So Far This November....

The first weekend in November I pretty much dedicated to Christmas Shopping - I am almost done!! Friday my mom had the girls at the mall so Bo and I met them and Bo took the girls home so I could get some more shopping done without them. They had to have been exhausted that day because this is the pic Bo texted me after he had them in his car...

Saturday morning mom, me and the girls headed out to Newport News. I needed to check some things at the Toys R Us out there. It was madness! The lines were all open and went to the middle of the store. I was in line to checkout for almost 25 minutes. It was just crazy, but I still managed to get a lot done - even with the girls with me. We ate lunch and then went to Barnes and Noble. After that we had Brayden's birthday party. Later that night we went to church to hear a quartet performance of Journey Men. They were amazing. Kelly kept the girls in the nursery and it was a very nice night.

Sunday we had baby Avery's baptism (my friend Lindsay's daughter). We went to their house for lunch and then Bo, me and the girls went to Target to get even more Christmas shopping done. We also went to Bath and Body Works - they have the best candles and the large 3 wick candles were buy one get one free and then I had a coupon for another free item so I got three of their Christmas candles for $20!

Monday the 5th was back to work and then PTA/Reading night so the library was open for the kids and parents to read and take AR tests. That went until 7:30 and I didn't get home to almost  8:00 that night. Long day.

Tuesday was election day and Staff Development Day. Even though we did not have kids in school, I had to present three Running Record Staff Developments with four other colleagues. It went good though!

Wednesday was a regular day but a great one because it was our first ever author visit at Hillpoint. We had this planned since the very beginning of the year and I was just so nervous something was going to go wrong. The kids had been pumped about the event and Barnes and Noble had even helped our school ordering the author books and the author - Mike Artell - even signed them for the kids. Everything went just perfect though - the kids loved it, the staff wanted to order more of his books and I have even received e-mails from parents telling me that their kids had a great time and can't put his books down! The author was Mike Artell from LA. He is a very talented writer, illustrator and musician. He was so funny and entertaining. We were even in the newspaper the next day!

 the kids brought paper/pencils and he taught the kids how to draw 

 look at these kids focusing! 

 he taught them how to draw castles and they were amazing!

 showing Mr. Artell their drawings

 he ended his presentation with a rap song about King Cake - the teachers in the back crack me up in the picture! They were all dancing and singing along!

 me and Mr. Artell - wonderful day in the Hillpoint media center!

Thursday and Friday I was at the state library conference - it was local this year, so it did not require a night away, which was nice. It was a great time with my library colleagues.

Friday night we were getting ready to go out to do more Christmas shopping for Bo when we noticed Lilly struggling to use the bathroom. When we looked at her "bottom" it looked like it was raw. I quickly called the vet before they closed and they told us to come on. Apparently she ruptured an anal gland - fabulous. It required wound care and an antibiotic shot, plus the exam itself = money we were not prepared to spend, but what are you supposed to do? She ended up going shopping with us after the vet - she stayed in her bag, we ate in the car and the girls and I just stayed in the van while Bo took care of his shopping. Lilly does look much better this morning and used the bathroom much better. It's always something!!!

I am not sure what we are doing today. We have a very busy day tomorrow, so this morning we are just taking it easy! The girls pulled out their Christmas DVD's so they are occupied. Happy 3 day weekend!