Grandad

My grandfather, Verle Allyn Smith, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, January 8, 2011, at 2:30 p.m. in Oklahoma City, OK. He was 99 years old. He was such a kind and patient grandfather, and I have many good memories of being in my grandparent's house during the summer months when I was growing up. He was a quiet man who didn't talk much, but I remember how he would sit back and take in all the grandchildren's activity and just smile at us as we played. He would often pat us on the back, sometimes so hard we would jump, and say something very simple like, "You kids are really growing up." He would be smiling a tender smile, and I knew that his words meant that he loved us very much. He was known for his hard work ethic and intelligence as he graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in engineering and worked for Kerr McGee oil company. He provided well for his family and three children, all of whom graduated from college or graduate school. He took care of my grandmother for seven years throughout her recovery from two strokes until she died in 1990. She was the love of his life, and I remember seeing him dye her hair in their bathroom when she could no longer do it herself and then learning to roll her hair on old-fashioned rollers to give her a home permanent after her strokes. He even applied her makeup, though sometimes she came out with a bit too much blush or face powder!

Grandad was a man of few words, but he had a big heart. I knew he was so proud of me and my children. I knew he loved us. I will always remember his jumpsuits that he wore, his big recliner where you could find him reading the paper and doing crossword puzzles in the living room, and his smile.

Rest in peace, Grandad. You will be greatly missed.

*the picture above is the only photo I have from the last time I got to see him in 2007. Owen was showing him the tooth he had just lost!

Happy New Year!

We have had a wonderful, but busy, holiday season! I think it's just going to be this way with three kids from now on! My mother visited us for three days right after we got out of school on Dec. 18, then we went down to Camden, AR, for two days to visit Stuart's family. The kids enjoyed seeing their cousins who were in from Ohio, even though it was a whirlwind trip. Arden is finally starting to travel better and is enjoying sitting in her new booster seat instead of the toddler convertable car seat. I think she's a lot more comfortable now.

We enjoyed a low-key Christmas in Bentonville where the kids woke up in our house to open stockings and gifts on Christmas morning. Hudson's best gift was a Wii Poke Park video game while Owen's was an XBox360 Madden '11 game. Arden has enjoyed her new dollhouse and Melissa and Doug wooden doll bed and highchair for her baby dolls. Santa brought Stuart a Kindle electronic reader, so he has been enjoying figuring it all out!

My Christmas dinner didn't turn out very well, as Stuart informed me that my turkey breast tasted "funny," so we weren't sure if maybe the meat had started going bad after thawing several days in the fridge while we were traveling. So, we packed up the kids (still in their Christmas pjs) and headed towards the only restaurant open on Christmas Day -- IHOP! It was a long wait and totally packed, but it made for a fun event to eat breakfast food with a full restaurant of people on Christmas Day! We might make IHOP an annual Christmas Day tradition while the kids are still young. They enjoyed Make-a-Face pancakes a lot more than mom's turkey meal!

This week of our Christmas break has been full of appointments with four dental appointments, Arden's birthday, and some playdates with the kids' friends. Arden did so well at her first dental appointment, and she is in the 85th percentile in height and weight at her 3 year old check up.

Arden got her twin bed assembled right before Christmas, too. I had purchased the sleigh bed frame from Craiglist almost a year ago for $50 and kept it in the garage until Arden was ready. She was a little fearful for the first few nights since it is such a tall bed, but she is now completely adjusted to it and enjoying it. I was a bit sad to pack up her final remnants of her infancy, but her twin sleigh bed is so adorable that it has been fun to see her progress to this stage. I gave away her crib and sold the baby mattress, and I'm still trying to sell her crib bedding on Craigslist.

We have enjoyed spending a lot of time together over the break, and we have been staying up too late and sleeping in, so now we have to get back to the reality of our regular school schedule over the next couple of days. I'm sure we will have a few days of adjustment next week! I don't think the boys are looking forward to doing homework again, but they are excited to return to school to see friends. If this January is anything like the previous two years in northwest Arkansas, I'm sure we will have some snow days to enjoy at home in the next month!

Happy New Year!

Top Ten

It's been so long since my last post, and if you know me well, then you are probably my friend on Facebook where I do a lot better at posting since it can just be one random sentence! As the holidays approached, things got so busy, and posting just couldn't get to the top of my long list!

So, here are the TOP TEN things I can think of that have been highlights of the past six weeks:

10. Hudson won the handwriting of the week award (believe me, it's a BIG deal!)
9. We went to Branson the weekend before Thanksgiving to see the Christmas shows and lights. I soon realized that I'm not one for 90 minute waits for shows when it is freezing,plus Arden was getting sick (see #5 below)
8. Owen participated in a school book club for 4th graders over The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
7. Stuart shopped like a crazy person on Black Friday and went to both the midnight and 4 a.m. sales! I slept in!
6. Hudson went ice skating for the first time at a birthday party which was held at the new outdoor skating rink
5. Arden got a double ear infection 1 1/2 weeks ago, and she was such a trooper that I didn't take her to the doctor until it was apparently pretty bad, so I felt terrible.
4. My students at school collected gifts for 3 siblings for Christmas and purchased coats, jeans, shirts, shoes, and toys for each child. It was amazing to see their generosity!
3. I attended the fabulous "I Get 2 Give" event at our church where you win gifts that you then give to someone else. It was a lot of fun.
2. I have Arden's crib mattress and crib bedding for sale on Craigslist and (finally) plan to move her to a twin bed over Christmas break.
1. Both boys were in the Bentonville Christmas parade (Hudson with Cub Scouts and Owen played in the Swamp Band for his school and marched). I got to ride the float with Hudson and wave at the people! It was sort of like my dreams of fame from my childhood, even though I was sitting on a haybale and wasn't wearing a crown!

Have a wonderful week! I'll post more and add pics once school is out -- only four more days!!! Whooo hooo!

Halloween and Parties Galore!

We had an awesome time in Branson last Sunday with perfect weather that was sunny but not too hot. There still were very few crowds at Silver Dollar City, so we are thinking that Sundays are the day to go! The first few pictures we took in the morning show the kids all alone in the streets there, so it looks like we are there all by ourselves instead of at a theme park! We discovered the teacup ride this time which ended up being the kids' favorite, and I think Owen rode it ten times. Arden went on the mini-rollercoaster and survived it. She was a bit scared and didn't want to go again, but she didn't cry. We saw a hilarious saloon comedy show that we hadn't seen yet, and Hudson left with some more jokes to tell his teacher at school (he is the biggest joker and reads joke books!).

Stuart's big news is that he finally got his new professional Nikon SLR camera that he has been wanting for years and years! It was a big purchase, but he loves photography so much and has been wanting a good digital camera to do more artistic, nature stuff. Hopefully, we'll also get some good pictures of the kids, too!

The week before Halloween always seems to be CRAZY with school activities! Owen has his last football game this morning (yea!), so that will help our lives calm down a bit with no weekly practice and game anymore. All three kids had fall parties yesterday in their classrooms, and the boys' school let them dress up and wear their costumes to school for the school-wide parade. Owen didn't like the prince costume which I got him at a consignment sale. Apparently, it was too feminine and not "cool" enough! So, he opted to wear his Arkansas football jersey which he already owned and put black paint under his eyes to be football player. Hudson was a red Power Ranger, and he was happy to report that he got lots of comments about how "awesome" it was. Arden will be a happy witch, and I found this adorable tulle and velvet costume at a consignment sale for her that is mainly purple and black and really sweet. However, she asked me yesterday if she would get to have the stick that comes out of her bottom to go with it (the broomstick) since that's what it looks like to her when she's seen billboards around with Halloween pictures on them! Ha! Everyone had fun at the parties, and we are all looking forward to Trick or Treating in our neighborhood and helping at our church Trunk or Treat on Sunday!

I had parent-teacher night on Tuesday, so I was at school from 8 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. with no break! What a marathon. The parent-teacher conferences began at 4:15, so we only had a quick break to grab a bite to eat before heading to the gym for arena style conferences. I had 37 conferences, so I don't think I stopped at all until 7:00, then I got to grade a few papers while I waited. It made the whole rest of the week exhausting to begin with such a long day. I'm glad it's over, and there isn't another day like that until March! Additionally, our school had an accreditation inspection from the Department of Education on Tuesday, and two people were on campus to ask questions, observe, etc. They ended up coming in my room and watching for a bit, then I got asked questions about my lesson plans, standards, 504 plans, parent contact log, etc. Luckily, it was easy, and I knew all the answers and had all my documents in order since the principal had warned us to get everything all gathered up ahead of time.

It was Red Ribbon Week at all the schools this week, so the kids wanted to dress up each day for the various themes (hat day, red day, etc), plus I had a lot of activities and extra assemblies going on during my workdays in my building, too.

Then tonight, Stuart is taking the boys to a Razorback football game in Fayettevelle since we were given last-minute, free tickets! They will have so much fun. I am opting to stay home where it's warm with Arden.

I attempted a fall craft this week which is much more like the old me (before I went back to teaching full-time and have no free time anymore). It was fun to gather all the supplies this week, but the craft didn't work out as I had hoped. I was trying to replicate a picture in Pottery Barn that had indian corn wrapped around a large glass candle holder, but my indian corn husks wouldn't bend, wouldn't stand up straight, kept slipping on the glass and leaning, etc. So, I finally gave up and just stuck them inside the glass container and wrapped the jute around the outside of the glass. It looks really good on the dining room table, but it isn't the candle holder that I was hoping for. Oh well. It was still fun to try to make something again.

So, that is the end of our fun and crazy week. We've all had too much candy (except Stuart who doesn't even like candy), and I am officially sick of candy corn!

Fall

I love fall . . . the crisp air, the changing colors on the trees, pumpkins on porches, and candy corn! Yes, I am on my third bag of candy corn this month!

The wood floors were installed about six weeks ago in my hallway, dining room, and home office, and I love them! The installation was relatively painless and all done in one day while I was at work! So, we didn't have any half-finished flooring to stay off in the evening with the kids which was wonderful. On the second day, the men came back and finished up the transitions and trim around the baseboards, then we had the task of moving all the books and office electronics back into the office. So far, the floors are just what I was hoping and show little dust or dirt. They really warm up the space, and I can't wait to do the great room next! Maybe we will be able to do that this spring . . .

The kids are doing well, and the boys got straight A's for first quarter. I can't believe second quarter and the holidays are almost upon us. I have bought all of Arden's Christmas presents, birthday gifts, and stocking stuffers, so I'm thankful for some headway. We went to Silver Dollar City a few weekends ago, and Stuart recently went to Atlanta for four days to the Catalyst conference.

Stuart had a birthday this month (let's just say that he's getting closer to fifty than forty-five now!), and Hudson has begun reading so well! I'm so proud of him. Arden is a whirlwind of words and energy, but she is constantly funny! One of her favorite expressions now is, "I'm just joking!" She has learned her ABC's, and she is counting pretty well, too. I can hardly believe she will be three in a few months.

School is going really well, but I'm still busy all the time. I am in a much better routine than last year with some things, but the grading will be busy forever! I have gotten some family routines down, but meals are still really hard to do during the week since I don't get home until almost five on most days. Luckily, Stuart isn't picky, and the kids will eat a sandwich or cereal for dinner if necessary.

Owen has been playing flag football this season for the first time, and he is really enjoying it. Hudson also started Cub Scouts and likes it a lot. I will be glad when football ends, so that we have more free weekday night, but it has been really good for Owen.

We are headed back to Silver Dollar City this weekend for one last trip to their fall festival. It's so wonderful to have Branson only 90 minutes from our house, so it is an easy day trip. Now that Arden is older, we have no diaper bags or sippy cups and can travel light! Owen will want to ride roller coasters while Arden will ride Dumbo. Stuart will eat a funnel cake, and Hudson will want to buy a huge bag of fudge. Good times!

4 Days Left!!!!

Only 4 more days with the old, tired, and stained carpet in my hallway -- the hallway which leads in from the garage that has had lots of traffic, spills, and is currently buckling in the middle. So long to the carpet in my dining room which prevents us from wanting to eat in there, lest we spill and stain it, so that it looks like the hallway!! In 4 more days, I will get the hardwood flooring which we have purchased installed. It is currently sitting in my kitchen in 22 boxes as it "acclimates" until next Tuesday morning. The installers will be here shortly after I leave for school on Tuesday, and they will be done on Wednesday. Before then, Stuart and I have to pack up all the books, breakable items, and electronics and move them out of the dining room and office. If anyone has seen our book collection, you know that it will take awhile! Ha. I'm so excited to have wood flooring again, and I hope that it looks as great as I think it will.We went with a more casual, distressed style wood planking this time in a five inch board in order to hide any future dents and wear from kiddos. Also, I went lighter in color and low in sheen (to hide footprints, smudges, and dust). I learned from my last house that darker wood with a high sheen is a lot of maintenance for it to look clean. In any case, it will remain cleaner and wear better than the old carpet with three active kids in heavy traffic areas! I'll post before and after pics next week. I'm praying there aren't any glitches with the installation and that the process will be relatively stress-free!

Getting in the Groove

I have been back to work full-time since August 6 which seems like a life time ago! We had weeks of endless meetings (or so it seems) which always confirms to me that I would die if I had an office job that revolved around sitting and attending meetings on a permanent basis. I much prefer running my own "classroom show" and being up and moving all day long.

I have now had three days with my students, and I think it will be a good bunch. However, most seventh graders are scared enough for the first few weeks that it's hard to tell their true colors this early! ha! Right now, they all seem pretty eager and/or intimidated. I finally begin teaching literature tomorrow after three days of rules, policies, ice breaker games, library orientation, etc. Every year at this time, I feel like I am drowning in paper work. There are so many forms to collect from the signed syllabus contract to the emergency cards to the health forms. Then, it's my job to check off the items for each student, alphabetize cards, and get things turned into the office. With all our technology, there must surely be a better way than this! I think teachers in the 1950s were sorting back-to-school forms in this exact manner. Maybe if I figure out a better way, I can hit the jackpot and invent something that will revolutionize the teaching world like the Post-It!

I've decided to try to start up a mentoring program with my students and a couple of classes at an elementary school that is right across the street from my campus. I'm hoping to get enough interest for three classes to let my students "adopt" their younger kids and be "big brothers/sisters" to promote literacy by coming into their classroom once every quarter. I'm also starting a community service emphasis each quarter with my classes this year to encourage them to see giving as a normal part of their expected life. For one week during first quarter, we will begin by collecting items for Snack Packs for Kids, then each class will adopt a family during second quarter to purchase Christmas presents for them. I hope it will be a good experience for my students.

Well, I need to get to bed soon. I will try to do a better job of updating my blog! I think that after next week, I will not have any more evening meetings to attend which will help. This Thursday is our school's open house where we meet the parents, and it is always fun but tiring. Believe me, in pre-AP classes EVERY parent attends, so it's a packed house!

The kids are doing well in school, although Owen has gotten in trouble for talking already. I can't imagine where he gets that! ha. I hope they have a great year and have teachers who will pour into them lots of attention and inspiration, as that's what I strive to do each day to 75 other kiddos. Thankfully, Arden is readjusting to her return to preschool very well, and it is 100% better than this time last year! She hasn't had a single potty accident at school while in underwear! She's even stayed dry overnight a few nights recently, so we may be wearing underwear at nights soon, too! I'm thankful that potty training was so easy with her. Arden hasn't been overly clingy and crying in the evenings, and she loves her friends and school. I'm thankful for those wonderful ladies who are called to teach 3 year olds!