Opossum Killer!

Met with Gracie’s teacher last night for a midyear check up on her progress.  She had nothing but wonderful things to say about Gracie and her progress in Kindergarten.  Just a little attaboy for her – she has mastered all of her sight words for the year and is going to start working on an enrichment list.  We’re very proud of her!!  Oh one cute thing, we were looking at her work that was displayed around the room and one of the assignments that her teacher asked them to do was to pick out a picture from a magazine and write a sentence about it.  A sentence in Kindergarten – wow how times have changed.  Anyway, my little daughter of course picked a picture of a bass boat and wrote a sentence about it.  This made her Daddy VERY proud.  She didn’t pick a girly fairy or something, but a bass boat. 

One more… this made her Daddy VERY proud.  About two weeks ago we had a chicken homicide in our backyard.  I suspected our bulldog because that’s whose mouth I pulled the dead chicken from, but Matthew suspected the opossum that he found in the pen and then later up a tree.  He is probably correct, but I just wanted to be mad at something at that moment.  Anyways, later on in the evening he came inside and said, “I found your chicken killer, come on I need you to hold the light so I can shoot him.”  Well I gotta tell you, I HATE those nasty things and I was upset about my chicken, but I’m not really a “varmit” shooter so I said, nope you deal with it.  Please!!  Well my little five year old daughter JUMPS up and says, “I will help, Daddy!” and gets her boots on.  He boots are her GO TO shoe of choice.  I don’t even think she had jeans on, just a shirt and underwear.  Anyway, there they go out the door, Matthew with his .22 and Gracie with the flashlight.  I thought, yeah one shot and she will come running back in, but nope, in fact there were about five shots (the scope was a little off Matt said. Uhhh yeah, ya think?) and through the door she comes busting through it in excitement, “Mommy WE KILLED THAT OPOSSUM!”  She was so excited that she helped KILL that thing.  Matt was beaming from ear to ear and was proud that she helped him.  He said she didn’t move a bit and held the light on it for him.  I thought Savannah was going to be our tom boy, but it looks like Gracie is taking on the roll and we couldn’t be more happy.  Poor Matt, he had to go out and get a male dog just to have another man around the house.  Three women, 10 hens and a female bulldog.  J  Just thought I would share. 

Get off my blogger and BLOG!

Last post, October, sad really.  I’m going to try to be a better blogger this year.  I need this as a reminder of events that are occurring in my life.  Children, friends, family, etc….

Quick rundown, 2012 is off to a great start.  Girlies are back in school and I’m back to work.  Matt is running his clams all over the great state, so things are moving right along. 

Savannah turned three on the 17^th of December.  We had a great party at our house with food and family.  We are truly blessed with a great family.

Christmas was a BLAST – Santa was very good to the girls this year, a little too good. Matt surprised me with a Keurig even though we had agreed not to exchange.  He’s never been a rule follower.  I followed the rules, so I got to feel good and guilty on Christmas morning. 

Gone is the baby room and look out world because we are sleeping on our new bunk beds and free to roam the house in the wee hours of the night.  So far, no roaming problems, but the year is still young.  Gracie is on the top, Biz is occupying the bottom; however, we’ve already had a fight or two about who’s the captain of that ship.  Had a great cleanout of their room during the holidays.  Gracie gets very upset when I do this – she says I’m giving ALL of her toys away.  This time I managed to conquer the room in her absences, so great strides were made.  Looking great!

Round two..

Poor little Gracie has been so sick over the last week with fever, coughing and breathing problems.  Just when I thought we were in the clear I picked up my baby girl at Day Care and she was running a temperature.  It looks like we're in for round two.  Since I have the meds necessary to battle this bad boy virus, maybe Savannahs stay in the 'Feelin' Like Crud Motel' will be a short one.  Lucky for heMommy is staying home with her tomorrow and will be with her all weekend to take care of her sweet little self.  Hope you feel better soon Bizzy!!

On a more positive note, Matt and I have decided that our Christmas presant to eachother this year will be a four day trip to Gatlinburg over New Years.  I am soooo excited!  I love the mountains, but this time I want a little something different - a New Year's Eve Party in Downtown Gatlinburg with fireworks and a ball drop should be just what the docta ordered.  Can't wait - something to look forward to and the finish 2011 off in style.  My grandmother use to say, what you do on New Years and who you do it with with be what you do all year long, so spend it wisely!!!  Hopefully we will be able to find some Cabbage, Rice and Black Eyed Peas somewhere up there.  We need money, luck and....  can't remember the others, but I'm sure I need it. 

We're going to see the MOUSE!!

Once again I’ve let the time slip by….

Sorry for the pause in blogging, we’ve had a lot going on lately!

In September we spent Mimi’s Birthday (Janis, my Mom) in Disney with the girls.  Of course it’s our favorite place on earth to go for special occasions, but this trip was even more special. 

Way back SEVERAL months ago I was able to book reservations for lunch/dinner in the Castle, Cinderella’s Castle that is.  These days, it’s becoming quite a stroke of luck to obtain reservations.   I’m sure there was a bit of pixie dust in the equation, but I was able to get late lunch reservations on the day that we were planning to go.  I was SOOO excited about the event, I could hardly stand it.  I kept it inside for months, up until about two days before our trip and it came busting out.  My Mom was surprised and very excited!!

I had shirts made for the girls and of course they sported them with style…

We all were looking forward to the clock striking 2:30 for our date with Royalty!

We met Snow White...

We acted silly with Ariel

We tried to climb on Sleeping Beauty (notice Gracie is being the perfect little princess!!)

And finally, our favorite, Princess Belle.  Gracie had quite a conversation with Belle.  She let her know that she knew all about her story and that she was her favorite of all.  It was really sweet.

Then we had our royal dessert!!

Icing fest 2011...  oh, let the sugar coma begin.

So after our Royal Dinner, we decided it was high time for some rides.  We rode the tea cups and the race cars, which Gracie drove like a boss!

And after a great day, kind of wet, but wonderful, we finished up with Mimi's favorite, The People Mover. But first, we needed a little lipstick...

And then we decided that we would get comfortable on the arm rest...

While sister sits nicely in her seat...

It was such a fun day spent with Mom and the girls.  I can't wait to go back again VERY soon!!

So for now.....

Two Bits, Four Bits….

Bout time I blogged!!  Sorry for the month or two long break, it’s been a busy summer to say the least. 

We are well into our Kindergarten and Pre School year now, so Mom has a moment to gather her thoughts and get them down on paper, well online.  Gracie is enjoying Kindergarten and her teacher, Ms. Rhodes, is wonderful.  She loves P.E. and has taught us all how to do pushups. J  Savannah is still going to Kountry Kids just three days a week; however, Matthew is threatening to start her at five days a week.  I think ol’e Mr. Mom is tired of driving the bus route in the morning to drop the girls off at two different places.  It does get old, but… Grandma Becky isn’t quite ready to give her baby doll up either.  I can’t say that I blame her!!

Gracie is a very busy girl these days!  She’s cheering for Pop Warner football in Chiefland, the Mighty Indians and then dancing, tap and ballet at D&D Studios.  We have activities every night of the week and usually don’t get home until 7:00pm.  It’s hectic and sometimes hard – she complains in the mornings, but come game time, she’s happy to be a cheerleader.  She told me last night that she loves to cheer but wishes she didn’t have to practice.  I mixed it up last night for them at practice - we worked on cart wheels and jumps.  I think they all had a good time.  I’m coaching her squad along with two other great moms. The three of us make quite a team!!  I have had a blast this year and have already dedicated myself as a coach for next year’s squad – all three of us have.  We have watched our girls turn into tiny cheerleaders and not only do we think they’re awesome, we have been told by several others that our group looks GREAT!!!  And we agree!!

Chiefland Indians (ages 4-8)

Mimi getting her pics!

Running to get in place!

Sass-A-Frass!

Opening game!  Who doesn't love to run through the banner!!

Come on girls - let's get fired up!

Half time cheer to the opposing team - Hi, Hello, and How Do You Do!!

Still under the knife, so....

Well, since he's still back there under the knife, here's another one...

First Day!
Wednesday, Savannah Maria started Kountry Kids Pre-School.  Gracie was very excited for her little sister to FINALLY start school.  You know she is a “Big Kid” now and stays on the “Big Kids and Afterschoolers side”, so for her to look over the fence at her little sister was a very big deal to her.  She has longed to be called an official “Afterschooler” and come this August her Kindergarten dreams will come true. 
Savannah had a great first day.  It started off a little rough, but with Gracie’s help she came around and ended playing and pottying like a champ.  I was a little sad that my baby is growing up so fast, but I was very happy for her to have a safe and fun place to go to learn and play with other children.  The teachers are so wonderful and I know she will be loved by all. 
Love you Bizzy!!

Pop Tart in hand and I'm ready to go!!

Ready to go as long as sister is going also!!

To show Gracie how much we appreciate all of her help with Savannah, we have signed her up for Cheerleading in Chiefland.  She has wanted to cheer since we first heard about it last year, but the timing just wasn’t right.  This year we are going to give it a try.  I am very excited for her and so is she!!

Mr. Bastow to the OR please....

While Matthew is back there having his gallbladder taken out, I think this is the perfect time to update my blog with the goings on
of July!  Let's start with... 

Staycation!
It was my first “vacation” in several years that I wasn’t having a baby or having surgery – to say it was “needed” would be an understatement.  Because Matthew was not able to take off from his job, the girls and I decided to take day trips. First let me say that any kind of break from driving from Chiefland to Gainesville and back each day is a vacation in itself, but when you add some great Spring trips or Beach trips on top of that, well you have yourself a day in Paradise!! 
Monday – Happy July 4th.
We spent the day with friends in Cedar Key and then watched a beautiful sunset followed by an awesome display of fireworks.  I was truly impressed and surprised by the awesome show that the town of Cedar Key put on this year.  We have enjoyed Cedar Key fireworks for years now, and to hear that this years show was possibly going to be canceled due to economic times, was a real downer for the Bastow crew. However, the fireworks did go on and we really enjoyed them.   I really hope this is a tradition that will keep going for many years to come. 

Tuesday – We’re whipped, so let’s clean!
As a child, many a Saturday morning I was awoken by a strange sound knocking on my door at ohhhh about 7am.  This sound being made by my Mom was no accident – it was the GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF BED AND HELP ME SOUND which was being made by her slamming the vaccum cleaner against my bedroom door.  For years that sound haunted me, but WOW do I ever understand her reasoning behind it.  Gracie and Savannah have not quite grasped what Clean Your Room means.  Gracie has mastered the art of hiding that in which you have no idea what to do with under her bed, and Savannah’s trait is bring everything you can out of the room and act like you have no idea what is going on.  Nonetheless, it was fun and we accomplished some great things – I cleaned out the girls drawers, the normal house cleaning done and even cleaned our bedroom.  You can see our floor!!!
Ok, enough with the chores Mom, let’s have some fun!!
Wednesday and Thursday were spent at Otter Spring and the Beach.  Who loves to swim??? WE DO!!!  Gracie swam so much she got her first case of Swimmers Ear.  I told her Congratulations – you are officially a member of the aquatic species, better known as a FISH!!! 

Rain Rain Go Away…but we need it so badly.
Did it ever rain – we received six inches of rain during my vacation, but we didn’t complain.  We need the rain so desperately, plus we were so whipped that we embraced the opportunity to sit inside, snuggle and watch movies all day. Plus, Grandma and Grandpa were camping all weekend at Otter Springs, so we the girls thought it was really cool to hang out in the camper and even spend the night!

We started our StayCation with a “bang” and a great July 4th weekend, and ended it with a trip to Chucky Cheese on Sunday night for the girls.  We had a blast and I can’t wait to do it again!!