Swine Flu

As if we weren't stressed out enough on the last day of TAKS testing, we were informed that there is a high possibility of a case of swine flu here in Stanton. The possible infected person is a baby, but his older brother in is school and has been asked not to attend until the test results have come back. It is scary because two years ago Ivy was the first reported flu case in 2007 for Martin county, and before the year was over she had caught it twice. Dr. Teveni said that was the first time he had seen that, so needless to say I am worried. When the results come back, I'll write back with an update.

Happy Birthday To Me

I celebrated my 29th birthday this past Saturday, and it doesn't seem remotely possible. I remember turning 10, 16, 18, 21, and 25 as if they were yesterday. Each one of those were small milestones in their own right. Next year will be yet another milestone. I'll be 30!! WTF!!!! Time flies that's for sure.

My mother will forever be 32 in my mind. I know that sounds crazy, but for reasons unknown to me, she will never age past 1990. We didn't have a huge birthday party for her or anything, but it remains etched in my mind forever....and to think I'm only 3 years away from that!! I know, go ahead and say it, I'm an oddball. Seriously, it won't hurt my feelings a bit!!

For the past two years, Stanton ISD has allocated their snow days around my birthday. I know I have been their favorite employee since November 2007, so what better way for them to show me than with a long weekend,right??? I'm kidding people. I'm the least arrogant person you will ever meet. God blessed my with a sense of humor, not good looks.....and oddly enough I'm ok with that. After all, my inner beauty makes up for my outer beauty.

Anyway, lets get back to my long weekend. Sorry, I'm easily distracted if you haven't caught on yet! Ivy, Ozzie,and I got up early Friday morning to pamper ourselves. We took Ozzie to the groomers to get a bath, while Ivy and I got manicures and pedicures. Ivy thoroughly enjoyed herself. My favorite part was when the lady was scrubbing her feet and her sweet giggle resonated through the air. It was contagious. The ladies there fell in love with her. Later on that day, I heard a knock at the door, and it was the local flower shop owner delivering me a beautiful bouquet arrangement from my sweet, sweet man. They smelled just as great as they looked. The celebration continued through Saturday. They took me to my favorite restaurant in Midland, The Outback, where I enjoyed my favorite dish, the Alice Springs chicken, yum!! Then, they surprised me again with an ipod in my favorite color, purple. It also came with a neat gadget to plug into my car lighter that allows me to listen to my music through my car speakers since my CD player has been replaced twice and still doesn't work! Also, not to forget, Ivy picked out the most perfect card for me all by herself. It was the sweetest card from the sweetest girl. I must say, this was one of the best birthdays I have had. It wasn't just the gifts, it was the fact that Anthony and Ivy made me feel so special. I love those two sooo much!!

School Spirit

Stanton I.S.D. held their high school cheerleader tryouts this morning. One would think they would see: cheers, dances, the mascot, supportive parents, supportive student body, teachers and other faculty. Well guess which one we DIDN'T see??? The mascot! Can you believe this year's cheerleader sponsor has decided not have a mascot this year? Her reason was because she has had nothing but trouble from the past mascots. My opinion on that is she chose the cheerleader sponsor position and all the other responsibilities that go with it! I didn't think one would have such a choice. Maybe I'm being cynical, but doesn't the school mascot represent school spirit?? I have never heard of such a thing, and to be quite honest, I'm a little sad!

It's THAT time of year again!

Well, TAKS time is upon us again!!! I find this time of the school year extremely nerve-racking, and I'm not even the one taking the darn thing. I don't remember being this nervous or stressed out when I took it back in the day. There are SOOOOO many rules and regulations, and one minuscule wrong-doing can turn into a mountain of problems. I mean to tell you, the state of Texas does not jack around when it comes to all of the rules and regulations. When you sign that oath, you are signing your teaching certificate away if you don't do EVERYTHING by the book. It is so scary that an accidental screw up has such major consequences! So all you teachers out there, GOOD LUCK and happy testing!!

Is There An Easter Bunny??

Praise the LORD for half days and long weekends!! Stanton ISD will be released from school at 12:30 today and will not resume until Monday morning in observance of Easter. I am never "Ivy free", so last night I took full advantage of it and went shopping for "Easter bunny" stuff. I bought her the Taylor Swift CD she has been wanting along with egg-shaped sidewalk chalk, edible jewelry, a cute little light-up pen and other cute things like that. In a rush, I put the receipt in my purse and not in my wallet. BIG mistake!! Ivy went snooping through my purse, a habit that she has just started. I was busy cooking supper and getting some things done around the house so I was unaware. Anthony realised what she was doing, and quickly ripped the receipt out of her hands. Sadly it was not before she read the contents. She screamed out "Yes, Mommy finally bought me the Taylor Swift CD"! Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. I was already in a horrible mood, and that just sent me over the edge. I have told her time and time again to stay out of my purse. She has no business getting into my purse, no matter how innocent it was or not. I sent her to her room so I could cool off. She knew she was in big trouble, so she wrote me a cute, sweet note. It read a little something like this:

Dear Mommy,
I am so sorry for snooping through your purse after you told me not
to. I know I have been really loud, bad and abnoxcous(her spelling of
course) and for that I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Check yes or no
if you are still mad at me.
I love you,
Ivy

P.S. I'm sooooooo sorry. xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

How could I still be upset after reading that? I almost cried. I gave her a big hug and kissed her on her head. She looked up and simply asked "Is there an Easter bunny"? Of course I said yes. I don't want to take all of the fun away, at least for a few more years. Now, I don't know what to do! The Easter bunny can't give her the CD because she knows I bought it. Oh, what to do, what to do??

Dreams REALLY do come true....

...or at least that would be the responses you would get from Ivy, Makena,and Maddi. Ivy is such an amazing little girl and even more of an amazing daughter. She is an AWESOME kid, she's in the top of her class, and for the most part gives Anthony and I no problems to speak of.

Out of the blue, she told me the other day that she wanted to marry Nick Jonas, and the wheels in my mind starting turning. Her 8th birthday is right around the corner,and I wanted to do something really special for her. I looked on the Jonas Brother's website, and I was going to sign her up to their fan club so maybe she could get some cool stuff and maybe an autographed picture, SOMETHING at least. Well, as I ventured further onto their website, I decided to take a gander at the World Tour schedule. As luck and the GRACE OF GOD would have it.....DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!!! They will be in Dallas (at the brand new Dallas Cowboy's Stadium) 4 days after her birthday, one day after Maddi's birthday and, 72 days before Makena's birthday, so naturally I'm thinking BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENTS EVER!!!!! I included Makena and Maddi because I wouldn't let Ivy experience this alone, and besides, what kind of an aunt would I be not to have included them??

However, there was one slight problem.... convincing Anthony to take all of us girls to see them was not going to be an easy task. That scenario posed several problems: 1) Anthony doesn't do well with large crowds ( he is SUPER shy), 2) thousands of screaming girls are not his cup of tea, and 3) he is NOT a Jonas Brother's fan. Well you should have known that I was NOT going to let that put a damper on my parade, so I have decided to turn this into a girls trip and take my sister along. After all, why should I be so selfish not to let her see the smiles on her girls' faces when their DREAMS COME TRUE?!?! This should be quite an experience to say the least! I will be totally out of my comfort zone, but sometimes you have to take a leap of faith to put smiles on 3 little girls' faces. This will be my first major road trip without Anthony, but surely I will do fine.


I may not be a Jonas Brother's fan myself, but I will do anything for Ivy, and I COULD NOT NOR WOULD NOT, pass up an opportunity like this one. And besides, it won't be all that bad because Jordin Sparks will open up for them, and I supported her from day one on American Idol.

As June 20 approaches, their excitement will immensely intensify as will my nerves I'm sure, but what a great memory this will be! I will keep you updated and post pictures, so stay tuned!!