What a Summer!

Wow! I can't believe that we are in the first week of August. I obviously have been awful about blogging this summer. I have spent most of my time at the lake. The kids have grown so much.

Noah is now a swimmer! After a summer of lessons he is jumping off in the deep end and swimming to the ladder. This makes swimming with him so much more enjoyable. He is swimming on his own in the lake too, but with a life jacket. I have great pictures on Facebook.

Natalie has grown a ton! She's still not talking as much as Noah was at her age, but the doctor says her hearing is above normal and Noah is just talking for her so she doesn't feel the need to. She's going to start going to the same school that Noah goes to later this month. I think it's going to be hard at first, but she'll love it!

As for me, I've been making cakes this summer! I'm including a picture of my favorite one. I made it for a bachelorette party. I also have been able to spend some time away from the kids this summer, which is always nice. I went to Dallas and had a TON of fun with my awesome friends and snuck in an Aerosmith and ZZ Top concert while I was there.

Just this past weekend we had a child free weekend at the lake with all of my friends. Great times. I'll be starting work in a week and a half. It's a bitter-sweet feeling...

Jeff is starting his masters this month. I'm dreading it but I'm glad he's getting it done.

Well, I feel like I have just rambled on. I hear Natalie so I better post this and get out of the basement!

Memorial Day Pics and Other Junk

Lauren and I

These are pictures from Lauren's camera. I have some on mine but I'm too lazy to download them. These were taken at someone elses house, where we had dinner. I feel like it's been forever since I've written. Natalie had her baby pageant and came in first in photo and in the beauty pageant all in her age division of course. Her personality is really starting to shine. I call her my organizer...I'll be missing things because she puts them where she thinks they belong. She so funny.

Noah is getting so big. Over Memorial Day weekend he figured out how to go over the cattle guard in his Power Wheel Jeep, start the "mule" and put it into gear, and run golf carts into peoples cars! He has a thing for cars, and I guess he comes by it honestly. He starts swimming lessons tomorrow. He took private lessons last year so I'm not too worried about him.

Today is my first official day off. I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off, but I'll get into a routine just in time to go back to work. When Noah gets done with swimming lessons I plan on going to the lake for a while.

I also finished a one month course on cake decorating. It was really fun and I learned a lot. I'll try to post some pics of my cakes. I plan on taking the level two class in the fall.

Well, I guess that's a quick enough update. I hear Natalie on the monitor!

Just An Update

I have thirteen days left in my fourth year of teaching! I attended the eighth grade banquet on Friday night. It was really nice to see all of the kids dressed up. I can remember mine like it was yesterday. I'm glad I stuck around a while to hang out with some of them.

In other news, there should be no such thing as terrible twos...Three is worse. Noah is learning how to push the limits. He's driving me crazy one minute and then he's the perfect child the next. I'm ready for this stage to pass. Natalie is sick right now with an awful cough! I didn't sleep more than two hours last night. She needs to get well soon. Next Sunday is a big day for her. She won first place in her age group in the Lubbock Baby Pageant so next Sunday she'll be competing against the other first place winners for cutest overall! She also won first place in the photo competition with the angel picture, and cutest curls award!

Candice and I are out of ideas for my dad for Father's Day. So.....We had our pictures taken professionally. He doesn't now it yet, but this is his Father's Day present.

I hope all is well with everyone!

Happy Mother's Day!

Burned Out!

I guess it's just "that time of the year". I think I'm officially burned out. We have five weeks left of school and the kids have "checked out" so to speak. They are physically there, but not mentally. We have our state exams next week and I know that after that discipline will go up and averages will go down. There is just not much that I can do about that. It's frustrating because we are expected to fail only so many students, but like I have said in the past, I refuse to pass a student who doesn't deserve to pass. With all this being said, if anyone has any ideas on how to motivate seventh and eighth graders the last month of school give me a shout!

I've got the lake itch really bad. I'm ready to go! Natalie is walking now, which will make my summer a lot easier for the most part. Tonight we played in the backyard and I didn't have to carry her anywhere! She played all by herself. Awesomeness. She's only taking one bottle, at night. I love giving it to her and it's me that's not letting go. We are not going to have anymore children so I'm holding to the last parts of her being a baby. She has a beauty pageant coming up this Sunday that I'm really excited about, so wish us luck with that!

Noah is also doing well. He's been fully potty trained now for a little over a month. He loves school so I'm going to let him keep going this summer. He's gotten so easy and it really makes me look forward to the future. Last summer was just really hard for us.

Well, I think I need to fold some laundry or do something productive...

Easter!

We had a great Easter! It was Natalie's first. She was actually kind of fussy so you'll see some paci action in some of these pictures. Natalie was walking some on Sunday, but today she really took off! Noah also started walking on April 14th two years ago. Weird huh? You can also tell her hair is really thickening up...I'm out of energy to write a good blog. I hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

My Mom, Noah, and I

Natalie's First Letter

Princess Natalie,

It was just a few days away from Thanksgiving. Your father and I sat in the waiting room anxiously waiting to be called back. We were finally going to find out if we were going to have a boy or a girl.
I didn’t have to ask myself whether or not I would love you. It didn’t matter what you were, I knew that I would love you without doubts, questions, or expectations. The sonogram technician rolled over my stomach several times before she finally asked “Do you want to know what you are having?”
I said “Well, of course!”
When she said we were having a girl I could immediately feel myself holding back tears, tears of joy. I’m not much to cry in front of others. Well, try as I might it wasn’t happening, tears seemed to spring from my eyes. I was already so full of love for your brother, but at that very moment my heart expanded.
Five months later, you were finally placed in my arms. Your perfection was literally breath-taking. You were, and still are, an amazing baby, always so content.
Within a few months your dark eyes shifted into the clearest, purest, blue that I have ever seen. I immediately became infatuated with them, and they still have me hypnotized today. To me your beauty is indescribable.
Of course another perk to having you is the shopping. I’ve actually gotten in a lot of trouble over the money that I’ve spent on you. Every beautiful dress, crazy bow, cute shoes, and adorable outfit just has to belong to you! We have many of those days to come, just don’t tell your father!
If you ask the people I work with, they will tell you that I cannot wait to get home from work and see you. My heart aches when I’m not with you. Natalie, I love you so much and I’m so VERY proud to be your mother. You have changed my life for the better and I thank God for you everyday. I’m looking forward to the year to come. I’m so excited that I get to be a part of your life. Happy first birthday my princess.

Love,

Mom

I wrote this letter to Noah for his third birthday, but it's been on my Mom's computer and I just haven't gotten around to going over there and getting it to put on here! Anyway, here it is:

My Prince Noah, February 22, 2009

I don’t know if anyone will ever be able to put into words what love truly is. Shortly after your second birthday your sister joined us. There were many times that I wondered how I would be able to love both of you as much as I do now. Within a short period of time I just realized that God had the ability to stretch my heart to fit my love for the both of you. In a way I guess he was showing me how much he loves us. Who knew it would expand even more?
Yesterday morning your father left you and me in bed together when he left for work. I woke up about 8:15, surprised that your sister was letting us sleep in so late! I rolled over and put my arms around you. I was sure that you were dead asleep, but you softly spoke. You whispered, “I love you Mommy, very much.”
I’m sure that my heart grew at least twice its size! It’s not that you had never told me that you loved me, it’s just the way you said it! Then you rolled over, blinked several times, smiled, and exclaimed “It’s Saturday!”
I guess you saw that it was daylight out and I wasn’t leaving for work. We got up, got ready, and Lauren and I took you for your favorite meal at Yamagata’s.
Over this past year you have done so many things that are so memorable. I wish I had enough time and ink to write them all down. All of these things have shown me how fast you are going to grow up right before my very eyes. One thing you need to realize is that no matter how old you get you will always, always, be my baby boy. So, go ahead and grow up, but don’t forget that I will always expect you to be as lovable as you are on this very day.
In a few weeks you will be turning three and I’m excited to see the changes that will come for you, my Prince, in the following year.
Love,
Mom

It's Really Been Three Weeks?

I can't believe it's been three weeks since I have written! Jeff and I were out of pocket for almost ten days. We celebrated our ten-year anniversary by taking a cruise in the Caribbean. It was unbelievable, but I'm really tired. I missed my kids too!

Below I have posted some pictures from Natalie's one-year-old photo shoot. I am really impressed with her pictures. Her actual birthday is on April first. Well, I'm off to bed. I have to catch up on some sleep!

Noah's Turns Three!

This one is my favorite!

Natalie really wasn't supposed to be getting her pictures made. Her's are next weekend.

Crawling away.

I wasn't supposed to be in any! I didn't even have any lipstick on.

Fight Raiders Fight! He almost knows the whole fight song!

My All-American Boy!

Crack me up!

Noah had his three-year-old pictures made yesterday. He will be three on March tenth. Time has gone by so fast. Natalie was asleep most of the time, but when she woke up a few shots ended up in her direction. Then some how I got stuck in the way too. Oh well. Her actual pictures are next weekend and I just can't wait. Amber Kirk is just awesome.

Should We Let Them Fail?

I always despised my peers that copied off of each other in college. What if those same people went on to be my doctor one day, or even worse one of my kids' doctors? I would hate to think that they cheated their way through med school. What if they did just enough to get by and the professors just passed them?

Educators are faced with many controversial topics. One of them is passing students on when they don't deserve it. I personally feel that a student should get the grade they deserve. If they got a 65 for the year, I'm sorry, but they have failed and they deserve to complete the grade over. When a student is in the fifth and eight grades they are supposed to pass a state test before they can move on to the next grade. They have three chances to pass it. Very few are actually held back. The students have figured out the system and many of them literally do not care if they pass their classes, because they know that if they go to three weeks of summer school, just show up, they will be passed on.

Some of the teachers give them the seventy because they know that failing them isn't going to make a difference anyway. I'm not a cold hearted woman, I do pass students who have 69s in my class, and sometimes even a 68 will get bumped up if I have observed that the student was really trying.

As a parent I want to know what my child's real grade is. I don't want Noah and Natalie to be passed just because...I want to know what their real grades are.

I just hope that my doctors, veterinarians, engineers, teachers, nurses, pharmacists, and so on were not just passed just because...

I'm done with my soap box for today....

Miss Independent and Mr. Lovey Dovey

Natalie stole one of Noah's balls and she was playing with it. Noah wasn't too happy about that.


Natalie wants to play outside!


My sweet boy!
Playing with the monitor. Crazy girl.

I've decided that Noah and Natalie might just be opposites. When Noah was born he had really bad colic. He cried a lot and he had to be held all of the time. He will be three in a few weeks and he still loves to be held. When we put him in our laps he'll play with our faces in a loving way. He loves to give bear, bee, and cat hugs, making the noises as he hugs you. You have to give him a kiss and an Eskimo kiss too, or you can't leave the house. He's content laying on the couch in the evenings and cuddling with me. On weekend mornings he loves to get in bed with us and fall back asleep. He'll cuddle right up against us. He's my lovey dovey.

Natalie is so different! She's trying to learn to walk and she's Miss Independent! She wants to be down on the floor and into something at all times. She really doesn't prefer to just be held unless she wants to be rocked to sleep. She puts EVERYTHING in her mouth. I've lost her several times and I'll find her in places such as the pantry and Noah's closet. She LOVES my shoes. She goes into my closet, pulls up on the shelf, and walks the shelves until she's pulled down all of my shoes. She wants to eat our food and she prefers to hold her own spoon.
She is definitely my Miss Independent!

The "Man Cave"

Right now I'm sitting in the "man cave" and I'm being questioned because I'm not watching the big ass television, I'm on my computer.
Yes, my house officially has a man cave. Over the weekend my basement magically gained a sleeper sofa, club chair, ottoman, new surround sound, and oh yes, a big screen. I guess we have been married ten years so it was only a matter of time before this happened. Not only have I lost my husband to the man cave I have lost my three-year-old son too. Superman and Speedracer are just not as good unless they are watched in the man cave. Just ask Noah.
(You might just catch me watching Gone In 60 Seconds down there.)
I guess it's not too bad...

In other Sweat family news, Noah is almost potty trained! He is doing so good. He has a giant Spiderman that he takes with him to the potty when we are at home and he has to go potty first before Noah will. I get so tickled at him. He loves his baby sister, but on Sunday Morning we were all laying in our bed and Natalie started crawling on Noah. Noah turned to her and said "Natalie, you are driving me nuts!" I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.
Natalie is talking and cruising around the furniture. She should be walking in no time! I love my babies so much it's indescribable. They are my life and I wouldn't change anything about them. God knew what he was doing when he blessed me with my two "munchkins."

The next big upcoming event is Noah's party. He's having a Pirate Ship party! I can't wait. I love planning the kids parties. Then Natalie has her one-year pictures. I bought her some angel wings. I can't wait for Amber to work her photography magic!

I hope that everyone has a good rest of the week!

I'm Moving

I've made a decision. As soon as school let's out in 16 weeks, I'm packing up my stuff and I'm out of here.

I miss the lake so much that my heart aches. Almost every song that I hear reminds me of it. If I eat anything that we ate this past summer I think of the lake. I miss waking up and giving Natalie her bottle on the front porch as the sun comes up. I miss watching the sun go down as the water calms down for for the evening and turns into a glass-like state. I can't wait to have the boat dock rock me to sleep.

I miss the jet skis and laying out on the back of the boat. I can't wait to watch Noah play on the edge of our land and splash in the water. I can't wait to swim with him off the boat dock.

Natalie will be walking this year so she can play in the water too!

Possum Kingdom is my get away, my release. After the May days are gone so am I. If you want to find me then head to PK!

P.S. ACDC rocked our faces off!

What the Doc Says...

Well, I got the results back from my lab and the doctor says I'm normal, at least my blood is anyway. The only thing is that she wants me to go on a low dose anti-depressant for stress. Don't get me wrong, many people take these drugs and they help them out a lot. I just know of too many people that have been changed in a negative why because of them. I have made the decision to deal with my stress without drugs.

Natalie stopped throwing up over the weekend but she was diagnosed with RSV on Monday. The doctor thinks she may have caught it in the hospital last week. Now we have to give her breathing treatments every three to four hours. She's much better today though.

I'm looking forward to my weekend of freedom in Dallas.

Have a great evening.

Exhausted!

This is Natalie on New Years Day at nine months old!

My head feels like a ten pound bowling ball right now. I'm so tired that my head could fall on this keyboard and I think I'd sleep.


I think this all started on Sunday. Natalie started throwing up Sunday night. My parents usually help us a whole lot but they are on a cruise, so I had to stay home from work with her. I HATE missing work. Anyway, she continued to throw up and by Wednesday night my pediatrician sent us to the hospital for IV fluids. The thought of needles makes my head spin and having them hold down my daughter and put one in her tiny hand was much worse. I cried too.


Anyway, she seems to be doing better so I hope that we are over the worst of that mess.

As for me, I had to go get my blood drawn yesterday. I've lost almost fifteen pounds in less than a month and I'm not dieting or working out. My size fours are falling off of me. I'm also losing my hair, and walking around in a zombie like state. My mom thinks I might have a thyroid issue so I'm getting it checked out. I should know the results of that next week.

I have to put things in perspective and remember that God is the Captain of my ship and he's not going to lead me into a storm that he can't bring me out of.


I do have several things that I'm looking forward to. A week from today I'll be seeing ACDC! The second best band ever, next to Aerosmith. I'm looking forward to seeing my "Dallas" friends and having a weekend away. Then Jeffery and I will have our ten year anniversary on February the sixth. Noah's birthday party is the first weekend in March and Natalie's is the first weekend in April, and then of course there's our CRUISE over spring break.

Hopefully I can keep myself and everyone else well so I can enjoy these things.


Oh, and since Christmas I have given in and started reading the Twilight series. My kids at school are all over that stuff! I'm just finishing the third book. Needless to say I'm addicted!


I hope you all have a good weekend!

Not Well Thought Out

Well, I feel like such a slacker! I was off for two weeks and didn't get a post in. I really want to post some more pictures of the kids but blogspot doesn't make it easy. If you have myspace or facebook check them out there.
Anyway, I'm back at work today and I have six minutes left in my conference. I just thought I'd let everyone know that we did have an awesome Christmas. Noah was so much fun! Yesterday as we were driving down the road he said "What's wrong?"
I responded with "What's wrong with what baby?"
He said "Where are all the Christmas lights?"
It was so sad. It makes me want to do it all over again just for him.

January sucks. Jeffery has inventory and he has to work a lot and there's just not a whole lot going on. We have our cruise in two months so at least we are getting closer to that. The kids are not ready to be back. It's going to take a few weeks to get everyone back in the swing of things. I'm sad to say that I'm already ready for summer!

Well, this was quick and not well thought out. I hope everyone has a great day. I have two minutes left of freedom.