Monkeying Around

Family day...I got to pick this month, so we headed to the minnesota zoo, and oh what fun we had...well, mostly. Anna seemed more interested in the people than the animals, Alix seemed more interested in when it was over than what was we were looking at, so that left Steve and I to be interested in the animals...which we were. We saw wolves and eagles, fish and sharks, tapirs and pythons...but no lions and tigers and bears...oh my! Here are a couple of our memories. FYI, inside the zoo is not the best place to take pictures.

Steve and Anna viewing some sort of animal

Peek!

Anna--stop monkeying around!

trapsing through the jungle

Fishies are so cool!

Is that Alix actually having fun?!

Sisterly love

Update--Education for All...SUCCESS?!

So...apparently you can just go online type in a few (literally) things and get yourself and EIN (Employee Identification Number), which is what is needed by the bank to open an account that would allow me to use the name of my scholarship. Who knew that I would've wasted so much time and energy over something that could've possibly been resolved months ago with a mere 5 min., online, application. Thank goodness for Google...it saved the day. At least I think...one more trip to the Bank will tell the whole story...

Education for All--another setback

I shared my vision with PTA this past week. My goal was that they'd be willing to jump on board and help with some procedural things--namely to be a name we could use for people to write checks to when making a donation. I walked in this Monday morning to this disappointing response.

Yes, I did some research and the PTA Board discussed it as well. We feel we need to pass on running this through PTA, at least for this year. Maybe with some more documented procedures and policies we can relook at it next year.



Questions/Comments/Concerns:

This endeavor does not fit with the mission of the PTA. It is not a PTA sponsored program or student activity. It sets a good example and is educationally based, but it doesn't provide a direct benefit to the students as a whole.
Is this a personal endeavor or is it a Pullman sponsored event? Is it something that could be run through the school itself? We know the school has strict guidelines on what can be advertised for and participated in (do it for one, do it for all). Does this fit those parameters?
Each time the PTA accepts a donation and it is deposited in the bank account, it is considered PTA money and we take on any possible tax liability/implications associated with it, including the possibility of bounced checks and any fees associated with them.
It is a great idea and a worthwhile cause, but since it is not PTA-based, we feel we cannot take this on at this point.

I guess I look into making this a true non-profit and registering it with the state...honestly though, right now I just want to donate the money that we have to someone and be done with it all. Ugh!

Anna 7 1/2 mos...Alix 11, going on 16

Here's some recent pix of anna and alix...my 2 beauties!


Anna's off


She's up


success!!

Will someone please post bail already!

Peace out.

Male Perm

What people won't do for a friend. Here is a story about two friends of mine from HS. A great story of friendship standing the test of time and distance, and then becoming bonded even stronger by one very unlikely source--the male perm

Education for All Report

well, it is conference day (ugh!) and i put out the education for all information in the lobby. I honestly will be thrilled if even one person stops and reads it ;) Hopefully the info will get posted to our school's website as well. I will go to PTA to talk to them about using their account for people to write checks to...and then hopefully get forms out to parents at the end of Feb, with donations due by end of march. Stay tuned!

Hello Everyone

hi everyone, it's anna. I just turned 7 mos so I thought it was about time to start blogging. I have learned to do a lot of cool things the past month, but mommy thinks I am growing up too fast. sometimes I see her get tears in her eyes when she looks at me. I know she is excited for all my new tricks, but I also know that she will miss all the baby things I used to do (even though I thought laying around and "cuddling" was kind of boring.) I am ready to get out into the world and be a mover and a shaker...hopefully mommy and daddy can keep up!! I'm not one to brag, but just this month

*I got really good at sitting up by myself...and can now even sometimes bring myself from tummy to sitting.
*I learned to crawl...I started kind of slow, but I am super fast now!
*I can pull myself to standing on just about anything. My favorite place to stand is my musical table and my crib, but if there's something to grab onto I can get up (unless I bump my head and start to cry instead.) Mommy thought this was cute at first, but now I think she gets annoyed when it's time to go to bed and I want to play the crib stand up game. (I personally think it funny the way she has to keep coming in to put me back down...ha, ha...who's in charge now?!)
*I can cruise around furniture, slowly but surely. Usually I'd rather just hang around my musical table (did I mention it's my favorite?!) but if I'm motivated enough I can move around to get other places too. Mommy once said that she can see the wheels turning in my head when it comes time for me to reach and turn to get to my next spot. Sometimes I'm not sure if I can make it, but luckily I'm a daredevil so I go for it anyway. By the way, did you know it hurts when you fall backwards and hit your head? OUCH!
*I can wave...mommy knows this trick (she's seen me do it several times when someone comes into view and says hi to me), but daddy isn't quite so convinced. Kelly (my daycare mom) has seen it though, so the girls win this fight...again! I think I'm going to keep this one a secret for a while, but soon enough I'll let everyone see.
*I can stand unassisted for short periods of time...when they can trick me into standing still long enough. Usually I'd rather be bouncing, walking, or standing at my musical table.

Boy, I've come a long way in one short month...I wonder what tricks I'll learn this next month?

Good talking to you all. Hopefully I'll learn to do some of my signs soon enough, that way when I see you in person I can at least say hello and tell you the important things (like I want "more".)

Lots of love,
anna

here I go...watch what I do next


I'm on my way up...watch out you crazy doggie!


And success!! (see I don't even need two hands anymore.)


These are just me being cute:

On again, off again

Education for All is in the "off again" mode until I can make it to a PTA meeting to pitch them the idea of allowing us to collect the money under their name and then have them cut the checks for us. I'm hoping they say yes, but the meeting isn't until mid-february...so no getting letters out to families this week :( That means no drawing by the end of the month...and so on. Disappointing...just when I thought all systems were a GO for getting this operation up and running. Dumb bank!

Arrrrghhh...

Who knew it would be so hard to try to give away some money for a good cause?! First, we can't have a raffle...it's gambling. Then I can't open a bank acct. under my scholarship's name (b/c I'm not a business). I can either apply for an EIN (employee identification number) with the state (I can't imagine that's easy)...or I can open an account under my name, meaning people would have to write out donation checks to me...and I can only imagine that most would not feel comfortable with this (heck, even I don't feel comfortable with this!) My principal didn't seem like it would be an option for him to have the school open an account, so I went from trying to launch this donation drive next week, to waiting (again) to figure it all out. Perhaps I can talk PTA into taking this on...with my help...so they can create a line item for it and dole out the money from their acct once funds are received. Plus that way they could carry on if I have to go to another school next year. I guess I don't know what other choices I have right now.

I am super bummed. As much as I'm excited to raise money for this cause, I am just as excited to stop planning and start doing. I didn't realize how much would have to be put into all of of this...how disappointing if people don't buy into it.

One good thing. I've already received several donations from wonderful people who support my cause. Thankfully they were kind enough to leave their checks blank... I only hope that my school community supports this cause as well. I know it's important to me, but I desperately want it to be important to them too.

Education For All

I have created a flyer for my pursuit to begin a scholarship for an ongoing education scholarhship in my school community (a program I've entitled...Education for All), but I can't find a way to post it here. I sure wish I were more techie! I will have to see if I can host it on my school website and attach a link. Until I work out the kinks, here is the main text. Check back soon for updates on seeing the "real" thing! Until then, please let me know if you have any questions or have any ideas of how I can improve what I've said. This flyer will go out to families at my school Feb.6th. Thanks for everyones guidance and support as I've been getting this program rolling. Here's hoping it's a success (meaning we can offer at least one person some money toward their educational pursuits!) Yea for lifelong learning!!!!

Education For All
scholarships for adult ongoing education

Who: People who believe in the power of education

Why: There is no better way to teach our children then through our example. Education can be a catalyst for growth, change, and empowerment. Our goal is to support adult learners in our community who seek to better their lives, and that of their families and community, through ongoing educational endeavors (GED, technical training, college classes, etc). It is their example that will guide our children to strive for success in education and in life.

Where: Pullman School Community
St. Paul Park, MN

When: Donations can be received at Pullman through February 26.

How: In an envelope, enclose your donation and Thank You Drawing* entry(ies). Return it to the school office or your child’s teacher. Drawing will take place at Pullman’s STAR program on February 27 and winners will be notified by phone. All donations will go directly to one or more adult education scholarships in the Pullman community.

Pullman Elementary School
C/O Education for All
1260 Selby Ave.
St. Paul Park, MN 55071

*Thank You Drawing--a chance to win one of 2 great gifts!
·A family fun basket filled with--Cold Stone and Blockbuster Gift Cards, dominoes game, popcorn, movie theater candy, and 6-pack of IBC rootbeer
·Autographed Joe Mauer baseball bat!

For each $5 donated please fill out one box below (duplicate forms can be printed or found in the office.) Return the entries with your donations. We will separate and add to drawing to be held on February 27th. Thank you and Good Luck!

Name:
Phone:

Name:
Phone:

Name:
Phone:

Name:
Phone:

Name:
Phone:

Name:
Phone:

She's Such a Trip...

Here you go, more Anna "fun"...

Want to know what Anna thinks of the world...just click and see!



It may be brief, but if you hang in there long enough you'll Anna's newest trick caught on tape. She really is getting better at standing unassisted, this video does not do it justice. She'd be set, if only she could hold still for a second...



We bought Anna a walker a couple of days ago (just like nana's ;) She has only used it once or twice and sometimes likes to suck on it more than she likes to walk with it, but she's kind of funny when she gets going. Sometimes her legs end up way out behind the rest of her, but she rarely falls (if she does it's usually backwards). I think she really enjoys the freedom of being able to get from here to there.

Anna's update and new "trick"

We visited the doctor for our 6 mos check-up on Monday. We were a little late, but it seems that our doctor also has kids and so her vacations from work often mesh with my vacations from school, but that's alright because we LOVE her! Dr. Jaeger gave Anna a clean bill of health and let us know that she was right on schedule. She was also sure that Anna was going to a mover and shaker and keep us on our toes. We would have to agree! Anna weighed in at 18lbs (85th %) and 26.5 inches (75th %) her head measured right in the middle at the 80th percentile. Anna got her four shots and she was none to happy about that. She already felt pretty crappy due to the cold we've been passing around the family, so it kind of added insult to injury. She has since recovered (from the shots, not the cold) and is back to her usual perky self.

Anna has also been working on some new "tricks". Enjoy the video below of her latest (enjoy the "comb-over" she has going on as well ;)

She also has something in the works that is sure to be videotaped soon...stay tuned.

My new Joe Mauer baseball bat has arrived!

Too bad I have to give it away! OK, it's not really too bad since it's going to a good cause (we'll draw one winner from those who donate), but it's kind of fun to have it in my house. This week we had our staff meeting and I received the opportunity to share my plan for the scholarship. Everyone seemed very enthusiastic and I heard a lot of positive feedback, so I went away from it all feeling like I am headed in the right direction! I have recently given some thought to trying to set up a fundraiser pancake breakfast at Applebees. I'm not sure how deep I want to get into this project, but at the same time I feel that since I started this I should go big, or go home...so, I am going to call tomorrow (if I say it I have to do it, right?!)--hopefully the meetings at school will subside and I'll actually have time to get it done. It would be wonderful to actually be able to give someone a meaningful amount of money towards their educational pursuits. Honestly, my biggest concern at this time is that our school community will not pull through, I don't mean the teachers/staff, but the actual families. Money is tight and most of our families are in the low-mid to low income range, so it may not be the best time to ask for donations. It is important to me that the Pullman community buys into the idea that lifelong education is important and worth sacrificing for...so I have my fingers crossed. I guess time will tell. I'll keep everyone updated on how things are going. Thanks for everyone's interest and support!

Oh yes, and I also received my very first donation from one of my sister's students. Amy had read them my plan and apparently her student donated in her parent's name as their Christmas gift. I couldn't be more grateful that she cared enough to share in my endeavor. I promise to make it a donation she, and her parents, can be proud of!

Anna Turns 6 mos!

Anna is turning 6 mos...it's amazing how the time flied by! My little girl now sits by herself (quite proficiently--mom doesn't even have to worry about tipping anymore), gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth (crawling is sure to come soon!), scoots backwards as far as the room will let her, stands while holding on to something (and at times will even travel down a table unassisted to get an object), rolls over and over and over, loves to stand and bounce and bounce and bounce and bounce...did I mention she likes to bounce?! She is learning sign language, loves to eat her fruits and veggies, and smiles almost CONSTANTLY! Anna is a true joy...we are very blessed!!

The Christmas Details

I just spent about an hour reliving every christmas detail for you, but then my stupid computer malfunctioned just as I hit publish, so now you get this.

Opened presents, Alix got her beloved cell phone (cute story about this, maybe I'll post the video of her reaction), Alix and Anna both beautiful, pageant--Amazing as usua-- brings a tear to my eye each year, Dinner at my house, Gammy's house, Penz's house, Mike/Lindsay/Marek in town from CO (Marek's growing so big!) and we had a nice visit...blah, blah, blah.

I am cranky. I need a glass of wine and a bowl of popcorn. Damn computers!

The holidays

details to come, for now just some pictures!

Bah Humbug

We took Anna to see Santa this past Sunday. I didn't realize that these days Santa cost (for the cheapest choice) $25!!! That exorbitant cost does not seem to be in the Christmas spirit...arrrggghhhhh. I remembered it wasn't exactly 50cents for a photo, but I was not expecting $25. And if I recall correctly they used to allow you to take your own pix if you wanted. Not at this Santa--no personal photography allowed! This was no place fancy either...we did not trudge to Bloomingdale's for our Santa picture...just the regular old middle of the mall Santa. And you would think for that price they'd at least put all the pictures they took of Anna onto he CD, but no...just one...they were nice enough to let us choose. I opted for the CD, so at least I could email the picture to everyone I know. I may email it to some people a couple of times, just so I feel got my money's worth. The lady tried to upsell me...for another $10 I could have one 4x6 and 3 wallets. Um, no thanks, there's this place called Target or proex where I can do that myself for about $1. Santa must be making a haul on the deal. I am not bitter though ;) Steve joked that there must be some site on the internet like cheapgas.com (where you can track the lowest gas prices in your area), only for Santas (cheapsanta.com) We are definitely going to go a different route next year! But she does look cute!

Basket Update

Still working on it. I decided to wait until after the Holidays when it wouldn't get lost in the shuffle. My wonderful big sis was kind enough to follow up with some contacts and get me an autographed bat by Joe Mauer--sure to be a big draw for the kids!! My mom was kind enough to donate a game to my family night basket as well...so it is looking good for a drawing prize as well. Speaking of which, I got the ok from my principal to have a drawing, but not a raffle. So, I am considering putting names in the drawing for every $5 of donations my students, or anyone interested, brings/sends in. I look forward to how it'll all turn out...should be interesting!

Becoming the Griswolds

I will admit, I've never seen Christmas Vacation all the way through (*gasp*) However, I know enough about the Vacation series to know that we had a very Griswold-ish experience as we went to pick out our Christmas tree. We thought it would be such a great idea to cut down our own tree this year, so we piled into the car (late of course) and headed out to Champlin to the Rum River Tree Farm. I had visions of sleigh rides, santa visits, a nice family hike, in my head...

We decided we should stop and get food because it was after 1 and we hadn't eaten since breakfast...and if you know anything about Alix you know you do NOT want her blood sugar to drop ;) We pulled into Mc Donalds (a rare treat since I detest the place) and we sit at the drive through for a few minutes. We say "hello...hello" to which we get no reply. So crankily we drive around to the window to see a closed sign on it. When does McDonald's ever close in the middle of the afternoon??? Of course we should have known it was an omen and headed back right then, but no such luck. We go on our way vowing to stop at the next place. Off we head, all's looking well until the sign over the freeway tells us that the freeway has been shut down and we must exit...nice. Traffic is at a standstill and so we sit, hungrily waiting to get back on our way...and we sit...and we sit. Finally we start to move and luckily we get to the spot of the closure and they are letting us past! Hurray! Food is sure to be just around the corner. Fast forward a half hour--still no food. It seems remarkable that you could go that long without passing a fast food place...but that's just what happened. Anna is starting to get fussy now...she's hungry too. Finally we find a "fast" food place in a DQ. Well, apparently DQ falls into the food category, but not the "fast food" category. 10 min later our food comes to the window. I have since traded seats with Alix and have begun feeding Anna in the back seat. She is quiet. We are all fed...and happy. Until Anna starts to wail just seconds later. When we get to Rum River area we are once again diverted due to an accident, but at least we keep moving and arrive at the tree farm...whew!! We get our saw and head out into the field. Now we are driving around the fields...wondering what to do. We've never done this before and we aren't sure if we look for a parking lot, pull over the side, or what. To top it off we see no twine around, so we call back to the main building and they tell us we have to return to the gate to get twine...Ugh, we're never going to get our tree! Then the tide turns...we see people pulled over on the side of the road, so we stop. We see a bucket of twine, so don't have to go all the way back! We pile out of the car...stuff Anna into her snow suit which she loves--NOT! We put Alix in charge of the dog, who is now trapsing all around in the snow--including over the saw which I had thrown there...luckily no blood was shed. We did not need a trip to the animal ER on top of everything else. We are yelling at Alix about getting the dog off the saw, we are trying to buckle Anna down enough so she doesn't roll out of the car seat as we put it on the sled, and we are trying to figure out what kind of trees these are all at the same time (we never do find out...we figured at this point we'd cut down anything if it meant we could go home.) We stumbled through the snow, pulling the dog and Anna along as we go. Steve pulls Anna into a tree branch that dumps snow all over her faces...wails begin again. We can't agree on a tree...no too big, no too small, no crooked, not enough branches, looks like it has too many dead needles...Finally we just give up and settle on the nearest one. Then begins the chore of cutting it down. Steve lays down in the snow and begins cutting. After a many minutes the frustration sets in and I offer to try. I cut for a while, but very little progress is being made. So we decide that I'll hold Anna in one hand while pushing the tree with the other, all as Steve cuts. A matter of minutes later we hear the "cracking" of the tree as it thumps to the ground. Who knew all it needed was a push?! We haul it to the car, tie it on, try to get feeling back in our hands, look for the camera which dumped out of my pocket somewhere along the way, brush all the snow off it once we find it (and hope it still works). After we pay (for which i forgot the coupon at home), we head out on our journey home with no smiles on our face...not anywhere near being in the Christmas spirit. We bypassed the petting zoo and Santa...we were all ready to be home...and NoW. The ride back consisted of plenty of 11 year old whining (I apparently should not be singing my own words to the songs, and on top of that if we had listened to her we wouldn't be out in the middle of nowhere cutting down a christmas tree anyway)...some adult yelling...followed by silence. Gooooooood Times!! At least we got a good story, a beautiful tree, and some family memories that won't fade for quite some time. I should mention that the night was saved by the decorating. Our tree looks beautiful!

November News

What a wonderful Turkey Day! We had the pleasure of celebrating with both of our families on the big day, and it was well worth the busy schedule and tired eyes once it was over. The only downside was that Uncle Mike, Aunt Lindsay and Marek were not in town to share the day, but we look forward to sharing some time with them after Christmas!! There is nothing better than being surrounded by family and friends that you love...This time of year proves that!

Here are some pix from the big day as well as other misc. Anna pictures...

Fun at the Penz's

The Bellus Clan's Thanksgiving





Did her daddy or big sis teach her that?!

Smiles all around!

Sweet Potatoes are YUMMY! I am still getting a hang of the whole spoon thing...

snooze city

Anna's new trick...Can you do this? would you want to? Ewwwww....

I look good in hats!

Look at me...standing on my own!!