Here are Wyatt and Lily with their pets. They had to send pictures to school of their pets. Wyatt's fish was also in the background, but I cropped him out. The Guinea pig is Casey, his fish is Skeeter and Lily's fish is Princess. Both of the fish are Bettas. Wyatt's is 3 years old now and I was told they generally live 1 1/2 to 2 years. And they say cats have 9 lives!

I finally got to sub in Wyatt's class today. It was pretty cool to be in there and see what all they do. They are a really good class. For some reason, I have never gotten called for Lily's class--which is killing her. Maybe before the year is out.

Well, need to go get the kiddos in bed so I can watch American Idol!

Lily finally got her canopy for her bed. She has been wanting one for a while. I had something to return at Kohl's, and the canopy was on sale, so I got it. She is so excited. She says it's her "princess bed".

Speaking of excited, I got on the scale this morning (Monday is my weigh day) and I lost 3.5 lbs this week! That makes a total of 10 lbs I have lost!! The downside is...I still have 18 to go. But at least I feel sure that I can do it now. The pants I put on for church Sunday were too big and I had to wear a belt to keep them up!!

Jeff got the first wall up in the basement. Wyatt was SO into helping him! A friend invited him over, but he actually wanted to stay and help Jeff. I thought he would get bored within 30 minutes, but he stayed down there with him all day---never coming upstairs once! Jeff said he was a great help, too! We'll see if the enthusiasm lasts through the whole project!

Well, need to go make Lily's lunch for school!!

OK, this is just weird. I'm home all by myself at 6:00 on a Saturday night. WOW--the quiet house is SO nice! Lily just left for a Beauty School Drop Out party at her ballet. They are going to be doing 50's songs for their tap part of the recital, so they are watching the dancing parts of "Grease" tonight. They are also going to do make-overs and all that "girl" stuff.
Jeff and Wyatt went to Lowe's to buy the first wood for the basement--YAY! We got the storage area laid out today and he is going to start by framing that. It'll be so nice to have a place to send the kids when their friends are over! I guess I'll be hearing a lot of hammering for a while! Oh well, it'll be worth it.
I haven't taken many pics lately--nothing all that exciting going on for a while--which is kind of nice actually. I just got a huge memory card for my camera--so I need to get busy filling it up! Between my 2 cards--I should be able to take about 900 pics! Or fewer pics and some video---I really mainly need it for vacation and trips! After I ran out of memory in New York I decided that wouldn't happen again! Well, think I'll go enjoy the quiet now!!

I was looking through some old pictures today and boy, do I wish it were summer!! I can't wait to go back to the beach this summer. I just can't imagine anywhere I'd rather be! These were some pics from Myrtle Beach last year.
I subbed today in 1st grade just for the afternoon. It was pretty easy. They have their special(today it was art) in the afternoon and then they go to recess right after that. We hardly had time to do much else. They say the funniest things at that age--they kept me laughing all day!
Well, gotta go see if my new favorite show is on yet--Dancing With the Stars--am I pathetic or what!?!? Actually, the kids love watching it, too!

LILY'S ART GALLERY

These are some of my favorite art pieces that Lily has done throughout her art class. I just thought they might look cool all together.
We keep changing our mind about our basement. Now we have decided to make it just a hangout for the kids and their friends. So I think I will get all of these framed and hang them down there.We don't really need another family room, so we are going to move our desk and computer down there and hopefully have the kids' computer, too. (If we can get it fixed) The treadmill will be down there, all the kids toys and maybe a table for them to do games, puzzles and crafts on. We'll probably take Wyatt's TV out of his room and move all his video game stuff down there, too. We also decided not to do a bathroom down there--it's just too expensive and theres a bathroom right at the top of the stairs. That way, we can get some dining room furniture for the dining room, once the toys and computer are out. That's the plan for now anyway, subject to change at any moment. I have nowhere to be until basketball practice at 6 tonight--I'm gonna try to get some organization done around here!!

Lily did this polar bear in art class today. It is all done in pastels and I think she did a great job with the shading! She said they were videoing in her class today and took a picture of her with her piece. They got the whole thing finished in one class. It's my favorite thing she's done so far. I think we are going to frame it and hang it in her room.I feel like I can see such progress in her work!!

Here's Lily licking the spatula after she helped me make brownies today. I'm trying my best not to eat any--but it's hard! My weigh day is tomorrow(although I've been weighing throuout the week anyway!) As of Friday morning I had lost 7 pounds-we'll see if it stays the same tomorrow.
Jeff is ready to start on the basement--he measured tonight and is going to start on the storage closet. It's going to be 14' x 6' which should hopefully hold all of our junk! For a while we debated whether to finish it or just move--but I guess we're going to go ahead--even if we do move-it'll help resell value. It's pretty weird--the only thing really keeping us here is that we like it--Jeff doesn't even work around here anymore. We could just as easily live in Lexington--but I could not see moving the kids at this point--they have so many friends and go to such a great school.
Need to go get Lily in bed--they both had sleepovers this weekend and need to go to bed early tonight!!

Lily went to her friend Emma's sleepover last night. I stayed the night too to help out, so I got some pictures. They had a lot of fun. They had the idea several days ago at school to put cucumbers on their eyes like a spa---they would not let it drop--so they did it--it was funny. They stayed up until about midnight and got up about 7:00. Really, for having twelve 6 and 7 year old girls there, it never got really crazy--just a lot of high pitched screaming!! Lily did get a little overwhelmed by the noise a couple of times--she said when she has a sleepover--she wants 5 0r 6 girls--sounds good to me!!
She's going to be so tired and cranky tomorrow!! She's at another party right now that lasts 4 hours because they are also going to a movie--I hope she makes it through it!! Church may be fun tomorrow!! HA HA!

LILY'S ARTWORK

Here is Lily's latest artwork from her drawing class. The Russian doll is done in all marker and the toucan is done in marker and pastels. She's really enjoying the class.
Today was a run around day. Had to get a new radio in my van because the CD player stopped working for some reason. They installed it today. So I sat and waited for 2 hours---which was actually kind of relaxing. Got to get caught up on all of my lists I have going and was actually able to look at a magazine--which is rare anymore!! I got a call today from the VP of the PTO asking me if I would like to be VP next year when she is President. I wouldn't mind that at all, but it would also mean that I would be President automatically the following year. Seems like a huge job to me. I told her I would think about it, I guess I'm leaning towards doing it. I've been Secretary for 3 years now, so I guess it's time I got promoted--HA!HA! I really wasn't expecting to get asked and I thought for sure she was calling me to be Secretary again--which I gladly would have done. Well, really need to go clean my house and figure out what's for dinner!

I was just playing with these pictures from the park and tried them in sepia tone. I think they look pretty neat!

A DAY AT THE PARK

Lily and her friend Emma.

Wyatt and his friend Trevor.

Well, I made a big post last night and somehow lost it all before I could publish it---how frustrating!! Anyway, yesterday was a GORGEOUS day! Since the kids were out of school, my friend Tracee and I decided to take the kids to the park. It was so nice to get outside and do something. The girls had fun, the boys got a little bit bored--but still managed to entertain themselves for the 3 hours that we were there. I love these pictures I got.
Wyatt had a basketball game last night. It was a nail biter! He played well the first quarter and even got off a couple of shots(even though they didn't go in:-( Practice! Practice! Anyway--they ended up winning by one point when the other team missed a shot at the buzzer! It was exciting!!

Lily had her Brownie Cookie Rally on Thursday. She will start selling cookies today. This is her first time selling them. We're not making a big deal out of it---just selling to a couple of neighbors and my mom! I'm sure we'll buy our share, too--that'll be great for the diet!! Actually, the low-fat Lemon Coolers are really good.

It's gonna be a pretty low key weekend--which is nice. Lily spent the night at a friends(no late night phone calls--so I guess she did OK) so we took Wyatt out to dinner last night. He got to pick as his reward for a great report card (all A's). He picked Mexican(also not the best for the diet!) Wyatt has basketball pictures this morning and then Jeff and I are going to try to work some more on organizing the basement--FUN, FUN!

I didn't get on the treadmill yesterday because I got called to teach. I was in the Special Ed room. There were 8 kids with varying degrees of disabilities. I really loved it--it was definitely different. They are really sweet kids. So, need to go hop on the treadmill now I guess to work off those tortilla chips!!!

This cracks me up! I came upstairs from walking on the treadmill and Lily had an orange scrap of fabric(no idea where she even found it) tied around her waist and had my workout mat spread out doing karate!! Oh my gosh---she looks like she's been taking karate for a year!!!! She can kick above her waist WHILE spinning in a full circle in the air! I have no idea how she learned these things!! Her kicks are really good, too!! It makes me want to sign her up for karate, but there's no possible way we could do one more activity!!! Anyway--I just thought it was funny!
I had a nice relaxing day at the mall today returning a few things---that is after I babysat 10 under 1 year olds at MOPS(with 4 other women of course!) I love doing it-I get my baby fix--even if it does involve crying, poop and soggy cheerios!!! They are really sweet, though! Well, need to go fix our healthy dinner! I'm trying a new recipe--I'll let ya know how it comes out!! Jeff has lost 6 lbs and I will know on Monday when I weigh! I've been so good--if I don't lose at least 2 lbs--I'll be very mad!!

Oh my gosh--what a weekend! We worked on cleaning out our basement all weekend!! Jeff is ready to start finishing it and it was SO full of junk!! We donated 24 huge moving boxes to Goodwill and had about 8 boxes/bags of trash! We got mostly finished-but we still have one corner to do! I cannot believe how much stuff we had accumulated! We should get it completely ready to start next weekend. It feels so good to have it done!Thank goodness Jeff was doing it with me---I tend to want to keep too much and he is just the opposite! Luckily, Wyatt was playing with friends all day, so he was out of our way---he doesn't want to get rid of ANYTHING!! Lily is better about it--if she doesn't really play with it--she will donate it. I tell you--it makes me not want to buy clothes or toys ever again!!!

OK---Do you think Lily likes her American Girl doll? She set this all up herself for her bath tonight. Her doll is taking her bath and so is Coconut!! I have to say--she has played with this doll even more than I thought she would!! Lucky for her--because she already wants another one for her birthday--and she may get it if she keeps playing with this one like she has been! She is going to bed early tonight--she is SO tired from her sleepover last night--she hardly knows if she's coming or going!! I guess she got a little homesick for the first time last night but decided to stick it out and not come home. I remember many times calling my mom to come pick me up from sleepovers because I was homesick! Well, we'll see how she does next time!!

Wyatt with his robot.
Wyatt and Lily at my mom's house getting ready to open gifts.
Lily with her American Girl doll.

I haven't taken any new pictures because my camera is still full with New York pics and video. I plan to get them saved to disc today so I Can erase them. These are just some pics from my mom's house when we had Christmas there. Wyatt had a sleepover last night with his friend Trevor and Lily slept over at her friend Emma's(who is Trevor's sister). The boys were up til maybe about midnight. They played video games for hours--just don't see how that could be that much fun--but I guess it is to them. Especially since Wyatt played them all day, too at his friend Andrew's house. I'll be glad when school starts back so he will get away from the video games for a while. Today and tomorrow should be pretty low key--not much planned. Kids go back to school Tuesday. We'll hafta start getting them back into the routine this weekend I guess. It's been so nice not to have to worry so much about bedtimes and all that. I'm sure we'll all be ready to go back, though!

I always hate pictures of myself, but these are halfway decent--still look older and fatter than I feel--oh well! These are from Nakato, the japanese steakhouse in Lexington we went to on my birthday. It's may favorite place to eat--so yummy!!
We spent 4 hours at Chuck-E-Cheese today--YIKES!!! Actually--it was really enjoyable--the kids played really well and I actually got to sit and talk to my best friend Tracee without too many interruptions! I actually resisted the pizza, too and just had a healthy salad--it wasn't easy--but I'm determined to get this extra weight off this time! OK--now that I've put that out there--I feel extra pressure to do it--which is a good thing. I should post my weight and progress on here to be accountable---NAAAHHH--don't think so!

MORE NEW YORK PICTURES

Trump Tower.
Where David Letterman is filmed--not too far from Times Square.
This is the stage they were setting up in Times Square for New Year's Eve.
Radio City Music Hall--this is where the Rockettes perform.
View from Central Park.

NEW YORK

Times Square--that is the pole where the ball drops.
Times Square--where it all happens on New Year's Eve.
The "Naked Cowboy" in Times Square. He HAD to be freezing!!!
This was from the Rockettes show that we saw--they came out from behind the letters.
Ground Zero---this was really weird to see--I got so emotional just walking up to it--it just made it seem that much more real.


Well, this post and the previous one are some pictures from mine and Jeff's trip to New York. It was so great!! We did a ton--and had a really good time. We saw just about all the sights, did a TON of walking, and ate at some really great restaurants. We also saw a wonderful show. I really would like to live there. I used to think that it wouldn't be a good place to raise kids, but I'm not sure I still feel that way. There is so much for kids to see and experience there and I felt like the kids that we saw that lived there were really lucky. We could never afford to live there anyway--and I don't think Jeff would ever go for it. I'll just have to try to visit every few years to get my fix!! There is just no place like it--it's an indescribable feeling I get when I'm there---just the excitement in the air--and the people--I just love the people--they are not at all like they are stereotyped--well you do have your exceptions of course. But for the most part, they are very nice and helpful. I think my favorite thing we did was the carriage ride through Central Park--it's something I've never done before and always wanted to. Also, seeing Ground Zero was extremely moving--something I will always remember. We also saw where David Letterman was filmed as well as the NBC studios. It was also really cool to be in Times Square on New Year's Eve and see all the preparations being made. We didn't stay to spend New Year's Eve there---I don't think I could handle no restrooms for that long!! Or being shoulder to shoulder with that many people for that long!! There is pretty much something you have seen on TV or read about on every corner--and somehow we managed to see most of it. I felt so spoiled the whole time--Jeff made it all about me and he wanted to make sure that we did everything I wanted to do while we were there. He never even complained when I dragged him into store after store to shop!
Time to come back down to earth now!! I still have Christmas decorations to put up and a ton to do around here!!!

THE BIG APPLE

The Empire State building.
Statue of Liberty
The big tree at Rockefeller Center with the ice skating rink in front of it.
Jeff and I in front of the tree.
We took a horse drawn carriage ride through Central Park--it was awesome!