As of today... (an update)

So here we are on the 9th of October. I have so much to update you all on that I thought I'd put it all in one post.



Fall has come... It is my absolute favorite! One thing I love about it is a 'fall' cleaning/organizing wave I get every year. This year, I also included a visit from a decorator for furniture rearrangement. He came last week and I was pleased with his work. I'll attach a picture when I finish accessorising the room.

Work has gotten a little bit better. I have yet to have a visit from administration, but I have had other visitors watch and were pleased with what they saw... I am still nervous constantly, but I can only do my best and hope that is good enough. :)

Brian and I celebrated our TENTH wedding anniversary last weekend! I cannot believe it! (oh yeah, I did post about that earlier...)



Sweet Olivia... We are one step closer to getting an ADHD diagnosis. Her teacher and I both have filled out forms that indicate ADHD tendencies. The doctor even noticed she was all over the place while in the dr's office. She has to go for a follow up hearing screening at the audiologist at Children's Hospital, but I am sure that will be fine. Her grades are much better (but I am sure it is because her teacher is wonderful and understanding). However, this girl can SPELL!! She has been getting 110% and 120% on her spelling tests...and her tests are HARD! She can spell Mississippi, friends, learn, first, people and other 'patterned' words (like short 'a' or 'fl' blends). We are so proud of her! She is also on a mini Pom Pom team at school. It is a club she is in in the afternoons. I think she will be in a parade in December...



Then there is our adorable Bella. She has gone to dance class several times now on her own and loves it! She thinks she needs her dance bag every time we get in the car...even when her class is only on Monday nights! She loves to sing/yell her ABCs and she can count to 10. She knows most of her colors (although she WANTS everything to be PINK). She loves to sing 5 Little Monkeys Jumping On the Bed, and has gotten to where she rarely takes naps in the afternoon (wonderful!). She is still just as 'spunky' as ever, but now everything is about 'tap' or 'ballet shoes'. This next picture just about says it all.



The only other new thing going on (other than a nice striped snake under our back deck a few weeks ago...) is that we got a Wii today. How fun! We are having a blast with it. The girls both love it too!

My, how the time flies!

Yesterday was our TENTH wedding anniversary! TENTH! Oh MY! I told Brian it honestly feels like it has been only 3 or 4 years...tops. But then I think about how we have known about Olivia for SEVEN years and it blows my mind! Can time really pass so quickly? I guess tomorrow we'll be taking her to college and celebrating our 30th... ha!

So, how did we celebrate? My mom had the girls for the evening and we had a date planned (our cruise will be in March). First, we went to Cantina Laredo and then to the new IMAX theater to see Eagle Eye. We shopped a little before the movie and grabbed some ice cream. So much fun to just be with my honey. :) Then, (the best part of all) we slept in till 8:30!! I should mention that I slept till 8:30 and he slept until 10. Can anyone say lazy? Just kidding, honey!

Cooper's Birthday Pictures

Cooper's party was two weekends ago. He had a Seasame Street theme and had an adorable cake. He got a swingset for his birthday and loves to swing on it (so does his cousins!).






Then the next day, we took Cooper to the studio and did a few birthday shots (my favorites are these of him in the alley behind my building).

Frustrated and Deflated

I am thinking that by blogging, I will feel better... I had just had the most terrible month, to the point that I think every day, it can't get much worse...then it does!

Several of you know of my struggles at work, and let me tell you, it is not getting any easier. We are constantly being made to feel that we are incompetent and must always be 'checked on' to see if we are doing what we should. I am asked by my well-meaning-husband why would it matter if I am always doing what I should be. And my only response to him is that I have come to realize (though several less-than-professional conversations) that it doesn't seem to be about doing what I SHOULD be, but doing what one particular person THINKS I should be. Her way or the highway...she doesn't even KNOW about kindergarten (obviously!). Oh! I am so frustrated. I KNOW I am doing a great job in my room. I am seeing a lot of progress so far. I have 2/3 of my class that are considered ELL (English Language Learners--formerly ESL) and if I were to do it 'her' way it would not be as effective for them. I just know it. After another meeting today, my workload literally TRIPPLED in the form of lesson plans (at least 8-10 paragraphs PER DAY) and, oh, so much more....

Then there is the fact that I am so behind in my business it isn't funny. I have had no sneak peeks for anyone in weeks. I have email requests for portrait sessions from 3 weeks ago I haven't responded to yet. But it is hard to complain about the business part...I'll wish I had this much business come January when things slow down. :)

I have fallen behind on blogging about my own family and have had requests from my sweet mother in law several times for new pictures of the girls. It isn't that I don't want to.... Time is just an issue right now. Any extra time I have with them I don't want to be behind the camera. But I will do better. I promise. :)

Then there is my sweet Olivia...........
Many of you know we are suspecting that she has ADHD. Without going into the whole drawn out story, it is really starting to snowball. Her grades are beginning to fall, her confidence is beginning to fade, and she comes home so tired and whiney at the end of the day. I ask her about it and she says she just had a hard day and wants us to hold her. Talk about a kick in the gut! I just want to cry thinking about it. We have an appointment next week with the dr to get things rolling. Her school is much more difficult than her old one, but she can do the work. She is getting 110% on her spelling tests (words ranging from patterned words like pin and hat to other 'bonus' words like Mississippi, and friends). I just hate to see her change so quickly. Please pray for a quick diagnosis (if necessary) and whatever it takes to get her back in the game as soon as possible. One good thing is that her teacher is wonderful! I can't imagine going through this with anyone else.

I really don't mean to complain...just consider this venting I suppose. I am just sick at my stomach all the time and just really need peace right now. Breathe.........

Cooper, the Birthday Boy!

I'll have more from his birthday shoot later, but here is a sample of an announcement I made for him. Isn't he STINKIN' CUTE??? And, he is NOW mobile!

To Dance or Not to Dance...

Last week Bella stated dance class. She was so excited and couldn't WAIT until HER turn (Olivia now dances 3 nights a week and is in 7 dances this year). Well...we went and the first 10 minutes went great... Then she started crying. And ran out of the room. I went into the ballet part with her and it went okay. We tried again tonight and she did the same kinds of thing during tap. Brian went with her to ballet and it went better. We have paid for one month of classes so far so I guess we'll keep trying until our month is up. If it doesn't work out, we'll just try again next year. She is, technically, a little young for the class (for ages 3-5) but she CAN do the dance moves and she WANTS to be there. I am thinking the structure of the class is what she isn't handling well...

So, will she dance this year or won't see?? Only time will tell...

I am in love!!!

I got an early birthday gift from my hubby ...an iPhone! It is sooo awesome! Quite a gift, I know...but I will be 30 you know .. :)
Thanks babe!

First Day at LISA Academy

Today my baby started FIRST GRADE! I can't believe it! We all got up early and Brian fixed cinnamon rolls for breakfast for all of us. Then she put on her new uniform (which we think looks like a soccer jersey) and she was ready! I, on the other hand, hated that yet again I am missing taking her on the first day. Oh well. At least Brian was available this year to do that.

When I picked her up today she said she had fun, but was upset I didn't let her stay for after care! I told her she could tomorrow for a little while. Ha! I am glad she had such a wonderful day at her new school. Sounds like Mrs. Meek is a nice teacher... I can't wait to hear more as the week continues.

Something happened while we were gone...

Bella got rid of the paci!

The child has been in big girl panties for a few weeks and now I know she is a big girl... She was so tired at night she didn't even ask for it when she went to bed. I figured she would, being in a new place and all...but she didn't! So when we came home, I was sure she would... Nope! (now she did when on the airplane, but I told her no. I didn't even have one with me then.)

I know these pictures are from last winter, but I just LOVE them. This kid has LOVED her paci! But I'll be honest, I'm glad it is gone...at least until she starts crying! :)

Visit with Gran'da -- Part 2

We had an EARLY flight out of here last Friday morning. But it was great because we still had the entire day once we got to Phoenix. We even got breakfast burritos on the way to my dad's house (since Carlos O'Brien's wasn't open yet--our traditional home-from-the-airport stop). But Brian didn't have to worry, because we went there for our mid-day meal. My dad and Yvonne have a pool so of course my girls were ready to get in. That is how we spent the rest of our evening and then called it an early night.

Here's VonVon with her two Bella's





On Saturday we took a drive up to Flagstaff. My dad and I both have a fascination of Route 66, but because of modern developments there isn't much of it left where we could get to in a day's drive (with two small children no less). So, we had lunch at the Galaxy diner on Route 66. Brian drove on the motorcycle with my dad. He loves this picture because he thinks he looks like the guys on Chips.





Then we made our way toward Sunset Crater. It was incredible learning about the volcano and seeing how it still affects the land today. We stopped by the visitor center and Olivia finished the task to be sworn in as a Junior Officer.


There was two incredible parts to the trip to the crater though...
1. The ancient ruins. My kids really liked this part.






2. Seeing the Painted Desert. I was blown away by the size of that thing...and we only saw it from a distance! As the sun set, it was shining across the desert and it was amazing! (even though it was a partly cloudy day and we didn't get to see it as colorful as it normally is)





On Sunday, we went to church with VonVon and once again saw 'the other' Isabella and her sister Sienna (Daniel and Elena's daughters). My girls love them! We had lunch at Papadeaux and then Brian and I got a FANTASTIC gift... Are you ready for this?

THEY WATCHED THE KIDS WHILE WE WENT TO IKEA----ALONE!!! HA!

I am in LOVE with Ikea! We had such a blast and seriously, if we had lived closer, I would have bought a TON more!

On Monday, Brian and my dad golfed while I met up with an old friend from high school, Tammy. We went to her house for lunch while our girls played. It was so nice to see her again. Then, she and her husband, Ian (also from my old youth group), and daughter, Faith, came over to my dad's house for a cook out. There were several people there (Yvonne's family is very large)...and at one time there were 4 2 year olds! And get this part...3 of them were named Isabella! Here is a cute picture of the 3 Isabella's (my Bella, Daniel and Elena's Bella, and Yvonne's niece's Iza). Aren't they cute?



Well, of course, the evening couldn't end without a dip in the pool and ice cream cones! Yum!



(Here's my Bella swimming with floaties...finally. Isn't peer pressure great?)



Tuesday we went to Arizona Mills Mall and found some great deals (I LOVE a bargain!). The girls also rode on the carousel and for once, they BOTH loved it!



Then that evening we went to Pipe Organ Pizza in Mesa. I had been there once when I was in junior high and was excited about going again (especially with my family). Yvonne came with Elena and the two girls as well. We sat on the upper floor which was nice because it was basically empty for almost an hour and our girls could dance and play.





We almost didn't go to bed that night. Our alarm was set for 2 am to get ready for our trip home...yes, you heard me, TWO A.M.!! I was up at 1:30 waiting on the alarm to go off. But we made it, safe and sound... We all took a 4 hour nap that afternoon in our own beds.

Thanks for the trip, we had so much fun!