Since I am Up......

It's been quite a while since I blogged anything and this might end up being a boring one, but what the hell. It's 6:00 in the a.m. and I cannot sleep.

The month of June is coming to a close. Elizabeth ended school on another high note, being on the honor roll, etc. I know its the lower grades, but if we can keep this up, she might be able to get the scholarship Florida offers for student remaining on the honor roll their entire school life. Our neighbor across the street will be going to USF just for doing that...Who knows......what is important right now is that E loves school and is fully invested in school.

She started summer camp through the Park Recreation program. She goes to Sadie Park. The first day taking her was like Kindergarten all over again. She was so shy, wouldn't let go of George and brought me to tears when I went back to the car. But later that day, she LOVED it. She goes everyday, M - F somewhere around 7:30 and pick up varies to what is going on. She has stayed to 6 one or two days, but somewhere between 4 & 5 seems to be the norm. But I will be pulling her for playdate days, like this coming Monday.....when we have a pool party of E's preschool friends that she still sees.

Jillian is doing the Kids Construction Zone at LVC. This is her 3rd year and basically the same every year. But it is great for her because her teacher for the summer is her teacher next year and was her afterschool teacher (at times) last year. So its nice that they are forming their bond now so the start of school will be a smooth transition. I've said this before but even being home now, her speech is improving so much. Yes, she will still need to see her speech therapist, but she is speaking more clearly. She's been wonderful, with the exception of the last few days, this summer. The past few days have been extremely challenging for George and I and we need to remember to just help her and not let it get the best of us...

We planned on going to NY this summer but canceled that due to Elizabeth being in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat through the Village Players. We are considering Thanksgiving time, but with gas prices, the considering becomes less and less. (Probably should of never made plans with family for November only to disappoint them).

Work is work. I have a very good friend, who is also my manager, who is suffering from migraines, worse than anyone else I know. She has been out of work most of this week and last week, was put on 14 (I think) different prescriptions including an injectable. I know migraines are difficult (although I never had one) but this is the worse case I have ever seen. Feel better, sweetie~!!

I guess that's it...Whoever reads this, either down here or up North is on Facebook so I will not bore you with repeat pictures. God knows I post a lot of them on Facebook.

So until I am sitting here thinking what to do again.......I'll be back soon!

Birthday Weekend

Just wrapping up the weekend with Elizabeth "Bowling" Birthday Party....Sometimes I wonder, why bother with a blog with all my facebooking going on, but there are those friends that read this and do not go on FB too often....

Saturday, we had Elizabeth's party at the Brandon Crossroads Bowling. We did the Cosmic Bowling, of course, lights down, music blaring....Now she had chose this rather than a pool party. Amazing that at her ripe old age of 7, she had two amazing choices and did not want the pool party 3 years in a row...Man, at that age, I would of loved to have had a pool!

We had about 11 friends come. Fortunately, Elizabeth does have a lot of friends that gravitate towards her...unfortunate on my pocket at times. But bowling was perfect...I did not have to worry about cleaning the house, the food or the mess afterwards....I allowed Elizabeth to have 2 friends stay over, which were two girls from her class. They ended up staying up until around 10:00, which is 2 hours pass what Elizabeth is used to. But the annoying, amazing, stunning things was around 3:00, they woke me up wanting breakfast...WHAT???? I sent them back to bed...NO WAY!!! They ended up staying up AT THAT TIME for the rest of the day...How and why? I think they were all tired, nobody took the initative to say, lets go back to sleep, etc. I did all I could do, but I needed my sleep. It was all innocent and they played Barbie's....AND MADE A BIG MESS!

I was too beat to go to Church, so George took Elizabeth and the girls...while Jilly and I went in the pool. Elizabeth was sleeping by 4:30 for the night until 6:00 this a.m. when I woke her to take a shower before camp....

Good news, I think she will not be doing that again!!!

A Summary of the Life at Templetown

Like most of us, we've hit the busy time of the year. Preparing our kids for summer break....preparing ourselves for the kids summer break and so on.

We've had a remarkable month and a lot of good fortune come our way...No, not extra cash...things worth much more.

I've seen Elizabeth grow with more confidence in her day to day living...Her being able to accept disappointment while being happy for someone else gain. She tried out for Sound of Music, was not casted, but excited her friend was and wants to see her in the play. She worked so hard on studying for her Spelling Bee. She came in a proud 2nd place. Academically, she has exceeded all expectations for her age and grade level once again. She earned a gold medal for Math and has not taken any of this for granted. She has been rewarded with a phone call to audition for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and was casted. What news...the call came at 9:30 on the eve before her Birthday. She received (finally as she would put it) a Nintendo DS with the Littliest Pet Shop game. A well deserved birthday gift for hardworking 7 year old. Elizabeth will be attending a Summer Day Camp @ Sadie Park.

We've made leaps and bounds with Jillian....She graduated for Preschool status to actual PreK. She will be spending her 3rd straight year at LVC's summer camp program. Her speech has improved and her fluency has also received positive recognition. She performed in the Spring Show at Church with the Children's Choir along with her sister. Her group of close friends are kids that she will take with her next year and just possibly for the onset of Elementary years.

Our kitchen is completed once again, with some minor adjustments of mixed match wood grains that need to be replaced. We were even able to get new carpeting for our family room, the contractor convincing the insurance company that even though there was not noticable water damage, the carpet was soaked for too long with little kids.

So Summer 2009, I am truly ready for you....I know it will be a busy one for some activities do not stop and playdates and work just keep on coming......but I am ready to take you on!!!

Happy Mother's Day to me and to all

What would Mother's Day be if I was not woken up at 5:30 this morning by Jillian. Quite honestly, it would not be the same.

Part of being a Mom is to be there for your kids...no matter what time of day or reason, just to be there...No, its not always easy and not easy to do with a smile, but it is necessary.

So as there are mom's that are looking to sleep in today, I will not be doing that...There are mom's that expect pampering, I cannot do that....And then there are mom's that appreciate gifts or cards, I did get that...Two beautiful homemade cards...Cards that could not wait until today...And a Mother's Day breakfast at the preschool tomorrow.....That's all I want or need. I do not want or need gifts, I need the hugs and kisses from my girls...The greatest gift I can receive is comforting my eldest, when she was cryng last night and nervous about her Church play, or the youngest that insisted on more Apple Juice in the wee hours of the a.m.

Happy Mother's Day to ALL!!!

(A Mother's Day Poem I found)


Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day With little time to stop and pray For life's been anything but calm Since You called on me to be a mom Running errands, matching socks Building dreams with building blocks Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes And other stuff that children lose Fitting lids on bottled bugs Wiping tears and giving hugs A stack of last weeks mail to read So where's the quiet time I need? Yet when I steal a minute, Lord Just at the sink or ironing board To ask the blessings of Your grace I see then, in my small one's face That you have blessed me All the while And I stop to kiss That precious smile

Trying to Plan my vacation!!

Just for those curious about what I wrote on Facebook, we are thinking of taking a trip to NY the end of July into August....The girls really want to see their grandmother...and although she's been very healthy, she's about to undergo a serious of tests due to problems that she's been having with her stomach...Just made me think, we need to take a roadtrip!!!!

DAISY DAY

Yesterday, a Junior Girl Scout troop hosted a "Daisy Day" for all the Daisy Troops. What a fun day it was....I had 9 out of 11 girls in my troop go! They had 4 different stations set up., 1.) Bridging to Brownies 2.) Pet Care, 3.) Eco Station and 4.) Food Power

Each station had an explanation of why the particular subject was important to society, people or our environment. There was a craft included which each one.

But exciting stuff for Elizabeth....her and her friend that came with us, were in the Flag Ceremony...We were the first ones there and they asked...How exciting for 6 yr olds!!! (I know bloggers that were ever Scouts would understand all the excitement of that!) LOL!

Here are some pictures.....

Here Comes Summer....

Now that Easter has come and gone, Spring Break has come and gone...there's one more thing to look out for....SUMMER VACATION!!! So I needed to change my blog background to get me in the mood for the pool, beach and sun!!! Can't forget all the sand too!!!