Happy Birthday David!

Our friend David had his 6th birthday party yesterday and the kids couldn't wait to go!  Brayden, being 2 and no nap, didn't quite understand why he wasn't getting presents but he soon got over it.  I think he wanted these footballs on the cake more than anything.  We had a great time and enjoyed celebrating with little Dave!  Happy Birthday David!

Karis and Mari-Morgan

Yea it looks like Brayden was eyeing this cake... but not so much.  It was those footballs he wanted!

Under Construction

Our upstairs is currently under construction.  Right now we have one large room which is tv/play room and Jay's office.  But we are dividing the room to make a bedroom upstairs as a guest room/Karis room maybe when she gets a little older.  Jay had some friends come out today to help frame it.  Before he puts sheetrock on it we wanted to have the kids sign their names and "leave their mark" on the house.  They sure enjoyed it!  I am sure Brayden was shocked that we were letting him draw with a sharpie because for him, they are STRICTLY OFF LIMITS!  You can see the joy in their eyes that they got to draw on the wall!

Brayden was saying he was in jail here...(hey, not a bad idea!)

Framing of the office closet

Bedroom closet

We enjoyed "making memories" tonight.

Our little helpers...

Today I took Mari-Morgan along with Karis and Brayden to my mom's house to play while I went and got my haircut (for the 1st time in 6 months...it was HIGHLY needed!).  Mom was also watching her friend Karen's foster twins and the girls were such little mommas!  Mari-Morgan really took to these babies...I think she needs a little brother or sister!  They each helped feed one and then held them for a while.

Karis is really gonna be a big helper when this baby comes!

Goin' to the chapel....

Lolli gave Karis a new dress up dress (it was actually a hand-me-down) from a friend and then Lolli gave Karis HER VEIL from when she got married so it is very special.  She wanted to dress up the other night and came in like this....

They say they are going to marry each other when they grow up...I wonder if that idea will fade in the next 10 years????  I am just glad they love each other...well most of the time anyway.

New Puppy (Puppies)

So Sunday we headed to Walmart to get some things for our small group Sunday night and Jay drove the kids around the parking lot while I ran in to get a few things.  When I got back in the car, Jay said, "Hey there is this guy parked at the end of the parking lot giving away free labs!"  The kids wanted to get one for our neighbor because his lab dog "BJ" was run over last week.  And of course, Jay threw in there..."and Jackson needs a buddy!"  So needless to say we came home with more than a few things from Walmart... we came home with 2 6 week old lab pups.  AND our neighbor said he wasn't ready for another pet (he is really having a hard time with the loss of his other dog) so now we have two!  We ARE trying to get rid of one...you interested???  It is FREE!  They are so cute...too bad they don't stay this little and cute!  

These puppies have been the love of my kid's lives this week.  They wake up wanting to see Josh and BJ and spend hours after dinner playing in the garage with the pups before bath/bedtime.  Karis even cried when she had to come in because she said she already missed them!

Here Karis got 2 towels and made them pallets in her wagon and said they were "warm and cozy."  She is such the nurturer!

Just call me crazy...because I know we are!  What have we done???

Finding stuff to do...

Because it is cold and rainy outside, we are all trying to find things to do inside and there are 3 people in my family (not me...I enjoy lazy days) who are getting restless.  It is only 11:00 a.m. and we have completed a ton of activities trying to keep everyone busy.  So far we have made homemade biscuits, bacon and eggs, made a tent for the kids to watch a movie in (Air Bud was the movie choice of the day), played upstairs, bird watched, played playdoh, used our art buckets, cut coupons and menu planned, caught up on blogging, email and facebook, had computer time (all 4 of us at the table with our laptops), had snack and it feels like it should be about 5 p.m. already but we sure are enjoying ourselves.

Here are the kids in their tent while watching Air Bud

We have had a ton of birds at our bird feeder lately including Redbirds and a bunch of other birds we didn't know what kind they were.  We decided to pull up a chair and watch them and then do some research in honor of our African friend Stratton (he is a serious bird watcher with charts and everything and can name any bird he sees).  Of course we had the male and female redbirds (they were "married" Brayden said) and then we took a pic of another bird the kids called a zebra bird because it's tail is black and white stripe. We later found out on the internet it was a Golden Crested Kinglet or something like that and is from Canda (we were trying to explain to the kids about migration).  I could have that totally wrong though...we already forgot.

I wonder what the rest of the day will hold...

The worst teaching day of my life

So Thursday I subbed at a local middle school for 8th grade science (won't mention the name).  I had no idea what the school was like and accepted the job.  Three times before I even got to my classroom that morning I had people tell me that these kids were "rough" and "ghetto" were the words they used.  Several of the kids even told me in homeroom "Your 3rd period is the worst...good luck."  The teacher next door said, "Yea these kids are really bad so don't feel bad if you have to call an administrator to your room...it happens at this school every day." I was starting to get a little nervous although I am a very tough discipline teacher and have taught middle school for 6 years.  Let's just say I didn't sit all day (not even to write down the long list of students that were misbehaving) for fear that something would go terribly wrong when I turned my back.  I had silence for about 10 minutes the whole day and that was 1st period after I had spent 45 minutes demanding silence and when my energy and patience still weren't running out.  Throughout the day, I had someone steal my bracelet off my desk and it was circulating the room, I got locked out of the classroom by a student (thank goodness there were no students in the room), took up an ipod and then had the two students talk back so bad I had to call an administrator (thank goodness it was the last 30 minutes of the day), and MUCH attitude like I have NEVER seen before.  I even asked the other teachers at lunch where these kids went to high school and they told me, "Bartlett or Cordova but most go to 201 Poplar!"  I have never felt so miniscule in my life and it is safe to say I will take that school off my list and will NOT be back.  

*I do think if I was a real teacher at this school it wouldn't have been as bad as my experience but as a sub...you have very little leverage especially not knowing the kids, their names or what they are capable of.

Let's just say that I was VERY glad when that day was over!

Random thoughts

Our week has been great...but nothing major going on.  Just a few random thoughts for the week...

I have been off my part time job this week so we have done a few different fun things that we wouldn't have been able to do otherwise.  We spent the day yesterday with my friend Rachel and their friends Kendall, Drew and Jack.  Fun times!

I have been inspired by a friend of mine, Carey, who is such a smart shopper and lives on a very tight budget as us.  I have been reading up on some ways to save money while grocery shopping and have found some really great ideas.  In short...CVS is a woman's best friend and there are deals to be had at any store you just have to find the energy to be consistent and work the system. I am learning the tricks and will share soon once I get going how much money I am saving.  I have spent alot of my extra time this week reading up on some of these things and shopping around for deals.  

Today the kids and I went to the park after their school because it was almost 70 degrees outside and it was gorgeous!  We found a new park in Hernando and we will definitely go back!

My 2nd child who is a boy (won't mention his name) is going to give me gray hair at the age of 29!  He is definitely my strong willed, bold one.  He has gotten in trouble both days at school this week for throwing food...something that he never does at home.  And those that know me, know that we are VERY tough on him.  But he still seems to try us!  He will definitely be our challenge and I know it is just beginning...just need the strength to continue to teach him right.  Does anyone else have a strong willed 2 year old like this?  At this moment he is waiting on his daddy to come home to "discipline" him this time for throwing food again today.  He knows he did wrong because today when I picked him up, he immediately started crying and saying, "Mom where is the paddle????"  Oh Lord help us!

I am subbing the next two days and will be hanging out at mom's house.  Looking forward to seeing them!  We sure will miss daddy!

Baby Lemonds is getting bigger and things are starting to get uncomfortable.  I am 27 weeks and heading into the 3rd trimester.  My belly is like a really tight brick and there is a lot of pressure.  The joys of being preggo...

My hair hasn't been cut in 6 months and looks terrible!  Looking forward to a hair cut and highlights in less than a week.  I think I will feel much better after that!

I think that is all for now...gotta go cook some pork chops for dinner before Bible study.  

The Lemonds Band

The other night the kids wanted to have a dance party.  So daddy found some fast music and they started going to town.  It was hilarious and so much fun. Then the kids started picking anything they could find and "playing" it like they were in a band.  We had a drummer, a guitar player, piano player, even the music minister!

Brayden playing his guitar like "Danny"  (his hero from our church band)

Brayden playing the drums

Karis the drummer

Funny story...Karis got this step stool and said, "I am the preacher!"  And then she started moving her arms like she was leading the choir.  She went to Lolli's church this past weekend and said she saw the "preacher" there doing it.  Obviously it was the music minister.  Our worship leader plays the guitar while he sings so he doesn't ever do this.  How funny!

Drums again...

We will be releasing CD's soon so be looking for them...

The Perfect Valentines Day

Today has been the most perfect Valentines Day.  Yesterday Lolli kept the kids for us for the whole weekend so that we could spend Valentines Day together and we are so thankful.  She is the best!  Last night we were able to go to dinner and then this morning I slept in.  I haven't done that in a while and it was heavenly!  I did NOT wake up to 2 kids at my bedside saying, "Mom, get up!  I want to eat!"  Instead I woke up to these.....

...and these....

We spent most of the day catching up on some things around the house.  Jay had some stuff for his travel business and I was able to catch up on all the laundry, wash and change all the sheets,  and clean my whole house!   It was such a wonderful feeling to get caught up on everything.  Then Jay and I enjoyed an incredible candlelight dinner...

...which consisted of steak, baked potatoes (loaded of course), asparagus with hollandaise sauce, and marinated mushrooms.   It was a great dinner and spent with the most wonderful man in the world.

Our dessert consisted of a couple cups of coffee and those yummy chocolate covered strawberries as we curled up on the couch and watched a Pay-per-view movie "Nights in Rodanthe."  It was a great end to a wonderful day.

Happy Valentines Day!  I love you Jay!

"Luring fish" and crazy hair

We drove into Bartlett early this morning hoping I would get a sub job but ended up not getting one today so we changed up our plans.  Karis stayed and played with her friends at Lolli's house while I took Brayden to get his weekly allergy shot.  He didn't want to leave his friends so I told him I would take him to Bass Pro Shop after his shot which is one of his favorite places to go and every time we pass it he wants to go there.  He is like a kid in a candy store with all the dead stuffed animals and fishing and hunting equipment.  He is such his daddy's boy!  He liked looking at all the fish in the huge tank and picking out bobbers and fishing lures for his daddy.  His excuse for everything he picked up was, "I want to get this for daddy."  In the picture below he wanted to take this jeep home (yea right) but also picked out these bobbers that are in his hand (for daddy of course).  

In the kid section they have this tree house that he enjoyed playing in for a while.  

Brayden ended up getting a magnetic fishing lure that he did not put down even to sleep.  He called it his "luring fish."  He ended up losing it later that night and was devastated so Pop took him back to get another one.  

When we got back to Lolli's house, we headed outside to let the kids jump on the trampoline.  For some reason the static was terrible today as you will see below...

Lolly's dresses

A friend of mine, Danielle has started her own business called Lolly's and is selling some super cute dresses for little girls size 6 months to 8 years.  She has a new blog where she is showing off some of her new line.   Please check them out at www.lollysforkids.blogspot.com.

Kids are so literal...

The kids and I were headed to Mari-Morgan's house yesterday and we passed our church Riverbend.  Brayden noticed that there were no cars there and was asking where everyone was.  I explained to him it was a work day and not a "church day" so that is why no one was there.  The conversation then led to the fact that we can talk to God anywhere and learn about him whether we are at "church" or not.  Church is just the building but God is with us everywhere we go. Karis then proceeded to say, "Yea!  God is with us even if we are stuck in the top of a tree or on top of a roof or something!"  Yes she was right I agreed.  Then she said something I wasn't expecting and I could tell the wheels in her head were just turning.  She then said, "Mom there is one place that you can't talk to God."  I said, "Where Karis?"  She replied, "Silly...you can't talk to God if you are in a GRAVE."  

Princes and Princesses

Karis is into these new crowns she got at Walmart (they were super cheap in the Valentine section). SO everyone in the house has had to wear one at some point although I never caught Brayden with my camera.  Introducing Princess Karis...

I have officially been crowned..

Even daddy and American Girl doll Julie got crowned...

Afternoon at the park

After I picked up the kids from school today, the weather was just perfect so we headed over to the Hernando Park to enjoy the afternoon...