Teresa's Tribe

April Showers bring May flowers!

2009-04-26T19:21:00.007-04:00

After two days of rain and storms it better bring something nice. Especially on the weekends, although during the week is not good either. The grass is getting greener (in some peoples' yards) and the trees and flowers are blooming. Yeah! My favorite time of the year.

Daycare has been good! The kids are excited to get outside and run off some kept in (yeah right!) energy. Life is so much better in the spring.

Cohen is doing great! Jenny is waiting the birth of the new little girl in a couple of months and Kelly is in her house. Her and Hailey are very happy there!

Easter was fun. The weather cooperated so we could have our egg hunts outside and the kids really enjoyed themselves. Even the little ones were having a blast finding eggs with candy in them.

Sam's baby brother should be arriving soon and Ethan and Owen are going to be very excited to meet their new brother or sister later this summer.

Alexia and Krystal are done with college for the summer and so their schedules will be a little different. Krystal will be working on Wednesdays and filling in when needed and when she is available. Alexia will be here on Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri and Stacey everyday. We will have to figure out fall schedules soon. (Nope, not going to think about that now, not yet)

May is a pretty busy month, lots of birthdays and special days. Kelly's birthday, Keegan's birthday, Sam's birthday, Stacey's birthday, Big Jordan's birthday, Christopher's birthday, Grace's birthday, Mother's Day, Provider Appreciation Day, Memorial Day., etc.

It was so nice to have Holly visit us and to see Jordyn, Paige, Christopher and Grace, too.

Here are a few random photos to enjoy: Enjoy Spring!!!

The child in all of us!

2009-03-06T22:52:00.005-05:00

Another year of Disney on Ice and this year was fantastic. All the characters were there and I think I enjoyed it as much as any of the kids. The costumes were beautiful and the skating great. It was Jack's 1st time and he was mesmerized by the whole thing. It was precious! I hope all who were there enjoyed it very much! Till next year.....

Baby Cohen is doing much better now after being in the hospital for a week with pneumonia. He is back to smiling and happy baby. Jack had his 2nd birthday, Ella B. had her 3rd birthday. Ella T. turned 4 and went to Disney on Ice with her family and Keegan, Maddy, etc. the day before we went. Maddy has moved to Florida and we will miss them.

Time change this weekend, I hate losing an hour on the weekend! Oh well, I will trade that for spring!

Winter blahs

2009-01-28T14:59:00.005-05:00

Is anyone else sick of snow and cold? I know I am and the kids can't even get out because it has been so cold!! It was nice to have pajama day on Monday.

We are looking forward to going to Disney on Ice at the end of February. That will be exciting!

Ella B's 3rd Birthday was yesterday and she is having a "princess party" at her house with family this weekend. She brought some yummy ice cream cone snacks to share.

Ella T. is counting down the days until her 4th birthday and no top on her cups. That is such a big deal!

Taylor is back full-time now and adjusting. Sam is down to 2 days a week for a while as his mom's hours were cut. Hopefully only temporarily. Sam has a new brother on the way in May.

I have joined Facebook and that can be pretty addicting but I have found a lot of older daycare kids and oh my gosh, how times change. They are so grown up (some things about that I like and other things I don't). Oh well, that is life. It is very nice to be in contact and see how their lives are going. There have been a lot of people (kids and adults) whom have come and gone from here. Some leave a lasting impression for a lifetime and some adults become friends forever.

Okay, enough of that. Stay warm! Pray for early spring!

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-24T09:39:00.005-05:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Although it has definitely been a rough year for some, there is still much to be thankful for. I have 7 beautiful grandchildren with another on the way. My children are all healthy and most have jobs. My husband still has a job and I get to take care of wonderful children during the day. I have employees that make my job a little easier. I also have great friends that keep me sane after taking care of those wonderful children all day, ha ha! I have a lot to be thankful for! I hope 2009 brings nothing but good things for all of us! Take care and be safe!

Fall

2008-11-12T20:46:00.006-05:00

I will post a few new pictures of Halloween and some really cute outdoor pictures as I am watching the CMA awards. It was great to see big and little Taylor on Halloween. Alexia was being a great sport and being our mummy.

We had the pleasure of attending Holly and Ken's wedding on Oct. 25 and it was a very good time and she looked beautiful. They went to St. Lucia for almost two weeks for their honeymoon. Ella was beautiful and did a great job!

Changes

2008-10-02T10:55:00.006-04:00

Here we go again with some changes in our "family".

We have a new addition to our group and his name is Evan. He is one year old and after a couple of kind of rough days I think he may be coming around. He even smiled at me today!!

Some very sad news is that "baby" Taylor is leaving after next week. We will miss her and her parents a lot and hope to see them again someday. We love her and won't forget having her here with us for the first 10 months of her life. Good luck to all!!

Fall has arrived and the most hectic time of the year. Holidays are right around the corner and elections etc. Take time to enjoy the most important things in your lives, your family and friends!

Here is a cute picture of Alex and her new hat. I think she looks like something from Dr. Suess, say "someone from whoville" or "thing 3".

Claire is 1 year old now and Kendall will be in about a week. Wow! How they've grown!

It's a Boy!!

2008-07-30T11:41:00.002-04:00

Stacey and Jake found out on Monday they are having a boy in December. Everything looked perfect and they are getting ready to move to a new house to prepare to expand their family. We are so excited!!!

Keeping Cool

2008-07-23T10:52:00.005-04:00

At the library petting zoo. Taylor and Owen sitting on the donkey!

Playing with the train at the library

Millenium Park - keeping cool.

Three little peas in a pod, soaking up the shade in their cute little hats. They love being outside with everyone and Claire just about bounces that thing right out of the yard.

Jack is getting bigger also and such a little ham. Here we were camping at Jack's brothers house in Newaygo.

Busy Days of Summer

2008-07-02T10:13:00.002-04:00

Well, here we are in a busy week of summer. Monday, Jack and I were married 35 years. Wow!! That is a long time.

Tuesday, Stacey and I took the grandkids (and Salena) to Binder Park Zoo. Today, we are planning to take all the kids (minus babies) to Millenium Park for a while and tomorrow we will be taking the grandkids (and Salena) to Michigan's Adventure. Sure does make the week go fast. It seems like every week in the summer is filled with things to do. That is probably why it seems to go so fast. Before we know it, it will be fall again. Lots of vacations and time off so things are sometimes kind of quiet.

Amanda is gone now and we were very sad to see her go. She was a good worker and we wish her and her family the best. I had another girl hired and set to start this week but she changed her mind at the last minute. (better job offer) So we will be on the lookout again (especially for fall)

The kids are doing great and growing up so fast. The bigger kids loved doing our library excursions. I have to admit I was pretty impressed myself.

Monday we were at Kelly's ball game and there were all these daycare kids there, Sam, Taylor, Ashley, Big Jordan, Hailey. It was fun to listen to them. Ashley asked Taylor "what is your name" and she said "Taylor". Ashley says "I thought so I remember you from daycare, do you remember me?" Taylor says "No". How funny!

Changes

2008-06-20T10:22:00.002-04:00

Okay, so I read Athena's blog and I feel like okay if she can do it, I guess I should do something on mine. By the way, I read your friends blog and all about changing. Pretty interesting!

However, there are always good and bad changes. Obviously, in my line of work there are always a lot of changes. I have old families leave (boo-hoo) and new families come in. I have assistants that come and go. My family is expanding all the time and that is exciting and new. I think I am learning to deal with change sometimes. On the subject of changing yourself or your habits that you are not happy with, I think that it is possible but a very hard thing to do. Especially the older you get the harder it is. I also think that everyone has something about themselves that they would like to change. There are plenty for me that could use improvement. Okay, I think that is enough on that subject.

So, speaking of change, Christopher's last day was yesterday and although I am sure he is ready to move on to school and going with his sister, Grace, it is hard to say goodbye. I had a few teary moments yesterday thinking back on the last three years and how much I will miss the whole family. Athena, you would always brighten my day in the morning. Thanks!

Alex C. is gone for the summer and will be back in the fall. I am not sure what fall will bring with Ethan and Taylor going to school all day and the possibility of preschool for others.

Taylor D. has her first tooth and is rolling all over the place.

Claire is army-crawling and has two teeth. She gets wherever she wants to go and wherever we don't want her to go.

Kendall is crawling, standing (without holding on) and pulling herself up on everything (including Claire and Taylor)

We are doing a few field trips this summer to the library and that has been fun.

Ethan and Owen are leaving for Colorado for a week and they are very excited. Hailey is going to Robbin's a couple of days a week now because we just didn't have enough room with the school kids here.

The wedding/reception is over and we had a great time and a few problems with the room flooding from all the rain and having to move upstairs to Sluggo's. Interesting but fun! Now we are expecting another grandchild in December.

The kids are all loving summer and being outside (as are we). The babies are growing up fast and life is good at the moment.

Hurray for Spring

2008-05-20T13:09:00.010-04:00

Obviously keeping up this blog is more work than I thought. Just not enough hours in the day. Okay, so here is the latest!

Finally, the weather is looking better and the kids have been able to go outside. It makes our days much easier and they go by so much faster. I would assume they all sleep better at night because they play pretty hard.

Things have been pretty busy around here with vacation, weddings, birthdays, etc. The wedding in Vegas was beautiful and Stacey was a beautiful bride. It was wonderful that our whole family and a few really good friends could be there to celebrate. The weather was wonderful and although busy there was a couple of days of relaxing by the pool! We are now planning the reception for back here and then we should be able to have a breather for a little while.

Here are a couple of pictures taken in Vegas!

I will try to scrapbook some and you can see more later. (Kristy, want to do a wedding album?

Ha Ha)

We purchased our new stroller this spring with our pizza fundraiser money (well it helped pay some of the cost) It really works well for taking all the kids for a walk and the babies love it.

Sam, Christopher and Keegan all had birthdays this month. They turned 2, 3 and 4.

Ella T., Maddy and Christopher all went to Disney World.

Holly (one of our previous helpers who moved to New York) came to visit us last week and it was great to see her. She is getting married in October and Ella T. is in the wedding so they went dress shopping on Saturday. I am sure that was a totally girly girl day!!!

That's it for this time!

Winter Blahs

2008-02-22T10:35:00.006-05:00

I have been requested to update this blog. I guess October has been a while back but the time just seems to fly by so quickly.

Daycare has had it's ups and downs. The kids went through some illnesses and then I picked up something and actually had to close for 2 days. That is about the 4th time in 20 years so I guess that isn't too bad. Anyway, we are just waiting for spring and to be able to open the doors and windows and get outside and run (well not me) and enjoy the fresh air.

We are blessed (somedays, ha ha) with 4 children under 18 months right now. There is Alex who will be 1 in March, Claire 6 months in March, Kendall 4 months and Taylor 2 months. It definitely keeps us busy, but they are all adorable in their own way. As soon as we get past this fussy, colicy stage we will be all good!!

Jack turned 1 recently and we don't get to see him as much but he is growing up and doing well. He is off the bottle and baby food and moved to a bigger car seat. Wow! All those changes at 1.

Ella B just had tubes for the second time in her ears and hopefully they will work out this time.

Owen is getting tubes in his ears today and we also hope it goes well for him.

Christopher is starting to talk more and the other day he said he was going to marry me. How cute!!!!

A new member to the tribe!

2007-10-16T11:11:00.000-04:00

As most of you know we will be adding a couple of new tribe members. One will be Claire (Ella's sister) and the other is my new granddaughter, Kendall. Claire started this week and so far so good. Kendall will start in January. Some more girls finally. It seems to go in streaks. All boys or all girls.

I have been requested to update my blog and post some Halloween pictures, so here goes Athena!!!

September Days

2007-10-05T09:43:00.000-04:00

It has been a little while since I posted anything so I will try to catch up a few things.

We had a few birthdays in September, mine (thanks to all), Amanda's, Alex C. and Braedyn (who is no longer in daycare). Now we are joined by baby Claire. Danielle's was October.
I assume she will be joined by the newest baby grandchild.

Alex and Jack are becoming great friends and I am so excited they can grow up together and hopefully remain friends forever.

Keegan and Owen also are great friends and play well together. Ethan is off to school now as is Nick, Salena and Taylor.

The children have been enjoying our preschool program and even Ella T. was singing "It's Mother Goose Time" this morning. (That is the program we are using) As you can see in the pictures, Ella B. likes to join in also and Taylor is great at being an assistant. I think Amanda is having as much fun as they are.

Carnival

2007-09-11T19:58:00.000-04:00

What a fun day we had at our backyard carnival! We had a bean bag toss, baseball throw, duck pond, and sucker tree. We also made visors and had tattoos put on. It was a beautiful day and the kids enjoyed themselves a lot. Sam loved throwing the velcro baseballs at the target and fishing for the ducks. Of course, they loved the sucker tree (who wouldn't love being able to eat the prize). Nick said it was the best day ever and I think his last day was very enjoyable (but there may have been a couple of moments of sadness) Taylor was out of town that day so she had to miss the festivities but we saved her a bag of goodies and Salena was (of course) a big help. We followed the activities with a picnic lunch.

Playing in the Rain

2007-08-23T20:13:00.000-04:00

Today the kids played in the rain and they were so excited. They loved running around without shirts and playing in the warm, summer rain. After the rain slowed down and they were looking for mud puddles to play in, they decided to walk down to the end of the street and play in a huge mud puddle where the construction was. They kept saying "This is the best day ever" "Can we do this again?". It is amazing what is so important to them. Even Sam loved playing in the rain and mud. Taylor was absolutely in heaven. If there is one thing for sure Taylor loves, it is dirt and water. Owen was a little hesitant but soon joined in the fun and Ella T was absolutely loving it.

The fun-filled morning must have tired them out because they all took very good naps and slept for a long time. However, I don't think Taylor quite had enough mud in the morning because when her mom picked her up she was a mess.

Oh, and some more exciting news for our family. Stacey and Jake got
engaged about a week ago. We are very happy about that and they
are tentatively planning a May wedding (probably in Vegas). Lots of planning to do.

Holly's Visit

2007-08-05T13:43:00.000-04:00

It was so wonderful to see Holly again and to finally meet Ken. However, there is always so much going on that we just don't get enough time to visit. We had a good turnout although we did miss some. Pizza was a little well done but seemed to disappear quite quickly so it must not have been that bad. Ella was glued to Holly's lap for most of the time. The boys were glad to see her but then off to the next great adventure of racing motorcycles, riding in wagons and flirting with Kelsey (Taylor's sister). I was so involved in everything that I forgot to take pictures. Can you believe it? Me? Oh well, maybe next time. Holly says she will come back again and try to visit longer. She brought us a new musical CD put on by the kids at her new place so we will be listening to that next week. We miss her and hope to see her again soon!!!

Millenium Park Field Trip

2007-08-02T11:07:00.000-04:00

We don't usually take field trips but this week we had a beautiful day to go to Millenium Park and enjoy the splash pad and the playgrounds. We had lunch there and ran them out of hot dogs. The kids (as well as the adults) enjoyed themselves.

First Posting

2007-07-09T10:03:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I am new at this technological stuff but I am going to make an attempt at it. The purpose of this blog will be so my daycare parents can check it occassionally to see anything new that is going on or things we are doing during the day. I will attempt to post some pictures of events and activities we are doing during the day.

Today it is very warm outside so the kids are playing on the slip-n-slide. Braedyn is on vacation and Salena hasn't shown up yet. Keegan is back from vacation, as is Ella B.