The Beginning of the School Year

People ask me what it's been like getting started in my senior year at Emporia State. Well, the good news is, my head has not yet exploded. The bad news? I fear it might very soon.

As a part of Emporia's PDS (Professional Development School) program, I have been placed in an Olathe elementary school with a mentor teacher. I will spend the first semester observing this teacher, getting my toes a tiny bit wet in 2nd grade and (successfully) completeing 16 credit hours for Emporia State in various methods classes.

Needless to say, I'm already a bit overwhelmed and I've only been back for 7 days. Granted, it doesn't help that my first week consisted of Olathe and Emporia telling me about EVERYTHING that will occur between now and December 11th. Talk about your head spin!

So for now, I am existing from one day to the next. Each night I look at the planner to answer the following three questions:
-Where am I going tomorrow?
-What time do I need to be there?
-What am I expected to wear?

With that, I must close so that I can iron my clothes for tomorrow, set the alarm clock (On a side note, I've already decided that early mornings are HIGHLY overrated and that teacher's pay should include a monthly Starbucks delivery allowance!) and get my lunch packed. Us poor student teachers don't get to order out every day!

Fingers crossed!

Heartland Family Adventure

This past week has found us busy with Heartland Family Adventure. It is our church's version of Vacation Bible School with a few little tweaks. It's held in the evening from 6 pm to 8 pm with dinner served at 5:30 pm. It is BYOP (Bring Your Own Parents) and it ends with popsicles on the playground.

Branden and I volunteered to be on the dinner team which meant that we were in the kitchen preparing and serving the meals. McKenna is still too little, so she went to childcare, but Madelynn was able to attend.

After dinner, we went with Madelynn to the auditorium and sang songs and learned our bible verse for the night. We also shared "God-sightings" with other families and put out our "God-lights" (little battery powered tealight candles) to remind us that God is with us always. After that we played games and did a craft centered around our verse for the day. Finally, Madelynn went into the gym for a story and the parents went into the auditorium for a little pep-talk on how to be the best faith-builder for your kids. The church's tongue-in-cheek motto for this was "You can do it, we can help!" (sound familiar?)

It was a lot of fun and I think Madelynn had a good time! We can't wait until next year!

McKenna Mae

So, McKenna is the second child and therefore more devious. But what I didn't realize is that she is very observant.

For example, as soon as warm weather hit, I dug out my flip flops. I practically live in them in the summer. And what goes hand-in-hand with flip flops? Why a toe ring, of course! So McKenna has been watching me put on my shoes and put on my toe ring for a while now.

The other day, I was preoccupied with household chores when I heard an odd clinking sound. Clink, clink, clink. As I investigated, I came upon McKenna looking oh so innocent! But when she walked away, the clinking resumed. I looked down at her feet and there was Branden's wedding ring around her big toe!

hee hee

Summer Trips (40 photos), by Amy Connelly

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
http://www2.snapfish.com/fbshareredirect/p=473261246045147095/l=2483287007/g=36844174/redirectURL=share/otsi=SALBBL/AlbumID=1136985007/a=36844174_36844174/usercomments=I_xqd%20like%20to%20share%20my%20Snapfish%20photos%20with%20you.%20Once%20you%20have%20checked%20out%20my%20photos%20you%20can%20order%20prints%20and%20upload%20your%20own%20photos%20to%20share./counttext=40%20photos/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

Fall Carnival 2009 (22 photos), by Amy Connelly

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
http://www2.snapfish.com/fbshareredirect/p=441261246045092221/l=2483286007/g=36844174/redirectURL=share/otsi=SALBBL/AlbumID=1162072007/a=36844174_36844174/usercomments=I_xqd%20like%20to%20share%20my%20Snapfish%20photos%20with%20you.%20Once%20you%20have%20checked%20out%20my%20photos%20you%20can%20order%20prints%20and%20upload%20your%20own%20photos%20to%20share./counttext=22%20photos/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

Easter 2009 (86 photos), by Amy Connelly

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
http://www2.snapfish.com/fbshareredirect/p=822261246045021692/l=2483285007/g=36844174/redirectURL=share/otsi=SALBBL/AlbumID=1162073007/a=36844174_36844174/usercomments=I_xqd%20like%20to%20share%20my%20Snapfish%20photos%20with%20you.%20Once%20you%20have%20checked%20out%20my%20photos%20you%20can%20order%20prints%20and%20upload%20your%20own%20photos%20to%20share./counttext=86%20photos/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

Happy Father's Day Poppa!

Since they don't get to drive all the way down to Ponca to see their Poppa, the girls wanted to make a video so he would know how much they love him!

Enjoy Poppa (they were kind of in a silly mood!) and have a very Happy Father's Day!

We love you - Madelynn and McKenna Mae

Poor Princess Madelynn

This afternoon, we met some friends at Oak Park Mall and played in the kid's area. After a quick ride on the carousel, we decided to go across the street to Chick-Fil-A for lunch.

After the girls had finished their lunch, they went into the play place to run around for a while and the moms sat and visited. I glanced up occasionally and did a head count, and they looked like they were having a great time! I was so super excited that Madelynn was finally breaking out of her shyness to climb around and go down the slides.

It seems like I just glanced away for a second and the next thing I know some guy (a dad of other kids playing in the play place) is carrying Madelynn towards me. She is screaming hysterically and there was blood everywhere. My heart stopped. I think I may have flipped a chair getting up to get her! Ooops.

I took her to the bathroom to assess the damage and try to calm her down. My good friend Jenniffer (who we were there visiting with) helped me out tremendously by keeping McKenna calm and occupied. The wonderful employees of Chick-Fil-A brought me anything they could think of. Paper towels, ice, ice cream for Madelynn (which she didn't end up wanting, but McKenna loved it!) and even a stuffed cow, which is the Chick-Fil-A mascot! After I had her calm enough, we profusely thanked the man that had brought her out. Turns out she tripped running to the platform that you can climb up to go down the slide. She hit the corner of the first step with the bridge of her nose. Ouch. Gives me chills just thinking about it.

Doctor says it will get worse before it gets better, but to keep it iced and make sure she can breathe out of both nostrils. And just through this evening, it has gotten worse! It's swollen to about four times it's normal size and it's a brilliant shade of blue. Keep an eye on Facebook for more up to date pictures!

New Photos

Here are some photos of the girls that were taken for Easter. We went to Portrait Innovations in Oklahoma City and I think they turned out fantastic! I will be posting these on Snapfish and sending them to everyone in the event you would like to order some of your own. Enjoy!





















































































And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. The Connelly Girls. Aren't they cute?

PS- If you click on the photos, you'll be able to see a larger image.

Spring Break Vacation

The girls and I are enjoying balmy Ponca City, Oklahoma this week. Today the thermometer reached 89 degrees! All of the girls were stripped just about bare it was so hot!

Well, Lydia (my sister-in-law)and I took the girls (Madelynn, McKenna and Adysan)down to Oklahoma City to get their Easter pictures taken at Portrait Innovations. They are masters of the camera there, because after an hour of us jumping around like idiots, adjusting the same lock of hair 20 times and wiping one little nose (which ended up being snotty in the one good picture!) more times than I can count, they were able to take some great shots. The nice thing about this studio is that they have actual cameras that they can get down on the floor with the kids and move around and capture their true personality, rather than a big stationary machine. As soon as I get the CD, I'll post some of them so you can all see.

In the meantime, my Tahoe is in the shop down here for some much needed maintanence. We're getting a new set of tires (insert wince here), an alignment, four new shocks and general upkeep. Since I now have a new windshield (a whole other adventure), I figured it was time to get everything tuned up. And what better time than when we're hanging around and having lazy play days at Granny and Poppa's house?

Must go to bed now. Wrangling three girls in a portrait studio, sitting through more Disney movies (in the truck, on the way down there) than I care to count and cleaning up blue and pink ice cream (WHY didn't I just get vanilla???), I'm pretty much worn out.

Funniest in the Family

For those of you who may not know, the Brest children have, for some reason, taken to ranking themselves and their siblings in different areas. I'm sure it's not a stretch to anyone's imagination that I am considered to be at the top of the "Bossiest" list. And even with the addition of siblings (albeit in-laws), that ranking has remained stationary.

Another category that is looked at, is the funniest sibling. While I do not merit the lowest ranking (Congratulations Chris!), I most certainly do not rank at the top. Mostly uncontested for "Funniest Sibling" would be Ben (for further proof, please visit http://www.benjaminbrest.blogspot.com). With the addition of our brother-in-law Jeremy, that title is now a tie. To prove that this title is well-earned, Ben and Jeremy formed an Improv comedy team with two friends and competed in the Thunderdome Improv competition. Their team, Kill the DJ, won their round and they will move on to the finals in April! Congratulations guys!

The following web address will take you to a YouTube video of their winning performance (you may have to just copy and paste it into the web address bar). Ben and Jeremy would be the two bald guys in the group. WARNING: After viewing this video, you may have a better insight into the delicate balance of the Brest family gatherings!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtI-NyfjwkE

Nana's Birthday Flowers

As it turns out, February is a busy month in the Connelly household. Not only do we celebrate Valentine's Day, we have our anniversary and numerous family birthdays including Poppa's (see previous post) and Nana's (my mom).

Yesterday was Nana's birthday and I needed to be in Emporia for a school meeting, so Nana graciously agreed to watch my girls and take them to AWANA until I got back. In order to celebrate her actual day, since we're having a family party for her this weekend, I thought we could draw her some pictures and take her a birthday card. Tuesday night, I ran to the store for some last minute groceries and Madelynn went with me. When we walked through the front door, she spotted the flowers and INSISTED that Nana needed some birthday flowers. So we picked some nice ones and Madelynn carried them through the store even though they were as tall as she was!

These flowers lasted all that evening and into the next morning with Madelynn admiring them every time she remembered them. When we packed up to go to Nana's house, Madelynn again insisted on holding them. Because I didn't want them too smooshed, I told her they had to ride in the pocket of the seat directly in front of her. They leaned just enough so that she could see and smell them whenever she wanted. The flowers fared well until about 5 minutes out. I'm driving along, listening to my AudioBook and I here this, "Mommy, look!" Madelynn was holding out a handful of flower petals. She had been quietly picking petals off Nana's flowers for who knows how long and had stripped at least half (if not more) completely bare. Nana's beautiful birthday flowers were now a couple raggedy flowers and a bunch of empty buds. I expressed my dismay that she had torn Nana's flowers, took them away from her and told her she would have to tell Nana that she was sorry. She sat very quiet for the last five minutes of our drive. When we pulled up, Grandpa was there to let her out and as soon as he opened the door Madelynn told him, "I'm sorry for tearing Nana's flowers." Of course, he had no idea what she was talking about, so I ushered her inside with the flowers. She delivered her apology complete with downcast face and Nana just laughed. "I love these flowers anyway!" And she did. Before I left, I saw the complete bouquet, empty buds and all, in a prominently displayed vase!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA!

Poppa's Birthday

We recently traveled down to Oklahoma (Homa-Homa if you ask Madelynn) to visit with Branden's parents and celebrate Poppa's Birthday. However, my girls did not get that memo. At the birthday party, they were the ones opening presents and helping themselves to the cake. Fortunately, Poppa didn't seem to mind sharing the spotlight! Here's a few pictures from the party.

Happy Birthday Poppa!

Mmmmmmmmmmm, Bavarian Blast!

Poppa's Girls

Katie and Jeremy's Wedding Pictures

Ok, since it's our family blog, I get to post my favorite pictures of my girls! Check out these cuties!

Grandpa is holding her pacifier for ransom!

She told Mommy that she looked like a Princess!

These are all of their nieces and nephews (minus Tobin - he wasn't in the picture taking mood!)

Aunt Katie and her girls!

Didn't Nana and Grandpa do a great job on the cakes? (Cake is for Katie, Cookie Cake is for Jeremy!)

So there's a few pictures of the eventful day. Just looking at them makes me smile remembering all that happened!

Here spring, spring, spring

Man, I need Spring to get here. I'm so desperate for fresh air that I've got all my doors open and it's only in the 40s. Those 60 and 70 degree days really spoiled me. I think it's all that praying for patience I've been doing. God's giving me a chance to practice. Ugh.

Despite the "warm" weather outside we're kind of having a slum day today. We're all still in pajamas (of course, the clock still reads am!) and the house is a wreck. I've been playing on the computer all morning while the girls have had the run of the house. Guess I better get busy and clean up so it looks like I did something while Branden was at work today!

Chris called me a few minutes ago and we were able to chat for a while. Which is interesting, because I had just finished looking at my sister's wedding pictures online and saw the one with all the Brest siblings. I realized how much I miss him when I saw him in the pictures. Can't wait til he's home.

Well, laundry calls. We're heading to Ponca this weekend and it's so much easier to pack when all the clothes are clean AND PUT AWAY!

Out and About

Branden and I packed up the girls and headed out for a Family Outing on Saturday. We went to lunch and then to the Brass Armadillo (an antique mall in Grain Valley, MO). Branden is currently renting a glass case there to sell some of his antiques and paper money. The reason I say "packed up the girls" is because Grain Valley is approximately a one hour drive. Ugh. Plus, once we're there, I usually need a significant arsenal (toys, books, snacks) to keep the girls entertained and away from the priceless antiques within easy reach. (I mean really, why is that a good idea?)

On the way, before they both got sleepy, Madelynn and McKenna were regaling us with tales of pure imagination. Madelynn was spinning some fantasy that encompassed a current Princess movie and the "Rules of the House" (see below). McKenna of course just jabbered along at appropriate intervals since she has yet to take command of the English language.

All of the sudden, in midsentence, Madelynn shrieks, "WHO POOPED ON US?" It took us a minute to realize she had spotted a small spatter of bird poop on the windshield. Branden and I were just rolling with laughter. I think there were even some tears. For the rest of the day, she was insistent, "We have to wash Mommy's truck because it is disgusting." Hmmmm. wonder where she picked that up?

Rules of the House:
*No whining
*No hitting
*No biting
*No tattling
*No wiggling (during nap time)
*Be nice and share

Where am I?

Ugh, the flu season. I hate it. So why don't I get a flu shot? Because I'm invincible, of course.

Branden came down with the flu in late January and I sanitized like a crazy woman. I was determined that he would be the only one sick this year. I couldn't handle any more sick little girls. So I quaratined him to the master bedroom, slept on the couch and Lysol-ed and Oust-ed every night. Plus I used Clorox wipes on every non-porous surface Branden even looked at! He finally re-joined the land of the living only for me to feel like crap. Well, you know what they say, "If you want to hear God laugh, just tell him your plans"!

So today, I feel like I'm waking up from a coma of 3 days. And just in time. We have a socially packed weekend that I have done nothing to prepare for. The girls and I haven't even worn real clothes in days. It's just pajamas to pajamas. So now (after I'm done typing), I'm off to clean the house, put away the mountain of clean laundry waiting for me, dress the girls, disinfect EVERYTHING and get groceries. Ugh.

On second thought, maybe I'll wait for Branden to get home. He can help me. I need a nap.

Guess the baby!

All right folks. Let's see how well you know your princesses!

Who is this? Madelynn or McKenna?

Ahhh...comradery!

What a lovely example of the sweet bond of sisterhood. Notice how Madelynn pulls sister in for a close-up early on! While she shows off her love of Disney songs (this one in particular would be from Tinkerbell!), McKenna demonstrates the new talent taught to her by Daddy. Lovely, isn't it?

It is indeed these moments that we will treasure for all time.

What a Pretty Baby!

I didn't realize just how "girly" everything in our house truly was until my nephews visited! Jessica brought the boys over to play last Wednesday night and when it came time to give everyone a bath, I went to grab kid-towels. Wouldn't you know, only color towels we own are pink. Well, I guess all that really mattered was that they were dry!





We love you, Jonas!

Kisses for Daddy

Who's been teaching her how to kiss?!?!?

Welcome Home Uncle Chris!

Here's a few pictures that I've finally unloaded from my camera. These were taken when Uncle Chris arrived home (for leave) in November. The girls and their cousins all had shirts made for the occasion. It was a blast!












This is McKenna with Uncle Joe. Her shirt says, "Be nice to me, my uncle is a US Soldier!"





Here's the rest of the entourage!

Life goes on.....and on....and on...

Today was an adventure to be sure. I took the girls to the doctor to see what ailed them. After getting my daily laps in chasing McKenna around the waiting room (and shooing her snotty self away from seemingly healthy babies), they finally called our names. I don't know what it is about doctor's offices, but I'm pretty sure the administrative staff hasn't had a lot of experience taking multiple children (by yourself) to the doctor. If they had, they would allow you to wait in the WAITING room until just before the doctor was ready to see you. Do they not understand how small, boring and HOT those patient exam rooms are? I would much rather attempt to entertain two small, sick children in the waiting room where there is a movie, a fish tank and multiple toys. What exactly do they expect me to do with a few torn up books, a 1 year old and twenty minutes? Hmmmm

So, through that grueling experience, we learned that both girls have a massive ear infection. To the point where there are blisters on the inside of their ears. Ew. No wonder we've been having sleepless nights.

What better to soothe a stressful visit to the doctor than shopping! The girls and I went to Target (merely to waste time until their antibiotics were ready for pick-up) and did some shopping. Of course, we stopped first at Starbucks and got coffees all around. Well, I got a coffee. Madelynn got a steamer (basically hot chocolate) and McKenna got a Vanilla milk. Yep, vanilla. It was so funny to watch the reactions to Madelynn walking around with her "coffee"! She would just stroll beside the cart, sip her steamer and proclaim, "I just love this coffee, Mommy!" To which I would absent-mindedly reply, "Mm-hmm. I know honey. Coffee is yummy."

Ahhhhh, the flu season....

So here we are, holed up at home for the second "sick" day. McKenna is not feeling well and now I am just dragging around the house. It is sad to see her so lethargic and clingy, because it's just so far departed from normal. We're going to the doctor tomorrow to check her out. Hopefully it's nothing too horrible.

Just wanted to say "hi" to everyone and let you know I'm thinking about you. I'm starting to get settled in to my new routine and should be able to squeeze out a bit more "free time" in the months to come.

Well, my hot bath and snuggly bed is calling. I'll update later when the medicine-fog is clear!

PS- You should check out the following blogs:

Chris's blog at: christopherbrest.blogspot.com
Jessica's at: jessicabrest.blogspot.com
Ben's at: benjaminbrest.blogspot.com
Elliott's at: bigbrest.blogspot.com