May 30

Today was a nice day. The days are getting longer - which I love - and we are outside longer in the evening. Here is a picture at sunset - I loved the way the landscape looked in the sunlight.

May 29

Today was the last day of school for my students. I can't believe the school year is over - it really seemed to fly this year. I have 7 kids moving on to Kindergarten next year. Four of those kids I've had for two years. It was so hard to say good-bye, particularly to one little girl that just touched my heart. I got a good picture of her and I to keep. Her mom and I have a good relationship - professional and friendly at the same time. I used to tease her because she is a Chicago Cubs fan. I taught her daughter to say "Goooooooooo WHITE SOX!!!". She paid me back by getting me a Cubs t-shirt and having her daughter write her name on it. *sigh* I'm going to miss my little friends next year. I also have three kids in my morning class going to different buildings next year for Early Childhood.

Anyway - I got three bunches of flowers from students and liked the way I arranged them. Here they are, brightening up my kitchen table.

May 28

Alex got another game ball tonight! I guess he had 2 hits - one huge one - but he also got hit with a pitch (they must give out game balls for bravery, too - LOL!). I missed the game - stupid state required paperwork! I'm so happy for him - he's so excited about baseball this year and he is really doing well.

Dad - he's up to $10 already ;)

May 27

Yes, we're dorks. But we have each other - for 13 years today. Happy Anniversary, Hon!

PS: I have on an extra-large hoodie. I swear I'm not really that fat! LOL!

May 26

I spent today helping Alex clean his room, go through his clothes and weed out everything that doesn't fit anymore (or yet), and rearrange his furniture. I keep a 10 gallon fishtank in my classroom that has to come home for the summer this week. I was wondering where we would put it, but in cleaning up AJ's room we were able to make room on one of his small dressers. He's so excited to get a pet in his room - LOL!

May 25

I needed a new picture for my profile - the one I had was at least 4 years old. I was liking the way my hair was flipping this morning. Yeah, it's bedhead, but it was working for me - LOL! I don't particularly like the picture - I don't think I will ever be happy with pictures of myself, - but it was the best one I took.

May 24

Today was a great day. It was sunny and warm. W slept in. We got yard and house work done. We took a late afternoon nap. We went out for dinner. I loved the way this cloud looked against the night sky after the sun went down. I was equally as thrilled that there was enough light to still make reflections in the pond.

May 23

This picture just cracks me up and I'm not sure why. I think it's the look on Milo's face. I caught him just as he hopped up on the door to see if ANYONE was going to heed his cries and let him in. It always makes me laugh when we're sitting at the table and all of a sudden this cat head pops up in the window and looks around.

May 22

I have no photo for the 21st. Today was Field Day at school and afterward I had an IEP meeting. I spent yesterday at work until 7:00, pulling equipment for Field Day and writing the report and paperwork for the IEP meeting, and then went directly to my neighbor's Tastefully Simple party.

On to the 22nd. Samson is so happy the school year is almost over that he's jumping for joy! LOL!

May 20

Caty dressed up her Chihuahua, Baby Peaches in her Bitty Baby leotard and tutu. Baby Peaches is the Li'l Kinz Chihuahua. She has the regular sized one, too. It's name is Peaches and is Baby Peaches' mama. That's likely more information than you cared to know. ;) I liked this picture because Caty's eyes are so blue - they match her pajamas.

May 19

It's funny the pictures you get when your kids get a hold of your camera. Not sure if Caty or Alex took this one as the Webkinz photoed belong to each of them. Wonder what those babies would look like - LOL!

May 18

Today was the big Walk Now for Autism 5K. I don't know what to say about it. Today was a chilly day - only about 50 degrees - and windy (don't mind Billy. We swear the kid is part polar bear. The rest of us have three layers of clothes on). It was pretty miserable down at the Lakefront (the walk was at Soldier Field). We took the train down and a bus to the stadium - it took two hours to commute. The walk itself was kinda bleh. Registration started at 8:00 and the walk started at 10:30. We didn't get there until 10:30. There was no real organized "walk" part of the day. Once you turned in your registration packet you were free to walk - or not - and look around at the vendors and do the activities they had for kids (mostly inflatable bounce houses). We had originally planned on taking the 2:30 train home, but by 11:45 we'd had enough and headed back to the train station to get the 12:30 train instead.

On the bright side, we spent the day with the kids, for a good cause. Bill and I raised $2900 between the two of us for Autism Speaks and Cure Autism Now. Thank you SO MUCH to those of you that donated to support us. We were both so touched by the generosity of the people we know.

May 17

Alex had a baseball game this morning. He had an awesome game! He was up to bat three times. First time he was walked, the second time he had a beautiful hit to the gap between short stop and left field that resulted in a base hit, and the last time he was thrown out at first, but got an RBI in the process. His coach gave him a game ball at the end of the game. He was so proud (so were we!), but you can't tell by the look on his face.

May 12 - 16

Some people say "Life ain't all sunshine and rainbows", but this week, I beg to differ.

May 16



May 15

May 14

May 13

May 12

May 11

Happy Mother's Day! It was a rainy day today. We just hung out at home. Bill made blueberry waffles for breakfast =). Later that morning, he took the boys for haircuts and Caty and I went through all her clothes for Spring/Summer. After that I had an IEP to write for a meeting tomorrow.

It was a low key day. We'd gone out for dinner on Saturday night and my main gift, a Wii Fit, has been pre-ordered, but hasn't arrived yet.

May 10

Every once in awhile Billy gets a hold of my camera. You never know what you're going to find when he does. This is a picture of his "best friend", Lucky. Lucky is a Webkinz Black and White Cheeky Dog that he got for Easter. Lucky goes everywhere with him. =)

May 9

She did it! Caty read 100 books this year and earned a trophy. It's a first grade program at her school - the kids are encouraged to take home books each night to read. When they get to 50 they get to read to the principal and when they get to 100 they get a trophy. She's been working really hard and made it just in time (there are only 3 weeks of school left!)

May 8

This is the view from the chairs on my front porch. We spend a lot of time out there in the spring and summer. As summer gets closer we'll have a great view of the sunset each night. If only the highway were a little quieter.....at least the frogs and toads in the pond across the street are nice and loud as they sing for their mates.

May 7

Billy lost a tooth tonight. He told me after school he had a loose tooth and he must have really been working it that day because he ended up pulling it out right before bedtime. The Toothfairy showed up on time this time - woo hoo!

May 6

One last picture of the magnolia flowers and I promise I am done.

May 5 - Cinco de Mayo!

Another day another ballgame - LOL! Alex's game yesterday was a make-up game. Tonight's game was against the only other team that was undefeated. Notice I said "was" ;).

This picture is of Caty. She goes to all the games, but really has no interest in them other than the snackbar. Tonight's game was at our home field and there is a big hill behind the first base bleachers. Caty decided it was perfect for log rolling down - so much so that her Webkinz horse also had to roll down.

May 4

Another day at the ballfield. Alex's team is undefeated. Today was his best game yet - three hits and a walk. This was a hit heading for the third baseline.


Of course we ALL go to cheer him on. Here are Bill and Caty, and Billy (getting a little punchy).

May 3

I was so excited when the window of my camera showed that I had gotten Samson in midair that I didn't bother to zoom in to see if it was in focus. As it turns out, it wasn't. *sigh* Anyway, this is Sammy-boy playing frisbee. I think frisbee is a close second on his Favorite Games to Play Outside list - the first being Night Fetch (playing fetch in the dark).

May 2

You can see it better if you click on the picture, but there is a rainbow in the sky - the first one this spring. We had a bunch of storms roll in and out all day today. This was the last one of the day - it came through around dinner time. The sun was blazing to the west, yet it was downpouring.

May 1

IT BLOOMED! My magnolia tree has beautiful, purple flowers on it! I am so happy. Only a few of them are open, but there are a lot of buds on it about to bust. ~*~ Happy Dance ~*~

April 30

Alex had a baseball game tonight. I was trying to take pictures of him batting and my camera was on the wrong setting (I swear, it only happens to me...). This was the best shot I got and it was really dark. I could only make it look nice after I brightened it up by making it black and white. If you click on the picture, you can see the ball coming to him. Below is a picture of him on base. He only got one hit tonight, but he's doing really well this year. We're proud of him =)

April 29

UGH! This is crazy!! Are gas prices killing everyone else, too? They suck even more when you drive a large SUV with a V8 engine and a thirty gallon tank. Check out how much my fill-up was last night. And the pump cut me off at that limit!

April 28

Alex found this cool rock at the baseball field today. It looks like a fossilized shell. It's really cool.

April 27

A perfectly timed shot! We went out for breakfast this morning. This is a rare treat for us. Caty got chocolate chip pancakes and Alex got chocolate chip waffles. We were very much enjoying ourselves at this point, as demonstrated by Caty's big bite =)