E-I-E-I-EOG's...

What a week!

North Carolina does state End Of Grade (EOG) testing for grades 3-8 and the schools get a little...um...Nazi-esque while the kids are testing. Katey has been nervous about these tests for an entire year! This week she got to finally put them behind her.

This year it was decided that getting the Kindergartners out of the school during testing would be a great idea. So, I got to accompany Seth's class on field trips for 3 days in a row!!! That is a lot of field trip fun, let me tell you! The kids did great and the weather was good. By the last day though, all the teachers and parent volunteers were glad that school would resume as normal on Friday! So, here is the quick recap:

Tuesday:
Katey took her Reading EOG which was the one she was looking least forward to. While she LOVES reading, she doesn't enjoy reading snippets and answering comprehension questions about them.

Seth and I (and the other 18 kids in the class...and other 100 Kindergartners!!) went to a petting zoo/farm of sorts. We learned about horses and got to help groom them, we saw fun animals like zebras, pigs, camels, cows, giant bunnies, wallabies, chicks and turkeys. We also got to take a hay ride. Overall it was a fun time! Here are some shots from the day:

Megan, Alyssa, JaQuan, Haily and Seth - what a cute group of kids!

Wednesday:
Katey took her Math, calculator active EOG and thinks she did well.
Seth and I got to spend 3 hours at a local park then headed to the library for a tour and reading time. It was a great day, very relaxing for the adults and fun for the kids. I really enjoyed spending time getting to know Seth's teacher better.

Thursday:
Katey took the Math, calculator inactive EOG and was happy that it was a short test...and the last one!!!
Seth, Mike and I got to head to Cane Creek Park and rotate between fun activities like frisbee, bubbles, sack races, nature walks, playground and beach-ball volleyball. Seth LOVED that Mike was able to come to this field trip and was super excited that he got to try his hand at "skip rocking" - an activity he had been dying to try. (That would be skipping rocks on a lake, in case you were wondering)


As a reward for EOG's Katey got to choose a special treat. We thought she would decide to go to her favorite restaurant, Nothin' But Noodles, but she surprised us and asked for the 7 pound chocolate cake from Costco!! We got to enjoy it with Grammy and Granny & Papaw on Friday evening- an extra special treat for all of us!

Katey and Seth to the Rescue!

It happened again.

The skink returned to our living room and I still have no idea how he got in!! But Mike wasn't home and we were on our way out the door...just like last time. And, it made my skin crawl...just like last time. However, unlike last time, my kids came to the rescue (and I remembered to grab the camera)! Katey captured it and Seth helped let it go and got to pet it this time. Thank goodness for kids who are braver than Mommy!

In other nature news, we have a cute tree frog that has been hanging out beside the front door. I got a fun shot of him this morning.

In case you were wondering, I like frogs and they don't make my skin crawl. I'm sure you were dying to know that.

A few minutes after releasing the skink into the backyard I looked out the door to find the crazy thing on the back porch - making its way towards the back door. I'm now off to google how to keep skinks out of the house...

2 Pipers Piping

Both of our kids have recently taken an interest in money.

Katey is a saver. She still has money left from her birthday in August and doesn't really have much interest in spending it. However, she loves getting more and is always coming up with some idea (usually involving the selling of something like lemonade or crafts) to add to her piggy bank.

Seth, on the other hand, had birthday money for a whole day before spending it all at Target. He recently cleaned out his piggy bank and "wasted" all his money (his words, not mine) on a new Webkins named Little Arf Arf. Whenever he finds stray coins lying around the house he quickly asks if he can have them.

So, Mike instituted an allowance around here to help train the kids on the importance of tithing, saving and spending. Katey and Seth will each get $.75 a week and will be able to tithe one quarter, save one quarter and spend one quarter (no questions asked - on whatever they want!). Needless to say, the kids were over the moon with this new idea.

Part of the reason for implementation last Sunday was due to the following event that took place in our driveway:



Oh how this took me back to the days when Shannon and I used to plan and scheme to do things to earn money! Too bad we don't have more traffic in our little cul-de-sac - I'm sure their banks would be full if we did!

I have the BEST kids!

Mother's Day is always a special day. The kids get excited to make gifts and shower me with love. This year was no exception!

The day began at 6:45 with breakfast in bed. Who wouldn't love Fruit Loops mixed with Frosted Flakes brought to her on a tray with a South Beach granola bar and glass of milk?? The cereal was an...interesting combo, but very thoughtful. (Mike said he stopped Katey from bringing me a 2nd bowl of cereal at the same time: cheerios with a chocolate easter egg in it)

The kids had worked hard on my gifts. Katey made me a bouquet of flowers and they are very beautiful!! Seth made a booklet at school. My favorite pages are: "My Mommy's favorite food is: Bacon" and "My Mommy always says: Seth, do a job." (I think 'job' is supposed to cover things like, "set the table" or "put away your laundry")

Then came the best gift. Katey brought up a necklace for me made of yarn, Cheerios and one purple Fruit Loop (purple is my favorite color). After I got dressed and put on my beautiful new necklace - though I did have trouble deciding which earrings matched the best - Seth informed me that if I got hungry at church I could just "take a little nibble" on my necklace. Fashion AND function!!

So, after many heartfelt wonder-ments on whether or not I was hungry since I hadn't nibbled on my necklace, I told the kids I would eat it after we got a picture:



We spent the afternoon at my Mom's house. Her gift from us was a LABOR of love. We told Mom that we would be at her beck and call for the afternoon and she put us to work outside in her yard. Mike pulled out 2 stumps with his favorite new toy (the pick-axe) and he, Mom and I also planted various flowers and mulched. The kids helped by washing down the deck, collecting rocks and playing in the sand box. Seth's special gift to Grammy was throwing a rock up in the air (yes, he did!) and hitting her patio side-table...the glass-top one...and shattering the glass. Nice! Apart from the mess, Mom assured us it was actually good as she had tried to give away that table many times and it kept coming back to her. At least it will be gone for good now!

I also received a beautiful card with a certificate for a pedicure from Mike and Mom gave me a gift bag with coffee, note cards and magnets in it.

A special Mother's Day, indeed!

So Very Proud!

Katey and Seth got report cards this week. Katey made the A-B honor roll again (all A's with one B)!! And, Seth is right on track for the end of Kindergarten. WAHOO to my kids!!!!

On another proud note...(and hoping I am not jinxing myself here)
We have been working hard to get Katey up and ready each morning. Recently we laid down the law and told her that she just plain needed to get up and get dressed/teeth brushed/hair brushed on her own. I'm excited to report that she has been doing a GREAT JOB of this!! It really does help to make the morning more enjoyable and run more smoothly. My baby is growing up!

Leapin' Lizards!

Well, thankfully NOT leaping...otherwise I'm pretty sure this Momma would have had a heart attack!

As I sat down to put my shoes on this afternoon I saw this on my living room floor:

Notice, this is not the actual picture of the broadhead skink that was on my floor (though it looks just like it). I was WAY too heeby-jeebied to grab the camera. The only thing I could think was, "I've got to go and there is NO WAY that I am leaving that thing in my house." Well, that and, "How in the world did it get in here and did it bring friends along with it and how can I ensure it doesn't come back again?!?"

Well, one ziplock container, one book and one lid later the skink was caught and released outside. Katey was pretty psyched that she got to pet the thing since it didn't run away once it was released. I was just pretty psyched that my skin stayed attached to my body, despite the feeling that it might not. Ugh...and whew!

Hip-Hip-Ho-No-No!

HIP!
Seth scored 3 goals in his soccer game on Saturday. We are seriously considering buying stock in Bruster's Ice Cream this season!

HIP!
Our church purchased land to build on and we had a picnic on the property Saturday afternoon. One of our deacons spent a lot of time marking out where the new building is planned to be. It was really cool to walk around and envision what the building will look like and to see how the land will be used. It was also great to enjoy time outside in the beautiful weather with our church body. God is so good!!

Ho-No!
While we were at the property, Seth was happily collecting rocks for his newly started rock collection. We aren't sure why, but he decided to throw one of the rocks straight up in the air...and this is how Seth learned that gravity can sometimes be our downfall. The rock landed straight on his head, causing a small puncture wound and some blood. Which, in turn, caused much screaming and panic. We are very thankful to one of our fellow-worshipers, Cheryl, who is a nurse and came to the rescue! She applied just the right amount of pressure to get the bleeding to stop, assured Seth that he would be okay and verified that we did not need to take him in for stitches. Whew!

No!
One of my greatest fears as a parent is to be awakened in the middle of the night hearing that horrible, barky cough and a child who has trouble breathing. There are just no words to describe the terror that grips my heart surrounding Croup and I have spent numerous hours laying in bed, praying that I would trust God and not allow the fear to grip me. God is faithful and gives a peace that passes all understanding, even in the midst of fear!

Seth was complaining of a sore throat yesterday. Around 2AM he started the barky cough and trouble breathing. After doing the usual steamy bath and the unusual head in the freezer (it was warm and sticky outside so we couldn't head out there for cold!), Seth was still having a difficult time breathing. So, the nurse on the phone directed us to the ER. I am thankful that it was a slow night and we were able to make it to a room quickly! 2 hours later, we were on our way home with Seth breathing fine. Praise God for doctors and nurses and medicines that help...and for a little boy who stays relaxed and happy through it all!!