We Survived The First Week!

August 27, 2010

We have survived the first week back at school with just a minor dance injury. Cymbre went to dance class on Monday, and strained her back! The kid just can't win. On Wednesday when it wasn't feeling better, I took her to the doctor. He put her on muscle relaxers, perscription motrin, and a numbing patch to wear at night. She did all her stretching before class, but obviously, she over stretched something.

I spent today just puttering around the house...getting rid of papers that have been left on the kitchen counter, sending wedding cards to people we got announcements for, making doctor appointments for the allergist, and then doing some mending and working on dance costumes. I still haven't figured out why the washer fills up with hot water when I set it to cold, but sometimes it fills up with cold. It isn't because the hoses are connected wrong...Dad already checked that. So today, if I wanted cold water, I just set the thing to hot! It is kind of confusing to my feeble sleep deprived mind though!

Cooper is going to be able to work with the Master Jazz teacher she wanted to work with on a jazz solo this year.....he is just as excited as Cooper is! He had her go downtown last night to his jazz class, and she had a wonderful time. Guess I have to come up with a jazz costume this year! Great!

Ms. Andee came today to work on hard tap steps upstairs. I think there was more giggling than tapping, but those girls just love her. Thankfully, she loves them back!

I got half the sewing room organized again...actually, Dad didn't do to bad getting things back where I had them....I just have to do a bit of fine tuning of things. Dad and I sorted through my elastic drawer and wound it all up in little bundles with elastics...so now, my drawer is VERY organized! We will see how long it lasts. And I found the clear elastic for making costumes that I needed! We did the velcro drawer too! (There must be a blog post in here somewhere...there are stray pieces of velcro that don't have the matching oposite side....)

The dryer is drying the clothes much better since Dad had the vent cleaned out....it was worth the money to me....I actually can get the laundry done in one day again!

I think we finally have all the school supplies bought for now....we will need more before the end of the year....I think they eat map pencils!

Cooper's Game of Life YW/YM activitiy is this next Wednesday....guess I am doing the decorating during the day as there won't be time after school with homework and dinner. We almost have everything ready...she still has to work on the program, and then I guess I will take it to Kinkos to run off. Don't know if I can do it by myself though, and Shyla was always the one who pushed the copy button!

We are skyping Baby Eden....back later.

Cooper has gone to the football game with her friend....it's not even for her school. But there will be kids she knows. It is the first football game she has gone to.

Enough for now...Eden is ignoring us, but we are talking to her anyway!

102 and No Power All Day!

August 23, 2010

So today was the first day of school for the year, and the girls made it to school just fine this morning. Cooper went straight from seminary, and I took Cymbre around 7am. The middle school bus that is supposed to come at 7am came at 7:30, and I'm not sure what time the high school bus came....but I think it was just before 7am....both were really late! I'm glad the girls don't ride them. I take Cymbre because she doesn't need to be bumped around on the bus by some dumb kid messing around so she can lose her vision, and Cooper carpools from seminary!

Around 9am, there was a big POP outside, and the power went out. I was leaving to take the paper recycling, and do some errands, and couldn't get the garage door to close....then it dawned on me that the neighbors generator for their house was running. SO, I had to get out and disconnect the garage door opener and manually shut the big door. Thank goodness I had several hours of errands, but I had to keep coming home to see if the power was back on in case I needed to do something with the insulin that is kept in the refrigerator. The neighbor told me I could bring it to her if I needed to...but I just didn't open the frig, and by the time I came home for the third time around 1pm, the power was back on. The house was REALLY HOT, so I turned on every fan, and set the air conditioner lower, and left to get the girls. Also turned the frig on power cool, to make sure it was cool enough for the insulin. Then I went and got the girls, fed them, and we went to the store to buy the school supplies that we ALWAYS have to go get after the first day of school. You really SHOULD NOT be without power when it is 102 with a heat index of 113 outside! Tonight, the house is finally getting back to 76 degrees with all the fans still running! Don't you just have to hate Houston weather! I live for the colder weather in November and December when it is actually 50 outside...that's shirt sleeve weather to me. And the neighbor comes out in her winter coat and hat!

The first day of school appears to me a good day for both the girls....Cooper's one teacher thinks she's the beat thing since sliced bread, and Cymbre seems to like her teachers. Although she says being in on level math is sort of scary because all the "Goth" kids are in there. Who knows, we may have to move her to upper level, but she doesn't want the extra homework that involves.

The girls don't really know what to do with themselves tonight since we don't have to be at the dance studio until 8:15, and we will only be there for 45 minutes! They have more classes and their student assisting classes later this week, but today is the easy day. AND, we don't dance on Friday, so Dad and I will still have our date night. YIPPEE!! Ms. Andee will still come every other Friday to work on hard tap steps upstairs, but she will be gone by 4pm which is before Dad gets home. Cooper is excited to have her Friday nights free....that means she will be able to do things with friends sometimes....or they can have a party here.

Both the girls have been given some baby classes to student teach again this year....they LOVE that. Cooper is also teaching with Ms. Andee at the Jr. tap level. She will LOVE that, as she LOVES Ms. Andee.

The tap solos are going great this year, and I have the costumes well under way. I got the miniature peppermints to make earrings for Cymbre's outfit, and just need to add some mesh to Cooper's to make it cover her chest...then rhinestones.

Went shopping for some stuff to make a baby blessing outfit today....haven't found just the right lace yet....but will keep looking. I have one blanket well underway, but still don't know if I like the thing....but will finish it anyway. And I found a blanket pattern I liked, but haven't got the yarn for the other baby. The other Grandma's are doing some things, so I have to double check on that.

The longer I am up today, the more I think that I am DEFINITELY NOT a morning person! I hate this school routine...up at 6:10, off to school, pick up at 1:40pm, and then homework, dinner, dance, bed. Then get up and do it all again the next day! I can stay up half the night, and I do most of the time, since I have basically given up on sleep...BUT getting up in the morning when I am FINALLY SOUND ASLEEP is really hard.

Cooper and Dad went to a Trek fireside last night, and I am not sure she wants to go on the trek. I think she would rather go to the Pulse Dance Convention in Dallas that same week instead of going out and getting eaten by the mosquitos and getting a sunburn. Her allergies don't allow her to sleep outside, so we aren't even sure she would be able to go anyway. What's bad is that because of the trek, they won't be having girls camp this next summer....which isn't fair to the beehives that can't go on the trek. It means that since they wouldn't let Cymbre go this past summer when she was turning 12, that she won't go to camp for the first year until she is turning 14 and a Mia Maid....I think we need to do something about this. Why should several girls who will be 14 have to be with the 12 year olds just because the others are going on a trek this summer? I think we need to email the Stake President.....obviously, this hasn't really been thought out. Cymbre isn't the only one in this situation....and why are they cancelling something that's part of the YW program to do something that isn't part of the program, and the 12 years olds can't participate in anyway?

While the girls are at dance tonight, I have to go to Barnes and Nobles and get the books that Cooper needs for her english class this semester.....I just love it when the teachers send home a list and tell them they need it tomorrow.....what if the book store doesn't have it? Have they ever thought that if they actually put the books on a school supply list and put it on a website, the kids might have the book before school started? Or how about, the school actually buys a bunch of the books, and let the kids buy them from the teachers? Just what do my tax dollars pay for anyway if I have to buy all the books? Heaven knows, they don't use those dollars to pay the teachers!

I got the box I needed to get all the stuff together for Caleb, Holly, and Baby Jack. I have a baby cradle full of stuff for them. I took Shyla's stuff to Denver, but must get this other in the mail.

WE GOT TO SKYPE BABY JACK YESTERDAY!!! WE GOT TO SKYPE BABY EDEN EARLIER THIS WEEK!!! Grandma is a happy person! Now I just need Dad to put the new pictures of the Grandbabies on my keychain.....maybe I need a bribe! Actually, I just need to make a file of the pictures I want, and then tell Dad and he transfers it to his laptop and puts it on the keychain.

Well, that's about all for tonight.....I'm tired!

Get out there and remember to do something for someone else today....

Love you bunches!

Mom

Only One More Week!

August 16, 2010

We are finally back home from Colorado! Now we just have one more week until the school rut starts all over again! One of these days, I will think of a better way to go to school. I just get SO TIRED of the same thing EVERYDAY! And while I wait for the same thing to happen everyday, I spend my time making more dance costumes....you would think since we have a full closet of them upstairs, I wouldn't need anymore. Just what is wrong with this picture?

We had a great time in Colorado, seeing the Grandparents, Cousins, Aunties, Uncles....and the best part was the Indian Fried Bread that Aunt Issy made us two days! It has been years since we enjoyed that, and we really did enjoy it.

The girls enjoyed going to the Sweatsville Zoo with Grandpa Flanagan, and going for ice cream with Papa Petersen. We went to Chili's with the Flanagan Family, and to Country Buffet with the Petersen side of the family. Aunt Nettie got engaged to Jason (yes, we like him), and the girls tie dyed shirts and socks with the cousins. They made a cousin crest and created sweat pants with it on them. We spend time loving Shyla and Baby Eden, and teasing Uncle Larry. We all worked on Cooper's Game of Life night she is planning for YW. I got love letters from Dad almost everyday while I was gone.....and yes, I brought them home to save in my drawer! Be jealous!

Pictures will be posted soon....Dad has to get them off the camera....

While we were gone, Dad cleaned the tile grout, cleaned the carpets, and got the dryer vent cleaned out...fixed the shower leak, and washed windows and dusted blinds.....I'll let him stay home alone if he is going to do all that stuff! The house looks great, and I especially like the roses on the counter when I came home.

More later....must go take care of my blood sugar...it's getting too low!