Monday, June 30, 2008

Things that warmed my heart this week...

Samisms - June 2008

-"Mommy, I tell you someting?"
-"Yes"
-"'bout Jesus?"
-"Yes"
-"Umm..He made sun...ummm...and milk!"
-"Yes He did!" :)
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Also...indulge with me on this one...this more of a journal entry, which is what this is for me, but I needed to "write" it down...

I've always sung a certain song to Sammy at bedtime (The primary song Mother I love you changed a little bit) but I never knew that he knew the words. In the last few months he has started to make "requests". He gets to pick two books and a song before bed (or two if I'm feeling extra nice and it's not too late). So the other night he said "I pick ummm Sammy I love you song" and then he sang with me...it was sooo cute! And the smile that he had after was the best! We'll just say that I also sang Itsy bitsy spider AND Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree that night...he had made my week! :)

Saturday, June 28, 2008

My favorite Websites for Toddlers

Here are my favorites for Sammy's age (2-3ish) when he wants to play "compoo-ter" for 10 minutes. :)

Elmo's Keyboard-o-rama - They can touch any number or letter and a picture and the letter will come up and it will say, A, apple. Or for the numbers it will count up to the number of kisses, or flowers or balloons. Sammy has loved this site for a long time!

Kneebouncers.com - This one my mom just read about in Parenting Magazine (I think). Sammy likes this one (and Mommy too) because it doesn't really matter what key you hit things will happen on the screen (i.e. the train's whistle blowing, or the person playing peek-a-boo). They don't have to know how to manipulate the mouse or the keyboard to have fun.

Starfall.com - This one you need to be able to help them because you have to use the mouse but it is great for big kids too. It can help with learning letters all the way to learning how to read!

P.S. Besides the fact that my kids are still talking in their beds and not asleep for naps yet I'm loving my summer break! I've been off about 10 days so far and I keep thinking, oh, it's Saturday, (and yes, today it is) but the other 8 times it wasn't and it was great! I love feeling like every day is Saturday!

Friday, June 27, 2008

Barton Flats - Our Last Camping Trip?

I'll preface this with Thad's words as we were leaving the camp today, "Tell the mountains goodbye because you won't be seeing them until you're a Scout!"

It was, well, a good trip, besides that Sammy refused to go to sleep last night, and refused to nap today, and woke Nathan more than once after we got him to sleep, I had to sleep on the ground without a pillow (Sammy stole mine and my sleeping bag too and I couldn't get to his stuff without waking Nathan who had woke up in the middle of the night wet and freezing). After that lovely night Thad was so frustrated with my non-camping attitude (everything kept going wrong--I do well with routines with my kids and there was no routine, no planning, no schedule--I don't know what to do?!) But all in all we survived. We'll have to figure out a way to make it work because the Marcroft Family goes to Barton Flats Campground in the San Bernardino Mountains every June!

Here are some pictures and a little about our adventure! More pictures can also be found here at SmugMug!

Sammy loved everything about being in the mountains. He loved the noises, sounds, smells, and especially the dirt, rocks, sticks, and other "treasures" as he called them. This was his triangle that he was playing for us. :)
I decided to let Nathan crawl around in the dirt...until he started taking handfuls of dirt and trying to eat them! ;)
Sammy obviously was having a blast at the lake. This is him posing for a picture for Grandma!

Here Thad and Sammy are out on this big log looking at the fish and the ducks!
Believe it or not, I was there too. Here is proof. I might need it down the road!
Here is big brother Sammy pushing the stroller--he didn't even run into anything! Woo hoo!

By the time we left it didn't take long for Nathan to pass out and Sammy waved a bit at the mountain and the animals before he passed out. When we got home 1 1/2 hrs later he stayed asleep until I woke him up another 1 1/2 hours later...we wore them out!

Monday, June 23, 2008

What do I do with all of these cucumbers?!

One more thing that I am really excited about is my garden! I know, both of my sisters think that I'm crazy, but it's been so fun! We've been getting so many cucumbers that I went to Wal-Mart and got jars and pickling supplies (Wal-mart had a Ball--the canning company-bread and butter mix and it was delicious--they also have jars for preserving or plastic ones for the fridge/freezer depending on how soon you'll use them). I made my first batch of about 3-4 pounds of Boston Pickling cucumbers. I made bread and butter chips. The next batch I'm going to try to make Kosher Dill pickles. I have about 5 cucumbers but I need about 10 more..maybe that many more will be ready today or tomorrow! I got 5 pints (jars) of them from that batch! I think that it's neat that we have real cucumbers pickled from our garden (and I hope they're yummy--they still have to pickle for at least another week!!)

A Quick Kid Update! :)

Sammy... is still growing like a weed (when we go to the park he's as big as the four year olds-lol!) and talking up a storm. He has come up with some pretty silly things lately! He loves to play with Thomas (and any other trains) and is always on the look out when we're driving for "ding-dings" (Railroad crossings) and hoping to see "choo-choo trains". The other day he finally "said" a prayer before lunch by himself. I was still fixing Nathan's lunch when I looked over because I heard him talking--I saw him head bowed and mumbling something then I heard "Carrie, Cathy, Jared, Amen!" :) Fun! He's obsessed with Little Einsteins and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and probably would watch "just a little bit" (his words) all day long if he could! He also loves playing in the dirt and helping me in the garden (especially eating the cucumbers and strawberries). He keeps asking me if the tomatoes are "ready yet"?

Nathan... is crawling all over the place (about two weeks now?) and is able to get to almost anything by pulling up and sometimes even walking along the furniture! He also tries standing up by himself and looks more like a cat as he arches his back and stands on his toes! It's cute! It's been a little over two months since his surgery to remove his fused saggital suture and his head looks better everyday! He says da-da-da and sometimes even dad (with a strong d) when he sees Thad! His smile attracts everyone too him and it's fun shopping with him and seeing all of the people stop to talk to my smiley boys.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Free Thomas the Train!

My bro-in-law Danny just emailed me a in-store only coupon (found on Spoofee.com) for a free Thomas the Train up to 12.99! Here is the link to the coupon . I thought that I'd post it here for all of the Thomas Lover's out there!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Free at Last!

I'm done with school, grading, cleaning up my room, and hopefully done getting emails pleading and begging me to raise their grade or asking if there is anything that they can do now to get a few more points. The grades were done and submitted yesterday but they don't seem to understand. Either way I have had to write a few discouraging emails but have been able to tell a few that I had rounded their grade up! :) Woo hoo! I graded night after night and finished my written (essay) exams by Monday of this week (earlier than any year ever before! Hooray for me!) and so the last day I just had to run my scantrons, input the scores, figure out the curve, and finish up some last minute projects. It still was a crazy day yesterday and I had to go back this morning to clean up and organize but I feel great now! Everyone keeps asking what we're doing this summer...I know that we're going camping next week, but other than that I just want to be Mommy, clean up and organize my house, get everything in the house and throw out the junk that we haven't used in the first four years of marriage and enjoy the summer!

Here are excerpts from my favorite emails from one persistent student today and my responses:

----
He wrote:
Hi Mrs. Marcroft this is your notorious troublemaker from 4th period um what i was emailing you for was my review booklet i mentioned i had lost it and i re did it with the help of online resources but for some reason the following day i had a dentist appointment and i forgot to turn it in at snack i know this may not be a legitimate excuse but i was hoping if you were available tomorrow for me to turn it in even though i will lose points because i cant afford a C in your class, i did not do as well as i should have this semester. But the point of the matter was i was hoping you could add it because it would benefit my grade also i would like to discuss what i just saw a missing destinos assignment that i got a 0 on. Thank you mrs. marcroft for your time and please
email me at your convenience.

-----
I replied:
I turned my grades in yesterday! This email was delayed in arriving (it got here after midnight) and I had already submitted the grades online by 7 pm.

I will be at school a little bit you can stick it in my box but I'm not sure if I can or if I should change your grade! You didn't turn in a 20 point assignment! The other destinos thing is OUT OF THE QUESTION because that is from months ago. Bring it by the school. I"ll think about it--I'm too tired right now to make a decision like this.

Sra M
----

He replied:
the thing is ms marcroft with that i would have a B and i know im putting you in an awkward positon but i did work hard on the other original one and it got lost so i pulled my resources i guess i was not responsible enough but it was the heat of the moment and im sorry i forgot and i would really appreciate if you would add it in

----
I replied:

This is not my fault-this is your fault. You lost the original. You forgot to turn in the assignment on Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday. Grades are already in. Even with the points you are still at a C+.

I'm sorry.

-Sra Marcroft
-----
Then I found his booklet in my mailbox at school so I replied again:
Okay.

I just got your review book.
1. It's not done right. (not organized by chapter, no vocab, no culture, no example sentences) You got 15/21.
2. It's 3 days late (-6 pts/2 pts per day)
So 9/21 leaves you still at 78 %.

Sorry.

-Sra Marcroft

Friday, June 13, 2008

Look at these plants!

I've been meaning to post pics of my garden but our camera has been out of commission but Frank helped us out and took some pics yesterday! Enjoy!
The cantaloupe plants are starting to produce some cantaloupe--not done yet though!! I hope that they're juicy and sweet! These plants are taking over my whole garden! They've grown into the tomatoes and into the strawberries, behind the shed, and anywhere else they can! I will have to get a picture of the "takeover".You can kind of see what I'm talking about here! There should be two feet of dirt between each planter. Can you see how you can only see leaves between the tomatoes on the left and the peppers and cucumbers on the right?!

My Tomato Plants are almost as tall as me and have green tomatoes EVERYWHERE! I can't wait!!!

It's been about 6 weeks since we first planted and took pictures and posted here on the blog!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Do you ever just want to cry?!

We're dogsitting at my mom's and so we have been living here and have way toooo many clothes here. So I washed and then folded them all up but there isn't room for all of them here and I haven't taken them back over to our house! I'm not a screamer so when I came home from work today and saw all of my lovely once folded laundry ALL OVER the place I wanted to cry! I could just blame this on my husband but it wasn't his allowing (doing would mean that he did it but he didn't do it or even sit back passively as it happened). We had a babysitter here so that Thad could work on the house and she's great with the kids but the house is often thrashed afterwards (thanks to SAMMY!!!) Sigh. I guess that I should be folding those and putting them away instead of blogging but I wanted someone to commiserate with me! Or wait, do your husbands do all of the laundry, fold it, and then put it away?! HA! :) Oh well... (the picture on the left is what is left of the "stacks" on the bed and on the right is what got thrown on the floor! Boo hoo hoo!)

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

What makes me happy... ;)

So everytime that I go to Ralph's (our local supermarket) while browsing and racking my brain of what fruit is on sale, how many gallons of milk we should buy, what meat is on sale, how many bananas to grab, and trying to think of whatever else I need to make food for the week I stop and longingly look at this tugboat. It looks like so much fun. My mom has a tugboat and the kids love it. I always try to just keep walking by but today I stopped to look more closely at it. I still have $100 left over from Sammy's shower that I keep in a special place in my purse that I dip into every once in a while to buy something that I really want (for the kids of course!) so I just had to buy it--it was $15 and a bit of a splurge but I am so excited! It's so cute and I can't wait to get it open and let the kids splash around with it! It totally made my day. I used to only get this giddy about a new pair of shoes! Weird how things change eh?!

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Why do moms talk about poop?

How many times a day do I talk about poop? Probably too many to count with two kids in diapers and a two year old that is interested in poop, pee, toliets, etc. So then why am I blogging about poop? Because if I were an avid scrapper I'd scrapbook it but I'm so behind that I now blog and this is it! So, Nathan had the biggest blow-out ever and it was so gross I grabbed the camera to document it! I can't figure this kid out. He is either really constipated or really runny. The doctor told us to give him prunes and prune juice daily because he's having so much trouble going to the bathroom but, man! I'm guessing that this was the result of his oatmeal and prune juice breakfast!! It was all the way up to his neck and in his armpit (and his diaper was full of it too!) Enjoy (if you're a mom) if not you might not want to look!

Thursday, June 5, 2008

The Fong Family

If Cathy had a blog I'm sure that she'd stick this cute pic up, but she doesn't, so I am sticking it up! It's got all three of the kids in it...or should I say all four? :)
L-R Lizzie, Danny, Jared and Baby Lucas :)

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Oh how I wish that it were August 2nd and that I were opening up a new copy of Breaking Dawn, but it's not, but I did find a site (thanks to one of my many Twilight Series student fans) that has the first ,and quite wonderful, chapter of the book on it. I can't wait...and if you haven't read them stop by Borders or Barnes and Noble and buy yourself a copy (heck, they even have them at Costco quite often!) :) Oh, here is the link to the site if you didn't click on one of the other links and read it!

Monday, June 2, 2008

What I wish I would have known before tonight...

So, Thad talked me into a dinner and a movie tonight with our friends, the Pasketts. I say he "talked" me into it because I always stress out about the kids getting fed, bathed, and going to bed on time but I said okay. We saw Indiana Jones (which was fun) and then went out to a fancy restaurant after. I avoided calling in to check on the Jenny, the babysitter, because I didn't want to see overly worried or make her think that I was checking up on her (she's taken the kids lots of times during the day and once or twice at night). We pulled up at 9:30 tonight and I was astounded, worried, frustrated and shocked to see Jenny and the kids outside playing (well, I thought that they were playing). We jumped out of the car to find out that they'd been locked out for about 2-3 hours! Somehow the door got locked (or it didn't get unlocked before they went outside--I've been locked out before because you don't have to unlock it to open it) and the cell phone that I had left her to call if she needed something was inside! That said I'm glad that Nathan was up from his late afternoon nap and not locked inside screaming for 2 hours!!! So, they were all a bit cold, but safe, and when Thad unlocked the door Sammy told Jenny, "look, door open!" as if they'd only been locked out 5 minutes. Then he told me, "I want milk please. I go night-night!" We quickly changed them into their PJs grabbed their milks and put them in bed. Sigh.

Lessons learned:
-Show the babysitter where the spare key is
-Tell the babysitter which neighbors are safe to ask for help if needed
-Tell the babysitter to put the cell phone in her pocket ;)

I am truly grateful that everyone is okay and that Jenny was able to stay calm and keep the kids happy. Nathan was really cold and had a hard time going to sleep (he was way overtired) but Sammy was out like a light after a few good stories and made-up songs. What a night!
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