Picture Day!

Today my Adi turned a half a year old! Time has gone sooo fast. We went to Ottumwa today to get her pictures taken. She woke up grumpy and didn't want to nap. I couldn't help but think, oh great. She really did a good job though. We had a few moments. Some pictures have little red eyes and a runny nose, but we got plenty of good ones. Those are the ones that we will talk about when she gets older! I was not impressed with the lady that took them this time. Turns out she was the manager. She should do the best job, right? I wanted to blow bubbles during the session, but she told me that we couldn't do bubbles because they were unsafe. Bubbles? Unsafe? What is this world coming to?

After we got done, we went to Wal-Mart. I went to print pictures from the CD to put in our album. I got so excited! You can buy personalized bottles of JONES Soda. How cool is that? I ordered a case with Adi's picture on it for Father's Day gifts. I just thought that was the neatest thing since our last name is Jones and all. When we got home @ around 6:30 James went out and mowed, and Adi and I laid down. We slept until about 9. How refreshing=)

Not only is it my babies half birthday, my mom turned 41 today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! Tomorrow is James and my anniversary. I am pretty sure that James has a ball game in Memphis. That is OK with me. We will get to hang out with Bree, Jared, and the boys. It has been way too long since we have done that. I hope you still love me Shaws'.

WOW! Almost a whole week.

You would think that I would have more time to blog now that schools out. Well, apparently not. I feel like the week has flown by. If this is any indication of what the summer will be like, it'll be over before I know it. Tuesday. I had my youngest sister Emily stay the night with me since my husband was in Jeff city for the week. Wednesday, we went to Bloomfield and I became a blond for the first time in a long time. Emily also got her hair cut. Tara called and told us that she got her license while we were getting our hair done. YAY! That afternoon I took Emily home and stayed the night. Dad was at the same school as James, so we had a girl night. We just hung out and watched the American Idol finale. GO DAVID COOK!!!

Thursday, I came back home and James came home that evening. He got to do some baby bonding and I went to the school board meeting. It started at 6, and little did I know that I would not be home until after 11. =( It was a very long night.

Friday I got up at about 6:30 I got ready and went to Erin Tallman's, and we left for Des Moines. We picked up Sarah Visser on the way. We had a great day. We went to Gordman's, which I think I am in love with now. Then we ate at Olive Garden, which I am also in LOVE with. We also went to the teacher store and the Valley West Mall. I got a lot of things for my classroom. I know that sounds silly, but I am going to have a jungle theme in my room next year, and they had so many cute things. I also got my baby lots of new clothes. She probably didn't need them, but she is too fun to buy for. We had a really great day! We didn't get home till after midnight. Ridiculous, I know.

Saturday, we went to Kahoka. One of my friends from high school was getting married. After the wedding James and I went to the Hawkeye to eat for an early anniversary dinner. We stayed at my mom and dad's that night. James had to help his brother put siding on his house today. I just hung out with mom and dad. Starla left today after living with my family for 3 months. I think she was excited to see her dad, but I think after a couple of weeks in Kansas she will really start to miss my mom.

Finally, I have caught you all up on my whirlwind week off of school. Talk to you soon.

Schools Out 4 Summer

It still hasn't quite hit me that school is out. I think that it is because of the last day being on a Monday. That felt very strange and pointless. I was super sad yesterday. I had grown very attached to some of my kids. I have a few that I feel really made progress with me this year. I am not meaning academically, but emotionally and behaviorally. I just hope that they can continue the progress they made this year. Of course, I had those one or two that I was OK with letting go. It's not that I didn't LOVE them, but it was just time to let them go.

I didn't know that I would react like I did at the end of the day yesterday. I cried, and not just a little. I was almost sobbing. OK I WAS sobbing. I am pretty sure that I was the only teacher crying. I felt a little silly, but I am a pretty emotional person. Everyone was saying that it was because I am a first year teacher. I guess that means that I better suck it up next year so that nobody thinks I'm crazy!

Oh, The Car!

Well, that was a fun weekend! Saturday was so fun. The drive-in was really neat. I hadn't been in so long, and it was just a cool thing to go do. I think that could be something we do a lot of as it gets nicer. James even had a really good time. I would recommend it to anyone who is bored on a Friday or Saturday night. They have food and popcorn. They had the coolest candy. I didn't buy any but I enjoyed looking at it. They had pop rocks, candy lipstick, and those cute wax lips. I didn't know that they made that stuff anymore.

The car surprise went very well. My dad was more anxious than necessary. He was a little grouchy on the phone, because he had been hiding this car for so long and it was eating him up. He couldn't hardly stand it. He came up with about 30 different scenarios of how we would present the surprise. I thought that he was going to ruin it because he wouldn't stop calling me. He called about 5 times before we left and twice on the way. Thank goodness we stopped to pick up a pizza in Memphis so that I could call him and tell him not to call anymore. I had to pretend that I was calling Bree when we got close to town, so that he would know that we were almost there.

They made sure that you couldn't see the car until you were in the driveway. They had 16 red and white balloons on the flag pole and a big happy birthday banner on the car. She didn't know what to say. She just kept saying yes over and over. I think Dad expected some tears, but that is just not Tara's style. She was VERY grateful and VERY surprised. I am glad that I got to be a part of it.

Weekend Plans

I am so excited for this weekend. I am in the best mood. We are down to only a half a day of school. Tonight we have ball practice at 5. I am so glad that it is nice, so that I can take Adi out. She loves it outside.

On Saturday, Erin Tallman and I are going to go to Lisa Shepard's house at around 4 O'clock. We are going to help her set up for Koco's retirement party. Her party is going to be at about 5. Then my sister Tara is going to come and stay the night. She has never been to a drive in before, and I haven't been in a super long time. We are going to go to the one in Centerville. They play two movies, and they are both ones that I have been wanting to see. Trenton and Erin are also going along. That should be a lot of fun!

Sunday we are going to go to church and head to Kahoka afterwards. It is Tara's birthday, so she is going to be surprised with the Mustang. We are going to call and let Dad know when we are leaving Lancaster. He is going to be waiting on us about five miles out of town, and he is going to pull out and pass us. I know that my sister will be drooling over that car. Then, Dad is going to pull right in that driveway, right in front of us. Tara will be confused, but I don't quite think that she will get it right away. It is going to be very exciting to see her reaction. Dad wanted badly to give her the car tonight because she is having her party with all of her friends. I told hem that I wanted to be there so badly. I also told him that she needed to get her BIRTHDAY present on her BIRTHDAY. I got my way. Sunday it is!!!

Growing Up

My Adi is so precious. She is really learning things quickly. I know every baby does, but it just seems so awesome because she's mine. She found her feet a few weeks ago and that has been her main fascination. She finds her toes even in her sleep. Most recently she discovered her ears. It is cute that she plays with them, but I worry about her getting ahold of her earrings. I guess that is what I get for getting her ears pierced so young. They are so darn cute though. She is rolling all over and scoots around, not on her tummy, but her back. She is not crazy about being on her belly. I think if she could lay long enough, it wouldn't take her long to crawl. She can also sit up for longer periods at a time now. I am still right there with her. She's like a weeble. She wobbles but doesn't fall down (well maybe sometimes.) =) When she does sit she grabs her toes and leans forward too long, ending in spit-up. She also knows when there isn't anyone in the room with her. She cries and looks around. She sees me and reaches. She already has that puppy dog thing down, and I am a sucker. I will quit beaming about my baby now. I am hitting the sack early tonight.

Two Little Darlings

So, if you didn't get my drift yesterday, my class is wound for sound. I understand that and except it. What can I really ask of them. They have given me a good 9 months and been a really great class to work with. Of course, there are those couple of kids that are a handful and have been all year. As you can assume they are not getting any better as time winds down. But still I managed to keep them away from each other and under control ALL DAY LONG. We had our moments, but for the most part they were pretty good.

2 O'clock rolls around. Time for specials! I am minding my own business and in walks Mr. Cohagan with my 2 precious angels. He needs work for them. They are spending the rest of the day in ISS. I am not saying that they didn't need to be in trouble. It just rubs me the wrong way. I deal with these kids all day, and a specials teacher, who shall remain nameless, gets rid of them after 20 minutes. Not only does he get rid of them, at least one every other time he has them, he tells me most days how bad they are and why they are bad and what needs to be done about it. Well, I am sure that is necessary. I don't already know that or anything, and I am pretty sure how they behave in that teacher's class is so not my problem.

Sorry for the vent, but I really needed to do that. That is just one more of my many GOOD reasons for needing a break.

On a lighter note, I had a very productive day. I got a lot cleaned in my classroom. I sent all of my extra text books to Angel. I think that they kind of overwhelmed her, but it had to be done. When I got home I cleaned. I don't mean kind of cleaned, I mean serious cleaning. I cleaned things that hadn't been cleaned in a while. I even cleaned windows and took down curtains and washed them. I did a couple of loads of laundry, and I made chicken parmesan for supper. I felt good when I was done. It was a very cleansing ending to a messy day!

Is it Friday? No, Monday...right?

Well, we are down to five days left of school. I am way too anxious, so you can only imagine how my class is feeling. There is just something in the air. I'm pretty sure that my class isn't the only one who has the summer itch.

We had a graduation party for our A+ student today. She is so sweet, so I hated that today was her last day. Tomorrow we have a field trip to the high school band room, and hopefully it's nice so that we can have reading outside. Then, Wednesday we have track and field day. Thursday is Angel's bridal shower. Friday is Kim's going away party, and Saturday is Koco's retirement party. Sunday my nephew is graduating, and it is my sister's 16th birthday. Monday...last day of school and BUNKO. Boy, oh boy do I need a break! I know that everyone does. This time of year is so ridiculous. On top of all that, my husband is going to be gone the week we are out of school. Bummer =(

Mother's Day for me...

I feel like I haven't blogged forever. On Friday, right after my husband got home from work we had to go to Kahoka. They were having a benefit for his dad, that started at 4:30, so we had to leave as fast as we could. The turn out was amazing. There were between 250-300 people at the benefit, and they raised about $3,300. Cecil had such a great time. He said that he didn't know that he knew so many people. He really liked seeing everyone, and I think that it was a comfort to know that so many people care about him.

We ended up staying at my in-laws house on Friday, because my husband had a mud run on Sat. in Wyaconda. I was OK with that. It gave me a chance to spend Saturday with my mom and Nana. I wanted to be with them because I wouldn't see them on Mother's Day, and Sat. was Nana's 64th birthday. We went to Quincy and got pedicures. I hadn't done that since right before school started, so it was very nice! I also spent too much money on a couple pair of nice "sandals." My husband thought that was a little much for glorified flip flops. What's a girl to do. It was a work related expense. I wonder if I can use that on my taxes?

Then, today was Mother's Day. I don't know why I felt so excited. It was just another day, but it was MY day. I had a very nice day. I woke up at about 9:30 which I haven't done in quite a while. I went to church, and I hadn't gotten to go in two weeks. I really enjoy going, but there are weekends that I have to be in Kahoka. That is the only time that I get to see my family. After church we ran to Kirksville and ate at the Wooden Nickel. I wanted to try it, and it was pretty good. Then we came home, and Adi and I took a 2 hour nap =) When we woke up Bree Shaw called and told me about there amazing adventure with the police. No, Jared didn't do it. I am sure that she will write all about it in her blog. James and Adi got me a digital photo frame and a card that, of course, made me cry. Now, here I am and it is after 11. I need to go to sleep, but I am still refreshed from my nap.

Could have been worse.

Well, the day and the musical is over :) After 2 hours this morning Sarah Visser and I were thinking of shutting each other's fingers in the door so that we could go home early. It was pretty much chaos. I was not looking forward to the afternoon and the "dress rehearsal." It was pretty good! I couldn't believe it. If you had been to the morning practice and then gone to the afternoon one you would never have believed that it was the same play and same group of kids. I don't know how it came together, but it did. I guess that most children will do well in spite of the situation, to avoid embarrassment. The actual musical did not go quite as well as dress rehearsal ,but it could have been worse.

I came home after and made a shadow box for my mom, for Mother's Day. It turned out so cute. My mom is a nurse, so before Adi was born I bought some baby scrubs from LTD. They have a place that you can write name, birth date, weight, height, and doctor on the pocket. I am retarded and it said lb. so I put 5. I assumed that the next blank was to write oz. so 6 1/2 went on the line. After I was finished and was admiring my work, done ever so neatly in sharpie, I realized that what I ASSUMED was oz., was for height. I feel really dumb but can't change it. Mom will think it's funny though. I also put one of her ID bracelets and a couple of pictures in it. Then I wrote "Nothing, is more of a reward than watching your child become a mother." She will appreciate it, mistake and all. That's what moms do!

Annoyed

Thank you Bree Shaw for telling me it was ok to blog about how annoyed I am that I have to sit in the middle school gym all day tomorrow and watch a bunch of 9-12 year olds try to dance and sing about a pea. I think that having an elementary musical is a wonderful idea. I personally love musicals. I just wish that it would be little better organized. OK, a lot more organized. It would almost be worth the $ to miss a day of work.

I am also annoyed that it probably is going to rain the rest of the week. I was really enjoying the sun. Oh well, we have to have rain to have flowers =)

Ordinairy Day

Not to much to talk about today. It was just another day. I did enjoy the weather though! I took my class outside to do their reading assignment. I really think that they appreciate that and work harder because it's a treat. I also got a little sun and fresh air out of the deal, so we all won. I also had gate duty at the ball game tonight. I wasn't to excited to do it, but I couldn't have asked for a better day. Even more sun for me:)

Prayers Please

Less than two months ago, we found out that my father-in-law has brain cancer. Cancer has 4 stages, and he was already in the 4th stage. At first he said that he would not take treatment, but when the doctors told him his odds he changed his mind. He went for several rounds of chemo and radiation. They were going to give him a three week break and begin again. About a week after his radiation he came down with pneumonia and ended up in the hospital. He blames it on the treatment and is refusing to take anymore. I don't know. It may be easier and he may be happier without it. That is just hard for all of us to hear. They let him go home, but put him on oxygen. He has his good days and his bad days. He can barely hear and hardly talk. When I saw him this weekend I asked if he had fallen because his face was purple. Mary said that was just from him being breathless and needing oxygen. He loves to be outdoors and do things with his hands, but he is unable to do the things that he loves. I just need for everyone to keep Cecil and the family in their prayers.

Mother's Day!

I know that Mother's Day is next Sunday, but I spent the weekend with my own mommy and realized how much she means to me. Of course I didn't just realize this over the weekend, but thinking about Mother's Day coming up made me want to talk about her. I can remember being a little girl and preparing for her day. I would ask her for some money, she would give me $5, and I would go to the grocery store with my grandma and buy her a card and maybe a flower, if Mac's had any. She loved it, and acted like I could not have done a better job, even though it was her money that I spent. I could ask what she would like to do for Mother's Day, but I know what she would say. She would tell me that she just wanted to see me and Adi.

My mom is my best friend. I know that being a mommy at 17 was not the easiest thing to do, but she did it, and she did it better than anyone else could have. She has always made her children her to priority. She has taught me and my sisters to be loving, caring, hard working individuals.

Saturday evening my baby had the worst tummy ache that she has ever had. I was at my in-laws house, and I was planning on getting up and going home so that I could go to church. We laid Adi down at about 9 and she was asleep for about 30 minutes, and she let out a scream like I had never heard before. I went and got her and soothed her until she fell back to sleep. Ten minutes later, another scream. We gave her a warm bath. We tried peppermint water and bicycled her legs. Nothing was helping. I felt like I was keeping everyone awake, and I felt helpless. We were up and down and up and down until about one. I was frustrated and crying and I wanted MY mom. I called her and she wanted me to come over, because she could hear my helplessness. We went over and I instantly felt more calm. So did Adi somehow. My wonderful mother stayed up with us until about 3 and fell asleep with Adi in her arms. As I looked at them, it was like looking at my mom with me. She was holding me too, and I felt how much she loved me. I know that sounds corny and sappy, but I hope that someday my daughter can look at me and feel that.

She's on a Roll!!!

Today at about 8:20 I heard my phone beep. I shouldn't have had my ringer on at school, but I did. It was Shelly, Adi's babysitter. My first thought was great, what happened? I called right away, a little nervous. Turns out she was just too excited to wait till after school. Adi had rolled over 3 times already that morning. I have seen her roll over three times in the last month, but they were all total accidents. I think she has it now! I had to manipulate Adi's movement so that I could capture the entire roll. =)

On a less happy note, I want to thank Jenn Beeler for writing about the Oprah religion craze. I watched the youtube video and was so shocked. She is entitled to believe what she wants, although I don't agree. I am just sad that she is using her powerful position to sway people into this new religion. Any worship service that begins with a mass trance seems a little fishy. I jyst don't see how you can create a religion based on a book that some man got a wild hair to write.

Restless

I am just sitting in bed on my laptop. I have been really tired lately, but have a hard time falling asleep. I should be doing something productive, but then I would be wide awake, and I would regret it in the morning. I am glad that tomorrow is Friday. This has seemed like one of the longest weeks of the school year. I think that it has something to do with the summer being so close, but feeling like it's just not quite in reach yet.

It was so nice at ball practice tonight though. I think that my husband needs a little boy to fulfill his baseball fantasy. Maybe he would stop using Bree's boys to get his fix. I really wanted to go and get Adi outside, so we took her stroller and went to the ball field, to watch Brax practice. I think she liked it, but by the time we left she was over it. She was tired before we got there so I could hardly keep her awake during her bath.

My mom called me tonight to tell me that they are going to surprise my sister with a car for her sixteenth birthday! It is a 2003, cherry red Mustang, with LEATHER SEATS! She is probably going to crap her pants. Mom said it was like new. It belonged to some 80 year old man, who was obviously going through a late-in-life crisis. He ended up in the nursing home, so he almost never drove it. It only has like 50,000 miles on it. Tara totally deserves it. She is an awesome kid, and one of my very best friends. I told mom she better have something good planned for my b-day this year. She has 6 months to cook up something great =)

Beautiful Day!

Who else is loving this weather? It's not too hot and not too cold. I wish the sun were shining just a little brighter, but beggars can't be choosers. I am afraid that today is going to be the end of the nice weather for a while. I really kind of like storms though. I enjoy watching the lightning. Is that strange?

I can hardly believe that the school year is coming to a close. There are only 12 days left. I still have to do summer school, but that is only for a month, then 2 months to spend with my baby. I am so excited to spend the summer with Adi. She is getting so fun! She is talking so much more(well at least her version of talking.) She is scooting around, and I think it is just a matter of time before we start sitting up. She is smiling at me as we speak. I am glad that all of those things are happening, but at the same time I want it to slow down. Before I know it she will be in school. At least then she'll be right across the hall!