Officially Autumn! and more

In my opinion, in this part of the country, today is the beginning of the BEST season of the year! AUTUMN! I love everything about it. I know, I know...I say this every year. And I mean it every year. I love the weather, I love the colors, I love the football, I love the chili, I love the decrease in humidity, I love the running in cooler weather, and on and on. Okay, enough about fall.

Ian gets spelling words every week. I have to admit I giggled a little bit at the thought of Ian taking a spelling test. Boy, was I wrong! I started studying the words with him. First I would have him say the word..he did. Then I started saying the word and had him spell it as he was looking at it..he did. Then I would have the list in front of him and say a word, but not point to which one I was saying. I had him find the word in the list and spell it..he did. Then, I gave him the words orally and had him spell while I wrote what he said. He always got more right than wrong. At least twice he got them all right. So, I wrote a note to let his teacher know how we were studying. I didn't want them to just have him say the word. To me, that's not a spelling test if the student has the ability to do more than that. So, he brings home is spelling test yesterday. They gave it to him orally and the T.A. wrote what he spelled. He only got 3 wrong!!! I was soooooo proud of him!

Still pooping on the toilet. Not me...well, I am...but I'm talking about Ian. He'll disappear for a while then holler at us from the bathroom to let us know what he's done. We're on like 10 times now. Yes, he's getting a bit tired of pizza. Yesterday he requested McDonalds. To avoid a huge weight gain while potty training & avoid going broke, we bought the burger and made the fries at home. He was satisfied. Again, I am so stinkin proud of him! (pun intended) I am also so grateful that I have a group of bloggers who can totally understand the 'yippies' of this. And aren't you glad I don't post pics anymore!

Had another issue with school (well actually something T.A. did). I won't go into it because I don't want to sound like a negative Nelly. I emailed the teacher about the incident. I got a nice email back (although I don't think it was completely truthful, in order to save a butt). But it wasn't severe enough to pursue. I'm not out to get anyone in trouble, but I am out to be sure they learn about my son so they know best how to handle situations in a fair and appropriate manner. And, of course, I documented to be sure I have all the "data" to support anything that might come up. "Data" is the school system's 4-letter buzz word for the year. I got a bad taste of the word this summer while trying to work out a summer school issue. Anyway, I just want us all to be on the same side...not sure that's realistic based on the system, but, hey, it's always worth a try.

It's THAT Time of Year!

I meant to post this yesterday because yesterday was the official first day of fall!!! My favorite time of year...especially here in Texas. Now we haven't gotten a cool-down yet, but I hear it's coming. And I am sooooooo ready! How could you NOT like fall? You got football, better weather, beautiful trees (well, somewhere anyway), Ian's birthday, fall festivals, our anniversary (11 years this October). Did I mention football? Oh, yeah.

I'm hoping to get brave enough to take the kids to a pumpkin patch thing this year. I'll let ya know if I have a major break-through and decide to do it.

Time for Fall, Time to Scrap!

I adore fall! It's my favorite season. We got married in the fall because we both like it so much. So I had to blog on this day, the 1st day of fall. There's just something refreshing about the season. I love being able to open the windows, which happens so little here because of heat, humidity or rain. Today I turned the A/C off and opened the windows. It's actually that cool outside, and it feels great.

Tomorrow I leave with some ladies to scrapbook. A good friend of mine puts this together and her goal is for us to do it twice a year to catch up on our books. Yeah, I say that as if I was a real scrapper! I really thought I was going to be, and maybe I still will be one day. That was before I had children. Now, I know a lot of people who have kids (and many who have more than me) who are still able to do all the mom/wife/family/etc. things AND still scrapbook. I am NOT one of those people. So, my goal is that each child will have a scrapbook from their first year of life...birth to 1st birthday. How far have I gotten? Well, I'm further than I was the last time we headed out to do this. I have Ian's pictures in his book. I still have embellishing and journaling to do (if I haven't forgotten everything already...it HAS been 5 years). I have Avery's pictures in her book and mostly embellished. I have journaling to do in hers. BTW, her book ended up being 1 1/2 times as thick as Ian's. Hmmmm, probably cause she's a girl. Or maybe because I somehow felt like I had to put every picture of the both of them in HER book? Regardless, it's thick! Tomorrow I'll be off to start (and hopefully complete) Benjamin's book. I would really like to have pictures, embellishings, and journaling done by the time we head home. Seriously, I'm there from Wednesday night to Sunday night. And we stay up nearly all night each night. So, that's my goal.

The big trick is going to be....can I totally enjoy myself without worrying how Jim is doing with the kids? I'm thinking I can once I get there. Right now, I panic. He's soooooo great to let me do things like this, and never complains about it, and is even taking off work 2 days. But he and I both know he gets a little more stressed having all the kids by himself for that long of time. Big bummer is that usually my in-laws are around to help out, but they're going to be out of town that weekend too. I'm sure he'll be fine. As he always says, "The kids will get fed and stay alive." He really does better than that, but it's a little joke we have.

So, I'm off to relish in the coolness of the air. Okay, I'm off to cook dinner. I'll catch up with everyone after I get back. Wish me luck! Ooooh, wish Jim luck!