Fall is Here...

...and with that comes the beginning of school! Kailyn is now a 2nd grader! Oh my gosh! I just don't know how that happened so fast. After only a week, she's doing great and proving she's the class whiz. She was the first to move on to level 2 in Mad Minute Math (a timed math activity where you must complete 35 math problems correctly in order to progress. You repeat each level until you pass it.) Did I mention this was only on the second day of school?? Her new teacher, Ms. Renteria, seems super sweet and Kailyn loves her already.
Emma is now a kindergartener! She got a wonderful teacher named Mrs. Troxler who has experience with sensory disorder children and has been very helpful in helping Emma transition well into the first week of school. She had one asthma attack the first week, and the nurse gave her the inhaler I provided as I asked. (Sidenote: This is the same nurse that put ICE! on Kailyn's burn last year after she accidently burned herself on the burner at school...bad cafeteria ladies for leaving it uncovered. All that to say, I didn't ( don't?) have the most faith in her, so prayers here are welcomed! )
I took L.E. the (old) wonder dog went for a walk yesterday and we made it to the end of the street! About 6 houses! That's great for her lately...she looked like she'd run a marathon when we got back to the house. :)
Jason and I are doing well; nothing new to report there. Oh, did I mention I am teaching Couponing Classes? I have learned how to use coupons matched with the stores sales and I now save abotu 80% on our household food, toiletries, cleaning supplies! Amazing! And it's been fun to teach others and see them start saving money too!

Summer Happenings 2010

So it has been a long time since I updated this blog, my apologies for that. Life has gotten crazy and we've been along for the ride. So here's the latest on our family!
Jason is still working for two departments, one as Chief (volunteer) and one (career) as a Captain. They have moved him to a new station in the last few months and he has settled in. Although it was a culture shock at first. Going from a 2 truck station, to a single truck station, it cut the number of people around in half. Plus, this new station is really big (really big!) and so it seems so empty. He has a much bigger office at this station though. Life has been fairly quiet on the Islands, no major fires in a while. So that's been a plus! He is enrolled in online school working towards his bachelors degree!
I am still working at Childcare Network (a child development school) and loving it! I am the Full time infant teacher and I love having an awesome curriculum to work with. I've recently gotten a few new babies as a few kids moved up. This is always hard, as a lot of them have been in my care since 6 weeks old and they stay with me till at least a year old, sometimes more. My sweet little Ella (Ella-belle as we call her) was such a challenge; she was very much like Kailyn was as a baby and kept me constantly asking for patience from above. Today she is a happy, healthy, walking! toddler who can't stop kissing me She has even learned to call my name "Sissa!" and somehow all the crying just doesn't seem so bad anymore.
Kailyn completed 1st grade having stayed on HIGH HONOR ROLL all year long! Way to go Kailyn. She's reading at about a 3-4th grade level and has really made a switch lately to being so grown up. She spend two weeks with her daddy this summer at the beginning of July and after a slip off the monkey bars, has her first cast! (It's a medial buckle fracture in case you were wondering) She's been excitedly getting friends and family to sign her cast; grandma even had a silver metallic sharpie that looks super cool on the hot pink cast.
Emma is doing well, she completed Pre-Kindergarten the beginning of June. Her teachers report that she socializes very well, and they actually notice a lot that she is the "manager." "She can always be found in the middle of people encouraging them to work together, share and play nicely," says Ms Erin, the lead teacher. She believes she'll have very little trouble adjusting to real "school", despite her sensory disorder! This is such a great thing to hear! Love that all the early intervention and her hard work paid off! She has been busy learning her letters, the sounds they make and how to write them! She is super excited to start Kindergarten this August.
Our sweet black L.E. (stands for Law Enforcement) celebrated her 15th birthday in June and she's still doing well! She has had a few surgeries to remove some cancer spots but the doctor says she's otherwise healthy. She seems to be pain free, happy and very loveable. She is still very much the center of attention in our home! :) She's the sweet, pampered pooch!

Asthma and a Clean House...

So a recent trip to the pulmonologist this week provided mommy with (another) lecture about ensuring Emma's environment is clean, dust and mold free. The problem is that my favorite cleaner...409....sets Emma off with an asthma attack.
So I have been researching various "green" ways to clean. I can't stand the smell of Vinegar so that's out. But I've found this line of products by Clorox called "Green Works" that are natural and have friendly scents. The wipes are my favorite...like Clorox disinfecting wipes, but asthma friendly. :)
My biggest problem has come since I moved to Savannah. No one felt the need to tell me that if you let a DROP of water from the sink touch anything it will leave a buildup. And I've yet to remove this crap...even with the harsh chemicals. Enter another favorite...BAKING SODA. Call me crazy, but I dare you to prove me wrong. You know that old orange box in your fridge that has baking soda from like 5 years ago? Well, it's smell absorbing properties are gone, but it's still okay for cleaning. Pour it into a small bowl, add water to make a soupy, messy paste. Then smearm onto surface. Let sit 5-10 mins, scrub lightly (this is usually not even required on glass) and rinse. Yes, it's messy, but it's work free. No scrubing required.I cleaned my whole tub, toilet and sink with this today while Emma and Kai serenaded me from the bathroom floor and not even a cough from Emma!
Thanks Arm and Hammer...so far you make my fridge smell good, my laundry softer and my bathroom clean while keeping my girl healthy and wheeze free!!

How to We love our Papa...Let us count the ways...

1) He takes us to the pumpkin patch and lets us buy as many as we can fit into the wagon.
2) He has a super wagon...it's an all terrain thing.
3) He plays his guitar so we can dance.
4) He takes us to McDonalds.
5) He plays wild with us, like momma won't.
Oh yeah and this....
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Growing Big...Bigger...

So yesterday in the car I over hear Kailyn talking to her sister about a picture Emma made at school. It's a bear card that Emma made for her daddy for Father's day. And Kailyn says "So, your teacher drew this bear and you colored it or what?" Emma tells her she did it all herself. And Kailyn replies, "WOW! Good going girlfriend! This is like such a good job girl!" and gives her baby sister, who she has dubbed "Missy Poo" a high five.
And I can't decide who has made the most dramatic change in getting big lately, Kai-girl or "missy Poo." All I know is my babies are growing up and I just can't stop kissing them. At least they still let me do that. But those days are numbered. The other day at summer camp, Kailyn's class was having a "fashion show" and as she walked the runway for her peers she caught me smiling through the window.She got red and ducked her head. Then all her peers looked at me as one little boy yelled, "Look Kailyn! It's your mom!" Oh, no, my baby is embarrassed of me already!

SleepWalkers....

So it's 10:34 pm and Jason and I hear a noise in the hallway bathroom. We'd just checked on girls and they were both asleep. I open our door and this is what I see.....


Sigh. Emma's sleepwaling again. It's a new trick...the last few weeks or so. It's hilarious, but it's sure creepy! Apparently, she'd wanted a drink. So she'd found this unused IN THE BOX oil filter (for a car) on the couch in the living room piled with other random items and decided it'd work better as a cup than the stack of Dixie's on the bathroom counter. Hard to tell in the picture, but when I picked the box up it was soaking wet and falling apart.

I blame it on her Aunt Carolyn and Grandma Carol...apparently they were sleep walkers too!

Still LOL

Grandmas are so Special

I got a phone call this morning that my Grandma Rachel died, my mom's mom. And once the initial waves of tears passed, I began to recall all of these things that she has said or done that have touched my life.
When I was a little girl I LOVED baby dolls; Cabbage Patch dolls were really popular. So my grandma made me a doll, one by hand. She named him David, and to this day I still have him. In the same outfit that she first dressed him in. It's a real baby sleeper, blue and yellow. My girls have heard the story of David a million times, and they've played with him once or twice. Just like I played with, once or twice, the doll she made my mom. Rosie, is her name. And to my knowledge she still has her.
When I hung up that phone I ran into the attic to get that doll. Somehow holding onto that doll, I was holding onto my grandma.
Nothing replaces a grandma's love. Nothing. I was looking through pics today and saw this one of Kailyn and my Mom. I don't know who is holding who tighter, or who looks happier. But one thing is clear, grandmas are special indeed!
I love you Grandma Rachel, and I will see you soon in heaven!