some free time

okay, so it really isn't free and it is only for about five minutes, but the kids are occupied with xander's remote control lightning mcqueen and todd is out in the kitchen with them, so i seem to have found a moment to write something.
these last few weeks have been crazy. i have stayed really busy with school and getting things done for school. i think i could use another week in my classroom to get everything just right. i am training a new assistant at the same time as i "train" my class, and it has been interesting. i have quite a class this year. very strong personalities. i like to joke that i would feel much better if we could fast forward the first month of school, to when they know the routines. I'm not giving in, and sometimes i am mean but i tell them i know how i want my class and i'm going to get my way.
some cute stories about xander and cassidy....
*when you say "hello" to cassidy she holds her hand up to her ear, like a telephone
*she dances, and usually it is just a head tilt or bob to the right paired with a little bouncing as she bends her knees
*she has words for "xander" "daddy" and "rachel" and they pretty much all sound the same, but she knows the difference
*she is just beginning to walk on her own, to get to something she wants
*she is fascinated with putting paper in her mouth
*she signs "more" for "i want" and it is fun trying to figure out what it is that she wants. usually to tell you "no" she does a head tilt to the right
*she can blow bubbles with her spit (what is it about my children and their talents)

*now xander has discovered "joseph and the amazing technicolor dream coat" and has been singing it for days
*he loves newsies and high school musical 1 & 2
*some of our conversations recently have been about marriage....xander wants to marry me, and strongly disagrees when i tell him i am already married to his dad. he protests for another few minutes and then insists that he marry cassidy. when i tell him that it doesn't work that way and that he can't marry cassidy his response is usually something like "mom, i need a girl to marry!"
*he is obsessed with giving me married kisses and i can't help but laugh as he knocks me to the floor and his little freckled face comes at me with his eyes closed and his mouth already puckered up. (one of these days i need to get a picture of that face, cause it really does make me laugh)

sick week

yup, life here this week included coughs, runny noses, tired kids, tired parents, and pink eye! yuck, yuck and triple yuck. we actually had to stay home from school on tuesday and then cassidy and xander left early on thursday. i really hope this week is not a repeat cause i don't think i can afford to be sick another week.
i am looking forward to parent / teacher conferences this week. yeah me! but i've got to have my game face on! i'm the professional here, right?
well, i'm working on that. this saturday i'm scheduled to take one of the graduate level tests as part of my application into graduate school, hopefully at brenau university here in georgia. (have i mentioned this before?) well with all the job and financial troubles that we have been going through i have decided that i need to make myself a little more marketable and more professional so i can "move up" to the elementary schools if i need to. so i'm attempting a masters in early childhood education and my teaching certificate. once i start it could be 1.5 - 2 years ...which means more sleepless nights, more work during the day, more sickness? i hope not. but i know me, lack of sleep = lack of health.
which reminds me, it is after midnight! i must get to bed, up at 5:30. i really never learn.
alright, i'm rambling. my mind is in five different directions - lesson plans, christmas cards, christmas shopping, p / t conferences and my comfy bed. i think i'll put more thought into that last one now. til later...

happy thanksgiving!

home from my in-laws...no in-laws, just their house. we used it while they were away to have thanksgiving with our friends the gormally's. we just wouldn't all fit in our house.
so i check out my post from yesterday to make sure it uploaded right, obviously i don't know how to work this thing and get my text before my pictures....
and i wasn't able to get all the ones uploaded that i wanted to, so here are some more.











1. cassidy being pushed around jeff's house by isabell
2. cassidy and olivia meeting for the first time
3. group picture of the cousins - hannah, isabell, xander, olivia and cassidy
4. xander in the BYU bookstore getting ready for game day
5. cassidy paying courtney for her first haircut
6. cassidy looking so cute before the game
7. intently watching the fourth quarter
8. xander & cosmo

finally

that is what most of you are saying reading this....finally she takes the time to update something she said she was going to do weekly, and now it has been two months since she did anything about it.

well, i think it has been two months since i have seen the top of my desk. honestly, my office is the most embarassing room in my house. it is the catch all for everything! and my desk seems to carry it's fair share of it. it is my goal to get it cleaned up with this long weekend that i have. a place for everything and everything in it's place - right? wish me luck.

well since i last posted we had xander's pirate party, which went very well. i am still working on the thank you cards. they are buried somewhere on my desk. we had a few garage sales and i made enough to use the buddy passes i bought from my sister last year. so we had halloween - xander was batman and cassidy was a lion, but more on that in a minuted - and the morning after halloween we flew to utah for a quick four day trip (which really felt like we were gone a month).

in utah we got to visit with all my siblings -YEAH! although difficult as i made it on some of them we managed to work it out. we stayed with todd's cousin and her family and got to see all his siblings - including chad in a fabulous show, too funny! we saw a BYU football game, and xander got to have his picture taken with Cosmo the Cougar and he got to shake hands with 1-5, the quarter back. all game he was watching 1-5 "daddy, look it's the quarter back max hall" and after the game we "ran" into him as we were exiting the stadium and xander got to shake his hand. he is really excited about that and tells everyone he met the quarterback. during the game we got to hang out with most of our georgia friends, with a little bit of drama and excitement, but it was so good to see them all. we finished the trip with an overnight stay in arizona and then back to georgia on the 4th. like i said quick trip.

so before the trip we had a myriad of halloween/fall festivals to attend. we did two trunk-or-treats at church, todd and i attended two adult costume parties and then we went trick-0r-treating on halloween night with the gormally's.
so here is the sum up on costumes - the church activites xander went as peter pan (no mask) and then for halloween night he got to do batman with his mask. cassidy was a red sox cheerleader and a lion for the different activities. she didn't seem to mind one bit being dressed up.

as for me and todd, our first costume party we went as "peace and quiet". i was a flower child of the 70s and he was a mime. our second party was a murder mystery with a wild west/saloon/poker game theme. i was assigned the part of calamity jane and todd was wild bill hickock . all went well for both and we actually enjoyed ourselves. look at us getting out of the house and doing something wild and crazy. we are so not the wild and crazy type.

and now thanksgiving is upon us. we are staying here in georgia this year.

so here are some pictures from the last two months. i am likely to overload this thing, but enjoy.

**edited**
okay, so i reworked the text pictures thing and tried to reorganize the order of the pictures so they made more sense.
1. xander on his scooter, birthday present from grandma d and grandpa d
2. xander & cassidy on halloween night before trick or treating
3. cassidy checking out her candy - she did not let go of her bucket, she knew what was in there and todd had to keep a large portion of it in another bag as they walked or she would have eaten through every wrapper in there.
4. xander -oops! batman leading the way, "Everyone follow Batman!"
5. family photo op while trick or treating
6, 7, 8 & 9. fall festival at church
10. family photo op in front of the Salt Lake City Temple

p3

we had xander's birthday party last weekend...sept. 29th. a pirate pizza party, with pizza (duh!) cotton candy and a treasure hunt. (i think) fun was had by all, even the party planners....but most of all, xander was thrilled with it.

xander's been tagged!

one of xander's friend's "tagged" him to answer some questions about things he likes and does right now at age 4! (thank you mikayla! i think he actually enjoyed the interview and he LOVED hearing your answers!)

(all answers are xander's. mom's honor!)

eye color: blue
what color is your hair: brownish, reddish
favorite movie: "camp rock" (he just finished watching it!)
tv show: backyardigans

happy birthday my baby boy!

okay, so not so baby. but i just can't let him grow up. i don't think my heart can take it.
four years old yesterday....
and tuesday night he says to us "today is my last day being three. i'll never be three again." (now, my child is pretty smart, but he didn't come up with that one on his own. he had help from his teacher.) but it broke my heart.
nope, he'll never be three again. i'm really going to have to say goodbye to the baby.

his birthday on wednesday is officially on "national talk like a pirate day". so for school he brought in a "cupcake" cake that todd had made, frosted with a picture of the jolly roger (the pirate flag) and he wore his pirate hat to school.
that night we had breakfast for dinner, tons of food!
his presents consisted of books, puzzles and dress up costumes- superman, batman, and a cowboy hat & cowboy boots. he put each costume on and did both puzzles, read one of the books and way quite the happy camper with his 4th birthday.
next saturday we will be having a pirate pizza party complete with treasure hunt. pictures to be posted after the event!

new pictures, no new news

okay, not much has changed over the last two weeks. cassidy has been walking more, and in the last few days has started standing up by herself, without pulling up on anything. so that is news. but other than that....i am still struggling with my pre-k class. they are really having a hard time listening. keeps me wondering if it is me? and i am training an assistant at the same time. hasn't been the easiest venture there either. i forget that she doesn't know, and i just expect her to know or at least to follow my lead...but it has only made things more frustrating for me. so i am trying to over-analyze, over-communicate, over-my limit is what it is. i am tired! not complaining, just the facts.
well, as i mentioned here are some new pictures. picking up my kids from their classes at the end of the day and giving them a hug is true therapy!

some free time

okay, so it really isn't free and it is only for about five minutes, but the kids are occupied with xander's remote control lightning mcqueen and todd is out in the kitchen with them, so i seem to have found a moment to write something.
these last few weeks have been crazy. i have stayed really busy with school and getting things done for school. i think i could use another week in my classroom to get everything just right. i am training a new assistant at the same time as i "train" my class, and it has been interesting. i have quite a class this year. very strong personalities. i like to joke that i would feel much better if we could fast forward the first month of school, to when they know the routines. I'm not giving in, and sometimes i am mean but i tell them i know how i want my class and i'm going to get my way.
some cute stories about xander and cassidy....
*when you say "hello" to cassidy she holds her hand up to her ear, like a telephone
*she dances, and usually it is just a head tilt or bob to the right paired with a little bouncing as she bends her knees
*she has words for "xander" "daddy" and "rachel" and they pretty much all sound the same, but she knows the difference
*she is just beginning to walk on her own, to get to something she wants
*she is fascinated with putting paper in her mouth
*she signs "more" for "i want" and it is fun trying to figure out what it is that she wants. usually to tell you "no" she does a head tilt to the right
*she can blow bubbles with her spit (what is it about my children and their talents)

*now xander has discovered "joseph and the amazing technicolor dream coat" and has been singing it for days
*he loves newsies and high school musical 1 & 2
*some of our conversations recently have been about marriage....xander wants to marry me, and strongly disagrees when i tell him i am already married to his dad. he protests for another few minutes and then insists that he marry cassidy. when i tell him that it doesn't work that way and that he can't marry cassidy his response is usually something like "mom, i need a girl to marry!"
*he is obsessed with giving me married kisses and i can't help but laugh as he knocks me to the floor and his little freckled face comes at me with his eyes closed and his mouth already puckered up. (one of these days i need to get a picture of that face, cause it really does make me laugh)
*he knows when his birthday is, and tells everyone that he will be 4 on sept. 19th
*he still loves sports
*protests going to school each morning when i wake him at 6:00am, but generally has a really good time in class
*he earns the coveted stars in his class. they are hard to come by, but he manages about 3 a week for good behavior
*great memory and great comprehension
*gave a talk last week in primary "how the holy ghost strenghtens my faith in jesus christ"

my free moment came and went and now it is 9:30 at night and i have work i should be doing. off to color, cut, paste, put together something for pre-k.

photos to please

it's been too long, i know...
so to appease the masses that read this blog here are some pictures from this weekend until i can find my desk to actually write something.

school starting = sarah's gone crazy

i've been a nut case all week. i don't think i have talked to todd in the last three days, or played baseball with xander, or listened to cassidy laugh!
why you ask?
school starts tomorrow!!!
(okay, technically today, since it is 2am! face it, i never learn!)
good luck to rachel. here first day as a LEAD TEACHER!

cassidy's royal party

cassidy's party was a success. we ate, watched a princess movie, decorated our own crowns, ate cake and watched cassidy get messy, then opened gifts. in attendance....michelle, maggie & katie gormally, casey, natalie & tyler norr, rachel dolan & whitney black, and george & pam little. by the time it was over we determined that the party had been more for xander than cassidy. he had a great time with his friends.
here are some of the highlight pictures....
the pink outfit was from grandma & grandad little and was so cute on her. the castle cake was an amazing creation....great job todd.

cassidy turns 1 !!!

hard to believe it has been a full year. one year ago today.....it went by so quickly. yesterday was same ole, same ole....school, home, playing outside. we didn't do a whole lot out of the ordinary. we had ice cream with grandma & grandad little. they gave her some really cute outfits (which i appreciated more than she did : P ) but we'll do the party and cake today. todd really outdid himself and put together a castle cake for our "royal party". all in attendance will be princesses and princes. i'll have pictures of that one tomorrow. happy birthday baby girl!

cassidy's royal party seemed to be a success. very low key with some fabulous family friends. we missed the other part of our sunday family that couldn't be there, as well as family members that live too far away.....
we ate, the kids decorated their own crowns, we let cassidy get messy and then had her open some gifts. todd's castle cake was scrumptous (as per xander's description) and overall it was a very fun evening!
here are some highlight pictures

sunday walk

no where to go sunday after church was just fine with me. i needed some down time. xander, however, was just about to go crazy at home...couldn't play baseball or basketball, couldn't ride his bike, couldn't run in the sprinkler like the kids down the street. the first of many "because it is sunday" talks. (i remember them mom & dad!)

so, we decided that a leisurely family walk was an acceptable activity to pass the time. cassidy loves xander and laughs at everything he does, including trying to put the back of her dress over her head as they were riding in the wagon down the street.

as for an update....
todd is still searching for a job. had a good interview last week, but now he is in the waiting phase.

xander is becoming a little bit sassy. we are working on it, but it makes for some funny reasoning from an almost 4 year old when he wants things his way. he loves "vacation days" when we have a day off of school. we try to do a park or swimming pool - and to him, that is a summer day.




cassidy has had the most changes this last week. while holding her upside down and tickling her just to hear her laugh, i found two eye teeth coming in and two molars. yikes, if she has been cranky now we know why. she is also moving up to a new classroom at school. the 1yr old room. it is a little early, but because of some of the changes that are happening around the school it is happening sooner than usual. so she now sleeps on a mat on the floor instead of in a crib, and her nap time has been pushed back an hour or so, to keep her on schedule with the "older" kids in the room. she is also sitting at a table in a chair and eating, instead of a high chair. poor thing can't even get up and walk out of the chair, she'd just have to slid her way to the floor. but she seems to be adjusting well and taking it all in stride.

as for me, i am working on getting myself ready for school to start in two weeks. i am ready for my regular schedule. no more jumping rooms and work times. no more wandering aimlessly around a classroom with no real responsibilities (other than the kids of course!) i am ready for my classroom. bring it on!

that is it i guess. cassidy's birthday is on friday. i can't believe that a year ago i was huge and waiting for little cassidy to show up. well she did, and we wouldn't have it any other way. she is a little firecracker and she fits right in! pictures to be posted after the ceremony of the cake!