Weekend

This weekend definitely had its highs and then its lows. Saturday was great with swim lessons, errands and then we had a wedding of a lifelong/high school friend of mine. The bride's mother is also one of my mom's best friends, so my mom, sister and brother in law were also there. It was also nice to see some high school friends. It was just a great time - lots of wine, lots of dancing - (including "The Wobble" which I rocked) and the evening was complete with the bride, mother of groom and mother of bride doing keg stands! We knew our babysitter had to leave early and since the wedding was so much fun, my dad rescued us and went to watch the girls so we could have a little more fun! Thanks Dad! Congratulations Candace and Zach!

Sunday was also super busy. Another friend from high school had her son's baptism so we went to that and then she had a delicious lunch afterwards. The girls had fun with Brayden and we enjoyed the company and great food. After that we had to run to my cousin Whitney's family birthday party. We were not there long, but long enough for sweet Whitney to get hurt. All of the kids were playing upstairs and Whitney started yelling, "help," "help!" They were playing with Emma and Emma hit her head on Whitney's jaw, making a cracking sound and she thought her teeth were knocked out. She was bleeding and then she fainted. It was so pitiful that she got hurt like that on her birthday and of course I felt terrible that my child did it to her, even though they were playing. Poor Emma didn't even want to come downstairs she was so scared. Whitney went to the dentist today and luckily her roots are still in place and only one of her teeth was chipped. She is sore and on a soft food/liquid diet this week, but thank goodness she is okay and all of her teeth are there. 

From there Bo took the girls home as I had to be with my dad's family to do more cleaning and sorting of my grandmother's house. This time we were really taking the larger items and all valuables out of the house. It was so sad leaving her house in that condition. Her presence is still so much there along with my childhood and entire life. After talking to Robbie this morning on the way to work we both said how little we slept that night and that it is so hard to move forward on days like that. The other family members who were not part of the estate are coming this weekend so the house will be even more different after this coming weekend. It is still so hard to comprehend that Granny has passed away. I think of that day every single day and how she took her last breath with me. I hate how quickly the disease took her. My mom had some of her collectable bears at her house this week and Emma saw them. Mom showed them to the girls and Emma said, "it smells like Gigi." "Where is Gigi?"Mom reminded Emma that she was with Jesus. Emma asked, "Did she drive there?" Mom did a lot of explaining to her that day but Emma took it all in. I hate that Granny did not get more time with the kids. 

Needless to say the weekend started great, but left a very heavy heart at the end. This grieving process is just not easy. Some days are good and others are just hard to deal with. 

Going to work today was exactly what I needed. Book Fair is kicking into gear plus a whole shipment of brand new books arrived to get into the hands of children. I love it when they light up because of something I ordered especially because it was requested by them. When a child makes a request I record it and that child gets to read the new book first. Have I mentioned how much I love my job? Some days I really don't even think I should get paid to enjoy something so much. Have a great week.

A Great Week!

Many reasons why this week has been great!

1. Fifth grade testing was a great success! All 120 laptops worked. We only had a minor glitch in the computer lab, but it was fixed with a phone call. I did not have classes for two days this week, but it was more busy than ever. Book Fair set up is this coming week and we are so excited! Now, we are already preparing for SOL testing in May. The technology again plays a big part in this, so this week was great practice for three grade levels doing it in a few weeks.

Here is the link to my work blog! I have never linked it on blogger. It basically informs teachers, parents and administration of weekly lessons and other things going on.

http://blogs.spsk12.net/8236/

2. I had an eye appointment this week and was able to get new lenses to help with my astigmatism. This should also help my night driving. This is the last step before I decide on laser surgery. So, we will see how it works.

3. After dance class, Emma had a precious night out with Bo on Thursday. Her preschool held a "daddy and me night." They had pizza, ice cream sundaes and played on the playground with all of her friends and their dads. She also made an adorable "fill in the blank" about her daddy. It was very cute. That night Hannah and I had a night out to Chick Fil A night and Hannah's favorite place - Wal Mart :)

I love her little drawings!

4. We got more Easter pictures of the kids from Lindsay. We were really worried that we would not get a good one because Andy was not a happy camper during the photo shoot. But, we did get one of all three of them that could work. 

5. Can we say beautiful weather? Popsicles? Playing outside? YES! We just need a thunderstorm.

6. Today after work Emma and I ran to Gymboree to take full of advantage of the whole store being 30% off, plus a 20% off coupon, plus 5% for having a Gymboree card. The girls are definitely set for clothes for our trips.

7. Cooper, my friend Laura's son, is in a crib in the NICU and up to 4 lbs. 12 ozs! He is doing so good and Laura is hanging in there. I am so thankful for both of their progress and good news this week.

8. Have I mentioned I am going to be an aunt again? Although we found out a few weeks ago, I have not mentioned it yet. I can't believe Andy is going to be a big brother and that my parents will soon have four grandchildren.

We have more things going on tomorrow - swim lessons, Lilly has a vet appointment to get her ready for boarding and Bo and I have a wedding to attend of one of my high school friends. We also have a baptism of my other friend's son on Sunday. Have a great weekend!

Hannah Reading

About two weeks ago I started reading a lot of Dr. Seuss books to the kids since it was Read Across America/Dr. Seuss's birthday. So much research says that the rhymes and rhythms of his books are what help children get a jump start to reading. Hannah has caught onto Dr. Seuss's The Eye Book. For two years old I thought she was doing such a good job. Both girls are really good about catching on to his sounds and rhyming patterns. Other books they love are "The Foot Book," "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb," "The Hair Book," "Old Hat, New Hat," and "The Nose Book." I really recommend these books to young children.

I caught the very end of her reading....

"Eyes see flies, and ants. 

Sometimes they see ....pink...pink...pink underpants!

They see rings and strings, 

so many things like.... rain, pie.

dogs, 

and airplanes in the sky!

So, we say hooray for eyes! Hooray for eyes!!

Hamrick Updates

It seems like all of my posts are "updates." I just cannot keep up these days. It seems the weeks are just flying by and there is so much going on!

This past week I have been super busy getting technology ready for fifth grade field testing. All of the laptops have had to be in perfect working order - 6 carts x 20 computers each - yeah. Of course I had the assistance with technology downtown and with their help and great scheduling they have been able to update each computer. My job has been "keeping them safe" and "away" until testing is over! Thankfully this week is testing so teachers will be able to use them again after this week. Then, we have to do the same thing when SOL testing rolls around. On top of that I have been preparing for VA Readers Choice nominated books. I have a great selection of primary and elementary nominations and we will be ready to read, read, read and vote via the Internet this week! I am super excited about these lessons. However, two days next week will be dedicated to testing instead of me having classes. I also had a rep out to my library this week getting our Follet Shelf e-books up and running!!!!! I have been so excited for this and I was able to use some $$$$$ last week to put a huge order in for new books and ebooks. Of course on top of all of this, I am also preparing for book fair, which will start in two weeks. So.....that is the job side of my life.

Now, on to the other stuff.

The girls had to come to my school at the end of the day on Thursday before Emma's dance class. Mom had to leave early that day and the only option was dropping them off at 3:00 when school was over. The girls enjoyed being in the library and my office while things were closing down for the day.

 Emma in mommy's office

Hannah boo in mommy's office

Friday Lindsay did a practice photo session with the girls, Andy and Adair with the bunnies and ducks. She was going to be booked Saturday for photo sessions, so it was a good opportunity for her to practice with our kids. I was not able to be there, but Bremer, our Friday sitter, went to help out with mom and Lindsay. Here are a few shots she got. There are others to come. 

These are their Easter dresses this year from Connie's Kids. We sent the picture to the store and now E and H are on the company's Facebook page! 

Friday was also the start of Bo sitting and watching basketball forever, so the girls and I went shopping Friday night with mom, Lindsay and Andy. We went to Barnes and Noble and a few other places to get us out of watching basketball. We got home in time to see Duke lose - oh well. 

Saturday morning was swim lessons, cleaning, etc. Each one of us took a great nap. I cannot tell you the last time I was able to nap. It was great. We had dinner and then we went out for ice cream at Sweet Frog. 

The girls loved their creative ice cream toppings - blue berries, sprinkles, marshmallows, m&m's, whipped cream, sour patch kids and I don't even know what else. 

This morning Bo was up at 4 am to get to VA Beach for his first half marathon. He did pretty good and even was able to make it to church to see Emma sing for preschool Sunday. They sang "Jesus is Knocking at the Door." These are some shots of the practice:

 After their little practice Max made his parents move to our row!! Yeah, there is my future son in law and my in laws!

These were the pictures during their real performance. 

 Then, they had the children's message. This was the first time we let Hannah stay in church so she could see Emma sing. So, this was the first time Hannah has been to children's message. 

This picture was from this morning before we were getting ready for church. Emma has recently taken on a very "teacher" type role with Hannah. She will drill Hannah on her colors and ask her words to spell. She will tell her "good job" and "that's right!" I snapped this picture when they were both in Emma's bed and Emma was reading to Hannah. 

The rest of the day Emma and I went shopping with mom again. I wanted to look for a dress to wear to a wedding this next weekend as well as Easter. I found something REAL cute and I cannot wait to wear it! 

Also wanted to update our kitchen progress. Basically the cabinets are awesome. I am super happy with them. However, the counters were not as good. So.....we went back to Lowe's and ordered a granite counter that will be much better. However, we got a new sink and with granite you get the drop down sink - so we will have to redo the sink and plumbing. Our kitchen is usable but we cannot do anything else until the counters are in. Then, we will move onto the back splash and new electrical work. It is definitely a work in progress. We are not expecting our granite to be in until May-ish. 

Count downs:

Book Fair Preview/set up - 1 week

Book Fair - 2 weeks

Spring Break - 3 weeks

Disney - 6 weeks

Library closes - 10 weeks

Summer - 12 weeks 

Just Some Updates

Friday the 2nd I had my girls night with my friends from GTP. Laura was not able to be there but we are all just so happy that she is doing better. Baby Cooper is up to 4 pounds! Laura did receive a chemo treatment this week so she was wiped out, but so far the doctors are hopeful that the IGA is staying away from her kidney. 

Friday night Bo and I also started cleaning out our kitchen. Everything from the kitchen is taking up room in the back part of our family room. It is such a mess, but we did decide to redo the kitchen. I hope it will take on an updated look to help it sell. 

Saturday morning was our first day of swim lessons. It's a good thing the conversation came up at dinner with the girls the night before and if I had not called the YMCA that night, I would have completely forgot that our lessons were starting. The girls were in two separate but back to back classes. Hannah is doing the parent class and Emma is in a class with her own little group and instructor. They both did fantastic. Hannah is not scared of anything and was being a little fish. Emma, although hesitant at first, got right back in the pool and picked up her skills from last year. Afterwards we went to Chick Fil A for a late breakfast. It was then very necessary for me the girls to leave the house as our kitchen was being destroyed and I simply cannot take chaos. So, we went shopping and got some clothes for Disney. We also got Easter shoes accomplished at Stride Rite - great success! We were also on a mission for new Hello Kitty pajamas since the girls had outgrown theirs and they were super upset about it. I did find some at Macys. Aunt Connie and cousin Kelly met us for lunch and we walked around with them for awhile longer. I also got some clothes for Disney at New York and Company. 

Sunday we slept in......until almost 9:30. We did not make it to Sunday School and church. We did a lot of laundry and cleaning, as much as we could since the kitchen was still a disaster. I ended up taking the girls to mom and dads late in the afternoon to get out of the messy house. Andy was there too and they just spent some time together and did some finger painting. 

The kitchen and this week has continued to be a mess. We have eaten out a lot this week and find it very necessary to be at the gym. Monday our family had to get together to review some more of my grandmother's estate. Tuesday I did something that I said I never would do. As a classroom teacher it always drove me crazy when my students did not bring their book bags to school. I mean.....you come to school, you get your book bag, right? Well....I guess because of the kitchen and clutter I did not get Emma's book bag out of the closet, so guess who's child did not have their book bag at school on Tuesday???? I mean.....I know my students were older than preschool, but still - I should have had her book bag ready to go and I didn't. I also forgot the tuition payment. It was surely a rough start to the day. It was a long day too, because I also had PTA/reading night in the library that night. 

This week was also the VA writing test for 5th grade. Although my classes were cancelled for two days, I still had to proctor the test. I had groups of kids in the library testing. On Wednesday my group did not finish until almost 2:00. 

 Emma did not have preschool today because the teachers had a meeting to attend. Try explaining to her about not having school - this scheduled child did not understand teacher workdays! She wanted to go to school so bad.

Hannah has also been cutting a molar this week. I have noticed her a bit more moody than normal and her poor little nose is like a faucet. Each side of the tooth is through, but not the middle. I can tell it has bothered her a bit. 

That is about it. The kitchen is STILL a mess. We probably will not have everything done until the end of this weekend......uggghhhh. I hope the wait is worth it! 

Let's see.......two more weeks of classes, including two more testing days, book fair starts after that and then spring break at Nags Head, two more weeks of work and then Disney! I also got our Busch Gardens passes ready to go and I was so glad that Emma got a free seasons pass because she is enrolled in a preschool! Otherwise, she would have been a full priced season ticket like me and Bo! They open March 24th too! Keep passing on by weeks! So ready for our trips!