Our flight has been WHAT?!

I really don't care if I set foot in another airport for a looooonnnngggg!! while. I just spent the last 36 hours either waiting for a flight or waiting for a flight. We arrived at the airport at 12 Monday, 3 hours and 20 minutes before take off for DTW. We had lunch, did some shopping and at about 2:00 just happened to walk by one of those flight terminal signs that has the flights posted. I looked up and SXXX! the flight to Detroit had been cancelled. Yes, that's right not delayed, but CANCELLED!!! Panic set is as we went to the bar to grab the other 4 gals. They thought we were joking. "Does it look like I'm JOKING?!" NOT! Of course since we had been there for 2 hours and already had our boarding passes in hand, who would have thought that something like this could happen. We ran to the gate, stood in a very long line, only to be told that the soonest flight they had for us was Thursday at 10:30 AM. Yes, Thursday! We decided to let a little money talk and they were able to get us a flight out this morning at 10:30. They put us at the Crowne Royal, with vouchers for rooms, meals, etc. But we had now spent a SUNNY day in the terminal. Bummer. We had to get to the air port at 7 AM, just in case we ran into a snag. About 9:30 they came over the loud speaker and said that the flight was overbooked and they were looking for people to be bumped. Crap! We graciously talked a family of six to be bumped so that we could have their seats. They got their tickets paid for, 1500 voucher for another trip and 600 dollars. Not bad considering they left on an earlier flight and only got home an hour later. Anyways.....I am home. Exhausted, but we had a blast. I am sure I will give you more updates later. Glad to be home. Kristin :)

Greetings from Florida....

Just thought I would drop you a line to let you know that the plane ride was very uneventful (as hoped for) and I am not stranded on a deserted island with Sawyer or Jack (sorry Jill). The weather is warm but extremely cloudy. We spent the afternoon at the hot tub and pool with no sun. What a bummer?! We are all exhausted and cannot believe it is only 9:30 and we are headed to bed. I know if I weren't here, I'd still be scrappin' right now. Hey, I'm headed to Scrapheads tomorrow for the Surprise Sale. My dad scoped it out for me....how cute! We are trying to figure out what to do with the crappy forecast. The beach isn't the same without sun. Well, I'm off to bed....talk later. Kristin :)

The shuttle to Detroit leaves in 10 HOURS!

I can't believe that in 10 short hours we will be pulling out of Hillsdale for what I hope will be 4 of the most relaxing days the coaches wives have had in years. So far the weather reports are favorable. I sure hope that the sun is shining and the pool is warm. I am still in the process of packing and getting the Putnam homefront under control, so this will have to be a short one. Hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend. I love you all!!

PS Girls scrap a page for me tonight! Hope I will have some good shots when I get back that don't involve police numbers. Just kiddin'!

Dreaming of sand and sun!

I know that most of you are sick of hearing talk about my upcoming trip, but can I just say 2 MORE DAYS, 2 MORE DAYS, 2 MORE DAYS!!! Unfortunately, the "Family History" project is taking way too long and I have only packed 2 pairs of sandals and a beach towel. Now won't that make for an interesting trip. I told Kirk this morning I wasn't going to be able to go because my bag is not packed...his response was..."yeah right, you would buy clothes in Florida. " He knows me all too well. I am a little (very little) sad that I will miss Kraig's ballroom dancing debut. DMS has been hosting Olympic games for the last month during A/A time. (not Alcohol Annoymous, JILL!!) Ballroom Dancing is the final event on Friday. Oh well, that's what Channel 19 is really intended for, not smearing my embarrassing picture of me playing basketball from my back. Well, better get moving since I only have 2 MORE DAYS OF WORK!!

ONLY 3 MORE DAYS OF WORK.....

I can hardly keep myself under control, I am sooooo excited about leaving in 3 more days! Yes, only 3 more days! Just had to say it again in case you didn't catch it the first 1,000 times. We worked like slaves for two days with the boys and their 1 million projects that were due this and next week. Kraig is the only one that still has a boat load of work left to do. Kirk3 is sitting pretty. Wow, is that a statement I thought I would never be able to make.

The sideways flower is just a reminder that Orthodontist have feelings too. Yes, this is what you get when you have two kids in braces (to the tune of $5,600 a piece), and one of them has an appointment on Valentine's Day. Who in their right mind would schedule an orthodontist appointment on V Day? Oh, yeah, now I remember, I'm not in my "right" mind most of the time.

So tonight is the PACKING night. All of the laundry is done and put away (except for the stuff that we wore yesterday, of course, which equals about 2 loads). I will hopefully be able to stuff a few things in a bag between typing crap for Kraig. We'll see?! Hope everyone has a nice day. Later!

Cookies made by Crackers....

Konnor and Mitchell decided that I should drop everything and make Valentine cookies with them yesterday. Of course, being the push over mom that I am, I dropped everything and made cookies. They weren't the nicest looking cookies, but they sure did tasted yummy! I think that the boys had way too much fun frosting and putting on the sprinkles. On some of the cookies, you couldn't see the frosting.

Have you ever seen the movie Zathura? It's the new kids movie out at the video stores. We sat down as a family to watch it last night, and spent the first 1/2 hour of the movie giving Konnor and Kraig those "teacher eyes" that we both do so well. The 2 younger brothers in the film were an exact portrayal of a typical day at the Putnam's. They were doing all the same things that Konnor and Kraig do to each other. We actually thought maybe someone had hidden a Nanny cam in the house to give them ideas for the storyline. The teenage sister was still in bed with her Ipod turned way up, which wasn't as funny for Kirk3 because that fits him to a tee also, but that character was a GIRL (YUCK!!). I still have to watch the ending sometime today because I fell asleep. I knew it was a bad idea to lay on the floor with Konnor and Chance, but it looked to tempting.

Happy Presidents Day!!

Brrrrrrrr.....

Holy cow is it cold! I don't think I remember tempratures this low in a long time. This is what Chance and K3 thought about the cold weather and how to combat it. Sleep in to your little hearts content. I wish I would have slept in, but I got up early even though I went to bed at 1 AM. We went to the reverse raffle last night. No, darn it, I didn't win so I won't be putting in the hot tub any time soon. Shucks! It still was fun and there was alot of things to entertain you during the evening. No, not music, or juggling, just people doing "funny" things. Open bars can be dangerous in a crowd that large. The last 7 people decided to split the money, so no 1 person took home the $7,500. It wasn't as exciting as seeing 1 person get that rich that fast. Today is get all of the boys "projects" done and then laundry, cleaning, and YES packing for Florida. We leave Hillsdale at 5 on Thursday to stay at Donna's mom and dad's house. He is driving us to the airport on Friday at 6 AM. Our flight leaves at 8 AM and we will be hopefully stepping off the plane at 10:30 in Florida. I can't wait. It will be so great to get away from everything and everyone for that matter. Yes, I know that sounds cold, but I am "burnt out". I am sure that my blogs in the next few days will give you vacation plan updates because I can't really think about anything else at this point. Won't my mom and dad be surprised when the girls leave Monday and I hang around. Just kiddin', but don't think that I haven't thought about it extensively. Talk later.

Another round of tag....

Jill got me this time....so here it goes!

3 names you go by:
Kristin
Kris (usually on my dad, brother, and sometimes husband)
Hey, gym lady!

3 everyday essentials:
breakfast with OJ and cappacino
shower
time to read


3 things I am wearing right now:
Davis Volleyball t-shirt that is probably 6 years old
yellow shorts
undies - bet you didn't really want to know that


3 favorite songs
You're Beautiful - James Blunt
Breathe - ?
Anything that Kelly Clarkson sings

2 truths and 1 lie
I married my high school sweetheart.
I LOVE seafood!
I wanted to be a veternarian.

3 favorite hobbies
Reading
Scraping
playing on the computer (email, blog, snapfish)

3 things I really wanna do right now
go back to bed
go back to bed and read
not go to work and stay home to scrap

3 places I really want to go
To an Island paradise that has blue water and white sand
The Red Wood forest and Grand Canyon
Colonial Williamsburg

3 things I want to do before I die:
See my kids grow up and move out on their own
Ride a Clysdale
Be truly happy!


3 people you'd like to see answer these questions:
Beth, Jill, and Kandi. Hey, did you see that my brother left his first comment last week. It would be great if he would play along too.

Cheer up my buddies!!

Thought of this picture and couldn't resist sending it out to all of my Jackson/Lansing buddies that have the FLU. Wouldn't it be nice to be a hippo? Just let it fly whenever you get the urge, NOT! Maybe we should have these signs made for above the bathrooms. Jill's might need a Hippo puking, but.....cheer up and get feeling better REALLY soon!!

PS 7 days and counting!

Ways to spend Valentine's Day...

After doing 3 consecutive hours of fat burning aerobics with 3rd graders, I decided that this pace is definitely not beneficial to my health. I can't tell you the last time I sat in the tub....but today after school was one of them. Kirk said he would buy me the hot tub after he wins in the Reverse Raffle on Satuday. I sure hope he has the lucky number. I was also too beat to make dinner, so we dialed up Dominos. What a gourmet chef I am?! Kraig had to play an exhibition game during 1/2 time of the Varsity game tonight. It was very quick...but I think they had fun. The Varsity won tonight against CC and can't wait to see them beat Western on Friday. Sorry Hamlin's :(

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Jump Rope and Hoops for Heart

I just had my first day of my American Heart Association fundraiser event. Instead of only doing Jump Ropes or Hoops, I decided to have Stations. Students could choose to do as many of them that they wanted as long as they kept moving and their heart "pumping". No sitting or standing allowed this week. The stations I had were of course the obvious Jump Ropes and Basketball shooting. I also had hoppy balls, hula hoops, step aerobics and Chinese jump rope. It went really well. I gave them each a participation sticker and they got to sign their name on a giant heart posted on the gym wall. Now if I can only last 4 more days it will be great. I'll keep you posted.

Remember: February is healthy heart month....keep on moving!!

Another lesson in sportsmanship...

Yet another disappointing basketball game for Kraig's team. The final score was 19-32, of which, Kraig scored 15 points. There were however a few times in which Kraig used his very loud voice (don't know where he got that) to point out some calls that he thought were unfair. This morning over breakfast we discussed with Kraig that people do not like to watch "cry babies" on the court. We mentioned that there will be times that he doesn't agree with a call or there is a play that is missed by another player, and that he should not comment on those situations. It is better to be a hard working player, then one that is pointing out what is going wrong with the game. He took the conversation very well and I hope that he can remember that he doesn't control the game, and that he should just do the best job that he can. He did set some goals for himself after this game though. He is now focused on how to become a better player before 7th grade basketball try-outs next winter. Let's hope he sticks to those goals!

These shoes were made for walking....

I hated to take a picture of these shoes, but they go with this post, so bare with. There are 3 of us that have been walking the track at the college and then sitting in the sauna for 30 minutes. This morning we met at 6 AM. Wow, am I crazy or what?! I think it is the threat of the vacation and actually being seen in a swimsuit that has motivated us. I thought that my job was a workout, but oh my, can they walk fast. It must be my stubby little legs that aren't able to keep up. I hope that we can continue to walk....even when we come home and put a sweatshirts back on.

PS Beth imagine that, 2 blogs in 1 day! NEW RECORD for me.

A pretty ending to an UGLY week!

If you aren't aware of this already, I have been really struggling at work the last few weeks. The kids are nuts and doing "stupid" stuff and I am really feeling like a glorified babysitter most days. Well....today at 3 oclock when I was just hanging on to sanity by my finger nails I got a delivery. The first thing out of my mouth was "these better be from Scott" (my boss), but instead they were my Valentine Flowers from my husband. Ahhhh, how SWEET!! They are beautiful and smell very good. His comment was "that's all I got for $17 bucks?" Not really how I would have handled it, but....I'm not a man.

That 70's Girl

I've been waiting for the right inspiration to blog and it hasn't been coming too easily. It seems everytime I go to blog I just end up sounding whinny...and I HATE whinny!!!! But this morning when I read Kandi's email about girls growing up in the 70's....I said OH, MY GOD! That was me to a T. I think I have mentioned before I was in the Laura Ingles Wilder fan club and have a autographed picture to prove it. I also had a picture of Leif Garrett on the back of my bedroom door. Shut up! (as Beth would so eliquently say) These are the other things I now remember....purple banana seat bike, metal roller skates, crush on Gopher, moon boots (loved them), Holly Hobbie pants, poncho, Simon, metal swing set that came off the ground, definitely feathered hair, magic 8 ball fortune telling, shrinky-dinks and syrofoam cup barbie hats (man did they smell), many free animal posters, favorite book by Judy Blume (Are you there God, it's me Margaret, but what about Bonney Bell lip gloss and leg warmers.......

Tag You're It!

I've been blogger tagged by Kandi.

4 jobs you've had
PE teacher
Science teacher
Related Arts teacher (part-time: Library, computers, and PE)
Worked at the Accident Fund - temp work

4 movies you could watch over and over
Fun with Dick and Jane
Hitch
You've got mail
Wedding Crashers

4 places you've lived
Lansing, MI
Eaton Rapids, MI
Mt. Pleasant, MI (college)
Hillsdale, MI

4 TV shows (these are the only shows I have time to watch during the week)
2 1/2 Men
Lost
According to Jim

4 place you've been on vacation
Florida
Virginia Beach
Mackinaw
Traverse City

4 websites you go to daily
Weather
Beth's blog
Kandi's blog
Jill's blog

4 favorite foods
Ice cream and hot fudge with nuts
Chicken Alfredo
Mexican - occasionally can handle it
Lasagna

4 places you would rather be right now
Home reading One for the Money - Janet Evanovich
Scrappin' with my buddies
Tanning
Tropical desserted Island

4 Bloggers you're tagging
Sad to say, I only know Beth, Jill, and Kandi's blog addresses

Servant

ser ' vant: n : one that serves others; especially one that performs duties about the person or home of a master or personal employer.

Now I know I'm not getting paid a dime to do all that I do, but I am is feeling more and more like a servant around here. I can't tell you how much laundry goes through my machines in a week. It seems like I barely get it put away and it is pilled up again. I believe in cleanliness, but get real! The house is another story in itself....I think that it gets dirty while I'm at work. I don't know how it does it but it's doing a good job. Meals...meals what can I say....doesn't matter how much food I make....it always disappears. Think you can make extra for another meal...think again. If I knew how hard this job would be, I don't think I would have applied. How did my mom do it all and never seem frazzled?!

The Lion King

If it is at all possible to still get tickets to the Lion King at the Wharton Center, I highly recommend it. It was fabulous!! The costumes, music, special effects were all superb. The boys were completely entranced by the whole thing. Konnor's favorite character was Simba as a boy. This boy was about 9 years old, and boy could he sing. My favorite characters were Pumba and Timone. They were very funny. It is amazing to me that people can actually put on such a great performance. Can you imagine how many hours go into making the costumes alone? It was definitely worth not being able to watch the Super Bowl tonight. I have done the grocery shopping, started laundry, and now I'm off to clean the toilets. Hippeee! Hope you had a great day!

Uneven teams...

I finally got to see one of Kraig's basketball games this morning. What a poor job at splitting up talent, size, and age. I couldn't believe the other teams roster. I told the man that helps run it that next time I would be happy to help split up the boys more evenly. I have probably 90% of the boys in gym this year. Kraig, unfortunately, is on a team that stinks (putting it mildly). They went up against a team that was very skilled. We are trying to talk to Kraig about leadership and sportmanship qualities he will gain this year. He is very discouraged and can't wait until 7th grade basketball at DMS.

PS However, this morning ended well because I did get to go to the Dan Taylor Wrestling Tournament and had a great time. GO HORNETS!!

Great?!

My Miss Chloe Ann of Hillsdale is in heat. Yipee...NOT! What a pain in the rear to have to keep her penned up when your so used to the freedom of underground fencing. Trying to explain why Chance is ok to be around and other dogs are not was the first interesting topic of conversation...the second was trying to explain why her bleeding was ok. Konnor assumed this was a bad thing....but we just said she was "practicing getting ready to have puppies". Sounded better at the time. Any other suggestions on how to explain it all without giving too much away? He seems content for now.

3 weeks and counting....

Now without you feeling like I'm rubbing it in or bragging, I just needed to mention that it is now 3 weeks and counting before I leave for Florida with the girls. Just the coaches wives, the trainer, and Shirley (can't leave home without her) will be heading to my mom and dad's place in Leesburg FL. I really hope that I will get to see my parents while we are there. It feels like forever since I've seen them. We will be staying for what I hope is 4 fun filled days of lounging by the pool with our favorite tropical drink in hand. I so hope that the weather is wonderful. My mom has been laying out already, so I figure in 3 weeks we should be all set. I will have more on the trip news later....but today starts the 3 week countdown. Yeah!!!

**Watch out 60 years and over pool volleyball players, the girls are on our way!

Konnor's GREAT news!!

When I got out of my Curriculum Council meeting tonight at 5:15 there was a message on my cell phone...."hi mom, this is Konnor....it's...it's benign! I don't have to have surgery for another 6 months." What a great message that was. I know he probably doesn't fully understand the concept of benign, but he did know it was a good thing. I had been waiting all day (actually all week) to hear the results of his pathology report. And much to my relief, everything is FINE! How scary that is to not know what you're going to find out...my heart goes out to all those people who have had to live with this daily fear. We have a lot to be thankful for in this world...and good news like this puts things into perspective very quickly.

Konnor posing for a picture in Big SIS's sunglasses!

I need a sport....to watch!

Oh, these were the days. I don't know why, but wrestling is one of my favorite sports. I think it is the shear determination of the athlete all alone on the mat....I can't wait until Saturday when I'm working the Dan Taylor Tournament. Kirk3 won't be competing, but some of my former students will. It will still be exciting to watch!