Patience

A bracelet made a given to me by one of my 5th graders. They sure can be sweet.

Patience is accepting a difficult situation without giving a deadline to remove it.

I will change the things I can change and accept the things I can't.
I will make the most of my spare time.
I will keep trying until I succeed.
I will not interrupt.
I will not complain if I don't get my way.

This is what the kids are learning in school this month. The character trait of patience. All month long I've kept thinking that there is something here I need to be learning. We learn a new character trait every month at school, but this one hits home. I'm going to become a more patient person. I need to be a better mother, teacher, and friend.

a couple of crazy girls on the town...

So my 35th birthday is today. CRAZY!! I have the best friend ever who wanted to do something for me for my birthday this year. She recently moved back to town...whoo-hoo!!...and asked me if I had any hot dates planned for my birthday. After laughing hysterically I told her no and she told me that she would be my 'date'. What a pal! Since my birthday fell on a Sunday this year, we went out on Friday night. Her husband brought their kids over to my house and watched all 6 kids so we could paint the town...funny. It was a fun night. We went to dinner at Outback, had a funny waiter, ate some goooood food and topped it off with a hot fudge sundae, courtesy of Outback (thanks Outback!) Then we had to get some shopping in. We went to Kohl's and found the awesomest deals ever! We then went to the movies. It was a fantastic night! Thanks Em! I don't go out at all, ever...and decided that I need to. Good times!

GOOD STUFF!!! look at that fudge!

Still had a hard time finishing it all after our dinner!

Emily, the most amazing shopper and deal finder, didn't disappoint! Kohl's...here we come!

LOVED these! Don't know how people wear them for more that 5 minutes at a time, but just loved them! These 4 inch heels put me around 6'1". Someday...

Success!!

my present from Emily...yummy!

This is what we found when we returned at 11:45 pm.

I knew Sofia would be conked out somewhere...she usually doesn't last past 9:30 pm.

We figured Jacob and Jackson would be playing the play station...they didn't let us down!

Wasn't sure what these girls would be doing, but we found them in the girls room sharing a bag of Doritos.

Then, if that wasn't enough, Emily invited us to dinner tonight so I didn't have to cook on my birthday. She made the most delicious salmon on the grill. She also made lemon cupcakes for my birthday and they sang to me. She's the best. Love you Em!

sofia is 9!

Sofia turned 9 this week. She had a great day. Can't believe how fast time seems to fly...but she sure is a sweet, happy, helpful girl who cares for others and is always eager to help! LOVE her!

take a hike...

This last weekend we went to Hole in the Rock with Suzie, a fellow teacher at Burke. Haven't been before. The kids had fun climbing all over the big rock. We are going to start hiking once it cools down. It was a little hot the afternoon we went, but we are survivors!

Suzie with my kids.

hiking up to the rock.

my little people and i.

our 3-day in pictures...

I gave the kids the camera this weekend and told them to take pictures of the 'fun' they had on this wonderful 3 day weekend. It sure keeps them busy. We should have gone up to p-town for a visit, but by the time friday rolled around I was soooo tired and couldn't think about packing us all up and making the 3 hr drive. So we hung around home and found stuff to do to have 'fun'.

1. first things first...make sure all barbies have a front seat for all the action...

2. build a fort out of the rocking chair, all the couch cushions and blankets.

3. have walkie-talkie communication with the person hiding out in the fort.

4. watch Up.

5. have McDonald's

6. get some chores done...it has to be done people. i had some good helpers this time.

7. get the 6 yr old to push around a vacuum that weighs more than she does...

8. enjoy cookies from our most excellent neighbors.

9. (no picture for #9 because i was slightly upset) kids ripped front door off hinges when they got in a fight and slammed it open. ahhhh! not a stress i needed on a friday evening. it's 105 degrees out, mosquitoes are entering the house, the a/c is exiting the house and i can't shut the door. THANK goodness for excellent neighbors who came over and put my door back on the hinges. same neighbors who shared the delicious cookies. love good people!! Thanks neighbors!!!!

10. go to church (and fight over who gets to sit by mom...i only have 2 sides, what to do!)

11. go on a hike with Miss Suzie Cronk of BBS fame.

12. be good citizens and help a man jump start his car.

13. have a 'sleep-over' at dad's house

14. this one had been waiting, not very patiently, for this 'sleepover' for the whole week.

15. grade the ever growing stack of papers....ugh...

16. and finally model and show off the beautiful necklace made for me by sofia, my little crafter.

Probably not the most exciting weekend, but worked for us.