Kristi Moffitt

a new post

2010-04-03T07:51:00.001-07:00

Well, I FINALLY graduated college. It was a long time coming, but I am so glad to have done it and I cannot imagine finishing at a better time in life. I enjoyed my classes so much and I really felt like I soaked it all up because I knew what I wanted and it just seemed more meaningful this time around. I started subbing in Warren and Van Buren counties in January and I got quite a lot of work considering all the SNOW DAYS!!

Then, my big break came when Mrs. Jaco offered me her medical leave at Hickory Creek. I am teaching her 2nd grade class until the end of the year. I love it so much. I cannot even begin to describe how interesting, challenging, and hilarious this class has been. I am having the time of my life. I can't remember a happier time than this. I love my kids and I love my job. Eric and I have reached a good place in our marriage. We enjoy each other's company and we enjoy watching our kids do their extracurricular activities. We are always so busy, but busy is good. We like busy.

Disney and Biltmore

2009-10-16T06:32:00.000-07:00

BILTMORE ESTATE a mini vacation for just US! NO kids!!! Thanks Joe and Debby!

Happy Birthday Katie!

2009-10-03T17:06:00.000-07:00

August/September 2009

2009-09-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

First day of school...

Katie was actually very excited to go to school. She is in 2nd grade in Pat Sullivan's class and loves it!

Chas was so excited for his first day of Kindergarten. He loves Mrs. Lola!

Happy 10th Anniversary to me! I have the BEST husband in the whole world!!! I love Eric better today than ever before and I am so happy to be married to him.

Happy 10th Anniversary to Eric!Opening game September 5th, 2009. Eric went with Matthew and had a great time. We are headed back to Knoxville this weekend for the next game. I am excited to go to this one. Eric says he got seats in the shade for this game. I refused to go last weekend because I do not like to sit in the sun. Eric teases me and says I don't want to get a tan unless I am paying for it, LOL! He's right!

Puppies

2009-09-10T07:45:00.000-07:00

Male - Fawn and white is hoping to be adopted soon.

Female - solid white is hoping to be adopted soon.

Male piebald adopted by the Le family in Vancouver, Canada.

Male - solid white adopted by the Reynolds family in Spokane, Washington.

Please let us know if you or anyone you know may be interested in adopting either our female or our male puppy.

Our babies are being offered to approved loving homes for $3,000 each. A $500 deposit is required to hold the puppy of choice. We cannot and will not ship our puppies, but we are willing to fly them or drive them at the expense of the buyer.

Thanks!

Puppies and Kids

2009-08-09T02:14:00.000-07:00

So, Jenny's comment on my last post reminded me that I need to update my blog. Here are some recent pics of the pupperdoodles as I like to call them. They are doing great. We lost two but we have four that seem to be doing well. The first picture at the top is the one call Squirmy because he is... well... squirmy. He is very small, definitely the runt of the litter. I've kind of grown attached to him though. The other three are definitely NOT SMALL as you can see.
We have been doing great. Summer has come to an end for the kids at least. They start back to school tomorrow (Monday). They are so excited. I know it won't be long before they are not excited anymore, but irritated that they have to get up early instead of watching T.V. I'm guessing about Wednesday for Katie, maybe Friday for Chas.
Katie is quickly becoming too cool for me. Too cool for any of us, really. She informed me not long ago that she is ready to move out. She is seven. Oh boy. That's all I have to say about that.
Chas is still the most adorable child ever. He recently picked out some fire engine pajamas when we were out shopping for school clothes and I couldn't resist. He loves them and they are the cutest thing ever! It has become painfully clear to me that his days of cuteness are numbered and I am holding on for dear life. So, I bought him another pair of pajamas (Mario Kart) yesterday just for good measure. They aren't as cute as the fire engine pajamas, but they will do. I have always desperately tried to keep Chas little for as long as possible, but time marches on and I know the inevitable is soon approaching.
But it is not here yet and I am going to enjoy every minute of cuteness that I have left. Tonight he told me that he really wished he was a dog because then he could dig in the yard whenever he wanted to. The cutest thing he does, though, is recite commercials. He loves commercials and gets so excited over the claims they make about the product/place/etc., I love how gullible and innocent he is. The other day he saw a commercial about some weight loss thing and he goes to Eric and says, "Daddy, do you want to be skinny like Mommy? Here is what you need to do... " it was so funny. Eric thought that I put him up to it, but I did not.
I feel like I should say something more about Katie. Katie is desperate to be grown up and it is killing me. She wants a cell phone so she can text her friends (never mind that none of them have cell phones). She wants her own facebook page. She wants her own web show. What is a web show anyway??? She wants, she wants, she wants! She does NOT want to hold my hand in public. Ever. She wants her own room. At least three times a week she wants to go live with Aunt Betsy, because as she once told us, "her kids have never even cried... ever!" Aunt Betsy is the best mother on the planet according to Katie. She never makes her kids clean up, or eat their vegetables, or turn off the T.V., etc., Katie is just sure of it. The other thing that Katie is known for is her drama. Oh the drama! She gets hurt/sick a LOT. And it is very dramatic. The slightest little thing sends her into a tailspin of emotions. The other day she was wailing because she hurt her knee. I glanced at the knee and it looked fine to me. When she wouldn't quit squalling about it, I asked her, rather impatiently, what she wanted me to do about it, to which she replies, "Well, at least LOOK at it! Be a M O T H E R!" I thought that was pretty funny. I love my Katie even though she drives me crazy and I know she loves me too. The truth is, she reminds me of myself a lot when I was her age and I try to remember that when I am at my wits end with her. I caught her trying to shave her legs the other day, so I showed her the scar on my leg that I got when I tried to cut the hair off with scissors when I was about her age because I didn't know you were supposed to use a razor, I just knew my Mom didn't have hair on HER legs.
Oh well, this is life and life is good.

Penelope

2009-07-19T02:52:00.000-07:00

So, this is our new bulldog puppy. Yes, she is Izzy's replacement, but Izzy does not know that yet. We have named her Penelope and she has already developed several nicknames; Sweet P, Penny, HennyPenny, Pen-Pen (not to be confused with Phen-Phen), and Lil'Boo (I call Izzy "BooBoo" sometimes).

She was much cuter yesterday when we picked her up. That was before I listened to her cry ALL night and then cleaned up after her this morning. However, I love her just the same. How could you not?

In other news, the kids won 2nd place in the T-Ball Tournament. We were so proud of them. I think the parents had more fun than the kids did! Although, Eric's blood pressure went through the roof a few times when the refs didn't call things our way. It was a great tournament.

Dad is finally heading back home from Anchorage where it sounds like he had a great time. I did not realize the sun does not set up there this time of year. I don't think I would like that. I have a hard enough time sleeping as it is.

Mom is already back in the classroom gearing up for the new school year. She is excited to teach writing this year. I think that is the perfect job for her.

Eric is still getting a lot of time off, but the contract is starting to shape up and while it is not anything to get excited about, it is considerably better than we thought and it looks like things are going to get back to normal soon. I know we are going to miss his time off though.

Izzy is due to have puppies on Wednesday morning at 8 am by c-section. She is so big that we are very nervous that she won't make it. She looks to be doing well despite her size.

I finish up my two online classes on Monday. I am very excited to be done with classes for a while. I start student teaching in September. I still don't know my placements and that is driving me crazy! I want to know so bad! I plan to start back to school in January for graduate work. We'll see how that goes.

Well, I guess that is about all. We have had a really good summer. Eric and Hugh have worked really hard adding on to the house. I am excited for all of our home improvements to be done so I can post pictures. We still have a million more to go, but I love what they have done so far. We can only do so much at a time due to the money involved. Eric is determined not to borrow anything, so it will probably be years before everything is done, but at least we have begun. I guess you have to start somewhere, right?

Stay tuned for my next post... PUPPIES!

T-Ball 09

2009-06-15T06:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks again and again to Mike Baus for taking beautiful pictures of my kiddos. He's like my own personal photographer! I get to enjoy the game and he documents every minute of it for me! Am I lucky or what? Anyhoo. Here are my munchkins looking especially cute and athletic.

Dance Recital

2009-05-31T16:14:00.000-07:00

MAY!!! YAY!!!

2009-05-03T11:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's already May! I am done with school for the summer, yay! I am now officially a senior in college! Wow. It's hard to believe that fourteen years after I started, I am finally a senior. I finished up Kindergarten at Bobby Ray on Friday and I was so sad. So, so sad. Ginger has promised me her last two personal days so that I can come back and be with them again. (I'm supposed to be on the sub list starting tomorrow). We'll see.

I signed Katie up for next year's dance team and jazz at Ms. Paula's. She is very excited to be on the dance team. Yesterday I signed them both up for T-ball, too. Katie and Chas are both doing very well in school and we are so proud of them both. Chas will still go to speech all summer one day a week. Chas is blowing everyone away with his reading ability. He really is amazing. This morning he told me to come in and see what was on "News Channel 5 dot com". Then he read me the headline story. It was too funny. I was like, my five year old is reading the news? What is up with that?

Hugh got our wall built and it looks so pretty. If a retaining wall can look pretty. I think it does. He did a really good job. We picked out our railing for the new deck and I am so excited for it to be done. We are having some issues with the roof and I think Eric wants to just forego it for now, but I really want a roof over the deck. Something to do with the pitch of the existing roof. I don't know.

I want the faux rock stuff to cover up all of the block wall, but Eric wants to just do part of it and leave the ivy. I hate the ivy. Hate, hate, hate it. I want it gone. There is enough nature surrounding us without having it crawling up the walls. That's my opinion. Oh well. Eric keeps saying the rock is too expensive, blah, blah, blah. Funny, the kayak wasn't too expensive nor all the "accessories" that just had to go with it. Ooooh, now I'm sounding bitter. Sorry.

As long as I get my three stone diamond anniversary ring. I'm good.

Easter

2009-04-14T03:39:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter weekend. We watched Hannah Montana The Movie on Friday night and then again with my Mom on Saturday. It wasn't a bad movie... considering my expectations. I sent out an email to most of you about Sophie. I ran over her on Thursday. It was probably the most heart wrenching experience of my life. But, she is okay. I am okay. All is well. She is in the house recovering and it's making me a little crazy, but I guess it's the least I can do, considering I DID run over her.

The kids were hilarious asking questions about the Easter Bunny all week. Katie wanted to know what happens if the Easter Bunny has allergies? Then we debated if the Easter Bunny is a boy or a girl. There were several theories on that one. Chas wondered why the Easter Bunny lays eggs. Also, they were both curious as to what the Easter Bunny gets for Easter and Chas also asked if the Easter Bunny lives with Santa Claus. I'm thinking this might be the last year I get to have these conversations so I really lived it up. I love Easter. It's my favorite holiday after Christmas. I had so much fun this year between my kids and my Kindergarten class. It was a blast.

And the wall came tumbling down...

2009-04-14T03:38:00.000-07:00

Kindergarten

2009-04-05T05:44:00.000-07:00

Just a few thoughts on teaching Kindergarten. I started teaching on Monday March 30th and I taught all week. We covered the letter J and Qu. We also talked about halves and cylinders in math.
Fun things we did:

Jumping Jelly Bean Jar for good behavior. Everytime they earn a jelly bean they get to jump while I put it in the jar.

"J" word building pocket chart game. My demo lesson last semester. Thanks Dr. K!

Jar Game - this was to review/learn the color words.

Juggling - we juggled squishy balls and the kids loved it!

Jell-O - we ate it with whip cream, yum!

Jell-O J's - traced J's on paper with squeeze glue (not glue sticks!) and then sprinkle Jell-O powder on top and shake it off. They turned out so pretty and they smelled good too!

Wiki Stix J's - We made the letter J with Wiki Stix.

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat - we read this story (one of my favorites) and then acted it out with props. We had to do it three times so that everyone could have a turn. By the third time, I didn't even have to read it, they just recited the story from memory. So much fun!

Sight words book - "With" and "My". We made a book, "I can play with my _____" and the kids each contributed a page with a picture and a sentence of what they play with. Sabino said he can play with his longneck, which had me confused, but it turns out it is his toy dinosaur that has a long neck. Whew.

Peanut Butter and Jelly song and dance.

Bread and Jam for Frances. I read this story to them and then we looked at the difference between Jelly and Jam in ziploc bags. They loved squishing them in their fingers. Grape jelly and jam do not look that different, but the jam was significantly darker. I thought it would have bits of grape in it, but no such luck. Oh well.

We taste tested Jelly and Jam on bread. YUM. The jury is still out on which they liked better. Nearly everyone ate both completely gone and loved them both!

Jamberry. Another fave book of mine.

Show and Tell J things.

Moving on to Qu, we looked at things that start with Qu like my quilt and quarters (lucky for me I just happened to have 18 quarters lying around!) and a picture of a UT quarterback (they loved this!) and my bird book that makes the sounds of the birds, we listened to a quail and a wild turkey, just because they wanted to hear the turkey.

We traced Q and q on the belly of a Quail with squeeze glue and then sprinkled Quaker Quick Oats on and shook them off.

Friday we wore our pajamas to school to wrap up our J and Q week. We listened to the story Llama Llama Red Pajama and talked about being Quiet. We listened to the Pajama Song by Livingston Taylor. We looked at a picture by Georges Seurat and then made our own "pointillism" painting by using Q-tips (pretty clever, huh?). We did the Cha Cha Slide and the Tooty Ta just for fun. We read Click Clack Quack and came up with some questions for each other.

On a personal note: Thursday was kind of a rough day for me. I don't know what it was, but the kids were just not behaving very well. I was very frustrated and I used every behavior management technique I could think of and I still felt like a failure when I left the school and boy was I exhausted! So, I went home and started googling behavior management ideas and somehow ran across this "power teaching" technique on YouTube. I watched several of the videos of actual teachers using this in class and I decided what the hey, I will give it a shot. So, I did. On Friday, I taught the kids the class/yes response and that was all it took. I used that all day and they loved it! I also taught them to give themselves and each other "fireworks". They loved that too. I felt so in control all day and we all had so much fun. I left school on Friday feeling more energized and on top of the world than I have felt in a long time. I don't know if this will work in the long run, but I am definitely going to keep using it and I am going to teach them the rest of the things this coming week. I will keep you posted on how it goes.

Let me just say how grateful I am for this opportunity to teach Kindergarten. I have had the best time and Katie and Chas have helped me prepare almost every lesson which has been fun too. Katie is always telling me, "Mom, you could do this with your class..." it's adorable. When I asked Chas to show me how to make Jell-O J's, you would have thought I just awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize. He was so proud to get to teach Mommy how to do something.

Next up is Bug Week. Fun, fun!

New Funnies

2009-03-29T05:11:00.000-07:00

Eric took Katie and Chas out to feed cows in his big red truck. Chas goes a lot and apparently Eric lets him drive (steer) in the field. So, after Chas had a turn, Eric asked Katie if she wanted to drive.
Katie: No
Eric: But don't you want to be able to tell your friends that you can drive a truck?
Katie: No, I'd rather just lie about it.

We were cleaning up the playroom (all four of us) and Chas was not helping very much. So, Eric reminded him that he had to give a talk on Sunday entitled, "I Can Obey My Parents", to which Chas replied, "But, I don't know what it means to obey my parents!"

Fishin' with Dad (and Mom)

2009-03-22T16:24:00.000-07:00

Cousins!

2009-03-18T09:58:00.000-07:00

Mikayla

Chas

Chas and Seth

All six of them digging a hole in a sand bar on Rocky River.

Katie and Elizabeth looking for rocks. Looks like Katie found something gross. She is her mother's daughter after all!

Katie and Mikayla engaged in deep coversation.

Eric, Betsy, and five kids breaking the law.

Eric's brother, Matthew and his wife, Jenny, and their four kids came up on Saturday to visit and we had a great time, but it rained all day and I totally forgot to take any pictures! Then on Tues, and Wed., Eric's sister, Betsy, and her four kids came to visit and the kids had a blast down at the house on Rocky River. The next day they played at our house for a while and then Betsy and Eric loaded up five of the six kids and took them to Willene's house (Elizabeth and I stayed home and played Mario Kart Wii). I wanted so much to get a shot of the five kids and all the toys that were loaded up in the back of the truck , but Eric drove away before I could really get a good shot. Oh well.

I am very much against children riding in the backs of trucks, but since they were just going across the field, I made and exception and Chas was very excited about that! We wish everyone lived closer because it was such fun seeing all the cousins play together.

The end of basketball...

2009-03-12T07:28:00.000-07:00

I so appreciate our friend Mike for taking these pictures. It was a great game. We lost to the blue team, again, by one point, again. Oh well, the boys played their little hearts out and Chas had a great time, as usual. Next up, tee ball.

Happenings...

2009-03-06T16:21:00.000-08:00

The kids recently brought home some forms to fill out for a fundraiser. They asked me to do this so they could get a squishy ball. So, I did. Then a couple days later, they brought home two more books of forms, so I filled out those too. That time, they got a key chain. Katie left me a very sweet note with her key chain... Just thought that you all should know what I sold your addresses for...

Our annual trip to the cow pasture to fly kites.

Little Blue Riding Hood. Isn't she cute?

Our cheering section

Katie's Barbie kite

Chas' Lightning McQueen and Sally kite

Izzie enjoyed chasing the kites. At one point Chas' kite went down and Izzie was on it in a flash and quickly tore into it. It was hilarious.

This is a face that only a mother could love. How could you not love this face, though?

My conversation with Chas

2009-02-17T13:23:00.000-08:00

Chas and I just had what I think was an entertaining conversation on the way home from pre-school. Here is how it went:

Chas: (very excited) Mommy, sometimes "G" makes the "J" sound! Like this, listen Mommy, Sun J-J-Jrop. See?

Me: Well, actually that is the letters D-R that make that sound, but you are right, it does sound like J and sometimes the letter G makes the "J" sound like in Curious George. George starts with G, but sounds like J.

Chas: Yeah. And like J-J-Jripping!

Me: Well, actually that is also the D-R sound, but it does sound like J when you say it fast.
a few minutes later...

Chas: Okay, let's do the S-S-S sound. (by now he is just having fun thinking of words that start with certain letters).

Me: Okay, Chas what is a word that starts with "S"?

Chas: Sun.

Me: Yes, and do you know what other letter makes the S-S-S sound?

Chas: S?

Me: There is another letter that sometimes makes that sound.

Chas: I don't know.

Me: Well, the letter "C" can make the S-S-S sound. And it also makes the K-K-K sound like cake and cat.

Chas: Yeah, but some people spell cat with a K.

Me: yes, but that isn't right is it?

Chas: No, because K only makes the K-K-K sound like in Quiet.

Me: (I'm beginning to feel like I'm in that skit "Who's on First" at this point)... Well, actually quiet starts with the qua-qua-qua- sound. What letter is that?

Chas: I don't know.

Me: It's Q.

Chas: I know another word that starts with C! It's my name, Chas! ( I think he was getting tired of all my teaching at this point)

Me: (ever the teacher) What letter goes with C to make the CH-Ch-Ch sound?

Chas: H! and I know someone else that has the Ch sound in his name. His name is Chase.Except when I asked him if he wanted to be my cousin, he said he couldn't understand me because I speak in country. He can't understand people who speak country. That's because I am from a country and he isn't.

Me: Oh. Okay.

February

2009-02-17T11:08:00.001-08:00

Well, I thought I would give a little update on how things are with the Moffitt's. February has not been a fun month for me. The first week we found out Eric was getting laid off for a week. Not good. Not bad, but not good, either. I mean, he likes to have time off work that he still gets paid for ( at least some pay), but we don't like what it means overall.

So, we took Chas to the dentist in M'boro to Wild About Smiles and he had so much fun. I have never seen a child so excited to go to the dentist. Those of you who are familiar with Wild About Smiles know what I'm talking about. Anyway, he had a great checkup, no cavities and it was overall a good day.

Then Friday, I went in to have my three wisdom teeth extracted. It did not go well. Apparently, things were a bit more complicated in the surgery than the dentist first thought. I was told it was to be, quote "No big deal". So, I figured it would be no big deal. Well, it was a very big deal. I have had more pain in my mouth than I ever thought was possible.

I went back the next week to find out that I had dry socket where my bottom two wisdom teeth were. If you don't know what "dry socket" is, then I hope you never find out. So, I have been spending my days days doped up on pain meds and sleeping as much as possible, because it was just too miserable to be awake. I am on day 11 right now of soft foods (like the kind you can eat through a straw) and I still have pain. It IS getting better every day and today, I can honestly say it is bearable as long as I don't eat, drink, or talk. I know I am getting better, but I am really ready for this to be OVER.

One of my favorite things to eat is chips and salsa. I have a very lonely bag of Tostitos on top of my refrigerator that has been there since Feb. 5th. Eric has been nice enough not to open it.

Valentine's Day, my Dad was in and Katie woke up that morning with a stomach virus, so Dad Eric and Chas went to Knoxville to watch the UT boys play basketball and I stayed home and slept on the couch while Katie watched about a gazillion episodes of Hannah Montana. Is there ever a time when that show isn't on? Just curious.

I did get an ipod from Eric for V-day and I do love it very much. I know this has been a whiney post, but that's kind of how I have been feeling this month. Whiney.

So, February 2009 has exactly 11 days to redeem itself. I'll let you know what happens.

Pictures

2009-02-12T14:16:00.000-08:00

Sans Wisdom Teeth

2009-02-07T14:08:00.001-08:00

I had all my wisdom teeth removed yesterday and I am NOT enjoying the aftermath. I only had three to begin with and I only needed one of those three removed, but the dentist I saw convinced me to have them all out at the same time and I think that was a HUGE mistake. If I had known it would hurt this bad, I would have stuck to my original plan and only had the one that was causing trouble removed. I am only half awake right now after sleeping for 30 hours. I woke up several times to take pain medication and then went right back out. I would be in bed right now, except that Eric is going to work and I need to be awake to take care of the kids. I really hope my face goes back to normal size before I have to go to class on Monday. That would be embarrassing! It is freakishly swollen. Well, just thought I would send out an update and whine a little. Let me know if you are planning to have your wisdom teeth removed so that I can talk you out of it.

Chas Basketball 2009

2009-02-03T04:08:00.001-08:00

Ron Clark Academy

2009-02-02T17:09:00.000-08:00

Just some teacher inspiration!

I love this guy!

Facebook

2009-01-26T05:20:00.000-08:00

Sorry, guys and gals. I have been so caught up in my new found obsession that I have neglected my blog. I am loving facebook! I have found so many old friends and made some new ones, too! I did get my map up and it we love it so much. I even catch Eric staring at it at times. Sometimes we will find something on there and be like, "I didn't know that was there... let's google it!" It's so much fun. Chas was excited to see there was a country named Chad. Katie likes to point out all the places (continents) where she has already been and what she saw there. Gotta love that girl's imagination. Well, I will post again soon, I promise!

My new MAP!

2009-01-17T09:41:00.000-08:00

Actually it's going to be too tall for the wall I planned to put it on, so Eric thinks I should get rid of Antartica and the legend at the bottom. I noticed in this picture they trimmed off the entire top half of Greenland. Hmmm... decisions. I am so excited, though! If he would just let me put it up in the living room, I wouldn't have to make these tough decisions, but then we would have to get rid of the couch and I agree that would be a little rash. Still, I am pretty excited.

This picture really does not do it justice, it is really so much prettier than this. Really. I promise.

Just a little update...

2009-01-15T16:24:00.000-08:00

Well, we had a great visit from my Dad the first weekend in January, then the kids went back to school, Katie went back to dance class, and Chas started basketball. Second weekend, Mom came to visit and that's when the Chuck E Cheese/ Discovery Museum trip happened. We had not been to the Discovery Museum in M'boro in over a year and it was so much fun and we were glad to see so many new things there.

I resolved to start running again and I have stuck with it for two whole weeks! Yay for me! Eric and I have started riding our exercise bikes together, too. New Year, high ideals, you know how that goes...

Eric is back at work after quite a lot of time off. So, things are kind of getting back to the way they were before Christmas... BUSY!!!

We really enjoyed our time off from school/work and just being able to relax a little. I'm back at school as of today and this semester looks to be so much fun. I am studying Kindergarten and Special Ed curriculum. Kindergarten is my favorite, next to preschool. I am really looking forward to the last half of the semester when we do our Kindergarten practicum and we also get to help with the screening. I think that will be fun.

Eric and I recently received some paperwork regarding Chas' speech problem this week and it was suggested that he would benefit from speech therapy. Eric and I agree that this will be good for him. I don't know when he will start, but I am excited to see if it helps him with his stuttering.

Katie seems to like her substitute teacher, Ms. Rachel. She is filling in for Ms. Stephanie, while Ms. Stephanie has her baby. Ms. Rachel did her student teaching in Ms. Stephanie's class last year, so she is very familiar with her rules, teaching style, etc.,

Chas also had her quite a bit at the beginning of the year, when Ms. Jacqueline's mother was ill. So, we feel like we know her by now (one of the benefits of a small school!). Katie is really doing well in school and she still loves it. I can't even express how thankful I am that both of my children love school so much. It is such a relief. I know it will probably not last forever, but every year, I am grateful that they are excited and happy to go to school.

Well, I meant for this to be just a short little update, but it has turned into a long rambling mess! Sorry! I am really enjoying facebook these days. I have connected with so many old friends and classmates. It is so much fun to see what everyone is up to and where they are. Well, that's it. I have to go, Katie wants me to teach her how to do the splits... hahaha! This should be good.

Discovery Museum and Chuck E Cheese... M'boro

2009-01-13T03:38:00.001-08:00

Happy Week!

2009-01-09T09:40:00.000-08:00

We just found out we have a (another) savings account with over $600 in it! We didn't even know it existed! Is that cool or what? That is way better than finding a $20 bill in your winter coat pocket. Also, I had to buy school books this week for $238, but that same day I listed my old textbooks and sold all of them within three hours for over $250!!! Isn't that awesome? I'm on a roll, so I went grocery shopping with coupons at Kroger and everything I had a coupon for was already on sale and I ended up saving $48!!! It's like money is coming out of the woodwork! I don't understand it, but I am NOT complaining about it!

Here's hoping you have your own kind of blessed week!

THE SPOILED UNDER-30 CROWD!!!

2009-01-08T14:12:00.000-08:00

If you are 30 or older you will think this is hilarious!!!!

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking Twenty-five miles to school every morning... Uphill...BOTH ways

Yadda, yadda, yadda

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up,

There was no way in heck I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

But now that... I'm over the ripe old age of Thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.

You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my Childhood, you live in a dang Utopia!

And I hate to say it but you kids today you Don't know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, We had to go to the damn library and Look it up ourselves, in the card catalogue!!

There was no email!! We had to actually write Somebody a letter, with a pen!...

Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

There were no MP3's or Napsters! If you wanted to Steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!

Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the beginning and mess it all up!

We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting!

If you Were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it!

And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, Your mom, your boss, your Bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you Just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video Games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games Like 'Space Invaders' and 'asteroids'. Your guy was a little square! You Actually had to use your Imagination!! And there were no multiple levels or Screens, it was just one screen Forever!

And you could never win. The game just kept getting Harder and harder and Faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

Sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only m-net And there was no on screen menu and no remote Control! You had to use a Little book called a TV Guide to find out what was On! Y

ou were screwed when it Came to channel surfing! You had to get off Your butt and walk over to the TV to change the Channel and there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons On Saturday Morning.

Do you Hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK For cartoons, you spoiled Little rats!

And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat Something up we had to use the stove ... Imagine that!

If we wanted Popcorn, we had to use that stupid Jiffy Pop thing and shake it over the stove forever like an idiot.

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids Today have got it too easy.You're spoiled.

You guys wouldn't have lasted Five minutes back in 1980!

Regards,The over 30 Crowd

Oh Well

2009-01-06T07:08:00.000-08:00

I was just filling in my new calendars and noticed that I have a Praxis exam scheduled for April 25th! That's the date of the Music City 1/2 Marathon. Ughhhh!!! Oh well. Maybe I can find another relatively close 1/2 marathon to do. Let me know if you know of any.

Pictures

2009-01-06T04:50:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T09:13:00.000-08:00

So, I have made up my mind. My resolution is to complete the Music City 1/2 Marathon in Nashville, Saturday, April 25th.

So, now I am looking for peer support/pressure. Come on people! We can do it together! Bonnie's Trek to the Tri last year inspired me. However, a triathalon is so out of my league, so I am starting with baby steps.

So far, I have an "I'll try" from Kristy Weeter. That's right Kristy, you are now officially committed to try. It has been published on my blog, therefore you are now accountable to all my blog fellows as well as myself. Didn't I tell you I could be annoying? Be careful what you ask for...

Now for all the rest of you.

Seriously, girls. Look at your thighs. Is this what you want to see in June? Is it?

Is it?

Think about it and then get back to me.

kkcem@blomand.net

Genealogy business... shutting her down.

2008-12-28T05:23:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

As of January 1st 2009, I will no longer be in the genealogy business. After seven years, I am closing up shop. I started my business as a stay at home Mom with a new baby, but that baby is now seven years old and my other baby is five! I have made so many friends over the years and I will miss making new friends (and money! Haha!) , but I am in my last year of school and when I graduate I hope to get a job as a teacher. Between my school work and my children and just the day to day stuff that takes up so much of my time, I am unable to keep up with the requests for research. I will still be keeping my genealogy blog and I will still do free lookups from sources I own… when I have time. If you need names of people to help you with document retrieval and/or research, I have a FEW contacts that do excellent work and are very reliable. Email me for that information, if you are interested.

Here is a list of the people I am finishing up reports for (if you think you should be on this list, let me know):

HICKEY

BROWN

BLASDONE

FISHER

I am posting this so that you know NOT to recommend me as a professional genealogist. Also, just as an FYI.

It’s been fun! Thanks so much!

A Christmas Story...

2008-12-25T08:25:00.000-08:00

Christmas at the Baus House... my sweet boy...

Christmas Eve presents... new pajamas!

The calm before the storm.

Fast Forward to 2:15 AM Christmas Morning. That's right, 2:15 AM

What happened to my sweet boy???

Seriously, this is disturbing...

Katie singing...

2008-12-25T07:34:00.000-08:00

Moffitt Christmas Letter 2008

2008-12-21T13:46:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas!

I am so happy it is Christmas time again. This has been such a great year for us that I kind of hate for it to end, but I am sure next year will be even better. Eric and I are enjoying our kids so much these days. They bring so much joy into our lives. As I look back over the year, I just smile over and over again at all the wonderful memories we made together as a family.

Katie and Chas both improved their t-ball game this year and Eric and I had so much fun watching and cheering them on from the stands. This was the last possible time for them to be on the same team, so it looks like next year we will be spending even more time on the ball field. Both of them learned to swim underwater this summer which was a pretty big deal. We had some great times at the pool and also on our visit to the beach.

Katie graduated from Kindergarten and headed into first grade. I graduated from Motlow and headed into Tennessee Tech and Chas started Pre-K. I have thought many times in my life that I was busy, but I really never knew how busy I could be until this year. I have enjoyed school so much more than I ever thought possible. I love my classes and my teachers and all the friends I have made. It’s just been a great experience for me.

Chas loves Pre-school and we are so happy that he has Mrs. Jacqueline. She is a wonderful teacher. Chas loves playing in the sandbox and with the toy cars at school. He is still very interested in trains, planes, cars, tractors, and pretty much anything with wheels. He loves to play basketball and t-ball. He dressed up for Halloween this year for the first time! I have noticed that he is more interested in dressing up and playing pretend this year than he has been in the past. He loves the Power Rangers, Lightning McQueen, and Spiderman. Chas is very rule oriented and loves to tattle on people, so we are working on that. It’s kind of funny though, when he comes home and tells us who, first and last name, did what, and what rule that broke.

Katie is really changing right now. She still loves to play with Polly Pockets, but she is leaning more towards makeup, jewelry, and music. Scary, huh? I’m not ready for this!!! She recently got her ears pierced and can hardly wait until she can start wearing different earrings. I think I need a jewelry box that locks. Sometimes I come in and all my jewelry is laid out on my dresser and she is just standing there looking at it. Katie loves to get manicures with Mimi and she desperately wants to get her hair highlighted. Help! I’ve created a mini-me!

Eric is still working for Bridgestone/Firestone in Morrison. He spends his spare time taking care of his cows. He enjoys getting out on the farm and taking Chas around on the four-wheeler and the tractor. They do a lot of farm stuff together and Chas just loves it. They even went camping with the boy scouts this year!

One more thing before I close, I’m on Facebook now, so if you have a page, look me up! We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and we look forward to hearing from you or seeing you soon!

Love,

Kristi, Eric, Katie, and Chas Moffitt

Katie singing Here Comes Santa Claus

2008-12-19T05:37:00.000-08:00

Katie singing Here Comes Santa Claus

Chas singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

2008-12-19T05:04:00.000-08:00

Chas singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Pictures!!!

2008-12-17T04:25:00.000-08:00

I got a new digital camera AND a new camcorder!!!! How awesome is that?!?!

I thought it was cool how the flash caught this ornament and made it look like it was glowing.

People are always telling me that Katie looks like me, but I honestly, honestly do not see it, but when I uploaded this picture I had to do a double take... is that MY profile I am seeing???

No picture

2008-12-15T15:42:00.000-08:00

My camera is dead. I hope it is dead for good, so that Eric will give in and buy me the Canon powershot camera that I have been begging for...

Anyway, that is why I don't have a picture of my Katie's brand new earrings. Katie got her ears pierced on Friday night and is so happy to have pierced ears.

I was proud of her for being so brave. I actually agreed to pierce her ears for her birthday this year (Oct. 3rd), but she was too scared. Every time I would ask her about it, she said the same thing, I'm too scared. Then, Mollie McGinnis got her ears pierced and that was it. She told me she was ready! Bring it on!

She picked the very biggest CZs she could get. We went to Claire's in the mall and they have a little box of what you can get and they are all really tiny except for a couple of CZ pairs that are kind of bigger. She wanted the very biggest ones, but I told her no, so she went with the next size down which are still pretty big. She loves them so much. That's my girl! Eric stayed with Chas, so it was just us and it was so much fun to just be girls together.

SCREEEECH Owl!!!

2008-12-08T06:03:00.000-08:00

So this morning I woke up at 4:30 am, like normal. I must have an internal alarm clock because I wake up at that time almost every day... anyway, I got up and Eric, who never really went to bed (which is also normal) was on the couch watching t.v.

So, he says he was waiting for me to get up to get the bird out of the stove. There was a bird stuck in our fireplace insert that is like a woodstove that is in our living room (that's the best way I can explain it). He figured it was a small bird that fell down the chimney and I guess just wanted to wait for me so he could scare me. Anyway, he was about to put some gloves on and get it out when he looked in the stove with the flashlight and stepped back and said, "that's an owl!".

Yes, we had an owl trapped in the fireplace. After a few minutes of freaking out, I immediately started coming up with a plan to get it out. I wanted to trap it in a blanket and take it out that way, but Eric decided it would work better to knock it into the laundry basket and put a lid over the top. So, I was supposed to hold the basket and put the lid on after he knocked it in there with a long stick. I'm pretty sure I got the raw end of that deal. Anyway, it worked okay but when Eric picked up the basket with the lid on top, the bird somehow got through the slats of the basket and flew into the living room. I screamed an expletive and then immediately apologized, because I never use language like that, ever. However, I have never been in this situation before either. So the owl was perched on top of the exercise bike, just sitting there staring at us. Eric thought we should get a picture of it, but I told him we were going to get it out first and we would worry about wildlife photography later.

So Eric decides that I should hold up the lid to block the bird from flying into the rest of the house and we opened the door to the porch which is right next to the living room so it could fly out. This seemed like a good plan except the owl ignored the open door and flew right over my head. I'm thinking I got the raw end of that deal as well.

So now the owl was perched on the coat rack next to the kitchen and the other door that leads outside. So Eric goes over to open the door hoping it would fly out, but instead it flew directly back at ME! This time I screamed and hit the floor and covered my head with the blanket I was holding. Somehow, the owl ended up turning around and flying outside where it perched on the deck railing. Maybe it heard us talking about taking it's picture, because it stayed there until we got several shots of it and then it left.

So, the funniest thing is that the kids were asleep the whole time this was going on and when they got up, I was telling Katie the story (which she wanted to hear, since she is an expert on birds and especially owls, according to her) and when I got to the part where I screamed and hit the floor, she said "Yes! That's because it's a Screech Owl!!!" I laughed so hard. Then later Eric and I were looking on the internet trying to figure out what kind of owl it might be and it looks to be an Eastern Screech Owl. So, Katie's very scientific identification process turned out to be correct!

I can hardly wait to hear your comments on this!

Kohl's is the best!

2008-12-07T05:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got $108 worth of stuff for $36!!!! Is that awesome or what?

Pictures

2008-12-03T10:50:00.000-08:00

Chas Moffitt's Pre-K class as Pilgrims and Indians.

Reading

2008-12-03T04:09:00.000-08:00

Well, my semester at school is coming to an end. This semester was my "literacy block". There are three blocks and one semester of student teaching in the TnTech education program. Next semester is my Kindergarten block which I am looking forward to immensely.

I have learned so much this semester about reading and the importance of it in education. My professor Dr. K has a PhD in literacy and she is really an advocate of research based reading lessons.

I want to share a few things that I am taking away from this semester as a Mom. First, it is never to early to expose your child to books. Also, environmental print is important too. That is why my house is labeled excessively. Dr. K taught me that contrary to what I was taught growing up, we do not read by sounding out words. Most of the words we read, we do so by sight. We look at the whole word and know what it is without sounding it out. The more sight words a child knows, the better reader they will be.

She uses the example of McDonald's. Very young children can "read" this word without even knowing what a letter or a word is. For this reason, I post all of Katie's spelling words for the week on the door in the kitchen. Every time she goes to leave, she sees those words. It takes me like 5 min. to write them down and cut them and tape them to the door. Plus, Chas learns them too!

I have enjoyed school so much this semester. I am so glad that I have this opportunity to go back as an adult. It is so much better than when I was younger. Back then, I could care less and I retained practically nothing. I feel like this time around, I am absorbing everything. I just love it. I hope this post doesn't sound preachy. I just wanted to share some things that I learned and that I have tried to do in my home to help my own kids become better readers. Reading really is the foundation of a good education.

December!

2008-12-01T07:57:00.000-08:00

I'm so glad that it's Christmas time again. My tree is up and we just got back from a very Christmasy visit with my Mom. Lots of shopping! School is winding down and today we even had a snow day! Well, the kids had a snow day. I still had to go, because Warren Co. schools did not close down. Oh well, the kids got to come to Eastside with me and they seemed to enjoy sitting in a second grade class for a couple of hours.

So what is on your Christmas wish list? I really want one of those harddrive camcorders. I think those are so cool. It's too bad the one I want is like $800. I also want a couple of new jigsaw puzzles. I always do puzzles around Christmas. It's one of my favorite things to do. I really want a 3000 piece puzzle. I have never done one that big. I think Eric is getting me a "Chi" although, I'm not as excited about it now as I was a couple of months ago. I keep seeing so many things that I want. I really want a laminated Civil War Battles map. They have them at National Geographic for $25. Just a thought. I know some of you reading this are really trying to figure out what I want for Christmas, so I'm just throwing these ideas out there for you.

Of course you really can't go wrong with diamonds. They really are a girl's best friend. Cubic Zirconia is acceptable from anyone except Eric.

I also would like some new Christmas ornaments. I have had so many get broken over the years that I am down to a pitiful few cute ornaments and the rest are just cheap ones from Wal-mart. Of course, most of you know I am funny about smells, but I recently received a pumpkin scented candle from Home Interior that I love. Weird, huh? I usually hate scented candles. So, if you feel inclined to give me a scented candle make sure it is that one.

I would love to know what you all want for Christmas. And don't act like you are completely selfless and want nothing, because I know you better than that!

BLACK FRIDAY

2008-11-24T04:13:00.001-08:00

Anybody going shopping on the day after Thanksgiving? I went to Kohl's last year for the first time because they had a coat I wanted for half off. By the time I got the coat and looked around the line was wrapped around the store and we got there at 5am! Anyway, I am looking for any deals on Holiday Barbie 2008. So far, Walmart is advertising $35.00 which I think is too much money for a Barbie doll, but that might be the cheapest I find. If you hear of anything cheaper let me know. They are normally $40-$45.

They, of course, put the doll out months ago, and Katie has been begging for it ever since. I think she thought she would get it for her birthday, but I was kind of hoping she would forget about it, because it just seemed like too much money to spend for a doll that will look the same naked as her other (cheaper) ones. That is how it will quickly end up. But, she really wants it, so I will probably end up getting it for her. Soooo, let me know if you find any deals, okay?

Evaluation

2008-11-19T10:25:00.000-08:00

Well, yesterday I had my evaluation by Dr. K. I don't know how I did yet, but I feel like the weight of the world has lifted off my shoulders! I am so happy to be done with that. I can't believe how nervous I was! When she walked in the room, we were in the middle of sequencing parts of Charlotte's Web that I had printed on sentence strips and they were working in groups. I was just kind of walking around helping them and I swear, I just froze for about 10 seconds. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know if I should talk to her or just keep on with my lesson. So, I just kept on with my lesson and I tried desperately not to look at her while she typed on her laptop.

I think the lesson went okay. We played a game using (higher order thinking) comprehension questions from C.W. I was so proud of my (borrowed) students! They did so well. I was a little nervous having them divided into groups because I haven't done that since the first day of practicum a month ago! But, they did fine.

Whew! I am mostly glad it's over. I feel like I am on vacation already!

Becoming Jane

2008-11-16T20:03:00.000-08:00

Have any of you seen this movie? I just watched it today on Netflix instant view and it was sooooo good! I loved it. Unfortunately, I watched it instead of writing up my IRI Assessment paper, so now I have to do that. Uggghh.

Yesterday I took two of my Praxis II tests. I took the content and the reading across the curriculum. I was up at TN Tech for 7 hours! I was so glad to be done. Now, I just hope I passed them both so I don't have to re-take them!

I get evaluated on Tuesday of this week. Chas has a field trip on Wednesday which I won't get to go on and then he has another one on Monday the 24th, which I won't get to go on. I can't say how sad that makes me. Oh, the guilt.

Charlotte's Web is winding down. Wilbur is just about to go to the fair. The kids seem to be loving it. They really like Templeton. When I asked them why, they said, "because he's a rat!". I guess that explains it.

2nd grade is so much fun. They are so funny. I am really looking forward to my Kindergarten practicum next semester. I really really want to teach Pre-K or Kindergarten.

Well, I need to get busy writing my paper. I usually get up around 4:30 am, so this is going to be a short night for me. Next week I get the whole week OFF except for Monday. The kids and I are heading to Athens, GA to see Mom. I am so excited to have a real BREAK! Then when I get back it's just one more week and then I am out of school for 6 weeks! Yay!

American Music Awards Nov. 23rd!

2008-11-16T06:13:00.000-08:00

COUNTRY MUSIC

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST

Garth Brooks

Kenny Chesney

Brad Paisley

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST

Reba McEntire

Taylor Swift

Carrie Underwood

FAVORITE BAND, DUO OR GROUP

Brooks & Dunn

Rascal Flatts

Sugarland

FAVORITE ALBUM

Garth Brooks/ The Ultimate Hits

Rascal Flatts/ Still Feels Good

Carrie Underwood/Carnival Ride

My Picks are:

Brad Paisley

Taylor Swift

Sugarland

Carrie Underwood/Carnival Ride

I set up new polls for fave male and female on the side.

I really hope the AMA show is better than the CMA show. I did not enjoy the CMA show very much. Although I was not disappointed in the dresses or the jewelry department!

42nd Annual CMA Awards TONIGHT!!!!!

2008-11-12T03:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, get ready y'all. It's going to be a country music feast! And Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood are hosting! I love Brad Paisley. Carrie is a great singer, but doesn't have much personality, so I'm guessing that's why they paired her with Brad. He is so funny.

I am a total sucker for award shows. I love the stars, the clothes (and jewelry), the music, everything. Katie and I like to judge the dresses as we see them. It's a girl thing.

Kenny Chesney is up for a lot of awards this year. I love Kenny and I am happy for him, but I don't want to see him take them all. I think they need to share the love. You know?

Also, Gerry House usually has some little commercial that airs during this time. I love Gerry House. For those that don't know, Gerry House is a DJ for WSIX, which is a Nashville country music station. Even if you don't like country music, he is really funny.

Anyway, can you tell I am excited??? Okay, I've got to get to work on my Charlotte's Web vocab game for today, but just wanted to get everybody pumped about tonight. Get your popcorn ready!

Christmas, Christmas time is near.....

2008-11-11T14:07:00.000-08:00

Well, for several years, my tradition has been to wait until Thanksgiving Day to start the Christmas music. However, the other day Eric and I were in Wal-mart and guess what they were playing? You guessed it! I said, "Honey, do you hear that?". "I am WAY behind!". To this Eric just groaned. He does not appreciate Holiday tunes like I do. Fortunately, he is madly in love with me, so he tolerates it.

I am going to try to hold off on the decorations until Thanksgiving, but I'm not promising anything.

Bulletin Board

2008-11-05T11:01:00.000-08:00

This is my very first attempt at a bulletin board. I ran out of border, but then found some more, but I forgot to take another picture, so it actually loooks better than this...

I know it's not the best, but I wanted to try it and this is what I got. The next one I do will be better. I think I put too many apples. Oh well. It was supposed to have a tree, but I couldn't figure out how to fit one on there.

Plymouth Colony

2008-11-03T02:40:00.000-08:00

I told Eric that I thought he would get a good grade on this... he is the one that helped Katie (and Chas) with her assignment to create the Plymouth Colony. I had to write a paper. Actually, he let the kids help a lot more than I would have, so I guess its a good thing he was the one to help them. I told him there needed to be a bunch of little tombstones in the colony, since nearly everyone died, but he decided to go with the less authentic version.

Halloween

2008-11-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

Practicum

2008-10-29T02:53:00.000-07:00

Katie and Chas acting silly....

Charlotte's Web is going very well, but I am working so hard! I love my borrowed students. They are so adorable and funny. I went to the Teacher's Center yesterday and got the stuff for my bulletin board. Kristy W. gave me the idea for it. I will take a picture when I finish and post it. Kristy has been a life saver for me. She is in her 2nd year of teaching and has helped me from the very beginning when I first decided to go back to school and she is still helping me! Man, I owe her! Well, it's 5:04 am and I need to start getting ready for school before my kids wake up.

Charlotte

2008-10-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

This was a practice run of the spider I am going to make with the 2nd graders on Monday. I am in Mrs. Hendrix's 2nd grade class right now for practicum. We are going to read Charlotte's Web. I have to teach reading for the next 6 weeks, so we are going to do a unit on Charlotte's Web. I am so excited. They are such a good class and there are only 15 students!!! Yay for me!

Ashley informed me that spiders actually have eight eyes not two! She could only fit four red hots on the marshmallow, but she wanted to put them on there because "four are more scary than two". I love her!

Seth's spider is modified a bit, but still good enough to eat! Of course Chas had to be in the picture, too!

Ally's spider still in progress.

Tada! Perfecto!

Chas working hard...

Ta Da!!!

2008-10-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

Next up is the trim, but it's not happening today. Maybe not even this year. But, it will happen!

So, what do you think?

Drum Roll Please...

2008-10-18T08:01:00.001-07:00

I decided to paint my hallway this weekend and earlier in the week I bought some samples of paint at Lowe's and boy was I glad I did, because the colors looked NOTHING like I thought they would. So, next I went to Sherwin Williams and found a color that looked the most like the one color sample that I liked on my walls and bought a sample of that and it won! I learned a good lesson. It is worth the extra money to buy some samples.

The winner is.... Restrained Gold. It is the biggest paint spot on the wall in the picture (on the end) The other colors are from left to right, Hemp Rope, Earthy Cane, Bungalow Gold and the winner, Retrained Gold. It looks a lot like my bedroom and living room, which are painted in Haystack, but it's a little bit darker. The kids are so excited to help me. I am also going to paint the office this color, but it's a little more involved, since I will have to move our massive desk first and I am not willing to tackle that on my own. Eric is allergic to paint, so he can't (won't) help with the painting, but I am definitely going to get him to help with moving the furniture!

Eric actually liked Earthy Cane the best, but it kind of has a green tint to it, and I just didn't like that about it. I wanted a more golden color. I'm so excited to get rid of my stark white hallway! I will report back when I'm finished.

A couple of funny things from yesterday. Chas came up to me last night and said he put sparkles on his hands so that he could fly. I asked him where he got sparkles and he said he got them out of the chimney and he is going to see if they will make him fly like Santa's reindeer. I knew he must have opened up the stove in the living room to get to the "chimney", so I said, "You should never open the stove, because it's not safe to play with it." Then Katie says, "Yeah Chas, I never open it unless I really need to".

Then the other funny thing that happened was when Chas was having a coughing fit. He and Eric have allergies really bad right now and we make a big deal out of him having to cover his mouth to keep the germs from getting in people's faces. So he is coughing and coughing right next to Katie. I asked him if he was okay and Katie says, "No he is not okay". She keeps looking at him like he is a leper or something and then she finally says, "Okay, that's it" and she gets a plastic Wal-mart bag and places it over his head! I said , "Katie, NO!" and she said, "Well he is getting his germs all over me!".

Big News!

2008-10-04T08:05:00.000-07:00

Well this week was report card week for Katie and Chas. Katie got all A's which was very good news and was even more impressive when we learned that she was one of only two students in her class to receive all A's. We are so proud of her we could nearly bust!

Chas had an equally impressive report card for Pre-K. His assessment was two pages long and very detailed. We were really impressed with all the things he knew! Maybe amazed is the better word. I give Katie all the credit because she really has taught Chas a lot over the last two years. The only skill he needs to work on is managing zippers, buttons, buckles, and Velcro. I'm not sure how they assess that, because I'm pretty sure he can manage Velcro!

He still isn't consistent with his birthday. He said July for this assessment, but we are working on that.

Katie's birthday was yesterday and the celebration has been ongoing since Wednesday. Chas has actually received almost as many presents since his birthday is coming up and we will be having a "no gift" party on Oct. 23rd for both of them.

School is going by so fast for me. Only one week left of classes and then my final exam and then Practicum! I will be at Eastside in Ms. Hendrix second grade class for seven weeks. Well actually six weeks because Warren County schools get a whole week off for Thanksgiving, woo hoo!!! I'm pretty excited/nervous about Practicum. I don't know Ms. Hendrix at all and I have never even been to Eastside, so it will be a new experience, but I'm sure I will enjoy it once I get familiar with everything.

I will be teaching reading and I can't wait to get started on my unit. I have to wait until I meet with Ms. Hendrix to see what she has planned and if she has any suggestions for me.

We are headed to Chattanooga today to meet with my Mom and see "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" with the kids. We have been waiting to see this movie for a month, so we are very excited.

Eric is going to be off work again this coming week. It is so nice to have him home because he helps so much with the kids, especially in the mornings when I have to get ready for school along with them.

Oh, I should mention that Chas has decided to be Spider Man for Halloween. This is exciting, because this is the first year, EVER, that he as wanted to dress up. He loves his costume!

Newsy stuff

2008-09-19T03:39:00.001-07:00

Well today is my "read aloud". I have to read a book to my class. Tough, huh? I am reading SkippyJon Jones, which is an awesome book. If you have kids and you do not have this book, get it! It's hilarious. My Mom even reads it to her 4th graders. It's that good.

Katie had her first dance class on Wed. She is actually taking both ballet and jazz, which I found out when I got there. I thought she was only taking ballet, since I thought that was all that was offered to her age group, but when I got there I found out that she could take both classes, each 30 min. for $36 per month. Well, since I was planning on an hour and $36 per month for ballet, I decided to just let her take both. Let me tell you, she LOVED it! I was so happy because I really thought that she would, but she never really got excited about it, so I wasn't completely sure. Ballet was first and then jazz. When jazz started I could hear the Cheetah Girls song that Katie loves and I thought, this is going to be a hit. Plus there is a whole lot of shaking going on, if you know what I mean. And of course, Katie loves that, too.

This week was "farm week" for Chas at school. He loved it. He got to take a toy tractor yesterday, which was the highlight of the week. He has also discovered "Whack a Gator" thanks to daddy. He loves that game. He is a proud "Gator Hater". You can only imagine how his daddy feels about that!

We went to the UT/UAB game last Sat. and the kids got to play with their cousins although Chas was torn between Seth and the football game, but we explained that he was too little to go, so he enjoyed playing with Seth, like we knew he would. The game was HOT. Not exciting kind of hot, either. Just HOT, hot. It was a sea of smelly, sweating, nasty people. Me included. I did not enjoy it. I don't mind sweating for exercise, but other than that I prefer not to do it.

Eric took me to Panera Bread in an attempt to make up for the miserable game, it did help, some. I love Panera Bread. Eric calls it "Hippy fast food". He thinks any restaurant without a deep fryer is a Hippy joint. So, anyway, I guess it shows how much he loves me that he would take me there and actually eat there himself! I had the Orchard Harvest salad, which let me tell you is not good. It is the fall special. I much prefer the summer special. I can't remember the name of it, but it was so good. The thing I didn't like about the Orchard Harvest was the Gorgonzola. There was just too much of it. I don't mind stinky cheese in small doses, but there was really a lot of it! It also has pears, walnuts, dried cherries, and a really great balsalmic dressing, but the Gorgonzola ruined it for me. I just picked around it. Eric had a chicken panini sandwich that he didn't think was big enough, but he said it tasted all right.

What's up

2008-09-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

So what's up? Well, Christie Madewell and I presented our demonstration lesson on Wed. and I think it went pretty well. Our topic was "word building". I would explain it all, but it would take too long and it's really not THAT interesting, unless you happen to be teaching 2nd graders phonemic awareness.

Katie had a stomach virus Monday night, so I kept her home on Tues., but she was fine all day Tues. and that night we went to the fair in Warren Co. and all was well. So... I sent her to school on Wed., but then Wed. night, she comes to me with both hands over her mouth saying she feels sick. I said, "Do you need to throw up?". She says, "No! I don't want to, then she starts to cry and says that if she throws up, she won't get to go to school tomorrow". It was just the most pitiful thing in the world to see her so sick and crying the whole time because she knew she would have to miss school! Of course, she did have to miss school and she was fine all day. I kept Chas home too, just in case he decided to catch whatever she had, but they were both fine and this morning when I told Chas to get up and get ready for school, he said "You mean I get to go to school today?" He was so happy. I am so grateful that my kids love school so much. I'm pretty sure it won't last, so I am enjoying this time while I can.

The fair was okay. I really don't like going to the fair. Any fair. But, I have to admit, it was fun to see Chas having so much fun. It's amazing how much joy he can pack into one small face. Katie shares my sentiments about fairs. The only part she likes is the games, because she loves all those tacky little toys.

Lately, I just can't get over how much I enjoy my kids at this age. They say and do the funniest things. Katie's birthday is coming up and she wants a metal detector. Chas has a birthday coming up soon too. He is hilarious about commercials. He can actually recite the Aqua Globe commercial verbatim and it is hilarious. I'm thinking about getting him an Aqua Globe for his birthday, except that we don't have any house plants, so I'm not sure what he would do with it.

Laurel Cove Sunset

2008-09-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

Fair Day!

2008-08-31T08:46:00.000-07:00

Spencer Fair Day results are in!!

Katie took 1st place in the long jump, the 50 yard dash, and the egg race.
Chas took 1st place in the long jump, the 50 yard dash, and the art contest.

We were so proud of them!

Lucky for us, Mike showed up with his camera, and took some great pictures, even with only one good arm to do it with! Impressive.

Just for the record, Chas should have won the egg race, but they changed the rules in the middle of the contest and he ended up losing. Oh, well, I guess we can’t win EVERY thing!

Moffitt's 1st day of School

2008-08-13T16:17:00.000-07:00

Katie's 1st day of 1st grade...

Chas' 1st day of Pre-K

Sibling shot...

Mom's 1st day of Tn Tech...

Well, the agonizing 1st days are officially OVER! Yay!

Katie's first day was yesterday and I had a complete meltdown after the bus drove away. It kind of took me by surprise, because I wasn't feeling particularly sad, just mostly dreading sending Chas off... anyway, last night Eric and I talked about whether I should take Chas to school for his first day or let him ride the bus. I told him he couldn't ride the bus at first, because I needed time to adjust, but Chas wanted to, and Eric thought that it would be best to just let him ride from the first day. So, I thought about it and tearfully admitted that it was my problem and that I just didn't think I could put him on the bus. Well, after a completely sleepless night, I decided that I better just let him go and get it over with, because otherwise I would just be worrying and dreading the day when I finally do it.

So, I told Chas that it was up to him, if he wanted to ride the bus, he could ride it with Katie. The sight of his little face lighting up was enough to fortify me. He was so happy, that I felt guilty for telling him he couldn't ride to begin with.

The funny thing, is that I didn't break down like I thought I would. I just kind of teared up a little and Eric teared up a little and then said, "Well, I guess we're empty nesters now" and I said, nope, YOU are an empty nester because I'm going to school, too!

So, we all left Eric home to sleep the day away in peace and quiet for once...

Chas came home and told me all about his first day. 50 minutes later, he was still telling me about it when Eric woke up and Chas went to tell him all about his first day. He said two girls cried all during nap time and kept waking him up. He also said the boys potty room is so awesome and he even got to go potty in it!

There were a lot of cute things he said in those 50 minutes, but one of the best was when I was asking him about which kids were there. He was in the second phase-in group, so I figured there were only about 7 or 8 kids and I thought he might remember some of their names. I started going down his class list and named off the boys names, but he didn't seem to recognize any of them and then he said, "Okay, I'm going to tell you how it was... there was a boy with a spider man shirt on, and another boy with a shark shirt, and another boy with a Tennessee shirt, and another boy with a Superman shirt and that's all".

I thought it was so funny that he didn't know any names, just the shirts they were wearing!

I have tried to pry any and all information I can get out of Katie about her class, but she just seems to think I am a complete idiot for not knowing what goes on in 1st grade.

I did get that she is very excited to get to play on the "big" playground this year. There is even a swing that is off limits and it is painted red, but it used to be painted green. That's about all I got.

So, my first day was pretty good too, but not very exciting. I start class on Monday the 25th, so I'm guessing my house is going to be spotless for the next week or so...

New Blog!

2008-08-09T19:08:00.001-07:00

I have a new blog for my genealogy friends. If you are interested, check it out.

http://genealogypieces.blogspot.com/

My baby boy...

2008-08-09T06:48:00.001-07:00

I'm feeling a little nostalgic lately. Can you tell?

We registered the kids for school yesterday and they were so excited. Katie's teacher, Ms. Stephanie Holloway seems like a really good 1st grade teacher. She is going on maternity leave in January, so Katie will get two 1st grade teachers. She is very excited about that. She says 1st grade is going to be so much greater than Kindergarten. I hope she's right!

The up side of being so upset about the kids going off to school, is that I have been cleaning like crazy. My house is so clean and organized. I wish someone would come visit, just so I could show it off. It NEVER looks this good!

I'm even thinking about pulling weeds, now that the house is all clean. I probably won't, but I'm thinking about it!

I finished Season 3 of Grey's Anatomy and I have to wait until Sept. 8th to get the 4th season, and then I will be caught up. However, I was so curious that I went on you tube and found most of the scenes with McDreamy and Meredith. So, I am up to date, but I'm still going to watch all the episodes.

We finally got Eric a commuter car! I think he likes it. It's a 4 speed which is kind of weird to me, I have never driven a 4 speed, but it drives really well and it seems to be in good shape. Funny thing happened when we bought it. Some of you know David Day from Cookeville. When we went to get the car, in Cookeville, Eric recognized the neighborhood and said to me he thought David Day lived somewhere close by. When he brought it up to the lady who sold us the car, she said, actually, they bought their house from David Day! Strange coincidence!

Kristi and Eric

2008-08-06T05:38:00.000-07:00

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

I have said before that only God knows why I love Eric Moffitt the way I do, and I mean that. All I can say is it must be something bigger than my logic can rationalize. He hardly ever says or does the things that I want him to, he does not have a romantic bone in his body... okay, now you think I'm just being mean. I'm not. In the 12 years that I have been with Eric, he has compared me to a cow, several bulldogs, a turkey and his first truck. Like I said, romance is not his thing.

From the moment I first laid eyes on Eric in Glen Wilson's Single Adults Sunday School class, I was a goner. I think I gave him my heart right then and there and I have never gotten it back. In spite of several desperate attempts.

You might wonder what has brought on this love fest, and I will tell you. Our 9 year wedding anniversary is coming up on Aug. 27th and that means that our 10 year anniversary is just around the corner. I have been prepping Eric for the 10 year anniversary since before we got married, so I am expecting big things. I already have the ring picked out and I have been nagging him about it for the last 6 months or so and I have another year to go, so I'm guessing I will get the one I want.

I am posting some pictures leading up to the big day and they are probably going to look all crazy and be off center and the text will probably be the same way, so I apologize for my incompetence.

This picture was taken in the Church parking lot sometime in the first month or so after we started dating.

Funny, we now live off the road where we used to make out.

Eric still mourns this truck. I like to think it's because it was the site of our first kiss, but he actually mourns all of his past vehicles, so I don't think that's really it.

This was my shrine to Eric at BYU while he was on his mission.

This was the hike we took to the rock where Eric told me he loved me and he wanted to marry me. Awww, now that's sweet. Maybe I was wrong about the romance.

Elder Moffitt.

Eric's Farewell, back when they still did that...

The homecoming

Some of you might think I married Eric for his looks, but it was actually for the kissing.

The only time Eric has ever danced with me....

The honeymoon

Space Chimps and Hannah Montana

2008-08-01T07:37:00.000-07:00

I know most of the five people who read this have small children, so I am going to spare you an agonizing hour and a half... do not go see Space Chimps. It has to be the worst movie ever made. Eric and I took Chas to see it when Katie went with her girl cousins to see Beauty and the Beast and we barely made it through. The only reason we stayed was because we were there for Chas and he seemed to be enjoying it. It must have had a budget of under $1000, because it was really that bad.

While on the the subject of disappointing entertainment, let me also say that I was not impressed with the Hannah Montana/Jonas Brothers 3-D concert on Disney Channel. The kids loved it, but I could not for the life of me see what they were seeing. I had the glasses on, but they did nothing but make the picture look either red or blue. Katie kept coaching me and telling me that I was doing it wrong, but how can you look through glasses the wrong way? Did anyone else watch it? Did it look like they were coming out of the screen to you? Just curious.

I'm still doing the vegan thing and it's going pretty good. The other day, I told Eric that if I just gave up Red Bull and Tostitos, I would probably be like the healthiest person in the world, but I said, you know at some point you just become weird about it and I don't want to get that way. To which Eric replied, "Babe, I think we're there".

The guys he works with have started bringing him sausage biscuits because they feel sorry for him. I don't know why, I mean, he is perfectly capable of driving himself to Arby's.

On a more positive note, I am finally in the 3rd season of Grey's Anatomy and I am so loving it. McDreamy has finally chosen Merideth over his wife and she has dumped McVet, but I have a feeling there is more drama coming. I do NOT want to know what happens, so don't even think about telling me. Eric keeps trying to ruin it for me, because he's just mean that way. I refuse to listen to him, because I don't think he knows what he is talking about anyway. Yes, Eric, I know you are reading this, so give it up!

So Chas just got a note from his teacher telling him his first phase-in day is Wed. Aug 13th which happens to be the same day I have to register at Tech, which is so completely unfair! I will take him to his first day of school. I will not miss it. I'm sure I can make it to Tech by 9am anyway. Eric said he would take him. He was like, "He doesn't need you, he'll be fine", "Oh, wait, you want to be able to sit in the parking lot and cry, right?" and I'm like "EXACTLY". Every mother has a right to mourn her child's first day of school. Can I get an amen?

We are down to one puppy! YAY! I think she will sell this weekend. I hope she will. I am so ready to be done with them. She really is a cute puppy, but $2000 is pretty cute, too.

Gotta go! Love y'all. Especially you, Eric.

Last Week

2008-07-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

This was the only souvenir that Katie wanted from Dollywood. It's a postcard.

Last week, the kids got their t-ball trophies which was very exciting. They are really pretty cool this year. They have spinning baseballs on them, which of course were a bit hit. We came in second place, too!

On Thurs. the 24th, we went to Dollywood to see the Zaboomafoo show with Chris and Martin the Kratt brothers (from PBS). Chas has loved that show more than anything for over a year, so it was very exciting to see them in person.

We had so much fun at Dollywood. I don't have any pictures, because I didn't take my camera, which is actually a good thing, since we got soaking wet on the River Battle ride. It was such a perfect day and funny enough, we actually ran into our friend Candace Brewer and her family there! We arrived at exactly the same time. Small world, huh?

Katie did not want to go to Dollywood for the longest time, she wanted to stay at her cousin's house in Knoxville, while we took Chas to see Zaboomafoo, but then she discovered that Dollywood is named for Dolly Parton and she quickly changed her mind. Katie is in awe of Dolly Parton. She thinks she is the most beautiful woman in the world.

So after Dollywood, Eric got to choose a restaurant since his birthday was the next day and he had to work, so he chose (are you ready for this?) ... Outback Steakhouse. Now, I had never eaten at Outback before, but I was pretty sure before we even went in that they weren't going to have a vegetarian section in their menu. But, since it was Eric's choice, I tried to be a good sport. I was not prepared for the actual menu, though. There was literally nothing for me to eat. I had a salad and a side order of steamed veggies both of which were very good, but not exactly filling after a full day at Dollywood. Luckily, I had a stash of granola bars in the car, so I didn't starve.

Eric's birthday present is actually two tickets to the UT vs. UAB game at Neyland Stadium in September. I even found them all by myself! Usually, I let Eric do the ticket shopping because he knows that stadium like the back of his hand, and I have no idea what are good seats and what aren't, but I found some on Ebay that looked pretty good to me and I just went with it. He was very happy, so I think I did good.

We sold "Joe" puppy this weekend, so now we are down to two puppies, "Fireball" and "Blackie". I am very happy about that.

I got my hair cut and foiled on Friday and I am so happy with it. Getting my hair done makes me happy.

Well, that's about it. We are trying to have as much fun as we can before school starts. So far so good!

12 Days of School...

2008-07-27T04:49:00.001-07:00

So, one of our favorite things to do is to make up 12 days songs. Songs like the 12 Days of Christmas with our own theme. We have done the 12 Days of Spring, Summer, and now we have (drumroll please) the 12 Days of school!

This one was just Chas and I, so it goes like this:
The 12 days of school

On the first day of school Ms. Jacqueline gave to me,
A chair and my own cubby
Second day of school -- Two pencil boxes
Third day of school --- three gluesticks
Fourth day of school – four toys to play with
Fifth day of school – Five worksheets
Sixth day of school – six colored crayons
Seventh day of school – seven friends to play with
Eighth day of school – eight songs to sing
Ninth day of school – nine minutes nap time
Tenth day of school – ten minutes recess
Eleventh day of school – eleven rules to follow
Twelfth day of school – twelve different centers

We had so much fun singing this together, except we kept forgetting what we made up, so I decided to write it down as we went along so we could actually sing it all the way through at least once! Feel free to make up your own!

Online Chat Room

2008-07-22T19:54:00.001-07:00

This is as close as I will probably ever be to an online chat room. I'm feeling a little chatty tonight. So, since I am in a house alone with two sleeping children, I thought I would talk to my blogger friends a while. I'm not really sure who reads my blog. It looks to me like about five people check in from time to time. No matter, I just feel like chatting.

So, recently ( about 6 days ago) I decided to eliminate dairy products from my diet. I've been wanting to do it for a while now, along with seafood (which I only eat at restaurants - because I don't cook) and see what being a strict vegetarian is like as opposed to a very loose vegetarian. That doesn't sound right. Anyway, I really didn't think I could give up ice cream and pizza, but then I thought well, I'll try a week. So here I am. So far, so good. Actually, I used to eat this way a long time ago, so I have fallen back on some of my old staples and it's kind of like hooking up with old friends. One of my favorite breakfasts back in the day was Grape Nuts with organic apple juice. It is so good, if you like Grape Nuts, which I do. It has to be organic apple juice, because the other kind tastes like vinegar to me. I'm not sure if organic is the right word, but it's the kind that is more brown than yellow.

I know this isn't very interesting, but it's what's on my mind at the moment. So, anyway, Eric is not being supportive. He hates it when I get on a health kick. I keep telling him to relax, it WILL pass and I WILL go back to eating crap, I just need a reprieve, that's all. It's not like I force everyone to eat tofu and dried apples. I still buy junk food and all of Eric's favorite chopped up animals. Yet, he still teases me constantly. It's very annoying.

Even after 12 years, he still thinks it's hilarious that I don't eat meat. And he still loves to parade me in front of his friends like a circus freak, as though he just met me. It kind of drives me crazy, but I love him.

So, back to my diet. I'm not sure how long this will last and maybe it will be one of those things that comes and goes, but for right now, I can honestly say that I am enjoying it. I had forgotten that I like tofu when it's made to taste like egg salad. And I have discovered hummus, which is really good with triscuits. I got this roasted red pepper kind and almost made myself sick because I couldn't stop eating it. It was that good. For those of you who don't know, hummus is basically blended up chick peas and some other stuff. It really is good.

Luckily, I don't have to give up my Tostidos and pineapple salsa because that would probably be the death of this diet. And, it turns out that Oreo's are dairy free, too. Of course, you have to eat them without milk, so it's not quite the same.

Oh and I love those Edy's Strawberry fruit bars. You know the ones? They are so good and completely dairy free. I really need to quit thinking about food so much.

I was so hoping to get my Grey's Anatomy DVD today in the mail, but I know it will come tomorrow. I'm getting a little annoyed with the Derek, Addison, and Meredith love triangle. I mean what is wrong with him? He is so wishy washy. I wish he would just face reality and go back to Meredith! Remember I am only in season 2, so don't tell me anything!

Oh, I have a cute Chas story. So, while I was gone to Atlanta over the weekend and Eric had the kids... Chas comes running into the kitchen and says, "Hey Daddy, guess what?" All of Chas' sentences begin with "guess what". So, Eric says, "I don't know, what?". Then Chas looks at him and asks, "Can I be your best friend?" and Eric says "yes" and Chas says, "okay" and runs back to the living room to watch t.v.

Isn't that cute? He probably saw something on t.v. to make him say that, but it's still cute to me. Katie's new thing lately is to say, "I was born to do this". The other day she wanted to put together one of my jigsaw puzzles with 1000 pieces and I told her "no" and she says, "But Mom, I was born to do this!" She uses it, in that way, a lot.

I went to Atlanta to deliver a puppy and to go shopping with my Mom. We had fun. I got pretty much everything at T. J. Maxx. They had so many cute clothes for the kids. I haven't brought all the bags in yet, because I'm afraid Eric will have a heart attack. He has high cholesterol and high blood pressure, so I have to be careful about these things. I never did find the shoes I was looking for, though, and I did a lot of looking. But, today when I was at the mall I found the cutest Clarks ballet flats in black and I decided that they were exactly what I was looking for all along. And, they were on sale! Woo hoo! I really wish I could wear them now, but I need to wait a few weeks. If I start wearing too many new things at once, Eric notices, and he starts to panic. It's best if I spread it out over a solid month.

Well, I didn't really expect this to turn into a novel. I guess I will go back to indexing place names in my Cannon Co. Chancery Court records from 1840-1880. Yeah, that's what I was doing before this. It's fun to me. Don't ask. I have no reasonable explanation except it's what I do when I can't sleep and I have no Grey's Anatomy.

What's Goin' On

2008-07-17T06:55:00.001-07:00

Well, the summer is winding down and I can feel the excitement building with school just around the corner. We found out yesterday, that Chas will have Ms. Jacqueline for Pre-K and Katie will have Ms. Stephanie Hollaway for 1 st grade. They are both so excited, they want to go NOW!

I also got my letter of acceptance and my schedule for Tech. I was very excited to get that letter, since I was beginning to wonder if I even made it into the program! The first semester, I have Dr. Kolodziej for our literacy block and our schedule seems to be Mon 8-4 and Wed and Fri 8-1. That will be for the first 7 wks and then our schedule goes to M-F 8-11.

I go for registration on Aug 13th and I think the kids start on Aug. 11th, but I haven't got that in writing yet.

We are still selling puppies. They are so cute, they practically sell themselves! This Sat. "Snowball" is headed to Tampa, FL to his new home. I am going to meet the family in Atlanta and visit my Mom for the weekend which will be nice. I also plan to do some shopping for school clothes while I'm there. It's so nice to be able to shop without worrying about the kids!

Next week is Eric's birthday and we are going to Dollywood on the 24th. Chas is very excited to see the characters and actors from his favorite show, Zaboomafoo. I'm stressing over what to get Eric for his birthday. We have been talking about getting the kids a "Wii", and I thought about just getting it for Eric's b-day, except that it wouldn't really be for him. He got me a really nice navigational system, which I desperately needed in my life, so I feel like I should get him something just for him. I thought about UT tickets, but we always get those for "our" anniversary present. Any ideas?

Katie is obsessed with all things Hannah Montana. She isn't really interested in High School Musical, but she loves Hannah and the Jonas Bros. She also has a really strange fascination with all things creepy. I don't understand where this came from, but I'm pretty sure it started with Scooby Doo. She loves stories about ghosts, witches, and anything scary. If I didn't carry her for 9 months, I would swear she is not my child.

Chas is still into Lightning McQueen, but he's slowly taking a back seat to Wall-e and Phineas and Ferb. He loved the movie, Kung Fu Panda, too, although I cannot for the life of me understand why. It was the worst movie I ever sat through! His favorite new word, is "Awesome!"

I have started watching Grey's Anatomy via Netflix and I am hooked! I am only on Season 2, so don't tell me anything! I'm hoping to get caught up before this season starts.

We have been going to the library a lot this summer and Gilley Pool, and the Weeter's pool. The Weeter's have really helped make swimming affordable this summer! We love going there. About twice a month, the kids go play at the Baus House, which gives me a much needed break and I can actually run errands in peace! We are so thankful for the Baus', they really help us out a lot.

Katie is signed up for Ballet at Ms. Paula's, but as of right now, there are no spots for her. She thinks she will form a new class, though, so we are pretty sure Katie will get in to that one.

Chas is just going to have to be content with pre-K until basketball starts this winter. We were going to put him in karate, but it was so expensive! Plus, Katie wanted to do it too. Oh well, it's not like they won't have a million things to do, once school starts.

Well, I guess you all are up to speed. Probably more than you wanted to be! Love y'all.... Kris

Puppy pictures 6 weeks

2008-07-06T11:18:00.000-07:00

Fireball
$2500

Leah
$2500 - SOLD

Blackie
$2500

Joe
$2500

Snowball

$2700 - SOLD

More puppy pictures!

2008-06-25T18:04:00.001-07:00

Our English Bulldog puppies....

"Fireball" was named by Chas
he's ready for the show ring!

"Leah" is my personal favorite

"Joe" was named by Chas

"Fireball" mug shot

"Snowball" was named by Katie
He is such a sweetie!

"Blackie" was named by Katie
she is actually going to be a
beautiful red color.

I have no idea how to get the pictures and text right, so I hope you can figure out this mess. Aren't they cute?

Puppies 5 weeks

2008-06-23T06:51:00.001-07:00

Okay, from the white puppy going clockwise... we have "Snowball", "Blackie", "Spotty" also known as "Leah", "Fireball", and "Joe".

You might be wondering why "Spotty" is also known as "Leah". It's because she attracts the most fleas. All the other puppies will have like two or three fleas on them when I bring them inside, but she will have more like thirty! I couldn't understand it, and Eric said that when he was growing up, Leah used to always get more bug bites than the rest of the kids, so we started calling her "Leah". Sorry, Leah! I'm sure you don't attract fleas!

Chas Pics

2008-06-16T17:28:00.001-07:00

My sweetest boy...

Times like this, I am glad we don't have any close neighbors...

This is Chas with his best buddy, Christian Weeter, at the Weeter's pool. They had so much fun swimming and playing together.

TAG

2008-06-12T05:06:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot about my tag by Tenara until I read Cynthia's blog. So here are 7 things about me:

1. I'm afraid I'm doing this wrong.

2. I love love love Lucky Charms cereal.

3. I am turning 29 this Friday (the 13th)... for the second time in a row!

4. Somedays, I would rather read than eat.

5. I have an extremely strong sense of smell.

6. I love my Doberman, Jackson. He weighs 109 pounds and he scares people, but he is such a baby and I love him so much. If Eric would let me, I would have lots of Dobermans.

7. I'm terrified of balloons, guns, firecrackers, and anything else that makes a loud unexpected or even expected noise.

Well, that's it. I think I'm supposed to tag more people, but I think a lot of people I know have already been tagged, so I will spare you all the obligation.

NEWS

2008-06-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

Well, as for Moffitt family news, we have 5 healthy puppies left out of our litter of seven. We lost two of our babies, but we are very pleased with the remaining 5. They are really starting to look cute. In my opinion, newborn puppies are not very cute. We have been trying to swim every chance we get. I am really hoping the kids will learn how to swim without floaties this summer. I have heard the trick is to get them in the water as much as possible so that is what I am trying to do. It has been a lot of fun so far. Chas actually put his face in the water today. Major breakthrough!

In other news, I would like to share some interesting news facts to offset the onslaught of negative news I have been hearing lately. These are from Rob Brezny's weekly newsletter.

The world has become dramatically more peaceful since 1992, according to the non-partisan Human Security Report. Wars, coup d'etats, and acts of genocide have declined by 40 percent. Weapons sales have dropped
33 percent during the same time, and the number of refugees has decreased by 45 percent.

The cause of these developments is the unprecedented upsurge of international activism since the end of the Cold War, spearheaded by the United Nations.

Elsewhere, life extension researchers now believe that there is no absolute limit to the human life span. The average life expectancy is 30 years more than it was a century ago, and is steadily climbing.

Literacy and education levels are rising steadily all over the globe. Since 1970, the percentage of students going to secondary school has more than doubled.

Death rates from cancer are shrinking.

Child abduction by strangers has dropped precipitously.

In 60 years, there hasn't been a lower birth rate among teenage girls than there is now.

In recent years, the rivers and bays of New York City have been almost completely cleansed of raw sewage and industrial pollution.

Vast supplies of frozen natural gas lie beneath the oceans, harboring more potential energy for human use than all of the world's oil reserves, and could be mined with the right technology.

You have at least a million relatives as close as tenth cousin, and no one on Earth is any farther removed than your 50th cousin.

The world's largest private bank, Citigroup, has agreed to stop financing projects that damage sensitive ecosystems.

The giant timber company, Congolaise Industrielle des Bois, voluntarily agreed to stop cutting down trees in a virgin rain forest in the Congo.

Every second the sun generously transforms four million tons of itself into energy and bestows it on us free of charge.

With every dawn, when first light penetrates the sea, many seahorse colonies perform a dance to the sun.

Most HMO executives now believe prayer and meditation can expedite the healing process.

Each of the 50 trillion cells in your body can be considered a sentient being in its own right, and they all act together as a community, performing an ongoing act of prodigious collaboration.

Finally in the news, biologists have proved that with each breath, you take into your body 10 sextillion atoms, and—owing to the wind's ceaseless circulation—over a year's time you have intimate relations with oxygen molecules that have been exhaled by everyone who has ever lived, including Joan of Arc, Gengis Khan, Cleopatra, and Malcolm X.

John Keats said, "If something is not beautiful, it is probably not true."

Take that CNN!

Chas and ponderisms

2008-05-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

My baby who is leaving me soon for Ms. Jacqueline...

Some much needed humor via email...

Thoughts for the weekend:

If raising children was going to be easy, it never would have started with something called labor!

Brain cells come and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever.

Ponderisms

I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.

Garden Rule: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.

The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.

Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway..

Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?

In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird.. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'l l squeeze these dangly things here and drink whatever comes out?"

Who was the first person to say, "See that chicken there? I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes outta its butt."

Puppies

2008-05-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

Well, Izzie had her puppies and it was pretty exciting. She was due for her c-section at 10am on Friday, May 23rd. She had her first puppy in the yard at about 9 am on Thursday, May 22nd. We rushed her to Dr. Burke in Smithville and he delivered the other six by c-section. So, we had seven in all. They all looked really good except for the one that came first and that one is much smaller than the rest. We had two solid white males which was pretty exciting since they are more valuable, but one of them died very unexpectedly on the first day. Very sad. The kids were totally fine with it. Chas had been begging to pet the puppies since we brought them home and we kept telling him no, so when the white one died, he asked could he pet the dead puppy? I guess he figured we wouldn't care about the dead puppy.

They nurse every 2 and a half hours now, and we are trying to get them up to three hours. Last night I was solo, since Eric had to go back to work. It was pretty hard. Reminded me of when the kids were newborn. Just when I would fall asleep the buzzer would go off and back I would go to take care of the puppies. I am hoping the money we make off of these puppies will help pay for the marriage counseling we will surely need when this is all over. Every time we have a litter, we say we are never doing it again, and then we sell them, deposit the money, and decide to do it again. We're slow learners.

Good news is that Izzie is being a much better Mommy than she was on her last litter. Eric thinks it's because she actually delivered one of them and had a chance to bond. She also has more milk this time which means no bottle feeding... a very good thing.

The kids have finally accepted that we are not going anywhere. Not today, not tomorrow, nada.
I felt sorry for them yesterday so when I was in town I bought them play dough, which was major, because I do not allow play dough in my house. Ever. They are still playing with it. I am trying not to think about all the places I am going to find it later.

The other thing that is going on is my secret emotional breakdown. See, ever since Katie started pre-school in 2006, I have been complaining about Chas needing to go to school. He needs the social interaction, the structure, the blah, blah, blah. You get the idea. Mostly I would do it, when I was tired of playing with him. So, naturally, I cannot let Eric know that I am FREAKING out about putting my baby boy on the school bus in less than 3 months! Every day it gets worse. Especially with the added benefit of NO SLEEP to make me that much more weepy. The other day I just stood and stared at his baby pictures and cried. I thought Chas would be easier. I thought since I have been through this with Katie, that I would handle it better, but I think it's worse. So much worse. I need a hug. Maybe I need a valium.

Any sympathetic words, no matter how trite, will be appreciated.

Gulf Shores, AL

2008-05-10T05:11:00.001-07:00

These are pictures from our vacation. They aren't in the right order, but it took too long to get them on here, so I'm not going to fix it. This first picture is at the Naval Air Museum, or something like that. It was in Pensacola and we all humored Eric by going along. You can tell Katie is thrilled... The arcade at Adventure Island was a little more kid friendly...

This was right before we left the condo. I had to set the timer and I was really proud that we actually got a picture! It was really dark, but at least it worked!

You will notice that the picture of Eric and Chas is really blurry. That's because they were going really fast. Katie and I went really slow, because rides scare me. Katie kept saying, go faster Mom! Until finally she said, I want to ride with Daddy.

On the Dolphin cruise...

Just a few of Katie's shells...

Katie loved, I mean really LOVED looking for seashells. Chas loved digging in the sand.

I just had to get a picture of his little sunburned cheeks! I think they were actually just windburned from the dolphin cruise, but at any rate, they sure are cute!

One of the major highlights of this trip for the kids was the elevator! They took turns getting to push the buttons.

FIELD DAY

2008-05-02T17:17:00.000-07:00

Miss Katie is ready for Field Day!

Check out the new shades!

Chas was very excited to go to Field Day.

Katie's class won all three relay races! Go Katie!

I think they were studying Chas' shoes.

Meet Hawaiin Rambo and sidekick, Katie

Okay, I have two funny quotes for you today.

First is from Chas. Out of the blue yesterday in the car, he says:

"Wait! A question just dropped into my head!"

Second is from Katie. I was trying on my bathing suits trying to see if they would work for the beach next week and Katie walks in while I'm checking myself out in the mirror. I asked her did she like this bathing suit and she says, "Yeah, but I think most people won't like it"

Okay, whatever THAT means. I can't believe I'm asking my six year old for fashion advice, especially KATIE! Those of you who know Katie know exactly what I mean.

Oh wait, I have one more. Katie was talking my ear off earlier and she says, she KNOWS there are such things as real monsters because back a long long long time ago, like in the 1950's, before there were any people, there were monsters on the earth.

Okay, that's it. Hope you enjoy this pictures!

Drumroll please...

2008-04-30T15:40:00.000-07:00

Surprise! I didn't even know these existed! I found them on Ebay. I ended up paying $34.98 after shipping, but when I went to check out I found out I had $25 in my Paypal account, so it's kind of like they were only $10! Right? So as far as Eric knows, they cost $10. What a bargain!

Today, I volunteered at Katie's school up in Spencer and Chas got to "visit" the Preschool, while I did the Mega Party that the kids earned for selling a bunch of overpriced stuff. It was CRAZY. The music was so loud and there were all these inflatable slides. I got to work the biggest slide for 4 solid hours making sure only 2 kids went at a time. I felt like a Carnie.

Chas came with the preschool at 12 and Katie's group was in there too. After the little kids left the "big kids" came in and Chas got to run around with them. He had so much fun. They kept calling him "little dude". I was impressed by how polite all the kids were.

Only 4 days until vacation! I hope my shoes get here before we leave!

SHOES!

2008-04-28T16:52:00.000-07:00

Okay Girls (and guys who have a closet shoe fetish) which do you like best??
This first pair is from Victoria's Secret, but I've seen similar ones at JC Penney.
1. 2.

The Crocs are way expensive but they wear really well. I'm having a hard time finding the pink and white ones. They are sold out everywhere, including the Crocs website. Those are really my first choice but since I can't seem to find them anywhere I started looking at other possibilities. T.J. Maxx has some like the pink and white for $20, but they are seafoam and white and I didn't like them. Eric did not understand the importance of the color, but I know you all will. They also had some DKNY flip flops like #3, but they were $25 and I didn't like the inside material. That's kind of my problem with #1, even though they are super cute, if they are suede on the sole, then I'm thinking they aren't going to wear well.

I'm probably not going to take any of your advice into consideration, so don't get your feelings hurt, but I am curious which ones you like.

Let me know what you think. Jenny C., I KNOW you have an opinion on this!

More Pictures!

2008-04-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

What do you think of my pedicure?

The Graduate. My sweet beautiful Katie.

Izzie looking HOT and hopefully pregnant...

Chas just really wanted his picture taken... can you tell?

Sophie's first haircut...

well the first one that I wasn't ashamed to photograph...

It's official. I have the cutest toes, the cutest kids, and the cutest dogs. EVER.

If you don't agree, don't bother leaving a comment.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

2008-04-21T07:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday before Church, Chas noticed a tiny little spider in his bedroom and yelled "SPIDER!", so I ran in there to check it out and saw how small it was and said, "It's okay, it's just a baby spider, it won't hurt you" (now, normally, I would have killed it, but I was in the middle of flat ironing my hair and I had no shoes on, so I just left it there -- and yes I realize that some of you, okay most of you, will never set foot in my house again, but that's okay)

So, Katie comes in at that moment as I'm walking out and she steps on the spider (she had shoes on) and Chas said, "Katie, it's okay, it's just a baby spider, it won't hurt you" and to this Katie says, "I know, I just like to KILL"

Now, I'm wondering, should I be concerned?

CMT Music Awards, American Idol, and Office

2008-04-18T11:31:00.000-07:00

Did Anybody see the CMT music awards??? This was my favorite performance, although AJ --you were looking HOT, too! Before I knew I was going to marry Eric Moffitt, I just knew I was going to marry Alan Jackson. That was back when he was having marital problems, but then I met Eric and I forgot all about Alan and now he and Denise are happy again, so I guess it's good it didn't work out between us. However, that said, he did look GOOD. Can I get an amen?

Brad Paisley is so funny and you gotta love BOCEPHUS.

I am so relieved that Kristy Lee Cook is off American Idol. I'm still whining about M. Johns, though. I really miss him on the show. He was one of my faves.

The Office definitely delivered, but I was sooo wanting Jim to propose to Pam, FOR REAL!

Let's see did I miss anything? Oh, the Oprah show about cutting down on waste was very interesting. It really had me thinking about the ways we waste food and other things around our house. I just love Opie.

BIG NEWS! Sophie got a real haircut. Like a real professional haircut! She looks so cute, except she chewed the cord that I use to get the pictures off my camera, so I can't show you just how cute, until I wait for Eric to cool down, so I can go buy another cord. Well, that's all for today. Let me know what you think about Brad and Hank.

Mud Bog

2008-04-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

Harrison Ferry Mud Bog is BACK!

May 3rd

Gates open at 3pm, Race starts at 6 pm

We probably won't be there, but if they have one on June 7th, we will! We have missed the mud bog. Eric has to work May 3rd, but if you're going let me know, I might tag along with the kids! They love it!

Best Friends...

2008-04-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

Chas loves this video on you tube. This is not our Doberman, but it looks like him, so I think that's why Chas loves it so much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fc_kfHDHcg&feature=related

This is a continuation of the one above...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMmvQupR7Os

Salsa

2008-04-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite food. Pineapple Peach Salsa by Tostidos. It is so good! For those who don't know me well, I don't like to cook. I tried liking to cook for many years, and it just didn't stick. Don't get me wrong, though, I AM capable of cooking and my kids HAVE actually eaten home cooked meals, in spite of whatever you have heard. I just really hate cooking. Eric cooks any and all meat dishes and pretty much anything else he wants to eat. He never cleans up, so I figure it turns out to be a pretty fair deal.

So, this explains why I get really excited about store bought food that is ready made like this salsa. It tastes so good. I have tried a lot of different brands and so far this is my favorite. Tostidos also makes a mango salsa which I don't like.

I thought I would post this for all my new friends at school who keep wondering, what do you eat??? I get that a lot -- as a quasi-vegetarian... I eat fish and eggs (but not fish eggs) and dairy,so I'm not vegan and probably not even vegetarian, but around here, just the fact that I don't eat red meat once a day makes me kind of weird.

I think it is hilarious when people find out I'm a vegetarian and immediately want to know how I survive. I always get asked "What do you eat?". I usually say "Tofu", because I think that is what they are expecting, even though I do NOT eat Tofu, EVER. It's really bad stuff.

Anyway, if I think of anything else I like to eat, I will post it. At the moment it's salsa. Also, for the record, I have not brainwashed Katie into being a vegetarian. She sincerely does not like chicken. She also doesn't like spaghetti, but so far nobody has given me any flack about that. Luckily, Chas seems to LOVE meat. This is a good thing because I was warned when he was in the womb, that if I turned him into a vegetarian, he would likely become homosexual as well.

Whew! Looks like we dodged that bullet...

Yogo

2008-04-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

My Mom left me with a bunch of magazines, because she knows I like magazines and several of them were about Yoga. I don't actually do yoga, but I like reading about people who do. So, anyway, Katie got some of them out the other day and put on her bathing suit and stretched a blanket on the floor and announced that she was going to practice her yoga. To this, Chas says, "Oh I love YOGO!" "I want to YOGO!".

So, this has been a running joke lately. Doing yogo.

"Katie's Blue"

2008-04-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

Our DVR recorder did NOT record The Office like it was supposed to, so when I got home AFTER eight o'clock, I discovered that half the show was already over! I quickly started recording and we were able to catch the first half in pieces on you tube and some other site. I was so upset and then at the end, it was cut off due to storms in WEST Tennessee! We don't even live there! Sorry, Matthew and Jenny, but I mean, did they really have to go to Storm Tracker in the middle of The Office??? They couldn't wait 3 minutes?

THEN, I watched in horror as Micheal Johns got voted off American Idol. Did anyone expect that? He is so good! What is up with that? And the way Ryan tried to trick everyone into thinking that he was going to be safe was just mean.

Okay, that's enough TV talk. Funny thing happened this morning. I was sweeping the floors and got to the kids' room. Chas said, "Mommy don't sweep in here, this is our classroom". To which Katie says, "That's okay, Mommy can be the JANITOR".

My Mom found a plant at Mary's Greenhouse in McMinnville called "Katie's Blue". She of course bought it for Katie. Katie was very excited. She told my Mom that she does have a garden but Daddy keeps mowing it. Her "garden" is a patch of weeds in the middle of the yard. Now, she wants to plant her flower in the middle of her "garden", so I'm going to let her battle this out with Eric. I refuse to get involved in yard work of any kind.

My Mom also got the kids a little golf set. Watching Chas play is so hilarious. I don't even have words. I promise, if I could explain it, I would, but I just don't know how to put in words how funny it is.

Well, that's the news from Laurel Cove...

Spring Break... for Katie

2008-04-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

Well, it is Katie's Spring Break and she is having a great time. Chas is too. We are LOVING these nice warm days. We spent one day playing at the Jungle Gym and then we headed over to Riverfront Park for a picnic and we tried to feed the ducks, but there were so many people there doing the same thing that I think the ducks were quite full. We saw whole pieces of bread floating in the water. Anyway, then we took a walk down to the waterfall. It was a full day. My Mom is visiting so she has been enjoying her time with the kids and vice versa.

Eric and I are counting down the days until our vacation at Gulf Shores! I am so excited! I haven't been to the beach in almost 9 years! Wow, that is too long. I think it will be a great experience for the kids, too.

Yesterday I wrote my first ever Lesson Plan. I can't believe how hard it was! I thought it would be easy! My final project is to create a Unit on moon phases. I can't believe I only have two weeks of school left. That is crazy.

My favorite astrologer Rob Brezny had some great food for thought this week. I'm not a believer in astrology... just for the record. But, I love the way he writes, so I read all of the signs because I just love the way he thinks... anyway, I found this under Libra, in case you are a believer.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): "Where would the gardener be if there were no
weeds?" asked ancient Chinese sage Chuang Tzu. To that I add: Where
would lawyers be without crimes? How would psychotherapists fare
without neurotics? What would critics do without the stuff they love to
diss? Now let's apply this line of thinking to you, Libra. What thing that
you dislike also happens to be something you need? What condition that
you're opposed to is essential in constructing your identity? This is a
good time to acknowledge the value of everything you oppose, disagree
with, and fight against.

Cherry Blossoms!

2008-04-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

Our cherry trees are blooming! They look so pretty! I will try to get a picture when it quits raining. Eric thinks we will have lots of cherries this year. I'm sure the birds will appreciate them. If anyone would like to try to beat the birds to them, you are welcome to try...

I think American Idol is turning out to be really good this year. I don't really have a favorite, but I think it's safe to say that Kristy Lee Cook has got to go. Eric and I are mostly just excited that The Office is finally coming back to us!!! We have missed it so much. And then just three days after the new Office episode, WHAM, we have a new Desperate Housewives! It's almost more than I can stand. I am so excited.

Did anybody see the pregnant man on Oprah yesterday? Were you as confused as I was? I kept trying to wrap my brain around it and Katie was like, "Mom, helloooo, it's just a girl that grew up to be a man". It was so simple for her.

Today is the last day before Katie's Spring Break starts. I am so happy that she will be home for a week. Isn't that weird? I mean, my kids totally drive me crazy, but I really miss Katie when she is gone. I know Chas will be happy too, because he will have a friend to play with during the day and that means he will leave me alone, so I guess that's alot of it.

Pictures!

2008-04-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

This is Katie who is supposed to be taking pictures of Chas at the ballgame...

Chas completely unaware of the ball...

Chas has the long pants with a blue stripe, his coach, Brandon, is in the white shirt telling Chas to turn around...

Go Chas GO!!!

As it turns out my digital camera is NOT broken after all. Just needed new batteries. Soooo, it looks like I won't be getting a new one after all.... sigh.

On a happier note, I was able to get my old pictures off of it and now I can post them here!

The only ballgame that I actually took cameras to, I went with Katie and I worked the camcorder while she took pictures, so I had a lot of closeups of her face and several of the back of people's heads. I know that last sentence was a trainwreck, I apologize to all my old English teachers. Sorry.

Anyway, you can see from the pictures that Chas is not quite ready for the NBA. However, I would like to say that he really does have a great time playing basketball, so as long as he has fun, we will allow him to make a fool of himself.

The folks at the vet did make several jokes at my expense over Sophie's "haircut", but I think it was all in good fun.

Well, I am off to Geology class where I have a major test over the geologic time scale, but I am going to ace it big time. Just watch me. I am really good at memorizing stuff right before a test and then never remembering it again. It's one of my talents.

4:15 am

2008-04-02T02:08:00.000-07:00

I don't know what I'm doing up at this hour. This is not normal for me. I am so happy that my friends and family are visiting my blog! Thanks guys!

Several people have emailed me saying they can't figure out how to leave a comment, so if any of you more experienced bloggers can tell them what to do, that would be great.

Jackson's birthday was pretty uneventful. He slept through most of it. Probably because he was up all night the night before freaking out over a very minor thunderstorm. He really is the most neurotic dog I have ever had. He paces the house moaning and crying and his newest thing is trying to get into bed with me, which is completely out of the question. He finally found solace in the bathroom.

Sophie, poor thing, has been the victim of yet another attempt of mine at dog grooming. After the first attempt, Eric said, "She looks like you ran over her with a lawn mower". As much as I hate to admit it, he was right. Who knew Maltese puppies could grow so much hair and so fast? After this attempt, Eric said, "Why don't you just shave her?". I tried, but she really hates the buzzing noise, so I had to use scissors and now I am really embarrassed to take her to the vet on Thursday for her shots.

More dog news... Izzie has been bred again and she is due on May 23rd. She is doing very well.

I know you are wondering about the kids, but the truth is, I haven't said anything about them because, right now, there isn't much positive that I can say.

Actually, most of the time, our kids are astonishingly good, but there is a very small percentage of time where I just want to beat them senseless. I don't, but I do consider it.

Well, I'm not sure what the normal length of a blog is, but I'm pretty sure this is too long. If you're still reading, thanks. I still have two hours before I have to get Katie ready for school, so it could be a ways before the end... just a warning.

Our vacuum cleaner is broken. I took it to the Vac Shac in McMinnville since he just fixed it for the exact same problem like two weeks ago, but this time I got a speech about how this particular brand (Bissell) and this particular model (Healthy Home) is made in China and in a word is "junk". He went on about the kind of plastic and the clutch system, but basically what he was telling me is that my $350, almost brand new vacuum cleaner --- is junk. Not what I wanted to hear. Eric was less than pleased to hear it also. So, his suggestion was that I take it back to Lowe's to see what they will do for me. Ughhh...

So, I discovered that the hand held part of it still works, I just can't use it as an upright, soooo I have been on my hands and knees vacuuming all over the house. Chas thinks this way of vacuuming looks like fun... but it's not.

My digital camera is also broken, but that isn't really surprising. After suffering years of abuse, we knew it was just a matter of time. I hope to get a new one soon, so I can get some fun pictures up.

On an upnote, we are getting a HUGE tax refund! It's like twice the amount that we normally get AND another $1200 in rebate! Thanks George Bush!

Well, I am beginning to feel sorry for those of you who are reading this out of obligation, so I guess I will find something else to do for the next hour. Thanks for hanging with me.

Cynthia started it!

2008-04-01T07:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Jackson!

Toady Jackie Boy is 8 years old. The age of accountability...

Actually, Whittington started it, about a year ago, Eric's mission buddy sent us his blog link, and I thought, is this for real? People really do this? Those west coast people are so ahead of us country bumpkins. Anyway, sometime after that I was sent a link to Cynthia's blog, though I don't rememer when, how, or why, and I thought, "This looks like fun" and never thought about it again. Then I got a link to Haley's blog to see her new babies and Eric remarked, you will be blogging before you know it. He knows me. I love stuff like this, but I really don't have time for it. Just like I don't have time for half the stuff I do.

So, here I am adding yet another thing to my plate and I am so excited! I really hope my Mom and Dad and brother will visit, since they never log onto MyFamily... hint, hint.