My Weekend Accomplishments

I went to an all-day crop on Saturday in Grain Valley and got a few layouts done. I had such a great time with my Mom and some great friends. I would have loved to have accomplished more, but I spent too much time flapping my gums and walking around seeing what everyone else was doing...lol. Check it out:

Ahhh...That's More Like It

So, I thought all was going so well for the Brodster. Apparently I was wrong...lol. I got the first phone call of the year from his Math teacher this afternoon. He has an Academic Detention because he didn't submit his homework for the week. So on Tuesday afternoon, he gets to stay after school for one hour and do extra credit work to make up for the assignment he neglected to do. Now I should probably preface this by saying that everyday I check his backpack and never once did I see a Math worksheet and every time I asked him about the homework assignment written in his agenda, he told me that he had completed it in class.

I knew things were going too smoothly...lol! I feel like I'm going through school all over again...TWICE!!

She Finally Did It!!!!

OK, so I know I just did a post about an hour ago, but we've had a major development here people. Holly just pulled her own tooth...by herself!! Way to go Holly! We've been trying for about a week now and it finally came out. She is too stinking cute. I love kids with no front teeth...lol. Check it out!

Monday night (I love Brody's expression, he was willing her to do it...lol):

Customary phone calls to all the grandparents to tell them the big news...lol:

She finally did it!

Some More Layouts

These are the layouts that I completed last weekend. I finally got them scanned in. I'm actually going to an all-day crop on Saturday with my Mom so I will have more next week. YEA! I'm getting caught up. I hope you guys enjoy!

Just checking in...

I haven't posted anything in a few days, so I just thought I would check-in and let everyone know what's been going on around here.

Last week I posted that Holly got in trouble at school. Well I told her that if it happened again on Friday, she would get no TV or games all weekend. She made it all day and the teacher had given her a 4 (which is the best they can get for behavior) until she went to her last bathroom stop of the day. She got caught flinging water on someone from the sink and the teacher knocked her down to a 3. I thought she was going to die...lol.

I got to spend a few hours Saturday and Sunday afternoon scrapbooking. YEA! So as soon as I get those layouts scanned in, I will post them for everyone to see. I'm actually getting caught up, which is nice.

Holly's 2nd front tooth is hanging by a thread (literally..it's pretty gross...lol). We spent an hour in the bathroom last night while she tried to pull it. No luck. I guess it will come out eventually...lol.

Brody is doing great in school. He's only had a couple of pieces of homework so far and I haven't gotten any phone calls or e-mails from any of his teachers which is completely awesome! He's not around much anymore. He's always outside with his buddies which is good, but poor Holly is getting really bored with just mom and dad...lol (I'm also not getting as many photos of him to scrapbook. I need to figure out a way to fix that...lol). I'm so proud of him for being so independent and responsible lately. He's doing awesome walking to and from school on his own. We've only had a few issues with him running his mouth when he shouldn't, but nothing major.

Work is completely stressing me out right now. The economy is just so bad you never know from one day to the next whether you will have a job to go back to the next day. I've also been working a lot of hours, which is not helping. Add that to the stress of trying to get the house refinanced and I'm about ready to just call it quits..lol.

Well, that's it for now. I can't wait to see everybody again. I need an excuse to drink because it doesn't look good when you just sit at home and drink by yourself...lol!

3rd Day of School and Already in Trouble...lol

OK, so when you saw that title you immediately thought, "Oh, geez. What did Brody do now?"...lol. Think again! My little (ahem!) "sweet" princess was sent to the safe seat today for none other than NOT being able to shut her mouth. I mean come on, us Abbate's aren't talkers! LOL! Just kidding! All it took to start the tears was to tell her how unhappy I was with her for not listening and following directions. She laid on her bed for 30 minutes just bawling...lol. (It doesn't take much).

Hopefully (or maybe just wishful thinking on my part...lol), it won't happen again tomorrow. We'll just have to wait and see!

First Day of School

So today was the "big" day. Holly started 1st grade (boohoo!) and Brody "officially" started 5th grade today. This morning was rough; Kids not wanting to get out of bed, eat breakfast or brush their teeth. So pretty much like any other morning...lol.

Brody rode his bike to school for the first time, so Tony was showing him how to lock up his bike and it just kind of hit me like a ton of bricks. I no longer have "little ones" anymore. They are so grown up! I mean I'm going to have a teenager in the house in 2 years people!

I drove Holly to school. I was expecting tears and some "please Mommy don't go", but none of that occurred (which I have to confess also made me a little sad...lol). It's just another sign that they are no longer babies. Holly walked right into her classroom, grabbed her crayons and started coloring the paper that was laying on her desk. This morning was definitely harder on me than it was for either of them...lol. Here are just a few of the pictures that I took:

Brody's 1st day of 5th Grade

So, Brody had a half day today. They called it a "preview" day for the incoming 5th graders. They use it to get used to the new school because he has a locker this year and three teachers, so he has to switch classrooms. I never thought I would see this day...lol. He called me when he got home and he was so excited. I've never heard him so excited about school before. It was quite refreshing. He had so much fun. Let's keep the fingers crossed that the rest of the school year goes this well...lol.

Holly starts school tomorrow. That's going to be tough. She latched onto my leg and wouldn't let go at back to school night, so I have a feeling it's going to be rough in the morning. I'll have lots of pitures and stories to post tomorrow about all the exciting events!

Teenager in Training

So, I thought it was awfully quiet after I got home from work today. I called for Holly and she didn't answer. So I went upstairs to find her. She was on her bed on the phone with her friend Hailey. I have a feeling she's going to need her own phone line...lol!

She finally lost it!

One of Holly's front teeth has been hanging on for dear life for the last couple of weeks and she refused to pull it or let it be pulled. Well....tadah!! It finally popped out at daycare yesterday while eating an animal cracker...lol. Check out my toothless wonder.

Ahhhh Crap!

I got a lovely piece of mail today. JURY DUTY!! This is my first and I'm really not looking forward to it. With my luck I'll get stuck on another OJ trial...lol!

Holly's Vacation...

So, it's been awhile since I've posted anything. Things have just been crazy around here. I was really sick for about 12 days with Vertigo. I wouldn't recommend that for anyone..lol. Then Holly spent a week with my parents for her little summer "staycation". On top of all that, I've been working crazy hours at work getting ready for our move into the new Headquarters this Friday. So I'm a little behind on everything...lol. Here are a couple of pics from the kids at the lake and Holly's "staycation":

Brody, Holly & Dad swimming at Lake Tapawingo:



MMMMM...A Root Beer Float!

Holly and her step-cousins Bailey & Savannah:

Fun at the park:

Blowing bubbles while washing dishes: