Playtime with the cousins

This afternoon the boys had a chance to play with some of their cousins at EJ and Laura's house. It was a great day to be outside. The kids only came in to eat! Below, Mason and Alex are playing in the school house/playhouse.

Avery was enjoying her cupcake!

I took the next two pictures by leaning inside the window of this playhouse. Not the best angle but I thought they were cute pictures.

I love the view of the flag flying outside the playhouse.

Quiet Time

I have a rare few hours to myself this morning. Andy took the boys with him to take some of his cows to the vet. I made a huge list of things I wanted to get done while they were gone. You know, fun things like clean the bathrooms, do the laundry, read the 16 chapters I need to read by Tuesday, etc. But I am starting out with a cup of coffee and my blog. It's the little things!
Let's see, what's going on in the Dallmeyer household that is worth sharing.... :)
Mason's class won Best Overall for the scarecrow they made and entered into the contest downtown. That means their class receives $250! His teacher sent a note home this week stating the students already have ideas on how to spend the money, like a flat screen tv! Mason also lost his 9th tooth this week. Thursday night he pulled it out in the bathtub. It's a very dramatic event when Mason looses a tooth. Even though it's the 9th one he has lost he still screams and whines about it! The next morning I went to wake him up for school. Before he even opened his eyes he slipped his hand under his pillow to make sure the tooth fairy had visited! Thank goodness the tooth fairy remembered! I had my parent/teacher conference with Mason's teachers a couple of weeks ago. They both said he was doing well! I was so glad! He is starting to have more interest in reading and he continues to work hard every day.
Alex still loves going to school everyday. He has become even more independent and easy going. Since I am working in the mornings now I have to do my observations and HOSTS mentoring in the afternoons. That means he has to go friends or family for awhile. He has no problem being dropped off with Kristi, Missy or Buddy. Last year he would have had nothing to do with being dropped off at someones house other than his grandparents. We have started trying to figure out where to have Alex's birthday. I think he wants to have it at our house again and I am REALLY pushing to find an alternate venue! His birthday wish list is a mile long. It's a good thing Christmas is shortly after his birthday. He also has strong opinions on his birthday cake and invitations. He wants a sports cake and spongebob invitations. Huh?! That's Alex for you! He is going to do things his way!
Andy is finishing his last semester in school and is counting the assignments/tests! He is so ready to be done. Work is alot right now as well. But at least we aren't trying to complete a bunch of home projects in a short amount of time right now!
I will be starting my 5th week subbing in the Kindergarten classroom at St. Paul's. I am really learning a lot. I am not sure how many weeks I have left, but I should be done the week or two before Thanksgiving. I sure miss seeing my girlfriends at MOPS, bible study and the occasional coffee outing! But I have really enjoyed getting to see Alex at school and adding lots of new ideas to my tool chest. I am also half way done with my semester at Blinn. I am very disappointed in my class. I will be setting a meeting up with the director of the program to let her know my concerns. Basically I feel like I am not being prepared to take my certification test in January. If I don't take the test in January it will put me a semester behind. The other thing I struggle with is whether or not I really want to teach. I loved teaching preschool in Pflugerville, but I am not getting the same reward/satisfaction out of my subbing experience or my Blinn classroom. Right now I am trying to weigh everything and figure out how I really feel. Right now I feel like I lack the passion needed to make it through all of the negative aspects of teaching (discipline problems, state mandated tests, parents, paperwork, etc). I enjoy the rosy parts of the classroom but I know it's not always going to be perfect world. And I don't know if I love teaching enough to get me through the tough times. Anyway, just thinking outloud but that's what I am trying to wade through right now. I am trying to pray about it and I'm hoping I figure it out by the end of this semester! So if teaching isn't what I want to do, what is?! That is the other thing I struggle with right now. I know one day I want to go back to work. I am a better wife and mom if I have some sort of work in my life. But perfect world scenario, it would be work I enjoyed! I'm really praying about that right now. What was I put on this earth to do? Deep thoughts on this cloudy, quiet morning.
If anyone is still reading, bless your heart! Now for an update on the animals! Alex's fish had babies, like 20 of them! Maybe more, but she ate a few before we were able to get them all out of the tank. They are now in a separate bowl. We will probably have to get Mason's old tank up and running and put the babies in there. Shelby is still our patio cat. She is still putting up with Scotty barking at her and trying to chase her off. So far he doesn't bother her in the least. Scotty will turn 14 in January! I can't believe it! He is a tough dog! If only he could get that cat off our porch he would feel alot better about himself!
I guess I better get started on the chores list before the boys get home. We have a wedding to go to this afternoon. It's been awhile since we have been to a good wedding. I am looking forward to catching up with some cousins at this wedding! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

My new coaster

I'm loving my new coaster from my mom! My parents took a trip to Rhode Island and this was my souvenir! :) Too cute!!

Walk in the park

Last weekend we went to Pflugerville to celebrate my mom's birthday (a little early). Of course, the boys wanted to go to the park. Here are a couple of cute pictures from our walk. Alex didn't want to smile for the camera. I thought I was just capturing Alex, but I realized later I caught Mason in the picture trying to make Alex laugh. So sweet. They do have sweet moments every now and then!

Natalie and Harper's shower

I remember vividly the day I found out Natalie was pregnant. I found out the same way she found out I was pregnant with Mason. It went a little something like this..."What do you mean you can't have a glass of wine?!!" From the minute I found out Natalie was pregnant I knew I wanted to have a shower for her.  I originally thought we would do a girls shower, but it just made more sense to do a couple's shower since our husbands were friends first. Plus, we are lucky enough to have husbands that want to be involved! Once the type of shower was decided, I spread the word and four other couples were thrilled to plan the shower with me. Thank goodness, because each couple (ok, who am I kidding, you know the women did most of the work! Well, besides my husband! Since we were having the shower at our house he got roped into many projects!! But he was glad to do them.) brought something great to the table. Missy did all of the decorating and let me tell you, it was AMAZING! She did a fantastic job with the flowers, the table decorations, decorating my house, etc. Natalie's sister made the invitations, and even made thank you notes with pre-printed labels for the envelopes! How cool is that?! The invitations and thank yous were adorable. I wish I was that talented. My other two co-pilots brought food and drinks. You can't have a successful party without those! Everyone came early to set up and start cooking. It was definitely a team effort and I am thankful for everyone's help. I think it turned out great!
Andy and I have had about a month and a half to prepare for the shower. We used the shower as a motivator to get some projects done around the house. It was a great motivator. We worked in the yard for two entire weekends straight. We pulled weeds, planted new plants, mulched, trimmed, clipped, etc. I was really proud of our efforts. I think our yard looks great again. I put together a collage and hung it in the living room. That was a project I meant to start a good 6-8 months ago. We bought a new tv and redid our entertainment center. It looks completely different and totally matches our living room now. Anyway, to make a long story short, we were able to tackle some projects we wouldn't have done normally.
After the shower Andy asked me to name the best and worst thing about the shower. The best was the decorations and the video I took of each couple giving "parental advice". The worst was I didn't take any pictures!!!! I am so mad at myself. I tried to take a few but they turned out blurry. I guess I had the flash off when I should have had it on. I know Natalie took pictures (poor thing, she had to take pictures of her own shower!) so if I can snag some of those I will put them on the blog.
I can't wait to meet Tice Warren Lange!!

Lil cowboy

Last night was St. Paul's Fall Fundraiser. All the classes sang at the fundraiser and the theme was western. They were so stinking cute! I have the singing on video. One day I will upload it! Happy Friday!