A Few of Mikayla's Favorite Things

I have been thinking as I try to capture those moments of Drew and Mikayla's childhood that I want to remember forever, that I should compile a list of their favorite things (kind of like Oprah - well, minus the freebies as I am on a teacher's salary) and maybe update the lists each year. It would be a fun comparison as they grow and change.

These are a few of Mikayla's favorite things in 2008 (in no particular order):

• Molly (dog), Miley Cyrus, and Jackson (goats)
• Reading - My girl walks around with a book in her hand almost constantly. She's been reading Dick and Jane stories for the past 4 months (a pretty good accomplishment for a girl who just turned four in August). Can you tell I'm a proud mom?
• Writing - If she's not carrying around a book, she has instead something to write on.
• Breanna, Jadyn, Abbi, Annabeth, Timothy, Savanna, and other friends
• Pocketbooks - She LOVES pocketbooks and will frequently have one on her arm as we are leaving the house. Before she could say pocketbook she called them "pockbooks".
• Make-up - Easy to see she's a girly-girl, huh? She loves make-up, and asks daily if she can have some of mine. She has her own that she wears when we are just hanging around the house.
• Games - Candyland, Uno, Connect Four, Memory - she loves them all!
• Puzzles - She has many of her own, but she likes me to bring the ones from my classroom home as well.
• Dancing - She dances every time music plays.
• Singing - She knows many songs by heart and when they come on the radio, she sings along beautifully.
• Glitter - She loves "sprinkles" as she calls them on everything - clothes, hair bows, pocketbooks, the more "sprinkly" the better!
• Cheering - The socializing that goes along with it is also beneficial.
• Baby Dolls - She has too many to count, and she is always carrying one (or more) everywhere she goes.
• Barbies
• Pizza
• Cheeseburgers (no pickles)
• Having Her Hair Braided
• Hannah Montana
• High School Musical
• Pink, pink, and more pink
• Coca -Cola
• Riding her Scooter
• Talking on the Phone

Whew! What a list! Can't wait to compare!

Basketball/Cheer Week 5

Last Saturday, February 16, Drew and Mikayla had their week 5 games. Drew played extremely well, and continues to show improvement each week. Drew gets ready to take a shot (one of the many he made during the game). Drew's team didn't win this game, but the score was closer than it was the last time we played this team!
Mikayla continues to enjoy cheering. Even when on the sidelines (where they cheer until half time), she uses her megaphone to cheer the guys on. She especially enjoys cheering at half-time, as you can see from the picture!

It's That Season...

Yep, Flu season! I came home last Friday to Craig sick on the couch with pink eye and the Flu. We thought we were doing really well until Saturday night Mikayla started with a cough. She sometimes gets colds this time of year, especially with all the changes with the weather. Either way we thought it better to play it safe and keep her out of school on Monday. My mom (mimi) is off on Mondays and said she would love to keep Mikayla. She was fine all day - ate well, played with Mimi and Poppi (when he got home), everything. Until...Craig walked in the house with her where she immediately got sick. (I don't want to spell it out here because I know there are some out there with weak tummies, but you get the picture.) She eats supper Monday night and goes to bed early. She woke up Tuesday morning and said "I feel better, I'm going to school today!". We took her temperature and it was normal (we are very blessed as she has had only one day of very low grade fever). So, off to school we go. My assistant principal brings her into my room about 1:30 and says "she's not feeling well, and she wants her mommy". We have wonderful, family oriented administration at my school! I call Craig and ask if he could come get her and gave orders that she should probably be seen by her pediatrician as by this time she is complaining of her knees, belly, and throat hurting. He was able to get an appointment for 2:30 - amazing really when he called about 1:45. Doctor's diagnosis - you guessed it: Flu (this was also the only time we know of that she has had a temperature and it was 100.2)! So, she and Drew both started on Tamaflu and she and mommy stayed home yesterday. She didn't eat hardly anything until last night she had chicken noodle soup, but she drank Sprite and water all day. Still no fever, so we were off to school today with no problems. Hopefully we are well on our way of being free from the Flu in this household!!

SC Teacher Forum Winter Workshop

Last Wednesday morning I left Spartanburg headed to Myrtle Beach for the 2008 SC Teacher Forum Winter Workshop. The SC Teacher Forum is made up of current Teachers of the Year from every district in South Carolina.

After beginning the day upset over leaving my babies (I have never spent more than one night away from Drew and Mikayla at a time.), I ended up having an incredible time at the beach. It was so relaxing to lay on my bed at the hotel with the balcony door propped open (don't worry, I was on the fifth floor) and look out at the beautiful ocean!! I spent Wednesday afternoon doing just this (although I listened more than I watched as I had a new book in hand) until our first session at 6:00.

We were in large group and small group sessions for most of the time while there with breakfast and lunch in the Marlin (restaurant located at the hotel/conference center). It was wonderful really getting to know these other fine teachers who give their all to the students of South Carolina every day! I made many connections, and plan to keep in touch with many of them! It was so humbling to be in a room full of people just as passionate about education as I! This is something that I'll never forget!

View of the hotel from my balcony.Child-sized wooden chair that one of our parents at the school painted for me to take. We had a silent auction to raise money for Teacher Cadet Scholarships, and the winning bid on this chair was $75!

View of the sunset over the ocean from my balcony! Looking at this beautiful picture sure makes me wish I was still there!!Dr. Jim Rex, State Superintendent of Education was there to congratulate us and offer his support!
6 of the 7 District Teachers of the year from Spartanburg County. I love these girls!!

Chamber of Commerce Meeting

Tonight I, along with the teachers of the year from the other Spartanburg districts were honored at the annual Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce meeting at the Marriot Hotel. Craig and I arrived at the Marriot early (in order to find a parking spot) and went in to get our tickets. I was suprised to find a HUGE banquet room filled to the max with tables. My mom's friend works there and she said they set over 900 places. WOW - I was thinking it would be a small function. I guess I should have known better with all of the businesses in Spartanburg! We enjoyed a very nice dinner of Filet Mignon and crab cakes with sides. The other teachers of the year and I stood after our pictures were presented on two big screens at the front and our names were announced! We then enjoyed the rest of the meeting. It was nice to see these ladies again (I met most of them at our forum meeting in November)! I am sooo looking forward to spending the end of the week with all of these fine educators as we all attend Winter Workshop in Myrtle Beach!!!

Happy Birthday Timothy!

Last Saturday (after Drew and Mikayla's games), Mikayla and I attended Timothy's birthday party at a local fire department. I had no idea that you could rent the fire department for a birthday party, yet we had so much fun we are thinking of having Mikayla's party there this year!

I knew the direction and general area of the fire department (I knew if I had gone too far), but having never been there I was afraid I would miss it. There was no danger in that as you could hear the alarm sounding from miles away. When we pulled in the parking lot, Mikayla's hands immediately went to her ears and she started crying she didn't want to stay. We park, and I get her into the station as quickly as possible, as by this time I'm thinking it will damage her (and mine) ears.

When we got inside Mikayla and I had a nice (and loud) conversation about the alarm.

Mikayla: Mommy why is it doing that?

Me: Mikayla, I'm not sure. Maybe the firefighters had a call about a fire, or maybe they are welcoming us to Timothy's party.

Timothy's Grandma: No, it's the first Saturday of the month.

Mikayla: When is it gonna stop?

Me: I'm not sure honey, hopefully soon.

Thank goodness the alarms stopped sounding, and it turned out to be a fabulous party! Timothy's mom served hot dogs for lunch, the firefighters came in (one in full firefighting gear) to give a quick lesson about fire, then the children got to tour the truck. Then, all the kids (and some adults too) got to ride on the fire truck. Something my daughter will forever remember! There was plenty of space (all one room) for the children to play and parents to talk. I actually had my camera with me, but still no batteries. I got some pictures of Mikayla on the fire truck with my phone, but have no idea how to transfer them to the computer. Oh well, you'll just have to take my word for it!

Basketball Games 3 and 4

The last two Saturdays Drew and Mikayla have had games. I don't have pictures from these games, however because last Saturday I forgot my camera and yesterday the batteries were dead. I am most upset about this because last Saturday Drew scored his first basket of the season, and then yesterday he scored several more. They don't have games this Saturday, but you can believe in 2 weeks I will have my camera ready with new batteries!

Mikayla is still doing a fantastic job with cheering as are the 6 other little girls on her squad. One of the moms had a great idea to get buckets for the girls to sit on when they are on the sidelines so they don't have to sit on the cold gym floor. She picked up the buckets and coaches, Stephanie and Kellie, painted their names and polka dots on them. They are so cute and some of the other cheer coaches have asked about them, thinking of getting them for their squads. Now they do two cheers at half time and they cheer quite a bit on the sidelines. What I am most proud of is that they are getting louder so that everyone can hear them! I love seeing Mikayla smile during the game like she's having the time of her life. Keep it up sweet girl!!

Basketball has been very different this year. Drew moved up to the 6 - 8 division (which is actually only 6 and 7 year olds this year because they had so many - thank goodness). Drew is one of the youngest 6 year olds in this division. One of the big differences is they keep score this year. The boys are also a little rougher this year, with some of them even taking the ball from their own teammates. It has taken Drew a little bit to adjust to this, but I have noticed improvement in each game played, especially the game yesterday. Keep it up wild man!!

I hope to have pictures of the game on here next time, and maybe even videos...stay tuned