's written, you can just jump in anywhere. Pick out a section or chapter that is most appealing to you at the time and not worry about a prerequisite. I started out that way but was so intrigued, I went back to page one and read it from cover to cover.

My DH is reading it now and has already said that it's one we should add to our own personal library.

blog tag?

My friend Stacey at The Truest Thing tagged me earlier this week. This is the first time this has happened to me since I started blogging. Sound like fun!

Here are the rules:
* Link to the person that tagged you.
* Post the rules on your blog.
* Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
* Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
* Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here we go...
1. I have visited 37 of the 50 states.
2. I love pb & j sandwiches.
3. I have a bad habit of rearranging furniture, especially in our living room.
4. I spent most of the first year of my life in Germany - my dad was military.
5. I've lost 4 pounds so far this year!
6. I can't watch t.v. with the volume on a random number, it has to be 5, 10, or 15, etc.
7. One of my guilty pleasures is children's books.

Now, who shall I tag...
1. Charity
2. Tamra
3. Kayren
4. Lisa
5. Cristie
6. Jaime
7. Jill

Y'all have fun!

little hunter

Last month, Katie went on her first hunting expedition with Dad. Their destination was Grandma and Grandpa's place out near Brady. She received a bb gun for her birthday back in October, but hadn't really had a chance to use it until now.
She was very eager to "get a deer" with Daddy. My hesitation was that she would be bored to death during the sitting and waiting and watching part. They were up bright and early, but as soon as they got settled in the blind, she leaned over on Daddy and fell back asleep. It wasn't too long before Daddy nudged her awake to see their target. Katie was able to soak up the entire experience. Won't be too long before she's able to bring home her own!

cookie update

Katie has sold 272 boxes! She's only 40 shy of her goal of 312. Today is Me & My Buddy Day, so she's going door-to-door with Daddy.
Note: 40 of the boxes she's already sold are donations for the soldiers!
Click here to see this year's selections...

Junie B.

Last night, I took the girls to the Magik Theatre to see Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business. My dad gave us season passes for Christmas (thanks GrandBob!). We read the book this week at home to build up the anticipation (Katie read it previously in school). They do a great job of retelling the story and incorporate lots of song and dance numbers. And for the grown-ups, they even added in a little Austin Powers and Chariots of Fire. I won't tell anymore - you have to go see it! I think it's recommended for elementary, but even Bethany was mesmerized most of the show.

family portraits

We had our family portraits done last month at Portrait Innovations. They do a really good job, really fast, and not too expensive. We also like the fact that nobody has to sit up on a table to pose - Anna never liked that. The hardest part is having to pick the one you like best.

It's fun to see how many different facial expressions the girls can have in a matter of minutes. If you look closely at Bethany, you can tell she's chewing on some fruit snacks. Katie has always enjoyed having her pictures done. She always has just the right smile and pose (her school pictures never turn out too hot though).

We sent these out with our Christmas cards - or at least the ones that got mailed. I never got quite finished with that holiday project! Sorry if I missed you this year!

ice skating

Last week I took the girls (+ a friend) on our 2nd annual Christmas break ice skating outing. When you only go once a year, it takes you awhile to get your bearings. It's a fun outing for the girls and it's great exercise too! Of course, when I was a kid, I actually had my own skates and could go to the local creek or pond.


Katie got comfortable pretty quick. She went slow and steady and only fell a few times.







Anna took about an hour to get warmed up. In the hour and a half that we were there she made it around the rink 3 times (with my help)... but she didn't fall once!





And of course, it's big fun to hang around and watch the zamboni!

10 reasons...

...why I haven't blogged in 10 days
#1 - I came down with something nasty the weekend after Christmas - cough and fever - I slept for 2 days straight! Thank goodness my DH was home!
#2 - We had friends in-town/overnight for New Year's - friends that we hadn't seen in a LONG, LONG time. Hopefully, now that they're in Austin, we'll get to see them more often. Although, we do regret not getting to visit them while they were in New Zealand!
#3 - I got a new gadget for Christmas - a Palm Treo - and I've been trying to figure out how to use it. Most of my computer time has been centered around that!
#4 - I flew to OKC to help my mom load her car, then I drove it back for her. She's flying down next week. She's moving to SA and will be staying with us for a few months. Thanks to Charity, Suzy, and Kelly for helping us out those 2 days!
#5 - Christmas break - I was busy trying to keep the kids busy. They also enjoy using the computer, so we had to share.
#6 - Sending Shayne back to work and preparing the girls to go back to school. Getting back in the routine...
#7 - One of my "resolutions" was to significantly cut back on my soda pop intake, so my brain has stalled several times without the caffeine and sugar... but I'm sticking to it!
#8 - Another "resolution" - slowing down, saying no, stop writing things to do on my calendar - with 3 kids, there's always something to go and do, I'm just trying to decide more carefully how my time is spent.
#9 - Katie started her 3rd annual Girl Scout Cookie Sales, so we've been out knockin' on doors! Her goal is 312 (50 more than last year) - we're a little over 200 right now! Next year, Anna will be selling too, and I can guarantee you we will not be selling 600+ boxes, they'll just have to split the total!
#10 - all that normal household stuff - cooking, cleaning, errands... but that's not really a good excuse because we do that all the time anyway!

Hope everyone is off to a great start this year!

No more excuses for me... I promise to do my best to make it a bloggy new year!