The Last Day of School!

Yeah, today is the last day of school!

No more getting up early.

No more dragging Nolan out of bed.

No more stressing about how Nolan is doing at school.

No more stressing about going to bed right at 8:00.

No more....school for weeks.

Now it is summer:

Time for swimming.

Time for popscicles.

Time for getting dressed at 12:00 noon.

Time for camping.

Time for the beach.

Time for sunscreen.

Time for blistering heat.

Time for sunburns.

Time for boredom.

Time for all day fighting.

Sniff Sniff,

WAIT!

I am not sure if I am ready for this!

I am not ready to say good-bye to Ms. Ripley.

I am not ready to say I have a first grader!

I am not ready to entertain all day long!

I am not ready to referee fights among the kids.

I am not ready for the heat, with no pool to jump into.

I don't know if I am really ready for this summer!

Yikes!

Here is my big boy that is now a first grader!

This was the first day of school.

He has grown up so much this year. We have had such a wonderful experience in kindergarten. Ms. Ripley has been nothing but amazing and we will truely miss her.

No Graduation?!

Yesterday the school hosted an awards ceremony for kindergarten-2nd grade. They sadly do not have an official graduation for the kindergarteners, just this ceremony where they announce perfect attendence, completion, and the Six Flags reading award. This award was for students that read a total of six hours over a certain time period. Nolan did achieve this goal, but it was not announced for some reason. Here is the video of my big boy.

A Day in Austin, Texas

We did not go to see Cheri and baby Kohen until Tuesday. My mom, Leslie and I left at 9:00 in the morning and drove down to the awesome city of Austin. I was incredibly excited to see, hold and smell the newborn. When we finally arrived it was close to lunchtime (after a few pit stops along the way) and we took Cheri and Ken some food. She delivered at North Austin Medical Hospital and had a great experience. They say it is a really nice place. We stayed and visited for 2 hours. I know, I probably really wore Cheri out, but we can just talk for hours and not even realize it. We enjoy each other's company tremendously. Actually, we don't even have to talk at times because we know each other so well we know what the other is thinking. It is crazy! Baby Kohen is so very very precious and beautiful. Her skin was flawless and her little head perfectly round. I just stared and held her until my arms ached. Looking at a newborn makes me cry because it is the most wonderful miracle ever. Cheri looked awesome, too. She had that newborn glow about her. After visiting we decided to do some shopping. However on the way out of the hospital my mom slipped in her cheap shoes and fell. Doctors and nurses came to her rescue and helped her up. As a result, we did some major shoe shopping at the new outlet mall in Round Rock. I talked her into getting the new Sketchers shoes. She loved them and hopefully will not slip again. We shopped and shopped and shopped and then topped it off with a delicious meal at Chuy's. You cannot even compare their fajitas to any other place. Yummy! We did not get home until 10:30 that night. Whew, we were exhausted. I had a blast! We can't wait to go back to visit and see how much Kohen has changed.

Congrats Cheri and Ken!

I know, I know most of you already know that my best friend Cheri has finally had her baby. But for those you don't know here is the story. Les went on a guy's day out on Sunday to a gun show in the metroplex. The kids and I were bored and wanted to go see Holly and her girls at my mom's house. So, my dad came to Clifton and took us back to his house. The kids played in a kiddy pool and slip and slide all day long. Leah, Nolan and Leslie play incredibly well together; so well, I was able to get some scrapbooking done. We scrapbooked all day while Papa cooked and watched the kids for us. As I mentioned, I did not have a car with me and I carry my cell phone everywhere in case Cheri were to call in labor. I called her and left a message that I was at my mom's stranded with no car and to not go into labor until Monday or Tuesday. Yep, you guessed it, that night (we slept over at Grandma's) at 2:45 am we got the call that she was going in labor and was already at the hospital. Shucks! I knew this was going to happen! I was very very glad for her though. She had been wanting to go into labor on her own to have a vaginal birth after a c-section. So it was of course wonderful news. I told her to call back once little Kohen was born. Three hours pass and I received another call that she had entered this world. Here are the stats:

Kohen Lynn Thompson
8lbs
20 inches
born at 5:05 am on May 26th

She had a picture perfect birth and I would suggest going to her blog and checking out the wonderful pictures she has posted.
Congratulations Cheri and Ken! We are so happy for you!

Busy, busy, busy....

Yesterday just flew by! We invited Nolan's little friend, Wesley over to play on Friday after school and to stay the night if he wanted. Well he did stay the night...Nolan's first sleepover friend (other than his best friend, Kaden). Wesley did really well and did not ask for his mom one time! Les and I were really impressed with his manners and sweetness. He is welcome back to our house anytime. Our only problem with that situation was that Nolan was so excited the next morning, which was Saturday morning, he awoke at 6:50! I freaked out because I knew they both had a T-Ball game and needed their rest. So I pulled Nolan to our bed in hopes he would go back to sleep, when in fact he did not! Wesley did however until 9:00. Whew! Then Leslie woke up at 7:30 and I freaked out again because she had a dance rehearsal at 2:00! WHY DO KIDS WAKE UP EARLY ON DAYs THEY DO NOT HAVE TO! I just do not understand it. The day did end up just fine, thank goodness. Nolan had a wonderful game and hit the ball so hard he actually got to second base (almost a home run) and then got to run on home with the next batter. I am so very proud of him. He really hustled at every ball hit out in the out field. Then Leslie, at dance rehearsal, did absolutely awesome! You see, we have a dance recital on June 6 at 8:00 at night that you all are welcome to. We are in Act 2 with 26 dances. We are the 9th to go and then second from the last....so there is a huge time lapse that we will have to deal with. Please wish us luck. Anyhoo, they practiced then entire recital at the dance company yesterday and every girl enrolled in the company was there in the room where they practiced sitting on the floor right in front of the performers. In other words, if you were the least bit shy, you would not like the set up. I really did not worry about Leslie, though because I knew she liked seeing the big girls. I was right, Leslie absolutely shined! She put on a show! She danced her heart out! I was so proud. The only problem I see now is that now my expectations are now set high for the actual night. Her teacher even came up to us and said, "The girl we were worried about ended up dancing better than she ever has!" She said this because Leslie got really bored in class and started rolling around on the floor and disrupting because she picked up the dances so quickly. I hope and pray that Leslie will put on a show under the spotlights on the stage. After this exhausting afternoon we were invited to go a friends house for dinner and swimming. The day was a lot of fun and busy busy busy.

Ice Cream in a Bag?!

I volunteered in Nolan's kindergarten classroom today and learned so many new things! Ms. Ripley is just an awesome teacher and we were so incredibly blessed to have her this year. I only hope and pray that we are that lucky next year. I enjoyed this morning so much that she even made me want to teacher kindergarten again. Whoa! At that age you get away with doing so many fun activities and the smallest, simplest ones are the most enjoyed by the kids. In other words, it does not take much to impress them. Well, first we made bubble bottles. This just consisted of pouring water, dish soap and food coloring into a clear water bottle. The kids shake them to form bubbles. They love it! We then did an ocean bottle that consisted of water, oil, and food coloring. The kids get to witness the water separating from the oil! That was a lot of fun; but what "took the cake" was making the ice cream in a bag. I could not believe they were going to make ice cream in a Ziploc, so YES that was another reason I chose today to volunteer! Hee hee. I had to see and taste it myself. WOW! You mommies at home have got to try this recipe this summer. We will definitely do it again with Leslie. You just mix 1 cup of milk, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small sandwich size baggie and seal tightly. Then place that baggie in a larger bag that is filled with ice and about 1/4 cup salt. It does not even have to be rock salt. The kids just mix it around and play with the bag while the mixture hardens into an ice cream consistency. YUMMY! I got to eat Nolan's because he is not a big ice cream fan like I am. There was water everywhere in the classroom and the kids had a blast. I love it! YOU GO MS. RIPLEY!

Field Day

Remember towards the end of each school year the PE teachers would host a field day out in the school yard? It consisted of those little orange cones spread all over the grass and kids running races. I really hated this day when I lived in Las Vegas. I was in the first and second grade before we moved to Texas. I was small and not the fastest. It was always hot and boring to me. In Texas it was a little more fun, but nothing more than running and running and running. No fun stuff. Well here at Clifton the teachers really made it interesting. The entire school yard was filled with stations consisting of hula hoops, jump ropes, wet sponge toss, bubble blowing, Frisbee throwing, leap frogging, jumping house, and kids writing on the side of the school building with sidewalk chalk. All of the while you hear great upbeat tropical music echoing throughout. The weather was nice, a little humid and muggy but not too bad. We all had a wonderful time. Nolan was smiling and laughing the entire day while Leslie just fit right in and did everything with his class. I tell ya, Leslie will not have anything to look forward to once she reaches Kindergarten. She has already done everything! Les even got into the action. He did the leap frog with Leslie and raced Nolan and friends at the 30 yard dash. After all of that we had a picnic lunch in the shade and topped off the day with rainbow Popsicles!

Leslie trying to hop over her daddy!

Nolan really got the hang of leap frogging over!

Watch out! The Frisbees flew everywhere!

Nolan, now is your chance to write graffiti on

the school walls! Notice his name he is

writing...how do they already know to do that?

Leslie enjoyed writing on the walls of course!

The kids were tossing a plucked rubber chicken in the air!

This is Nolan's best friend doing the 3 arm race.

Leslie was surprisingly fast in the sack race.

Les couldn't resist racing Nolan and his friends.

Nolan and his wonderful class after the popscicles.

I Have Been Tagged!

I have been tagged by Cheri on a blogging questionnaire. Sorry Cheri I am just now doing this. My stinky frustrating computer did not want to work yesterday. It was only picking up 10 mbps: worse than dial up! Grrrrrrr. Okay here are the answers to the questions.

What I was doing 10 years ago?
~Well ten years ago I was living in the wonderful city of Austin. I had been living there a year already (lived with my best friend Cheri), so I was getting used to the traffic and awesome-ly weird people. I was going to the University of Texas and trying not to get lost on campus each day. My life was simple.

5 snacks I enjoy?
~chocolate
~popcorn
~ice cream cone: with the biggest "one scoop" you have ever witnessed
I feel better with just one scoop.
~ Dr. Pepper
~chocolate again: I have got to have some after lunch and dinner!

5 things on my list to do today:
~Rush off to Round Rock AS SOON AS CHERI HAS HER BABY!
~Get dressed
~Clean the house: I do a little each day
~Wash the white clothes: My regular washing day is Sunday, but for some weird reason I always save the white clothes for the last. I just hate folding them! Well, now it is Thursday and still no white clothes clean.
~Try to take the time between all of this to play with Leslie

Things I would do if I were a billionaire?
I would probably die of a heart attack first and not even be able to enjoy the money. No really I would do my share of donations to my church, community, friends and family of course. Then I would build the most posh house with maids to keep it clean. I would hire a cook and a driver. I would try to take away all of my stresses I have right now. Oh, I will also build the biggest coolest swimming pool- you know the one with a grotto and slide?! Ahhhhhhhh.... the thought.....

5 jobs that I had:
~receptionist
~assistant teacher
~substitute
~teacher
~now the most important and rewarding job of all: Stay at home Mom

Okay that was boring here are a few funny and off the wall jobs I've had:
~I cleaned boats with Cheri on Lake Travis in Austin. Yes we put on our daisy dukes and cleaned our hearts out! hee hee
~I had and still have the job of a trying to be good wife and friend.
~I forgot one....I am a Homemade Gourmet Distributor (ooops)

5 of my bad habits:
~Staying on the computer most of the day
~I tend to buy for Leslie more than anyone in the house: her clothes are so darn cute!
~Dust Busting ever little crumb on my floor
~I pick at my toes when I am nervous
~COFFEE EACH AND EVERY MORNING!

5 people I want to get to know better:
(A nice way of saying "Tag you are it!)
My mom: you are tagged Momma
I do not really know anyone else that blogs besides Cheri and my mom

6 Random things:
~How do you get the smell of cat poop off of upholstery?
~I get dizzy working in circles around Leslie when I am trying to clean my house....
~I wander how I am going to sell all of my Homemade Gourmet inventory so I can pay off my credit card...
~I am ready to go to the beach!
~I am going to scrapbook ALL day on Monday! Wooo Hooo!
~Oh gosh I am almost out of pictures.....what am I going to scrapbook?!
~I wander when Cheri is going to have Kohen!

One Proud Momma!

Five years ago when Nolan was only a year old he should have been babbling ma ma and da da, but he did nothing. No sounds came out of his mouth. Actually from the day he was born, he hardly cried. He was what you called a perfect baby. He slept, ate, and pooped when he was "supposed" to. But once it was time for him to start communicating, he did not. As a few months went by he started grunting and pointing to the things he wanted. He also did a little sign language. The weird part was that he never got frustrated or threw temper tantrums like many late talkers do. Les and I also knew exactly what he was wanting almost every time. Being worried parents, though, we had his hearing tested as well as many other things tested. He was just a late talker. So we decided to have speech therapy come to our house once a week to help him move along with his language skills. This went on for two years! We thought our son would NEVER talk. Mind you, his is now three years old and just grunting and pointing. We found out from many speech therapists that he was extremely bright and just really did not want to talk. After one summer break, he FINALLY decided to give it a try and started talking pretty much in sentences! It was crazy!

Two more years go by and his language has developed so much that no one would have ever guessed that he was a late talker. Yesterday the kindergarten put on a character education show in front of the entire school and many visitors. Nolan was assigned a big line a couple of weeks ago and my heart dropped. When I told him his line he replied, "I can't say that Mommy." You see, Nolan is VERY conscious of his speech and how people react to his words, so he stays shy most of the time. He does not want to be made a fool of. When in preschool he would not participate in songs at all. He would just sit by the wall and watch. He would be the only kid in the class that would not participate. My heart ached for him. I of course encouraged and helped him practice and memorize his lines for days. The time finally came when it was time for his line on stage in front of lots of people and holding a microphone. I was so incredibly nervous, my stomach ached. He picked up the microphone and DID IT BEAUTIFULLY! I had tears in my eyes I was so proud! My little late talker is growing up very quickly right before my eyes! Enjoy the video.

Go Speed Racer Go!

Last night the four of us drove to Waco to see the new movie Speed Racer. I should mention that I had plans all day yesterday to go, but Les really did not want to go. So once he figured out that I had no plans for dinner, how tired the kids were, and how boring the evening was going to be...he decided he wanted to go. We all loaded the truck and headed to Waco. As suspected BOTH OF THE KIDS fell asleep on the way. Mind you it is around 6:20 by this time. Therefore, we thought we would let the kids sleep while we ate Panda Express. You see we never get to eat Chinese food because the kids do not like it. Yummy! Once the kids woke up at 7:30 we had chicken nuggets waiting for them and made our way to the theatre. Get this....about 30 minutes into the action packed movie Nolan crawled up into Les' lap and laid down. We thought he was just still tired. After about another hour and a half he finally expressed that he had an EARACHE! I couldn't believe it! How painful and shocking. Nolan has not had any other symptoms except a cough, that's it! We all did enjoy the movie and I do recommend it. However it is a little long, but so stimulating. Needless to say, on this Saturday morning we are just laying around fighting an infection. Fun fun.

Homemade Gourmet Plug

I spent most of the day yesterday getting ready to take my Homemade Gourmet products to the Meridian Elementary School and Clifton Elementary School. It took a lot of time and effort pricing and making catchy signs. Last night when all was done, I realized that I had not mentioned anything on my blog about Homemade Gourmet. Most of you already know that I sell these dry mixes and love them as much as I do. So, for your convenience I added a direct link on my blog to my HG website. If you have not already checked it out, be sure and go read all the new recipes and mixes. Homemade Gourmet products are dry mixes that you add a few ingredients that you most likely already have in your frig or pantry. They are easy to follow directions, super quick and super delicious! Okay that is my sales pitch. SO GO CHECK IT OUT! I am all about making wraps right now. Here are some instructions:

Make a Garden Fresh Wrap!

1. Choose Your Wrap
Flatbread, regular tortillas, or flavored tortillas

2. Choose Your Spread!
Start by combining 8 ounces softened cream cheese
with 8 ounces sour cream (you can use low or no fat varieties if desired)
Add your favorite Homemade Gourmet seasoning to the cream mixture and stir until well blended. Choose from:
3T Homemade Gourmet Teriyaki Marinade Mix
1 Homemade Gourmet Italian Cheeseball Mix
1 Homemade Gourmet Orange Vinaigrette Mix
1 Homemade Gourmet Apple Pecan Vinaigrette Mix
1 Homemade Gourmet Maria’s Salsa Mix
3 Tablespoons Homemade Gourmet Kansas City Rub Mix
2 Tablespoons Homemade Gourmet Mock Spinach Seasoning
1 Homemade Gourmet Sun Dried Tomato Dip Mix

3. Choose Your Filling!
From the garden to the deli…the choices are endless. Choose the items that would compliment best your choice of wrap and spread

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all of you mothers out there had a wonderful day today. I most surely did! I got to actually wake up on my very own this morning! Now that just never happens. I usually wake to the sound of The Backyardigans and arguing. Once my kids knew I was awake they ran to my room and loaded my bed. I love snuggling with them and I wish I took the time to do it more. I laid up in the bed with each child in the crook of my arms thinking that life just does not get better than this. The kids wanted me to stay in bed because they wanted to bring me breakfast in bed. However we were out of everything in the frig and pantry so my wonderful husband had to run to the store. I got tired of waiting in the bed so I got up to get some coffee. I called my own mom and chatted. By the time I got off of the phone, Les had come home and fixed my favorite breakfast, French toast and bacon. Yummy! Later we just took it easy and played with the kids outside. Man, the weather was AWESOME! Les started the smoker and cooked some hot links for lunch. Grandma and Papa came over afterwards and hung out the rest of the day. They brought some steaks and potatoes to cook. My mom and I got to catch up after being away from each other for five weeks. That was so nice to actually talk face to face and not on the phone or email. Once dinner rolled around we had the most delicious steaks, roasted corn on the cob, and grill-baked potatoes! We even topped it off with blackberry cobbler and ice cream! YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY! I am hurting now, I ate so much. After dinner we took a nice walk down our road and picked wildflowers. I tell ya, my day could not have been better. Oh, I should mention that Les and Daddy cooked all of the food and cleaned all of the dishes; thank you so much! I thank God everyday for giving me the gift of motherhood. Yes it is difficult and trying at times, but I would not change it for the world. I am so happy to be a mom!

Girls' Night Out

My friend Melanie and I set up a girl's night out last night in Waco. We had so much fun and laughed so hard it hurt! She dropped her kids off at a gym and later had her mom pick them up so we could have the night together. We actually got to eat in peace and let me tell ya, we both had big 'ole juicy steaks and too many dinner rolls! It has been way too long since I have been able to have a complete adult conversation over the dinner table. We laughed mainly about our husbands, so we want to thank them for provided our entertainment for the night. We have both come to the conclusion that they are "odd ducks" and "strange cookies" from another planet. But what would we do without them. After our delicious meal we made a pit stop to get a milkshake on our way to the movie theatre. We saw the new movie "What Happens in Vegas" with Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. It was hilarious and would definitely recommend it. When the movie was over we got the kids and headed home. It was a wonderful evening and I actually feel revived and strengthened this morning; even though we got home so late. I believe EVERYONE needs to take time out for a girls night every chance we get. It is healthy and much needed!

A Stick Horse Rodeo

Oh, how I love living in Clifton, Texas! The FFA of the high school hosted a stick horse rodeo for all of the Kindergarten today. It was held in the County Fair and Rodeo arenas and barns just on the edge of town. There were about 100 students, 40 FFA students, and tons of towns people and parents. It was the event of the day! It was so fun to see everyone get into this rodeo. There were 10 events for them to do: a petting zoo, roping, rope toss, stick horse races, peanut races, catch the rodeo clown, face painting, pole bending, bull riding, and barrel racing. Yes, that is a lot and we were down there all morning. Nolan's favorite event was the bull riding of course. The FFA students gave a "piggy back" style bull ride to each student! Those poor kids are going to be so sore tomorrow! Leslie took her stick horse too and entered every event as well. She had a ball and fit right in with the class. You just do not get that sort of field trip in the city. I love how the community is involved in the student's learning and how the high school and elementary school support each other. For one example, in the fall during the football season, the elementary school buses over to the high school for a big pep rally. I LOVE THAT! The school spirit is over flowing here in Clifton and I always wanted that in Walnut Springs. I am so very very glad we moved here. The experiences are wonderful!

Leslie showing off her face painting

Nolan was so gentle holding the chicks.

Leslie loved the little chicks too!

Nolan in the midst of all the other stick horses.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Who can resist Mexican food on Cinco de Mayo? We sure can't. Les took Nolan some lunch as the school and found the class making homemade tortillas. When he tried one, he was instantly hooked. All excited, he came home telling me that I had to get this White Swan flour at the store today do he can make us some homemade tortillas. I cannot resist them either, so I headed to the store for some Mexican fixin's. The kids loved making the tortillas as much as we did. I fixed a chicken filling with fresh cut green onions, cilantro, and cherry tomatoes. Yummy! We had a wonderful Mexican dinner in honor of our friends, the Mexicans.

Kneading the dough.

Rolling out the tortillas is a true art!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

A Blue Toe with a Blue Dress

On Sunday morning I got upset because the Internet was down and nothing was going my way. You know just when you think things could not get worse, then all of a sudden THEY GET WORSE! I was coming out of the bathroom and caught my pinky toe on the kids' stool that sits infront of the sink. OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! &%$#@#&%$##@&! I felt like saying every bad word in the book, but I did really well and controlled myself. I could not move though. All I could do is say ouwy and hold my toes. After a few minutes of sitting on the floor I limped back to my bedroom and showed Les. He thinks I broke it. Well grrrrreat. Here I am already in a bad mood and trying to do what is best and go to church. Well, I overcame the pain and limped all the way to church that morning. Mind you it is now very black and blue and swollen. However, it is now healing. Yeah! I was going to post a picture of it, but I think I will spare you the graphic details. It will make you hurt, too!




The blue dress..... I was so excited to find Leslie a Maggie and Zoe dress on our little shopping trip on Saturday. Of course, like I have mentioned before Les is now into going to Marshalls and Ross. So we just had to stop there too. While in Marshalls we found some darling dresses that were so well made. I looked at the tag and sure enough it was a Maggie and Zoe with a dress for an American Girl Doll. Yeah! The best part was that they were only $15! So I bought TWO! Leslie loves them and wants to wear them everyday.

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Internet Withdrawl

I know I have been slacking in the blogs lately. However it has not been my fault. My internet just did not want to work the last few days. You know, I was really going through withdrawl because getting on the computer and surfing is my favorite passtime now and I do it every morning while I drink my coffee. I also have to pay yucky bills on it too. So, the last few days I have actually had to find something else to do with my time. In a way I guess it was good for me. But I AM BACK ON NOW BABY!