An Oldie

Just a random picture. This is what happens when you have 2 big sisters. Look at the date and you can figure out who this little chunky monkey is. He is easy embarrassed and all about his image of being cool. He has his own style now and it sure doesn't include fairy wings!

The Moon house is chugging along just fine at the moment. Same ole same ole, I think I have a touch of spring fever already. Hope all is well with our friends and loved ones.

School Predicament

Well after many calls and some emails I learned what Collin's fate will be next school year. The Public school system will not let him start next year at all. He is 12 days past the cut off, period no exceptions (supposedly )! If he goes to private school he will have to attended a Private School till 2nd grade before transferring. In the state of Alabama you have to be 5 years old before Sept 1 to start K5 and you have to be 6 years old to start 1st grade.

I must admit I was alittle heartbroken for Collin when I got all this news. Because he is smart and a fast learner. He is big for his age and can handle hanging with the kids slightly older than him. People are usually shocked he is just 4.

There are a couple of scenarios floating around in my head. Brian and I will have to sit down and weigh all the options. I plan on talking with his current Preschool teacher because she is a wise woman with lots of experience , I think she will help us sort out things.

I do feel this is an injustice to Collin but it may work out in his favor after all. If he shows up to Public school kindergarten light years ahead of the other kids they will be forced to reconsider the situation.And I will make sure they do. He is wanting to learn to read and I have been hesitant up until now. He is hungry for knowledge and wants to learn more and more. I am going to change my way of thinking and follow his lead. There are plenty of workbooks, flashcards even computer games that can help us with this.

That's what we know so far I will let you know once things are decided upon.

Logan's Autobiography

I believe this picture would make a great cover for Logan's autobiography someday. This picture was his black eye at the 2 days out stage , the eye is now really black and impressive looking. Brian and I have a glimmer of hope again in our school in regards to Logan. I am proud of him and how far he has come. His journey is just beginning but thankfully he's a fast learner.

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ~Elizabeth Stone

Ouch!

Poor Hudson fell last night and hit his head. Once the tears stopped he let me take a picture of him, here he is saying Cheese! This morning the swelling has gone down and it is a dark blue , lets hope it fades quickly. Bumps on the head are a scary thing for sure.

Fun with Sissy

I believe Macy is training Hudson to be a circus performer or male cheerleader. This is a new game he likes to play with her. I now have proof that she started this game when he grows up to be a big boy and wanting to walk up her legs. But for now it's pretty cute.

Someones sleeping

Someones been sleeping in MY bed and he's still there. When I took myself to bed last night this is what a found. Collin and about 5 toys surrounding him. He looked cute,happy and small. He is growing up so fast I love when little things remind me he is still my little boy.

Btw please excuse the poor picture quality my nice camera has had dead lithium batteries but I will be getting some today.

Blog Award? Who Me? Really?

I was doing my usual ritual yesterday morning of getting my juices flowing by reading some blogs before diving into the work around here. I love using my blog roll to read the latest thoughts and goings-0n from my blog pals. Some people who will remain nameless don't blog everyday because they have these things called "real jobs" and those pesky jobs get in the way of blogging often so seeing several post in a week from them make me all happy. Anyways I was surfing the blog roll and read Doron's newest post down at the very bottom I noticed she passed the award on to me and a few others. Wasn't that sweet of her?? But the catch is I have let you guys in on 10 things about me you might not know and pass on the award. In order to do this "Major Award" justice I have to wake up my still sleepy brain and think. So stand back and let me give it a go.

First I want to thank Doron over at http://wethreehines.blogspot.com/ for bestowing this award on to me. Here blog is a good mix of the happening in her family which includes my favorite 10 year old boy her son Tater, the adventures of teaching and her kitchen. She is a FAB U LOUS cook and you are to always accept a dinner invitation to her house. Trust me your taste buds will thank you! Go wander over and read her 10 things.

Here are the 10 things you possibly didn't know or ever care to know about yours truly.

1. I don't really like driving. I prefer to be the passenger whenever possible. There no real reason why I feel this way it's just my preference. I am always willing to pitch in for gas if someone else would drive.

2. I love shiny, sequin-y, glittery, bling stuff. It goes from my purses to toe nail polish the more it shines the more I like it. I do TRY to restrain myself and not get too gaudy but I have a feeling I will be one of those old ladies that wears the big jewelry and fur coat at an inappropriate time. Oh well atleast I will think it looks good.

3. I prefer to wear some sort of heel all the time. Brian has made great fun of me for wearing heeled sandals to a soggy soccer field before. Probably the #1 reason I detest tennis shoes. I am short enough I need a little bit of extra height with my shoes.


4.While I detest clutter around my house my closet is a train wreck most of the time. My dresser drawers aren't much better. But if you just stopped by for a visit things would be somewhat tidy looking.

5.Motherhood is more rewarding but much harder than I ever imagined. Each age group comes with it's own joys and worries. I am finding the teenagers to be alot of fun and it interesting to see the glimpses of them being more independent .When I get questions asking how I handle 6 kids I give my older kids alot of credit. They are a huge help in countless ways and I am greatful for it.

6.Within the last year I discovered I like raw oysters. I had never tried them before I just judged them based on looks. After trying them with some cocktail sauce laid on a saltine I really liked them. Doron is my raw oyster eating friend and anytime she is willing to go to the oyster bar I am there in a heartbeat.

7. I have never been athletic , there was a time around 7 years old I played soccer but really it was only to get a trophy. Once I figured out you had to run to play the game I wasn't so happy about playing. I am going through a fitness bootcamp right now and it is by far the hardest thing I have ever done physically. After a year of walking, running and weight training at home I have enlisted a trainer to push me even more. And he is KILLING me but one day I will be thankful.

8. My first car was a White convertible VW Rabbit. My parents surprised on Halloween 1992 when they rolled into the driveway with my car. I had no clue about it and no clue how to drive a stick shift. But I learned and I loved that car. I will one day have another convertible , it may have a handicap tag and the trunk may contain my walker but I will own another one day.

9. I love clothes, and change clothes often. I don't like wearing the same clothes very long and most often I change outfits during the day.

10. I don't like drinking milk. I can go weeks maybe even months without drinking milk from a glass. If milk is ever wanted by me it is to wash down some warm chocolaty dessert.


I pass this Major award on to the following people.

My sister in law Kristi at http://fivefortenberries.blogspot.com/

Friend Jodi and Mother of 5 http://www.jodisorganizedchaos.com/

Fellow blogger and Mom of 16 extraordinaire http://16blessingsmom.blogspot.com/

Fellow blogger and teaching Mom of 1 http://southerndomesticgoddess.blogspot.com/

There are rules to receiving this award and they are as follows:

*You must thank the giver of the award and post a link to their blog in appreciation for receiving the award.

*Share 10 Honest and informative "bits" about yourself.

* Present this award to a few others who's blogs you find so delightful that you wish to share theirs with others.

*Tell them they have been awarded The Honest Scrap Award and inform them of these steps to receiving this award :)

Way To Go Hailey

My niece and name sake Hailey Nicole rocked the school Spelling Bee yesterday. I am very proud of her for coming in 4th place overall. That is big accomplishment! I'd love to try to take some credit for her stellar spelling abilities but lets just say I think she inherited other GREAT attributes from me. :) Congrats to Hailey for doing so well!

In other Spelling Bee news Logan will also be in upcoming Middle School Spelling Bee. He may or may not inform me when it is so I can attend that's just how he is. He has the sort of luck that he gets an extremely hard word after several rounds he is knocked out and then some kid wins with the word PIGGY! I kid you not! Fingers crossed he will be the kid with all the luck this year.

Back to the Grind

Hudson really is Cookie Monster!
Collin vacuuming the playroom!
Hudson 18 months

Today was back to school for Collin and life got back on track from be derailed by holidays and snow days. I was able to get laundry going, dishes washing , dinner underway ,while cooking lunch for Brian and myself I ran the vacuum downstairs. AMAZING how quickly all those things can be done without people here.

Logan did get his cast off yesterday and has a removable brace. He is cleared to wrestle again as long as the thumb is taped well, no braces are allowed in matches. So he is happy about it and he gets to test it out tonight on an away meet. Report cards came out last week and he was 1 point away from having straight A's. He made A-B honor roll every grading period of 8th grade so far. I am thankful now we were able to get him the help and treatment he needs to help him reach his full potential. I am very happy he is having such a good school year.

Macy is cheering for one of her last basketball games of the season tonight. She will get a short break from cheerleading before Try-out for next year approach at the end of the month. She says she is on the fence on what she wants to do. Time will tell I guess. She too made A-B honor roll on her report card.

Fourth grade is proving to be a rocky year for Molly. She has gotten the first C's ever but there is alot of adjusting going on with changing classes and having 4 teachers. Molly is a smart girl I know it will all work out in time.

Parker brought home all A's again. School comes so easy to him I hope the trend continues as he gets older. He has made good friends with a nice boy name Sam that lives down the street. Most of his free time is spent either at Sam's house or Sam at our house. It's nice for Parker to have a good friend .

Collin went to school today and then came home wanting to vacuum. What was I to say other than okay if you must. For my birthday he told me he would clean out under my bed for me and that was an awesome present! Having him home and underfoot for the last 3 weeks I enjoyed him being at school today. It's good for him to have activities without me. I have put in some calls about what my options for public school for him next year since his birthday is 13 days past cut off. He is so smart making him wait would be unfair to him.

Hudson is doing well. Over Christmas he cut 4 new teeth, so he almost has a mouthful. He is a walking mess maker no doubt. He is talking alittle more and all food is COOKIE, he says ball alot and has certain books he loves to read because they have balls in them. He brings you a cup from the cup drawer when he wants a drink. He listens well when you tell him to STOP, or COME. But if you fuss at him his bottom lip pokes out and he starts blinking his eyes. He tries to wink if you wink at him too. He turned 18 months last week and he will have his check up soon.

Other than being totally flustered by the fact my local Publix grocery store moved the bread aisle to the other side of the store after it has been on the first aisle forever (Remember this you locals when you run in for a quick loaf, go to where the wine was and you will find bread, or vice versa if your looking for wine LOL) . I guess I detest change I prefer routine and having to THINK about where the bread is in the store annoys me. Oh I kid all is well here, hope everyone is doing well also.

2 Years Later

January 10, 2008 My Mom Kay suffered a unexplained fall at home resulting in a fractured skull and brain bleed with extensive bruising around the brain. She had emergency brain surgery around 11 am to stop the bleed and place the skull back together with plates. It was a scary time, a time when there were alot of uncertainties over what her future would hold. The 2 years since the accident have been a journey for sure but Mom was spared the worst possible outcomes. And we all learned that everyday is indeed a gift from God.

We love you Mom !

This is what 33 looks like.

Today I turned 33 years old. I had a real nice birthday this year and it just happen to be the day after Bama won the National Championship, there is just a buzz of excitement in the air right now in Alabama . It was really nice that I was remembered by so many people with taking me out to eat, emails, text, cards and phone calls. The gifts were all very thoughtful and I loved them all. My kids got an extra day off school because the icy roads this morning , but they were sweet enough to let me sleep in and tackle me with birthday hugs when I went downstairs. I am a very blessed lady. Thank you guys for everything!

Roll Tide Roll!

The future Dr. Moon

Paging Dr. Moon , Dr. Collin Moon. The kids received several boardgames for Christmas this year . Collin had been begging for Operation in the store, I had warned him how hard it was and I didn't think he was old enough yet . But when I found it on a good sale I figured the price was right and if he couldn't play it the other kids would.

Collin LOVES this game and I found it to be abit different from the game I had as a child. For one example it has more sound effects and the pieces have changed too. I sure don't recall the dude having a cell phone back in the early 80's. So far several times a day Collin sits down to "practice operation" he has asked me what the sick guys name is ( He's already concerned about his patients, he doesn't consider him just some random sick guy). Best part of this game he can play ALONE. The older kids are already burned out playing Candyland and Chutes & Ladders with a 4 year old who likes to make up the rules as he goes . But he seems to be having so much fun playing that it sucks you in to giving it a try for old times sake. All this operation practice is bound to help him in Med School. Oh I dare to dream because we sure need a Doctor in the family!

2010

It's alittle strange to type 2010, do you call it Twenty-ten or Two thousand ten ? Anyways I guess I have a whole year to get used to saying it whichever way feels best.

We made last minute plans with Doron ,Steven and some other friends and we had a nice time. We had dinner followed by seeing John Morgan the Ragin' Cajun at the Stardome Comedy club. Nothing like bringing in the new year with laughter. Good thing we all had a good sense of humor because at both places our waiter stunk. But despite all that we enjoyed seeing them and hearing the details of the Hines Christmas Disney World trip. I can't wait to see pictures too (hint hint).

I have been thinking about my goals for Twenty-ten. Here is what is floating in my head so far.

*Spend more meaningful time with my family. I want to be mindful that it doesn't take alot of money or some far away destination to make memories together. Sometimes it just takes alittle time and extra patience with simple things to include them and make them smile. Cookies baked with the help of little people somehow taste even better.

*Take more pictures of the older kids. Even these teen years are going to fly by , I need take more pictures of them not just posed pictures or pictures of important events. Somehow on Christmas Day I got only one picture of Logan and I regret that. I also want to improve my photography skills.

*Work on projects at the house. We have been in our house going on 6 years this June. There are things that need repairing and sprucing up. This will mean money and time set aside for such projects.

*Continuing my fitness and weightloss goals. Hopefully hitting my ultimate goal this year but focusing on health and fitness and let the numbers on the scale settle where they may. Obtaining a resonable balance of diet, exercise, and living life.

I am sure there are more goals but these are the ones pressing on my mind right now. Today I am going to Lowe's to get hopping one of these goals. Hudson's room is getting painted and decorated. It will be so cute I am excited! Oh and I started the day with eating a grilled chicken breast and some pretzels and committing to the Firmbody Bootcamp program which means INTENSE exercise 3 times a week ,so on the right track there too. The day isn't over just yet I have time to snap some pictures and possibly play a board game or something with the kiddies.

Hope everyone had a Happy New Year and looks forward to the year with hope and optimism!