A new neice...

I just wanted to take a minute and introduce my new neice!
Scarlett Jane Whalen
She arrived 11 days late! but happy and healthy.

science mania

The results of the science fair are in....

Taking first place in third grade....
Dillon Whalen


Taking first place in kindergarten...
Bailey Whalen




And the overall winner for K-4th grade is....
DILLON WHALEN!!!!



Give a hand to all that participated!

Creative genius...

or just plain tired?

For all my Wii addicted friends....

I'm not so sure about this. Would I actually use it or would it gather dust with all my other well meaning equipment?

What do you think of Wii's exercise gaming for weight loss?

Not for the light of heart or PETA members...

Not that I did anything... it's just my sense of humor.

So the other day I was teaching literacy in fifth grade. The story was about forest fires and how they can be helpful as well as harmful. The first part of the lesson I asked the students to come up with ways that fire can be helpful and harmful. I was pretty impressed with some of the things that they came up with. I did have to explain about the burning down to build up the soil to them, but they caught on pretty quickly.

Then we gathered in the back to begin reading the story. I was having the students volunteer to read aloud to the group, stopping at the end of each paragraph to discuss new vocabulary words, or the thinking behind the story. Then we reached this one particular paragraph.

It started out pretty well explaining how fires seem almost alive in their thirst for air, and hungrily eating through acres of forests. It told of the forest animals and how the fastest ones were able to escape and the slower ones unfortunately perished. Then it started to talk about the rabbits.

Unfortunately for the rabbits, they can actually help the spread of the forest fires. The rabbits seem to... um... catch on fire... and then...um... bolt around through the forest spreading the fires further and further.

The end of the paragraph.

Silence.

I bust out laughing.

Then the boys bust out laughing.

Then one of the girls looks teary eyed. She is really upset.

The boys are laughing harder. The girl is begging them to stop.

I finally get myself under control and ask the boys to settle down as well. I explain to them that we really should NOT be laughing... it is kinda disturbing if you think about it.

I was able to regain control and move on.... but even now I am still lol about it!!!

Better light program

Some of you know that I do support the new lightbulbs that are more energy effient. But there was a downside, I always liked to warn people letting them know that although they save more energy, they contain mercury and therefore you can not just throw them away. A lot of people do not know this!

This news article came out today... a better way to recycle the bulbs. It will be a pain to drive over there, but at least I have an Ace near my house.

Wish me luck!

Yeah! We made it through the weekend, puppy free. I figured if I didn't think too much about it, I wouldn't go steal any of those puppies back. (Don't worry friends, I am not coming for your puppies =))

I wondered how we would do, but by Friday evening, when the house was all quiet and I hadn't had to clean up any spots from the rugs, I was really lovin' it!

And I had a full night's sleep Friday and Saturday night!

The house is quiet and mostly clean again. I still need to get Mr Coit over here. The plan is for him to visit on Tuesday or Wednesday. Then I will have my house back.

YEAH!!!

Abby is doing okay. She was quiet yesterday, napping most of the day on Dillon's bed. Today she is attention hungry and even jumped up on both Bailey and Dillon, scaring them. She definately has a lot of her energy back and we need to figure out appropriate ways to exercise her. (Does this mean I have to exercise too? Yikes!)She has her surgery on Tuesday. I will ask then about any separation anxiety techniques to help her. Any suggestions from you all?

Otherwise, I am teaching on Monday and Friday this week and then head into full time next week through the end of the school year. I probably will not be blogging as much during my full time teaching.

Wish me lots of luck!!!

Goodbye!

After a little bit of a lazy morning, we starting getting ready to take the puppies back. After they came in from their morning romp around the back yard, I noticed that they stunk! They had muddy paws, and really needed a bath.

I took Max upstairs and put him in the bath, thinking that he would love the water and have lots of fun with it.

Note to self: Dogs do not like bathes.

Note to self: Do not waste your time showering BEFORE washing puppies. You just will have to do it all over again.

Max did not like it so much. Neither did Annie, Benji or even mild tempered Brownie.

I was soaked. The bathroom was soaked. It was crazy!

But we now had four clean puppies.






I wanted the kids to have one last fun thing with the puppies, so we headed over to the park. The park that has sand instead of wood chips.


Yep- they got all sandy.

Oh well. They had fun. The kids had fun. And families seemed to come out of the woodwork to play with the puppies as well.


There was only one other person there when we arrived. She had two little boys that she was watching. The next thing I knew, there was families and kiddos all over the place. I finally had to take the puppies back to the car so that I could watch my kids play and not have to keep an eye on where the puppies were and with whom!


So we finally got everyone packed back up and headed out. It was a lot less tramatic for me than I thought it would be. I was ready. And it is helpful knowing that all are going to people that we know, so I know they will be in good homes! Yep- Benji got adopted too! I got a call this morning early saying that this person wanted to take him after all. YEAH!

So here is the last picture of them. All piled in and ready to be "processed" at the shelter. They are getting their surgeries in the morning, and by tomorrow night will be with their new families.


(Sorry it's fuzzy.)
There were tears from the kids. Dillon's line "The only thing I want is to be with the puppies again!"

"Remember that they pooped and peed in your room." I replied.

"Yeah, but they are so cute that I don't care!"
I couldn't help but laugh.

Then they were at the neighbor's house this afternoon. Remember that our fence is down on that side of the yard, so my kids and my dogs roam freely from our yard to hers. (I always worry about bothering her too much, but she swears that she loves it!)
Dillon is talking with her about the puppies being gone.
Then he looks on the ground behind her.
"They might be gone, but they left plenty of evidence behind!"

Avery replies "Ooooh. Poopy!"

today

I am having a emotional roller coaster of a day. Seriously.

I had to sub today for a Kindergarten class that I haven't been in for a while now. I have been mainly focusing on the second grade classes since that is where I will be full time in 10 days. Oh, did I tell you all that? I got a job as a permanent sub for a second grade teacher that is going on maternity leave. I will be working full time for the last 5 weeks of school. I am really looking forward to it. It's a great group of students, and two fabulous teachers that I am working with! Good experience for me too!

Any ways, back to kindergarten. Wow. These guys were loud, and busy today. I was not used to having to repeat EVERYTHING I said 3 times. In the beginning of the year when I was in there more often, I was better prepared. I found myself feeling a little harassed today. Oh well. Then on Monday I will be in a fifth grade class, then next Friday back in second. Talk about bouncing around!

Also today I had two different teachers come talk to me about Benji. I was so excited! I thought he would finally have a great home where I will know where he was, but alas, by the end of the day both teachers had decided that the timing wasn't right. (Here is where you pipe in Heather that Wade has finally come to his senses and decided that Benji would be perfect for your family!!! no pressure or anything (wink))

So with it being our last night with these guys we had fun playing in the yard and tumbling in the living room before sending the kids off to bed. I am having such mixed emotions! I am so ready to be done with this, and yet these faces.... and the puppy kisses.... and the extreme excitement when we get home... and the...and the... But my carpets will thank me, as soon as Mr Coit comes that is, and I will be able to sleep the entire night again without two potty calls, and I won't have to bomb the backyard in order to find poop-free grass. I was out there today just trying to clean a portion of the yard... oh man!

So tomorrow morning, the kids do not have school. We will take our time and get everything ready and head out for the shelter.

Tears will fall.
Hearts will be broken.
Pictures will be taken.
But new families will be formed.

Good luck little guys!

Two days left with these guys!

Please get the word about this fabulous puppy!!!

Benjamin Franklin aka Benji

Something old... something new...

Nope, I am not referring to a wedding. I have a new responsibility for the store, Mary Kay started a blog specifically for the store and I have been assigned Saturdays to blog. Christyn came up with a great idea for my days... something to do with kid's crafts. So last Saturday I introduced the idea to the audience. I also mentioned that my posting next Saturday would be about organizing a scrap box for your kids so that they would be able to scrap along with you or independently when they wanted. So today I had to come up with a scrap box that my kids could use to scrap when they wanted. =)
So I turned this...


into this...


Not bad, if I do say so myself. I will explain that it is a work in progress, something that you will be adding to while you work, but the main point behind it was so that I did not have to stop everything I am doing in order to help my children find pictures that they can use, find paper and fun things that they can use, etc... When I want to sit down I don't have to worry about them taking over. They can find their own things and get straight to work.

I hope it works. =)

All things scientific...

I have been meaning to update you all on the happenings of the Science Fair. Both kids finished their projects during their Spring Break week and turned them in on April 1st. The fair ran from April 2nd to April 4th and both kids received great feedback on their projects. We do not know any placement yet, that is one of the reasons that I have waited to tell you about them. We were supposed to know this past Thursday, but did not receive the newsletter. I also have pictures to share, but have not uploaded them on the new computer yet. I will do that when I have a minute this week.

Just as a reminder... Bailey's project was a focus on the puppies and how their growth process. She weighed and measured them every Friday for 5 weeks and created a chart on which she kept track of their progress. We made a display board showing pictures of the puppies in every week and the puppies even went to school in order to be a part of her display.

Here Bailey is showing that the potato that she is holding is as long and weighs as much as the Max did when he was born.


Dillon studied grass and why people have grass allergies. He researched online and in many library books. He found that people are allergic to the pollen that is in the grass and weeds. And his biggest discovery was that the medicine that is used to treat allergies does NOT stop the allergic attack, it only helps the symptoms.

As for the puppies... 6 days left until they are in their new homes! Will also update their newest pictures as well.

Kevin

I need to be fair to Kevin and take a moment to explain that first date experience.

Kevin and I met through my Sorority and through the Psych department at UW. He was a Psych major and I was a Psych minor. He had noticed me in a few classes and also knew that I was a Pi Phi. Some of the "gentlemen" that served at my house were from his fraternity and he was looking to work for free food or something. I never did ask him why he was hashing there, but he was.

Every Monday evening we had meetings at my sorority. We had to dress up, attend formal dinner and then go on to meetings. Kevin was serving and after they had cleared our plates, the gentlemen served us desert. I foiled Kevin's plan that evening by not enjoying a desert (times sure have changed!). He brought me out a rose and placed it on my plate. We ended up going over to the library the next evening and then to taco bell. Our real first date was the next Saturday.

He had made reservations at the nicest steak restaurant in Laramie and then we headed over to Cheyenne to see a movie, Silence of the Lambs. Okay, not the most romantic movie, but a real date none-the-less.

Also to update the team's success from last weekend.

They came in third. Yep- third in the nation!
Not too shabby!

Chewing, chewing, chewing

Everyone knows that puppies have sharp teeth and love to chew. But who knew all the different kinds of things that they would chew on...
rawhide
rope
hard plastic
balls
bones
wood
card board
chairs
stuffed animals
baby dolls
baby doll clothes
sippy cups
baby kitchen toys
socks
leather shoes
tennis shoes
sandels
flip flops
bath toys
books- hardbound or paperback
magazines- they aren't picky about their reading materials
pillows
and cement... yes cement.

This is a list of the many things that they have destroyed in the last 10 days or so. And yes, I do pick up my house. And yes, they do have their own chew toys. They seem to find things anyways, or the kids or husband leaves things out. I keep warning them, if you don't want something chewed up, don't leave it out!

So I was frightened to tell Bailey that her beloved "Fruit" had been taken over. I broke it to her in the car today, and when she arrived home, she immediately went to find him. I had already taken up the needle and thread to lessen the shocking blow.
Here is a picture of the new Fruit and no, he is not winking at you. He is less one eye.




King Max

Weekend trip

I was going into my senior year of high school when we got the news that my Air Force Dad was being transferred to Rapid City, South Dakota. We had been living in Fairfax, Virginia for six years, the longest I had lived any where and now, when I was in the most important year of my life (or so it seemed at the time), I was being uprooted and moved across the country.

In the next month, I met "the love of my life," or so it seemed at the time. Shannon was a sophomore at the Air Force Academy and he had his sights set upon being an Air Force fighter pilot just like my Dad. We loosely dated that year, and one of the many reasons that I chose my college was based on where he was and where my parents were. With him in Colorado Springs, and my parents in Rapid City, I decided to visit the University of Wyoming campus which was approximately half way to both parties.

My mom and I took that trip to the University and I was immediately impressed with the beautiful campus. The old buildings. The green pasture. The small town with a church, bar, bar, church on every block. Okay, I really didn't notice that part on that trip. So I decided that I would attend that University.

I applied, was accepted, and began my schooling that September. I still remember my mom dropping me off at school (without a car), driving home and then my dad deciding to retire and my family moved back East leaving me, the only Dill west of the Mississippi river.

Thanksgiving came and Shannon had invited me to join him and a group of others on a ski vacation in Beaver Creek. I happily said yes, and found my way down here. After a HORRIBLE long weekend, we broke up and I never saw him again.

Yep, two of the main reasons I was here were gone. I was out here all alone. Well, sort of alone.

One of the other reasons I even knew about UW was my friend Tempe from Virginia. She and I had decided that we were going to go to college together and she just knew that she was going to UW. Her parents had gone there and that is where she wanted to go. Sure enough, Temp had decided to go to UW and was there, but had joined a sorority. I was still a GDI and lived in the dorms. We didn't see each other much.

My sophomore year I decided to rush and did end up in the same sorority as her. She promptly became pregnant and dropped out of school.

Yep, I am all alone again.

Then I met Kevin and lived happily ever after.

So this weekend while I was there I wanted to show the kids around the campus so they could see where we had met. We were driving around and I was pointing out the classroom building, the Arts and Science building, the lab school where I did my student teaching, the library where we would go study or not, the restaurant where we had our first date (Taco Bell) and when we rounded the corner of Sorority/Fraternity row I was pointing out where Kevin lived and where I had lived. Bailey pipes up from the back seat a comment that promptly took us right back to the hotel.

"This is all so very interesting."

So much for history.

Turn around...

Thank you all for your support during that really tough day. You will be happy to know that just getting it out there and being aware of it myself has helped the situation. And, this weekend, I get a little break... from the puppies and the house.

As most of you know, Kevin is in Buffalo, NY for the National playoffs (U16 AAA hockey). So far they have won one game and lost one in a shoot out. Anyways, his parents called me yesterday and invited me and the kids up to Laramie WY for the weekend. Kevin dad is a locum tenz(?) doctor and he is scheduled to be in Laramie for a few days. They are staying at a hotel with an indoor pool and wanted to see the kids. I readily agreed. It will be great to get out of here, great to see Laramie again (I went to UW), and great to have fun with the kids.

I worried about what to do with the puppies, but then found someone (thanks, Demetria!) that was willing to come stay at my house with them. Then I had to worry about her staying here!!! ahhhhhhh... it's one thing for someone to see you house, and another when they are going to be staying for a few days!!! TIME TO CLEAN!

Smoke and mirrors later... hopefully she doesn't look too closely. =)

Some new creative work and some older ones newly found...

Today I am feeling down. I am sure that you could tell that by the last post. It's funny to me how these things come on. I guess it has been there for a while again, and I am just now noticing. I have been feeling run down, overwhelmed, just plain done in.

I noticed it last week when the kids were home, but I just thought it was because I was always on. I am tired of being in charge. I am tired of cleaning up after puppies. I am tired of always picking up. I am tired of turning around and seeing something else in my house that needs my attention and feeling like I am the only one that can or does take care of it. But I am also tired of feeling like this. I need to break this funk!!!

So today, I decided to try being creative. I pulled out the last lo that I was working on at the store on Saturday. I loved the way it looked and was ready to start journaling. I wanted to keep the monotone look and not break up the open space, so I decided to write with versamark. Now I don't like it. I have been using my own handwriting more often on my los and liking it, but this time it just didn't work. I needed straighter, cleaner lines. I may try printing out the journaling on the same color cardstock and laying it over it. We'll see.



Then I reached into my scrap bag and found a folder full of work that I had forgotten that I had done. I worked on most of these while out in Fort Morgan at Sweetwater House. Loved the paint work on the Rockies one! Reminded me to order those Heidi Swapp masks. But the pile also made me realize that I have a bad habit of starting a lo and not finishing it all the way. Especially if I am not at home when I am working on it. I had to add journaling and titles to several of these los. But the advantage to finding this pile was seeing that I really liked what I had done on most of them!

So here are some of the los that I found from earlier and some from Easter weekend when I was out in Fort Morgan again...









FYI... I finished working on the house album this weekend at the store. I think I like that too! I will take pictures of it soon. It is at the store right now.

And just so you know, it's not me that is expecting. The love birds are back and building their nest on my front door again.

Surprise!

What is it about new life that draws other new life to it?

Or is it just Springtime?

Like I don't have enough going on in my life right now! Seriously!