How time flies...

Every night before going to bed, I get everything ready to start the next day. I also kiss my kids goodnight and tell them that I love them. They go to bed every night knowing that I love them and would do anything in this world for them. Last night before they went to bed, me and Shelby sat here and done her letter to Santa. She was sitting here reading everything that was on the screen and told me what to put in the blank spots. She has got to be so smart. When she first started school, I was really worried. She was behind in her class, even though she went to preschool for two years. This year has been completely different. I know she is only in the first grade but she is picking up on words that I didn't think were possible for a first grader to read. She has went from a Level 4 to a Level 10 in her reading. I was so proud of her, when I sat there and watched her test and could see that she wanted to keep going.
Last night she came to me before going to bed and gave me a smile that warmed my heart more than anything in this world. She will say some things that make me laugh and squeeze her so hard that she tells me she can't breathe. She has been begging me for the past couple of days for the Elf on the Shelf elves with the reindeer. Well I am purchasing them today, hopefully they can get here by tomorrow and she will be happy to know that she is being watched over. I have never had so many things thrown at me at Christmas time as I have this year by her. She finds out new things at school and comes home to tell me. She comes home at least once a week telling me that someone has told her there is no Santa. I want my child to believe in Santa as long as possible, that is what makes her a kid. Why these kids find so much laughter in telling other kids that there is no such thing as Santa, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny and so forth. We celebrate every holiday in our house, to me that makes all of us feel like we are kids again. I am actually getting excited about Christmas now that it is so close. I have been wanting to push it off for the longest time, because we had some financial problems. But then I realized that this was the one time of the year that kids could be kids with no restrictions.
I am so excited to see my girls faces when they see what they got on Christmas morning. They are pretty much getting what they have asked for. I was stressing this year because I did not know what I was going to get them and if I was going to have the money. Well Shelby didn't have that long of a list and I think Santa is going to be very good to her this year. She has never been disappointed and I didn't want to start it now.
Well a lot has happened just since I started writing this blog. I got an email from Shelby's teacher telling me that she was not feeling good and so someone needed to come check her out. I had to call my dad to go get her since I do not have a vehicle. While this was going on, I was in the process of ordering Shelby's elf. Her elf is now ordered and should be here within 2 days. She came home while I was ordering and was so excited to hear that her elf is now on its way.
Well now I am off to take care of a sick baby, trying to get her better before tomorrow. Jason has to have shots in his back tomorrow and it would be nicer if she was at school during all of that. Hope everyone has a great holiday break with school and a great few weeks til we get out. I know I am counting down the days.

Some updates on my crazy little world...

Here is my Bama cheerleader, my Cinderella and then the birthday girl with her daddy at her birthday party.

Here are some pics from Shelby's birthday and my girls on Halloween. Oh and both the girls got their hair cut as well as I did. We are all enjoying our new hair and am loving a new look for a new season.

I know has been way too long since I have posted anything and I will explain that. It has been one crazy thing after another here lately. It seems like every time I think things are getting back on track is when something else comes up.

Last weekend was my oldest birthday party. She got to go bowling, which she loves, had many people there that love her dearly and she loves also. She got presents that she still has not been able to put down. Then that night, I was able to be kidless for the night. My mom wanted to have a night with all the grandkids, so her wish was my command. She had my nephews and my hyper girls after the birthday party. It was a very relaxing night. Me and hubby have not had a night to ourselves in a very long time. We hung out with some friends and then came home to enjoy time in our bed and actually got to sleep late.

Then my work week began. I had a rough week with work, these kids are ready for a break and SO AM I. Shelby's actual birthday was Thursday, she got more cake and more presents, she was so happy.

We have also come across that Shelby has major problems with math. I have found a great webpage and Shelby is loving it. It has math games on it for her until she hits middle school. She has got to where she is learning the steps in math and I actually think she is getting the hang of it. It is so wierd with me and Jason because math is our best subject and we never had to have help with that subject and now we have a child that has trouble with it.

Jason went back to the doctor on Friday about his back. We have been battling with his back for some time now and it seems like it is just one big run around. Well we are hoping that we will get some results soon. He is suppose to have a block put in his back to see if that will help with the uncomfortable part of everything. He has some disk that are damaged. He is on a lot of medication and the doc is wanting to get him off of it. I will be glad when he is off all the medication because it seems like it just drags him down.

Now my little situation. I have come across a hard spot in the road. I drive the school bus everyday and know that job cannot go anywhere. I enjoy my job on most days but have some really bad days just like other people. I have also tried to get my license so I can sub for the teachers at the Elementary school. And then on top of that, I have started doing my H&R Block classes so I can hopefully work there this coming up tax season. I really want to work there this year, because I loved the extra money and loved the people that I worked around. But it seems like the time is slim. My main goal is to get in the school with my daughter. I can work there and not have to drive anywhere and have to deal with traffic, if something happens to my child then I will be there and no what is going on. I hate to find out something is going on at that school and me being the last one to find out. She loves me being at the school, so she can see me when she wants. This past Friday, I helped another bus driver with a first grade class and that was a task that I will never forget. Shelby knew that I was right next door and she wanted to be with me. I know that is going to be a problem sometimes but I also found out some things that is going on at the school and I am glad that I work there and was able to find out this stuff. I am very over-protective of my children and to be the last one to find out what is going on around them, really bothers me.

I have rambled enough and I think that I have updated everything. If I anything happens that is really important I will post soon. I am trying to get ready for Christmas but is not working out to well for me. Just one holiday at a time, hope everyone has a Great Thanksgiving.

It has been too long...

I have been a little behind on posting anything lately. It has been so crazy around here with stuff that is going on. We are getting everything ready for Halloween. That was a mission all by itself. Shelby was not sure on what she was wanting to be this year and we finally got her to decide on an Alabama cheerleader. Haylee is going to be glam in her Cinderella dress. She has known for awhile that she has wanted to be Cinderella, so it was just deciding on which Cinderella dress to actually get.
A few days ago, I got a wild hair and decided to get my hair cut off. I was tired of having the same hair up in a ponytail everyday. I never done anything with it because it was getting too long and was too stringy. So now it is above my shoulders, which I love. And I have added some new colors. I have the red that I love, some blonde streaks, and some black streaks. I was unsure about the black but it looks good with the red, or at least I think so. Well when I got my hair cut, I realized it was past time for the girls to have their hair cut. Haylee was not sure about getting her hair cut, but Shelby was more than ready. We got to the salon, Haylee then decided she was more than ready too. She climb up in the chair and told Tina that she was ready. Haylee looks so freakin cute, her hair is cut right at her shoulders. It is the shortest that she has ever had. Shelby was looking through books while Haylee was getting her hair cut. We finally decided on something that looked like it would go on a soon-to-be 7 year old. She found the cutest hair cut that was cut at the shoulders and layered. I was not sure about my child having layers in her hair. I was not sure how much trouble it would be to fix. Shelby has very thick hair and it knots up so easily. Now I have decided that was the best hair cut that has ever been on Shelby. She looks like a growing girl, and LOVES her hair. So that was our excitement for our hair this week.
I have had some drama happen with my job lately that has had me stressed out beyond belief. As most people know, I started driving a bus after my dad started driving a bus. He was driving a bus at Oak Mountain Middle when I started driving. I realized this was the best job for me since I had children and was not able to work full time and get GREAT benefits for my family. I have been driving a bus for 2 years now, full time. My dad was 6 months away from being tenured, when he was fired from the county because of something a parent complained about. He had no idea it was coming, no warning whatsoever. With us not being tenured, we can get fired over any little thing. They don't really have to have a reason to fire us. Well I am a year short of being tenured. At this same time last year, I went through a lot of problems with my students and their parents. At that time, my job was not a question because the economy was not like it is now. I got my first verbal warning from my boss and we come to find out that this one particular student just didn't like adults. He treated everyone like this and Mrs. Palmer was not going to have me deal with it on the bus, so he was suspended. Well the reason I am telling you all of this is because the past couple of weeks, I have been dealing with another problem on my bus. I wrote up some students for not following the rules and they were suspended off the bus for a couple of days. On the first day after them getting suspended, an anonymous phone call came in to Mrs. Palmer. She was told that I stopped the bus one afternoon, covered the camera, took of my belt on my pants, hit a student with my belt, and then threatened them with the fact that if they told anyone then they would live to regret it. At that point in time, I thought nothing about it. I just thought about it as being a parent mad at me about writing up their child. The following day, a high school student told me that he had heard that same story. So this story was being passed around the school. I have a child that is in 1st grade and I don't need other students coming up to her telling her that her mother is mean and hits other students. I could not imagine what that would do to my daughter. So I went to Mrs. Palmer and told her what had happened with my dad. I told her that I could not lose this job because of a childish parent not making their child mind. She assured me that she would back me up if anything came out of this and she was going to make a phone call to my boss to let him know what was going on. As of right now, nothing else has been said about it. But I still stress about it everyday, I don't know if I will walk into the school to receive a pink slip and there will be nothing I can do about it because I am not tenured. This has been the main stress that has been bothering. I have been watching everything that I do on the bus because I don't know if it will cost me my job. I am grateful for most of my students on the bus though, they have went to Mrs. Palmer and told her that everything that they have heard is not true.
I could not imagine why a parent would say something like that about me. Most of these parents know me because I went to school with them. Why would they want to say something like that, knowing it is not true? I have had my battles with this bus and sometimes wondered if this job was really worth all this trouble. But then I think about the students on my bus that I have no trouble with, that get off the bus in the morning and afternoon and give me a hug and tell me to have a good day. I think about the students that went to Mrs. Palmer on their own to stand up for me. I love those students, they surprise me everyday and makes me thankful that I was able to drive them to and from school. A lot of people don't think that driving a school bus is that much work, but it is the hardest job I have ever had, including being a mother. With my children, I learn from my mistakes and fix them the best that I can. With someone else's children, I have to learn from them.
Well I hope that I have not bored anyone with my drama, but it is just some things that have been on my mind and that I have been dealing with. I am hoping today will be a good day. I plan on spending it with the bestest friends for football Saturday. I owe so much to these friends, and one day I will be able to repay them for everything they have done for me. Also I am hoping to get some pics today of my new hair and the girls new hair. Hopefully I will be posting them soon. Hope everyone has a great weekend and ROLL TIDE!!!

My Baby is 4!!!

Haylee and her pretty birthday cake. This cake was basically the only thing that she really asked for.

Haylee wearing her Birthday tutu that came with the cake. This is the only pic that I got with her wearing it.

She loves her new Barbie dolls, she didn't put them down all night.

I have been through my share of birthdays with myself, my nephews, my parents, and my children. But I think this was the birthday that I was not really ready for. I had been putting it off, thinking it would go away. Haylee is my last child, I am unable to have anymore. I know that she will get older but that does not mean that I have to like it. She was so excited about her birthday. She usually don't care who is here and what is going on. She just normally treats it like any other day. I guess that she just was not at the right age yet. She has been asking all week, when is it going to be her "birfday". When it finally got here, she was so excited. She wanted her cake and her presents. I surprised her and Shelby with getting the space bounce from my uncle and they loved that. They actually had about 2 hours in it by themselves with no one bouncing too high or getting too rough. They loved it.

Now, we did have some problems at the beginning of the day because Shelby wanted to get upset because Haylee was getting stuff but she was not. We basically had to threaten Shelby and let her know that her birthday is next month and she will get stuff then. Once people started getting here, she got better.

I hope that everyone had a great weekend and has a good week. I enjoyed my weekend with my friends and family and watching football. I loved how the day turned out for Haylee's birthday and happy that she enjoyed her birthday so much. Now it is time to start planning Shelby's birthday. She has already picked out her cake and has started picking out presents that she wants. So I guess I need to get a move on it to get some money somewhere so I can take her bowling for her birthday with some friends.

Oh and ROLL TIDE!!!!

This past football weekend

We had some friends over since we had worked so hard on the living room. We cooked hot dogs and watched football all day. We started out watching the Alabama football game, well it was boring. Bama beat the crap out of Arkansas. We all hung out outside with the kids, playing with them and cooking the food on the grill. We still had football games on, but nothing really important. Then it came time for the LSU/AU game. Well my husband is a big LSU fan but most of the friends that we had over are AU fans. I am a true Bama fan, but cheer for LSU when not playing Bama. So there sits me and husband, the LSU fans with about 4-5 AU fans. As the game went on, the score keeps changing, AU then LSU, it was a game that kept me on the edge of the couch. Then when LSU scored the final touchdown, we knew the game was pretty much over. The AU fans in the house got quiet, one even walked out. We had a blast having our close friends over but that game was intense. I am now happy that they game is over with and we don't have to go through that for another year. I am really nervous about the Bama/LSU game, cause that really causes tension in our house. Last year was really rough during the LSU/Bama game, me and hubby didn't talk for the rest of the night. Hopefully I will not get mad like that again, because Bama will win. I am also worried about this weekends game, Bama/Georgia. I will probably be sitting on the edge of my seat for that game too, but I can't wait either. So I hope that everyone has a great football weekend, cause there will be a bunch of great games on. I wish that today was Friday and the work week would be over. Just one more day. ROLL TIDE and have a great rest of the week and weekend.

The final look...

This is a picture of the old big screen tv that we use to have. Of course, Haylee being in front posing for the camera was cuter. But I wanted to show you the before project.










Here is our new tv sitting on top of the old tv. We gutted the inside and made it a DVD case. The walls are a new color in this pick and the trim work is done. We were in the process of wondering what color to paint the ceiling.










I loved the way that everything came out, we worked so hard and long on this project.
















This is the final look of our living room. This is my favorite picture. It shows the fresh new paint on the ceiling, walls, and trim. It also shows the new paint job on the old tv casing. It was solid brown and we painted the inset black.




I am so proud of our new living room. We have been looking at the same living room for over 7 years. The color before was just tan with white trim. Now we have a completely different look. We love the brown trim, was questionable about it, but love it now. We still have some work to do on the floors. That is our next project. We have hardwood floors, we are wanting to sand them and stain them. There is so much stuff that has built up on our pretty floors, they don't look as pretty as they use to. But after we do our floors, our next mission is Shelby and Haylee's room. They have outgrown their room and so we are moving on to a new color. It is hard to decide on a color that they both agree on, but I think we have finally come to a final color, actually many colors. There are a lot of different colors that they want, they want some kind of design on the wall. I hope that I can do it the way that they want, because I am not artistic at all. Well I just wanted to show why I have not blogged in awhile and let everyone see the final look of our pretty living room.

TOO FREAKIN CUTE

I just thought this was too cute and had to post this pic for everyone to see. Haylee was looking on the front porch and started laughing. I asked her what was so funny and she told me to come look at the little kitten. It is amazing how they can sleep anywhere.