Still for Jump Rope

Nicholas is still taking donations for the American Heart Association Jump Rope challenge. You can donate on line from his web site! Thanks to all who have given. If you’d like to give less than $25 you can make a check to the American Heart Association) and mail it to me.

Congratulations Brent and Laura Stainback.
Bryce James Stainback is absolutely beautiful!!

It was so windy today, I think I was airborne while trying to walk to work! The wind would sweep my feet away as I walked making one leg knock the other out. Luckily, it was coming from behind me. Those poor people walking against the wind. I’ll tell you what, I got an education on popular terminology while among intense and uncomfortable situations!

Also, I’m in the process of applying for a job at Samaritan’s Purse.

Jump Rope for a cause

I am raising money for the American Heart Association (AHA) by jumping rope in P.E. class. The AHA has made it easy for friends and family far away to contribute. Here is my personal web page....

Nicholas' donation page

Thank you for considering a donation.
Nicholas


This is a somewhat special fundraiser for Nicholas because he's seen me check my pacemaker over the phone and knows my heart is "broken". He also has a minor heart abnormality himself. And while neither one of our problems are specific to the AHA's work with vessels and disease (ours are electrical problems), he expressed a compassion to this cause.

Today was the 100th day of school at Nicholas' school. Here is a book he created along that theme...

a busy life...

We had a great time with the Taylor family Friday evening. So much so we didn’t take Nicholas home. Yep! His first sleep over (excluding the time he stayed with “the boys” the night Robin was born. He had a blast. Rob picked him up at 11 am on Saturday and after lunch he took a 3 hour nap!! It was Robin’s first night without her brother…ever…and she did very well. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that we left their home at 9 pm (1.5 hours past her bedtime). All 4 children had played so much, they all passed out!

Yea…and no pictures. I left he camera in the car. We were too busy talking and laughing to think of photos. I will try next time though because they are so cute together!

Been job hunting tonight. I have decided that I want someone I know to call someone they know and voila!....I land the perfect job! But, since that will not happen, I will continue the pursuit.

My thesis is coming together. I hope to knock out a big portion (that being all) of the standards by the end of February…that will give me all of March to write and then early April to get some good proofers and make final revisions. Defense will be the second week in April then it’s smooth sailing until May 6^th!

My friend Angel has come through her major surgery well. I need to call her! Love you Teddy Bear and hope you are back on your feet soon! Glad to hear there was no tumor!!!

second nine weeks

Nicholas brought home his second report card today. We are SO proud of him!!! The first 9 weeks he has really struggled with social skills. In fact, most areas of record involving social skills were scored at unsatisfactory (U). ALL OF THEM have gone up to a Needs Improvement (N) this term. The only two scores to go down were Music class (which I’m sure is directly related to social skills) and homework. It was a very difficult semester for all of us in the Fall. It’s a wonder we helped Nicholas with ANY of his homework!!! We will do better this semester. He does seem to have a good understanding of the need for homework and enjoys the activity (mostly because it involves individual attention from mom or dad.

Off to Matt and Molly’s house Friday evening to have dinner with their family. Their mom, Jerryann, is a new faculty member in the tec department. What a wonderful match to have children the same ages and a couple that you can become friends with.

Robin just loves Molly. Today when she left her classroom, she yelled, “Bye Molly! Hugs and kisses” Molly came over and they kissed then gave hugs and went their separate ways. Very precious. I’ll try to have pictures tomorrow!

Also, Matt’s mom is picking up Matt and Nicholas form school tomorrow. So Nicholas will play at Matt’s house until we get there. What a treat!!!!

Until next time…. Here is the infamous report card! (you may need to click on it to enlarge it)

our EdVentures

Some highlights from our trip to Columbia this past weekend. (Not in chronological order!)

We had a wonderful visit with my paternal grandparents. Who despite physical limitations and discomforts opened their home to my rowdy bunch, fed, loved, and educated us! I love you very much and am thankful for the time we can share together. My children love you both so much. Papa, you have made a very special buddy! (looks like you kinda like him too)

Meme and Papa with the children.

Meme had some time to love on RobinPapa taught Nicholas all about his grandfathers' surgical toolsLoads of fun and even more spoilage at Phil and Ken's home!!!

Root beer floats late at night (who is the kid here, Nicholas or Ken?)Olives are a great snack...especially if you get to eat the whole can and play with your food...

After a quick stop to the baby furnture store, we spent all morning Saturday at EdVenture in Columbia SC.

Meet Ed (a 3 story tall educational indoor jungle gym)...This is Ed's stomach,his heartand his face and brain,Other activities at EdVenture are the barn yard...
A life sized Operation game (Nicholas did not make the buzzer go off at all)A wonderful outdoor play center providing education on renewable energy, this feature was all about Methane cleverly titled "Garbology"A trip to the dentist calls for a look at x-Rays, tooth identification, and a cleaning of course!and the grocery store sponsored by Pigly Wigly...
Back at home Robin takes a morning peek at the ducks on the lake
a nice snuggle with Jackson, the fuzziest dog ever (my brother, Phil, and Robin)
We played lots and lots of Candy Land (actually, started a lot of games)
Robin did not hold back in sharing her "book-of-facts" with my brother Phil...
Ken loves on Robin over and over again...
Jackson patiently awaits his turn to seek the hidden toy (he finds it every time)...
only this picture can explain how much fun it was to visit Phil and Ken in Columbia this past weekend.
Thanks Guys!!!

(I have not done ANY homework for the past hour....must get busy!)

growing crystals

Uncle Dan and Aunt Kathy gave Nicholas a really neat crystal growing kit for Christmas. The mixture has been on the rock for about 24 hours and already crystals are growing. Here’s a shot of the progress so far…

Do you see the little parts sticking out on the rock?? Can’t wait to see what kind of crystals are there after we return from Columbia.

Nicholas got his first phone number today. One of the girls in his class gave it to him. She wants him to come over sometime.

Today was my first day to spend on my thesis. I may have to come up with a new routine. Because after getting Nicholas up and on the bus. I laid down for a little bit. Yea…turned out to be a couple of hours. I still accomplished a lot. Nonetheless, I will need to come up with some kind of post bus stop game plan.

Tomorrow night I have my first class meeting of my only class this semester. I don’t look forward to the LOTS of reading I keep hearing about. But I really enjoy and respect the professor so I look forward to more interaction with her and my peers.

Remember this little guy...Now he's getting girls' numbers.

the tallented ones

Here is a copy of the class work Nicholas brought home from school today…

Also, a drawing from Robin. It is a snow storm…

a fishy update

Another new fish…

I found out that on a one gallon tank, you should not have a light. The only fish you should put in there is a Beta and the bulb puts off so much heat it gets the water too hot. Yep…I cooked the other 2 fish!!! NASTY!!!

Nicholas spent the day with his new buddy Matt…

They played inside a while, then palayed cowboys and indians outside with cap guns, we went to the pet store, the Tot Lot, and McDonalds before handing them both off to Matt’s mom for her afternoon shift. It really worked out well. I’m sure they’ll spend a lot of snow days (no-school) together. Matt is in 1^st grade and his younger sister, Molly, is on Robin’s class. We look forward to babysitting-trade-off with that couple!!!!

oh...just stuff

Today at church we were given a photo. I knew that we would have to frame or laminate the thing ASAP to preserve it’s life. Nicholas carried it all over the church. When we got home I placed it beside his bed. Several times before bedtime I RE-placed the photo beside his bed (as it had been carried all over). I just went in to check on Nicholas and this is what I saw…If you look close under his left arm there is this…Please allow me to introduce you to the infamous “boys”. These 4 boys are Nicholas’ heroes (second…third, fourth, and fifth only to daddy). They are excellent role models and I could not have chosen anyone(s) better for him to want to become. They are so good to him. The oldest is fabulous at tolerating Nicholas’ groping. Nicholas loves him so much... to the point that he hangs all over him, holds his hand, sits in his lap…you name it!!! He is a very tolerant and understanding 15 year old!!

That brings me to the fish….fish # 2 is not doing well either. If he makes it until tomorrow, we will be making another trip to the pet store. At this time I am unsure if I will return with another. What is a mother to do? I asked the “fish man” all sorts of questions. And everyone I know says they can’t kill a Beta if they TRY!!! The boys actually left one in the garage for 3 months and it survived….uncared for!!

On a lighter note…we have a new vehicle. When I say new I do mean new!! We are thrilled!!! It is a long story but basically we were going to have to put about $1000 of repairs into a van we paid $2400 for and it didn’t make sense. Axel, barring, engine mount…..whose to say something else wont break in 3 more months. We got a good deal on the van and will have payments just at $300/month. She doesn’t have name yet, but let me introduce our new addition…

It’s an 2005 Honda, Element! We bought it with 8 miles on the odometer!!! I can not begin to express the peace I have about this purchase and the comfort I have knowing that my family is safe driving it and we have a warrantee!!! A lot of people think they look very silly. But 2 things… 1. when you see the space and materials of the inside you wont laugh, and 2. when you’re inside, you don’t see how silly it looks. If people point and smile at me I’ll just smile and wave back. Besides, they see me….not my silly orange car. (Which I think looks VERY cool by the way!!!

Our trip to Columbia was cancelled due to vehicle problems. Needless to say that is back on for this coming weekend.

The public school system decided to NOT have school tomorrow to provide a teacher workday missed from December snow. So, now he WILL have school next Monday (MT. Luther King holiday).

Tomorrow is the first day back to school for my final semester. And as you may have concluded from the previous statement, I will be home with Nicholas. I only have one class this semester and it is Thursday evenings.

3 out of 5 members of our design team met this afternoon. I am really looking forward to this project. I know I will learn A LOT about sustainable building and non profit construction work!!! You know I ill keep you posted.

Speaking of posted. I have an update in the M30 stuff I tried on Nicholas’ new t-shirt. The cherry and dirt came out with no problem. The blood, however, is a nice brown spot down the front of the shirt! There may have been different results had we done laundry immediately. But it wasn’t feasible to run straight over to the laundry mat just then!
Appointment tomorrow with Career Development to work on my resume and begin the job search.

Some random photos...

Fun with Legos

Family game time playing Kerplunk (Robin calls it "The Plunk"). There are 3 different colors of sticks and the pink are Robins!!!! The idea is to pull a stick so that no marbles fall . None the less, Robin is thrilled to get the marbles!!Nicholas and I had to go through the car wash without Robin (She's very afraid of it!). The van was nasty with salt and sand from a recent snow. As we waited our turn, I snapped this one of Nicholas (interesting light I thought!).

M30 and campus police

A very busy day.

I made lots of appointments for next week and ran lots of errands.

Nicholas’ new fish died…

We got it from Wal-mart and it apparently had a fungus or something that we had not noticed. Rather than returning it we bought a new one (also named Sloan) from a pet store...(and I'm getting better with the new camera)

Nicholas got another green card today!!!

We expect snow tonight and tomorrow…probably no school for Nicholas.

I found these great childrens cough drops called…uhh…I don’t know the official name but the mascot is “Runny Rhino” They are lolly pops!! What a wonderful concept. We call them “cough pops”. If you have little ones who can’t have real cough drops you should look into them! They seem to work well for decongestion and cough.

When Rob got home we all went outside for a little RC truck racing and playing…Then realized that no one brought keys…and it was cold outside.(awwww....)

I used a neighbor phone to call campus police to let us in and another neighbor welcomed us in her home to stay warm (Tatiana and 4 year old Sasha).We went to eat Mexican as it was not 6:45 and no dinner…or as the children say “we went to Mexico”.

Nicholas got a bloody nose as we walked into the warm restaurant form the cold air. After that and the cherry on his flan his shirt got a bit dirty…Hopefully the new gel goop (M30) mom got me for Christmas will work miracles. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Bedtime was an ordeal as Robin had to get all dressed up in her new slippers and pajamas…Off to Columbia to visit Phil, Ken, Meme and Papa this weekend!!! I’m sure I’ll have pictures.

School starts next week and I am certain to be VERY busy!!!