the one about Diary of a Wimpy Kid

I am so proud of Quayd. I know I just posted an exciting reading achievement from school, so I am sorry to bore you with another reading blog post. But I am going to do it anyway. Sorry.

Quayd got the first book in the series "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" for Christmas. He has been reading everyday, and fitting this book in as much as possible. When he heard there was going to be a movie, he was so excited! I told him that when he finished Book 1, I would take him to the movie and get him book 2 to start reading. He actually finished it a couple weeks ago, but tonight was the first night we could fit in a movie. (It's only MARCH and our schedules are already filling up!) Brett is out of town for work, so we decided it was a perfect date night! We called our trusty date night companion, Grandma! (Gleneita) We all 3 went to dinner at Cafe Rio (tamale Thursday! Yay!!!) then headed to the show. The movie was so cute and it was so fun to see Quayd get so excited. He would get giddy and tell me, "Oh this part is funny!" or "I love this part!" After the movie, we headed straight to Wal-Mart to find book 2. In the car, I asked Quayd which was better, the movie or the book. I was so excited to hear him say.... THE BOOK!!!! He was telling me all of the differences and I was thrilled to hear it. The book is ALWAYS better!!! And I am glad that he can see that, even as a second grader. When we were at Wal-Mart, he saw this book too and he was very torn which one to get. This one is about the making of the movie and it looked pretty cool too. But he decided to go with book 2. He started reading it in the asiles of Wal-Mart. He came home, read for a bit and crashed. (With me of course since Dad is out of town!)

This was kind of fun... I found it online here. You can "Wimp" yourself! Here is me,
and here is Quayd.

the one about the reader of the month

Yah. Quayd is awesome! He was the top reader in the 2nd grade at his school for December. All during the month of February, the PTA had some of Quayd's things on display. They asked for a framed picture of him and 3 of his favorite toys or anything that would discribe him. He sent a Lego toy, a Nintendo Wii and DS game and a book. He was having a hard time parting with one of his books for a whole month, but he finally decided on "Hop on Pop" by Dr. Seuss.

Isn't he awesome??? We love him so much and we are so proud him!!!

the one about chapter books

Quayd is turning into quite the little reader. He is in the top reading group in his class and I swear, wherever we go, he reads every word he sees. If we are in the store, he reads packages. On TV, he reads advertisements, the satellite guide and subtitles. And driving in the car he reads roads signs. You get the idea. Brett and I both LOVE to read and I hope that it rubs off on Quayd. For once, we actually might be a good influence on him!!!

We asked his teacher to send some chapter books home with him so he can read them along with his other little first grade books. He LOVES them! We make him read so we can hear him, but Sometimes I catch him reading to himself. I LOVE IT!!!

The other day, he wanted to build a hotel for cats so he could put Orange inside. He got every pillow and blanket and built a great hotel. Good old Orange climbed right in. Quayd got in too and decided to read to him. It was so cute! It was sorta hard to get pictures, but if you look closely, you will see Orange in there, just happy as can be!

the one about parent teacher conference

Well, last night, Brett and I went to Quayd's parent teacher conference. I am so delighted to say.... QUAYD IS A GENIUS!

Mrs. Green talked to Brett and I for quite awhile about Quayd. It is so nice when your child's teacher thinks your child is as great as you do! She totally bragged all about Quayd and I was just eating it all up! She told us that he was a good boy in class, he sets a good example, and he is a quick learner. It made us laugh because some of the things she told us were SO BRETT!!! Such as, his handwriting. He can write all of the letters, with no problem, but he just won't take his time and make it nice and tidy. It stresses me out because I am a FREAK about nice handwriting. Brett, on the other had..... not so much. Mrs. Green also told us that Quayd just wants to listen, learn and be done with it. That is so funny because Brett and I do that too. It makes me nuts when someone doesn't pay attention the first time, so it has to be "re-explained." Brett is super smart and he loves to learn, but he hates to waste time. Apparently, Quayd feels the same way. He has lots of good friends in his class. All of the kids seem to love him, which doesn't surprise us at all. He has always been very friendly and sweet and he makes friends very easily. She told us that the other day the class was sitting on the rug and Mrs. Green was asking Quayd something. Everyone was staring at him and he told them all, "You all don't have to look at me." In their center groups Monday, Quayd's group were reading to themselves. His buddy, Rylan, was being very chatty. Quayd was sick of listening to him so he reached over and put his hand over Rylan's mouth. It's just so funny to me. Quayd is so much older than his age and in some ways, he is just like me. But in other ways, he is just like his dad. So far, it seems like he has gotten the better of both of us. It really is true.... Two wrongs make a right.

Anyway, Quayd is ranked number 2 in his class for reading and number 4 in his class for math. He has gotten 100% on every spelling test so far. His NWEA scores are above average and I am so super proud of him. He amazes me every single day. I often wonder if we did the right thing by sending him to kindergarten when he was bearly 5. It's times like this that I feel like we made a good choice.

I can't say all of this stuff without bragging about Quayd's WONDERFUL, AWESOME, AMAZING, FANTASTIC, ADORABLE, BRILLIANT, FUN, COOL teacher.... Mrs. Green. Thank you Megan for working so hard with Quayd and for being such a great teacher. We love you and we are SO impressed.

My favorite part of first grade is that I get to go in Quayd's class and help, like I did for most of last year. I told my bosses that I had to have one day off during the week and we chose Monday. So I go every Monday morning and work with their center groups. I get to do a fun activity with them each time I go and I totally love it. I get smothered with hugs from the students and I love that too! Quayd's class is going on a field trip to the corn maze on the 29th and I get to go along! I am so excited. I am also planning their class Halloween party. I love being a mom, and a helper, and I love my job for letting me do all of this stuff!!

I am so proud of my little boy. He is so smart and I am so glad he is loving school and doing so well. Good job, Quayd-er-ade!!! I love you!!!

If you would like to see Quayd's class blog..... click here!

the one about the Wednesday Letters

I finished this book last night. I LOVED IT SO MUCH!!! One of the best books I have read in a long time. I told my friend Janice that she needed to read it because it reminded me SO much of her parents. Janice, READ IT!!!! SOON!!! I got to page 82 and I was a little confused on the details and I was SO ENGROSSED that I was worried it would end too soon, so I just started over. I have never done that before. It was so super good though. It's a "Must Read!"

the one about catching up

I am so sorry to all of my faithful fans who have been waiting ever-so-patiently to hear updates on my boring life!!! I finally finished my books. My friend Cara has a new series for me to read and I am pretty excited! I have this problem, and from reading my friends blogs, I don't think I am alone. When I start reading a book that is ALL I DO!!! My house goes to crap, dinner doesn't get cooked, no clean clothes and of course, no blogging. I love to get that caught up in a good book though. Even though I love love love to read, I feel like I sorta need a break before I start anything new. I need to get my life put back together!

So I went and registered my tiny baby boy for first grade. :( He is super excited about it, but I'm not. I just can't believe he is getting that big. He is the youngest in his class so he will start 1st grade being only 5! But then he will have a Birthday in a couple of weeks, on the 30th. Which brings me to another thing.. Quayd-er-ade's Birthday Party. He has been insisting that it be at the new rec. center so he can swim with his friends. I thought that was fine so I booked it. He is excited and all is going well in the planning department... but I am a little sad. I love to go all out and have a BIG fun party full of games and activities, etc. So this is going to be super easy. I look forward to this stuff and having only one child, I only get to do it once a year. The rec. center decorates and everything. The only thing I need to bring is cake. Of course I will do some party favors and I stole a super cute invitation idea from Holly, so I will be busy enough I guess. I am such a dork with this stuff. I am going with a fish theme. I thought it would be cute with the swimming thing, and Quayd liked the idea, so all is well. Last year it was all pirates. We had a treasure hunt and everything. Anyway, that will be fun for me to get my planning groove on!

So, I have an announcement (I guess) to make. I decided not to return to work this fall as a lunch lady. It has been a huge stress for me to make this decision. I loved my lunch lady job! I am sad that I won't be doing it anymore. I decided that if I was working, I might as well be making money. There is NO money in lunch lady land! After Tara started working at the Holiday Inn Express it really got me thinking. I worked as a front desk clerk several years ago at a local motel and I loved it. Tara was telling me how desperate they were at Holiday Inn, and I decided to apply. I got the job instantly and I had my first shift last night. I think the schedule will work out well so I can work while Quayd is at school. I only want part time. Three or four shifts per week, and lots more money! Its really a fun job, so far. I work again tonight. Last night was SO busy. I didn't really learn a lot but I am a pro at making room keys and baking cookies. I even answered the phones, not having a clue what to do or say but they were so busy, I felt bad just standing there! I hope this works out. I really want to work in Quayd's classroom and working everyday as a lunch lady doesn't allow me to do that. Now I can, and I will still be able to substitute teach a little bit. Two things I had to give up when I started in lunch lady land. We will see how it all goes. I am excited and nervous.

Remember all of our stupid road construction that I have been complaining about all summer? Well, its still going on and I am still complaining about it. We still have not been receiving our mail!!! The actual road is finished. The landscapers have not come to finish their part yet so I still have dirt for my front yard. The mailboxes don't go in until the landscapers come. ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!! It is making me insane! We still have dirt piled up forever and even though it is totally annoying, the kids LOVE it! They get so dirty and it makes us all crazy, but its also kinda cute how much they love it. I guess I should look at the bright side. It's making them happy and I don't have to water much grass! Anyway, on a few separate occasions, we have been unable to resist the photo opportunities of the three boys (Quayd, Brayden and Brennen) and their pets (Skeet and Fonzie) playing their butts off in the dirt.

the one about my Hiatus

Have you been wondering why I haven't blogged in awhile? Well I have two answers.



AND......



I rushed to Wal-Mart on Friday at midnight to buy "Breaking Dawn." (loser, I know.)

But I wasn't quite finished with "The Host," so I had to finish it up on Saturday. I ended up getting a little sick early Saturday morning and I laid in bed all day. Napping and reading. Now I am very into "Breaking Dawn," but not quite finished, so DON'T RUIN IT FOR ME!!! Reasons for my no blogging, is.... #1, been busy reading. #2, I am scared that I am going to click somewhere and some one is going to give away the ending. So I have been avoiding the computer. Don't worry. I am more than halfway finished and I am having a hard time putting it down, so it won't be long. I just wanted you all to know that I am still alive.... Just waiting for Edward to come and bite me!!!!!

the one about The Host

I borrowed this book from my sister-in-law, Brynn a few weeks ago, but I haven't had the time to dive into it yet. Until Yesterday. Oh my gosh, I LOVE it! I could hardly pull myself away from it to blog about it.

I love Stephanie Meyer's books. She is awesome. I am always amazed at how her imagination works and comes up with these crazy ideas. I am really not big into science fiction and fantasy stuff, but she just has a way of putting it together and making it readable. Her characters are so likeable and you just get so wrapped up in their lives. I am excited for the next book in the Twilight series to come out in August. And I am even more excited for the movie!!!

The problem I have when I start a book, is that the only thing I can do is read! Everything else goes to crap. My house, my laundry, dinner... Really. I can't do anything else. But at the same time, is there anything better than diving into a great book? I don't think so.