A typical day

I ran 4 miles today. But since I'm a mom, I had to bargain with my shadow in order to get out of the house. I told her I would run by myself and then take her on a run when I was done. I also had to take her on a big-wheel ride! Here are some pictures of our day: one of her and I running together, one of just her, and then one of big brother teaching her how to do "wheelies!" :0)

Wow...

I wanted to see how long Jada's hair was so I blew dry just a portion of it. It is really long!!! Here are two pictures of her with her new do! :0)

100th Post

This is my 100th post and I had something planned but all I want to do now is ask you to pray for MckMama. Her miracle son is very sick and God says, "Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I too, am there." (Matthew 18:20) I don't think that is just a physical thing; I think that even means "blogging together." Her blog is www.mycharmingkids.net.

Irresistible

Isn't it funny how kids are so much cuter when they are sleeping or eating quietly. Here is Jada with her two cousins at my mom's birthday b-b-que. These three are so irresistible!!

My hubby

I keep telling you guys how amazing my husband is. Here is more proof! :0) Yesterday I wanted to get a good run in so after church I got ready and headed out. While I was running my 7 miles (that's right, you heard me, SEVEN miles)my beautiful husband made the most amazing dish. I don't even know what to call it, so I'm going to just post a picture of it. He's the best. I ran and was all exhausted and stuff and I got to walk in the door and be greeted with this! I'm such a lucky girl!!

"You've got mail"

I can't take credit for this picture but it sure is cute!

Pinks

This is all of us in our pink shirts!! :0) Overall, I would say the day was a success. I haven't seen the news yet, but at our school I saw many students who showed their support by wearing pink!

Pink Friday

Tomorrow is Pink Friday. I have included an article below about what that is exactly. My kids and I are all wearing Pink tomorrow in support of schools, teachers, and public education. We spent some time making shirts tonight. Here are a few pictures of our shirts! :0)


California's public schools, colleges and universities are facing more than $11 billion in state budget cuts. These cuts are going to impact an entire generation of kids and alter public education for years to come.

Tomorrow, March 13, is the deadline for school districts to issue preliminary pink slips to California's teachers. As of yesterday, more than 26,000 teachers had received these preliminary notices. (I am one of them)!

Please join us on Friday, March 13 and Stand Up for Schools.

What You Can Do1. Wear pink on Friday, March 13 to show your support for public schools, students and educators.

2. Organize or attend an event at a school near you.

3. Call or e-mail your Legislator. Tell them that investing in public education is an investment in California's future.

4. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper. Lawmakers read their hometown papers to keep abreast of what their constituents are thinking. A sample letter is available in the Resources section.

Happy Birthday My Momma

Today is my momma's birthday. I wanted to wish her a happy birthday and tell her that I love her more than life. She is the most beautiful, spiritual, gracious, warm, giving, loving mother a girl could have. I adore her! Happy Birthday my momma, my light, my friend...

Running mama

It's official. I'm a running mama! I ran three miles tonight. It was a blessed event. My friend Shannon said that she used to pray while she ran. I thought that was a great idea. By the time I get outside to run it's usually getting dark so I'm praying anyway (not to be attacked by a dog, not to be kidnapped by a creepo, not to fall on an imaginary rock) but tonight I prayed for my family, friends, blogger friends, and I was really convicted (I prayed for you too Shan). The most amazing feeling came over me. I was praying and thrusting my arms out to the side asking God to change me and I had to open my arms so he could fill all of me. It was so great. I was listening to my new IPOD, shouting out the lyrics to a Veggie Tales song and just basking in the greatness of my God... Wow...

Anyway, just thought I'd let you know that I did NOT do my 200 sit ups or push ups last night. I tried. I promise I did, but I just could not do that many. I did seventy five of each. Tonight I'll try for more! :0(

More running

I got out and ran again today!!! That's amazing since I had like a hundred reasons not to, like it's 40 degrees outside, and Jada wanted to run with me and of course it was too cold to allow that, and because my house was a huge mess and I should have been cleaning it, and because the laundry needed to be done, and because I just got a new IPOD and haven't even downloaded any songs to it yet, and... Need I go on??? But, despite all those things, I ran two miles. I am also going to do push ups and sit ups. I have been reading a new blog of a girl who runs a lot and does push ups and sit ups to help her running and I thought to myself, "Self, that's a good idea." So I'm gonna try it tonight! I'll let you know how it goes...

And yes, Jada does run with me!! She is amazing. She can run about half a mile before she needs a break. Ok, so I run like a champion at about a 14 minute mile, but whatever... I'm out there; don't judge me!! :0)

Running

I love to run! It's weird because I never ran as a child. I had asthma, so I always stayed on the sidelines. I never thought much about it until college. I decided it might be a great way to get in shape so I tried it. I joined the track team. I really liked the long jump and triple jump (it reminded me of my gymnastic days) and I LOVED how running made my body feel. I ran for two years and then I coached high school track for a few years. It was a great experience. BUT, I only ran sprints, so I never ran anything longer than a few miles. Then I just stopped. I didn't run for years. However, when we moved to Texas I had a friend who ran (I heart you Patty) and I started running with her. I really got into it and started to remember why I loved it so much. When we got back to CA I kept it up and decided last year that I wanted to run a marathon (I actually always wanted to, but I never, ever thought I would). I never did run that marathon, but I did manage to get up to 13 miles! Then I just stopped! AGAIN!! I don't know why I stopped. Maybe it is because of my 6 kids? Maybe it is because I work full time? Maybe it's because I live in the mountain area and it gets really cold from October thru May?? Who knows, but a few weekends ago I ran into a lady who lives up the street. She is not a runner either, but she has been running for exercise and she is up to 5 miles. That inspired me. I started to run that very day. It has been quite a while, but I have managed to run about ten miles this week! I am really enjoying it and hope that I can run a real race soon!

Happy Birthday to me

I had a birthday!! Jeesh~ It was a great weekend. My mom and sister brought me flowers and balloons to work; my students baked me a cake (and it wasn't even poison); I ate out with my adorable husband and our amazing friends; we saw a great movie (NOT) :0); and I celebrated with my family. It really was a fun-filled weekend. So happy birthweekend to me!

You're so funny daddy

Oh the things we teach our children

As most moms are teaching their children manners at the table, such as how to hold a spoon, how to place a napkin in their laps, or how to say please and thank you, I am allowing my sister to teach my daughter how to truly be a lady. "Look Ma, no hands!"

**NEWS**

Here is a picture of Brit at the free throw line.

Here is a picture of the kids celebrating Brit's last basketball game at Red Robin.

I just found out that my daughter made the All-Foothill Conference basketball team. It's sort of a big deal! :0) Here is the article.


Siaosi takes top award



Four alumni from local high schools were honored this past week as the All-Foothill Conference women’s basketball team was announced, and one of them earned the top honor in the state.

Florida Siaosi, a Sultana grad who plays for Antelope Valley College, was named named State Player of the Year in addition to earning Foothill Conference MVP honors, the AVC Web site reported.

The sophomore center averaged 18.3 points and 12.5 rebounds per game this season with the Marauders, setting single-season school records in both categories.

Joining Siaosi on the All-Foothill Conference team is San Bernardino Valley College’s Eisha Sheppard, a Victor Valley High School alum. A sophomore guard, Sheppard averaged 14.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, four assists and 2.2 steals for the Wolverines this season.

Victor Valley College had two All-FC players. Silverado grad Monique Hoover, a freshman guard, averaged 8.5 points and five rebounds per game for the Rams. Serrano alum Brittani Scott averaged 71. points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.7 steals a game as a freshman forward for VVC.

To homeschool or not to homeschool...

We have been going back and forth on homeschooling for quite some time. Our oldest children are in public school (or college), and for the most part we don't have too many complaints. But it seems like it is a crap shoot from year to year whether they get good teachers or not. I hate taking that risk. And I hate sounding like "that parent" when I try to get things changed, fixed, clarified, or even communicated. Sometimes we have really great teachers working with us, and other times, well...

So we have our 3 year old and we are teaching her at home. She is not old enough for school yet, but we are not taking her to preschool. We are teaching her ourselves. It's funny how once you open your mind to homeschooling, the entire world looks different to you. I can't believe how many "teachable" moments there are in the day, where I never would have seen them before. Today while combing Jada's hair I let her play with her little medical kit. Daddy had it out to cut her nails and I kept it out to occupy her while I was detangling. She was really interested in the thermometer so I let her play with it and I explained what it was, what it was used for, and how it told mommy and daddy if she was sick. She decided she wanted to take her own temperature. She looked so cute that I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of her.
(I think we watched one too many episodes of America's Next Top Model yesterday because today all she wanted to do was "pose" for the camera, hence the picture of her sort of upside down!) :0)

Winter Formal

Last night my son and his date went to Winter Formal. They had a great time and of course I snapped a bunch of pictures... Here are a few!