We Swallowed a Penny

We were reminiscing today about funny things the kids have done, particularly the time when Taryn swallowed a penny and I realize that I had never blogged about it.  Here is that story:
So about a year ago my mother-in-law came to watch the kids for us while Vaughn and I made a trip to Virginia.  During her stay with the kids, they were driving in Vaughn's truck to go and pick up Tyson from school.  As they were waiting in the car line, Taryn asked to hold some pennies that she could see in the cup holders of the truck.  Grandma Sue gave them to her thinking she won't place them in her mouth.  On a side note here, Taryn doesn't put things in her mouth. She never has. All of the sudden Taryn starts to gag.  Grandma Sue turns around in the seat and asks Taryn,
"Are you okay?"
Taryn. "I swallowed a penny."
Grandma Sue was in panic mode and asked her again, "You swallowed a penny?
Taryn. "Yes."

In a nutshell Grandma Sue was scared and when they had picked up Tyson, she rushed home to check out Taryn.  Taryn never passed the penny so we all assumed that when she had gagged in the back of the truck she gagged up the penny but was so scared of the situation that she wasn't sure what to say.  I can talk about this now and laugh and hopefully Taryn enjoys this story someday too

It's Racing Time

Well...there it is, in it's little derby holder awaiting the race with anticipation.  He wasn't the only one.

Here is my little man.  He was so excited to see how well his truck "Bigfoot" would do.

The race track was well laid out this year.  There were seats on both sides of the track, not just one like last year.  There wasn't a bad seat in the whole house.  We had learned last year that we needed to be there early for a good seat.  We were front and center.

This is a poor quality picture, but I just wanted to show all the work that goes into this derby.  They had hot dogs, chips, and drinks.  This derby is very well run.  It makes the whole process fun to go to.

Tyson is front and center with his chips in hand ready to cheer on his car and those of his friends.

The wait was excruciating for my little guy, but his truck finally raced.  We didn't win, but we put up a good fight and learned a few more things about pinewood derby car racing.  We will be more prepared next year.  Tyson was a bit disappointed, but he took it in stride and by this morning he was okay with his trucks performance.

A Productive Weekend

The weekend started on Friday since school was canceled again because of the imminent threat of an ice storm.  Which was a good call on the School Board's part because on Friday morning everything was covered in a sheet of ice.  A good day to stay indoors and get some neglected projects finished.  The first on our list was the derby car.

Last year we made a tank, so this year Tyson wanted a truck.  So Vaughn, Tyson and I constructed this bad boy and it turned out pretty good.  We learned a few tricks of the trade in pinewood derby racing and hopefully they will turn out to help us.

I am so loving the modge podge. I can print off any decal from the computer and paste it on the truck.
The truck was finished and race ready.  Bring on the race...tomorrow.

Next project was Valentine's Day Mailboxes.  I had seen these on Pinterest and they looked easy.  It has just been hard to find time to do them.  We bought everything for under 5 bucks.  Loved that!  We spray painted the candlesticks black and glued them to the mailboxes, bought from Target.  Then we found some wooden "T's" and with red paint and glitter we spiced them up and glued them to the door of the mailboxes and Viola!  CUTENESS!

They look very Valentineish.  My plan is to place a little "love" note or candy each day starting on February 1st till February 14th, Valentine's Day.  I thought it would be something fun for the kids.  

I decided to do this cause we do so much for Christmas and then...blaw, blaw, blaw.  Nothing!  So I wanted to make Valentine's a time for some more "Fun" stuff.  I hope they like it.

 Then it was time to work on my Jack and Jules consignment stuff.  I went through many totes to find all of the summer clothes that the kids have grown out of.  Then I have to wash, iron some, and hang them with safety pins.  Whew!  I have about 60 clothes so far ready to go...and that is only half.

Here is the other work of the day, my consignment stuff that cannot be hung but that must be placed in bags or zip tied.  Yes it is a process and some do not think that it is worth it.  But...I look at it like this:  I can either donate all of this and make nothing, or DO this and make 200+ dollars and have money for next year's school clothes.  I find it to be worth it.  We had a very solid day.  Now it is time for bed.

The X GAMES Are Here!!!

I love the Winter X Games.  They are better than the Winter Olympics.  Just watched the finals of the snowmobile free style and the first kid out of the gate got his bell rung. He didn't finish the rotation and the 450 pound sled fell on top of him.  Scary!!!  These kids have guts! I always love it when they show new tricks.  This is one time I can be glued to the tv and feel good about it.  It is going to be a fabulous weekend.

Snowballs

The next morning after the snow fell, Tyson got a snow day from school.  As soon as they both had eaten breakfast, cause that is important, they raced to get dressed in their warm clothes and headed out the door to play in the snow!  A snowball fight was in the future.

Taryn was able to try out her new Princess beanie she got from Grandma T for Christmas.

Both kids were in Heaven.  They haven't seen snow in two years and by the way they played in it, you would have thought it was the new toy just hot off the shelves.  They giggled and laughed till their snot froze in their noses.

Vaughn also joined in the fun by pelting both his children with snowballs.  They in turn, pelted him.  It was a vicious cycle that all enjoyed participating in.

Tyson and Taryn climbed into Vaughn's truck to get a better view for aiming their snowballs.  After a while, because the sun was out, the snow turned to ice and so we were throwing ice/snowballs.

Ah.  Beautiful scenery.

Tyson was just about to throw this one my way, until I pulled out the camera to take a picture and he knows not to throw snow where electronics are.  I know, I cheat!

Covered in ice and snow, and soaked to the bone with cold, she still smiles and wanted more.

I was backing away as he tried to hit me.  Luckily I have wheels and the snowball fell harmlessly at my feet.

Rolling in the snow.  The kids attempted to make a snowman, but because of the lack of snow, they settled on a snow penguin.  HA HA.

It Snowed in Knoxville

Holy cow it snowed!!  We haven't seen snow in Knoxville for two years.  The kids were elated when they saw this.

It has rained since Monday.  The rain started out just being a drizzle, then it turned into a torrential down pour and back to the drizzle.  Yeah, that has been the weather ever since.  So when the weatherman said that it would start snowing on Thursday afternoon, uh huh?!?  And darn it, he was right!  It started off as a little bit of flurries and then the big flakes started to fall.  By the end of the night, all Knox County schools were closed for Friday.  I was glad not to have to wake up early and to have a day off. Wahoo!!! The kids went to bed dreaming of playing in the snow.

Mr. Handsome and Ms.Cute

I have been in a rut when it comes to Taryn's hair.  So I was on Pinterest for an hour the other day and found a tutorial on how to make "waterfall" hair.  This is the end result.  My all thumbs hands took several times to get this hair-do figured out, but eventually it all came together.   Witness the end result.

My princess and my prince.  Tyson got this suit from Grandma and Papa Jackson.  He is growing up so fast and this outfit just adds to his growing up.  NO!  Stop it!  I hate it when they grow up!

Taryn got her dress from Grandma T.  Between the two of them my heart swells.  I wish I could turn back time and keep them as babies, but then I would be denying them the joys of growing up.  But gosh darn it, it is so hard to see them get bigger each day.  Just love them.  They are my whole world.

Miss Improvision

What do you do when you have NO muffin liners??  You improvise.  We were having Italian Chicken last night and nothing goes better with it than corn muffins, yummy!  But I had failed to remember to buy liners for the muffin tin.  RATS!  So I started looking around my cupboards to see if I could make them out of something that wouldn't combust in the oven.  I found my good old tin foil and fashioned me some home made muffin liners.  I am happy to say that they worked great and the meal was a success.
I find myself doing more improvising these days than not.  I wonder why that is?

A New Beginning, A New Year

2013...A new year.  We were talking last night about how in the Back to the Future movies there were hover boards and flying cars up and around the year 2010 or something like that. Hmmm...where are those things?  At least we have upgraded to I-pads, and phones that practically do anything but wash our laundry.  We are of a digital age, which is kinda cool and also very time consuming.  I can spend too much time with technology and not enough with my family.
So...for my New Year's Resolution, I have decided to leave the technology to a minimum and spend more of that time with my kids and those I love.  Now that is a weird resolution, I know.  Most people's are to loose weight, make more money, read more, study harder in school, etc., the list goes on and on.
I remember when I was teaching that I would have my students write down their resolutions for the new year upon their return to school from holiday break.  We would then seal up these papers in named envelopes, to be opened at the completion of the year.  It was funny to read them on the last day of school and find that 99% of those "so called" resolutions were not met.
 I think in order to have a new goal for the year it has to be a reachable one.  Making a million dollars would be extremely cool, but let's face it, it will not happen.  Instead we need to focus on what is really important and work towards that; baby steps at a time.