I am surrounded by the best family and friends. I had to work on my birthday yesterday, and when I got home my mom had helped Brandt and Kylie make me a cake as well as a steak dinner.  It was so nice to not have to worry about going home and trying to figure out what to make for dinner.  Then Lisa Hillier made us dinner tonight-also for my birthday.  Mariah brought it down to us and the kids begged her to stay and eat with us, which she did.  Then they wanted her to have a sleepover.  She was such a great sport and played with them and then read bedtime stories to them until they fell asleep.  Then she and I talked until after 11:00 pm before she headed home.  She is such an amazing girl and I'm so blessed to have her in my life.

Valentine's Parties and Dance

Once again we got up bright and early so the kids could get ready for their class parties, and this time it really happened!  Luckily it was on a Tuesday so I was still able to go and help in both classes as planned.  It was a fun day filled with games and valentine's from classmates and teachers in both classes.  Brandt was so excited to finally be able to have their dance and was even more excited that both my mom and I were able to be there for it.  It was obvious that Mr. Dixon has spent a lot of time teaching them various square dances as well as fun dances like YMCA and the chicken dance.  Buddy's favorite part was the Macarena because the kids were able to go out and get parents and grandparents out of the crowd  to come dance with them.  My mom and I went out with him and it was the LONGEST dance ever-but so fun!!  After that we went and had lunch with Kylie in her class and she was so happy to see that grandma came, too.  I wonder how many more years I'll be able to enjoy going into their classes knowing that they aren't totally embarrassed to be seen with their mother...

Our Valentine's Day went a lot different than I had planned.  This morning was less than boring- starting when Brandt decided to climb into the dog kennel instead of into the car when it was time for me to go to work.  Once he finally got in the car it got even more crazy when he became angry because he wanted candy and I didn't have any. He yelled and hit and threw things and then opened his door and threatened to jump out.  Thankfully I wasn't going very fast yet because he really did jump out! I was almost stopped when he did and there weren't any cars behind me. Because the snow is so deep on the side of the road I couldn't pull the car off the road well, so I quickly parked it and turned on the hazards and ran after him through the deep snow, hoping that Kylie would stay put and not get hit by a car or something.  I was able to get him back in the car and to my mom's and then I cried my way to work.  Usually I'm pretty good at going with the flow and laughing at what I can when it comes to the crazy things my kids do, but this morning was the last straw.  I already struggle with feeling guilty about leaving my children to go to work and it makes it harder when they are acting out, especially when I know it is because something is stressing them out.  This last week has been a hard one for Brandt as he is trying to deal with something that he saw that wasn't appropriate for an adult to look at, let alone a child.  He has been agitated and extra naughty so I think it is bothering him more than he has let on-he just doesn't know how to communicate his frustrations very well.  His counselor, Shaun, has already seen him once this week and I am wishing he could have had another appointment today-well, either him or me that is.  Tonight ended better for which I was very grateful.  The kids had fun playing Twister and wrestling and I was happy to sit back and watch them. For at least that small amount of time everything was good in our world and it helped me gear up to face another day.

SNOW/ICE DAY

Brandt was so excited to go to school today and have his class Valentine's party and the school dance. I took the day off and was looking forward to helping with Valentine's parties in both kids' classes. Buddy gave Bryce and me a little preview of some of his dance moves that Mr Dixon has been teaching him, including YMCA and The Macarena. He got dressed super fast (never happens before school) and was ready to head out the door before it was even time for the bus to get there. It rained last night and the driveway was icy, so he slipped and slid all the way to the bus.  About 20 minutes later I got a call from Bryce saying school was cancelled because of the icy roads and the buses being unable to get to all their routes and I was thinking it sure would have been nice to know a little earlier so we could have slept in. Pretty soon the bus brought buddy back home and he was cheering and excited that there was no school and he "could come back home to Missy!"  Brandt, Kylie, and I had an eventful day that included the kids playing outside while I cleaned and then a "pool party" in the tub (which also means that the bathroom floor, walls, and ceiling got mopped lol). Later in the day Brandt was sad about missing out on the party and dance, but he cheered up when he heard that they will have it when they go back to school.