School Room Organization

This year our school room became a living organism that moved, ate and reproduced at an alarming rate. With Little Girl starting first grade we were bulging at the seams.

Books, art projects, science experiments were in, under and on top of every surface. It was time to do something.

Tah-Dah!

No, we did not build these ourselves...are you kidding? But I can highly reccommend Roelke Corporation in Jacksonville, Oregon. They made the trip to middle-of-nowheresville. Figured out what I wanted before I even knew, built it off-site and had it installed a few weeks later in just a couple of hours... I could not be happier.
My children now get up early, happily skip down and say "Can we start school NOW?" Not really, but a mom can dream, can't she?

Off to the Races!

We live in a small town. We don't live in a small town on the outskirts of a big town like Yukon is to OKC. We live in a small town where the nearest big town is an hour and a half up the highway. Our town is growing, though. We got us a Petco a year or so ago. When I say it was headline news in our paper for weeks, I am not kidding.

I read the paper every day. Not for news, although I do skim the news. No, I look for stuff to take the kids to. Whenever ANYTHING for kids is happening, we are SO there.

So when I read that our great PETCO was having -GASP!--Wait for it!---HAMSTER RACES!--We immediately began preparing. We happen to have two tiny dwarf hamsters named Bolt (sounds fast, doesn't he) and Daphne (after the Scooby-Doo Daphne, of course). The hamsters were a consolation prize to my children who were dying for a parakeet. I cannot abide by birds in the house. I think they are cute and sound pretty but I cannot vacuum up bird seeds fifty times a day.

Here is Big Girl with "Bolt" (who really knows, they are exactly the same) in the practice run.

Emily with "Daphne" warming up.

"Bolt" didn't quite live up to his name (but then again...)

"Daphne"("Bolt"?...) took third place! "Daphne" brought home some chew toys and treats for her stunning win. Believe me she was up against some stiff competition...Some of those other hamsters were bigger than Daphne's ball!

The girls had a blast ...who said there was nothing for kids to do in this town?

First Day of School-Belated

The girls were very excited to begin the new school year. Big girl entered 5th grade. Little one entered 1st grade.



This was them fresh-faced and smiling on the first day.

The excitement soon wore off-as it usually does. We are one month in now and still right on schedule. Even with Daddy having lots of days off and multiple trips to the hospital in Portland. The girls are doing great even though they don't bound down the stairs bright and early anymore.

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Brace Free...Or Not

As I previously posted, Big girl got her braces off in July. She was an amazing patient. Never complained and always did what she was supposed to do. She was young to get braces, too. Just about 8. When Big girl was 7 she was diagnosed with scoliosis. This came as a big surprise to all of us and because she was very young for the onset of scoliosis we spent the next two years monitoring the progress of the curve with multiple x-rays, MRI's and many, many trips to Portland to visit the spine specialist at the Shriner's hospital (A great organization to support, if you can). On this last visit, the doctor felt her curve had progressed to the point when bracing was needed.

She was x-rayed (again) and measured by the "Brace Guy". This was done with amazing speed and efficiency, I couldn't believe it. Definitely not a government-run operation.



Two weeks later and yet another trip to Portland and Big Girl is the owner of a shiny new back brace (they let her pick out the design).Notice the smile. This kid is amazing. After a few brief tears when she heard about the bracing, Big Girl has had an incredibly positive attitude. Never complains and in fact reminds me to put it on at night.


She only has to wear it for 12 hours a day so we put it on at night after she has a shower and take it off in the morning. Hopefully, this will prevent her spine from curving further and prevent her from having a full-time brace or surgery in the future.


I am so proud of my girl. I don't know what I did to deserve her.