I DO IT!

So now that Cord has decided that he's not a baby anymore, he has decided that he will get himself dressed. This is exciting and frustrating all at the same time. He won't let us help him at all so it takes FOREVER! I've learned to have him start getting his shoes on about 10 min before we need to go somewhere. He likes to sit on the bottom stair to get dressed to make it easier. His daddy has taught him about "tag in back" so at least his underware and pants aren't on backwards anymore. I also couldn't get him to smile for this pictre. Little stinker! Growing up way to fast!

Happy Groundhog day

Cord made this cute little groundhog at the babysitters house. He loves to play "peek-a-boo" with it as he slide the groundhog up and out of his cup. I'm not sure if this groundhog saw his shadow though.

Another Cali award

Don't know if you remember what a Cali award is, but it's given to the one student in each class who gets the highest score. Mike got a couple of these in his classes last year at WNEC. We just found out that he got TWO Cali awards. One for his Estate and Gift tax and one for his Special Topics: Corporate Wrongdoing class. That's TWO classes in which he got the highest score!!! Whooo Whooo! I told him that he just doesn't give himself enough credit. He studies hard and is smart. We are all proud of him.

Don't know if you have checked out the countdown til graduation that's at the bottom of the page but we are now down to double digits. From today there are 95 days til he is done with school. Remember when we started it was in the 800's. Time flies when you don't notice.

Scout campout

On Friday Mason had his first 11 yr old Scout campout. I'll admit I was a little nervous about sending him especially since his dad wasn't going to be there. To make it funner for him, I finally got him his own pocket knife. He has been begging for one ever since he became a scout. I knew they would be working on saws, hatchets, etc so I thought he could find something to do with his knife. And if he got lost he could survive since it was a swiss army knife. Never know when you might need a can opener, screw driver, or a nail file :). Needless to say, it appeared that he had a lot of fun. Except for the fact that he froze all night. His daddy got him a sleeping bag that is good up to -17 degrees. I guess I figured that would keep him warm so I didn't send any blankets. My bad! I did send him with a first aid kit that he didn't need. I guess we'll be better prepared next time.

On the Potty Train

Cord has a new babysitter (his first one moved) and she has two boys Cords age. He loves to go over there and play. As a bonus - both boys know how to use the potty which has inspired Cord to be one of the "big kids". I happened to have four days off in a row so we decided to try a new experiment "potty train in 3 days". The weather was crappy so we weren't going to go anywhere anyway. I hoped I could be patient and positive for 3 whole days. I just put Cord in a shirt and big boy underwear and prepared to clean carpets.

The first day was full of little puddles, but he was catching on quickly by the end of the day. On the 2nd day he had an accident in the morning but then did great all day. I told Mike that we had passed the point of no return then because he had learned to much to go back to diapers. The 3rd day had a couple of accidents but by then he had really gotten the idea. Whenever we go somewhere this first week I would put him in a pull-up and he gets a pull up at night for now. I am encouraged that he will now go in "public" pottys ie, the church or at the dentist, and he even goes all by himself. We know that because all of sudden he doesn't have any underwear on. Today we have had our 1 week anniversary of no more diapers. What a great feeling to know that I've just done that for the last time! He has a few more things to figure out (like how to go without getting all undressed) but we are on the right track.

I took cute pictures of him on his potty chair but the girls don't think it's cool that I put them on the blog. So I have this picture of how he looks when he is at home - just hanging out in his undies. I just love how their little bums feel once you take the diapers off - so cute and smooth :).

Chelsea's poems

Chelsea is studying poetry in English and is trying her hand in making her own poems. I love these ones she wrote:

A Day in My Life
(Italian sonnet)
Alarm rings, it's still dark outside, I'm tired
Drag my body out of my comfy bed
Body feels like lead, mind is feeling dead.
Face the day, motivation desired.
Off to school, gain knowledge that's required.
With my friends, dramatic gossip is spread,
Pressures continue running through my head.
Need something to calm me down, I am wired.
A book, escape to a different land.
No pressures of school, of home, or of life.
Don't have to be myself, be someone else.
Love, adventure, and action take a stand.
Love will conquer all, resolved is the strive.
Reality's not so bad, I'm still Chels.


The Thunder Storm
(English Sonnet)
Life is like a horrendous thunder storm
Raindrops appears soft, but they strike my skin.
From a distance, challenges misinform.
Hits you hard and you can't take it all in.
Thunder, chilling, randon, and obtrusive.
Don't know when, how loud, how close or how long.
Troubles not mutually exclusive.
Warning of troubled time to come along.
Lightning illuminates the darkened sky
Full of power, thrilling, jagged, and tense.
Highlighting the way, you just can't stand by.
Journey to the end, strengthen your defense.
The sun will come out, the trials will end.
Calm, glorious, colorful. Life will mend

Music
(sentence poem)
Music is all around us.
It has the ability to uplife; it can also be sad
While there are many genres, there is one type for everyone.
What's your favorite type of music?
Some like pop or country, while others like classical or jazz.
You can choose one, or have multiple favorites.
Music is amazing.

Go Bobcats!

The dance preformed again at a basketball game. I thought it was fun to see the team show their unity with their "Paw Pride". It's entertaining to watch her sit with the team and be a part of the school spirit.

Sears Photo shoot

Thanks to my mom and my grandma, I received some money for Christmas. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it - take my kids to Sears and get some pictures of them. When we were getting ready this morning I had a last minute thought. I told them to grab something that was important to them and was "them". As it turns out, I like those pictures the best. Chelsea with her ipod, phone, and a book. Brianna in her dance team uniform. Mason playing his Nintendo DS. Cord playing with his choo-choo train. I love that we captured this moment in time. They also liked those pictures the best. Sorry there are so many, too hard to choose the best ones.

Need a bodyguard?

Dad thinks this is more effective without his shirt on so we had to reshoot it. He can be my bodyguard anytime!

Firepower