I Can Read

Well sort of....At night I have been reading to Hayden. When I read I point to the words on the page. Anytime Hayden sees things with words (papers, books, bags, etc.) he reads (makes up what he thinks it should say). It is the so cute. Tonight he was watching Netflix on the Xbox and he thought the batteries were dead in the remote. On the back of the remote it has some words...he got his pointer finger out and "read" if the batteries are dead they need to be changed". When he comes home from school we look over his work and discuss what he did. Today he brought home a paper book. It is called Milo Mouse Sees. I asked him to read it. He got all of it right except the back page which says and the letter Mm! He did really good at looking at the pictures and pointing to the words (two things that my Kindergartners struggle with). Here is a video of him reading the book. (It is a little dark....sorry didn't have any lights on.



On to the news about Texas schools budgets. My district is facing some pretty hard facts in all the budget crisis. I haven't been into the news or listening to what is going on the world but now I am. I think losing millions of dollars has me listening. Please read this. I am not sure who all reads this but if you have a child in school or know people that are teachers and depend on their job please let your voice be heard. This are somethings that I have heard through the rumor mill....

Increase student/teacher ratio
Doing away with Special Programs
Limiting the amount of money need for supplies, tutors, and training

At my school we have already seen some changes major reduction in copies and paper usage. We also have a set amount of money that we use to purchase supplies need for our classrooms. The amount we had last year compared to this year is cut in half.

Please pray for these changes that Texas makes.

First Game

We had a pretty eventful weekend. Hayden had a game at 9 on Saturday. I had been struggling to find a t-ball shirt that fits him. His t-ball uniform is a youth large. It is so big that the sleeves come down to his wrist and the shirt hangs past his knees. I attempted to find something similar. I spend 3 hours and in 7 different stores and didn't find anything. I got that bright idea that I could just dye it. Yeah after 3 attempts of dying and stirring for an hour and half. I gave up! So I decided that I would just rip the sleeves off and we could just tuck it in. He looked terrible. I felt so bad for him...plus he didn't want to wear it either. When we got to the game I looked at the other kids and their shirts were big too. So in the end we made it work. The game was really funny. I think that the coaches and the parents did the majority of the work. Hayden got to bat twice and chased down a ball. The first time he batted he ran after the ball and held it. The coach took the ball and directed him to first base. He is really good at running the bases. Overall it was fun. I enjoyed watching him play. Here are a few pictures from the event.






Today I did my couponing and got some good deals.



I spent 11.00 dollars. Seven of that was spent on the Neutrogena sunscreen. I did really good. I didn't spend any cash at CVS or Walgreens. I used my bucks from the store. I am hoping I can keep rolling my money at these stores that I won't have to pay out of pocket.



I got laundry detergent for cheap. I spent 17 dollars on this, the soap was 2.78.





Kroger is where I spend the most money. In these two pictures I spent 37.00. If you count up how many items I purchased it was 31. That is almost one buck a piece. I thinks that's pretty good!!

The Season Starts

We have officially started T-Ball. Hayden had his first practice last night. I am pretty sure he has no idea what to do. He can hit the ball when he wants, can catch and throw, but running the bases....he is LOST!!! He has an okay arm for a 3 year old so the stopping and throwing ground balls went really good. He hit a few balls off of the tee. I think the rule is that they don't count if they hit the tee or if it falls near home plate. When it was time to run to first after he hits the ball....he was very confused. He went to go chase his ball. (That is what he does at home). Even after they had base coaches on base telling them where to run it didn't help. I had my camera out and I was zooming in on Hayden at first base and he was telling the coach how old he was and doing some kind of finger trick. I think Hayden enjoyed it and he was very tired after it. We did learn that he doesn't like us "coaching" him out there. I guess his a typical kid....I can remember not listening to my mom when playing basketball...THE COACH knows not PARENTS. I think David and I realized how much we have an affect on Hayden's behavior. We do things in front of Hayden that we don't want him to do (saying bad words, giving each other attitude, the shows we watch, the music we listen to, not using manners....) We left practice on the same page....WE HAVE TO BE THE ROLE MODEL. How Hayden's behaves and acts today will shape him for the rest of his life. We have to get very serious on discipline and praise. Hayden loves to be praised and gets rewards when he does things right...he hates going to time out or going to bed early. We also realized he needs more school structure. He had a routine at home that we pretty much stick to on school nights. We pretty much decide on a private school for him. While we were in St. Louis I download a lot of podcasts. I really have been enjoying and listening to Focus on the Family...it has a lot of neat information on how on family life.

Okay y'all know I have been doing this coupon thing for a few weeks now. Last week was my best yet. At CVS I spent 7 bucks out of pocket and got 14.50 to spend there next week. (It is actually Extra Care Bucks...you can use them on just about anything in the store except alcohol, gift cards, and prescriptions). At Walgreen's I spent 10.75 and got 18.50 back in Register Rewards...(they are just like CVS's bucks). So all in all I got paid to shop!!!! Who doesn't like that?

Obession

Hayden has had a few things that he has been obsessed with. He loves the movie Madagascar. We borrowed a few movies to take with us to St. Louis (so Hayden could watch them in the car). He watched Madagascar several times. He knows the characters by name. He is now able to understand jokes. When something funny happens in a movie he cracks up laughing. I think its too cute! Tonight we went to Chick Fli A for dinner. I happened to be family night. The cow was there. At first Hayden was hiding under the table from the cow. He eventually warmed up the to cow. When we were leaving he was talking to the cow and giving it high fives. The whole time the cow was out Hayden asked a tons of questions. He was asking can he talk, does it go to the bathroom, can he drive, where does it live, what do cows do, and how does it walk. I wasn't sure how to answer all of his questions (he was so serious and matter of fact).

I am going to up date the last day of our St. Louis trip. Thursday night we went to incredible pizza. The have games, go carts, bowling, and bumper cars. Hayden loved the go carts. He wanted to drive....of course. He was very sad and upset when he wasn't tall or old enough. He loved racing everyone though. Our last time Hayden rode with me and we won the race. He was so excited. He wore the ribbon proudly. On Friday we went to the zoo. He loved it. Every time we saw a new animal he asked if it was going to bite him. I felt like I was playing 20 questions because he was asking so many things. He really liked the big cats and the petting zoo. Hayden was such a good traveler. He never asked if he could get out or how much longer. I am thinking that now that we know how he does in the car we can take more trips. Maybe a summer vacation?

Fun Times

Wow our spring break is flying by. It will be over tomorrow. We will be driving back to Texas early Saturday morning :( I am officially sad!! We have enjoyed every minute. Hayden has only been in time out once. We have stayed on his schedule. He has had a nap every day. Last night he told me he was ready to go to bed. I've tried to keep his days "normal" for him. On Tuesday we went bowling. Hayden had a great time. The hardest part of bowling was waiting his turn. He did a really good job. For awhile he was beating me. He wanted his ball to spin like the others. On Wednesday the library had story time. We've been a few times. At first he didn't want to go in. He eventually warmed up. Towards the end he was singing and dancing. Once everyone got home we went swimming. The city has an indoor pool. He loved it. It wasn't just a pool it had a kiddie play area, lazy river, big slide, lap lanes, hot tub, and a swirly circle pool. We spent most of the time in the play area and the swirly pool. They wouldn't let Hayden wear his floaties. They had a life jacket for him. He liked wearing that thing. He wanted to "swim" by himself. He didn't understand that he had to close his mouth and blow bubbles. He swallowed a lot of water. In the circle pool it had a current that would push you around. He had a blast floating on his back all by himself. Maybe this summer we can sign him up for swimming lessons. He really enjoys the water. We lost four ear plugs in the water but so worth it. Today we went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Hayden loved getting beads and eating candy. He has been sweet and kind. He would tell the people in the parade, "beads please or candy please". He is going to be very sad on Saturday. I wish they lived closer. Hayden has so many people that want to play with him. He gets so excited when anyone comes home. He has been asking a lot of questions about their daily routine. I am thinking that he is trying to figure out if they do the same thing as him. I have a lot of pictures from this trip to upload. I am only putting a few today...(it takes way to long...I have to edit and upload). I think next weekend I will make a web album from the trip. Here are a few of my favorites.

Deals

After the snow slowed down we went to the Science Center. I am not really sure what I can compare it to that is in Houston. It has a lot of hands on activities to do. One of the main reasons we went was  because it had 2 life size dinosaurs. One of them moved (it would open  it's  mouth and roar). I figured Hayden would love it. He is fascinated with animals. He knows a few dinosaurs by names. He was deathly afraid of it. He wanted nothing to do with it. He wouldn't even walk around it. He had to be carried to go to other exhibits that were near it. At first he started to cry because he was near it. Once we got back to the house he talked all about them; telling the names, what they did, and what color they were. When got home Amy and I decided to go on a coupon run. I had a lot of fun. It is a lot of work getting prepared but the savings are worth it. I spent 14.50. I am not sure of the tax difference here so I'm not sure if i could have saved more. I did this post on my phone so it is backwards. I don't think there is a copy and paste button.

Snowy Surprise

Spring Break for us snow for St. Louis. We have been watching the weather. We were trying to figure out the best day to take Hayden to the zoo. (We want it to be warm so we can all enjoy it). We heard that it was going to be rain mixed with sleet. My dad didn't think the snow was going to stick. Amy, Alex, and I stayed up playing Monopoly on the Wii. When went to bed it was raining and sleeting. When we woke up the ground was covered in snow. Hayden was so excited. He hasn't been around to see snow on the ground. We got up and got dressed. Hayden had a blast. He loved the snow. We didn't come prepared with snow gear. We had to make do with what we had. Hayden went through 6 pairs of gloves. We had to tie Target sacks to his shoes so they didn't get wet. The first thing that Hayden did when he got out there was slip and fall. He struggled to get up with out getting wet. The snow was kind of mushy and really wet. The ground isn't that cold it is 34 degrees here. We attempted to make a snowman but it fell apart. Hayden made a snow angel but he didn't like it because the snow kept getting in his eyes. Hayden loved sledding the best. Maybe when the roads get a little safer we can take him to a hill. Here are pictures from the event.






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Sunday in St. Louis

We have been enjoying our time here. We got here around 4. Hayden was a great traveler. He didn't ask if he could get out. In the morning he asked about 50 times when were getting there. We kept telling him it is going to take a long time. He was awake from 2 until 12. We had to convince him to take a nap. He watched movies most of the time. We spent the evening playing the Wii. Amy and Alex introduced Hayden to Rock Band. It is a game that you sing, play the drums, and guitar. He loved playing the drums.

 

 

We went to bed at 8:30. We were all so tired. Hayden was fast asleep. He slept until 6:30(it was really 7:30 with the time change).

We got up and went to Mass. My Dad's side of the family is Catholic. Hayden hasn't really been to church with me. When he comes he goes to Sunday school. He doesn't really know what a church service is like. He asked a lot of questions. Who is Jesus, why is he on the cross, why do you eat fish for dinner. He was so curious of all of the praying and kneeling.

Since Thursday is St. Patrick's Day the church had a carnival. We went up there to let Hayden play games. He had a blast and won a lot games. (In Texas they aren't big into St. Patty's Day here it is a different story. Everyone wore green and dressed up). I took some pictures of him playing

 

This game you used a fishing pole that had a metal chain on the end. Then you would "fish". The magnet was in the fish. He had some trouble with it at first he couldn't figure it out.

 

 

This was his favorite game. There was a rubber frog on the end of this see saw thing and you hit it and you had to launch the frog into a bucket. He loved hitting and seeing where the frog landed. When he made it he was so happy. He would jump up and down.

 

 

 

These other games I think were for older kids. They both involved a gun so he had to play. The first one you used a gun that shot rubber darts. You had to aim and hit the bulls eye smiley face. He could barely hold the gun over the table. He hit the target on his first try.

 

 

 

In this gun game he used a rifle type gun that shot cork bullets. You had to aim and shoot balls. When he first took the gun it was so big that he couldn't hold it over the table. So he sat on the table. This game was a little tricky. He ended up shooting one ball. Overall the frog and shooting games were the ones that he won the most prizes.

 

 

This was a pig race. He picked a blue pig to win. It won, he picked a dog that was black and brown just like Holly. He was so excited that he got a dog like her. I guess he misses and is attached to her.

 

 

Theses are from jumping things. The first one he went down this huge slide. Amy had to help him climb up there. He wanted to do it again.

 

 

Parenting

When David and I started dating I told him that I wanted to be a mom. It was my goal and something I had a longing heart for. I learned in my first year with Hayden that he changes so fast and the time flies. All I had to do was give Hayden love, attention, and food. There wasn't to much for him to learn. When he turned two the world changed. He was learning a lot. Talking up a storm being able to express his needs and wants. He was able to sing songs and talk about colors. He wanted to cuddle and look at animals in books. He loved Elmo and the color red. He didn't understand Santa or cared to dress up. Now that he has turned 3 the tables are turning. I am learning the hard truth that parenting isn't as easy as it looks. There is a lot more to it. Hayden is a very strong willed child. He likes things his way. I want Hayden to learn respect, self control, kindness, how to forgive, courage, and honesty. When I went to a training about the brain I learned only 6 character traits are wired from birth and the rest are taught. Lately, Hayden has been misbehaving at school. He hasn't been keeping his hands to himself and not following direction. Monday he had an incident report (it basically means that he was asked to do something didn't stop he then went to time out and then continued and so its away to keep track of his behavior). When he came home from school he had to be on punishment (no toys, computers, or TV). He did not like it. He cried and said over and over that he was very sorry and wouldn't do it again. David and I stuck to not giving in. On Tuesday he had a good day. Today not so much. So when he got home he was on punishment. I figured he would listen. He kept doing what he wanted so he had to go to his bed for the rest of the night at 8. I finally understand the saying "it is going to hurt me more then you". It is killing me knowing that Hayden was mad and upset and was crying (as I write this he is sleeping). I caused him to feel this way. I don't want to be the mom that is constantly on him...telling him what to do. I want him to feel he can talk to me and tell me anything. I think during Spring Break I am going to read some books. One of the first I want to get is Dr. Dobson's Strong Willed Child. I have been downloading his podcast and he has a lot of good stuff. One thing that I am learning is I need to be consistent in praying for Hayden. I don't want to pray just for Hayden but for David and I.

On to funny Hayden facts. As Hayden gets older I want to remember all the funny things he said.

Before I start Hayden loves animals...bugs to be exact.

FACTS by Hayden...All of this is Hayden wording.

Bat only come out at night. They suck peoples blood.

We need a chimney for the bats to come in.

Roaches come out at night. They are crawlers.

There are two types of rats roof rats and norway rats. You kill them with the snap trap.

Frogs hop and are green.

Santa only comes during Christmas and at night.

We don't go to school at night.

When the son comes out we go to school.

**I love his animal facts he gets them from books, a show on Netflix called Verminators, and on a website called pebble go.

It's Been Awhile

Okay I have been busy so it has been awhile since my last post. On Thursday, it was rough going back to work. Every time I moved I was in pain. I had a doctors appointment on Friday and I felt a little better. Every time I go and get adjusted the pain isn't as bad. On Friday David picked Hayden up from daycare. Hayden loves when he picks him up. When I got home he didn't want anything to do with me. He wanted David to play and spend time with him. We all have been so tired this week. I feel asleep by 9:30. When I woke up I still had my glasses on, the TV on, and my drink in my hand. I brought home a CD that I had at school. It has several songs on it about sounds the letters make. Hayden doesn't like me to sing. He tells me "mommy this is my CD only I can sing." Today I went to a consignment sale. I spent 75 dollars and I bought 10 shorts, 7 shirts, swim shorts, toys, boxers, books, a blanket, and pair of shoes (all for Hayden). I bought shorts and capris for me. Hayden had a blast looking at all the toys. He got a Thomas the Train that holds trains. When we got home he wanted to put all of his trains in it. He didn't have enough trains that would fit so he stuck cars in there too. He is so cute. I spent an hour logging in and checking all the deals at the grocery stores. I found some good deals at Randalls. Hayden and I went and shopped. Here is a picture of what I bought.



The bill before my coupons and using the card was 77 bucks. I only spend 30 bucks. I spent 16 dollars on 6 1/2 pounds of hamburger meat. It is crazy that I bought all of that stuff for 14 dollars.

Bored

It has been busy the last few days. I took Hayden to the doctor. He has a cough that won't go away. The doctor said it was an allergy cough. She said for us to put him on Zyrtec once a day. We have been doing that but it doesn't seem any better. Putting him Zyrtec reminded me of the Midland days. He had cough there too. I totally forgot about him being but on allergy medicine at 6 months old. When he was a year old, we took him to get allergy tested. Once we moved to Houston he was better. He wasn't sick all the time. We will try this for 2 weeks if it is not better he will need to be allergy tested. I know there are a few things he is allergic to. I guess now that it is warming up the pollen and stuff is causing all of this. Monday night the boys played baseball outside and we grilled pork chops for dinner. It was such a beautiful evening. Hayden loved it he had so much fun. After his bath he climbed into bed and was out. On Tuesday at work I was helping a few students and when I stood up I was in pain. The right side of my middle back ached. I thought I just got up wrong and on Monday I was carrying and holding Hayden a lot. I figured it was nothing. I took some Advil and figured it would go away, but it didn't. I was up all night, every time I moved or took a deep breathe I was in pain. So I took off today and went to the Chiropractor. He said I had a few problems. It probably started when I was pregnant with Hayden. The weight from that caused my back to come out of alignment. Then my spine started to get holes or dips in them because it was trying to compensate. That cause my middle back to become inflamed and the joints to lock up. He did adjust me and put a shock treatment on me. I was feeling okay when I left. I have to go back on Friday to get the same thing done. I am hoping this will help. I tolerate pain very pretty good. I can remember not taking any medicine after I had Hayden and when I had my wisdom teeth pulled I took one dose. I don't think I felt anything like this. Today I just sat around. I can't sit I don't do well if I have nothing to do. It is driving me nuts. David has been taking care of Hayden and me. I think he was glad to go to work today. I don't know how I am going to teach tomorrow. It will be very interesting. I don't think I have ever sat in my classroom, not even when there is a movie on. Hayden has been so concerned. He has been helpful and always asking "are you okay". He brings me water and says "drink this it will make you feel better" and then pats my cheek. Today after the doctor. I went to CVS. I had coupons to use. I bought 2 things of toothpaste and a new razor for David. I spend $1.48. I can't get over that. I am liking saving money!!