We're Back!

We are back from our trip to Disney World!  I've been a bit busy this morning trying to unpack and find our of our goodies from the trip (not to mention cleaning the mess from Christmas that we left here at the house).  I've gotten all of our pictures (200+ I think) uploaded to the computer, but I haven't had much chance to go through and decide which to post (not to mention order for our photo albums).  Hopefully I can get around to post some while the girls are napping today!

Can you believe that we're only a few hours away from a brand new year?!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Mannings wish you and yours a very Merry CHRISTmas and every good thing that 2009 has to offer.

We will be out of pocket for a while--my dad is taking our ENTIRE family to Disney World for a few days as our HUGE Christmas gift!  YIPPPPPPEEEE!!!!!  We are so excited about seeing the girls at the park and witnessing the excitement and wonder in their eyes.  

We just wanted to send Christmas greetings to everyone out there and we hope that your holidays are filled with nothing but joy and happiness (and as little stress as possible!). 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

(our attempt at a family photo in front of our Christmas tree--would've been a really good one if ol' Anna hadn't been so upset!)  will a family photo shoot ever become easier? :)

The Good Ol' Blog's Anniversary

According to the ticker, it looks as though today is the third anniversary of the blog.  It doesn't feel like it's been around for that long.  I was looking back through some old posts/pictures, and my little ones sure have done some major growing up over the last three years.  It's amazing how time flies so fast, isn't it?  Anyway, just thought you might like to take a little stroll down memory lane and see our first post way back when.  The girls just look so little!  I truly don't have babies anymore!

In Progress

Forgive the blog's look as of right now.  I'm working on the Christmas look, and I just haven't had a lot of time to devote to it.  But I was getting tired of the fall look and was ready to get some changes in place.   Hopefully I can get back to work on it this week.  

Pumpkin Patch

We took the girls to our favorite pumpkin patch so that they could pick out the pumpkins we'd be using for our jack-0-lanterns.  This pumpkin patch fairly small, and we found by chance a couple of years ago. It's owned by a sweet family, and we just like the idea of helping contribute to the running of their 'farm.'

For some reason, Maggie was in search of a 'big huge' one.  She searched and searched that patch until she found one, and let me tell you, it was a pretty big one.  She had her little hear set  on a big one, and she was determined to get one.  It was so sweet (but tiring), following her all over the place while she was looking for 'her' pumpkin! 

it's the great pumpkin!

Reese wanted in on the picture taking, so I gave her the camera and this is one of the pictures she took.  Turned out pretty good if I do say so myself!  Maybe she's found her calling!

Disney on Ice

Earlier this month, I took Reese to Tupelo to see Disney on Ice.  Warren bought tickets just for me and Reese; he wanted us to have a special mommy/big girl day.  (He was on call that day, too, so he couldn't go anyway.  BopBop & DamDam came over to be with the little ones in case Warren had to go to work).

We didn't tell Reese about where I was taking her; we only told her it was a surprise.  She guessed a million different places that we could be going.  It was so funny hearing what she was coming up with, but I finally told her that she would probably never get it, so she got quiet and slept pretty much all the way to Tupelo.

Once she woke up, she began seeing signs and exclaimed, "Are we going to Disney on Ice?"  So sweet.  I cannot tell you how excited she was.

waiting on the show to begin......can you tell how happy and excited she was?

We had AWESOME seats!  We were about four or five rows from the ice!  The only thing that upset me was when a woman came and sat directly in front of Reese.  Reese was  seeing great until that woman sat down.  She was with her daughter and grandchildren, and I know that they had their hands full.  But the whole time I kept thinking, why can't you let one of  your kids sit in front of mine then that way they'll all be able to see.  But, I think Reese wanted to sit in my lap anyway, so that was fine by me!

My camera battery was going dead, so I don't have a lot of pictures.  Plus, the lighting wasn't all that great for photos, so the ones I managed to get are a little dark.  But I think they're okay; at least we have them for our scrapbook!

the inflatable Ursula--pretty cool.  Reese loves Ariel!

Another huge inflatable--this time it was Captain Hook's turn to get swallowed by the croc!  I really think this was Reese's favorite part!

All of the skaters would come to the edge of the ice and wave to the audience.  Reese loved waving back, and one time, it really did look like one of the skaters was waving directly at her.  She turned to me and said, "Mommy, she saw me!"  What a wonderful feeling to see that sheer joy on her face!

It was a very very special day for me and my big girl.  She has such a sweet daddy for him to have wanted to surprise her that way and for wanting us to have a girls day to ourselves.  I cannot believe how time is flying by us.  She will be six in two months, and it seems like yesterday that she was born.  She is no longer a baby; she truly is turning into one special little girl.  Seeing her excitement there only makes me wonder just how much she will love Disney World!

Cake Walk Walkers

Another huge hit for the girls at the Halloween carnival was the Cake Walk.  And this was something that I absolutely loved doing at my school's carnival when I was little.  It was one of my favorites!!!

I wasn't really sure how the girls would do, but they followed right in line and jumped right on in!  Whenever the music would end, I would do my crazy mama thing and jump up and down and call out their numbers in the hopes that they would be drawn.  

And Maggie ended up winning her very first time to walk!  :)   She was excited, but not nearly as excited as her crazy ol' mama! 

my proud Mags and her very first cake walk win!

The first walk was so much fun, they naturally wanted to do it again.  We walked a total of four times.......and Maggie was the winner all four times.  She was so excited when she got to go over to the table and pick out her cake.  What made even more excited was finding Warren and telling him and then telling all of her teachers!   :)  What fun!

Halloween Carnival 2008

The girls had a really good time at our school's Halloween carnival back in October.  The first thing they did was have their faces painted by the Varsity Cheerleaders.   Alex and Megan worked the first shift, and they weren't really confident in their painting abilities.  That's when Hunter and Trevor came over and decided to help!  And that just made the face painting SO much better; the girls love those guys.   Maggie was my daring girl, just as she always is, and asked to have her whole face painted.  She LOVED it and the attention she got.  After she had the paint on a while, her  little face started to itch, so we had to get the stuff off.  But she was such a good little sport! :)

Alex and Trevor painting ol' Mags' face!  What a cutie pie!

Sweet Nanner!  Could she be any cuter?

All of the parents were asked to help work the booths at the carnival.  Each elementary grade had a booth, and Warren worked the Bingo room for Reese's class and the go fish booth for the twins.  The girls liked the go fish room a lot.  (I did, too, when I was little).

Anna trying to "reel" in a big one!

Mags' turn!

Go Reesie go! :)

Major Drama

Reese had a dental appointment today, and it could NOT have gone any worse than what it did.  She was scheduled to have two crowns put on two of her back teeth.  Bless the poor baby's heart, I think she is "one of those" people who is going to have "bad" teeth.  My grandmother's teeth were not stellar, so I'm guessing that ol' Reesie has inherited that trait from GG. 

Anyway, I wasn't supposed to go back into the treatment room with her, and I had already explained that to her.  Things were going well, (considering they didn't call us back until THIRTY MINUTES after our scheduled time); I heard the music of "The Little Mermaid" and knew immediately that Reese had chosen to watch that movie.  (This dentist has TVs on the ceiling...way cool!)  

Prince Eric had just made his appearance on screen (and that's like, what, five or six minutes into the movie) when one of the techs came to get me.  Reese was in a panic; she didn't want the silver things on her teeth.  Now the dentist is recommending having her go into the hospital to get the crowns done--a procedure/option that he does frequently.  (She needs more than just the two from today).  I am now in an absolute tizzy and have had one of "those" days.   I have been short with her, and I'm kicking myself for it.  I, too, had major fears of the dentist,  and I NEVER want her to be afraid of something that is supposed to help her.  But, I'm getting more scared that the whole hospital thing will do more harm to her than the help it's supposed to give her mouth.  

Have any of you had this issue with your kiddos?  What did you do?  Were you in as much of a quandry as I am?  Help!  Tears are running down my face as I type because I am so at a loss.  She HAS to have these teeth crowned; they're her molars (or so I've been told).  I just don't know what to do.  The thought of her  being put to sleep absolutely terrifies me, but my rational side KNOWS she will be better off for it, plus getting it all done at once is a great idea.  Any pointers or suggestions or advice any of you might have would be great.  

I'm beginning to worry that she needs something for her emotions.  She just doesn't get upset; she gets hysterical and sometimes getting loud with her is the only thing that she understands.  Today I'm feeling like when the mom straws were being doled out, my poor kids got stuck with the short one.  :(

Another One "BITES" The Dust....

And we're talking toofies here!

That's right....Reesie has lost her SECOND tooth!!! :)  Warren pulled it for her last night, and in her words, "[She] didn't cry a bit!"  She was beyond excited about putting her tooth underneath her pillow and was thrilled when she woke up to find $1 under her pillow.  I think she was a little disappointed that there was only $1 instead of $2 like before, but I think the tooth fairy was caught a little off guard this time.  Not a whole lot of prep time! :)

Anyway, I just wanted to give you a quick update, especially for the grans we don't see daily!  We are out of school the entire week of Thanksgiving, so I am hoping to update the blog a little.  Since I've rejoined the working world, the blog has suffered.  I hope I still have some faithful readers....but if not, I totally understand.  We've been a bit boring over the last few months.

Groovy...

One of the Juniors snapped this picture of me and Mr. Kilpatrick (aka the biology teacher) on Homecoming Day.  I'm so glad she did because this is the only picture that was taken of me in my full 60's attire.  Don't I look oh so groovy? :)

More Homecoming!!!

Homecoming Week came to an end yesterday, and WHAT a week it was.  I didn't really require my kids to do much "work", and I know as a teacher, that is a huge no-no.  But considering they were all dressed up wild and crazy, I would have put more work and effort into getting things ready for them only to have them not be easy to handle or being productive at all.  Despite the flood on Tuesday, it was a really great week.  A LOOOOOOOONG week, but a great one!

Topping off the week was a pep rally including a skit written and acted out by the Junior class.  They spent a good deal of time during my class working on it.  It turned out really cute, and despite some tense and nervous students, it all worked out beautifully.  I was really proud of them all!  I think the audience even liked it, too!  

After the pep rally, there was a homecoming parade through the streets of Macon!  So fun!!!  Each class spent the last two weeks working on their class floats, and since this year is the 40th anniversary of our school, the homecoming theme was "Decades."  Each class got to select a particular decade, and tenth grade chose the 60's.  An adult had to ride on each float to be "in charge", and as sophomore class sponsor/homeroom teacher, I was the "adult" on their float.  I had the best time!!!!  I'm sure my kids think I am a TOTAL lunatic, but I had a blast!!!  

And, to top it all off, we won the float competition, and they get a day out of school.  Sadly, ol' class sponsor doesn't!  :( Boo!

the winners of the float competition! 

 the football players and cheerleaders ride fire trucks, and the other students ride their floats.  these are my 'babies'!  Loved riding that float with them!  I'm ready for next year!!!  **and yes, I am in this picture!

 

The homecoming court was presented at halftime of the game last night, and the girls were all beautiful!  But the BEST news---the Vikings defeated the Cougars last night.  I can't remember the exact score, but I think it was something like 40-12!  We are now 6-1, and we will most likely be playing in the play off games on our way to a state championship!!!!  Go Vikes!!!!

Another new picture that I am absolutely loving!!!

 

The field sidelines are really close to the lowest section of the home bleachers, so whenever the guys come off the field, they can hear you if you're just talking in a normal voice to them.  Well, Trevor (on the left) and Andrew were taking a breather, and Anna & Maggie walked right to the end of the stands and started talking to them.  All my guys are awfully sweet to my babies and they girls just think those big ol' boys are the BEST!

Anna Banana watching over Trevor!

Still watching!  

And poor Hunter, not able to be QB--taking it all in on the sidelines.

Some Homecoming Pics

Just wanted to share a few of our pictures from Homecoming Week!  More are coming!

Camouflage Day!! (this was a before school shot, so none of them were really awake, hence the deer in headlights look!)

had to get one of me and the girls on camo day!

twin day!  

Anna & Maggie have twin day covered everyday, but I just couldn't see letting Reese be without a twin.  They were triplets for twin day! :)  This one is becoming a new favorite picture!  Such sweet (and funny) faces!

Waterlogged!

The high school kids had quite the interesting day today at school, as did all the teachers!

Our morning started off in the usual way, but I was upset that it was raining outside.  I'm not a big fan of rain (I appreciate and know we have to have it, but I just don't like it), and I am a horrible "rain driver."  Especially if it's heavy, big rain.  Well, when we left for school, it was just light, normal rain--no problem.

The closer we got to Macon, the harder it rained, but it wasn't anything that made me too nervous nor was it anything I couldn't handle.  After all, I did drive through the tornado that hit Columbus in 1993/94.  One thing that did make me a little nervous was the sight of a trampoline wrapped around a light pole about four miles from the school.  That's just not something you see everyday.  We get about two miles from the school and the absolute bottom drops out---hard, heavy rain.  So hard that I could hardly see the road.  This is when Anna & Maggie decide they need to tell me something, which was absolutely impossible to understand since the radio was up kinda loud to drown out the sound of the rain.  

I get them in the building and once that was done, I drove around to the front of my building, not thinking about the mesh tennis shoes I'm wearing or the fact that it has been raining in Macon since around 5am.  I get out of the van and step into two huge puddles, thus making my shoes like boats taking on water.  I finally make it to my classroom where I immediately take off my socks and shoes; no way was I gonna stand in soaked shoes all day.   I remembered that I had my bedroom shoes in the car that were there for pajama day yesterday (did I mention that it's dress up/Homecoming week this week?).  I wore my bedroom shoes pretty much all day waiting on my socks to dry.  

The bell rings for school to begin, and the kids are totally fascinated by the whirlpool of water that it occurring outside my window.  Several kids came in to look and when I went to the door, water was coming in the front and back doors to the school.  Water made its way into the office, the cafeteria, the kitchen, and many many classrooms---including mine!  

The headmaster wanted to meet with everyone in the cafeteria for a quick minute before it totally flooded, but one problem for ol' Mrs. Manning---I would have been wading in water in bedroom shoes from my room to the cafe.  I managed to talk one of my Juniors into carrying me into the cafe.  Bless his heart!   I told him just not to make any wise cracks about how heavy I am! :)

All the first and second period classes met in the gym where several kids played basketball or kickball.  Many had to get pictures with their friends who had dressed up for career day today.  (I've never seen so many kids be so 'camera happy' in my life.  Many photo happy moms but no teenage kids!)  While in there, the counselor came in to let me and another teacher know that we needed to move our cars QUICKLY before they flooded.  Another one of my Juniors volunteered to move my car for me; he had on hiking boots and wasn't worried about getting his feet wet.  Thanks Austin!  The ol' bedroom shoes just wouldn't have made it in the Central flood of '08!

Once break was over, all high school classes were moved to the elementary building; it's sort of on a hill, but needless to say I didn't make many of my classes 'do' anything!  CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY day!!!!!  AND WILD WILD WILD KIDS!  They're already a little more spirited than usual due to the fact that it's homecoming week, but if I never have a day like this one again it will be waaaaaaaaaaaaay too soon!

the girls at home before leaving for school on pajama day!  wouldn't it be great if everyday was pj day?  left to right:  Reese (obviously), Anna & Mags!

me and Megan--she's a sophomore and I am the sophomore homeroom teacher.  she's also class president and a cheerleader.  a very sweet girl!  and cute, too!  standing next to her just makes me look old and chubby!

So Excited!

I just have to share my excitement with all of you this fine morning.

Every Monday, the girls bring home all their "work" that they've done in school during the previous week.  They aren't signed papers or anything, but this way we're "in" on what they're working on at school.  Well, Monday, I was a bit of a slacker mom and didn't check their backpacks.  Didn't do it once we got home; didn't check before we went to bed; didn't check first thing Tuesday morning.  Did I mention that I'm a slacker?

Anyway, Reese was rummaging through her backpack on the way to school Tuesday morning, and she threw her papers on the floor of the van.  They were within my reach, so I decided to pick them up and put them in the passenger seat for a later look.  There was a note on top, which obviously didn't require any flipping of pages, so I took a quick read.  This is where one piece of the excitement comes in----all three of my sweet babies are going on their very first ever for real FIELD TRIP!!!!!!  It is happening on October 17, and their classes are going to a PUMPKIN PATCH!!!!   While at the pumpkin patch, they will get a lunch (pb&j, chips & a drink), be driven out to the patch on a hayride, they get to pick out their own pumpkins, there will be a jumper, they'll get a popsicle and a coloring book!  I think they also have a corn maze and a hay bale maze.   FUN FUN FUN!!!!

When I read the note, I immediately thought about going along as another chaperone.  I wanted to go and be my camera happy self and get lots of pictures of my babies on their first field trip.  But then I thought about the fact that I really didn't need to miss a day of work (or at least I didn't need to miss the money I'd make from that day's work), and I thought that the girls might not behave very well if I went along.  So, once I had gotten to school, I had decided that I wouldn't go along on this trip.

But that was before the headmaster called me into his office.  He asked if I'd heard that the field trip was planned, and then I told him about my dilemma.  Little did I know that he had one of his own.  Since these kids are aged 3-6, they need to ride in car/booster seats with seatbelts.  The school bus doesn't have any (and I have always wondered why the only seat belt on a school bus was for the bus driver....but I digress).  So, the headmaster asked me if I would "mind" going and driving our girls.  I told him not at all, but the MOST exciting/best part came when he told me that the day I'd be missing would be counted as one of the five I already am allowed nor would I be docked any money!!!!!  I was beyond excited!!!  And still am!  I can't wait.  

We'll let you know how we all do.....

She Lost Her First Tooth!!!!

excuse the messy face; this was immediately after the tooth came out and she was rinsing her mouth out with some good ol' H2O!!!

Today was a VERY exciting day in our household.....Reese lost her very first tooth!!!

She came into my room today after school and told me that she had a loose tooth, but I wasn't so sure.  She has said they've been loose before, but they weren't.  I told her to come let me have a look and sure enough, she had a loose one on the bottom.  It was strange to me that it really occurred out of the blue.  She mentioned nothing about a loose one this morning while we were getting ready for school or on the way to school.  It must have just happened!

another shot of our gap!  such a big girl!!!

We immediately called Warren on the way home so Reese could tell Daddy all about it.  I wish you could have seen the excitement and pride on her face as she was talking on the phone.  She also called all the grans (except my dad) to tell them about it.  After getting off the phone, that lil' ol' tongue of hers wiggled that tooth ALL the way home!  

By the time we got home, it was hanging on by a thread!   We tried for the longest to get her to let one of us pull it, but she got scared.  (like I always did when it came to having my teeth pulled.)  She kept wiggling it and pushing it around with her tongue; it was SO loose!!!!  Warren finally convinced her to let him pull it.  He took her onto his lap and with one swift pull---it was out.  I had even walked back to her room to get her teddy bear to hug on while the tooth was being pulled, but by the time I got back to the kitchen with Teddy, the tooth was already out!  I can't tell you how excited we all were.  Mimi was even here to share in the excitement!  Reese was shocked when Warren told her the tooth was out; she had worked herself up into a little frenzy.  She couldn't believe it was over so fast.  And, she was beyond proud of herself that she didn't even need to hug on Teddy!  My baby sure is growing up.......

Trevor, Are You OK?

Just a funny and sweet story that I want to share.  (I love the whole blog thing since it will let us look back on it years from now and remember what all was happening in our lives.)

Anyway, I teach a young man in the junior class, and his name is Trevor.  He just so happens to play football, and he is one really good player.  In our game two weeks ago, Trevor had the ball and was running for the end zone.  During his run, he was hit really hard by someone on the opposing team.  So hard in fact that he didn't get up off the field right away; he was motionless for like a minute or so.  His mother knew he wasn't moving and was worried that he wasn't breathing.  When Reese realized that someone was hurt, she began to cry.  She was so worried about Trevor.  He got up and returned to the sidelines and sat out a couple of plays, but he was still kinda out of it.

On our way home, ALL the girls could talk (or should I say scream and cheer about) was "Trevor, Trevor, are you ok?"  So funny and sweet and unbearably loud at the same time!  I got them on video cheering and asking about him, but the computer's so slow, I'll just save it for later.

From that moment on, the Manning girls have become huge fans of Trevor's.  He even takes a minute when he sees them at school to stop by and say 'hi' and he even tries to pick them up.  That is, when one of them will actually let him.  It's usually Mags that's the most accommodating.  

More stories coming......

Our Little Cheerleaders

Every Friday, the elementary girls are able to wear their own Viking cheerleader uniforms to school.  I felt so bad the first three weeks of school since our girls didn't have a uniform like all the other little girls.  We looked around Columbus for some, but the places here in town were asking at least $50 each for them.  We just could not justify spending that amount of money on something that they wouldn't wear but for a couple of years.  I found out that a local florist in Macon sold the cheerleader uniforms that all the girls were wearing, and they weren't nearly as expensive as Columbus prices.  So I ordered three a couple of weeks ago.   Warren thought I was just going to order one for Reese, I think, but it would have been terribly unfair (not to mention downright impossible) when Fridays rolled around and Reese got to wear a cheerleader uniform and Anna & Maggie didn't.  We ended up saving around $40 by ordering from the florist in Macon, so I didn't mind spending that 'extra' on the girls at all! :)

They have worn them to two games and to school only once, but they have LOVED every minute of it.  They look absolutely adorable and always cheer their little hearts out at the games.

GO VIKINGS!!!!

Happy Birthday!

Sweet Lucy Willcutt turns THREE years old today!!!  Her precious mama and I went to high school together, and I just wanted them to know I was thinking of Lucy today!

Have a great day, Lucy!

And PS  

My little girls LOVE SpiderMan, too!!!  We may just have a Spidey party for our four year party!  What a great idea! ;)

Ahoy Mateys!! A Pirate Pep Rally!

Our second pep rally of the year was last Thursday, and it was a pirate themed one.  I was upset at first at the thought of having to spend money on something for them to dress up in.  But, I want them to participate and have 'school spirit', so I mentioned to Warren that he might be able to find something at the Dollar Tree that might work.  Lo and behold, he found two or three different pirate playsets, complete with hats, an earring, an eyepatch, a compass, a telescope (that's not what pirates use or call it, but I can't think of it's proper name), and a plastic sword.

I knew better than to outfit my 'wild' ones with a sword, even if it was plastic.  But the hats, eyepatch, and earring were all definitely things that would work, and I could live with them!

Maggie, being the ever 'brave' one, as she usually is, was ready to have all of it on her little body.  She even let me clip the earring on to her ear!  She looked GREAT, didn't she?  I just LOVE this picture!!!  What a darling little pirate she is!

Anna wasn't as in to the dressing up as her twin, but I did manage to get a quick shot of her with her hat on at the pep rally!  Even if she was moody, she still made for quite the cute pirate, too!

The K3/K4 class even made this adorable sign for the pep rally!  Their teacher even traced her own hand and cut them out and glued them to popsicle sticks for the kiddies to use as fans!  So cute!!!  I just loved it!

Reese didn't wear any of her pirate 'stuff,' but she looked cute nonetheless.  She wore her denim shorts and her new red and white striped t-shirt.  She even wore her black 'leather' zip up boots!  She was darling!!!!

First Pep Rally

Central had their first pep rally on Friday, August 22.  Being a former cheerleader, football season and pep rallies mean something to me.  I always get "fired up" during this time of year.  Call me a goober, but there's something about the energy in a school, especially a small school,  on game day.   This year, though, I think I was more excited to see what the girls would think about it.   Maggie ate it up; she was in heaven.  Nothing about it seemed weird or odd or anything.  Reese was okay, but this week's pep rally didn't do anything for her.  And sweet, tender little Anna.  I don't think she likes the pep rally scene all that much.  She was crying buckets by the time I got to the gym last Friday, and two days ago wasn't any different.  We've just come to the conclusion that she just doesn't like loud noises.

There is a theme for each and every pep rally, and the first one was a Hawaiian theme.  The cheerleaders sold leis and flower tattoos Friday morning at school.  The girls were ready with their dollars to buy one of each.  When we got to the pep rally, the cheerleaders were already jumping and yelling, thus making Anna Bean really nervous.  

During the pep rally, they had a limbo competition.  The cheerleaders chose students to participate, and Kendall, a Sophomore who I happen to teach (and love), came over and asked if one of the twins wanted to do it.  Anna, of course, would NEVER have done it, but I told Kendall that Maggie probably would.  And wouldn't you know it, she walked right on out to the gym floor with Kendall like she was the biggest girl in the world.  She did it all in front of the whole school and with all the big footballl players looking on! And................she was declared the winner!!! Her prize: a huge bag full of candy! Thanks Cheerleaders! Those girls were on a sugar high the rest of the afternoon.

.

**sorry the picture is so blurry--the lights in the gym are horrible, and my camera battery went dead before I had a chance to snap a picture of her actually going under the bar!

Not Finished Yet

I decided that since I have been an absolutely horrible blogger lately, that I would at least log on and change the appearance of it (for those of you who are still checking in with us!). I don't think I like the ways that I've changed it so far, so I will be working on that tonight/tomorrow. I've got some pictures to post and some updates, too. Lots going on with school and everything! I'm also going to work on the header some, I think. I really like it, even though it is definitely not going to go with the upcoming fall and winter months. I just have to get a good picture of the three of them, though, which is ALWAYS a huge challenge. Who knows, we may just do a separate photo; that's probably going be the least dramatic way! ;)

Anyway, I want to catch up and let everybody in on how we've been the last couple of weeks. Just gotta find the time.....

Why can't there be more than 24 hours in a day?

Ready for Church

DamDam came over for the afternoon on Saturday.  We haven't seen her and BopBop in a few weeks, so a visit was overdue.  The girls were SO excited that she was coming.  We made a quick trip into town to the mall, and she treated us to cookies and all the girls got a new outfit each.  We had to wear them to church on Sunday morning, and I promised DamDam that I would get a picture of the girls modeling their new duds.  Hope you like.....

Reese looks SO grown up in her new dress.  She really isn't a baby or even a little girl anymore.  She's my big kindergarten girl!!!

School Girls.....

Well, we survived our first week of school--all of us, including Mama! :)  I am sad to say that I don't think I've been as sad as I should be about all three of my babies starting 'real' school.   I've just been SO busy myself, starting school all over again, too.  But I have to say, my little ones have been adjusting very very well to our new routine.  They have no trouble getting up in the mornings (and we have to leave here by 7 at the latest!), getting dressed, and heading to the door.  Now, actually getting into the van is another story, but they have always lollygagged when it comes to climbing in the car!  Don't know why, since we have been doing it for years!

Reese seems to really be enjoying Kindergarten.  I think she's even made a new friend or two.  The kindergarten class goes to computer once a week (or maybe twice), and one day I saw her class walking by room, and Reese was holding this other little girl's hand.  So sweet!  She told Warren about some teasing that some of the kids did to her, and I KNOW that my kids are not going to be immune to teasing, but the things she said to Warren made him feel like it may not be the usual bit.  We're going to watch it and talk to her and see if it keeps happening.  I do think her favorite classes are lunch and recess, though, but what little person's aren't, right?  What she really enjoys is having two of my 'big' eighth grade girls walk them down to my room at the end of the day.  When I see the three of them walking with those big girls, wearing their backpacks on their backs, that's when I actually take a moment to be weepy and realize how quickly they're growing up! 

Anna & Maggie are doing really really well, considering the fact that this is their very first time being in a situation with other children all day long.  It's their very first time to be away from home and Mama.  The first two days, absolutely NO tears were shed, but Anna let the water works flow on Wednesday and the rest of the week.  That just killed me!  Their teacher sent me word that she had calmed down and was doing fine, and I so appreciated that.  Of course, I really didn't have time to worry much since I have 70 other kids to tend to during the day!  She had a couple of potty 'accidents' this week, but ever the ready Mama, I had a change of clothes for each of them in their bags.  

Maggie, well, let's just say she's taking over the joint!  They all came home Tuesday afternoon telling me and Warren that Maggie went to time out.  Well, at five and three, they aren't the most honest individuals, so I made sure to check with Ms. Gayla (the 3 & 4 year old teacher) just in case.  And wouldn't ya know it, Maggie missed recess because she was sitting in the time out chair!!!!  Gayla told me that Maggie and another little girl (whose mother is the third grade teacher that Warren grew up with while living in Macon) were yayaing with each other and the other little girl accidentally spit at Maggie while they were going back and forth.  Well, Mags takes this personally and that the little girl meant to spit, so what does my sweet, innocent child do?  Yep, you bet, she hit her!  She didn't haul off and hit her, but some physical contact was made nonetheless.  Zowie! Time out and hitting, all on day two!  Gayla told the girls that all would be fine if they just apologized to each other.  The other little girl apologized like she was asked, but Maggie was having NO part of the apologizing.  She is definitely our little rebel, and I wouldn't have her any other way! 

Maggie decided to follow Anna's lead in the 'accident' department on today (I'm finishing up this post on Tuesday the 18th).  Looks like I'm going to have to send a couple of changes of clothes.  I'm hoping that these accidents are occurring after they wake up from their naps.  I'm not sure how often they're taken to the potty, but I'm thinking my girls might need to be taken at least one more time!  They definitely know when to go and they let someone know, but they aren't waking up dry in the mornings.  I guess it may just take some more time.  I definitely don't want them growing up any faster than they normally are!

As for me, I'm hanging in there.  To my surprise, getting back into the classroom wasn't as hard as I had imagined it to be.  I just modeled these new classes just like all my previous ones, so it hasn't been too bad.  Just the whole 'starting over' process is kinda getting to me.  This school has a set of books that I have never taught with before, so vocabulary lists and stories are changing for me and getting all that together is very time consuming.  The girls are fairly good at letting me 'work,' but they don't fully understand that I can't always leave work at work everyday.  I try to most days, but it's hard when I'm teaching as much as I am.  When I first accepted the job, I was under the impression that I'd be teaching 9, 10, and 11 English with maybe some sort of elective and possibly a study hall.  Well, imagine my surprise when I get to my first day of in services and saw on the teacher schedules that were handed to us, that I was still teaching those three classes along with creative writing class, 8 English and 6 English!  Six preps!!!  I get exhausted thinking too much about it!

All in all the kids are pretty good.  The younger bunch is definitely going to take some getting used to.  Their ways of goofing off are really different than that of the older kids.  I had forgotten how 'baby-ish' sixth graders can be, especially when they follow 9th and 11th graders!   I hope my patience holds out; I knew I would have to do a good deal of repeating, but those sixth graders have about pushed me to the repeat limit already!  Nothing like a good time of cleaning our your purse and fixing your hair with a giant can of hairspray that you've brought to school in your purse!  Welcome back to school, Mrs. Manning! :)

I guess I'll go ahead and finish this up.  Look forward to more.....whenever  I get a spare second........

A Quick Hello

Just wanted to check in with everyone in blog land.  I haven't totally dropped off the face of the earth.  It's just that school has started again and now that I'm a working gal, the blog time will most definitely be cut as I try to make time to spend with Warren and the girls (and myself!).  I have lots to report about our first week, so stay tuned.  Blogging might be happening only on the weekends from now on.  Just add us to your Google Readers and you'll know when we've got an update.........

Thanks for keeping on reading!

School Supplies

Warren and I took the girls (yes, all three) to buy school supplies on Saturday.  Probably not the best day to go since it was the first weekend of the month, but we didn't want it all to be picked over and gone before we had a chance to get supplies.

Reese had a list of things she needed, but we still have no idea if the twins will need anything or what those things might be.  Brandi recommended that we get a set of supplies for Reese to have at home, too, which seems like a smart idea.  We indeed got two of everything she needed.   She had a great time helping mark things off her list once we had them in the buggy.  We got pink scissors, a pink supply box for school--that's our favorite color and plain old boring colored ones for home! :)   

We managed to get two sets of supplies for like $20.  I was beyond pleased with that.  After all, she didn't really need all that much, just the basics--crayons, pencils, scissors, kleenex, paper towels.  You get the jist.  The real kicker that put our total at $40 was the three lunchboxes we had to get.  Reese picked out a Tinkerbell, soft sided one; Anna got a hard sided Dora; Maggie got a soft sided Princess one.  They were beyond excited about their lunchboxes!!!!

I just still can't believe that my baby will be going to 'real' school in a few days.  Where has the time gone?  She doesn't seem old enough yet.  And, the babies will be going all day everyday, too.  Wow!  

Campmeeting Olympics Medal Ceremony

Stepping up to the podium!!!

Getting her individual GOLD medal for finishing first in the 'egg' the spoon race!

Anna sure was proud of her medal.

Maggie was proud of hers, too.

Reese proudly showing off the three medals she won in the Olympics.  I am so glad she participated and that she had a good time and that she got a medal or two (or three).

Campmeeting Recap Part II--OLYMPICS!!!!

**this post really should have come AFTER the previous one, but you'll get the idea anyway!**

Two years ago, my cousins came up with the idea that the campground should have their own Olympics every year; something that every child on the campground can have the opportunity to participate in.  It's always fun to see the kids having such a good time.  My cousins are so in charge of it all.  They have colored sashes for the teams to wear and they come up with the events, set it all up, and they even award medals once all the events are over.  There are team as well as individual events which are geared more toward the youngest/littlest competitors!

We didn't participate in the Olympics last year because we were at home, napping in the air conditioning.  But we made it back in time this year.  I knew that Anna & Maggie would probably not want to play, but I hoped Reese would.  I was worried about her at first, but she jumped on in and did great!!!!

Reese was a proud member of the blue team.  I can't remember who fixed her sash around her head like that, but she LOVED it.  I think she felt like a big girl, especially when she realized that some of the bigger kids were wearing theirs that way, too.  Isn't she beautiful?!

I told Julie (the Olympic organizer and my cousin who is turning 21 in a month or so.  I remember when that child was born!  Boy, I'm old!) that Anna & Maggie would probably do better if they were on the same team, but she organizes the teams by age and divides them that way so that there aren't too many really little or really big kids on a team.  Smart!  She did end up separating them, and Maggie ended up on Julie's sister's, Laura, team.  Anna was 'alone' on a team, so I stuck pretty close to her.  She just kinda stood around and watched; not too much participating from this one.  Kinda like I would have been had I been little during these events.

Laura was SO good in helping with the twins all week.  She did a great job watching Maggie during the water relay.  This is where each team has a cup that has holes punched in it.  You have to take your cup to a central tub full of water, scoop out water into your cup, run back to your team, empty what water might be left in the cup into your team's bucket and start again.  When your level hits its mark first, you're the winners.  The big kids get so revved up that they don't always watch out for the little ones.  

I don't think Maggie quite grasped the fact that it was a race and that she needed to go fast, but Laura walked with her each step of the way.  Thanks Laura!  You rock!

Reese caught on to it pretty well, except for the fact that she was never really 'ready' for her turn.  It was funny to watch.

She did know that she was supposed to hurry back to her team to empty her cup into their bucket.

She did so good participating all day!!!  I was so proud of her!!!!  I believe the blue team came in first on this one!!!!  Go REESE!!!!

Getting ready for the 'egg' in the spoon race.  This was just for the littlest competitors.  The 'egg' was just a plastic golf ball that they had to keep in the spoon until they crossed the finish line.  If the 'egg' fell, all they had to do was put it back in the spoon and keep going.  Great rules for little kids.  

She started off with a BANG, so far ahead of the others.  If she hadn't been watching everyone else, her 'egg' would never have fallen off.  It did a couple of times, but she picked it up and kept going.  AND........

She crossed the finish line first!!!!!

Erin helping her green team in the tug of war event!