The Huff Family

Fishers Snowball Invitational Junior Champions

2012-01-30T11:07:00.000-06:00

This was by far the looonnnnggggeessttt and hardest dive meet we've ever had to endure. We had to be there at 8 a.m. for warm ups so we stayed Sat. night at a hotel so we could be at the meet in time. The kids warmed up until about 9:30 but Hayley didn't dive again until 2:30!!! By the time we were done it was almost 6:00. It was a looonng day and the kids were so tired by the time their final dive event. It wasn't that this meet was unorganized, it just didn't flow well. The first event at 10:00 a.m. was over 2 hours. Hayley placed 4th in the 3 meter event and 6th in the 1 meter event.

Thanks to ipods, ds games, Star Wars, Legos and pencils/paper Hayden was very well behaved and entertained the whole time!

Craziness. This shows you how big this whole meet was. After each event the workers would tape the scores on this wall. Hayley hasn't even had her event yet by the time these were all posted. It just shows you how big the event really was.

Hayden's Birthday!

2011-12-29T16:40:00.000-06:00

Hayden's beloved Millennium Falcon Star Wars Lego Creation. Finished on December 26th.

I need to put laundry away. Bad.

Hayden's Birthday morning.

Daddy is trying to eat his oatmeal for breakfast, Hayden is already hard at work on his Star Wars Shuttle

Hayden at his favorite restaurant, Logan's. Here he is in front of the peanut barrel before we sat down.

Hayley and Daddy.

Hayden colored the peanut car on the Logan's menu.

After dinner at Maggie Moo's for ice cream. We had the whole place to ourselves so we sang to Hayden. Here he is w/ cotton candy ice cream.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T21:28:00.000-06:00

Cookie Baking at Grandma's

Hayden with some kind of metal car thingy he found at Grandma's

Hayley did a lot of the rolling out with the cookie dough.

Frisk

Hayley plays a Christmas Eve concert for us.

Cookies, notes, beer, Diet Pepsi and pistachios for Santa.

Hayden had *just* woken up!

New Speedo Dive Bag.

Video Game

Grandma's House

More December FUN

2011-12-21T19:29:00.000-06:00

Dueling Laptops

A picture of a picture. Scanner wouldn't cooperate.

Hayley's fav cookie.

Woodland Lights in Centerville. It was a little rainy and of course some pics r blurry.

Run Run as fast as I can!

Santa's cabin. It was decorated sooooo cute!

Gingerbread house contest winners

After dive practice today Hayley's dive team went to a local cupcake shop. They make yummy cupcakes!! Hayden got this snowman one. I got the one you see behind Hayden. It is called Winter Wonderland cupcake. Just white cake with tinted buttercream frosting.

Cute little To Go box

Hayley's cupcake was called Birthday Bash. It is white cake with pink buttercream frosting and birthday sprinkles.

December Happenings

2011-12-18T18:53:00.000-06:00

We went to Town Hall Theatre in Centerville to see Frosty. It was cute. At the end of the show the actors do autograph signing and pictures.

Hayden got some autographs.

Hayden had his bday party (early) at Skate World again. The pictures didn't turn out the greatest because the lighting was dark. Here is Hayley and her friend Savannah.

Santa showed up on skates. The kids went crazy!

Hayden and some of his buddies.

The theme was of course Star Wars!

Some Random Pictures of our Sweet Frisky

2011-12-04T10:22:00.000-06:00

We call this pose "cat loaf".

Christmas cat... making himself at home under one of our Christmas Trees last year.

Frisky Loves Hayley!

Frisky loves to lay in the middle of the room with his family.

Playing with wild catnip.

Not Feelin It...

2011-11-28T17:59:00.000-06:00

I'm way behind on any kind of blog posts. I've posted a lot of pictures to facebook but here are some recent ones, too. We are bursting at the seams in the apt. Hayden has suddenly gotten into printing, scanning, copying, cutting, gluing and creating. All I do is follow him around with a trash can picking up bits of tape, paper scraps, scissors and glue. He is printing out printable transformer figures and cutting and taping them to make his own little army. He has collections of Star Wars images, lego creations and chain saw manuals! Between his nests and another holiday here at the apt, I'm just not feelin it. We decided to stay here another year (in July) by choice to save save save. But this pre-holiday just seems particularly blah. Whatevs...

We decided to make a tree since there is not enough room for a tree. Last year we didn't spend Christmas here so we didn't put stuff up then either. This year I (and Hayley) came up with the idea to draw a tree and decorate it. You can kind of see the outline I drew and colored in. The door this is on is our storage closet door in the living room.

Decorating the tree with stickers. I used peeling foam stickers from Oriental Trading. I have tons of this stuff in my classroom!

Hayden did the presents. Notice the present made out of fire duct tape? I figure Hayden will create and add something to the tree as the weeks go on.

Finished!

This was from a few weeks ago. Hayley participated in the Ohio Diving League meet at Canton. She won second place for 3 meter and third place for 1 meter.

ODL meets are lonnnggg and unpredictable and unorganized. I bought Hayden a ds game the day before. It was the best 20 bucks I've spent all year. He was very well behaved on the way up and back and during the meet.

I picked up this cute book at Amazon.com last year. It is a board book but also a lift the flap book. It has 25 animals, one animal for each day. Most of the animals are farm animals or woodland animals native to Ohio. I'm going to try it with my classroom this year. I also have this handy Playmobil Woodland Animal Advent set. This was Hayden's a few years ago and he agreed to let me borrow it and ~~helped me~~ set it up.

Some of these pieces are teeennny tiny. But I think the kids will enjoy playing with it and learning about woodland animals.

Huge bag of popcorn for $5.99 at KMart.

Bulldozer Santa at the annual Hometown Holidazzle Parade in Wilmington. This parade is always the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Halloween Fun

2011-10-31T18:45:00.000-05:00

Hayden and Hayley making pumpkin cookies a couple of weeks ago.

Me and my neighbor teacher on Friday at the Kindergarten Halloween Party.

Pumpkin Carving Night

Hayden's goblin pumpkin

Hayley's 2 ghosts

Hayley loves pistachios!

Hayden's other costume this year.... getting ready for the Screaming 5K Highway to Health

Fun with Frank

Hayden after school this morning using my Handwriting Without Tears blocks!

Tonight before Trick Or Treating. Hayley was too cool and went with a friend from school.

Too much!

Fall Campout 2011

2011-10-18T19:22:00.000-05:00

Frank....fun for the whole family.

Hayden raked leaves about 200 times.

The Graveyard. Campsite won First Place for "Scariest Campsite"!

Bloody Mary. She looked really scary at night with a red light shining on her.

2 pick up truckloads, 2 campers, 1 trailer and 4 cars were needed to decorate the campsite!

Hayley's Cowan Lake Raccoon painted pumpkin for the Pumpkin Decorating Contest. She won first prize in her age group! It kind of chipped during judging.

Cute little pumpkin made by a little boy in the youngest age category.

Hayden as Star Wars character Jango Fett

Hayley

The crew before trick or treating.

He loves me for my looks.

Pumpkin smashing on Sunday. The kids loved this! we smashed 3 pumpkins.

Hayden's Haunted Hollow Ride Creation

2011-09-25T10:08:00.000-05:00

Last night we did the Haunted Hollow Ride in Wilmington. Of course by 9 a.m. Hayden had already re created last night's events. Here is the website to the ride we went to. Haunted Hollow Ride

School bus w/ no top.

Scary props and abandoned sheds and houses.

Scary people jumping out of the props.

Scary people jumping on to the bus.

Airplane wreckage

Fire breathing semi trucks!

Fall Fun

2011-09-23T16:46:00.000-05:00

I was bored waiting for the dr. for Hayden's physical so I took some pictures since he looked cute in his paper gown.

We headed to Foy's Halloween in Fairborn. They have 4 stores total. It was an experience.

First Week of school

2011-09-05T15:55:00.000-05:00

Hayden at the campground this weekend.

This is a chalk drawing by Ben Glenn. He is a motivational speaker that came to our school for our yearly meeting opener. He discussed the difficulties and benefits of being Learning Disabled and having ADHD. He had some books and cd's available. Here is the finished picture he drew in front of us. I purchased a cd that shows him drawing this in front of a crowd at a different speaking engagement. Hayden and Hayley really liked watching the video. Here is his website: Ben Glenn

Hayden at his Open House the evening before school

Hayley on her First Day of Middle School!!!

Hayden on his First Day of Third Grade. Here he is in the a.m. in my classroom before catching the bus.

Day 6

2011-08-23T18:26:00.002-05:00

Click here to read about our Last Day at Disney World! Day 6

Day 5

2011-08-21T15:50:00.002-05:00

Read about Day 5 Here : Day 5

Day 4

2011-08-18T15:40:00.002-05:00

Click here to read about Day 4 : Day 4

Day 3

2011-08-17T07:56:00.002-05:00

Click here to read about Day 3 : Day 3

Day 2: Epcot

2011-08-16T08:03:00.002-05:00

Click here to read about our Epcot Day: Epcot

Day 1: Magic Kingdom

2011-08-15T10:42:00.001-05:00

Click here Day 1 Magic Kingdom to read about our first full day at Disney.

Night 1

2011-08-13T19:45:00.003-05:00

Click below to read a detailed account of our first night at Disney.

Click here to read: First Night at Disney

Home from Disney...

2011-08-13T08:43:00.000-05:00

We just got home...very late last night. Our flight was supposed to leave Orlando at 9 p.m. but was delayed. By the time we got home it was 1:30 a.m.! I took over 200 pictures so here are just a few until I can get them more organized. Plus my washing machine is calling.

Cox Arboretum ~ 2011

2011-07-26T09:51:00.000-05:00

Monarch Caterpillar

I love this picture. A lady pointed this out to me so I took several pictures of it.

Looking at the turtles.

Hayley receives her dive trophy for the dive season.

Park Fun

2011-07-18T14:57:00.000-05:00

McGee Park in Bellbrook.

Hayden chose where we went to lunch today since Hayley is out of town .

Fun sprayground park in Centerville.

Baby Brae loved the water.

Lots of Random Stuff...This and That

2011-07-09T10:26:00.000-05:00

4th of July @ the campground. Hayden makes smores w/ 2 chocolate chip cookies and a marshmallow.

Hayden and the banana bike.

Hayley loves sherbet from the little store.

Fishing. The kids don't enjoy fishing. I caught 2 baby catfish and Hayden caught a little bluegill.

RIP my van. Totaled by insurance co. Rip off!

My new car a Hyundai Santa Fe.

Hayley's 2011 SSA Diving Championships warm up. All of the coaches are lined up watching their divers warm up.

Hayley placed 5th!!

This and That

2011-06-29T10:02:00.000-05:00

Hayden's flag football trophy.

Hayden at the apartment pool.

Hayden playing with swimming noodles like an elephant trunk at Dick's Sporting Goods.

Playing Golf

Putting together Legos at the mall.

At a dive competition, doing a back dive.

Inward tuck dive

Hayden took this pic of me.

Hayley at a dive meet.

What Does $1000.00 Look Like?

2011-06-15T19:57:00.000-05:00

Also, this is my blog post # 200!!!!
I spent the final of my $1000.00 classroom donation today. I don't have pictures of those items because school is out and I won't receive the materials until August. They will be held in our school office. So here are the pictures of the items I ordered and received.

First shipment. Construction paper, stickers, markers, ink cartridges.

Second shipment: art caddies to hold student supplies, whiteboards and whiteboard markers.

My kids were SO EXCITED when I passed out the new markers.

Next shipment, large tubs with lids so I can use them to store monthly theme activities and games.

I ordered a coupon for live caterpillars and a life cycle set which I will redeem next school year so we will be able to watch the butterfly life cycle.

Art collage materials.

Looks messy but the kids love it.
I also ordered some floor puzzles, bead games and stamps with my final order. I was able to purchase so many consumable and non-consumable items and spread out the money to help me in all areas of my classroom, not just "technology" or "art supplies".

2011-06-04T21:09:00.000-05:00

Hayley's Social Studies teacher had the class make chalk pictures of different scenes of American History. They were really good! Here are just a few of probably 100 or so different drawings.

That's Hayley next to the start of the artwork display. It says 5th Grade Sidewalk Art 2011. The kids used regular sidewalk chalk.

Hayley standing on her piece of artwork, The Liberty Bell.

Hayden's last flag football tournament was today. He and his teammates all got trophies.

Yay! Blog Award

2011-05-30T19:21:00.002-05:00

Check out this link. My Kindergarten Blog is listed as one of the 50 most fascinating Kindergarten blogs in blog world. Whoo hoo!
http://www.californiateachingcredential.org/kindergarten-teachers

What the Hail?

2011-05-26T16:13:00.000-05:00

Last night was the closest I ever want to be to a tornado. And there was a tornado in the neighborhood, about a mile away. We didn't get the wind damage, we got major hail damage. Again, these pictures are out of order. Hayden is holding hail balls that fell for about 5 min. around 7:15 last night. These are actually a little smaller because they melted but we had apple sized hail fall. Our complex and the two streets over were the hardest hit. Every car in the complex has cracked windshields or completely blown out windows in their cars. Some apartments even had windows break from the hail. Out of our three cars, two have cracked windshields and the oldest car just has dents. Jason thinks my car will be 'totaled' by the insurance.

When my kids came into school this morning, everyone had a story to tell. Some of the kids were really traumatized by the storm, the loudness of the hail hitting and the damage their homes have. Of course we get a thunderstorm in the afternoon and a few kids were really upset. Here is some of the artwork from today. I let each child tell a story about their evening then I let them draw what they wanted to.

This little boy told me his dad got hit in the head with a hail stone as he was trying to move their car.

My front windshield.

Chips of siding are all over the grass as the hail chipped off chunks of vinyl siding.

Every single lamp post in the complex has a busted globe.

Craters in the grass from the hail hitting.

hail next to a quarter.

Resorts and Choices

2011-05-20T18:29:00.001-05:00

We are staying at the Contemporary Inn Resort at Disney. I opted to be ‘in the bubble’ for our week long stay. I’ve been warned, though, that we could experience PDD (Post Disney Depression) after leaving! There are 4 different resort types at Disney….Value (Days Inn-like), Moderate (nice Holiday Inn or Hilton or Marriott-like), Deluxe (probably the nicest hotel I’ll ever be in or maybe as nice as the one I was in on my honeymoon) and Deluxe Villas which are larger suite like hotel rooms with bedrooms and kitchens for large families or people who may end up spending more time in their hotels for meals and such. The Contemporary is considered a “Deluxe” hotel. Now normally we would never ever splurge on something like an over priced Disney vacation. Like I said, I’ve priced this vacation out over 100 different ways taking into account all the extras. The value resorts just didn’t look like ‘fun’ to me. Their décor/themes are kind of kooky and the locations of those resorts seem to be on the ‘outer rim’ of Disney or at least a bit away from all the fun and happenings. They seemed kind of generic and I couldn’t help thinking we would be wishing the whole week we were staying in the fun zone instead of the armpit zone. The moderate priced resorts are very nice. They are all themed (beach club, New Orleans, African Animals) but a lot of them were sold out. We really wanted 2 queen sized beds with a daybed. The moderate resorts only offered queen beds or double beds?? Weird. Especially since you are paying a good chunk for the moderate resort. Also, there are not many moderate resorts to choose from. There are definitely way more Deluxe resorts! Disney was offering 30% off Deluxe and Deluxe Villa packages if you go in June/July/Aug. If we did stay in the moderate resorts it would have been cheaper but not much. Deluxe Villas are ultra expensive and offered a lot of amenities we probably wouldn’t use like a full kitchen and office area. Especially since WIFI is an extra charge I doubt we’d be firing up the laptop much. The Contemporary seemed to have cool features that I really liked…kind of retro looking, the monorail running through the hotel (enough said!) ,location…a walk to Magic Kingdom and it offered 2 queen beds and a daybed. Another decision you have to make no matter what resort you are staying at is view….garden view, pool/water view, parking lot view, forest view, crappy ass view, no view, short walk to the shuttle service, close to the lobby, pirate themed room with a pirate ship bed, inflatable castle bed with tiara, north section, west section, walk 10 miles to a restaurant section, different zip code section. Of course the better the view the higher the price but a lot of advice I read said to stay away from pool views b/c they are loud with screaming children. Advice for the Contemporary suggested staying higher up because the monorail can be loud and heard from lower level floors. You don’t really get to choose your floor but you can ask for a ‘section’ or view. When I looked into booking the Contemporary there was only one option. Odd. It wasn’t for the garden view, crap ass view or pool view. No optional monorail shaking room or port a john view. The only option available was **Tower Level overlooking the Magic Kingdom and Cinderella’s Castle**. This means high up away from the monorail, prime seating for nightly Magic Kingdom fireworks and pretty kick ass view overall, especially at night. Normally this type of room would have been over $500.00 a night. I even called to double check we would have a daybed with 2 queen beds and the lady from the Contemporary knocked down the nightly rate even more. And told me to “have a magical day”. As I said before, I tried pricing this vacation out a million ways and to try and stick to a moderate budget. We did end up going over my proposed Disney budget but between the high end resort, meal plan, airplane tickets and park tickets I do feel like we are getting a decent “Disney” deal. I’ll have to analyze everything after we return and write a review of our experiences. Oh, another tip….unless you are going with adults only or older teenagers I would not recommend purchasing the Park Hopper tickets. The expense for those can add up. We purchased 4 tickets per person for a 4 day period. That means during our stay we can do all four parks, or Epcot for 4 days or 2 days at Animal Kingdom and 2 at Hollywood Studios, etc. Unless you crave stress and hysteria, why would you try and do more than one park in one day? And when making food reservations, don’t reserve a restaurant at Epcot if you end up going to Magic Kingdom that day. Because if you don’t have the Park Hopper option, you won’t be getting in Epcot that day. Our plan is to do Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, a day off, Epcot then decide to do Animal Kingdom or return to one of the three parks. I predict we will return to Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios. After “Doing Disney” I’ll have a much better perspective to offer advice.

Plan Plan Plan

2011-05-18T18:57:00.000-05:00

I told one of my friends I am planning a trip to Disney for the summer and she answers, "THIS summer?" I guess the average planning period for a Disney vacation is 6-12 months. Who knew? She did the on resort, meal package, everything for one price package and told me I'd better start making restaurant reservations asap. At Disney there are 3 meal plans. "Quick Dining" which is also called "Counter Service" which are deli/fast food type places but when you look at their menus and prices it doesn't look like crap fried fast food junk...at least not all of the ones I've looked at. Then you have "Dining Plan" which is a mix of "Counter Service" and "Table Service". The Table Service restaurants are the ones you need reservations for. These are a lot more pricey with most meals averaging 20.00 or more. However, drinks (not alcohol) and dessert is included. You get 1 Counter Meal and 1 Table Service Meal per person per day on this plan. Then there is the DELUXE no holds barred, load em up, go all out meal plan. This plan is 3 Table Service meals plus booze and "signature dining". Signature Dining are Disney's few 5 star restaurants located throughout the resort and parks. You can do Signature Dining on the mid priced "Dining Plan" but you have to use two of your table service meals per person instead of one because the quality of the meal is much higher. I can't imagine eating three huge meals a day like that so I chose the mid priced "Dining Plan". Per day per person we get: 1 quick meal, 1 table service meal and 1 snack. You can use as many of these 'credits' per day that you want but eventually you will run out by the end of the week if you go over your budget. However, there is one day I reserved us for 2 Table Service meals in 1 day so we will have to make up for that on another day. The books and websites strongly recommend reservations because the Disney dining plans are so popular and the restaurants are so cool (themed) people want to get their money's worth. I already made 6 reservations (mostly lunch and dinners) for our stay. 1 of them is in Hollywood Studios and it is called the "Dine In Theater" and you sit in a car with a counter for your food and watch Disney movies while you eat. Another one at Hollywood Studios is a 50's style diner and your booth is decorated like a mini kitchen...retro of course. My kids didn't seem interested in dining at Cinderella's castle but that is another popular one. So I followed my friend's advice and started making reservations. I'm still working on one for Planet Hollywood at Downtown Disney. They are booked through September so I'm on the wait list! I haven't decided about Epcot either because there are soooo many good choices. We are eating at the Fort Wilderness Campground one night which is Disney's RV/Camping resort. After a buffet meal of ribs, steaks, chicken and beans we will be able to walk around the campground and check out all the campers!!!

More Thoughts on Disney....

2011-05-17T18:41:00.001-05:00

See earlier post from below. More things I've learned from trying to book our vacation (we haven't even gotten there yet!)
7. Consider buying one of those "unofficial guides" book. A current one. I borrowed a couple from the library but even the 2009 edition wasn't current enough. I'm thinking about buying the Birnbaum Disney book. On Amazon it is about 9 bucks and small enough to fit in a small bag if I decide to take it into the parks. It has also been helpful when I need more information about a specific resort or attraction and I can't find what I'm looking for on the website.
8. Disney Vacation website is very good and very thorough but at times is not user friendly. When you hit the 'back' button at times it will take you back to the beginning of the website instead of the page you were on. This has probably been the most time consuming of the whole process.
9. IF what I can decipher from the Disney website, WIFI is not free/available at Disney resorts? I will have to have Jason look into this more b/c even at the crappiest hotels we've stayed at over the years WIFI is offered. Disney mentioned something about an 'additional charge' and if so, shame on you Disney! If I am paying xxx for the resort room WIFI should be included. On vacation I don't need to get on facebook and update every 10 min. but if I need to check the status of our flight or a reservation we made at a restaurant I should be able to. Jason thinks he can get something through his Iphone but it will cost us 20.00. If Disney sells Iphone apps, downloadable maps and interactive checklists they should offer WIFI while you are staying with them! Some resorts charge for a mini fridge, too. Come on!
10. GardenGrocers is a grocery store in Orlando that offers grocery delivery to your room. You get online, order what foods you want and they will deliver them to your door. I'm considering this. I checked it out online and the average price is $1.00 to $1.50 higher than what you'd pay at your local grocery BUT with the cost of vending machines, bottled drinks and food at the park it might be worth it. Our room comes w/ a fridge so I'm thinking of ordering bottled water, Diet Pepsi, CapriSun, apples, granola bars, etc. Especially since my son LOOVEESS to snack and is starving first thing in the morning. Instead of using a 'snack' credit for a bagel and oj the kids can have a granola bar, juice box and/or apple for a quick breakfast in the room. More Later.....

Going to Disney!

2011-05-17T14:21:00.000-05:00

We I decided to plan a summer vacation to Disney World. Probably should have started planning earlier. We are going towards the end of summer. Busy time. Hot time. Some of the resorts were sold out. Not a good sign. If we are ever going to do Disney w/ the kids this is the best time to do it. Next year we'll be in a house of some sort (I hope) and 'extras' like vacations won't be happening. Hayden is excited b/c there is an attraction at Hollywood Studios called Star Tours which is based on Star Wars, same characters, etc. Hayley is excited to go to "Florida" and actually see all the icons of Disney like the Epcot Ball and Cinderella's Castle and such. I've been to Disney twice. Once when I was 10 or 11 or 12 with my Grandparents. At that time there were only 2 parks (I think)...Epcot and Magic Kingdom. I went again in High School w/ the band but don't remember anything b/c we spent just a few hours at each park. So far I have spent close to 20 hours on the computer planning this trip. No lie. And it's not over yet. Things I've learned so far:
1. The first thing you have to decide when doing a Disney vacation is staying in our out of the bubble. Staying in the bubble is expensive but has more perks.
2. The meal plan (so far) seems like a good deal but you have to stay in the bubble to get it.
3. Tickets into the parks are not heavily discounted at all no matter where you look for them. 95% of the time you will end up buying your park tickets from Disney.
4. I've tried working out the vacation packages 100 different ways. Even with a huge teacher discount at an 'offsite' hotel and no meal plan the difference was less than 1000.00.
5. Airfare prices to Disney/with Disney were consistently the same or cheaper everytime.
6. I don't know how anyone books one of these things w/o a computer. Everything from our room choice, meal choices, restaurant reservations, airline tickets....all have been booked through my computer. Jason thinks he could have gotten it cheaper by calling a travel agency. Snort! Imagine making this decision through a travel agent w/o being able to 'see' what the hell they are talking about: "would you like 3 full days at a park with complimentary refillable mug and special edition cake and 15% off a meal at any Boardwalk Disney restaurant for xxxx dollars" OR "4.5 days at a park with keepsake autograph book, free breakfast rolls, 3 hours rental car and 20% off any swimsuit of your choice under $50.00 for xxxx dollars"? I say no to both, travel lady, try again! More later.....

2011-05-16T20:24:00.000-05:00

Last Dive Meet of the Season

2011-05-16T13:24:00.000-05:00

We stayed here http://www.quakersquareakron.com/ for Hayley's final dive meet at Akron University. The hotel was charming in a weird way.

We called the front desk for a rollaway bed thinking it would be a cot folded in half on wheels or something. The guy from the front desk wheeled it in Hannibal Lecter style so we decided Hayden would be the best one to sleep in it.

Legos go everywhere.

Jason eating Quaker Oats for breakfast at the Quaker Square Inn.

Not sure what this was, some kind of kid train display in the hotel but Hayden liked it.

The university had a 6 meter platform dive. Hayley has never been on one so after her warm ups her coach had her try it out.

Placing 7th in 1 meter.

Placing 1st in 3 meter.

Hayden gets a C+ for behavior for the weekend.

Easter Stuff

2011-04-30T08:43:00.000-05:00

I forgot to take pictures of Easter Baskets. Hayley got some shirts and candy. Hayden, of course, got Legos.

Hayley measuring the vinegar to dye eggs.

I don't know why all of the pictures are out of order. I'm having a hard time figuring out picasa when I import pictures. No time to figure it out now.

2011-04-22T12:06:00.002-05:00

Hayden has been reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.

A new family moved in next door....

Yay! Official Master Teacher recognition letter.

Declan Turns 2!

2011-04-16T20:54:00.000-05:00

Hayden and Marin enjoying pizza at Entertrainment Junction.

Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday!

Chillin w/ my Gnomies.

Cute display of miniature drive in.

Flea market display.

Camping scene.

Dairy Shed

2011-04-10T19:43:00.000-05:00

Our favorite ice cream place in Bellbrook.

HUGE NEWS

2011-04-03T09:43:00.001-05:00

I am registered with Adopt A Classroom and I received an anonymous donation of $1000.00!!!! I am so excited. I NEED so many things for my classroom, not just cutesy stuff, I need real supplies. We get money for supplies each year and next year our allowance is only $50.00...to provide supplies for 20 children for an entire year. I can't wait to stock up!!!!
** see below for some Spring Break pics.

Spring Break Fun

2011-04-03T09:38:00.000-05:00

Hayley at Dorothy Lane Market in front of wedding cake displays.

Mmmmm so many choices at the Dorothy Lane Market bakery.

Jason gives Hayley a mani.

Hayden at IKEA. He helped me measure and keep track of 'wish list' items for our new house.

Hayley wants this for her bedroom.

Hayden trying hard to keep track of my list.

Eating a snack at the IKEA cafeteria.

Build-A-Ripoff

2011-03-28T19:58:00.001-05:00

The one thing Hayden and Hayley asked to do over Spring Break this week was to go to the mall and to Build A ~~Ripoff~~ Bear. So we were able to both in one day. Earlier pictures from the week:

Hayden (needs a haircut) and his Science Fair project....How Materials Dissolve in Water.

Hayley has been interested in calligraphy.

Hayley @ lunch today.

Hayden (got a haircut!!) at Build A ~~Debt~~ Bear

Hayley's Bear completed.

Hayden's C3PO bear completed.

Misc.

2011-03-18T18:30:00.000-05:00

I'm drawing a blank to write anything witty or interesting. I have a ton of school pictures but not much home ones. Hayley dodges the camera. Hayden took several of these pics, he is into photography lately.

"Baking" for Hayley's bake sale. This is how working moms do it.

Out of the Mrs. Field's wrapped package and into a ziplock bag. Looks homemade to me.

Remind me not to do this next year. While the kids at school were out for recess a leprechaun ran across the table and left footprints. Out of control behavior for the rest of the day and 2 kids cried b/c they were 'scared'.

Hayley's Birthday

2011-03-13T18:36:00.000-05:00

Birthday morning, opening up some gifts.

Hayley wanted a new pair of shoes for a gift....this took a while!

carry out from City Barbeque, Hayley's favorite food.

Hayley brings a friend to Grandma and Grandpa's.

Laughing at something?

Hayley and Grandma

Hayley and Mia

Mmmm fudge cake from Kroger's.

Hayden (needs a haircut) enjoys some cake, too.

Next Up...Hayley's Birthday

2011-03-10T21:00:00.000-06:00

At school, we are having an art show. Each child had one piece of artwork selected for display. This is Hayden's. It is called "Monster Trucks".

Hayden is becoming a good little photographer! This was this morning before school. The calm before the storm.

Green Eggs and Ham snack in honor of Dr. Seuss. His birthday is March 3. I used two strawberry wafer cookies for the ham. Two vanilla wafers w/ white frosting for the eggs and two green skittles for the yolks. Ingenious!!! The kids loved them and sooooo much easier than cooking scrambled eggs w/ green food coloring. Tomorrow is Hayley's Birthday so I'll have more to share in a day or two.

Hayden's Legos

2011-03-03T18:40:00.000-06:00

Hayden makes his own board game. A basketball court with players and everything.

Hayley loves her kitty.

Hayden built and took these pictures himself.

Hayden took a picture of me at school this morning.

Hayden took a picture of himself this morning. Close up on the nostrils.

Nothing New

2011-02-19T13:09:00.000-06:00

Nothing interesting or new to report. The snow has all finally melted and FINALLY we've had outdoor recess. I've been updating my Kindergarten blog a lot so check it out.
Hayley has not had a dive meet, just practice and I think her next one is in March or April. Hayden is his usual self, working hard in school. He tries hard and his teachers like him. He is starting his Science Fair project this week. His project is "What Will or Will Not Dissolve in Water". So we are using things like salt, pepper, flour, sugar, etc.
Everyone is school is up in arms about Senate Bill 5 in Ohio. It is complicated but restricts union support, eliminates tenure, raises the amount of insurance teachers pay out of pocket and lowers the amount of retirement our district pays towards teacher retirement. I get 4 or 5 emails a day from our union and affiliates. Here is a snapshot of what Senate Bill 5 in Ohio is about and there is much more information out there. It is more than just "teacher unions losing control over school districts".
http://www.ohea.org/GD/Templates/Pages/OEA/OEADetail.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=102&Content=20079

More Inside Fun from the Ice Storm

2011-02-05T16:04:00.000-06:00

Hayden asked on our second day off "Mom what are we going to bake today?" So we made heart roll out cookies. Hayley wasn't interested in this cooking project.

Making a fort with all the couch cushions.

Ice Storm Day Part 2

2011-02-02T08:24:00.000-06:00

Last night was kind of scary. Ice accumulated all over the power lines and a few times our power went in and out. Luckily we did not lose power but over 55,000 people in this area did and some are still w/o power. I did a couple of loads of laundry, ran the dishwasher and we all got showers just in case. School was called off around 9:00 last night. Everything was encased in ice; cars, power lines, sidewalks, trees. Jason said he thought he saw lightning but I think it was power lines falling and exploding or something. I woke up around 2:00 a.m. and heard what I thought was thunder or the sound a garbage truck makes when it is emptying a dumpster. It was tree branches falling because of the wind. Ice + wind = a mess. The branches were hitting the ground and the roof of the apartments. We have had wind gusts 40mph +. We are under a level 2 emergency which means do not leave your house unless you have to which we don't. I think we will make heart shaped cookies and most likely will have school tomorrow. Even though we got a ton of ice last night and it is windy, the ROAD conditions look pretty good but the trees, cars and power lines are a mess. Happy Groundhog's Day!

Buckeye Chuck comes out of his burrow to say....WTF?

Ice Storm Day Part 1

2011-02-01T13:47:00.000-06:00

There could be an ice storm day Part 2 tomorrow!

Hayden making cupcakes with me this morning. Yellow cake w/ vanilla frosting and sprinkles on top.

Ice on the bushes next to our patio.

Solid ice. I went outside to scrape ice to try and get off the first layer before we get the next round. I don't know if that is effective or not but it got me out of the house for a half hour.

We have at least a quarter inch with another half inch possibly expected today/tonight. I just finished all the laundry and updated my blogs in case we lose power. Getting ready to make an amazon.com purchase, too!! If we are off tomorrow I promised the kids we would make heart roll out sugar cookies.

Hayley at the Indianapolis Children's Museum

2011-01-31T20:28:00.000-06:00

Had a hard time getting all of these pictures loaded so I had to break our pictures up into three posts so scroll down for pictures of Hayden and Hayley's dive meet. These are pictures from the Indianapolis Children's Museum. We went there on Sunday. Hayley's dive meet was most of the day Saturday.

This was a display of glass in the ceiling. They had a rotating couch
to lay on and look up at the glass work.

Hayley working at an open market exhibit.

The current exhibit was all about Barbie. It was really neat to
see all of the Barbies through the years. This was Hayden's favorite. Camping
Barbie and Ken.

Hayley participated in a Barbie fashion design demonstration.

This was a replica design of the Secret Annex Anne Frank and her family
lived in while they were in hiding. This is the kitchen area.

This was a replica of the classroom Ruby Bridges was educated in
during her first year of school. She was allowed into the all white school
but was schooled in a room all by herself. There was a vent on the side
that had a recording of children's voices and Ruby would
hear the children (through the vent) eating in the cafeteria.
She had to eat by herself in the classroom and had separate recess.

This was one of my favorite things I saw at the museum. It is a
dollhouse that was used in a Kindergarten classroom years ago. I love
how huge it is and how simple it is for the kids to create their own play.

There was an area of the museum that had miniature replicas of houses, coffee
houses, ice cream parlors, etc. Here is Hayley serving ice cream.

Hayden at the Indianapolis Children's Museum

2011-01-31T20:08:00.000-06:00

Doing an archeological dig.

Playing w/ Dinosaurs.

Riding a donkey.

Driving a kuk kuk which is some kind of car/golf cart thing.

Sewing a jacket for Ken at the Barbie exhibit.

Hayden was Sir Mix A Lot at the Barbie Fashion show.

A real Indy 500 race car.

Riding on the merry go round.

Some kind of mutant potato head game.

Hayden immediately notices this rig in the antique toys display.

water play.

Digging.

Hayley's Dive Meet ~ Indianapolis

2011-01-31T19:45:00.000-06:00

Warm Ups

This is a HIGH SCHOOL pool. Crazy how big and nice and new it is.

First dive.

There was a lot of waiting so Hayden drew a crab
boat from Deadliest Catch.

Second Place in 1 meter dives for girls 11 and under.

Lots of Stuff

2011-01-21T09:39:00.000-06:00

Hayley helps make a cake on her day off. Yellow cake w/ chocolate
frosting and candy sprinkles.

Hayden at the RV show.

Driving a big Class A rig.

Hayley standing next to the green weenie model. She wouldn't stand
next to the Terry Bradshaw cardboard cutout guy.

Inside the Presidential Class C complete w/ fireplace.

Kids room.

Bounce House.

Boonshoft Museum on MLK Day

Cool display of owls native to Ohio.

Making pizza

Grocery shopping

No idea what this is. Some kind of pizza delivery
truck from Cassanos that looks like a scary clown?

This is inside the Mead Paper Co. treehouse. Hayley saw some
deer and we saw many birds and squirrels.

Cute and playful otters. All of the animal pictures are
taken through glass so they aren't as clear but I
got some good pictures.

Capybara. Giant Guinea Pig Rodent.

Ivy the Groundhog.

The newest exhibit includes meerkats.

Python

It yawned right when i took this!

View of the bus drop off right outside my classroom window.
We had lots of steady, pretty snow yesterday.

2011-01-14T21:22:00.001-06:00

Good things about living in an apartment/bad things about living in an apartment.
Good~ not much to clean. Bad~ clutter quickly and easily gets out of control.
Good ~ close to EVERYTHING. Bad ~ "I just need to run to Kroger real quick." "I'll just pick up something for dinner." "Oh hell with it, let's just run to.....Donatos OR Wendys OR Panera OR Penn Station".
Good ~ someone shovels our steps and sidewalk for us. Bad ~ we have to wait until that person comes around and shovels.
Good ~ a private company keeps the parking lot free of snow. Bad~ they plow behind the cars, not between or next to.
Good~ close to my work. Bad ~ Hayley getting fed up and threatening to walk home after school one day.
Good ~ hardly ever go to the gas station. Bad ~ Gas prices are high again!
Good ~ we were able to bring our cat with us. Bad ~ there is not a good place for his litter box.
Good ~ kids have the whole upstairs to themselves. Bad~ how many times do I have to say , "shhhh we have neighbors and they can HEAR you right now".
Good ~ when my kids don't go running up and down the stairs. Bad ~ when the neighbor kids run up and down their stairs after my kids have gone to bed.
Good ~ we are saving a lot of money. Bad~ Hayden really misses having a yard to play in.
Good ~ we have a pool and 2 white squirrels that visit regularly! Bad~ nasty ass geese!
Good ~ I love having the laundry room right near our bedroom. Bad ~ my dryer has just about had it!
Good ~ I know this is only temporary. Bad ~ nervous about having a mortgage again.
Good ~ no neighborhood kids knocking on the door. Bad ~ Hayley and Hayden get bored more often.
Good ~ Hayden spills syrup on the carpet and I don't really care. Bad ~ we have a little ant situation.
Good ~ it is very clean and a quiet community here. Bad ~ getting a notice (on November 1) that our front porch was unsightly b/c of the carved pumpkins. It is a fall decoration for cripe's sake!
Good ~ Hayden entertains himself outside pretty well. Bad ~ the maintenance people asked me one day, "Is this your kid" as he was 'helping' them shovel and asked for a ride on their maintenance golf cart.
Good ~ Jason knows I am less stressed about all the running around I don't have to do anymore. Bad ~ doesn't understand why I sometimes come home from work and collapse on the couch. **Herd 20 kittens down a busy street and teach them how to read then ask me.
Last one:
Good ~ we are getting closer to starting construction on our home we hope!!!! Bad~ the doors on my van freeze up almost every single DAY!!!!

New Year's Eve

2011-01-09T09:27:00.000-06:00

mmmm ribs!

Playing games on New Year's Eve.
Sorry Sliders.

Apples to Apples

Eating ice cream and watching movies.

Our Mountain Dew Midnight Toast.

Hayden bought a rock and roll guitar
with his money from Great Grandma Bowman.

Hayden's BDay!!

2010-12-30T16:46:00.001-06:00

Hayden makes a craft at the library on his bday.

Eating at Hayden's favorite restaurant,
BD Mongolian Grill at The Greene.

They gave Hayden a funny hat to wear.

Hayley enjoys some of Hayden's bday treat.

Present time!

Jason is the Lego Master.

2010-12-28T11:35:00.000-06:00

Jason's quail for Christmas Eve.

Scallops wrapped in bacon.

Grandma reads "The Night Before Christmas".

Before bed. New PJ's.

I don't know why we did this but we
had the kids play fight before bed. Kind of funny though.

Christmas morning!

Hayley laughs at the Narwal book Grandma gave them.

Jason enjoying Hayden's Legos.

This is pretty much what Hayden did all day long!

Woodland Lights ~ 2010

2010-12-23T16:58:00.000-06:00

Last batch of cookie making. Roll outs are my fav.

Woodland Lights

Hayden going down the ice slide.

Hayden riding the creepy Santa ride.

The Twister.

Hayley feels she is too old for some of these
rides. This was the only one she rode.

Hayley and the baby moose.

Kind of fuzzy I had a hard time focusing the
camera. This is a bobcat native to Ohio.

I think this is cruel. I tell myself that these deer
live on a nice farm somewhere and can run
and roam and the guy who owns them
just puts the deer in cages once a year
for extra money to run his reindeer farm.

Hayden and the Keebler elves.

Gingerbread house displays.

Hayden finished the Lego advent calendar a day early.

I told Hayden he could play w/ all the Lego figures
after we completed the advent.

Calm before the storm....

2010-12-22T11:24:00.000-06:00

The first days of winter break have been very calm and uneventful. I've been doing a lot of sewing and reading. Obsessively sewing because of that d@mn felt cornucopia I made in November. Now I'm on to finger puppets, hand puppets, story book characters, etc. Hayley has been reading a lot and has two hour daily dive practices. Hayden has been alternating between lego creations, the tv and being outside and making crafts. His latest is Santa's workshop made from a kleenex box, paper and watercolor paint. Oh and he made another christmas list this morning. Jason has been watching tv and we've all been watching movies. Today I'm breaking down and making another batch of the sugar cookie roll outs. The last batch was iffy and I gave most of those away or Hayden ate them. I love roll outs and I only make them one time a year. Unfortunately, Hayden has a cough and a slight temp. Jason says he doesn't feel well and I just don't want sick people for christmas. I have a couple of tiny errands between now and the 24th then the blow out begins. We would like to go to Woodland Lights tonight or tomorrow night but it is going to depend on how everyone feels. Hayley is pining for Ugg Boots this Christmas. I'm sick of hearing about Ugg Boots. Jason decided to do his Christmas shopping online yesterday and although he won't tell me I'm sure he spent a ton on shipping! We are supposed to get a Christmas Eve snowstorm and I'm watching the local news right now for a weather update. It won't slow us down any but it would be fun to have a lot of snow for Christmas. After the holidays are over we have got to sit down and figure ourselves out with this apartment life. We feel so lucky that our house sold. There are several houses in our old neighborhood in foreclosure and a few are listed well below what our house sold for. So we are lucky but after the Christmas present puke we will be even more tight on space here. My next post will be Woodland Lights or Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. I hope we can make it to Woodland Lights because Hayden has been asking to go since Thanksgiving!

Hayden's early Birthday Party at SkateWorld

2010-12-18T19:09:00.000-06:00

Hayden at his classroom Christmas party.

Hayley and Natalie BFF's at Hayden's party.

Hayden and his bud Dominic.

Hayden is in the middle w/ the birthday Panda bear.

Christmas Fun

2010-12-04T20:28:00.000-06:00

Had trouble formatting again and getting the pictures in the right order! We spent the day at Grandma and Pappaw's. The kids got to make some Christmas goodies and help w/ the Christmas tree which is good for them because we aren't putting one up again this year! Last year we spent the holidays in NH and this year we just don't have the space living in the apartment and all of our stuff is in storage, I wouldn't even know where to begin. We do have a Lego advent calendar and stockings for the kids!

Christmas Bingo.....whoot!

Hayden's dream treat....cereal, melted white chocolate, peanuts and sprinkles.

It's the holidays and we're all in misery.

Making Hayley's treat....peanut butter cookies w/ a mini Reese cup in the middle.

One of Ramona's ornaments.

We had about 2 inches of snow today (less than that at the time of this picture). Hayden was convinced he needed to go sledding so Jason hooked him up to the gator for sledding fun. Hayden wanted to make sure we brought both sleds in case 'the bottom wears out' of one!

Hayden being a helper.

I have far less pictures of Hayley, she runs from me when I have the camera out. Hayden will still pose and smile for me!

He lives in our complex!

2010-12-04T09:22:00.000-06:00

Christmas Stuff

2010-12-01T15:41:00.000-06:00

First snow of December.Hayden is dressed and ready to go!

Making Christmas cookies.

Writing a letter to Santa @ the Mall.

Hayden gets his pic taken w/ Santa. The kids get reindeer hats at the Mall.

2010-11-28T17:26:00.000-06:00

Daddy and Hayden slugging and watching football.

Mommy's little Pilgrim.

Hayden helps me sew these little stuffed Corduroy Bears. I made them for my classroom kids for Christmas presents.

2010-11-20T20:39:00.000-06:00

Hayley gets her ear pierced.

Just before, she was scared.

Hayden made the cutest project at school. It is a Native American village made out of clay, pipe cleaners and feathers.
\

He made trees, a campfire, nest with eggs, hut and plants.

Hayley's First Ohio Dive Meet

2010-11-15T10:06:00.000-06:00

Had a hard time with formatting the pictures in the correct order, but here goes:

Hayley had her first Ohio Diving League http://temp.akronrippersorg.officelive.com/ODL.aspx

meet on Sunday. It was near Cleveland at John Carroll University. Quite a drive. Hayden stayed w/ Grandma for obvious reasons! Hayley is also a member of AAU (Amateur Athletics Union) http://diveaau.org/ which is required of all divers affiliated with a swim club/recreation center that competes in ODL sponsored dive competitions. We left the house at 6:50 a.m. and returned at 9:00 p.m. It was a loooonnnnnggg day. The pool at John Carroll is smaller than I thought. You can tell by the picture below that they have 2 low diving boards and 1 high. At times there were kids jumping and flipping off all three boards! Talk about chaos! Hayley started diving around 12:30 and again around 3:00. Some of the older kids hadn't even started diving when we left around 4:30! For her age/level group Hayley scored 6th on low dive and 3rd on high dive!

The yellow medal is for low dive, the blue is for high dive.

Back dive off the low board.

This one is tricky because you have to go off the high dive, touch your knees and land in the water toes first, arms to the side. No flailing, legs apart or legs bent. I think this is the dive that Hayley got her highest score on.

Favorite November Things

2010-11-02T15:38:00.000-05:00

My mom has this plastic turkey figurine she got from Hallmark I think. She has the pilgrim boy and girl, too. She gets them out every Thanksgiving.

Mmmm cornbread.

My kids in my classroom (and Hayden) play with these little plastic figures.

Little boy and girl Pilgrim

Wooden cabin with Native American/Pilgrim figures. My kids play with this too.

I love all books written/illustrated by Gail Gibbons. I read this one to my class every year and we do some Indian Corn art projects.

Pilgrim figures

Cute Little Chipmunk.

Colored popcorn kernels.

I make copies from this coloring book and send the book home w/ a different student each night. They color a page and home and return to school the next day.