12 Days of giving day 2...

So, today I pretty much stayed home and hung lights and snuggled with the Bubbs so we didn't really get out today to do our good deed...but when I went to Panera tonight to get some dinner for Hailey during dance I saw a GREAT opportunity that Panera had sitting out there. It was a Care and Share thing but it was about great grain's or something like that where Panera donates bread to Care and Share so I decided to donate some money to them for their good giving idea!!! :) I'm hoping tomorrow will be a little more creative ;)

12 Days of giving...

Well, I know it's been a while but my crazy friend Bethany has challanged me to do a 12 day's of giving blog for the first 12 days of December, and being that apparently I can't say no, I've decided to do this ;) It is an amazing idea and the concept is this: for the first 12 days of December I'm going to see how I can give to someone or do something special in their life for that specific day.

Today being Dec. 1st I had a photoshoot and while normally I charge a sitting fee and obviously full price for my packages, I gave a free session and a 25.00 credit to this client who I know can't really afford pictures of their little one! I know how important photos are to families and when people can't really afford them it breaks my heart! So, go on over to our photo blog and check out little Anastasia's photo session: www.photosbyjcm.com/blog

I wonder what tomorrow will hold... :) see you then!

It's been a while!!!

I just wanted to stop by and give a few updates from our neck of the woods...

Jayvier has been having a great year so far in 8th grade, his grades are amazing as we knew they could be and he's really positive about school so that's always a huge plus!!! We just got his CSAP scores from last year and they were GREAT!!! He's still playing soccer with Pride and we chose to move him down a level as his confidence wasn't so good with his old team and unfortunately he is having a hard time with the new team as he wants them to play harder and be better and they just don't seem to care as much as his other team. I'm hoping that this will push him in the direction he needs to go!! I just want him to be happy :) So, we'll see what he wants to do, he will be starting basketball here soon, which I'm very excited for!!! He's also been eating like a horse around here, he had a Double quarter pounder meal from McDonald's and ate the whole thing then ate my fries and Judah's fries then went home and made himself a sandwich...and he's HUGE, he offically is bigger than me but don't tell him that...haha he's about 5'7 and weighs 125 I can't believe how big my baby boy is!!!! ;( Makes me so so sad!! He told me the other day that he wants to bow hunt which is new and different so we're going to see if one of our friends can take him as Judah has never gone hunting :)

Hailey is doing pretty good in school right now which is soooo awesome, her teacher is AMAZING!!! And we got her CSAP scores back and she's profecient in everything which was a huge surprise to us as we thought she would be wayyyy behind! But she's catching up! I still struggle with whether or not to hold her back so we'll see how this year goes!!! She's still dancing of course and loving it so much, she's improved amazingly in the past few months and I can't believe the thing she's now doing!! She's doing some things I thought she wouldn't be able to do for years, her turns and leaps are crazy and her hiphop is so "street" it's hilarious...I don't know the names of things but she's really happy with the progress she's made and she's working so hard right now it's good to see her great work ethic! She's made some good goals for herself without us, it just amazes me how badly she wants to make this dance thing her life! She's also modeling again for a catalog so we'll be getting some more FREE dance shoes!!! I can't tell you how nice that is...hahaha She's also going to be trying to do some acting classes, I figure if that makes the girl happy why not! :) Maybe it can make us some money to pay for dance hahahaha

Jaemen is doing wonderful in his preschool class...he LOVES it so much and asks to go every day! He can make a 'J' and a circle and can identify 15 letters and he's just learned to count to 5!! He's been talking soooo much it's hilarious, he probably has a vocab of about 150 words and 200 signs he's just a little sponge and has picked up some pretty bad habbits like well, not eating for one and saying shut up...lovely we have just been ignoring him when he says it but it's soooooo funny!!!! Love that boy... He's been doing tap class every week and is pretty good...I'll try to get him on video!! He's going to start soccer next week, so that should be interesting to throw into our schedule...haha

Well there's the kids update, I'll update on me and Judah a little later :)

Positive Day...

So, there's a challenge (from a little girl) floating around the blogosphere today: July 31st is to be positive day! I absolutely love this idea!! There is just so much negativity in the world right now, it's hard to escape it. I for one have had a really hard time lately being positive, which is weird for me because most of the time I'm really positive...hmmmm maybe me giving my top 10 reasons to be positive will help my attitude:

1. I have the most adorable children

2. I have the most amazing husband

3. health

4. I have some amazing friends that have managed to lift me up and show me that life doesn't need to revolve around peopl who can't or won't let go of the past.

5. My family is here, healthy and happy

6. We live in a wonderful neighborhood with great schools for those adorable children I so much love

7. Our great jobs that allow me to stay home and raise our adorable children

8. Love, because without this the world would be a horrible place

9. Laughter, because some days that's how I get through the day...I love to laugh!!!!

10. Gummie Bears, Watermelon, X-rated and vodka :), HD DVR's, Photography, and best of all, Chips and Salsa!!!

Have a wonderful day everyone! And remember it's always good to have your cup half-full! :)

It's been a while

Just doing some updating...Sorry I've been missing in action on the blog world but we've been super busy and I just don't really have time to sit down and write much anymore...:(

But here are some fun updates about what's going on in the fam...
Judah is taking the summer off from school, which is going to be a tremendous blessing! I'm so excited to have my hubby home and have him be able to enjoy his summer. He only has 2 more classes left and he will have his Master's in Project Management! :) YEAH!!! The first and only in his family to ever achieve such an honor!

Jay, is still in soccer and doing some camps with some speed coaches this week and next. He's wanting to "bulk" up over the summer so he can be strong...hahaha It's really cute how he all of the sudden is awear of his appearence! He's almost 5'7 and weighs 120lbs...he's HUGE and he's only 13 and the Dr. said he hasn't even started puberity....YIKES! He's going to be lik 6'3 or 6'4 if he keeps growing the way he's growing! He had a pretty nasty ending to his academic year last year so he's doing some "homeschool summer program" that he's not to happy about :) And if he doesn't get good grades next year I'm going to really be homeschooling, so pray he pulls his head out of his butt and notices that grades are IMPORTANT, not friends and girls....hahaha

Hailey, is dancing dancing dancing!!! We've been sampling some studio's here in our town and in Denver! It's been so much fun to take her into new situations and watch her learn. She has been asked to be on 3 different Company's here and in Denver. And some studios even remembered her dances and especially her Proud Mary solo she did this year. We had one studio owner run out from her class just so she could introduce herself to us and rememberd 2 of Hailey's(1 was her solo) dances from this year and one from last years season. I was shocked! I never knew that Hailey was being watched so much at competitions...but the studio up in Denver saw her at the last competition and told me to bring Hailey up there and that the studio owner would love to work with her! WOW!! I haven't told Hailey any of these things that the other studios have said about her, other than she needs to work hard where ever she dances and the teachers will appreciate it! Well, it's paid off...she's having a great summer taking classes all over CO. and her being able to learn from so many teachers has really helped her to grow. She really wants "it" and you can really tell...it's very nice to see her being able to learn so much. This has been hard on her and myself losing all of our friends from our old studio but, she's finally happy and that's all that matters! Life lessons don't always feel good, but they are here to teach us, and to teach us who our true friends are...I knew for a long time who my friends were and who were just playing the "dance drama" game, and some I was shocked by who can't or won't be friends with us anymore, but such is life. I did what was best and healthy for our family, that's what my job is as a mother, to protect my children and that's just what I've done. :) Please pray that we find the right dance home for Hailey! :)

Jaemen is doing great! He's talking mad crazy and I LOVE IT!!! He talks about everything! He's a little clearer than I thought he would be, and can even count to 5 on his own and knows about 15 letters by sight! He's still playing baseball and is a swimming fool! He loves the water and just swims and swims as long as we'll let him! :) He jumps in like a crazy man and scares me half to death! He can't really go under the water as he still aspirates on thin liquids and him inhaling the pool water could end up badly so we keep our head above water and swim all by ourselves!! He's having a PT evaluation here soon and hopefully he will be able to hipotherapy but because he hasn't had PT for over 2 years we'll have to see if we can do it for speech...I'm not even sure if the will like the horse! HAHA We were at the zoo yesterday and he HATED the pony's... :( He's also taking a dance class at AIM and is having a BLAST! He's so cute! Gotta love him! And the Buddy Walk is Aug. 22 look for that here soon...we won't be teaming with our old buddy so it will just be Jaemen this year, I think I might do another shirt like we did 2 years ago for the kids, they loved the shirts!

As for me, well I'm just pretty much playing Taxi driver lately, I love it and am having a great summer with the kids and my friends! I'm trying not to get too sunburned laying out at the pool...hahaha...I'm going to be starting a workout program called P90X and I'm super excited to get back into shape. I've been playing volleyball but I'm SO OUT OF SHAPE!!! :) So, here we go...:) I'll let you know how it works out for me!

Love to you all....until next time!

Such is life...

Well, most of you know we recently moved dance studios...Yes, it was a hard move to make and yes, we lost friends that I thought we would never lose, but such is life. I had to make a very hard decision after we were treated very poorly at Hailey's last dance competition. I told myself that I could put up with whatever came my way as long as Hailey was happy. Well, at the last competition when Hailey got into the car and was crying about some comments made, or not made, friends hurting her, and how she didn't want to dance anymore I knew I had to make a decision...should we stay or should we go? Hailey in her 6 years of dancing has never said she didn't want to dance anymore...NEVER! She was completely left out of things, from friends who she loved and who I loved as well...She did amazing at her competition, she was the only one from that studio to receive a diamond(the highest points you could score,) she also was in the top 10 in her age group, won her category, and got a judges choice award...and not one of her teachers told her good job...it was sad and broke my heart. It also broke her's, so, I decided that night of her solo's that we were done and throughout the weekend it was evident that we needed to be somewhere else. Where she was going to be appreciated and where the mom's weren't going to be running the show. I can only handle so much from mom's who think they get to make decisions about my daughter's dancing. It should be left up to the teachers whom opinions I valued, but unfortunately there mom's are picking music, costumes, and who goes on what team. That is not a place I want my child. It was an unfair environment for her or for me. The "in circle" there is not really "in," no, they are mean, nasty, back stabbing individuals who need to grow up and quit living life vicariously through their beautiful children. I've lost some amazing friends along the way and 2 amazing teachers. But that is the price I had to pay to get her into a healthy environment. I will always be grateful for the things she learned from her teachers there and the values the studio owner instilled in her, the teacher's aren't the reason we left...the drama is...I know the grass is always greener on the other side, but that's the chance I'm willing to take to get away from some very nasty people. Needless to say Hailey is happy, she is thriving and once again her smile has returned to her dancing! She is doing some amazing things at her new studio, her teachers are in awe and so am I. That's all I wanted for her was for her to be happy and be learning. I've learned my lesson, I will not be getting close to the teachers or the mother's at the new studio. I want them to have an un-bias impression of my daughter, and form their impressions by how hard she works, and trust me she is working her tooshie off right now. I want to teach my daughter the value of dancing and characteristics that she can use as she grows! I know there will be speed bumps and hurdles along the way...there always are! :)

Now, on to Jay...he moved to a new team as well the beginning of Spring. He is so happy there, he loves his coach and the boys on this team are really great! They have all accepted him, and cheer for him. He's learning that he has to prove himself right now being the "new kid" and I'm hoping that he will rise to the challenge! He has struggled a little with his confidence since it was shattered by his last team but slowly he is gaining it back and it's so nice to see him improve! I know he will do great things, we just have to keep him on the right path. Who knew parenting a teenage boy would be so difficult!?!? :) Since he broke his arm, he's been a little passive but his new coach is teaching him in a way that has really helped his confidence! His arm is about at 90% right now and Jay hasn't been able to play basket ball which really upset him. But I think he will be able to start playing come summer and you all know I can't wait for that! He's got a lot to catch up on since he missed last basket ball season, but he'll get there...lol :)

Lastly, my Prince Charming and my Bubbs...Well Prince Charming has been busy at work and school, he only has 2 more classes and he'll have his Masters in Project Management! YEAH!!! It's only been 10 years and counting...haha He's an amazing father and friend. He's been there to support me through all this drama with the kids and has really been a source of stability for me. He never seizes to amaze me, he's a great father, friend and husband! And he's sooo cute!!!

And as far as the Bubbs, well he's just about to start soccer buddies again, and special needs swim lessons and he's currently on a Special Need's T-ball team!!! He's busy busy busy!! He loves hanging out with his friends at the mall for lunch and has really started talking! Today he said "Mom, more chippies...PLEASE!!!" such good manners...lol

And as far as me...well I'm just hanging out...waiting for the next thing to start!!! I love doing photography and can't wait to see where that takes me in the next year...be ready soon for some BIG NEWS!!!

LOVE TO YOU ALL!!!!

Jaemen's first baseball game!!!

Yesterday Jaemen had his official first T-ball game!!!! I was so excited that he could go out there and play with these kids. He played in a "challanger" little league for all types of kids with disabilities! It was terrific to see all these kids paired up with buddies to help them. I was super impressed with the kids from older teams come over and help us with our league! When Jaemen was first born, I never thought he would be able to play little league, but all my dispair was put to rest yesterday after I saw how good he did! He hit, ran the bases, caught the ball in his glove, and of course threw every ball that was remotely close to him...I know shocker...lol I was in tears just watching him have so much fun!!!

Pleanty of other things are going on with our family and one of these day's I'll get around to writing about it...lol I'm still just trying to catch my breath after all the changes that have been happening. Soon we'll be on summer vaca and I promise I'll catch you all up on our busy life!!!

Love to you all...and don't forget to check out our other blogs...

www.photosbyjcm.com/blog

www.from-my-eye.blogspot.com