Monday, January 28, 2008

falling into place

I can't believe how well things are coming together for our trip!
Brian actually said to me the other day how scary it is that it's all working out. The reason he said that is because with something as big as this...we usually hit a few bumps in the road. Not that we still won't but so far...so good!
The hotel is booked and confirmed, passports have been applied for and should be mailed out on Feb 7th, park hopper passes will be on their way by the end of the week and we have mapped out other things we want to do while in California. Such as Universal Studies, Medieval Times, Legoland and of course the beach and hanging out by the pool at our hotel (hopefully it is warm enough for these latter 2 ideas). I've already been able to check a few things off the massive and ever growing list I started last Monday after booking...that feels good!!
Know what doesn't feel so good though? Temperatures of -45!!! That is currently how cold it is in our neck of the woods. Needless to say, the kids have no school and it's not looking any better for the rest of the week. Hopefully, if they are home that long, they can at least get along and amuse themselves so I can scrapbook...lol!! Which is how I plan to spend the rest of the afternoon! My neighbor might brave the cold long enough to cross the street and join me, if not, I'll pop in the old ipod and ignore the noises coming from the basement!!!
Other than trip planning, we haven't been up to too much this last week but I do want to share this....I think it is amazing!


I don't remember my other kids being able to draw like this at the age of 6 and I certainly can't at 35 so excuse my proud Mommy moment!

I'm off to scrap...I've been on a bit of a roll lately...really finding my groove and having a blast!

Take care and take some time to play!

Monday, January 21, 2008

the happiest place on earth

is our house right about now....we booked our tip to Disnelyand today....WOOHOO!!!!
I can hardly contain myself...I am sooooo excited I can't sit still for very long.
I'm making lists all over the place (this is not unusual for me as I make a to do list each morning) of things that keep popping into my head so that we are more than prepared. Would be a bit much if I packed a bag of stuff for the kids to do on the plane already?...lol
We are leaving 2 weeks later than we originally discussed but whatever...we're going!
Initially we wanted to go over Easter break cause the kids wouldn't miss any school but it's getting harder to find flights and decent accommodations as time ticks away and Easter gets closer...it's also quite a bit cheaper to not go when the rest of the world has a holiday...lol!!
So, the 6 of us will be leaving in April and I apologize to you in advance if for the next 2 months all you hear about is this trip...lol!! Although, I'm sure between hockey drama, life with 4 boys and scrapping stuff, I can find other things to post about once in awhile.
Have a supercalifragilisticexpealidocious day!!!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

overwhelmed...

that one word can sum up how I've been feeling lately.
Preschool isn't going so well...it's not that I don't like what I'm doing but it's hard for me to teach someone else's program, in the way in which she not only has the class set up but in the time slots she has allotted for each thing. I find it doesn't flow for me. I'm also struggling with the fact that it is a mix if kids. Last year, the other teacher and I had it so she had the 3-4yr olds and I had the 4-5yr olds. It worked really well. This year, the class is a mix of kids who just turned 3 and some that will be starting kindergarden. It's pretty difficult to keep the attention span of a 3yr old at circle time! I've had a child stand up and pee his pants and a parent helper that brought her 1.5 yr old with her. Not only did she spend the majority of the day taking him off the things he was climbing on but so did I. It was really hard to instruct when I had to stop what I was doing to deal with him. It's also a bit hard because I know it's not permanent...only 4 classes left and then I'll be finished with preschool and can start saying yes to the schools that are calling me to sub.
Figures hey...phone doesn't ring for the first month or so after I submit my application to be a sub EA and now that I can't do it, I have 3 schools that all want me the last week of January...sheesh!
On top of that, hockey is almost to the point of ridiculous. I have had to send out letters to the parents of the A team reminding them of the code of ethics as set out by our association cause they are behaving that poorly. It is starting to affect the team morale too. I'll be soooo happy when this season is over and my position as Director is over. I won't even blink at the idea of doing it again next year...lol!!!
And then there's life...it too can be a bit overwhelming at times...as I'm sure you all know.
It's nothing big but all the little stuff...the clutter (which I am making good progress on cause I'm so frustrated with it I'm just throwing it all out...lol) and time...for family, me and scrapping. I was doing so well for the first part of this month juggling it all but it just seems to be too much at once right now. I couldn't imagine trying to do all of this stuff and have a full time job. Those of you that do...please share your tips and tricks.
Despite all that, I think I'm still pretty happy and stress free...I am trying to not let it consume me and having Brian home has been good for that. There are days where he seems to "bug" me but he is also a huge asset...he's helping out around the house way more than he does regularly and spending a lot of time with the boys which they love and it gives me a break too. So without him here everyday right now, I'd probably be either curled up in the fetal position or drinking on a daily basis...lol!!! So to you hon, Thanks for being my rock...I love you!!
Alright, enough of that...I am really enjoying the APAD (I need to upload some more but haven't had time)...you can check them out for yourself if ya like....look to the sidebar on the right for the project 365 (which should actually be 366 as it is leap year). It's fun to try different angles and perspectives with the camera as well as taking pics of everyday stuff.
I haven't had a chance to finish that mini album I mentioned in the last post about myself but hope to this Saturday. I'll post it when I'm done as well as a few other pages I managed to complete before I had all this other stuff to deal with.
The boys are doing well. We are all healthy...hoping to stay that way so we can take our trip.
I guess that's it for now...needed a vent. I have a hair appointment in 15 minutes, so...take care everyone. I'll be making blog rounds tonight to see what you've all been up to.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

1st Official post of 2008

and so far the year is off to a busy start.
After being sick with colds and flus at the beginning of the Christmas beak, we managed to survive a hockey tournament (which Reilly's team won) and enjoyed a few days as a family. Including New Years Eve...we decided we wanted to spend the day/night together. We had fun with the kids playing games on the Wii, some board games, lot of snacks and a movie. We spent some time on the backyard rink...the kids sure love having it (even though it causes us as parents...mainly Brian... grief making it). We were back to hockey over the weekend. I sent Brian to the 1.5 hours away with Reilly yesterday and I went to watch my best friends son play instead...lol! They were playing in the area so I went and had a visit with her...it was fabulous!! I miss her so much so it was great to see her...love you Vicki!!
I've already celebrated a birthday this year...35 I am!! It has prompted me to do a bit of thinking and therefore I decided to do a mini album about myself...yep...I am scrapbooking about ME!! I'll share it when it's done.
I am also participating in APAD (stands for 'a photo a day' and will share those as well) but next post. Desperate Housewives is finally back on tonight and it starts in less than 10 minutes so I must end my post soon.
Oh...I'm going to work tomorrow...as the preschool teacher. The lady that took over for me has recently had surgery so they asked me to sub for the month of January and classes start tomorrow. Should be interesting that's for sure...lol!!
And lastly, the boys have begun counting down until we leave for Disneyland...only 73 days till we leave. OMG...I am so excited. Sure hope our passports aren't delayed for some reason!!!
If anyone has any Disney trip advice, please share it...as well as camcorder reviews. We are looking for a new one to take with us.
On that happy note, I'm off to see what's happening with my favorite housewives...lol!!