The Colley Family Blog

Maggie's Blabber!

2011-06-30T20:44:00.000-04:00

Check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store! :o)

2011-01-03T23:01:00.004-05:00

I have really been putting more work into my Teachers Pay Teachers store, and it's definitely paying off! If any of my teacher friends would like to start selling your fabulous creations on TpT, just let me know. I'd love to have you as a referral, and I'm happy to share the things that have helped me increase my sales.

As always, my creations are free to close personal friends! Love you guys! :o)

Anna

Here's my store:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Anna-Colley/Products

My Store's Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Smarty-Pants-Teaching-Resources/174553419226123

Christmas Letter, Part Deux

2008-12-20T13:37:00.003-05:00

As I started writing this year's Christmas letter, I was torn with whether to update everyone with all of the current events in the life of our family, or to take it in a different direction. I wanted to do the latter, but I was concerned that some of the current events info (like upcoming surgery for Maggie) needed to be shared. Here is the happy medium. I have cut and pasted the "current events" draft of the letter as a blog posting here so that I can write about something else in the Christmas letter. Hopefully you will still get our Christmas cards by Christmas so that you can read part one! :o)

The family update version of the letter:

Dear Friends and Family,

Here is what is going on with all of us...

Maggie is in kindergarten this year! She has two absolutely wonderful teachers, Mrs. Mercy Williams, and Mrs. Amy Simpson. These two ladies are loving, hard-working, knowledgeable, experienced, and faithful Christians to boot! Maggie adores kindergarten and is quickly learning to read and write. Maggie’s speech has grown by leaps and bounds since our last letter. We are still in speech therapy both in school and privately, but she is showing improvement. The doctors want to take out her tonsils next to help improve her speech by changing the structure of the back of her mouth and throat. We will schedule that for a school break so she won’t have to miss too much school. As always Maggie keeps us smiling and laughing, and she has such a loving spirit with little hugs and kisses and cards always abounding.

Our little man Jackson is finally talking. He was a little slow to start, but he is talking up a storm now! We love to hear him say, “No, no, Daddy!” and wag his finger at Daddy for whatever annoying thing he is doing at the time. Jack is smiling almost all of the time and laughs a lot! He is interested in exploring everything, closely examining each ornament on the tree and even the dust bunnies under the couch. (What dust bunnies? My house is spotless! Ha ha.) One thing that I treasure about Jack is how cuddly he is. He loves to sit on our laps or to lie next to us or to have hugs and kisses. He loves being held. Oh, and if you see Jackson anytime soon, ask him to show you his new shoes (Disney’s Cars). He will be thrilled to show you how they light up when he stomps and maybe he will scrunch up his face in that way he does and get you laughing right along with him.

As I write this, I am excited that both children are scheduled to be baptized tomorrow morning. What a special day for our family! I had some qualms over infant baptism for a while, but heard a very interesting interview on the topic and now feel sure that it is the right thing to do. I am so excited to publicly welcome them into the family of God. Maggie loves the Lord so deeply and purely, and I pray that Jack will grow to do the same.

As for the grownups (if you have Christmas letter fatigue, you can put this down now), Mike is still working at Sage Software, and I am still teaching fourth grade at Alcova Elementary School in Dacula. I am facilitating a Disciple course this year (Disciple 3) and really enjoying it. I love the way that these in-depth studies help me to grow more and more toward my goal of being like Christ.

We are hoping to save enough for another Disney trip in 2010. Maybe next year when you read our letter we will be just about ready!

Until next year...or actually, until you get our card sometime this week (I hope)...!

Love,
The Colley Family

Both of my kids have ear infections...

2008-10-27T21:53:00.002-04:00

We are so unlucky! Both kids are now on antibiotics for ear infections. Sheesh! Hopefully this is not a sign of the winter to come!

Maggie's surgery went well!

2008-10-23T12:38:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that Maggie's ear tube surgery this a.m. went well. She was a little sick from the anesthesia but is almost back to 100% this afternoon. She is enjoying having a special day to do whatever she wants and get plenty of attention. :o) She even got to ride in the wheelchair leaving the surgery center. She was tickled by that.

October is here...

2008-10-09T19:02:00.002-04:00

...and it is time for an update from the Colleys.

I just took Maggie for a pre-op appointment today with his ENT, Dr. Ann White. She is due for a new pair of T-tubes (ear tubes) on 10/23. What is this, her fifth pair of tubes?? We thought we were going to be doing some plastic surgery in her mouth as well, but just talked to the speech specialist today and decided to hold off. They are recommending tonsillectomy again though, to help her speech. We are going to try to schedule that for a school break to minimize the impact of the 7-10 day recovery on Maggie's school and on our (puny) sick leave. Stay tuned for that.

I am listening to Jack yell Mama from the shower, and that is a sweet sound! I thought I'd never get to hear it. I'm not sure whether he is really calling me Mama or just enjoying the sound of his own voice! He sure does like to hear himself talk. I worry a little about his speech as I expected him to be talking more by now. He does sign to us and loves to say Bye-Bye.

Work is hard this year. There have been a lot of changes at the state level and the district level that are making teaching a lot harder and more stressful. :o(

Not a lot else going on. Oh, our beautiful camera got stolen. I guess it is realistic to call a spade a spade at this late date. About a month or so ago, I left it in a room at church for a few minutes and then it was just gone. Mike is still pretty ticked at me. I guess I am mad at myself too. I mean, who leaves a $1000 camera rig just lying around like an idiot??? I was naive I guess, to think that it would be safe at CHURCH. Oh well. We have replaced it with a much, much smaller, much less expensive, much less fancy camera. I miss the old one. I keep thinking maybe it'll turn up, as unrealistic as that sounds.

I am facilitating a Disciple 3 class this year and have a great, lively group of Christian friends in the class. We are having a good time and getting deep into the Word of God, trying to keep from getting depressed as we work our way through the prophets while the nightly news seems to mirror what we're reading. Just 8 more weeks until we get into the New Testament and Paul.

I can't think of anything else, and I am supposed to be getting Maggie ready for bed. Or should I say, supervising her getting herself ready. Oh, I'm on FaceBook now if anyone wants to look me up. :o)

See y'all!

Fireproof

2008-09-24T23:18:00.004-04:00

I am so excited about this movie from the creators of Facing the Giants. I hope all of you go to see it! :o) You can watch the trailer right here from the blog by clicking on the Watch Trailer link in the ad.

God Bless America!!!

2008-09-03T22:33:00.004-04:00

I loved this video. It is not a political video...it is purely patriotic. A 15 year old girl, Victoria Blackstone, won a contest called Wave the Stars and Stripes. It involved an essay and a video. This is her winning entry. Yes, it was shown at the Republican National Convention, but I promise that it is not at all political.

I was very touched by this, and I hope everyone else will be too.

New pics are up on Flickr

2008-08-29T20:24:00.006-04:00

New photos on Flickr
Originally uploaded by
Maggie and Jack's Mom

Campmeeting, Jack throwing a fit, family photos at Papa & Nana's, first day of kindergarten...

July-August photos on Flickr

Mike still makes me laugh after 16 years...

2008-08-29T20:20:00.003-04:00

...So our neighbor's dog has been leaving gifts on our lawn off and on. One day Mike comes in from the yard and says, "Our dog crapped on our lawn again."

I replied, "Yeah, I saw that too. Yuck."

Mike said, "When do we get to pet it and stuff?"

I am still laughing remembering that. :o)

This boy loves baby wipes

2008-08-03T21:44:00.002-04:00

{A poem about Jackson Walker and his love}

Baby boy loves baby wipes.
Chew them, suck them.
Ball them and squeeze them until they squoosh between your fingers and run down your arm.
Flatten them out on a table and BANG! BANG! them.
Chew them some more.
Cry indignantly when they are taken away and try to hit Mama.

Boy

2008-07-24T22:06:00.003-04:00

I made this little "wordle" about what a boy is all about.

Check this out!

2008-07-04T01:07:00.003-04:00

It is cool how sometimes you find things that you were not looking for. I found this photo while looking for something else. It is from December of 2005. It makes me smile every time I see it. Those are Papa's boots. I hope it made you smile, too! :o)

One sweet gift

2008-06-20T21:37:00.003-04:00

For Mother's Day Mike bought me a rose. Well, not just a rose...a rose bush to keep forever! The variety is called Belinda's Dream. It is supposed to be extremely hardy and easy to care for. It is a "very double," very fragrant pink bloom. It finally bloomed for the first time last week! How thrilling!

Here are a few photos from the 3 day blooming process.

There's a lump in my throat.

2008-06-17T22:44:00.001-04:00

Colley.2008-06-13_100
Originally uploaded by Maggie and Jack's Mom

Maggie received a bridal dress-up set for her birthday from Aunt Bronwyn. These photos actually brought tears to my eyes, because I know that one day she will dress up in a gown for real and walk the aisle.

Click the photo to go to Flickr and see the rest of the photos. Maggie also wanted to use a roll of cooking parchment paper she found to make "that red cloth you use when you're marrying." This translates to a red carpet runner. You can see her walking the aisle she made in the other photos. Enjoy. Try not to cry.

One more awesome baby item

2008-06-17T21:04:00.002-04:00

I belated remembered one more great baby product. It's the Vicks Baby Rectal Thermometer. I know, future parents, you are secretly (or maybe not so secretly) hoping that you won't ever have to insert a thermometer into your baby's you-know-what. I thought I wouldn't do it. You will, though. It's completely and utterly inevitable. Since you have to do it, you may as well have the best tool for the job. This thermometer lights up for use in the dark, recalls the previous temperature reading, has a short, flexible tip for safety, has a unique shape that makes it easy to use, and gives a quick reading. Yeah, it's awesome. And how creepy is it that something like a rectal thermometer would make me use the word "awesome"?? Wow.

Favorite Baby Products

2008-06-15T18:41:00.017-04:00

I have some friends having new babies, and one is poised to have her very first bundle. I also recently discovered that I let my friend Alysia's babies get too old for Robeez baby shoes without ever telling her about them. This has given me an idea to share a list of some of my very favorite baby products. I am not being compensated in any way (of course) for endorsing these products; but of course if any of these great companies want to send me a big check, they should feel free. :o)

Because I am verbose and my friends are busy, I have bolded the key point(s) about each item to facilitate skimming. :o)

Leave me a comment with your favorite baby product(s)!

Robeez baby shoes: I love Robeez (pronounced like "Robbie's" after the creator's son) soft-soled shoes for babies. Modern-day studies say that babies should go barefoot for as long as possible to help their feet develop optimally. Robeez soft-soled shoes are the closest thing to going barefoot without actually going barefoot, so they are great developmentally. They also are the only shoe or bootie I have found that my kids couldn't take off, so their socks actually stayed on their feet. They are also stinkin' cute.
Table Topper disposable placemat with adhesive
: These are great for eating out. When baby is too small and unreliable to have a plate or bowl (because the plate would just go flying), Table Toppers cover the table and provide a place to feed baby. They adhere directly to the table and are disposable. We keep a large pack of these in the car all the time.
Crumb Chum: The Crumb Chum is awesome. It's basically a bib, but it's so much better than a regular bib. The Crumb Chum is huge and covers baby from neck to ankles and around the sides. You can take your baby or toddler (or even preschooler with the bigger size) straight out to lunch after church and not worry about destroying the church clothes. It has a pocket, but unlike other bibs, the pocket actually "puckers" open while baby wears it so that it actually collects what falls. The fabric is the same fabric that umbrellas are made from. It never stains. You can rinse or wash it in the kitchen sink and it will be dry in minutes instead of hours. You can also machine wash and dry it. I think every parent should have at least 2, if not 3 or 4. Keep one in the diaper bag.
My Brest Friend: For breastfeeding moms, I highly, highly recommend My Brest Friend. It is way better than the Boppy for nursing. It was so essential that for a long time, I wouldn't nurse without it. When we left ours in Augusta, Mike had to go and buy me a new one the very next day. We even carried it out to the mall and shopping. It has a flat top for baby to lie on (rather than a round top), it is wider than the Boppy for a more stable surface, it goes all the way around your back, it has a backrest cushion, and it even attaches securely around you so that it can't slip. I recommend the one with the plastic clip rather than the velcro one (which can wake a sleeping baby when you remove it). It even has a little pocket in the front for storing whatever paraphernalia you may need. I still use ours for our bedtime feeding. This is a must-have item for nursing moms.
Ultimate Wipes Warmer: I like having a wipes warmer in the nursery for the changing table. Of course baby can't always have warm wipes--when we're downstairs or on the go--but it's nice when you're at the changing table. What makes this wipes warmer different is that it keeps the wipes moist and prevents browning or yellowing. Our old wipes warmer always caused the wipes to dry out, and it said explicitly that you couldn't add water. The ones at the bottom always dried out and turned brown. I felt like we were wasting a lot of wipes. Well this one changed all of that. It has these "pillows" (absorbent pads) that go in the bottom. You saturate the pillow with water. The wipes stay moist and neat and the pillow dries out and yellows. You just resaturate the pillow once a week. You can use the same pillow for 3 months, which I think is a great value. Hints: Let the pillow soak in a sink of water to get it really saturated, rather than just running it under the tap. If the pillow gets dried out and hard (or if you open a new one that is hard because the package had a hole), it is no big deal. You can still soak it and it will return to normal.
The Miracle Blanket: The Miracle Blanket is so awesome. This is hands-down the absolute best swaddling blanket in the whole wide world, bar none. Forget the one with the velcro. Forget receiving blankets. The Miracle Blanket continued working for swaddling Jackson until we, the parents, were ready to give up swaddling. We ultimately only stopped using it because we thought it was time for him to learn to roll over and we didn't want him to be restricted. With Maggie we had to stop swaddling her at just a few weeks because she was able to escape. With the other blankets we used Jackson got too big for them. This one is truly a miracle. It swaddles neatly and securely and even an older baby can't kick his way out. Try it. You will love it.
Buggy Bagg: The Buggy Bagg is a shopping cart seat cover. To be honest, I haven't tried any other brands of this type of product. I loved it so much that I didn't see the need. When Maggie was a baby, we borrowed one from the Cones. When Jack was born we bought our own, and I didn't even care too much about the price (something like $50-60). It was worth it to me. The Buggy Bagg is very padded so it's comfortable for baby. It's very secure, strapping to the shopping cart in two places and also strapping baby. It has a huge pocket in the back (which zips closed) for diapers, wipes, toys, etc. When you are going into the grocery store, you don't need to bring your diaper bag. It has loops sewn in for attaching toys (so they don't end up on the floor). It rolls up and stores neatly, AND you can install and remove it one-handed (you know, because you're carrying your baby in the other hand). And importantly, it COMPLETELY covers the whole shopping cart seat and surrounding area--handles, sides, and back. I love ours. It is even padded enough that in a pinch you can lay a small baby down in it so she can sleep. You can even use it in restaurant high chairs, though it is a tight squeeze just because it has such great padding. It's a big help in the high chair with babies that are just learning to sit up, because the padding provides extra support in the chair. You used to be able to buy it directly from the website, but now it looks like you have get it from a retailer. The website can help you find a retailer near you.
Halo Sleep Sack: The Halo Sleep Sack (the wearable blanket, not the swaddler version) is a great cold-weather blanket. It zips onto baby like clothing, but allows plenty of room for movement. It's very warm. You don't have to worry about it covering baby's face or coming off during the night. We used this with Jack after he was too big to be swaddled, but before he started pulling up. Once baby can stand, get blanket sleepers instead.

That's all I can think of for now! If I think of any more, I will blog about them later. Don't forget to leave me a comment with your favorite baby product(s) or favorite baby gift item.

Video of Jackson

2008-06-14T16:59:00.004-04:00

I am experimenting with some video we took on the DVD camera that Gran got us for Christmas. Here is my first attempt at uploading video. If it works, this should be a video of Jackson taken a few days ago. He was quite tired at lunchtime and decided he was finished. He got rather angry and took it out on the Chef Boyardee. :o) I know it's probably a bit too long, but I haven't tried any editing yet.

Memorial Day 2008

2008-06-10T22:45:00.004-04:00

Colley.2008-05-26_9
Originally uploaded by Maggie and Jack's Mom

We enjoyed our first visit to the Dacula Memorial Day parade. You can see the best photos from the day on Flickr.

Memorial Day Photos on Flickr

Helpful things I've learned as a mom

2008-06-09T14:57:00.002-04:00

One of the best ways to learn about being a parent is to listen to other parents. Here are some of my favorite parenting techniques or ideas. I'm not a genius by any means and I don't think I know everything. Pretty much all of these I learned from someone else and just tried out and found that they worked for us. Of course, all kids are different. :o)

When giving directions or asking a child to do something, don't end by saying, "Okay?" Instead, end by saying, "Understand?" Example: Instead of saying, "Take this to your room, okay?" you would say, "Take this to your room. Understand?" This is good because it gets you the acknowledgement you are looking for without seeming like you are looking for the kid's approval or agreement.
Instead of saying, "That's not nice," say, "That's not okay." The reason is that the child might not particularly care about being nice right then. It leaves you open for comments like "Well she wasn't nice to me." By saying "That's not okay," you take feelings out of it and just set a standard for behavior instead.
Mealtimes: I read a great article once that said something like, "Remember your role at mealtime. Your role is to offer healthy foods in appropriate quantities. It's your child's role to decide what and how much to eat from what you have offered." This has saved me a ton of headache with Maggie, who doesn't care too much about eating. It's not my job to "make" her eat. I just offer the food and she decides what to eat. If she eats all of her bread and doesn't want to eat anything else, that's fine. It doesn't mean I will provide her more bread. She can decide if she's hungry enough to eat the other food or not.
Try to offer a lot of choices. This gives kids a sense that they have control over their own lives. It can be hard to be a kid where everything is dictated for you. Like adults, kids need to feel that they have some say-so in the way their lives run. The key is to offer choices on things that don't matter all that much to you. "Which cup would you like to have your milk in?" (I choose the drink while she chooses the cup.) "Would you like to brush your teeth or your hair first?" (I choose the activities, and she chooses the order.) "Would you like to clean up now, or would you like to play for five more minutes and then clean up?" Etc.
Similarly, warn kids what's coming next. If you're planning to leave the park at a certain time, give kids a heads-up that they have 10 minutes, then 5 minutes left to play. Imagine you're at the park and you're thinking, "Well first I'm going to slide a few times, then I'm going to chase these kids around over here, then I'm going to climb up on the equipment, and I'm going to save the swings for last since that is my favorite." Now imagine that you only got as far as chasing around the kids when someone says you have to leave. You might be able to see why a kid would throw a tantrum. Giving them a countdown lets them know to go ahead and head for the swings before it's too late. This has saved us many a tantrum.
A great phrase I read in Parenting magazine and taught to Maggie is, "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit." This saves us from tantrums over things like which cup she got at dinnertime, who got the biggest piece of cake, etc. Sometimes I even combine this with the warning of what's coming next. I will say, "If there's a juice box left in the fridge you can have it, but if there's not you just need to say to yourself, 'I get what I get and I don't throw a fit.'" I try to help her anticipate times when she might be upset and prepare herself mentally. I also taught her the phrase "Take it in stride." Same idea.

Well those are the ones I could think of for now. I hope they are helpful to someone else as they have been to us! :o)

Floating Germs! ...and other silly things

2008-06-02T16:49:00.004-04:00

Last night at 4:00 a.m. we were awakened by Maggie at bedside complaining that there was a "floating germ that changes colors" in her room. She was very scared. I assured her that you can't see germs, so she said it was a "white thing" instead. I walked her back in and put her back to bed. Mike's coworkers found this hilarious. They joked that while other children are afraid of monsters under the bed or in the closet, ours are sick so often that they are afraid of germs instead.

Today we went to the pediatrician for an ear check for both kids. Jack's have cleared up nicely (did I mention that he had a double ear infection despite having functioning ear tubes??). Maggie has lost her second T-tube and her ear drums are healing nicely. As we walked out I said to Maggie, "Well both of you kids are well. How long are you going to be well for this time?" Maggie did a loud, fake burp as an answer and said, "That many minutes." Should I be more concerned that my child measures her wellness time in minutes rather than days or weeks...or should I be more concerned that she so enjoys fake burping? (And in fact, uses them as a means of counting!)

And finally, on the way home from errands this afternoon I was talking with Mike on the phone when I suddenly became aware that Maggie had been singing quite loudly for several minutes a made-up song that consisted of just the words "I love you" over and over again. I said, "Aww, Maggie, we love you too!" To which she replied, "No, Mommy, I'm singing my ice cream man song." She sure loves that ice cream man.

New Cafe Press Stores

2008-06-01T12:51:00.004-04:00

Hello friends! I came up with what I think is a cute design for a baby onesie, so I opened a Cafe Press store in case anyone else agrees! :o) Take a look if you're interested. There are two links because I had to make two shops--one for the pink design and one for the blue design. The design is below, and you can click to see it larger. The smaller print says, "My parents worked it out mathematically." There's pink/chocolate, blue/chocolate, or the black shirt has pink/white or blue/white.

"Pinkie Pi" Shop (pink design):

"Southern Chick" Shop (blue design):

Maggie's birthday party

2008-05-19T19:37:00.020-04:00

Here are some pics from Maggie's birthday weekend. Remember you can click any photo to see the full-size version.

Maggie, Deja, and Jaylynn had a sleepover at our house the night before the party:

I took Maggie's picture with each of her friends at the party (well, except for the grownup and baby friends).

Maggie's Tinkerbell cake:

Jack was fussy, and got lots of attention:

Opening presents:

Playing at the playground at the end of the party:

Joey and Maggie are two peas in a pod. They enjoyed playing in the sand, and especially making "sand angels." They both ended up with sand caked everywhere. If you click on the one where you see the back of Joey's head, you'll get a lovely view of the sand caked thickly through the back of his hair.

The Cantrell twins are sooo photogenic. Aren't they precious???

The next morning (Maggie's actual birthday), we surprised her with one more gift...the big one... I think this is totally the awesomest bike in the world for a 5 year old girl. It has streamers, and flowers in the spokes, and a water bottle, and a little bag, and everything. It totally rocks.

Both kids got to go outside and enjoy some nice spring weather:

This is the last photo I took of Maggie before I turned to take some other shots and then turned back around to find Maggie wailing on the ground and a neighbor woman helping her up. Way to go Mom. As my friend Terri likes to say, "There goes my Mom of the Year Award." :o)

More photos from Jack's party and beyond

2008-05-18T14:02:00.011-04:00

This is a reinactment of actual events. Jack sat down on a bow and ended up with a super cute bunny tail. It fell off before I could get the camera, so we just reapplied it in the same spot.

Maggie with Deja and Jaylynn:

Birthday cake take 2. Same sad results.

Jack crawling. Isn't it glorious??? :o)

Here you see Maggie doing her favorite thing in the whole wide world, creating artwork.

Playing computer games...

Even Daddy gets in on the coloring act...

Pics of Maggie's birthday coming soon!

A few photos-inc. Jack's birthday party

2008-05-17T11:00:00.008-04:00

Maggie asked Daddy to dance with her as the credits rolled on the movie Enchanted.

At Jackson's birthday party...

Maggie rocks out on Guitar Hero.

Jack opens presents...

The birthday cake...for some reason, the birthday cake really upset Jack. He just cried and cried over it. We thought he was just tired, but he did the same thing when we tried again the next day. I think he didn't want to get dirty.

May Update; or, If summer doesn't come soon, I won't make it.

2008-05-09T20:44:00.003-04:00

Well I am sitting in the living room with Maggie and "The Girls," Cornell's 2 sweet daughters who are sleeping over tonight. The girls (ours included) are watching Disney's Snow White.

It is May, and school is likely to be the death of me if it doesn't end soon. Luckily there are only 8 days left! Whew!!!

Last weekend was Jack's first birthday party (his b-day was April 18). I will post pics "soon," when I get around to it. :)

Tomorrow is Maggie's 5th birthday party. She has requested a Tinkerbell theme, and we have opted for another birthday party at the park. It seemed like a frugal choice at the time, but once we had paid the pavilion fee, bought all of the stuff for the goody bags, and ordered the $30 cake (must have chocolate pudding filling, you know), it really wasn't any cheaper than most of the places that will do the whole shebang for you. The good news is that we did luck out on the pavilion fee. It turned out that they had double booked the pavilion, so we got the smaller pavilion for FREE. Now that is frugal. Next year we are thinking McDonalds, after finding out that they include the cake and the goody bags too for just $70. That rocks, whether they do a particularly good job or not.

Today at Maggie's school was the big Muffins with Mom event, and Maggie was super proud to present me with a bag full of all of the treasures she had collected for me this past week. These included some "snowflakes" made from paper doilies cut into tiny pieces, some little purple hearts that she said are earrings (so sweet!), a poem with a handprint, and my favorite, a questionaire that Maggie answered about me. The two standout responses were these...

Q: What my mom does best is...
A: Catch real live snakes.

Q: My mom is really smart. She even knows...
A: My last name.

From Jack I received a framed poem with a handprint and a super cute card--well, poster, really--with four gorgeous photos of my cute baby boy. I took it to work and hung it up there to enjoy. Now I will have something a little bigger to point to when people ask me if the baby pictures on the wall are Jack. (No, they're Maggie.)

Well, until next time...

I will post some photos, like I said, "soon." :o)

As requested, more of my beautiful children...

2008-03-17T22:35:00.005-04:00

Of course I am happy to supply our fans with more pictures of my children, as requested by some of you! :o) And also, a random image I call "Still Life With Orange Soda." I don't know why, but I like it.

These are all from March 10. Except for the soda one. That was from January. :o)

Click to see the glorious details. Like the spaghetti in our son's hair.

Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy Easter!

2008-03-17T22:21:00.004-04:00

The kids bring you art in celebration of the March holidays. Jackson's is just plain cute. Maggie's struck me that she is having this sort of literacy explosion right now and has to put a few letters on everything, even when it may seem out of place. (Click the image to see the full-size version.)

Maggie's musings

2008-03-01T15:34:00.003-05:00

Here are some random quotes collected from Maggie...

"Jack gets to do everything and I don't get to do anything."
"You know what they say: 'Stars are only yellow.' That's what they're say."
"Why do I not..." (As in, "Why do I not get any ice cream?" or "Why do I not have anything to drink?")
"American cheese is not real cheese. Did you know that?"
"I think Jackson's voice will sound like Daddy's voice when he is big and he is not a baby anymore."
"Today I am going to get money and candy...that money you're going to give me." (Me: "It's called allowance.") "Oh. I just call it money."

Pictures and Milestones

2008-03-01T08:47:00.003-05:00

Here are a few of Jackson's latest milestones:

He has 7 (!) teeth! Holy cow, that is one toothy baby!

He is drinking from a sippy cup and eating mostly table food.

He has learned that objects have purposes and will try to put socks on his feet or open a book to "read" it.

He signs "more" and waves bye-bye and hi.

Here are some recent photos of both of our sweeties.

What's this??? March???

2008-02-28T19:01:00.002-05:00

Okay, I know, I am a slacker.

How could it be March already??? Well, it's still 2 days away, but for all intents and purposes...

Sorry for the long "radio silence." Sometimes I avoid the computer like the plague because I don't want to get sucked into some hours-long enterprise.

Anyway, Maggie is blossoming in pre-k. She can recognize all of her letters and write most of them. She even knows some of the letter sounds and has started to recognize a couple of words here and there. They are learning to sign the alphabet in ASL also, which I think is great. She is thrilled about going to kindergarten next year at Mommy's school, and I am getting excited about it too.

Jack is growing and growing. He is so solid!!! He is over 20 pounds now and when you pick him up, he is like a lead weight! Just solidly built. He is not really crawling but does get around by scooting and rolling. This morning I came in to get him and he had sat himself up in the crib, so that is a good thing. I hope he will start pulling up soon. He likes to stand up. He is still a happy boy who loves people and laughs often, though a bit more clingy and sensitive nowadays. I think it is just separation anxiety.

We have all been sick last week. Maggie had the flu and passed it to me, and Jack has had a hard time getting over an ear infection. We are starting to wonder if he will need tubes like Maggie.

Well that's it for now...everyone keeps yelling for me to come and get Maggie ready for bed. Apparently she has been standing wet and naked and wrapped in a towel waiting for me for like ten minutes. Whoops. More later, I hope, including pictures. Love y'all!

Anna

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite

2007-11-10T10:09:00.000-05:00

So we spent last weekend in the hospital with Jackson. What started as simple pink eye turned into an ugly cellulitis infection in the skin around his eye. This family has been through the wringer lately, health-wise, and I for one am hoping that we are now golden till spring. Here's what happened.

First, Mike got sick about a month ago. He had sort of flu-like symptoms. Then Jack got sick, and his was diagnosed as RSV (also pink eye and an ear infection). The next week, just as he was poised to go back to daycare, Maggie got sick with the exact same symptoms, but tested negative for RSV. She was down for 3 days and then we went back to daycare and work for 2 days and Jack got sick again with the same mess as before. Well, things were humming along and he seemed to be improving when I got sick. Whatever it was really knocked me on my rear. Just as I was convalescing in bed (somewhere around hour 15 of sleeping and sweating), Jack's pink eye had cleared up, but his eye was still swollen and red around the outside. Mike took him to the pediatrician and they were concerned about cellulitis. They sent us over to Scottish Rite (the children's hospital) for a CT scan to investigate.

Mike dragged me out of bed and we headed to the ER with Jack. After tons of waiting around (and me lying on the ER stretcher in misery), we got the CT scan. It showed that there was a cellulitis infection in the skin around the eye, but it had not gone back into the orbit of the eye. They decided to admit him for IV antibiotics all weekend. Did I mention that by the end of the day, Mike and I had both developed pink eye as well?

Anyway, Jack was in the hospital from Friday through late Monday afternoon. All went well and he was discharged without incident. He went back to daycare on Thursday and everyone is on the mend (well, by everyone I mean myself).

So there is our latest health adventure. If you are pretty much anybody except for Mike's parents and Ashley (whom we called to pick up Maggie from daycare Friday), you are probably wondering why we didn't call you. There are two reasons: 1) We didn't want to worry you unnecessarily, and 2) I was sooo sick, I was completely out of it. But we are all fine now and looking forward to Thanksgiving and the holiday season. I just have to get through these parent conferences next week first. (Ugh!)

The Mom Song Sung to William Tell Overture with Lyrics

2007-10-14T21:48:00.001-04:00

This is fun for all moms. Enjoy! :o)

Frog + Toilet = {Scream}

2007-10-14T20:56:00.000-04:00

My recent personal experience has led me to these conclusions:

Unexpectedly finding a frog in your toilet once makes for an interesting, and perhaps amusing, story.

Unexpectedly finding a frog in your toilet again, indeed in a different toilet altogether, creates a rather disturbing and odd phobia in which you stare with great trepidation into the bowl each time you approach, carefully examining every nook and cranny. You then sit in fear, obsessively thinking that a frog is sneaking up on your rear end.

Sometimes people will ask you what you have learned lately. That's what I have learned this week.

Maggie's Artwork

2007-10-14T20:41:00.003-04:00

1. 2. 3.

Here are three recent, representative pieces of Maggie's artwork. I think these give a good representation of where she is developmentally with her academic learning. All three warm my heart for their own reasons. The first two are from pre-k during the past week. The third one I found lying around her playroom and I assume was made at home sometime recently.

1. This is a little stapled booklet. What mom wouldn't be moved by a book a child has made which is titled "Mom" as this one is? She explained to me that it's not about me, that's just the title. Also, the pictures inside are of some "bad guys," but no matter. Did I mention the title is "Mom"??

2. This fire truck is really cool. It was a result of a weeklong study of safety at pre-k, focusing on fire safety in particular. She was so proud to tell me, "I made it all by myself." Though I know from past experience that this does not necessarily mean that she actually had no help, I was still tickled by how proud she was, and I think it looks great. Too bad so much of the school artwork is done with construction paper, which has such a high acidity and tends to fade and deteriorate quicky over time. Thank God for modern technology which allows us to preserve this kind of thing.

3. Although her people look disturbingly like aliens, I am so proud as I see these funny little people littering the floor and tables all over our house. Her artwork during the past year has gone from complete "scribble scrabble" (as her 3-year-old class teachers taught her to disdainfully call it) to this recognizable work which includes actual key features of a human being, namely head, arms, legs, eyes, hair, and sometimes a mouth or ears. Around the time of her birthday I had her draw pictures on her thank you notes and she decided to draw a picture of each person. Those also included the people's "bottom" on the drawing. I think she meant their girl and boy parts. Ew on the anatomically correct drawings. But at least she is thinking about true-to-life detail. :o)

Harlem High c/o 1992 - 15 Year Reunion

2007-10-07T21:20:00.001-04:00

We went to my 15 year reunion for Harlem High yesterday. I thought this group photo of the graduates in attendance turned out great. Remember to click the thumbnail image to see the full-size version.

A few late Sept/early Oct pics

2007-10-07T21:04:00.001-04:00

Here are 3 photos from Stone Mountain Park on 9/29/07, one showing Maggie's awesome writing skills (a million letter A's on the tub wall with bathtub crayons; also she has traced over the places where I wrote her name and Mike's), and one I love of Jack and me from 10/1/07. As I look at these pictures I think about this: Life is not perfect. Maggie needs a haircut, Jack has drool on his chin, my hair is all over my face, Jack looks sort of sad, and it doesn't matter at all. This is our real life, and it is beautiful.

Just a reminder that you can click to get the full size version of each. Some of the previews are a bit fuzzy.

My favorite podcasts

2007-09-25T12:29:00.000-04:00

Here are some of my favorite podcasts, in no particular order.

Stand to Reason (weekly) "Christianity worth thinking about" with Greg Koukl

Scrapbook Lounge (video) - latest techniques and tips in a step by step video class

Best of YouTube - all the weirdest, funniest, most interesting YouTube videos without having to search through the YouTube site

Saddleback Church Drive Time Devotionals - quick daily devotionals, but they focus on one book of the Bible at a time, so it teaches the Scripture as a whole and not out of context

Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack - fan show about the TV show Lost

Jay and Jack Ramblecast - All the great repartee between Jay and Jack, but no Lost talk (or at least very little)

Nth Degree Creative - scrapbook and crafting video podcast

PediaCast - pediatric podcast for parents

ScrapHappy - scrapbooking humor and hijinks

Allen Hunt Show - the pastor of radio

If you are interested in checking them out, you can click on the link for the feed and download individual episodes or subscribe. Alternatively, just go to I-Tunes and search for the title. There will be a podcast tab in your results window if you don't see it right away. Again, you can download them one-by-one to try, or subscribe. If you don't have an I-Pod, you can listen on your PC or burn them to CD (though many won't fit on one audio CD). I did this before I had my I-Pod.

What's a podcast?

2007-09-25T09:27:00.001-04:00

I love podcasts. I think lots more people would love them too, if only people knew what they are. I have talked to many friends about my love of this medium, only to have them stare at me blankly. "What's a podcast?"

In simple terms, a podcast (notice the word is derived from the word broadcast) is like radio for your computer or handheld device (I-Pod, cell phone). Now you might ask yourself, "Why do I need radio for my computer when I have radio in my radio??" Ha ha. The cool thing about podcasting is that anyone can make a podcast, and so they are available on every imaginable topic. There are some podcasts that play music like your traditional FM radio stations, but most podcasts are more closely related to talk radio, and the beauty of podcasts is that they are available on topics that would never fly on advertising-driven radio where ratings are king.

There are podcasts for scrapbookers, teachers, Christians, readers, techies, knitters, fans of popular TV shows (and probably some unpopular ones, too), those that love humor or the news or politics. There are podcasts that offer advice, podcasts that teach (learning a language is a popular podcast topic), and podcasts that simply entertain. There are even video podcasts that show topics like yoga instruction or directions for crafting.

Many actual radio programs are also now available as podcasts, so if there is a favorite radio program you'd love to keep up with but either isn't available in your area, or isn't on at a convenient time for you, you can download the episodes and listen at your leisure.

The best thing about podcasts is that they are FREE! You can find them on the Web, on I-Tunes, or oftentimes, on the home page of the particular podcast (or radio show) that interests you.

Next up: A list of some of my favorite podcasts.

Aug & Sept Photos

2007-09-16T20:50:00.001-04:00

1. 2.
3. 4.
5. 6.
7. 8.

(Click any photo to see the full-size version.)
1. Maggie's first day of pre-k. Notice the class pet, a dove.
2. Jack's first time with solids. He wasn't too enthused at first, but LOVES to eat now. He eats like a champ.
3. Self-explanatory!
4. Every time Jack takes a bite, he follows with hands in the mouth. Very messy, but very cute.
5. Maggie is cute when she eats also. :o)
6. Maggie at the Yellow Daisy Festival. It was not a good day, but she sure looks cute! :o)
7. Maggie with Ms. Kelly, her speech therapist (since she was 1 year old). I hope she does not kill me for posting this photo. :o)
8. Sleeping prince. What a cutie.

September Updates

2007-09-11T20:55:00.000-04:00

Where did the month of August go? I missed it somehow! Well we are really in the swing of things now with our new school year routines. It takes some serious concerted effort between all of us, but we manage to make it to school pretty much on time each day. Yeah, I said "pretty much." I'm still me, after all. :)

Maggie is loving pre-k and feeling very grown up. Her teachers are Ms. Ashley and Ms. Djulsema (pronounced like Jessima). She is learning to write her name! I will have to scan the current version to share.

Jack is the shining star of the infant room at daycare. Every time I talk to one of his teachers they all say, "Oh, we love him so much! He is so good! He is so happy!" They say the same thing at the church nursery. They are always telling us how lucky we are. We know it! We enjoy him too. I just hope that his being so "good" doesn't mean he gets less attention. You know, squeaky wheel and all that. But hopefully his winning personality helps in that regard.

My (Anna's) 15 year high school reunion is coming up in October and I am excited. We both had such a good time at the 10 year. Yes, even Mike--Mr. Antisocial--enjoyed himself amongst a roomful of strangers. This year we are going to take the kids with us to the family event as well, so that will be fun too. More people to tell us how good and happy Jack is and how lucky we are. :)

Maggie had her check-up with the orthopedist yesterday. He checked on her knock-knees (genu valgum) and her toe-walking. He said the toe-walking is okay for now. She has very good flexibility, but we should keep working on her flexibility in her achilles tendon to make sure it's not getting tight. If they decide to do anything about either that or the knock-knees, it will be several years away, maybe age 7 or 8. As of right now he is not sure whether they will need to do anything with it at all.

So I think that is all of the latest from us. We love to hear from all of you also, so don't hesitate to drop us an email, letter, card, smoke signal, phone call, carrier pigeon, etc. I'll get on and post some pics "soon." You know, "when I have time." LOL.

New Pictures

2007-07-27T15:20:00.000-04:00

1. 2.

1. Jack is a big boy now! He can sit in his Bumbo seat.

2. Karynne and Maggie at Stone Mountain.

3. Maggie enjoys a Dairy Queen ice cream sandwich. Maybe not such a good idea to let her eat it in the car.

4. Karynne at Stone Mountain (inside the Great Barn).

End of summer

2007-07-26T18:30:00.000-04:00

Maggie is finishing up swim lessons. I think she has come a long way! If only we could drag ourselves to the pool and let her practice her newly learned skills. I know, as if it's some sort of torturous task going to the neighborhood pool! That's supposed to be fun, right? :o)

I finished reading Harry Potter #7 last night. I loved it! If you have read it, let me know and we can talk about it! (That is, if there is anyone out there who is crazy enough to read that huge book in three days like I did!)

Our niece Karynne came to stay with us last weekend so we could go to the Snyder family reunion. We didn't actually get any pictures at the reunion, but got some new pics of Karynne, Maggie, and Jack the rest of the weekend. We went to Stone Mountain Park on Saturday (Karynne's first time) and had fun. We now have a Mountain Membership for the family, so if any of you Atlanta area friends want to go to Stone Mountain with us, we are surely going to be spending more time there in the next 12 months! I'll post some new pics in the next couple of days.

Anna

Back to school is coming!

2007-07-26T18:20:00.000-04:00

Summer is winding down...next week is the last week of my vacation. It has really dawned on me in the last few days that I am really going back to work and leaving Jack in daycare. That is going to be very hard. Maggie was home with me till she was 16 months old, and here is Jack, not even four months old, going to daycare. He and I had a big talk about it the other day. I did most of the talking. ;o) I told him that he is forbidden from doing major milestones such as first steps and first words at daycare. He seemed to understand. At least, he grinned at me a lot.

On the other hand, I am really excited about the new school year and starting at a new school, Alcova Elementary. Alcova is only about 15 minutes from home, so the commute will be much easier than the last three years'. I had dinner with my new grade level the other night (still on fourth grade) and we had a great time up talking and eating till almost midnight. We also got a lot of things hashed out for the coming year so that we don't have to meet for business during preplanning, which will be more time to work during that week. I feel like I really started to get to know everyone, so I won't be going in blind the first day of preplanning.

Anna

Medical Updates

2007-07-12T15:54:00.000-04:00

It has been a rather long while since any medical updates were posted anywhere for us, so here is the lowdown.

Maggie had a sphincter pharyngoplasty last August to make the space at the back of her mouth/throat smaller. This was supposed to help with speech, because her soft palate in the back was not large enough and moving enough to close off her nose (which is necessary for most of the sounds we make). The surgery was a success in that the space was tightened up a huge amount, but she is still not getting closure back there. The soft palate just moves very little.
Our next step is to try an appliance. This will look like a retainer, but will have a long extension designed to cover the hole that goes up to the nose. The speech doctor and the surgeon hope that this will help her to strengthen the muscles back there, to unlearn some bad habits, and to start to hear herself using better speech immediately. The appliance is supposed to be fitted at the end of this month.
Maggie's tonsils are very large (so are mine--I think it runs in the family), and the speech doc is now recommending tonsilectomy (again). He believes that the large tonsils are causing muffled speech. I have calls in to the plastic surgeon and the ENT requesting that they confer and let us know if they both are on board for tonsilectomy. If so, we will go forward with it.
Maggie's brother Jackson Walker Colley was born April 18, 2007, with no medical problems whatsoever! Wooo-hooo! He has a beautiful palate. His chin did look small, so we wondered if maybe Maggie's micrognathia might just be a family trait. He does have reflux, though not as severe as Maggie's. It is controlled well by meds.

That's all of the medical news for now! Thank you to everyone who regularly keeps us in your prayers! :o)

More Hilton Head Pics

2007-07-12T14:23:00.001-04:00

More pics from our HH trip. That is not me, that is my sister in law, Nikki. I'm behind the camera, not in front of it! :o)

Hilton Head Island

2007-07-12T13:51:00.001-04:00

The last time we went to the beach was when my friend Annie got married in 2004. I have always felt a close connection to the ocean, and I was really missing it, so shortly before Jack was born, I started pestering Mike for a beach trip. He surprised me by planning a trip to Hilton Head Island (our first) June 30-July 4. We doubled our fun by inviting Karynne, Nikki, and Mike. Karynne is our six year old niece. We had an awesome time, even though the weather didn't totally cooperate.

We went on a dolphin cruise which resulted in an amusing story. We expected to be on a large, covered boat, but got there to find out that they were taking out the smaller boat that day instead. What's worse is that we ended up in the stern (rear) of the boat, in full sun (with a two month old!). Needless to say we weren't too happy about that. I was really worried about Jack. Then as we were leaving the dock we notice these huge storm clouds coming in. We went all over the place and the captain was pointing out all sorts of resorts and fancy homes, but no dolphins anywhere. It was hot and miserable, and then it became more overcast and even drizzled a bit. Finally after probably 45 minutes to an hour of nothing, we find the dolphins! It was thrilling! We saw them flirting with some boaters, begging for food and following in their wake. I was snapping pics like crazy. The boat trip was redeemed. Well as we've debarked and are on our way back to the parking lot, Maggie and I have the following conversation.

Me: Did you enjoy the boat ride, Maggie?
Maggie: Yeah.
Me: Did you enjoy seeing the dolphins?
Maggie: [noncommittally] Yeah.
Me: You did see the dolphins, right?
Maggie: No.
Me: All those times, you never saw the dolphins once??
Maggie: I don't even know what a dolphin looks like!

Oh well.

Swim Lessons

2007-07-12T13:37:00.000-04:00

I found the princess on the bottom step!

Miss Sierra

Miss Jennifer

Maggie has begun swim lessons at the Winder YMCA and will continue daily during the week through the end of the summer. She is having a blast! I am hoping that she will develop enough skill in the water that she could swim at our neighborhood pool without my being in with her. That way I could take Jackson and her and not have to worry about leaving him on the deck while I get in with her. Here are some pictures of her with two of her swim teachers, Miss Sierra and Miss Jennifer.

Yellow River Game Ranch

2007-07-11T19:13:00.000-04:00

We visited Yellow River Game Ranch on June 16 and got to see all sorts of cool animals. The skunks didn't smell as stinky as the last time I visited when Maggie was just a baby. She really enjoyed seeing all of the animals and feeding them! Note to self: Wear closed shoes next time. It's too gross for flip-flops.

Welcome!

2007-07-11T18:56:00.001-04:00

Welcome to our new family blog! I am hoping that this will be an easier way to keep everyone updated on our family adventures (and all of those pictures everyone loves) now that the family has grown and time seems harder to come by. Drop me an email if you'd like to receive an email whenever the blog is updated. I've lost the old list. (Sorry, folks!) Thanks to Tracy and Jeremiah Eye for the idea to create a family blog!