It's getting busy around here!

Well it's May and it's getting busy around here. Last week was slope day at Cornell. It was a fun-filled day with lots of planning, set-up and execution for our office. The Pussy Cat Dolls were entertaining and if throwing a concert for 15,000 beer-filled college students weren't enough, we threw in an evacuation for an impending storm. Fun times I tell ya! It actually was kind of exciting.

This weekend flew by with a 9 hour conference call on Saturday with SIG. Even better times... Actually it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. It's always nice to reconnect with old siggers and plan the summer away. I love going to summer camp. And this year, for the first time ever, I get to spend camp with my friend Debbie who got me into the SIG thing 13 years ago! whoo hoo! I'm really looking forward to a great camp this year.

On Sunday, Carlea performed in a sing-a-long at church. Although her daycare gave her low marks on keeping a tune (she needs improvement--as well as in hopping), I thought she did well. The song was 12 Disciples, but she thought the words were 12 recyclables. I'm not sure anyone else noticed, but Scott and I thought it was funny in a green sort of way.

Later that day Carlea was telling Scott what a great daddy he is. "So strong" she'd say. "So funny" "really nice" kind" and "always taking care of me" I asked what she thought I was good at and she replied, "counting." Hopefully I can at least help her score well on the SAT!

Tonight was the class council end of the year banquet - I love this time of year! It gives me a chance to tell my students how much I appreciate them. Following dinner I went to the Meet the Candidates Night for our local school board. Six candidates for 3 seats....it's going to be interesting. It's nice to see interest in our community!

Well, I only have 103 events left to do in the next 19 days. This week isn't bad with the Class of 2010 picnic on the quad tomorrow and Duff Ball on Saturday night....then a few days off till the real fun begins.

Spring is here....

It's been awhile, so I thought I'd update with a few happenings in the Davis household. hmmm, where do I begin? A couple of weeks ago, we went to Arkansas to surprise Scott's Mom and Dad for their 50th Wedding anniversary. We had a great time. We went a couple of days early to set up the party. It was fun sneaking around hoping they wouldn't see us. My sister, Marylou went with us to help out and it really was nice to have her around. The first full day we were there, as we were decorating the church, I was telling everyone how whenever we come to visit Mimi and Pops we always end up going to the doctor for something. Then it happened. Carlea fell and hit her head on the leg of a chair. It was pretty bad...blood, her screaming, me screaming...actually that was just in my head, but there was blood and she did cry at first. My gosh, it was a huge cut! Right on her forehead! So we rushed off to the hospital to get it checked out. They were so nice. (Everyone in Arkansas is nice) The nurse, in a thick southern accent and spelling out the words so Carlea wouldn't be afraid, said that she would have to get S - U - R - G-- I was shocked! really? surgery? My gosh, was her brain falling out of the cut? I called Scott to tell him and he was clearly as in shock as me. When the nurse came back, I questioned her again. Really? Surgery? I mean I thought it just would be stitches or something. I must have looked pretty pale at that point because she started to laugh and tell me that she was spelling S - U - T - U - R- E - S. Whew! So Carlea ended up with 6 stitches in her head. She was a real trooper and didn't cry at all. After all she earned herself a whole candy bar. That's pretty good for a kid who only gets 5 m&m's at a time. They had to wrap her head so she got A LOT of attention, which of course, she loved.

The party was great. We usually talk to them in the evenings through a computer video cam and we staged it to look like we were at home on the computer talking to them at the party. Then we came out and surprised them. It was fun and the kids had a ball.

For the next week we toured Arkansas hitting all the hot spots. Clinton Presidential Museum, (he was there the day after us) Mount Magazine (highest point in Arkansas) and a bunch of other places. It was nice weather and the kids love visiting their Mimi and Popsy-boy.

This week we went to the Sciencenter. We normally love this place, but this season's exhibit is blood sucking insects. Not really good for a kid who just bumped her head and bled a lot. She didn't sleep for days.

I'm glad spring is here! We can finally go outside and have a little fun. Maysie is starting to talk up a storm and we've been really loving this stage in her life.

This week we are starting senior week ticket sales, so I'll be busier than ever. Lots of events and great offerings. And to balance things out, I have another school board meeting on Tuesday. As we delve further and further into the budget, things are getting tougher and tougher in terms with making it all work out for the best with what we have. I went to a boy scout lasagna dinner on Saturday night and sat next to a really nice older couple. The kids were hungry, it was dark and they were fussy. As I sat down after getting up for the umpteenth time, the woman said "Oh, two young children, I feel sorry for you". Then the conversation turned to community stuff and I mentioned I was on the local school board. She put her fork down, looked me straight in the eye and said, "Oh, now I feel *really* sorry for you".

Have a good week everyone!

We've been played!

It's been a crazy day~ it started with church. We all got up early, an extra hour in fact, and was actually in church on time, something we haven't done in months! It was all good until the collection plate came around and Carlea dropped it on the floor spilling out all the envelopes and money. Under the pews, under the kneelers, etc...kind of embarrassing. Luckily the priest likes us so he pretty patient with the kids. Carlea loves Father Scott and is always writing him letters and making him cards. During communion she walked up holding her little sister's hand (so cute) then saw Father Scott and ran back to her seat to get her letter for him, but couldn't find it so ran back up front and couldn't find us, then started yelling for us...it was...at best... comical. I was annoyed! And Maysie only talks in church. She's 2 and doesn't really make any noise whatsoever except in church. Then she finds her voice. It's a circus. Thank God people accept us there.

It was about 15 minutes before dinner and Carlea approached me and asked for a blueberry muffin. I told her "Sorry Carlea, it's almost dinner and I don't want to ruin your appetite." She then disappeared for a minute and came back and said "well, Daddy said he would give me one if you said it was ok." I replied, "really, Dad said that?, Well, I guess if he's ok with it, it's ok with me." And off she ran. Later at dinner, I asked Scott why he would let her have a muffin right before dinner and it was then that we figured out we had been played~ after he said no initially, she went back and told him that I said it was ok if it was ok with him. PLAYED! By a three year old! I can only imagine it's going to get worse. When we asked her about it, her only reply was Yum! (with a smirk)

Whew, what a day! Happy daylight savings time!

There's always one bad apple in the bunch....

Kids say the craziest things! Tonight we were eating dinner and Carlea and Maysie wanted an apple for dessert. I started to peal the apple and Carlea said, "Make sure you take the whore out, Mommy." Ok, then....

I am so tired of the cold weather and snow. Today I was driving home and it was a nice 42 degrees out according to my car. You could see the ground, the sun was shining, it almost made you feel like Spring really might be coming. Then I started driving into Dryden. Down the hill into snow land. We still have several inches of snow and again the wind has blown the snow across my driveway. I get out of the car and I'm sure the temp has dropped at least a dozen or so degrees. I am so tired of the wind and cold and snow. Will Spring ever be here?

Maysie's birthday was filled with lots of fun making cupcakes and visiting Pop Pop and all her aunts, uncles and cousins in New Jersey. She got a new pizza making kit (play food) that she adores and plays with constantly.

Well happy Ash Wednesday everyone! I haven't decided what I'm giving up yet, it may have to be those whore apples I've been buying...

Dryden's own...Southworth Library Sale

I love living in this town-- this is amazing...

Lincoln speech sells for 3.4 million

Snowman and stuff

Yesterday we went outside and made a giant snowman....I am so sore today! It was fun, even though I can barely walk today. Carlea and Maysie and our neighbor Ryan helped in the building. And Carlea even made a baby snowman for the big snowman. Here's the kids sledding and eating a big meal after a day of fun outside. Side note: Carlea is saying "ouchy" because I made her sit with her sister.....

The week in review

It's been a long week here at the Davis household. Scott has been working day and night on budget predictions for his work at Cornell. He's not in a good mood. Looking back over the week I can't really remember all the stuff we did although I know we did a lot. The pacifiers are gone. Whoever said it'll be over in one night was wrong...it took the girls about 4 nights and 5 days to get over it. But since about Thursday, they haven't mentioned it a bit. It makes me wonder though, that something that we thought was so big and important in their lives...they just got over it in few days. That's sad. How can that be? What else would they get over in just a few days of not seeing it? I know they don't get over some people-- Ms Helen babysat last night while Scott and I ran Bingo for our church and they remembered her as if she were here yesterday and they haven't seen her in six months. Mimi, Pops and Pop Pop are always remembered. I wonder what they will really remember about this time of their lives years from now. Probably not much. I hope they will remember being happy.
We had a snowday on Wednesday and yesterday we got another 3 inches even though our forecast was only a 15% chance of precipitation. When I looked at the radar - seriously, I kid you not- there was a cloud cover just over my house! In Ithaca the sun was shining and no one believed me that it was blizzard like conditions here for about an hour. I actually had to shovel the driveway! Maysie and Carlea helped, but all I could find for them to help me was some old dustpans, so it took awhile. Today the temp is up a bit allowing us to get that great slushy-good-for-building-snowmen-type of snow.

We are renovating our downstairs bathroom and have been getting some great layouts and estimates. I cannot wait to have a bathtub downstairs. And a full size laundry room. I think we'll decide this week and hopefully that project will be done in March. About the time that the new carpet is installed.

Have a great week everyone!

Like I told you, I'm gooder than Maysie...

So I don't know if this is something to be alarmed at or not, but Carlea is becoming increasingly competitive with Maysie. She always has to have bigger, higher or more - it doesn't matter what it is, but Carlea's has to be better. Just today when I was getting upset with Maysie for taking her boots off in the car, I heard Carlea say "See Mommy, she doesn't listen, like I told you, I'm gooder than Maysie".

It's been a long week here, Cornell started school and both Scott and I are busy. And we got our retirement statements this week, that was quite a bummer. So many people warned us not to open them, but I couldn't resist. It was quite depressing.

We finally took the plunge and got rid of all the pacifiers in the house for both kids this weekend. We took them to a neighbor's house and then went to Build-a-Bear to get that special stuffed bear to help them sleep at night. It was cute, they did great. But last night was pretty tough, not for them so much but for us-- It took awhile for them to go to sleep and we were nervous all night that they'd have a terrible time. Today was fine, but I can tell they are still adjusting. or maybe we're just adjusting to the increase in noise. They are girls and they scream. Do all girls scream?

As you know I've been serving on the school board for about 8 months now...It's budget time and it doesn't look good. Actually it's quite scary. Between the Governor's proposed cuts to unfunded mandates...it's really not looking good. Tomorrow night at 7:15pm the Superintendent will give the public a briefing about our budget and the outlook for our district financially. I encourage everyone form the Dryden community to go.

Lastly, I, again, am making my goal to blog more frequently-- hopefully more than the 18 times I did last year. I am inspired by Joe's and Brian's and Lacy's blogs-- they are always funny and witty and enjoyable to read. Have a good week everybody!

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Just sillying around

Carla and Maysie have been so wound up today. They were running around, throwing things in the air, chasing each other, screaming...etc... Finally, I said WHAT ARE YOU TWO GIRLS DOING???? and Carlea replied: "Just sillying around Mom". I thought, ok, if they can make the word silly into a verb, then they can silly around all they want.

Pictures of the Scooby Doo Room-- and Maysie watching a video--

Bunkbeds

Last night Scott and our neighbor Bill put together the girls' bunkbeds. It's really really nice and the kids LOVE it. Carlea spent her first night on the top bunk and had no problems. Maysie wanted to be on the top bunk, but she spent the night in her crib. I'll post a picture soon.

Sneaky Maysie

Today Scott noticed Maysie watching Carlea all morning. She stood behind a wall and looked around to see if Carlea was coming. When she saw that Carlea went the other way she ran back into their bedroom and stole a pacifier out of Carlea's bed and stuck it under her pillow in her crib!!!! Sneaky, Maysie, Sneaky! I'm sure it's only the beginning.

Scooby Doo better be here to stay...

Scott and I decided it is finally time to redo the kids room from a baby nursery to a kids bedroom. We ordered a new bunkbed...the crib and toddler bed are going away this week. We ordered new Scooby Doo sheets, Scooby Doo curtains, Scooby Doo wall hangings, bookshelves, Scooby Doo comforters, Scooby Doo pillowcases, Scooby Doo posters, etc - all to the tune of about $700. (Their money - we've been saving money for this for about a year) And I swear as soon as I finally paid the very last bill with my credit card, Carlea says "Mommy, I don't like Scooby Doo anymore, my new favorite thing is Calliou". Scott just looked at her and said, "No, it's Scooby Doo and it will be for about 5 more years".

Not my job...

The kids are so witty these days. Last night when putting Carlea to bed, she was complaining about not having *all* of her pacifiers in her bed. I told her to make her bed and she would probably find them in her sheets to which she replied: "Mommy, that's not my job!" Hmmm well, it is now, smartie pants!