My Journey!

Spiders, Centipedes and Mice...Oh My! (with a birthday somewhere in there)

2011-06-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

What you are about to see might give you the willies...it sure did for me when I saw these! (Note: there are normal pictures in here as well so please don't be afraid...;-)

This creature (I believe it is a locust) was in our backyard at my graduation party. It landed on one of the guests shirts before Jeff picked it up and it bit his hand...this is literally the length of an adults hand stretched out. HUGE!!

This monster was sitting on our wall right outside our front door! I had walked out...BAREFOOT...to unlock the gate to the courtyard and Ginny says (in a calm and interested voice...which is SO not her when it comes to critters) "mom, come look at this spider".

So...I ran inside, closed the door, and ran downstairs (Jeff was downstairs watching a movie). I MADE Jeff pause his movie and come "look" at this spider Ginny found. He always gets irritated at me when I say things like that because the biggest spider I've seen is about the size of a nickel...MAYBE a quarter, and he thinks I should just kill them. (I usually want to find out what kind of spider something is so we can tell a bug guy or make sure they aren't poisonous...etc.) He huffs and groans about having to pause his movie just to see a stupid spider... and then he sees it! At first he says its a vinagaroon (which are extremely poisonous) so I'm starting to freak out and shut him outside to kill it so it doesn't try to run inside. He smashes it with his shoe that he is holding in his hand and everything is fine. I post the picture on facebook and several people say its not a vinagaroon but a sun spider or camel spider so I look it up online. Sure enough, it wasn't a vinagaroon but a sun spider, which are NOT poisonous and that made me feel a little better.

Jeff put it in this plastic bag and stuck it in the freezer so we could show the bug guy what it was. I also read that it looks like a mix between a spider and scorpion but it is not categorized with either group. Interesting...

On a more positive note, it was my birthday Saturday (June 18th) and Jeff brought these beautiful flowers home from the store!

Another great picture of the flowers.

Saturday we celebrated at Jeff's parents house. They just moved into a beautiful house with a pool and the grandkids LOVE it!! Jeff's dads birthday is June 19th, which was also Father's day so it was a combined celebration.

The kids swam and played in the pool for probably four or five hours!! They were covered in sunscreen and we didn't have any sunburning issues. The way their pool is set up, it's shaded for most of the afternoon so the kids were shaded a lot.

They had just gotten a few floating toys (the orange monster looking thing) that the kids could sit on. There are handles for them to hold on to also but Ginny kept trying to sit on them but it would roll over and she would fall off. She just about hit her head on the deck a few times!

Another shot of the kids playing in the pool.

The "fog" you see is from a misting system that they have all over the back yard...it was nice to have in that heat.

However, at points throughout the day, the mist would hover over the pool and make it hard for the kids to see and hard for us to see the kids.

That didn't hinder the kids play!

It kind of reminds me of scary movies that have a bunch of fog at the scary parts...=)

This is trying to see across the pool and as you can see it was very hard to see anything.

Justin enjoying the water...what a goofball!

This was the start of my Sunday...which was also Father's Day. This is the handle to one of my mugs. I was bringing my drink up to my mouth when the cup part just broke off and dropped to the tile floor!

Of course it had to have happened in the one room with cardboard boxes to soak it all up and shattered everywhere. Jeff just started laughing at me but said "what else are you gonna do but laugh..." I guess that's the best way to deal with something like this happening.

We got to spend the afternoon at Grandma Truman's house with our cousins. This is Ginny playing with Eva...liven the expression up a little Ginny! ;-)

Justin got to see his cousins Grant and Drake. They played for awhile at Grandma's house and then we got to have them stop at our house and the kids got to play there for awhile too.

This is the end result of me finding a long critter scurrying through my kids bathroom Sunday night...That's right, this was INSIDE my house! I was not happy!

Thanks to all the people on Facebook who helped me identify what this is. It is a centipede...which, again, is NOT poisonous. (The goop stuff you see at the top of the picture is it's guts...;-)

Even though this thing is not poisonous...it was inside my house and we had the bug guy here Tuesday morning, first thing! Thanks to Stacy for letting them inside our house while we were gone...I wanted everything sprayed!!

Finally, last night we had a visitor in our courtyard again! This little guy was scurrying along the ground and was trying to hide from Jeff and I.

He was able to squeeze his little body between the drain pipe and just sat there, probably scared to death. Again, I MADE Jeff take this picture and I shut the door because I didn't want it finding it's way inside my house!

SO...who wants to come visit us and maybe meet some new and interesting critters? ;-)

House, House, and more House

2011-06-24T22:14:00.000-07:00

Just to forewarn you, this is lengthy for my posts but it's mostly pictures. Enjoy...

So...come on in and take a tour of the new place:

This is the street view of the house...there is a driveway on the right and left of the house. They are both VERY steep as well and let me tell you, Justin has already figured out that you can ride something down them and go pretty fast. He has also learned that you can wreck and it hurts pretty bad as well! Ha!

Here is the view looking down from the driveway.

This is the left side of the house where the garages and dog run are (that's the fenced area next to the car).

Another view of the dog run...the shed in the gate is a "shelter" for the dogs. There is even a whole in the shed so we can put a swamp cooler on it to keep the dogs cooler in the summer!

Looking out the back door to the left. The shed in this picture is a play house for the kids. There is a trampoline and swing set for the kids to play with and a built in barbecue for Jeff to play with. ;-)

Looking straight out the back door with Justin on the hill in the background. The trail that Justin is on leads up the hill and straight out to the desert...which probably explains all the critters we see!

This is looking out the right side of the back door. Yes, that is a hot tub...not sure it's gonna get much use during the summer but come winter, watch out neighbors...keep your blinds closed!

This is looking from the corner of the backyard to the back of the house.

Come on in...the front entryway. This is before the owners were completely moved out so all the stuff you see is their's, not ours.

The boys room...there dad is a firefighter which explains the decor, plus they were boys (twins). The bench behind Justin lifts up for more storage.

The girl room...the kids bathroom is to the right in this picture and it is a "Jack and Jill" set up where there is another entrance to the bathroom through Justin's room.

The master bedroom. The door you see to the left of the picture is one closet and the other closet is below through the bathroom.

The master bathroom with his and her sinks as well as an old fashioned looking tub.

This shower is AWESOME!! It has three shower heads and doubles as a steam room! There is also a seat you see at the bottom right corner...

The office has a built in desk with cabinets and we also purchased those chairs from the owners to accompany the built in desk! Very comfortable!

This is the "kids area". It is the upstairs loft and has the Wii, Playstation, kids computer, piano, and old couch. The loft is open to the living room and kitchen on the main floor.

This is one angle of the living room looking from the kitchen. The french doors in the background is the office. The white door on the left goes to the loft and the white door on the right goes to the basement.

Looking from the hallway in front of the office into the living room.

The kitchen...

The other side of the kitchen. The wooden door looking things are the fridge doors...the whole left side is the freezer and the whole right side is the fridge, HUGE and one of my favorite parts of the house!

The "man cave" as Jeff calls it...I call it the theater, which is in the basement. We also purchased those theater chairs from the owners so we can watch our movies/TV on that 150 inch screen comfortably!

The theater is complete with a wet bar and elevator or "dumb waiter" (the wooden square next too the cabinets) that also has a stop on the main floor in the kitchen as well as up in the loft.

We will be enjoying our time down in the theater! (The chairs in the back also have theater speakers under them so you can "feel" the bass during a movie...so cool!)

If you look at the first picture of the theater room, up at the top is the projector that the owner was using when he was here. When Jeff said we were getting a projector for the theater I was picturing a small unit like that but NNNNOOOO!!! This is what we got...a humongo projector that is one hundred times better...of course!! If you know Jeff...you TOTALLY understand!

This is a picture of the screen while I am sitting in the front row watching Food Network...not sure this picture does it justice because it is awesome! Not sure how else to explain it...

SO...who wants to come over for a movie night/day or just to watch TV...;-)

Flashback through the year...

2011-06-15T23:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's been FOREVER since my last blog so I thought I would give a quick flashback of our school year/first year in Logandale...

We started our first year of school in Logandale...Justin going into 2nd grade and Ginny going into 5th grade.

We got a dishwasher...hey, don't judge...this was monumental in my book!! ;-)

We bought a new car for Jeff to use on his commute to Vegas...better gas mileage.

Ginny got a goat to show in the Clark County Fair but she wasn't able to because we had a wedding to attend that same weekend...she was glad that she was able to keep her goat!

Ginny turned ten...YIKES!!

We had a great Christmas (...even with the injuries that were sustained) with lots of family!

Lori found this awesome jacket for me...don't be jealous people, you can borrow it if you want! ;-)

We got a puppy!

I was a presenter at the "Reading Academy Awards" at Bowler Elementary for Nevada Reading Week...(I also performed in the Nevada Reading Week FlashMob, too funny!)

I drove through this...

so I could see them...definitely worth the drive through what seemed like a blizzard! =)

I cut my hair...AGAIN! Pretty short this time but I like it.

We moved yet again!! Hopefully for good this time. More on the new house in a later post...

Ginny graduated DARE and 5th grade...I will have a middle schooler next year, Lord help me!!

AND...I graduated from University of Phoenix with my Master's of Arts in Education Curriculum and Instruction!!!

Whew...it's been an eventful but great year!!

NFR Exceptional Rodeo 2010

2010-12-06T16:46:00.000-08:00

I was privileged to be able to take my class to the NFR Exceptional Rodeo today. This is a chance for some of the special education population to attend an event that allows them to try the different activities the rodeo performers do during the NFR (at a much smaller scale of course) as well as meet some of the professionals. Each student got a cowboy/cowgirl hat, t-shirt, roping rope (if they asked for one and you know Justin wouldn't pass that opportunity up!!), and a trophy. Ginny and Justin were asked if they wanted to go along as "typical peers" and experience the same things. Everyone had a great time and the kids got pictures with some of the professional rodeo performers. Here are a few pictures of our day...

Ginny riding on a horse in the Thomas and Mack Arena.

Ginny practicing her roping skills with one of the professional ropers.

Justin taking his turn riding the horse.

Justin getting his picture taken with Miss Rodeo America 2010.

I'm trying to edit some of the pictures with the professional rodeo performers so I can post those without my students faces...privacy issues and all!

Critters in Logandale

2010-11-22T22:28:00.000-08:00

There are many critters out here and I'm not getting used to them. Here are some of the ones we've encountered around our house:

This was a beetle crawling on the porch. He was found a few days later dead so we didn't have to dispose of this one...he died on his own.

I found this beauty outside in our garage...luckily it wasn't inside the house!! I wouldn't have gone back in the house! I'm still not sure what kind of spider that was but I'm glad it is no more!!!!

Just another angle of the same spider...it looks bigger in this shot!

This guy was found by Justin on Ginny's bedroom floor!! She almost stepped on it and Justin happened to see it and tell her not to step there. At first I thought it was dead but then when I tried to scoop him up he moved...not very fast so I knew he was almost dead but he still moved, which freaked me out! Jeff wasn't home either so we were all sitting up high on my bed until he got home!

I finally got him into a plastic cup where he lived in my freezer for a couple of months (I wanted to make sure he was dead before we discarded his body). I finally threw him away a few weeks ago.

Sleeping Like A Baby!!

2010-11-22T22:08:00.000-08:00

Oh how funny it is to walk into Justin's room and find him in ANOTHER weird position when he sleeps! Here are just some of the many positions I find him in...

He got this Indiana Jones hat for his birthday and he had to try it out to sleep in...just like Indy does!! =)

Stink-bug sleeping position...I've never thought this was comfortable but apparently it was to him.

He wanted to read so he could fall asleep...well it worked! He is asleep holding his book up to his face.

He was just resting his eyes...;-)

Not sure what is around his head...

Ginny's new bed is much more appealing to Justin than his own bed...I find him asleep here almost every night!

4th of July Celebrations

2010-07-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

This year was our first year in Logandale for the 4th of July festivities. Up here they have an all day celebration, starting with breakfast provided for the entire town, a candy drop for the kids, water fun with firetrucks, dinner and fireworks at the end of the day. We partook in a few of the festivities Saturday the 3rd of July and then celebrated the 4th of July at some friends house with food, fireworks, and pool fun! Here are some pictures displaying our great weekend:

This is Justin's friend Fox double fisting the watermelon and dripping it all down the front of him. =)

This is a full screen shot of the firetrucks shooting the water on all of the kids, and the adults that were brave enough!

You can see Ginny in the pink shirt, Cannon in the American Flag shorts, and Justin walking in the background. They had so much fun in the water.

The boys after getting soaked from the firetrucks.

Ginny and a couple of her friends after getting all wet.

This is in the driveway of our friends house with all of us watching the fireworks. We had a lot of fun!

Yes...that's a toad in the swimming pool. They come out at night and swim in our friends pool. The kids LOVED playing with them.

This is Justin's friend Fox who caught FIVE toads. I'm surprised these little guys survived but they all hopped away after he let them down...or dropped them. All the toads that the kids were playing with were dropped so many times! =)

Justin had to put them on his head like his friend was doing but they had so much fun with the toads!

Justin was following this toad all over the pool. Justin's friend was showing one of the adults a toad and it jumped out into the person's lap so all night I was cowering away from the kids with the toads! Don't ask me why, I just did not want to touch them.

Pool Fiasco

2010-06-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

We love getting our above ground inflatable pool every summer! We've never had problems with them...until this year! The inflatable ring at the top helps hold the water inside the pool. Our pool's inflatable ring started to deflate each day and we didn't realize this until the kids were getting in it one day and they touched the inflatable ring. Once they touched the ring, the water started gushing over the side! We had to quickly inflate the ring to avoid a flood!

BUT...we couldn't avoid the flood totally! We called the store we bought it at to make sure they would return it before we emptied it. Once we got the "okay" we decided to empty the pool and take it back to the store for an exchange/refund.

The following short video is the start of the "flood". This is Jeff starting to empty the pool:

The following pictures are just shots of the water flowing through out backyard! The last picture is looking out one of the rooms in the house at the "river" of water flowing to the side of the yard.

The following video is just an overview of the "flood".

Luckily the flood only when throughout the backyard and not into the house! =)

Logandale, NV

2010-06-30T14:58:00.001-07:00

SO...we made the move to Logandale and so far we love it. Here are some pictures of our house...

Ginny's pink/purple room...she loves the color!

Justin's "army" themed room and his closet. Almost all of the rooms have built in shelves in the closets...LOVE THAT!

Kid's bathroom...the only rooms without colored paint are the bathrooms.

The front room...to the right of the book shelves is the short hallway to the kids rooms and bathroom; to the left of the book shelves is our room; through the arch is the rest of the house.

Our bedroom...our bed is so big there's very little room to walk around it. =)

Our bathroom.

After walking through the arch in the front room, turning to the right is the "dining room" and to the left is the kitchen.

This is the other side of the kitchen...notice the dark maroon paint. The ceiling is a pink and the pink doors to the right of this picture is the laundry closet. What you can't see is the dishwasher...oh wait, THERE ISN'T ONE!!!! That's right, they didn't install a dishwasher when they built this house and we didn't realize there wasn't one until the week we were moving in! The owner said that she doesn't think they clean very well so she didn't want to spend the money on one to install in the house...OKAY?!?!

This is the living room with the french doors going to the backyard. I love the saying on the wall...does anyone know where I can get more of these?

People are saying this is our "dungeon" room. I think they had a pool table in this room. The last picture is in the kitchen looking through the "window" to the "dungeon" room. As you can see we are still unpacking!

This is the "play" room or I like to call it the "blue" room. (I love that each room has their own color!) This is where our playstation, Wii, board games, and card games are.

This is the office, or the "yellow" room. AGAIN...we are still unpacking and this is gonna be the last room I attempt. =)

The storage/pantry room. I LOVE this room! Look at all those shelves to fill up...=)

This is our backyard...the first picture is looking to the right and each picture after that is spanning across our backyard to the left. The last picture is the side of our house where we can store our 5th wheel...someday!! =)

We are not yet unpacked all the way but it's starting to feel like a home. Come visit us!

COOKING!

2010-06-30T14:37:00.000-07:00

Those of you that know me, know that I don't cook! Well, I have the whole summer off of school to practice and I'm having some fun with it so here are a few pictures of what I've been fixing:

These are pictures of chicken enchiladas that I made...they were really good!

These are the "pre-baked" zucchini bread that I made...

These are the finished products...the first picture is the mini loafs and the second picture is the regular sized loafs. I doubled the recipe and got 3 regular loafs and 7 mini loafs out of it...SO GOOD!!!

This is a Pampered Chef recipe called Family Sized Baked Burrito and it was so easy and good. The first picture is the before and the second is the after. The last picture is what my plate looked like...the green stuff is an avocado lime sauce and was really good!!

I'm beginning to like cooking...shhhh, don't tell Jeff! =)

WHEW!!!

2010-06-14T20:06:00.000-07:00

Wow!! It has been a busy month or so...

First, Jeff had to have knee surgery because of his youthful attempt at playing football.

This picture was after they prepped him for surgery and he did not want his picture taken so he wouldn't look at me and he had this ridiculous smile on his face.

This picture is the correct knee for surgery...hence the "yes" written in permanent marker! Ha! The "MF" was the doctors initials, I guess for good measure.

This picture was 5 days after his surgery during his physical therapy visit. Looks disgusting but he's doing well.

He had his surgery just over a week ago and he's walking really well. He was walking on the injured leg the afternoon after surgery...in fact, we took a trip up to Logandale that same day to open our P.O. Box and get some things started for our big move.

That brings me to Second, Third, and Fourth...(Second) we just moved to Logandale, NV.

We have been wanting to get out of Vegas for quite some time and we have several people that have been trying to convince us to move up here. We had been looking at houses to rent out here and found a really great one so we inquired. We came and looked at the house and love the area. (Third) I also found out that there is a special education position available at the elementary school here, which is literally down the street from the house we moved into. (I interviewed and got the job!)

Another reason we decided to move after we just moved less than a month ago was that (Fourth) we found out that the pool had a major leak and the management company failed to disclose that information to us.

The former tenant came to our door one morning and told us that the pool had a major leak and he couldn't get the management company to fix it. Needless to say, Jeff was on the phone with them immediately telling them we will be out shortly and we would like our deposit back. That's right, we are getting our deposit back even though we have only fulfilled one month of our lease.

So...surgery, moving, and new job is the latest!

Wonderful Carpet Photos

2010-05-10T20:51:00.000-07:00

First of all, I can't get over the fact that I have blogged TWICE in 2 days!!! Are you proud of me Lori? =)

Second, I thought I would share the ridiculous looking carpet that they decided to put in, in place of the disgusting urine smelling carpet...even though the rest of the carpet they didn't replace still smells awful!!

This picture is a close up of the contrast of the colors and types of carpet...REALLY!!!

This is a shot from one end of the loft...remember, this was the only room that was replaced! RIDICULOUS!

Another shot from the opposite side. You can see the new carpet stops at the other hallway to the kids bedrooms and then is also stops at the hallway I'm standing in.

The final picture is of the whole loft area and in the background you can see the wonderful set of blinds pulled up that won't go down and cover the window like they should! I think there are about 7 or 8 windows that have working blinds...there are about 20-25 windows in this house!! Luckily the working ones are mostly in the bedrooms and bathrooms.

UPDATE!

2010-05-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's really an update from me...it's been a LONG time coming but when do I have the time, that's right...11pm on a school night.

Anyway, here goes the latest news in the Proffitt Family:

Jeff finally went to the doctor for his "football injury" from a couple of months ago. Oh ya, I haven't blogged about that either. Well, he was playing football with a bunch of 20 year olds (some of them were his age too but I'm trying to make this sound really irresponsible!) and fell while running with the ball. He said that his foot planted on the ground and his knee went the other way. We spent most of that night in the ER only for the doctor to say that it wasn't broken (which we could've told him) and that he needs to follow up with his primary doctor if it keeps bothering him. The only good thing about the ER trip was that we now have a pair of crutches. That brings me to the latest with his knee...he had an MRI done and the doctor told him on Friday that he has an ACL tear along with 3 more things wrong with his knee. They aren't minor things either! So...he will be seeing another doctor this week to get a 2nd opinion but most likely to schedule surgery to have his knee repaired. The worst thing about this whole story is that he thinks he's gonna be playing sports again once his knee has healed...PLEASE talk some sense into him for me because he's not listening to me!!

We just moved this weekend (which means that everything in our new house is either in boxes or lost and I probably should be working on emptying/finding things instead of this blog) to another house. We did our walk through and asked for the carpets cleaned, blinds to be fixed/put in on the windows with broken/missing blinds, and the pool to be cleaned. Not too much to ask if you ask me. Well, we got them to clean the carpets, clean the pool, and say they will fix the blinds issue. HOWEVER, after the carpets were cleaned, the carpet guy said that the person before us must've had pets because the carpets smell really bad of animal urine. We did what the carpet guy said and aired it out for at least 6 hours before we start worrying about the smell (we actually waited 2 whole days)! After 2 days, the smell was terrible and you would get a wiff of it immediately after walking through the doors. We called the management company and told them the problem. There response was..."well, let it air out for another couple of days and then we can assess what needs to be done". Jeff basically said "go shove it" in somewhat nice words. He told them that they either need to replace the smelly carpets or we would like our deposit back and we would find another place to live. They decided to agree to that HOWEVER, they chose to replace only one room with the cheapest, hardest carpet they make. The rest of the house is a shag carpet that is a light tan color. They replaced the one loft room with dark brown, regular carpet with the cheapest padding they could find as well. NOT HAPPY!! PLUS...it still smells like animal urine! AND...we still have several blinds that don't work (don't close) or that are missing from windows. They have yet to get back to use about these wonderful issues!

Finally, we have 16 1/2 days left of school...not that I'm counting or anything! I have had a really rough last part of the year with my students. I am an inclusion special education teacher, which means that I go into general education classrooms and co-teach all the students in that class, including my special education students. I have recently had an increase in behavior students. Some of these students are VERY aggressive and think it's okay to throw objects at students and teachers. I have had chairs, pencils, books, papers, blocks, markers, baskets, etc. thrown at me and other students over the last month. I have even had one student try to bite me and successfully kick me up and down my shins (I'm very bruised...;-(
Long story short...I am SOOOOO ready for this school year to be over. I am taking one day at a time and look forward to going home and doing homework, housework, or other motherly duties!!! Not something I would normally look forward to doing!!

Some fun videos.

2009-12-12T08:51:00.000-08:00

So I'm trying to regularly blog and I've been looking through some of our videos and thought I would post them:

This is Ginny singing in the shower.

This is Jeff thinking he's good at playing the Wii...what a dork!!

This is Justin at Disneyland shaking his but to the music...hilarious!

None of me of course cause I'm always behind the camera but enjoy!

Just one of those days!

2009-12-11T01:00:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had one of those days when you just start crying for no reason at all?!?!?!

Today was one of those days. I was in a meeting with my assistant principal and the other resource teacher and we were discussing students and their needs. The assistant principal asked me a question and the tears just started flowing...????? I wasn't in trouble, I didn't do anything wrong, nor am I scheduled for aunt flo to come in the next couple of days! I HATE THAT!!! I sure hope that this doesn't mean that I am pregnant...

YIKES!! ;-)

Ummmm...

2009-12-09T23:02:00.000-08:00

I knew I spoke too soon when I said that we haven't had any Justin problems in my previous post!! =)

Just a few of the latest: He likes to break pencils in half over his knee that don't belong to him, he enjoys throwing puzzle pieces across the room, leaning backwards in his chair is a must every day, AND poking (rather stabbing) a classmate with a pencil is the "in" thing to do these days!!! I jinxed him I think by posting something nice! =)

But, wait, it gets better! Not only is Justin getting in trouble...Ginny was sent to the office this week!! YES, GINNY!!!!!! Now, in her defense, the story is that she was defending herself but you know how public school systems work...even if you kick someone by defense you also get a write up.

SO, it's been a rough week for the Proffitt children.

On a positive note, I went to student orientation this week for University of Phoenix and I start my Master's program next week. HOWEVER, if you think I don't post that often now, please don't EXPECT much action on here for at least a year. If for some miracle I post something, I've escaped from the prison of work/school/life for a few brief moments! =)

First Day of School

2009-10-06T23:03:00.000-07:00

Ginny and Justin's 1st day of school this year.

We are at a new school this year and so far, the kids like it and we haven't had any "Justin" problems (behavior problems in his class).

THE WORST MOTHER EVER awarded to...ME!!!

2009-10-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

I am so terribly upset! I have scarred one of my children's minds for life without trying too...

While Ginny was at piano practice this afternoon, Justin was starting his homework in the kitchen on the table and I was checking my facebook in the office. Justin needed some help on his homework so I told him just to bring his homework in the office so that I could help him. After I helped with his one question, I went back to checking my facebook and he went back to completing his homework right next to me. One of my friends posted a video that was titled: "Holy crap! Michael Jackson's ghost!!". Stupid, I know, but I thought I would just see what nonsense was posted. The video started and seemed like a news clip. As the reporter was talking about Michael Jackson's bedroom door, it started playing scary music and repeating the same shot over and over again. I kept saying in my head, "I'm not seeing it, where's Michael Jackson's ghost?" I was getting ready to stop the video and continue checking my facebook, when a scary face popped on the screen and played a LOUD scream! I'm sure you've falled for these types of videos before. I jumped and gasped and immediately turned to Justin to see if he was watching. OF COURSE HE WAS!!! He dropped to his knees and immediately covered his ears and started balling! I started tearing up with him because I realized that he had just seen the video clip and will probably not sleep for a week!! WHAT WAS I THINKING!! I felt so bad and all I could do was just hold him and keep saying "I'm sorry!" over and over again! The rest of the afternoon, he kept saying "I'm trying to get it out of my head mom but it's not going away." Like that doesn't stab me in the heart!!! I am THE WORST MOTHER EVER!!!

YIKES!!

2009-10-04T18:53:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's been WAY too long since my last post!

Ok, here's the latest...NOTHING new!!! And you wonder why I don't post more often Lori.

I'll keep you posted on anything new, I promise!

When it rains, it pours!!

2009-04-18T18:40:00.000-07:00

The last month doesn't seem to be going very well for us. I am trying to stay positive and focus on the positive but sometimes it sure is difficult!

1. I found out that I will be surplused (involuntary school change due to the number of students dropping at my school, requiring me to leave) if I don't find a position by the end of April. I have been looking at the postings for the positions in the district that I am licensed for and have put my name in to a few schools already. I am still waiting to hear from them to interview.

2. Two weeks ago Jeff was laid off from his job. He called me while I was on vacation up in northern Utah and at first didn't think anything of it. He reassured me that he will get another job within a week. He was right, but we aren't sure if it's a permanent thing. He is still waiting for the union to vote on a full time teaching position for him at the sheet metal school.

3. Found out last Monday that my grandma doesn't have that much longer to live. She has not been well mentally and her health has been deteriorating as well. She is so medicated, due to her dimensia making her very violent, that she is not herself at all and she doesn't remember who anyone is, nor does she talk much anymore either. She finally passed away Friday, exactly one year after my grandpa (literally, to the day) passed away.

Just keep us in your prayers, please!

NASCAR 2009

2009-02-27T21:53:00.000-08:00

We try to make going to a Nascar race in Las Vegas an annual thing, whether we go to qualifying day, Nationwide Series race, or Sprint Cup Series race. This year, we weren't planning on going to any of the races. We usually acquire tickets somehow. Because I am a school district employee, we were able to get two free tickets. I've decided to let my husband take his nephew (or whomever he wanted) to the race on Sunday. He tried to get me to call in sick today and go with him to qualifying (which I should've done!!!) but I have a guilty conscience and I would've felt bad all day. Instead he took two of his nephews (one of which is having a birthday this weekend). He paid to get the Neon Garage passes (for our nephews birthday present)where they are within touching distance from drivers!!!! Including my favorite...Jimmie Johnson!

Then when Jeff got home he had to tell me that he was walking right beside Jimmie! I should've called in sick!!!

The best team is Jimmie and his crew chief Chad Knaus. They have now won 3 championships in a row!!

I don't care what anyone says...I like Nascar! I mean, look at how hot Jimmie Johnson is! =)

2008-11-10T14:47:00.000-08:00

Odd things about me! TAGGER!

Here's how to play:
1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

#1 When I make a sandwich, everything has to be put on it just right or I won't eat it...but if I get a sandwich from Subway or Port of Subs I will eat it no matter how they make it!
#2 I can't go to bed without checking on my kids 2 or 3 times everynight.
#3 Whenever I eat I have to chew evenly on each side of my mouth! Weird, I know!
#4 I love watching teeny bopper movies. I even like watching teeny bopper shows with my 8 year old daughter, including Hannah Montana!
#5 Almost every single time I go to Wal-Mart I leave with twice as much as I went there for.
#6 I have a hard time going to the store and not getting something for myself...most of the time it's something small like a candy bar. I feel selfish though! =(
#7 I would rather sit on the couch and watch movies all day then do anything else!!!

I tag...Emily, Brooke, Channi, April, Katy, Jamie, Amanda.

Deformed Cast

2008-10-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

The picture below is a look at the new cast. They didn't take the old one off, they just cut a wedge out and moved her wrist a certain way to keep her bone from shifting more. The big lumps you see on her cast are plastic wedge blocks that they wedged inside the cut of her cast so that her wrist would have to stay cocked that way for the next three to four weeks. She has got to be uncomfortable!!

She's trying to get as many signatures as she can! =) She even has the signature of a boy in her class that she REALLY likes (trying to discourage her from liking any boy right now)...his name is Jacob! Can you imagine another Jacob in our family Katy? Not that I'm pushing ANYTHING!! =)

EIGHT!!

2008-10-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

8 Favorite TV Shows...
1. FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. Everybody Loves Raymond
3. Full House
4. Allie McBeal
5. Home Improvement
6. American Idol
7. Hannah Montana (NO LAUGHING...it's a good show!!)
8. So You Think You Can Dance

8 Favorite Restaurants...this is hard
1. Port of Subs
2. Delmonico's
3. Applebees
4. Olive Garden
5. Cafe Rio
6. Buffalo Wild Wings
7. Roadrunner
8. Cappriotis

8 Things that happened yesterday...
1. Was promised by my son that he would keep his card on green in his class.
2. Started out the school day nice with no students the first hour.
3. Gave Ginny tylenol at lunch time for her arm being in pain.
4. Finally ate something for the day - a bagel for lunch.
5. Graded papers and put in the gradebook.
6. Told by my son that his card was changed to red for the 2nd day in a row!!! >:(
7. Helped with homework.
8. Did the dishes.

8 things to look forward to...
1. Thanksgiving and Winter break(Christmas!)DIDDO SISTER!!!!!!
2. the weather getting cooler
3. finding out that Ginny's bones are healing and no surgery is needed (cross your fingers!)
4. The weekend!
5. Getting Ginny's cast off.
6. Seeing my little sister at Cafe Rio on Saturday!! YAY!
7. Trip to Denver to watch the Broncos play in December.
8. Getting my Lia Sophia jewelry!

8 Things i love about fall..
1. Leaves changing
2. the smell when you walk in your house of pumpkin or family, something awesome.
3. the weather getting cooler.
4. The pumpkin patches and christmas tree stands
5. Jacket wearing
6. Hot Cider! MMMMMMM!!
7. NO ONE has an excuse for being so white, including me!
8. Seeing family more often!

8 things on my wish list...
1. Feeling comfortable with how I teach sooner rather than later!
2. Seeing my son's behavior improve ASAP in his class.
3. To give the best to my kids.
4. Good health for my kids (Ginny's not helping me on this one lately). =)
5. Our Denver trip to be a blast!
6. To keep God in my families life constantly!
7. Any amount of money I want to spend on supplies for my classroom!
8. To make a difference to someone.

The lucky people I tag...Emily, Brooke, Channi. LOVE YOU GUYS!

More Tears!!

2008-10-14T22:04:00.000-07:00

Today was another doctor's appointment for Ginny. Last week, the orthopedic doctor that put on her cast said he wants to see her once a week for the first few weeks to make sure her bones are healing properly. He is worried that her bones will shift and cause her to have surgery. Today's doctors appointment didn't go like I imagined: We sign in, wait to be called, have x-rays taken and then told her bones look great and we can make another appointment for next week. NOT THE CASE TODAY!!

After getting her x-rays done, the doctor said that her bones have shifted slightly,nothing terrible, but enough to cause some concern. He then said that they will need to adjust her cast so that her bones will shift back in place and heal correctly. The doctor was explaining to the cast technician that he needed to cut the cast in a certain spot, put in some wedges so her hand can be shifted enough to help shift her bones back to the proper place. Ginny wasn't listening to all of this and probably wouldn't understand it even if she did listen.

After the doctor left the room, the cast technician pulled out the cast "saw" and Ginny's eyes grew as wide as a frisbee!!!! She was terrified of the saw. He turned that saw on and Justin about jumped in my lap and Ginny was SCREAMING and crying!! YES, literally screaming!! She was afriad that it was going to hurt her but even after the cast technician showed her that it wouldn't hurt her at all (he touched his own skin with the cast "saw" and it did nothing to him) she still was in hysterics!! She had the whole doctor's office staff down by the cast room again trying to calm her down.

Justin was not understanding either and he started crying so I took him out to the waiting room while Ginny had her moment in the cast room. Justin asked me "why do they have to cut Ginny's arm off" and through my giggling and laughter I had to explain to him that they weren't cutting off her arm, they were merely cutting a piece of the cast and the cast "saw" is not going to hurt her at all! He was okay with it after that but we had to stay in the waiting room so Ginny wouldn't freak out more.

They finally finished adjusting her cast and re-wrapped her cast with another roll of the BRIGHT pink wrap so her cast was good as new. She is in a lot of pain again so we've had to give her medicine and send her to bed...without doing her homework might I add.

Oh the joys of being a mother!! My advice to anyone reading...don't let your kids break their bones (like we "allowed" this to happen-sarcastically speaking)!! =) ESPECIALLY a girl that overreacts to almost anything!!!

MARRIAGE!

2008-10-11T15:18:00.000-07:00

It has been 11 years for my husband and I today!! We've had our hard times (like this last weekend with Ginny breaking her arm) and we've had our good times. I love him and will always be thankful for everything he has and continues to do for me and our kids!!

Here are a few old pictures of us:

Our first car as a couple. This picture was taken the summer before we got married. Doesn't Jeff look hot in the sleeveless shirt and all that hair!! =)

This was one of my wedding pictures with the girls in my wedding. Love my sisters and cousin! I love this picture and have it framed in my house!

This is also one of my favorites from our wedding day!!

ER's make moms emotional!!

2008-10-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

Our latest adventure was not a fun one! Last Friday, Oct. 3rd, my mom watched my kids for my very first Staff Development day as a licensed teacher. My son was not very good at school that week so he had to go with Grandpa and help him with landscaping someones yard (although I don't think he was upset about it at all). Ginny got to stay with Grandma and do things around the house and run errands. From the black marks all over my children's clothes and skin, it is assumed that they played on Grandma and Grandpa's trampoline for awhile that day also! NO INJURIES! That's a relief. HOWEVER, when returning home from Grandma and Grandpa's house, Ginny and Justin were allowed to watch T.V. up in my bedroom while my husband watched the latest election news on the T.V. downstairs (I was still at work). Ginny decided that she wanted to balance herself on the foot board of our bed (approximately 3-4 feet off the floor) while watching T.V. and fell off. In the midst of falling, she landed on her left arm! My husband heard a thud and was heading upstairs to reprimand whoever was "horsing" around in our room. Halfway up the stairs, he heard a shrieking scream (that you would hear in a horror movie) coming from our bedroom. When he arrived in the bedroom, my daughter was screaming and crying that she fell and thought she broke her arm. He inspected the arm she fell on and decided that it was in need for medical attention. They all came downstairs and he attempted to call me, which my phone did not deliver the call until after I got home. Just as he hung up I pulled up and came in the house. As soon as I came in he told me in an extreme panic voice "We have to take Ginny to the hospital, she broker her arm!!" I was supposed to go to a Lia Sophia jewelry party an hour from this time but had to call the lady coming to get me that I was unable to go due to the recent events! Needless to say, I was panicking a little as well but tried not to show it. We arrived at the brand new hospital (I believe it was only open for about 4-6 months) on our side of town and they immediately took her while I was in the process of filling out paperwork! The older gentlemen that was helping me was so nice and expressed his understanding of what we were going through. We finally got back to a "bed" (it was really a recliner type chair) and the x-ray lady came to take the x-rays. After about 10 minutes the doctor came to tell us that he has good and bad news (I'm really not sure why they say that, just tell me the news...we're in the ER, it's obvious to be bad news whether it's the injury or the bill!!!) The bad news was the she broke both bones in her arm just above the wrist and the good news was they didn't have to set the brake!! I was planning on leaving if they would have to set the bone...I wouldn't be able to handle watching her go through that pain and I figured that Jeff would do much better than me!! The ER doctor scheduled an appointment for an orthopedic surgeon (which made my stomach turn again!) Tuesday for a cast. They put a splint on her in the ER and she kept tearing up and looking at us with big alligator tears...hence making me tear up as well!!! I hate not being able to help one of my kids when they are hurt and watching them give me that look of "help me"!

Waiting for the nurse to finish putting the splint on...this was painful for her also because she had to lift her arm several times for the wrap to go around her arm several times!

Justin was getting restless so I let him watch some Scooby-Doo and Spongebob on my Ipod.

We went to get the cast on Tuesday and the doctor said that she is still at risk for surgery if the bone displaces at all so they put on a long cast (up to her shoulder) and he wants to x-ray her arm once a week for the next 4 weeks. The man that was putting the cast on had to form the cast to her arm so that it would help keep her bones in place but while doing this it put Ginny in a lot of pain and she was crying pretty hard. She had the majority of the staff down by her room to make sure she was okay. She got to chose the color of her cast and instead of picking purple (her favorite color) she wanted BRIGHT pink! =)

Old Fashioned Skating!

2008-08-10T17:38:00.000-07:00

This last Saturday, we had the pleasure of going to Crystal Palace Skating Center for a birthday party! I have not been to Crystal Palace in a LONG time!! We had a great time. Yes, I even got on the skating rink but surprisingly there are not any pictures of me showing off my skills! The kids had a great time and didn't want to stop. I had to coax Justin on the rink for the first lap but after that he didn't want any help and kept on getting up. Ginny hung onto the wall for the first lap but after that was in the middle of the crowd having so much fun! I don't know which was more fun...watching my kids trying to skate or watching the old folks trying to skate! =) I'm sure I gave someone a few laughs as well! =)

This wall was Justin's best friend!!

He spent a lot of his time on the floor also!

Mom, hurry and take the picture so we can keep skating!

I was trying to get a shot of him looking over the wall but just as I took the picture he fell AGAIN! Poor guy! I was so proud of him though because he kept getting up and he didn't want any help!

Cheesing it up for the camera!

My Classroom

2008-08-09T17:46:00.001-07:00

I have been able to think about how I want my classroom to look lately. My Cooperating teacher (the teacher I was observing during student teaching) allowed me to move my room around before her last day. I moved my desk to one corner so we can position more of the student tables towards the front of the classroom. I am also trying to decide on some ideas for a homework bulletin board so if you have any ideas, let me know. Check out my pictures below and tell me what you think.

This picture shows the two teachers desks in the classroom, mine is facing the wall and my aides is facing the classroom.

This is the front of my classroom.

This is a small round table that I usually do small group instruction at.

These are going to be on the wall outside our classroom to welcome the students. We are going to put bunches of bananas with the students names on them and have something that says: "Mrs. Proffitt's Bunch".

This monkey represents me, don't you like the beautiful blue bow, eye-shadow, and earrings? =)

This monkey represents my aide...again, don't you like her purple bow, eye-shadow and earrings!

WOOHOO!!

2008-08-05T18:02:00.001-07:00

I am finally almost done with school...I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been going to school non-stop for a year tomorrow and I will be turning in my last assignments tomorrow! I am so excited to be done, yet so nervous to start teaching my own classroom and keeping up on IEP's (lots and lots of paperwork)!! I have already started to re-arrange my classroom and get things on the walls but I am still trying to decide on one bulletin board. If you have any suggestions for a homework bulletin board please let me know...anything will help.

I have a family reunion at the end of this month and am so looking forward to going. I need to get out of town and get away from school/work, even if it is for a couple of days!

Games

2008-07-20T15:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a fun little game...Leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time, or a long time, anything you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you....

Justin's 5th B-day party.

2008-07-20T15:38:00.000-07:00

Well, Justin is now 5!! I can't believe how tall he has gotten too. What a stud!

The gift opening:

Justin and Brandon (his cousin from Louisiana that he hasn't seen since he was 2 weeks old, literally):

The cake (I LOVE Costco cakes!):

Aunt Julie and Ginny are being funny and posing as the "black Spiderman":

I got the job!!

2008-07-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

So...last week I was asked to come in for an interview with the principal of the school where I am doing my student teaching. My interview was Tuesday morning at 8a.m. (it's a good thing it was first thing in the morning or I would have been a nervous wreck the whole day) and I was asked several different questions by the principal and assistant principal. I thought I did okay and was probably showing my nervousness. Wednesday the assistant principal stuck her head in the classroom and asked me to stop by her office on my prep...so I did nervously again! Her and the principal wanted to officially offer me the job for the 4th and 5th grade resource position! I took it, of course, and I am so excited to have a teaching job.
I have a really good job starting end of August but things aren't as busy at my husbands job. He has had some offers for different jobs in other states and has thought about taking them but I don't want to go yet. I would like to eventually move away from Vegas but not now...I just got a great job and want to stay. I am hoping and praying that God will keep us here at least until I can get the hang of teaching my own class!

Graduation!

2008-06-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Graduation in May. UNLV gave us the option of walking in the May commencement or waiting until December so we opted for May. We will not officially be done with our program and "graduated" until August but it was such a big step to be able to walk during graduation!

My kids with their "big hands" to cheer me on during the graduation!

The fabulous four waiting to walk through the tunnel for our big day!

Me and Lorena waiting for our turn to "walk"!

Sashel, Candace, and myself bored on the floor during the graduation.

My wonderful, supportive family after graduation! Don't they all look so spiffy! =)

I'm almost there!!

2008-06-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it is almost the end of my program. I just came back from my initial interview with the school district. I still don't know how it went but I believe that I will be able to start interviewing with principals soon. It seems like I would never get to this point and I don't know what to think. I have worked really hard and I have a family that has gone through every single bit of it with me. I love my husband and kids for their support and love! They have been through a lot during this program as well, not being able to see mom very much, not getting a lot of "lovin" due to late nights typing papers, and just the overall stress of mom going to school full time!

I've definitely been busy!!

2008-02-06T20:55:00.000-08:00

As you can tell by the gap in blogs, I have been quite busy with school!!! I have finished one semester and am currently in the process of completing another. I am currently doing my pre-student teaching at a local high school and I am actually enjoying it. I'm still not sure if I want to teach in high school but I am enjoying the time I am there so far! I still have the remainder of the Spring semester but after this semester I will be walking at the UNLV May commencement and I can't wait!!!!!!!! After we walk in May we have to complete our student teaching during the summer and then we will have officially graduated in August. It seems like forever away but I'm sure it will be here sooner than I think!

Until I can find time to write again...

Cohort 11

2007-08-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

I have started school and I am loving it. This is my classes bulletin that we get to look at for the next 12 months or so. In the cohort program we complete a 16-week course in one week. That's right...we do the same amount of work that regular 16-week classes do but we complete it all in one week!!!!! I am at UNLV from 8am until 5pm Monday through Friday for the next year. The positive side of that is I will have my bachelor's degree in one year!! Seeing how we can finish a 16-week class in one week, I find it hard to believe that professors can stretch the material out into 16 weeks. Why not allow all students the opportunity to fininsh a class like this one and get their degree in a years time?

The first week was rough...only 3 to 4 hours of sleep each night with the exception of Thursday night, which I only got 2 hours of sleep. The work is intense and the "no sleep" this is rough but I've gotten through four weeks so far and I've survived so I think I'll be fine for the duration of the program. (To be honest, the sleep thing has gotten surprisingly better...plus I have the whole weekend to recover!) Keep in mind, I am getting paid to go to school full time so there is no slacking off here either...either I do the work and pass or I look for a new job in the school district. After school I will have my special education degree and be able to work as a full time special education teacher! I am so excited to finish FINALLY!!!!! I am extremely nervous to finish as well, that means I will be out in the world teaching my own students.

Last Day at Katz

2007-08-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

Friday was my last day at Katz Elementary School. I have been working at Katz Elementary School for approximately a year and a half and I absolutely love it. When I got to the school Friday, on my desk was a huge basket with every kind of school supply you could think of from my co-worker Nicole!! I was so surprised she did something for me. I also received a book at the end of the day that all the students and teachers signed. I hope that when I am done with school I can go back to Katz or find a school that has the same type of caring staff and fun students. I loved working there and will miss going there everyday.

I had one more surprise around lunch time. I recieved a dozen roses...at first I thought from the school to say goodbye. Then I actually read the card and found out that my husband sent me flowers to wish me luck on my upcoming program. I was shocked that he sent me flowers because I don't get flowers from him very often. My mom helped him as well, she works at the flower shop where he ordered them. He is THE BEST!!!

~Melina~

School

2007-08-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

I am getting ready to start school on Monday, August 6th!!! I am getting nervous, but more than anything I am anxious to get started. I am more anxious to finish school though! My husband has been encouraging me to finish school ever since we met and I think he might be more anxious for me to finish than I am. I have been going to school for about 11 years now, usually one or two classes a semester, so I am looking forward to finally finishing school!

~Melina~