Quote of the Day

In the words of one of my third grade girls...

"Mrs. Minatrea, you look like you just came from Las Vegas, like one of those girls that shakes everything."

Um, is that a compliment?
(For the record, I wasn't wearing anything sparkly or with a feather headdress!)

TAKS Time

Tomorrow is the much anticipated TAKS day for my third graders. I can't believe how hard we've worked the past weeks to get ready. I'm not as stressed this year, but it's also the first year that all my kids have a shot at passing the first time, so my hopes are a bit higher. I can't wait until Tuesday afternoon when it's over!!

In other news...
This week is sure to be busy! Tomorrow is TAKS. Luke has 3 soccer games -Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. This is conference week for me, so I have some pretty much every day and quite a few on Thursday. Marc is balancing soccer and being in Austin for the state basketball games Thursday-Saturday. On top of all this, I'm preparing for Mia's birthday party, and battling illnesses. I woke up early Saturday morning very sick, and finally felt better last night. However, today at school it all came back but I made myself stay to get the kids ready for TAKS. Luke had a fever Saturday and Sunday. We did what any good parent would do - shoved him full or Tylenol and sent him on to school today - and so far, no call that his fever came back. Hopefully he's done being sick!

I'm excited about Mia's upcoming party. It's not a huge ordeal, but it's princess themed and I also found out mom, dad, and grandma Davis will be making the trip down for the party. Now my biggest stress is what she'll wear, and getting her 1 year photos taken by someone other than Aunt Amy!

February seemed way too crazy - with TAKS prep, soccer, basketball season, birthdays, valentine's day, sick people, family job situations and doctor visits... so I sure am glad to welcome in a new month. Hopefully March will be full of positive experiences and good news for everyone!

I know I have some photos to post, and will try to put them on in the next day or two.

Long Time No Blog

Wow, the past weeks have been very busy and even more tiring. To sum it up, basketball is over, Mia's been sick and got 2 new teeth, we've had birthday parties and soccer games weekly, and it's 2 weeks to TAKS time for me. Marc's team missed playoffs by just a few points in a tie-breaker game. They played well, but just didn't pull off a win in the end. School has been crazy for me. I interviewed for a new aide for my grade level and the one we hired started Friday. It's nice to have a little help again since we've been without an aide for about a month. Below are a few photos of everyone from the past days.


Causing mischief, her new favorite thing to do!




Watching buddy's soccer game


Hanging out, waiting for some action as goalie. He enjoyed it, until the ball went in. Then he just looked at me and said "I don't want to be goalie anymore!"



Waiting to block a goal at last Thursday's game

Luke's Ticket

When I picked up Luke at school today, he was sitting on the floor with Ms. Kuehl getting tested. She told him to go and show me his ticket. He pulled a little ticket out of his cubby that read "Putting together a 36 piece floor puzzle (backwards!)". She proceeded to tell me that her teacher was observing her today, and they looked over at Luke, who was working alone on a puzzle. He had it turned over upside down, so every piece was just plain white. He sat there and put the whole thing together on his own. Not only was Ms. Kuehl impressed, but she said that her teacher (she's doing classes with KISD) said she'd never seen anything like it. So, since they were so impressed, Ms. Kuehl wrote him a good work ticket award. She went on to say that she barely ever gives out tickets, and if anyone gets 3, they get some great prize. She also said that none of the kids knew what they were, because she hadn't found a reason to give one out yet this school year, so Luke is the first! I was so proud of him. I never thought my son getting a ticket for doing a puzzle could bring me so much pride as a mom. I'm not sure what I did with my time before he came into my life, and I'm just not sure that I ever could have truly been happy, because I know what true happiness is at times like this - when the littlest thing seems so amazing, just because MY child did it.

Go Vikings!!

Today was Luke's first soccer game, and it was a perfect day for it! After all the cold and windy days lately, today was sunny and 70. I was so proud of the kids for getting out there and trying. It was so crazy - 18 little kids all running around, falling on each other. I have to give a shout out to our goalies for a couple of good blocks! Luke did well. He had a good kick once or twice, but towards the end got a bit tired and lagged behind the rest. He did spend a lot of time pulling at his shirt, which is way too big. At least he wasn't one of the kids that ran off the field crying, so I am proud of him! And thanks in part to the 7 year old on the team, we scored one goal and won the game. Thanks to all our fans today that made the drive to watch this high-action sporting event- Brenda, Carsyn, Nonno, Nonni, and Michael. We appreciate your support!

In other news, we've been absent from bloggerville for a while due to being busy and sick. I was knocked out most of this week with a sinus infection and the flu, and even skipped a few days of work due to it. Basketball season is winding down too. The last regular season game is a week from Tuesday, and hopefully that won't be our last game of the season though and we can get to at least one playoff game.

I'm off to join the rest of the family for nap time. We are run down and just need a rest. Have a great weekend, and I know there are many others out there feeling sick, so get well and stay healthy.

Luke, pre-game


Luke kicking the ball in


Looking tough??


Team huddle - Go Vikings!


Mia, enjoying some puffs more than the game

Little Miss Mia (and a Purple Viking)

Last weekend, Mia grew up right before our eyes. In 3 days, she decided to start kneeling and pulling up, sitting up in her crib facing the door (waiting for us to come and get her!), and has even climbed up onto Luke's chair. It's so exciting to see her learn so quickly, but hard to watch, knowing my baby is turning into a toddler already.



Also, last Saturday was Luke's first soccer practice - with daddy as the coach. It was about 45 and very windy, so I was proud that none of the kids cried or gave up. I will have many more photos to come of soccer season, but had to take one of his first day as a purple Viking! (Could be worse... a coworker's son's team is called the Smurfs!)

Questions to Ponder...

A friend sent me an email called "Haunting Questions." Most forwarded emails I've seen before, but this one was new so maybe it'll be new to some of you. Enjoy!


Why do you have to "put your two cents in".. but it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to?

Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?

Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane ?

If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your butt?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

Just my kids

Nothing much to say about this. Just wanted to share a cute photo of my kids hanging out in their jammies, watching Yo Gabba Gabba!

Gulling anyone??

So, I have heard of TPing, egging, chalking the street, forking, reflectoring, and even yamming (don't ask... high school memory!) but tonight I had a first. Driving onto my street, I first noticed an odd round thing in the road, about 6 inches wide, with a blinking light. Then I turned the corner, and saw what I thought was a cat on top of a car in the street. Turns out, as I got closer, I was wrong. It was actually a ceramic frog! Then I pulled in to my drive and just busted out laughing. There, in front of the brick post of my front porch, was a seagull sitting on some logs. Someone had a few laughs at the expense of a neighbor's lawn ornaments, and I have to admit that I had more than a few laughs at it! I had to snap a few photos just to show how silly it was. Not the best quality of photos due to the rain, but you'll get the general idea!



When I returned from Marc's game tonight (sad loss to the Death Star) I stopped down the street to get the mail, and there sat the frog, on a water drain cover, greeting me as I got out of my car. Enjoy the photos, and hope they bring a silly laugh to you too. It's been a long, draining, and hard week, but a simple seagull lawn ornament managed to brighten even this cold, rainy day. And by the way, I still don't know what the odd blinking light was, but it was a nice touch to the other decor.



So, I've been "gulled." Can anyone top that?

***UPDATE***

I went outside after posting this to show Marc, and we both had a laugh... until I noticed that the pumpkin cutouts that I had staked in my flowerbed were missing. Yes, I know... I still had pumpkins in January, but they were small, and I kept forgetting to remove them! Guess some neighborhood punk took care of that for me. I'm still laughing about it, but not quite as loudly.

Grey Wolves Shout Out Time

I had to take the time to give a shout out to Marc's team. As of today, they are ranked #13 in the state in class 5A! He's enjoying it today, because who knows what tomorrow's game could do to that ranking. Way to go guys!

Our Family's Fantastic Friday

What a good day for the Minatrea family! Each of us had a shining moment today, so I wanted to share!

Mia - She is 10 months old today! She had a doctor appointment to check if her ear infection is finally gone, and her ears are good.

Luke - I picked him up from school today and Ms. Kuehl told me to check his report card. He had great improvements since his last one 9 weeks ago. He was tested earlier this week and he spoke loudly and answered all of his questions. Now, that may not seem like a big deal if you aren't aware that my child is very shy and shuts down when it comes to talking to other people. Then Ms. Kuehl said that his BIG test came today. He was the lunch helper, and the class was short one sandwich, so she sent Luke to ask the cook for another one, and he actually delivered the message! What a huge step for him. I'm a very proud mom right now.

Me - We had a short staff meeting today and my principal said she wanted to recognize a few people for their good works. She gave out 5 certificates, and I was the fifth one. She told everyone that I've taken on 2 new teachers to mentor, am helping out the other new teacher on my grade level, and I still ask her what else I can do with a smile on my face. I was pretty touched to be singled out like that in from of the whole staff, and it really made my day!

Marc -Marc played Ellison, another Killeen school, tonight. That is the school he was the assistant at a few years ago. Ellison was undefeated in district games, and is always a hard team to beat. It was a low scoring game, and Shoemaker was down 10 points at the half, and it wasn't looking good. Then one of his players got fouled shooting a 3 pointer, and immediately after that call, the other team got a technical. The player made 4 of the 5 points, and that turned the game around, and Shoemaker had a huge win in the end! My throat is actually hurting from yelling so much, and Marc's dad commented that I scared Mia at one point. But it's all worth it to finally get a win against such a good team. I feel like it's Marc's best win ever.

What a good day. Now it's not even 9:00, and we are all home and exhausted, but feeling very content. I hope everyone else had a wonderful day too.

P.S. Luke starts soccer very soon, and as of a few hours ago, guess who will be his coach??

I love my puffs!

Mia is finally successful in eating her little puffs. After the first tries at home where she gagged and threw up, I turned the task over to her teachers! After all, they feed babies for a living. With just three days at school last week, she now eats them by the handful. I couldn't resist taking some photos last night of her eating. And by the way, the jar says the serving size is 80 puffs! Does any baby need to eat 80 of anything at one sitting???







<

(Fake) Ice Skating

While the cousins visited over break, we had made plans to check out Killeen's new synthetic ice rink. We were all looking forward to it, but it wasn't quite what we expected. First of all, we were so hot, and had to work really hard to just stand and not fall. Some people gave up quickly. Marcus showed us all his graceful side with some great one legged skating tricks. I was very impressed that Luke took off on his own and was able to stay up - more than I can say for me. I never actually fell, but also never ventured far from the edge either!! I don't know if I captured it on film, but Amy had a great fall. I'm not sure that we'll be going back there any time soon, but Brenda and I did talk about checking out the REAL ice rink in Austin sometime.

Luke and Mommy getting used to the "ice"


Luke on his own


Grandpa, Carsyn, and Jenna... Um, taking a break? (sounds nicer than saying they all fell!)


Carsyn "helping" Luke skate

How to be as cool as me...

Ok fellow bloggers, I've already had one request for info on the new look of my blog. I can't take the credit for being tech savvy enough to find it on my own. I was viewing my friend Jill's blog and was very envious of her cute purple swirly blog, then I noticed a link on top of hers, so I clicked, and found probably thousands of options for a blog design! So, if you want to try something new, click on the orange link on the top of my blog, and it'll take you to a site where you can find them, and gives you very easy to follow directions. Check it out!

Christmas Photos

Finally, a few Christmas photos to share! We had to buy a new storage unit from IKEA and remove a futon in order to make room for the ever growing collection of toys. The last photo cracks me up - Luke and Carsyn were sitting identically, and didn't even know it. They are so funny together!

Come on man, it's the holidays!

I just had to post this to see if anyone else has seen the commercial for a cell phone - I think it's a go phone - not even really sure. But it's with the gingergread man and his family, and he keeps repairing his house when everyone eats it. For some reason, Luke and I are a bit obsessed with this commercial! We rewind it several times when it comes on, and have been saying for weeks "Come on man, it's the holidays!" So, does anyone else know what I'm talking about? And if you have seen it, is it as funny to you as it is to me and Luke?

I've never posted a link before, so not sure why it's just showing a question mark, but you should be able to click here and see the commercial!

7 years down...

Yesterday, Marc and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary. Nonno came and got the kids around noon, so we had the day free to do all the things we've been too busy to do - last minute shopping, wrapping gifts, cleaning up the house... We were going to head out and go to dinner and a movie, but we realized we were so tired - we've been on the go non-stop for weeks and have been lacking sleep. We did make it to Texas Roadhouse for dinner, and then came home, made a fire, and ordered a movie off of TV. I was pretty excited to get a half white/half black diamond necklace!

Today we're heading to Bryan and will stay at Marc'sparents' house tonight, have Christmas there in the morning, and then head home early in the afternoon. Christmas day will be spent just hanging out at home - maybe even a meal out at a Chinese restaurant if we don't want to cook dinner.

If I don't hear from you all, have a Merry Christmas. Oh, and we did finally send cards out, but you may get them late. Better later than never, right?

Check back for lots of photos of Mia's first (and Luke's 5th) Christmas!

Good Times

The weekend is almost over, but I really enjoyed it for once. I didn't spend the whole time running around shopping with 2 kids. Friday my friend Jenn came to see me at school. I taught with her for several years at Trimmier and she moved in May. I haven't seen her since then, and now she's 8 months pregnant. Saturday we got to spend several hours together, just us, at lunch and shoping. I really needed that friend time. I haven't had it in so long and it was much needed.
Last night Mia finally crawled forward! She's been working on heading backwards but was in no hurry to move forward, unless it was by rolling. Marc and Luke were trying to play Candy Land, and she crawled over to mess up their game. It was a sad little crawl, but it counts! I think she's finally getting some more teeth in. All day she's been very sad and needy, like last time.

Today Jenn and her husband stopped by again before heading home, and then Luke and I made fudge, chocolate covered pretzels, and attempted church windows. Not sure what happened there. I have a feeling they will end up in the trash, unless they come out ok after cooling! Marc is finally out doing some Christmas shopping now, so I dressed the kids up to try to get a good photo of them dressed up. With how Mia is acting, it wasn't super successful, but I got a few cute ones none the less.

Three and a half days left this week. Can't wait for a break!!! Friday I think I'm sending the kids to daycare and finally cashing in a certificate I have for a massage, facial, and mani/pedi. I need some time for me.

Enjoy this last week. I'm envious of the blizzard my Northern friends are receiving now - saw the Browns and Steelers on tv playing in it. Send some my way!

Miss you all.


Don't have much explanation for this photo - what you see is what you get!


When I watched Brenda's kids the other night, Carsyn and Luke sat together and "read" Polar Express. It was too cute. They have changed so much this past year, and it's evident in how they play together.


And today's photos, dressed in their Christmas best!

Here I am!

Ok, so I have slacked off. While our computer is broken, I've been using my school laptop, but it is a pain to download photos, so I haven't had much to put on my blog. But due to some pressure from a sibling, I wanted to post something, so you'll have to settle for just me, no kids' photos.

We have 5 and a half days until break, and I am way excited to get a few days off! I feel like Christmas is farther away than it really is. I've been too busy lately to really enjoy the holiday spirit. Plus, I've somehow lost all my Christmas music, so that doesn't help!

Mia turned 9 months old yesterday. Hard to believe she's so big already. She had a good checkup, except the dr. thought she had shrunk! Luckily, after a second measurement, we realized it was a nurse's error and my baby isnt' suffering from early osteoporosis or any other shrinking ailment! I was so excited to start feeding her the little puff snacks last night - her first solid food - but was nervous since Luke choked on his first Cheerio and threw up after I had to stick my finger in his throat! I was so glad when Mia was successful with her first food! But on puff #2, she choked, and threw up 4 times all over the floor. What is it with my kids and choking?? Oh, and she has yet another ear infection. Super.

Luke is doing well. He's so happy because his recalled trains were replaced yesterday! :) Doesn't take much to please him. He's been doing great at school too, and I can't believe how much he's learning.

As for Marc, he's still doing well in basketball. He's no longer undefeated, but still has a great record. District games start soon, so we'll see how things go then.

And then there's me. I've had an interesting week or two at work, and feel like I'm always running 3 places at once, but I'm doing well despite it all! I'm headed to Red Lobster for my staff party now, so it'll be nice to get out and do something relaxing, without kids for a change.

I think that about sums up the Minatreas right now. I just realized tonight I haven't even thought about Christmas cards, so please don't be checking the mail waiting for ours anytime soon. Oh, and I'm taking orders for Cadbury eggs for those who are home bound (Lori) or small town folks (Amy)!

Go Grey Wolves!!

Marc has played 8 and 1/8 games (one game stopped part way through the first quarter, and the team left, but Marc counts it as a win!) and is undefeated! Today the team finished a tournament in Round Rock, and won first place. Since we have no idea what could happen the rest of the season, I wanted to celebrate their great start by giving them credit on here and sharing their team photo from after their win today.