New Year's

So, I'm already thinking about how I want my 2010 to go. Is it really already 2010? Crazy. Anyway, (1) I am starting 10 off debt free, and I am going to make sure it ends debt free. (2) This is my year to finally be in a healthy, happy relationship with a man! Lol. No drama, no stress, just love. Real love. I'm ready for it and I'm open to it, so I know it's going to happen. (3) Be a more patient mom. Giving each child individual, alone time to just do whatever they want with me and having a family night once a week are my goals. I want to build good, happy memories for them.

I am grateful for all of my past experiences, even hard ones. They make me who I am and they make me stronger. This is going to be my best year yet, and I am very excited for it to be here! And for the first time in a long time, I will be celebrating the New Year right here at home with the two most important people in my world, my kids. I'm even letting them stay up until midnight!

Loved

I am feeling so spoiled lately. First of all, my mom and brother gave up a good part of their Friday to bring me a couch and help me figure out what was wrong with my battery. Then, my family gave up their WHOLE Saturday to move me to Gilbert. They didn't just move us then leave, they stayed and unpacked, hung pictures, organized things, and cleaned things. They were amazing. Then, my coworkers are always offering to loan me money for groceries, roach spray (lol), or whatever I need. They really are the best. One of my student's moms made the most delicious dinner for us and dropped it off to welcome us to the neighborhood! Then to top it all off, tonight Theo and Josh had us over. Josh went to Checker and got new battery terminals for my battery AND installed them. It took a couple hours and he missed American Idol. :( I just can't help but feel totally loved. I am SO lucky to have such good, caring family and friends. I love you all and just wanted to publicly thank you all!

Queen Creek

As I pack up my life into boxes, I can't help but feel a little sad. While I hate living in a half abandoned neighborhood in the middle of nowhere, I was nothing less than thrilled to purchase my very own home...all by myself. It was an accomplishment and I was proud of myself. Well, I failed as a homeowner; which is hard for me to swallow. I put a lot of love into this house. I painted it all by myself, well with a little help from the twins. I hung the curtains, installed the ceiling fans (with assistance, of course), and took care of the yard.

Both of my children lost their first teeth in this house. They also learned the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy are not real in this house. I look around and see memories. Like when Cory put a hole in the wall with the handle of my resistance band, our sleep overs in the front room together as a family on Friday nights after we watch a movie, the forts the kids built, the night Kylie left cheese out because she googled how to catch a ghost and a site told her it could be done with cheese, the time Cory cut his head on his ceiling fan, all the secret spy missions the kids have done in this house, the mouse in our garage, bike rides in the neighborhood, getting Max, then Libby, then having to give Libby away, Cory getting glasses, my kids started kindergarten while living in this house, all the laughs, the tears, the love we have shared is in this house. Oh if these walls could talk......

I have always had a hard time accepting change. I know life changes. If it doesn't, we get stagnant. We have to change to grow and learn. I have learned a lot from living here over the past almost 4 years. I know that we will be happy in Gilbert. I know that it will be a positive things. We will never forget our first home in Queen Creek though. We will miss you. :(

Cory

Cory rode Colby's motorcycle yesterday. Jesse asked if he had good insurance. Lol. Scary. He did great though! I'm sure he'll be asking for one for his birthday.

Max

I though Max might have fleas. He didn't. He has horrible allergies. His skin was sooo red and raw. Poor guy. They gave him a shot, I have to bathe him with medicated shampoo and conditioner three times a week, give him benadryl twice a day, he takes a prescription pill, and I have to wipe him down with a damp cloth at the end of the day to remove allergens and pollen. Lol. So much work! And it was $120! He's lucky we love him a lot. We are on a tight budget! This is him right after his medicated bath. Soooo fun to hold him in the tub for 10 minutes so he wouldn't jump out.

Spring Break

We started our spring break with a visit from Mo and her beau, Luke. It was so good to see them. We had breakfast at Aleisha's. Then, we went to the zoo. It was HOT, but still fun. We wrapped our break by heading to Heber to the cabin. It was really fun and the weather was definitely cooler. We made smores last night in the backyard. Max even got to go! Back to school tomorrow.....last quarter of the year!! :)

My Future Politicians and Boo on Arizona!

I took Kylie and Cory to the March 4 Schools Rally in Phoenix today. We rode on a bus with people from our school and district. It was really neat. I hope it makes a difference, because I sure as heck don't know how I will teach 40 students next year. More importantly, I do not want my own children in classrooms of 40 next year. It makes me sad to think people I see as friends may not be there with me next year. I know every business is going through hard times and so many people are getting laid off, but we are talking about our children. They should not have to feel the effects of what's going on. But that's exactly who will feel it with our state's proposed budget cuts. I was looking at the rally information online. I was pretty annoyed at what some people think. I read that teachers aren't teaching in Arizona. Really?!?! Wow. What do they think we do all day? Do you know Az is actually 51st now (below Puerto Rico) in per pupil funding? They've got to be kidding me. Part of me seriously wants to go to a state where educators and education are valued a little bit more. Why is Az like this? It makes me not even want to go to work tomorrow. It seems that no one values what I do anyway..so what's the point? Oh yeah, those 30 little kiddos smiling at me every morning..waiting to tell me all about what they did yesterday...waiting to tell me what they looked up about the Civil War...telling me they practiced their math facts and they just know they will pass their timed test today...telling me how pretty I am (lol)...they're the point! Come on Arizona!!! Let's get it together. Recession or not. We can't do this to our AZ kiddos!