So Excited!!

A few months ago (well, really it started a couple of years ago), I decided I wanted to go back to school to become a teacher. I just didn't feel that accounting was the right career choice for me anymore. I wanted to do something that I felt was really making a difference in the world. I've really enjoyed working in the girls' classrooms and teaching religion, so I looked into the programs available. I found a masters program at St. John Fisher adn applied. Well, I found out today that I got accepted!!! I'm SO excited. The best part is, all of my undergraduate coursework met the requirements so I don't need to take any classes before starting.

So, beginning in the Fall, I will be going back to school. I'm a little nervous about keeping up with classes, homework, the kids schedules and activities, but I know it will work out.

Trying to Beat the Winter Blues

Ok, after this past week, I'm really getting tired of winter (and, I know, we still have a LONG way to go). We started to get those single digit temperatures with subzero windchills - I just hate that freezing cold - I can handle the 30s, even 20s, but that's about it.

Since the freezing temps were going to begin on Wednesday, I wanted to get outdoors with the kids while the weather was still decent. We built this snowman and we had fun making snow angels and then Alli and Joey bombarded me with a snowball fight. Of course, when we went in, we warmed up with a cup of hot chocolate.





Once the freezing temps started, I knew we'd be hibernating in the house for a few days. I wasn't exactly planning on starting potty training right now since we leave for Disney in a couple of weeks, but I walked by the bathroom and found Joey with his pants down trying to get himself on the potty. Well, I couldn't discourage him, so we broke open the big boy undies Santa brought and decided to give it a try. He has done amazingly well. We have had about one accident a day, but that's not too bad. He still seems reall into it, so hopefully he'll be potty trained soon. Here he is modeling his big boy undies.



Friday night, we decided to have a movie night. The kids brought their sleeping bags into the family room, I made some popcorn and we watched Wall-E. Paul didn't like it, but Em & Alli really did. What I saw of it (I ended up falling a sleep for part of it) I thought was ok.



Saturday Paul went to the Syracuse vs Notre Dame basketball game with my dad, brother inlaw Ryan, Uncle and cousin. Syracuse won (Paul was excited, but the rest weren't). And on Sunday, all the girls on Paul's side of the family went to paint some pottery at Mud About You. It was so much fun. I painted a birthday plate for us to use on our birthdays, Em painted a mug and Alli painted a little hugs & kisses box it was called. We spent most of the afternoon there and we can't wait to pick up our pieces next week to see how they turned out.

Week in review

Well, this was our first full week back to school and work. I'm always a little sad when breaks are over, but it is nice to get back to our usual routine. The girls were very excited to get back to school and see their friends. This is them bright and early Monday morning on their way out to the bus.



We're still having fun playing with our Wii. Alli plays it so much more than I would have thought - and she's really good. She kicked my butt in golf (the game actually told me to give up since I was doing so bad - can you believe it). She also loves the Wii fit. I don't know how well you can see it in the picture, but my mii is actually asleep - I guess I don't play enough - ha ha!



Grandma & Grandpa Soups had given Joey this stacking doll (I don't know the right name for it) and he has had so much fun with it. He calls the smallest doll, the baby and he'll take it apart and ask whoever will listen, "Do you think this is the baby?"......"No"........"Do you think this is the baby?" And this will continue on until you get to the smallest. Then he'll stack them back up again. He loves it.



Alli is really becoming quite the little reader. She's able to read so many more words on her own now. Every few weeks she brings home a new book that she's completed in school to read to us. This was a book she brought home from school this week.



Friday night we went ice skating in Manhattan Square Park. It was fun. We tried putting Joey in skates and he loved walking around in the little waiting room in his skates, but freaked when we tried putting him on the ice. So, Paul and I just took turns sitting with him while the other one skated with the girls. Em did a great job skating on her own. Alli, started off needing a lot of support, but by the end was skating all on her own.

On Saturday, I registered Joey for preschool for next fall. I can't believe it - I feel like he was just a newborn and now we're registering him for school - Yikes! I took him with me to the open house and he really had fun playing with the other kids and all the toys. But, when I asked him on the way home if he liked his new school, he said "No". He's too much.

Then in the afternoon, for my grandma's Christmas present, the girls and I took her to a movie (and we were supposed to go to dinner, but that was postponed because of a snow storm). We went to see Marly & Me. It was a really cute movie. I could relate to so much of it with having our own yellow lab, Molly. Molly was never nearly as bad as Marly, but there were definite similarities.

Today the girls and I went to our cousin's Leslie's baby shower. It was a fun shower and we can't wait for the arrival of little baby Carson. Here's a picture of the excited mom & dad to be.

Ringing in the New Year!!

The girls were so excited for the last day of 2008. Our friends the Rider's always have a fun New Years Eve party. They have a countdown a little early for the kids. Every year, it gets a little later as the kids get older. It used to be at 8pm and now this year it was 9:30, or a little after. They've got party hats and noise makers for the kids - which of course they love - it's a little deafening for the parents, but it's fun.

Here are the girls "ringing in the new year" at 9:30.



On the drive home the girls really wanted to try and stay up until midnight, so we'd decided to let them try. They got in the jammies and we watched Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve trying to stay awake. As you can see from the pictures below, Paul and Alli didn't make it. And, they were OUT - I kept trying to wake them up when they started the countdown and they didn't budge.

It was just Emily and I. She was tired, but I think she was excited and proud of herself for making it till midnight. One funny thing though - she was grossed out by the long kiss Dick Clark gave his wife at midnight lol.

Happy 2009!!!