30/365

Another 2 hr delay. We could get used to this. Relaxing mornings, extra cups of coffee, sitting down to eat breakfast, a load of laundry or 2 before school.
We saw the SUN for most of the day - still cold, but the sun shining on all that ice was just beautiful!
My mom was the mystery reader in Morgan's second grade class today. His teacher took pictures for me! TGIF!

29/365

We've still got a ton of snow + ice all around - no melting going on so 2 hour delay today. We enjoyed a nice relaxing morning. My classroom has a drain the runs down in front of one of the windows which must be frozen, then overflowed so I have a pretty ice + water feature. This afternoon we met Grandma + Grandpa at Tim Hortons/Wendys to chat and eat dinner + a treat. Tonight Morgan had to finish up his book project creating his character Ricky.

28/365

Snow day #2 in a row! What interesting weather. When we went to bed it had been sleeting - frozen ice falling from the sky, but when we woke up it was freezing rain - liquid precip that freezes on everything, then by 6:20am - it was snowing - big flully flakes of snow. We got a TON! The kids really enjoyed playing in it several different times today! I made some potato cheese soup to warm us up for lunch + took lots of pictures!

27/365

Yipee a snow day! Fun for ALL of us. Enjoyed a *bonus* day off. Got lots done too! House picked up, laundry ALL done, reorganized the toys in the basement, caught up with more friends on Facebook, took lots of pictures, and more! We wandered over to the park this morning - Bill didn't go with us the other day. It really is pretty all covered in snow. We'll see what tonight + tomorrow bring - maybe another!!

Check out that raspberry I found in my bowl!

26/365

Just a normal day...
Allison coloring + playing with babies, etc
Morgan creating things
Bill reading
Cherie making dinner + taking pictures of it all

Morgan found this blue masking tape and began making this thing, complete with a name - I can't remember, and now has more body parts! He's kind of like MacGyver!

At one point I was doing laundry or dishes and Allison came to find me and said "Mommy you've got to come take a picture of this! Hello Kitty is Santa + the babies are telling her what they want."

They crack me up!

25/365

One of the things Bill + I did yesterday was go buy Morgan a new bike. He has totally warn out his old one + needed a bigger one. Several different times today we were outside enjoying the snow. It was too cold to stay out for long, but they kids really enjoy it. We walked over to the park to check out the creek - a bit frozen. He rode his bike some, before the snow accumulated too much.

24/365

We started off with a 8AM basketball game today. Allison was so excited to play with one of the boys little sisters. She even packed coloring books and crayons so they could all color. The kids then headed home with Grandma + Grandpa, while Bill + I got some things done around the house. Mom + Dad got a Wii - Matt + Tracy helped get it all set up and we made our Mii. For dinner we went to Uncle Butch & Aunt Joan's for pizza and to see my cousin Mark and his wife - they're moving from the DC area to Colorado. Morgan got a new baseball glove too!

23/365

TGIF! I think this was the longest short week in history. With then end of the quarter + semester Bill and I both had progress reports + comments, etc!
We had to get a shot of the shrinking snowman, still cute, but much skinnier today. It got up to almost 50 degrees so we enjoyed a nice bike ride and some outside play not all bundled up after school. Morgan had his first baseball workout/practice tonight so Allison and I went to Flower Factory to look around. They seem to be getting more and more scrapbooking stuff - including the American Crafts 3 ring albums I like!

22/365

Beautiful day - much warmer so our snow is almost gone - perfect day to play outside in it! Allison's idea to build the snowman this time!

21/365

Wednesday - working on progress reports tonight for students I work with - about 52 of them!! Normal day, normal evening. School/work, some play time, dinner, homework, a bit more play, basketball practice, bed!

20/365

Inauguration Day

What a day, to watch history unfold...pretty cool! I actually watched the coverage on CNN during lunch starting a little after 11AM. It was neat to see all the former Presidents, VPs and others take their spots. By the time of the swearing in + speech I was watching in a classroom full of about 80 second graders (including my son) + teachers + aides. We had it projected nice and big so everyone could see well. I'm pretty sure most second graders don't get the deeper meaning of the moment, but they were pretty excited to see our new President! Pretty much the whole school watched in different rooms around the school, definitly a teachable moment. After school we came home to find the parade was running behind, which worked out for us. We got to watch it together and talk about what was going on. I've been to DC several times, but we haven't taken the kids yet. Watching this all unfold makes me want to take them NOW -well, maybe this summer?! Being a teacher is actually what has gotten me more interested in politics in recent years (I have voted every single time - Nov + any special elections since I turned 18 in 1992!) NCLB (No Child Left Behind) and all of its unfunded mandates, the mess of school funding (especially in Ohio) plus this awesome time of Hillary v. Obama, what fun it's been! ....back to watch more CNN before bed!

Check it out...
This is cool. This too! One more!

19/365

MLK Jr. Day

After a nice morning at home we headed to lunch at Wendy's with Grandma + Grandpa before going to see the Tale of Despereaux. Cute movie! Grandma + Grandpa hung out and played some games after the movie too!

18/365

We woke up to a dusting of fresh snow this morning, just makes everything beautiful. Read the paper, cut coupons, baked some muffins + banana nut chocolate chip bread, shopped a little, got a new DS game, chopped some wood = full Sunday!

17/365

Allison and I got haircuts this morning so we visited with Grandma + Grandpa too. Got to see more bird including a boy + girl cardinal! Then they came to Morgan's basketball game. We ran to Target + Lowe's this evening and Bill had to stop at the running store to check out the sales.

16/365

No school today! Hooray! We started off on a 2 hour delay, but got the call by 7:30AM that school was canceled for the day because of extreme cold! This morning it was around -13 degrees but the windchill made it feel like -30ish! I had planned to crop at a local scrapbook store with friends after work and since we're all teachers we met a bit earlier. I worked on pages for my kids albums - still need to journal.

15/365

2 hour delay! Yea! Slippery enough they wanted to start school 2 hours later! Makes for a nice relaxing, extra cup of coffee, sit down + read the WHOLE paper morning & our school day goes super fast! Getting bitter cold, so keeping that fire going too. Hoping for more snow, but all we're going to get is colder!

14/365

We watched it snow all day long at school today. We got between 2 -3 inches, not much, but enough to play in for a while. It is going to get dangerously cold the next few days - so we spent some time enjoying the white stuff!!

13/365

Morgan's into making all of these drawings, well actually I think I'd call them sketches. Fitting the books he checked of from the school library! Allison on the other hand, just wants to be doing what I'm doing. I was cutting out coupons so... she is cutting out the other ones!

12/365

We're still trying to decide what bike to get Morgan, how big, how much, etc. My sister gave him her old camera when she got a new one about a year ago and it is the best toy! He especially loves taking little movies. It's pretty cool!
Since Morgan goes to the school where I teach, he rides with me, which means time before and after school he as to find something to do. Today he build an interesting creation out of cubes.

Got the Project 365 kit today and it is COOL. I'm not going to talk about it much because it was a hassle. I got online right when they were to go on sale and just kept clicking refresh for like 45 minutes until I finally got through. At that time when I placed my order it said pre-order, but then I got an email a few days later saying I was actually getting one. I'm just lucky this time + I was home and able to sit at my computer for a while. (Thanks Bill!)

I started with Jan 1st, since I was finishing up my 365+1 self portraits project Dec 31st. So... I decided to use the title page for my first 4 pics too. Then start the 2 page layout for the first full week starting on Mondays from here on out. I did not realize how many times I take tall rather than wide photos, but luckily in Picasa3 I can often crop/edit to which ever is needed. Cut and pasted some journaling from this blog and just printed on cardstock - still need to add a little something to my plain journaling blocks, but hey I'm done through Sunday and it's only Tuesday!! I might have to hunt for some of these pocket pages for my kids albums!!

11/365

I teach my daughter's (3 + 4 year olds) Sunday school class 2 Sundays a month. It's been a bit crazy because I've had 14, 15 or even 18 kids! Some of the lessons are a bit hard to get little guys to understand, add a few little ones who are not listening, only 1 middle schooler as a helper, and try to do a craft or activity. Whew! It was a little difficult today, but she LOVES when I'm her teacher.

Met my parents this morning to get the kids back. We have a spot, a Tim Hortons, that is almost 1/2 way - well, it's closer for me, that we meet. After church Bill built us a fire, we went to look at bikes for Morgan, then watched Space Chimps. It started to snow this really light fluffy snow around 7:30 pm. Yay - Allison had to check it out for a few minutes. Looks like we might get some more snow this week. We haven't had enought to shovel yet and the kids + I would like some!!

10/365

Today was his first basketball game of the season - got pictures taken too.

We started out the day a bit icy, then it was rainy, then foggy, then DRY?!? Where was the snow - guess it went farther north, but we really wanted some - they said we'd get some! Oh well, I'm sure our time will come.

The kids ended up spending the night with Grandma + Grandpa tonight so Bill and I went out to dinner, then just hung out at home in the peace and quiet.

9/365

TGIF! We just had a low key evening at home, except for I went grocery shopping. We are possibly getting ice/snow overnight and on Saturday and we needed milk, eggs, etc. The kids just played. They're into making forts, and getting out ALL the stuffed animals for things. We had a beautiful colorful sunset - that is the view out my front door.

Another is a view of part of my kitchen since I spent the evening cooking dinner, emptying the dishwasher + reloading it, washing pots + pans, sweeping the floor, putting away groceries, + just putting stuff away! We all spend quite a bit of time in the kitchen - thanks to my hubby redoing it after we moved in several years ago!

8/365

Ok, so I really am picking one picture a day. They are posted posted on Flickr in a set called 2009: The year in pictures. Since I have SO much trouble, most days, deciding on which picture will be the ONE I decided here I would post little collages. I actually make them in Picasa3, free photo editing software from Google. It's great for me since getting and learning how to use Photoshop are still on my list of things to do! I just got a new camera for Christmas from my hubby + kids - a Nikon D60!! So right now I am still playing with it and the settings, etc. I have so much to learn, luckily it does a pretty awesome job on its own in AUTO!
So you might be wondering, what are those kids dressed up as....Well he is Captain Underpants (wearing 2 pair of underwear over his pants) and she is Pirate Al (not to be confused with Allison, in her brother's Halloween costume) with the spy gear binoculars to be on the lookout. We made a trip to Target while Daddy was at class this evening and they both picked out new notebooks to buy with a little cash they've been saving. So they drew and colored away with their new markers + crayons from Santa.

7/365

Whew, it's Wednesday. I could surely tell that everyone went to bed early last night because we were all so happy. It lightly snowed most of the day - the kind that sticks to the grass, but not really to the road. Allison was so excited to play in the snow. She ran all over the yard watching her footprints and making tracks. She made snow angels, ran around with her tongue hanging otu trying to catch snowflakes, threw snowballs at me, and was just generally thrilled - didn't even care that she was getting a bit cold + wet - big change from last year. We ate dinner, then played some games. Santa brought the travel versions of Sorry + Battleship - which are nice because the games are shorter! Morgan had his late basketball practice tonight too. I love the snow and want more, more, more!!

6/365

Today we were all feeling it - the tiredness of getting up early, going to school, working + I stayed up to watch the Buckeyes last night. We took it easy and watched some TV + ate McDonalds. The kids were BOTH in bed and asleep early. Hopefully tomorrow we will all be happier + more rested and adjusted to the normal routine.
We got freezing rain or rain for most of the day so there was a light coat of ice on many things. Made for some cool pictures. I'll still playing with my new Nikon D60.

5/365 - Monday - Fiesta Bowl

Our beloved Buckeyes got to play in another BCS bowl game yesterday and well at least this time it was close - very close and to the very end we were in it. Still wish we would have won!
Guitar Hero for the DS is something we're all trying out lately. Bill is excellent, Morgan is pretty good, and Allison and I, well we stink! It's still pretty fun + funny to hear the kids singing some old songs!
Grandma + Grandpa brought Morgan back a yo-yo from Florida and he has played and played with it and can now do a few little moves, etc.
Today was also back to school for all of us. Bill + I are both teachers in the same school system our son attends so we love our time off together, but the first few days back are a killer!

Our last day...

Sunday, our last day of winter break. After church + lunch we headed over to Grandma + Grandpa's to play and visit a bit - they're just back from a week in Destin, FL. The kids were excited to see them. We played some games and drew some animals! Bill and Morgan went by Dick's to check out the bikes - he is going to need a new one come bike riding season again. We had soup + grilled cheese for dinner and just hung out and relished in our last evening before school starts for all of us tomorrow. Got the kids in bed just a little early tonight - well at least Morgan was asleep by 7:45 or so, his sister, still awake now (10:00)!! I'm off to bed a little early too so I can be ready for my day tomorrow.

Saturday Fun

We headed over to my parent's house to visit with Winnie + Pookie, my sister's dogs. The kids just LOVE them! We got to see the Red Tailed Hawk and I snapped a couple quick pictures. Allison discovered the tub of Morgan's Thomas trains and tracks so they set to building a cool track and played with it together for quite a while this evening! Only one more day before heading back to school!

2009 day 2

We had a nice relaxing morning - this sleeping later thing is going to make Monday HARD! I was off to scrapbook at a local scrapbook store with some friends for the day. We worked on layouts, chatted, laughed, and ate yummy Penn Station for dinner.
Bill and the kids ended up going to Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark and hiked around a bit, enjoyed Subway + ice cream too!

A Brand New Year!

Welcome 2009!

We relaxed and spent the day in our pjs sipping coffee or hot chocolate + did some cleaning and organizing both inside and outside too. This is my new home for 2009 - although I will be posting at least 1 picture a day to Snapshots of Us, mostly because I don't want to loose the content from 2008.

My word for this year is cherish. Read more about one little word here.

1 a: to hold dear : feel or show affection for
b: to keep or cultivate with care and affection : nurture
2: to entertain or harbor in the mind deeply and resolutely

synonym: appreciate 1 a: to grasp the nature, worth, quality, or significance of b: to value or admire highly c: to judge with heightened perception or understanding : be fully aware of d: to recognize with gratitude

I like all this word (cherish) encompasses and look forward to cherishing all the people, moments, and whatever else comes my way this year. Another funny tidbit cherish actually share the same root as my name Cherie from French meaning dear.

2009: Here we go!

this morning

this morning, originally uploaded by ccolopy.

enjoying my 2nd, well maybe 3rd cup of coffee - this one a mocha with leftover Christmas marshmallows!
First post to my new 2009 blog! More to come later today.