Hangin' with the Mayor!

Today I spent the day with the 8th graders from my school at Fresno City Hall learning about local government. It was a great day of learning.

We had the opportunity to have many dignitaries speak to us, including the mayor of Fresno. There were kids from four different schools, and they were broken into groups to head to sessions, one of which was taught by me and my partner teacher.

On Tuesday, we get to head to Sacramento to tour the Capital and go to the CHP Academy. That will be another long and fun-filled day. I am looking forward to it.

One bummer is that all of my photos came out smudgy in the upper right corner. I have a feeling someone around the age of two got hold of my camera. Grrrr.

Speedy

This amazing kid ran two miles at the school jog-a-thon today. He is my hero! I ran a mile with him. I can beat him at the distance (when I'm in shape!), but this kid totally smokes me in short speed races.

Way to go Evan!

P.S. The photo was taken with my phone and downloaded from FB. Sorry it is so little that you can't see anything. And sorry that you can't enlarge it. Trust me, Evan is the first kid in navy blue. He was in the lead for the first lap running with Kindergartners, first graders, and second graders. Wish I had 1/2 of his energy.

Donuts

Hudson is my sugar boy. I think this child loves sugar more than I do, and I love sugar a lot!

The little story I am about to share was much cuter in person because of Hudson's little voice, mannerisms, and gestures. Even though the retelling won't be nearly as adorable, I wanted to write this down.

I was changing Hudson's diaper on Sunday. Once we were done and I put pants on him, Hudson asked, "Where going, Mom?"

"Nowhere," I said. "Where do you want to go?"

"Store," he said with an impish grin. Only "store" is pronounced more like "stowe."

"And what do you want to get at the store?" I asked.

"Donuts!" was his instant reply.

I cracked up when he said that. It amazed me that he not only knew he wanted to go to the store, but that he wanted to buy donuts once he got there! Well, he twisted my arm (really he did) at the store yesterday. I bought little powdered donuts for him to eat this morning. How could I resist?

Fame

Last Friday Evan and I, along with two of Evan's classmates, headed to the Channel 26 news studio to tape a live segment about car safety. The segment had to do with being aware of small children while backing up in a car.


Braden, Evan and Samantha are standing on a mat behind the car with measurements marked off every few feet. It seems hard to believe, but sitting in a driver's seat, it was really hard to see all three kids even as far back as 18 feet. For the segment, I was standing on the 20-foot mark behind the kids waving at the cameraman who was filming at the front of the car. He could only see me waving and none of the kids.


Samantha was such a good little girl standing right on her dot. The boys were a bit more fidgety. We had to do a couple of teasers before the live interview, but whenever the cameraman gave the okay, the kids grabbed our phones to play games.


Evan. One giant piece of my heart.


The kids in front of the faded Channel 26 sign. If and when Channel 26 puts a link of the segment on their website, I'll load it to the blog for all to see.


This picture is unrelated to the kids being on the news, but I love this time of year when the air is crisp and we can see the Sierra Nevada mountains as plain as day. They are so pretty right now with the snow capped peaks. I always think I should take a picture when I am out running, but I don't want to carry a camera while running. I thought I'd try a shot through my car window. Still not the best, but you get the idea. Just wanted to share.

Back in the Game

I got behind in using my coupons for a few month, but for the past two weeks I have been back into clipping, organizing, and USING my coupons. I scored a major deal today at CVS!

I got all of the items in the photo above for $9.25! One Downy, one Tide, one Head & Shoulders shampoo, four Pantene conditioners, two Oral-B toothbrushes, two Gillette deodorants, and two Nice & Easy hair colors.

The original cost was $86.67. I got the price down by using my extra care bucks card (- $24.78), coupons (- $19.50), giftcards (- $27.14), and extra care bucks (- $6.00). I did have to transfer a prescription to get the $25 gift card, but it was definitely worth it.

Oh, and the best part is I got back $20 in extra care bucks to use next time! I came out $10.75 ahead!

I know it's been over a week

I figured I'd beat my mom to the punch of admitting it's been over a week since I last posted! Now she can't say anything.

Some weeks it's all I can do to remember to brush my teeth and put on my pants. Hopefully, if I ever forget my pants, Evan will notice and say something before we get to school!

It's the end of the second trimester, so I have been busy grading all the last minute papers, administering finals, grading finals, and keeping up with all the other random stuff that comes our way.

Evan had his first T-ball practice this past Monday. It's fun to watch him play. He made an awesome hit out to center field. He's on the same team as last year with several of the same boys, but there are some new kids there as well. We've been talking to him about setting a good example for smaller kids who have never played before. He takes this job of being a good example very seriously. Now if we could just get him to do this with his brother!

Hudson is Hudson! That kid cracks me up and makes me want to tear my hair out at the same time. His newest word is, "Yep." I love listening to him talk in sentences. He is still adjusting to staying in his own bed. Tonight was a pretty easy night getting him to sleep. Not all nights are easy.

I like the rain, but I hate it for one huge reason. We have a stupid dog who thinks it is his duty to be IN it. Every day that it rains, we come home to one dry dog and one sopping wet muddy nasty smelling dog. It's gross. He desperately needs a bath. Not going to happen tonight, though.

March is already shaping up to be really busy. Lots of weekend events planned, several field trips at school, getting ready for Easter, and trying to get some semblance of control over my crazy and cluttered house.