Another Christmas has came and went. Today I took down my tree and decorations, and put things away. Before I took down all my cards, I took a few pictures. I want to send out a thank you to those of you I received cards from.
So, thank you............ MaryAlice and Mary, Barbara, Gretchen, Chrissie, Maria, Melissa, DejaBea, Lyn, Kelly, Patty and Ryan, Linda, Sharon, The Locovare's (kids are adorable) Nelishia, Sugar, Christy, Lisa, Noelle, Mare, Pam, Kathy and Idris, LisaJo, Lisa. And a very special lady and her wonderful family across the pond.
Each day when a card or two arrived I would open it up and see who it was from. I smiled everytime and said awwwwww. Jim teased me and said if anymore cards came, we could use them to wallpaper the bathroom, lol. I also got many other cards from family and friends.
One card I mailed out to Marie in Grand Island, Fla was returned. It said Unable to Find. So Marie if you read this I did send you a card, but the post office sent it back to me.
Also above is a pic of Rebecca's indoor playhouse. She has tucked all her toys she got for christmas inside the playhouse, lol. She plays in there for hours.
I guess that is about it. I want to wish all of you a very Happy New Year, good health, much love, and also if you have plans on going out to celebrate the New Year, please, please have a designated driver. I am making Lasagna, salad and garlic bread for New Years dinner. Anyone wanna come? Your always welcome.
Take care my dear family/friends. Have a wonderful week.
Love to all.....................CINDY
With all that has happened over the past week, I didn't really get to use any christmas tags. Hopefully I can get a few put in here tonight. I've been trying to get to alot of your journals, and read all about your christmas. I have seen so many happy smiling faces, delicious looking meals and cute lil pets. I still have 125 journals to read yet, but I will get to them. 
Today I stayed in my Pj's all day. I cleaned my kitchen, folded about 15 loads of laundry and put it away. I was exhausted after that. Jim came home and said to order pizza for dinner so, I didn't have to cook, woohooo. Emma called me earlier. She said Dan was sweating, in alot of pain and was having trouble breathing. She called his doctor and he called in a stronger pain med for Dan. Dan seemed to be a little better after the med got into his system. He had alot of trouble walking today due to the pain he was in. Tomorrow we are giving Emma a little break. Jim and I are taking Rebecca, Marissa, Daniel and Adrianna for the day and going to visit Jim's Grandmom and his parents. Jim's Mom said we're brave in taking all 4 kids, lol. But I figure Emma needs a little break. Having 3 kids at home to care for, and Taking care of Dan and she is sick herself a little breather from the kids will do her good. Besides Jim's Grandmother is 99 years old now, and who knows how much longer she will be with us, and I want the kids to get to know her. Everytime she see's them she has a big smile on her face. I will take my camera and get lots of pictures. Well, I guess that is about it for now. I'm tired and I think I'll read some email then go to bed. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and get some rest from all the celebrating this past week.
Yep, I will. I am taking the morning off from the classroom. Yesterday when I arrived at my daughter's house at 8:20, I had just sat down to a cup of coffee and was holding the baby Adrianna and my cellphone started ringing. It was Phylis, Rebecca's teacher. First thought was oh god my kid was either hurt or sick. It was neither. The teacher was sick and said she wouldn't be in and the substitute called her all frantic. Phylis asked me if I could go in and run her through everything that was suppose to be done. No problem, I know the classroom and I know how it is to be ran. So, I quickly finished my coffee and headed back to the school. The kids were coloring, lol. No worksheets were done, no books read, just coloring. The kids were not asked the day, month, date, year yet. That is something we do every morning. Ok, we got that done. Next was 2 worksheets, done that. It was then time for them to go to lunch. Back from lunch, read a story to the kids. Two more worksheets to do, then a movie was put on. Lady and the Tramp was the choice. Fill out behavior charts, get book bags and put their juice and graham crackers in book bags to take home, get coats and time to go home. What a day it was. I felt like I was the teacher, lol. Then......... earlier in the morning, around 10:00am, another substitute walks in. Her name is Ms. Lucy, an older lady. She was Ukranian. She's from the old school of teachings, very thick accent. You really had to listen to her to know what she was saying. My first opinion, she should not be a teacher of anykind. This teacher threatened to punish these kids, stand them in corner for the day. Ummmm, No I said. In this class we do not do that. We pull a ticket, and at the end of the week if they do not have 3's and 4's only they do not pick a prize from the prize box. Then she starts telling me her son works for the FBI, and makes 88.00 an hour, that she herself is an artist, that she has a medical degree, and that......get this one, she cannot get a teaching certificate in Philadelphia, for reasons she does not know why. Ok, now if you do not have a teaching certificate why are you allowed to be a substitute teacher? Something about her just wasn't right. All she did the whole day was sit and draw and yell at these children. She was actually making me mad and also the other substitute also. We wereglad when she never came back to the room after the kids returned from Library. Phylis is absent today again. I tried to call her this morning to see how she is and got her voicemail. I left her a message to call me. Hopefully she'll be back tomorrow and the classroom will get back to normal. 
Nelishia thank you so much for making these for me. I love them. And my granddaughter and my lil great-niece are gonna look so cute in them.
CINDY
Introducing the newest addition to my family. This beautiful baby girl is the daughter of my niece Donna who lives in Virginia. This is Skylar Avery Turner. She was born November 11th. Weighing in at 7lbs 14oz and 21 inches long. Mother and daughter are doing fine. Donna says she is such a good baby. Donna and Danny congrats to you on bringing such a beautiful baby girl into this world. And Anthony, congrats on becoming a big brother. And to the grandma (my Sister Lucy) congrats grandma, how many grandkids now? Oh yea, 9 of them. Donna gave me permission to add her baby into my journal. Thank you Donna, love ya kiddo. Give Sky kisses for me.
Ahhhhhh, there it is. I really need it tonight. I have had a totally exhausting, frustrating ,noisey weekend. You'd think I would want to rest after the 2 days of cooking thanksgiving dinner, then cleaning up all the mess the following day. Did I rest? Nope not one bit. I am drained. I feel like I am winding down like some old clock that needs to be wound, but someone forgot to do it. So, let's see. Yesterday I take Rebecca to the hair salon to have her hair trimmed once more so I can then let it grow back long again. The child talked and talked and had everyone in the salon rolling with laughter. She even sang 3 songs to them. $15.00 later we leave the salon, and I go to my daughter Emma's to see if she wanted to go to the thrift store with me. Dan was at work, and so was his brother Bill, so Emma couldn't go. So, I take my granddaughter Marissa along with Rebecca and I. We go to the thrift store. Before entering the store I warn them. No running around, no touching anything. Stay by me at all times. Did they listen? HAHAHAHAHA, yea right. A few arm grabs and harsh threats, and 20.94 later I left the store with a jacket, 6 shirts, christmas table cover, and 6 nice big bath towels. Ok, now, walk out of store go to get in car, Marissa says, mommom can we eat lunch, we're hungry. Ok, can't have hungry kids, so walk across street and get Happy Meals at McDonalds along with a Fish sandwich and cup of coffee for me. Dang Happy Meals got Shrek toys in them. The Donkey ones. Put cards in slot, press tail and cards shoot out all over the table and floor. Rebecca slides under table to get cards, and yells, Mommy, there's a million pieces of gum under the table. Ut Oh, real quick, get out from under the table and DO NOT TOUCH THAT GUM!!!! Whew she listened. Hurried them out of there, but not before telling the manager about the gum. How gross, yuck. So we head to KMart. Again I warn the girls. Stay by me at all times. Do not leave my side. They listened, somewhat. I started shopping. Got my brother a pair of workboots, 2 pr's jeans, long underwear shirt, also got Jim 2 pr jeans. Hey 8 bucks a pair, I couldn't pass up that deal. Then I spotted women's flannel pajamas, 16.99. But it was buy one get one free. HELLO!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, got myself 2 pr for only 16.99, woooohoooooooooo. My cousin gave me a pair a couple years ago for christmas and I loved them, also wore them out. So, 2 pair for the price of one worked for me. Ok, so I then decide to go look at the christmas display. I want a white artificial tree this year. They had a 4 1/2 ft white one, 69.99, no way. I'm not paying that much for it. I'll look elsewhere. So, Marissa and Rebecca are fasinated at the animated lawn ornaments that light up. There was an igloo, Winnie the Pooh, reindeer and Polar bears. After repeating myself at least 5 times saying, Ok girls I'm done, let's go, they finally follow me, but not before Marissa trips and knocks over at least 300 boxes of ornament hooks from a cardboard display. The 3 of us and a man pick all the boxes up and put them back on the display stand. By now my head is pounding, I am breaking out in a sweat and I just wanna leave. So we start walking towards front of store to register's so I can pay for my items and leave. As we're walking towards register's my wonderful perfect little angel......NOT, lol Daughter starts yelling very loudly. Quick, everybody get out of the store, there's a bear in here. There's a bear in the store, everybody get out now. People were saying a bear? Where? Rebecca says, It's in the christmas tree's, you gotta get out of the store now. I looked at people shaking my head and saying, I do not know these children. I am taking them back where I found them. Marissa says, Mommom, you do to know us, grrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I paid for my items as quick as I could and got out of that store. By the time I got them seated and belted, bags in van and sat down in driver's seat I did not know whether to scream, cry or laugh. I sat for a few minutes, then called Emma and told her to put a pot of coffee on. I got to her house and drank 3 cups. Did my frustration go away? Nope. Beings I am such a nice person I bring Marissa home with us for a sleepover. Why do I punish myself? Jim had the kitchen and livingroom cleaned spotless. I ordered pizza for dinner, so not to dirty the kitchen. I was just too tired to clean up if I cooked. No more then 10 minutes the livingroom was trashed. These girls got into the craft box of Rebecca's and cut a million tiny pieces of paper up and it was all over the floor, crayon's, markers, coloring books, everywhere. After pizza was eatten, their butt's cleaned the floor. I put them to bed at 9pm. Well finally around 11pm they fell asleep. 7am I wake up. There is the girls in the kitchen eatting applesauce and jello and milk. Yum great breakfast huh? Jimhad mopped the floor when me and the girls were out yesterday. Guess what? It had to be mopped again. There was jello all over the floor and applesauce all over the table. Noon came I was dressed, told Marissa to get her things and home I took her. I stayed at Emma's a bit and put Daniel down for a nap and he;d my granddaughter Adrianna for a while until she fell asleep in my arms and I laid her back down to nap. I had 2 cups of coffee and came home. Jim, Joe and Rebecca were outside raking and bagging up leaves. I came upstairs to my apartment, put a roast in the oven, and folded about a zillion loads of clean laundry and put it all away. I am so glad that job is done. Dinner was great. Roast beef, mashed taters, gravy and a big salad and baked bread. Rebecca got a bath and is in bed sleeping and Jim is over at a friend of his house with all the guys from work watching the game. Eagles vs Patriots. He said he'll be home at half time. Right now I am going to jump in the shower, put on my flannel PJ's then play some POGO for a while, before I go to bed. Back to school tomorrow, woooooohoooooooo. 
Happy Thanksgiving everybody. I hope today is filled with love, laughter, family, friends and lots of tasty food to fill your belly. My turkey is stuffed and in the oven now. And when I make this entry I will start on the remaining menu of my dinner today. I also have to remember to clear out my camera so I can take pictures today. 
