1st Grade

I know I'm late posting, but SO much has been going on, blogging had to take back seat! Here is Caden on the first day of 1st Grade. He really likes school and loves his teacher, Mrs. Preston! He reports that recess, lunch, and computer lab are his favorite things at school in that order. He also admits to liking reading and math.

outside South Breeze; he was so excited to start we were there 20 minutes before the school even opened

he's grown so much in a year!

so happy to finally start 1st grade!

my latest craft

This is the gift Caden gave is his teacher, Mrs. Preston, on the first day of 1st grade. It was fairly easy and fun to make! I love the color! I think I need one for my office.

used to be

This

 used to be a half full roll of perfectly good paper towels and not the cheap kind!

This

 used to be the clean floor of our computer room!

This

used to be our sweet kitty girl!

Caden says

Two really quick and funny Caden quoteables.

Anytime he's the first to finish something: "I'm a fast poke not a slow poke!"  Really?!?!

Tonight while sitting on the toilet, he announces to us, "I'm trying to bomb it out!"    Only a boy!

Introducing . . .

the newest member of our family! Meet Zoe. We adopted her from Caring Hands in February. I've been wanting a pet for awhile, but adopting her was Doug's idea and I was surprised. She is an orange and white tabby and about 6 months old now. She is sweet, cuddly, wild, ADORED by Caden, playful, energetic, full of purrs and "kisses" and she is always where ever we are.  Zoe cries when we go to bed (we keep her out of our bedrooms) and waits by the door for us each morning. She has two really awesome tricks ~ she plays fetch like a dog with her little stuffed toy and she jumps for her laser light toy. And by jump, I mean kitty has got some serious ups skills! We've gotten her to jump about 4 feet off the ground trying to catch the laser light. Caden is convinced she is his sister and he can't leave the house, go to bed, or pass by her without talking to her, petting her, and kissing her. For her part, Zoe is pretty tolerant of Caden's affections. She's been a welcome and wonderful addition to our family!

Zoe goes exploring

just a little R & R: she watches us come and go from this window perch on the back of our couch

flashback: monster truck show

Back in early February, our family joined Doug's brother and his family for a day out. We started with lunch at Old Chicago. Then we headed to the Monster Truck Show and topped our day off with fro-yo at Orange Leaf. Fun, LOUD, and yummy!!  Caden really enjoyed watching the monster trucks perform. We squealed and giggled and pointed and oohed and ahhed and asked for his ear plugs to be adjusted all afternoon!

Pre-show pictures: L to R and T to B: cousins by birth, buddies by choice; Daddy and Caden; brothers and their kids; my favorite sixes

L to R:  in order of their excitement level: Caden, Tegan, Jensen

Cousins ~ The Crew

He thought this was the greatest day!

Choosing topping at our new favorite: Orange Leaf

12 for 12 in 2011 {update #3}

1. I'm still working on catching up. I was further behind that I thought, but I should get caught up this week. I've  learned that if I want to reach this goal in 2011, it will be far easier to stay caught up. I've also learned that I really like having a guide to read through the Bible and really want to accomplish this goal. Also, there is lots of murder, deceit, and debauchery in the book of Genesis. It's WAY more than just the simple 7 day story of creation that admittedly was the only thing I knew about Genesis until now.
2. This will get done this week, I hope.
3. I did blog 3 times last week. All with pictures, but not all about Caden, so I think that's success.
4. I did exercise last week, but only3 times and couldn't go to Zumba sine it was canceled due to bad weather. Really missed Zumba class and really wished I had Zumba DVDs at home to use.
5. I also didn't read for pleasure this week. Sadly, I'm afraid I won't get my 2 books read in January.
6. Again, Doug tried a new recipe. He created a new version of his Chicken and Noodles. Seriously yummy, but since he's a pro in the kitchen and I'm tired when I get home from work and craving some alone time, I'm going to have to work hard this week to squueze in a new recipe that I actually make.
7. While our house certainly did not see its worst this week, it also did  not see its best in terms of cleanliness. It wasn't horrible, but we were lazy with chores and had to spend a couple of hours on Saturday getting caught up again. We both vowed to do better this week.
8. no movement on this front
9. took pictures of Doug on his birthday, our niece on her birthday, and of my first craft project
10. SUCCESS. See previous post. I know it was simple and I feel silly for admitting it, but this project made me feel like a crafter (I'm NOT by the way) and I felt very accomplished once it was hung on the wall
11. Not necessarily random, but I took a meal to friend who is going through some challenging health issues with her family and also surprised 3 women at work with pieces of cake this week. Kind = yes; Random = no
12. no movement here either

Well it seems I don't accomplish much on this list each week, but I'm pleased how much I think about it during the week and how I've posted updates (even though they make me sound lazy!) on my progress.