Because we all need reminding...

This picture was taken on the wall between the boys and girls restroom at my kids school. It cracked me up so much, I tried to snap a picture of it real quick before teachers and other parents noticed what I was taken a picture of. Sorry, it's kind of blurry you get the general idea.

100 Sight Words!

Emily has met her goal and has done a major accomplishment in the Kindergarten world. She can now read 100 sight words!

When kids at her school reach 100% of their reading goal, or in kindergarten, they are able to read 100 sight words, they have a parade. It was so cute! All the kids come out of their classes, the school plays Kool and the Gang's "Celebration" and the kids in the parade march up and down the hall while the teachers and other kids cheer and high five them. Emily's teacher made her and her classmate "100" hats to wear in the parade. Oh my, it was so cute I thought my heart was going to burst! I was so proud of her!

Here she is with her classmate Michael making their way to the parade line.

The parade starts!

Emily with her 100 hat!

Computer lab!

This is Emily with her friend, Katie. See that little boy next to Emily. That's Logan. Isn't he cute? A friend of mine told me that her son saw Emily and this little boy holding hands at recess earlier in the year! Oh, my!

My sweet girl! We are so proud of you Emily!

Interview with Ethan

While Ethan was at the dining room table this evening, he was supposed to be "thinking" why his behavior when he came home from school was stinky. While I had him sitting down, I decided to ask him a few questions. Here goes...

Interview with Ethan

What's your name?: Ethan Matthew Stroup

How old are you?: 8 (me: are you sure?) Oh, yeah. I'm 9. I don't feel 9. I still feel 8.

What grade are you in?: 3rd

Who is your best friends?: Tillman, Isreal, Anthony

What games do you like to play?: My DS & computer games

What activities do you like?: Drawing, practicing cursive, coloring and building things, riding my bike and Cub Scouts.

What's your favorite food?: Pizza and mac-n-cheese.

What's your favorite drink?: Any kind (It's true. The boy loves anything to drink.)

What makes you happy?: Going fun places.

What makes you sad?: I don't know.

What do you want to be when you grow up?: A Boy Scout leader, in sports and a Cop.

How do you feel about your family?: Love you.

If you could do anything right now, what would it be?: Get up and play with my Hot Wheels.

Next time I'll interview Emily. That should be fun!

What have we been up to since the last time I blogged? Truth is, a whole lotta nuthin'!!!

Well, maybe a few things. Both the kids lost a tooth this past week.

Emily received her 1st real award certificate in Kindergarten!

The Hub is adding new steps and railing to our front porch. Apparently, he believes in child labor!

We had Friday Game Night!

Both kids received a set of dominoes for Christmas!

Here are the bugs learning the game.

I was really in a baking mood! I made chocolate mint meltaways.

Cake batter rice krispie treats for Emily's classroom snack.

Chocolate peanut butter rice krispie treats!

Cake batter truffles.

And just today, I made these...

Homemade cinnamon rolls. That's right. Homemade. By me. From scratch. With yeast and everything. And they are really delish!!!



I'm trying to make homemade Valentine cards for Emily this year. I'll share more on that later, because it has been... well... one mistake after another. Major failure on my part. Oh well!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Kids Say The Dardest Things!

It's true! Kids do say the darnedest things.

This one cracks me up all the time! She says the funniest things. The other day I caught her picking glitter off of a Christmas ornament and rubbing it on her arms.

I asked her what she was doing.

She replied, "I need the glitter! Glitter helps me dance!".





Also, during Christmas dinner with the Hub's family, there was a small minute of silence where everyone was eating and no one was saying anything at that moment. Ladybug takes that moment to quote a line from a movie we had recently seen.

Now normally, I'd think that was cute and say, "Oh, sweetie! You remembered that from fill in the blank movie! You're so smart." And I would smile and think how cute my kids are and wait for others to nod in agreement.

Normally. But Emily didn't choose to quote from some sweet Disney movie or a even a cute kids movie.

No. She picked a silent moment and, very proud and very clear quoted from..... wait for it...

Adam Sandler. The Waterboy. Can you guess what it was?

Yes. It was this...

"She showed me her boobies and I liked them too!"

I think I stammered something about her having recently seen that movie on TV. My sister-in-law giggled, bless her heart and told me she likes that movie too. And I made a mental note to turn my TV to some educational shows every once in a while. Which, I have yet to do. Because I do love me some Adam Sandler!

Happy New Years!

Did you all have a good New Years? On Friday night, the Hub and Ladybug drove to Waco so Emily could spend the night with her cousin, Angelina.

Cousins!

Ethan also spent the night on Friday with a friend. That meant that I was all alone. Which.... I loved. I never get alone time. Never. Ever. Never ever.

What did I do with a night by my self? I baked of course!

Remember my chocolate chip cheesecake? Well, I decided to make it into a mint chocolate chip cheesecake with a few modifications. Also, I took my left over Andes mint chips, melted them and dipped Ritz crackers in it. The results? Awesome! It was like eating a thin mint cookie. So good! So, I put them on top of my cheesecake.

I also made my little niece Angelina some Nutella cookies. She loves Nutella. I found the recipe somewhere in blogland. I also made some place and bake chocolate chip cookies.

On Saturday Ethan and I drove up to Waco to be with Mark's family for a late Christmas/New Year get together. The kids got to open their Christmas gifts from that side of the family.

Cheesy, I don't want to smile, smile!

Candy! Candy, candy, candy, candy!

After we drove home, they whole family was exhausted. Especially the kids because they didn't get a lot of sleep the night before! So, did we see the new year in? No!  But I think I heard some fireworks and at some point thought, "Oh it must be midnight!".

I decided that I wasn't going to make any resolutions. I never keep them anyway. 

Anyway, I want to tell you thank you! Thanks to all of you who read my blog and have prayed for me and my family in 2011. I hope you continue to enjoy this blog in 2012.

Additionally, my grandmother has been moved to a rehabilitation center and will be there for a couple of weeks before she goes home. She looks a lot better! Please continue to pray for Grandma Dolly.

And... this one! This one asked the BIG question on New Years Eve!

 You know the question about Santa!

And.. I had to tell him the truth. He told me "That's what I thought!" He said he knew about the tooth fairy and Easter Bunny, but Santa was a little harder. I think because he had seen him and sat on his lap.

Then I tried to explain to him the fact that now he knows about Santa, Tooth and EB, it's a secret and he doesn't need to ruin Ladybug's fun. He said he knew. I also told him that even though those guys aren't real, God and Jesus are very real. He told me he already knew that, too! I'm so proud of him. Sometimes he really surprises me on how mature he can be!

Happy New Year everyone! Have a happy and joyous 2012!

Love,

Jennifer