Boogers, Boogers, Boogers

Yes, so the lovely three day weekend I was looking forward to, turned into a weekend of taking care of sick kiddos.  I made it to work on Tuesday, but the rest of the week I was home looking after sick kiddos.  Brother has cold induced asthma, so when he gets the common cold, it takes on a whole new meaning.  We didn't get on the treatments right away so that meant a pretty sick kiddo. Every time his nose would start to run, he would use his robot voice and say, "Boogers. Boogers. Booger."  Sister caught the bug too - we are all blaming Papa as he started it.  I told my family, I was going to move out for 7 to 10 days until everyone was healthy again - no one thought that was funny.

Almost 2 years ago we learned about Brother having cold induced asthma. So thankful that he recognizes his breathing treatments as a helpful thing. When we first started it was quite traumatic to try and get him to do the treatment.  Now, he knows how to put everything together and turn it on.

I just love this sweet girl's smile  - even though she's feeling pretty crummy, she wanted to smile for Papa (as he is away on a wrestling trip). 

After three days home with the kiddos, I'm feeling a bit behind on school work - but I know my role as a momma was priority this week and my students I'm sure all survived without me. 

Hoping you all are staying healthy! 

(By the way - it's actually snowing here today! We Alaskans were a bit depressed with the lack of winter - Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!)

Cheeseburger Smiles

Since the return to school 2 weeks ago, I have been a bit overwhelmed with regular duties of teaching, an additional 12 IEP meetings, my 2nd formal observation and other commitments - plus Papa has been super busy with coaching wrestling and had 4 nights in a row of meets.  Needless to say, by Thursday night - the monkeys and I just needed a cheap reward...

Cheeseburger smiles it is!

1) Momma didn't have to cook!
2) The monkeys eat all their dinner because they want to go play.
3) After eating - engaged in playtime for a good 10 minutes - Momma can have a break!
4) Monkeys are worn out and ready for bed!!

We have a three day weekend - so thankful for a much needed extra day of rest. 

New Year Goals

With the first week of the new year complete, I find myself reflecting on my goals for the year.  I have a variety of goals written down for the new year ranging from spiritual, physical health, financial, marriage/family and personal goals.  

One of my goals for 2015 is to take time to do some kind of craft at least 2 nights a week.  This past summer, I finished a scarf I was knitting on our adventure to Montana.  I loved that I had time to just sit and knit while the kids were napping in the car.  With this new year, I asked myself what was stopping me from knitting again.  My answer was exhaustion.  I'm so tired by the time school is done and then switching the hat to being mom until the kids are in bed, that I don't have much mental focus to knit a specific pattern.  So- when my mom was visiting over Christmas and I watched her crocheting, I thought - yes! That's something I could do in the evenings...  So with a quick refresher lesson from mom, I made a wash cloth.  When my mom saw how much scrap yarn I had she suggested I make Granny Squares.

And so it began... I'm up to almost 40 Granny Squares and have only 4 balls of yarn left to use up. I love that it takes me about 15 minutes to make one square. I feel accomplished because it's finished and I'm loving practicing a new skill.  When it's all done, I plan for it to be a big ugly beautiful blanket. It feels so good to be crafting again.

Monkey 1 and Monkey 2 still continue to keep us busy...

We are about 90% potty trained with Monkey #2 - will be so glad to have this accomplished! 

Here the little monkeys are riding the stick horse together.  They actually gallop together and then take turns holding the reins.  So fun to see this new stage where they can play together. 

Who doesn't love a good old fashion balloon fight?  I love the smiles on their faces!

Another goal of mine - under the category of family - has been to make sure that I'm giving my kiddos my full attention after work - to engage with them and have fun with them. They will only be this age once and I want to embrace it! 

We hope you have set yourself some goals for 2015! 

Have a wonderful week!!

Happy New Year ~ 2015

Happy New Year ~ 2015

This sweet puppy above, Penny, was our guest for 10 days over this holiday season. 

We sure did enjoy having a four legged friend in the house.

We also had Grandma Julie visit us for the Christmas week!

We had fun playing outside.

We had fun making reindeer out of very old clothes pins Grandma found at her house in Wisconsin.

We had fun playing the "Frozen" version of CandyLand.

We had fun being silly in our new jammies and hats!

We had fun cheering on the Packers together!

It was a very Merry Christmas around our house this year. 

So fun to be able to have Grandma here with us.

(Okay Mrs. Dillydally - I know you are laughing out loud when you see this one!)

Sister was happy to receive some Princess toys this year as well as

a "Frozen" microphone that repeatedly sings "Let it Go."

Brother enjoyed receiving a train track  and of course

a new race track for all of his cars.  He even tries to get his dinosaurs to go down the tracks.

We sure were blessed this Christmas season and hope that you were too!

Time to ring in the New Year!

We were invited to a Puzzle Off with a group of friends...

Here's Papa with Grammy working hard at being the first group to finish their puzzle and they did!

Were was Momma during the exciting puzzle off?  Doing what I do best- keeping the kiddos entertained.

Okay, honestly it was 9:30pm and I put on one of our favorite shows to watch, Paw Patrol. The kids snuggled in their jammies had fun watching the show while the big kids did puzzles.  And...

I spent time loving on this sweet 6 day old little guy.  Yes, one of our friends gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on Christmas Day.  As much as I enjoyed loving on this little guy, I'm blessed with my ONLY two little ones.

We hope you and your family and friends had a wonderful holiday season!

Wishing you all peace and happiness in the New Year. 

Wacky Olympics!

Wacky Olympics ~ Romig Middle School ~ 2014

You read correctly - Wacky Olympics.  I had no idea what I was in store for as this is my first year at Romig, but what an amazing even to kick off the winter break.  We had an abbreviated schedule and then the last hour and half was Wacky Olympics.

The gym is packed with 7th and 8th graders all dressed in their team colors.  Each team assigned students to compete in a variety of events.  The teachers even competed too!

This was one of my favorite events as students tried to get the soccer ball into their goal.

Our team of teachers trying to beat out the 8th graders in the turbo ski race.

My favorite event for the afternoon... Yummy Gummy

Yep - that's me and my sped department chair as the teacher team. We had to shove our face in a plate of whip cream and get the gummy bears out using only our mouths.  It was hilarious!  I still had whip cream in my nose when I got home.  We took first in this event! 

The gym was so loud - but in such a positive way.  Even the most challenging students where smiling and having a good time.  I'm so blessed to be a staff member at this school and what a great way to kick off our Winter Break!

Our winter break includes a visit from Grandma Julie! Grandpa had to stay home to take care of the cows, but Grandma flies in tomorrow and will spend a little over a week with us.  We are so excited! We are also dog sitting for a friend - it's so wonderful to have a four legged member in the house again. 

This sweet girl, Penny, sits on the stairs each night listening for the kids to fall asleep. She's such a sweet girl.

Merry Christmas from the Jacobsen's!
We wish you all a wonderful break and time with family and friends.

 (Maybe sneak a nap or two in too!)

Let the count down begin

4 more days of teaching students

1 teacher grading day

9 more sleeps and Grandma Julie will be here

12 more days until Christmas morning!

It's a busy time of year in the Jacobsen household.  Between Papa coaching wrestling and Momma trying to get all of her required paperwork completed for the end of the quarter - there hasn't been much time for photography.  We do have two very excited little monkeys that are counting down the days until Christmas!   They have leaving all the lights off except for the Christmas lights.  I love seeing the awe in their faces.  Such a special time for us all. 

Wishing you all a restful and productive weekend - if that is even possible?!? :o)

Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving

Happy Belated Thanksgiving from two silly turkeys!

Yes, the darkness and lack of snow has our little turkeys being quiet silly these days.  We had a serious case of the giggles one night.  Sister just sat in this position laughing for no reason at all. It was infectious and before we knew it, we were all having deep belly laughs.   

Maybe Sister was just happy that we were going to be taking a trip soon.  Yes, we drove after work on Wednesday up to Fairbanks to spend Thanksgiving with Grammy and Pope.  The roads were dry and the kids traveled well, which was such a blessing because I was very ill.  I came down with laryngitis Tuesday afternoon, spent Wednesday writing on the SmartBoard so my students knew what to do for the day, and by Wednesday night the fever/chills set in as we drove north.  I spent the whole break being sick, however I was so thankful we made the trip so that Papa had some help with the kids.  Grammy and Pope were so kind to allow me to just rest and helped Papa entertain the kids.

While I was resting, a good friend recommend this book to me. WOW! I read the book in a day and half - I couldn't put it down. What an amazing book.  The story is told from the perspective of the family dog. I laughed, I cried, I highlighted some amazing quotes to live by and I can't stop recommending it to others.  It is available in digital copy if you prefer that version too!

By the end of the trip, I felt a little better and did venture out with the family for a night of bowling.  I sat and watched as I didn't have much energy but it was great to see how excited the kids were.  Sister is doing her dance after her turn.

 

Here's Brother doing his dance.  Even the other people bowling were entertained by the kids' enthusiasm.  Which was a wonderful way to come back home and get into the Christmas spirit.  We came home to some snow on the ground - hurray! It finally feels like winter around here and now time to get ready for Christmas.

We put our tree up after school this week. The kids had so much fun and yes most of the ornaments are about 3 feet high and in the front of the tree.  

I love it!

Sister asked if she could put the angel on this year. 

But, first she had to tell the angel that she loved her.

 So precious...

We were so thankful to spend Thanksgiving with Grammy and Pope and now this weekend a dear friend from Cordova is here to visit and in two weeks Grandma Julie is flying up to visit us! We are so excited and so thankful to be surrounded by family and friends (old and new) this holiday season.