Here I am again! Going to try to keep it up more.

Well, not a whole lot has changed in the 2.5 years it has been since I've last posted.
One change that our family experienced was the loss of our beloved pet, Sparky.  Sparky passed away on February 12, 2011...about 2 weeks before he would have been 14 years old.  We were very sad to see Sparky go...tearing up as I write this.  He had a lot of monikers: "Sparkinator", "Sparkler", "Sparkster", and the ever popular "Damn Dog"!  LOL!   Jeff found him a nice spot in the shade in our backyard.

And as much as I did not want to even try to fill that void that Sparky left in my heart, we now have a new member in our family.  Lucy Sky McCracken joined us June 8, 2011.  She is part Pomeranian and part Schnauzer....aka Pom-a-nauze or Schnauzeranian.  She reminds me of Benji, in color and scruffy fur.

Well, I hope to keep my blog a little more updated.  Perhaps record some of the meals we make and perhaps some of the Pinterest ideas put to the test.

It has been a LONG time!

Many months, days, and hours have passed since I last wrote. So much has happened since then. In a nutshell:
1) We moved from Murfreesboro to Ahoskie because we bought a house.
2)Meredith has had three spacers put in her mouth to hold the teeth in place whilst we wait for the adult teeth to come in.
3) I started teaching 4th grade math and science....which apparently is not the case for next year...suppose to be self-contained...I'm less than thrilled with this prospect.
4) Jeff....well he died...twice. On moving day, I found him on the floor of our bathroom. Short story: he had a pulmonary embolism. The saddle-type...sat between his lung and heart. Doctors said it was the largest they had ever seen in a living person. After a week in ICU, he returned home. In Oct. he had 3 fusions in his neck. He still has some balance issues and other issues, but he is alive! Praise God!
5) Caitee is growing like a weed. She has started speech therapy this summer. I'm hoping she'll get placed in the speech program in the fall so she'll be able to start preK when she turns 4.

The girls and I are headed to Texas this summer. I will be attending my 20th high school reunion. And many of my family and friends have not met Caitee...and she is almost 3! Plus we are excited to meet my youngest brother John's two boys!

I have started a weight loss program that I hope will be a life long change for me. I have already noticed that some foods I used to enjoy are too salty, too sweet, or just don't please me anymore. I weighed in last Wednesday and have lost 9 lbs so far. Hope I can continue to lose while in Texas! Y'all keep me on track!

Why can this family not get well?!?!

UGH! Just as we seem to get over one illness, another pops up. This time it is Meredith. She has a terrible cough. She probably should have stayed home, but she has way too many absences (for a teacher's kid) and I am out of sick days and am paying out of pocket (CHA-CHING!) So........she spent most of the day in my classroom.

I'm ready for spring and summer. We need to air this place out!

Snow Day!

Well, daycare closed today, but the school system did not. And it being the first of the month, Jeff could not take off.
So we went out for a few minutes!

I know I'm behind...deal with it...ok!

Here is the snow we got back on the Tuesday after MLK, Jr. Day.

Caitee's impression of the little brother from "A Christmas Story".

Help ME! I can't get up!!!



Meredith trying to help Caitee get up.

Merry Christmas!!!!!

The alarm clock sounded at 7 am. Alas, neither of our girls had woken up yet. We woke up Meredith first so she could concentrate on her gifts and then help Caitee with her's. We had to wake Meredith up a few times before she realized what day it was. She enjoyed all of her gifts and Santa remembered to bring her those toys which she had been eyeing for some time now. Caitee got up around 7:40 am. Meredith helped her open them up. Caitee was happy just to have boxes. But Santa was good to her as well. Plus they enjoyed all the goodies Santa left in their stockings!
Enjoy the pics! Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!



















Yes there was a change of scenery when Caitee woke up. There is a reason why the tree was in that small side room.

Christmas Eve!

Alas, I did not take any pics. Jeff did so I'll take a look at those and see if he got anything good.

Some sad news, we did have to take our dog, Sparky, to the vet. He was not doing well at all. He wasn't eating (and if you know Sparky, you know he likes to eat), he was yiping a lot. He seemed to hurt all over. Jeff took him in and left him there for overnight (well two nights) observations. They called back after several hours and said he was full of hookworms. GREAT! They also put him on some pain meds. I am to pick him up on Friday. Just didn't feel too Christmas-y without him here.

We hosted the annual family Christmas eve get together. This year instead of a spread of finger foods we opted to make a meal. Jeff made Garlic Shrimp Pasta and Cheese biscuits (just like eating at Red Lobster!) It was all very delicious. We all had to take a rain check on the Bananas Foster....we were stuffed!!!

We all exchanged our gifts to each other. Drank some champagne. After everyone left, we put the girls in the bath and put them to bed.