Ehhh, So I'm A Terrible Blogger

28 October 2009

I'm so sorry everyone!

I've been a terrible blogger.

Consequently, I don't know where to begin!!!!! haha! How bout the beginning?

When we left off, we were "fixin to" move into another apartment. This has been successfully accomplished. We had a bit of a rocky start, but two months (already?!?!) into the new lease and I've decided -- hmmmphhh -- I like it here. Officially. My downstairs neighbors are a little youngish but everyone else is very nice. New apartment is easier to keep up with and easier to keep clean. I wanted simplicity and I got it! It's a wonderful thing!

Christian's hanging in there in second grade. His first half-term report card wasn't anything to be too excited about, and we get his first quarter report card this week. Hopefully he is doing better! We put him in cub scouts as well, but until his grades improve, scouts and everything else (extracurricular) will just have to wait.

Christian's 2nd Grade School Picture

He is tired of hearing about it too, which is funny. He'll ask, "Mommy, can I watch TV?" And I (inevitably) will respond, "Can I have better grades?" Last weekend he was tired of hearing about the grades and promptly responded, "Sure, Mom, but it IS Saturday."

Cub Scout Christian

Okay, so he had a point.

As far as his school goes, he's been busy reading and learning all about the weather. After some careful wording I am proud to say that my little boy is officially addicted to The Hardy Boys Series. I don't know too many second graders that share this addiction. For a recent book report, based on Hardy Boys # 14: The Secret Warning, we decided to recreate the missing Pharaoh's head, using only paper mache, gold paint, and some random beads bought from the local craft store. It turned out better than we could have imagined... so, "lookie here"!

Book Report Project, based on Hardy Boys #14: The Secret Warning

Here is the video from his school's "weather play" from this morning!!!

Other new news for me includes a new job!

I decided I wanted a new job for Christmas.

I've learned so much in the neurosurgery department. I'm staying within the same hospital system and laterally transferring to the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU). It will be a dayshift position (which was super important to me) with very few weekend responsibilities. This means I'll get to spend more time with Christian, which will be absolutely wonderful. I start the new job next week, and I'm super excited about it. I will let you know how it goes!

This week begins the holiday season, and we are so excited for it! Tonight is Trunk or Treat at our church, and Saturday is Halloween. And then: it is officially holiday season. I'm eating a candy cane already!!!

I love you all and I promise to send Halloween Pics. Toodles for now!

Love always,
Rachele & Christian

Hi Guys.

Just wanted you to check out the following links.... Will be updating you guys soon.

Check out the new gadgets on the other side. In less than a minute you can get a financial checkup and set up your budget. I'm working on fixing my finances and actually growing up....

Love always,

Rachele

We're Moving On Up!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

We are Moving On Up!

So. It looks like we are officially moving! We are moving to a better apartment in a better part of town. It'll zone Christian for one of the best schools in the area, we'll officially be a 3rd Ward Member (yay!!!!) and it'll save us money in the long run!




Here's the new apartment website if you want to check it out and see pictures. The new place is Ahhhh-MAZING!

http://www.cbgainesville.com/

Christian's school this year is going to be LittleWood, one of the best public schools in the area. They actually have a gifted program and a good autism program as well. And it's an "A" school, as opposed to the "C" school he went to last year (before I pulled him out to homeschool him!).

Christian's school's website:
http://www.sbac.edu/~litlwood/

This school year is going to be busy. After school weekly activities this year are going to include:

• Beauty & the Beast (the play is in a few months, he has practice twice weekly).
• Fitness fun (an exercise class)
• Field games (an outside exercise class)
• Boys Tramp N Tumble (a boys gymnastics class)
• Beginning Gymnastics I
• Tumbling
• Hip Hop Dance
• Baseball Basics
• Young Illustrators (an Art Class)
  
• Chemistry Cooks I

So we are going to be busy! :) It is a busy month for us, because school starts in a few weeks, we are going to be moving over the next few weeks, I'm having surgery this week (grrr!), and I switched colleges... which lends me to my next bit of news.

After much thought and prayer (and LOTS of student loans) I've finally decided what I want to do with my life, with my career. I want to be an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner. This'll require a good amount of schooling, but the first stages of this plan are already in play. I disenrolled from Ashford University and I Enrolled in Kaplan University. So I am not going to complete my degree in Hospital Administration (IT IS SOOOO FREAKING BORING I CAN'T STAND ANOTHER MINUTE!), but instead I am going to get my Master's of Science in Nursing (and my Bachelors of Science in Nursing along the way.) It's going to take me 2 1/2 years to get my Masters, but during that time I'll be working in an ICU environment, working on and achieving my CCRN (Critical Care Registered Nurse) certification, and I think that'll set me up really well for a nice ARNP school packet. I would like to go to UF's ARNP program, just so that I could be a Gator both in occupation and education.

So that's our lives this week! Will keep you guys posted.

Love always,
Rachele

Trip To Cali!

Hi Guys!

So Christian and I went to California for a week to visit family and such, and I wanted to share some of the pictures with ya'll.

First of all, this is a pic of Christian and the Matson FAM!

Second of all this is the pic of me and my mother! :) And Christian took the picture, which means it's just an awful pic of me but oh well!!!

I grew up in the beautiful foothills of the Grass Valley - Nevada City - Auburn area in Northern California, specifically on a place called Banner Mountain. At the top of Banner Mountain is a look-out, and one of the major things I wanted to see while in California was some actual TREES. I joke there aren't any trees in Florida, just really tall bushes, and it was nice to breathe in the cool mountain fresh air. It was beautiful. So we took a drive and happened upon the lookout. Luckily, and simply by chance, there was a fire fighter that was on watch in the lookout and invited us up to look around!!! It was great! We had to climb this tower, to get up there, and Christian (MR. BRAVE) got halfway up and FROZE. He didn't want to go up OR down. But there is nothing that a bribe can't fix with Christian, so I bribed him with a new toy, if he would just keep climbing, and so he did.

Once we got topside he was inclined to stay inside the lookout, but it was a really neat experience...

We really appreciated the volunteer fire fighter who gave us the opportunity to see FORTY MILES on a clear day. It's beautiful!!!! I took a picture of my mom's car from the lookout just so you guys had an IDEA how high we really were -- we were taller than all the trees around us!!!

SO that was very cool. That night there was a barbecue at our Mom's house and my brother came over and his girlfriend -- whom I LOVED! -- we all hung out. But we were too busy having fun to remember to take pictures!!! Sorry about that!!! But I made up for it the next day. Then my brother, David, came over to spend some time with his nephew. This was funny because he really had no idea what he was getting himself into... I think maybe Christian might have worn him out... Either way, it was so amazing to see them playing together, they had a great time!

We also went to an arcade and to a water park! Here are some of those pictures!!!

This is the closest Christian's ever going to a motor cycle.... I swear.... :)

Bumper Boats!

Cheese!

Deal.... Or No Deal!?

Gangsa' Chris

I was driving a VERY small Go-Cart, with Christian as my co-driver, texting, AND taking photos of us while Go-Carting. VERY UNSAFE PRACTICE which I do not condone, btw. Don't try this at home, kids.

Christian at the Waterpark... Someone's been eating WELL this summer ;)

Ironically, we had a good time and stayed off the slides!!!

Life is SO ROUGH on Vacation!!!

We ALSO went to Scotts Flat. IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL THERE! I want to spend a whole week there. We went with Gary, my Mom's friend, who, by the way, is one of the most amazing folks I've ever met. He's WONDERFUL.

Scuba Steeeve!

It was so beautiful!

Giggles!

Sailboats Out On the Lake

My Granddad.... Who, is like my favorite person I know. I love him to pieces. He's my favorite!

Friday Night We Went to the MotorCycle Races With Christian!



Christian and CANDY at the Races....

Christian with Gary's Horse, Jack

AND I couldn't leave Cali without...

Overall, we had a GREAT TIME! We just want to thank everyone who took time out of your busy lives to visit with us and we look forward to seeing everyone soon!!!!!

We Love Ya'll!!!!

Rachele

Real Quick Update!

Hi Everyone!

So here's a really quick update!

1. I finally got the results from my surgery -- true story! And it looks like everything's good... We'll just follow up with CT's over the next few years just to be sure. I'm starting to feel a little bit more normal now, which is good!!!!

2. Christian continues to keep me super busy with his multitude of classes, and we are getting ready to take a trip back to California for a week this month, so that will be fun!

Other than that, all is good! :) Love you all.

Rachele

We've Moved! To Our Own Domain!!!!

Hi guys!

So we've moved to our own domain! :)

The old website was: www.christianandrachele.blogspot.com

The new website is: www.onefunnyday.com (because EVERYDAY around Christian is a funny day!).

Love ya'll! :)

-Rachellie-

Happy June! :)

11 June, 2009

Hello Everyone!

While I am ***STILL*** waiting for the results of my surgery, I continue to recover. I have some bad weeks and some good weeks, but overall it seems the good outweigh the bad.

A new semester has started (Summer Semester) which leaves me in the middle of an incredibly exciting Human Resources Management class (totally my definition of a good time!). Christian's homeschooling is going great although it can be frustrating at times. Work is.... work. And to add to the confusion Christian has started some extra-curricular activities... which is amazing because we can hardly get the "curricular" activities done much less any extra!!! But it's ok!

These classes include Spanish, Art, Cryptozoology, Drama, and Contemporary Modern Dance. I'm sure I'll have lots of pics to share in the coming days over these classes.

For Drama, it appears that Christian will be in his first play: Beauty and the Beast.

Luckily for me, he didn't try out for the part of Beauty, however the number one requested part was neither Beauty NOR the Beast, but rather Phillipe, the horse, a non-speaking part. There were some disappointed faces in the room as there was only one Phillipe cast, and we needed someone to play Beauty and the Beast!

Monsieur D'Arque

He was awarded a small part, the role of Monsieur D'Arque, the creepy, scheming proprietor of the local insane asylum. It's a tenor position: tenor D to high A. And it's Christian -- who loves to be the bad guy anyway, so it should be very fun. It is clear that of all his extracurricular activities this semester, this is his favorite.

He is also enjoying his contemporary modern dance class. Which I thought would be the likes of "So you think you can dance?", but I am apparently very unversed in the world of dance, and contemporary modern dance is ballet that is modern (which begs the question... how modern is ballet?). Nonetheless, Christian and I are both unschooled in the art of dance, and thus equally confused, but I think this class would be good for him. For one thing, he's as clumbsy and graceful as I am -- which is not a good thing. I think this class might help him develop some grace. Nonetheless, it is a serious workout! Pushups and situps and everything else. Watching him wore me out, and his incredibly patient (did I mention patient?) dance teacher Javi told me Christian will need some motrin for the next few days as he's going to be incredibly sore after the very thorough work out.

As if being the sole male student in the class wasn't enough to make him stand out, I missed out on the "uniform" memo, and while everyone else is wearing black dance gear, Christian's wearing bright red. I know I earned some "Great Job, Mommy!" points on that one.

But it worked out because I got to sit in on this first class and so videoing him in bright red made it much easier for ya'll to see him. So attached are the three videos. We have a lot of work to do. It'll be interesting to see how he improves over the next few months! :)

As for me, it's great to be back to my crazy, chaotic life. We had taken a semester off of all our "fun" classes, and it's nice to be back to the crazy normalcy I've grown to love.

And today was the FIRST DAY my hair was long enough that when I woke up, I actually had a slight case of bed head! I have almost 3/4 of an inch already! It's crazy!!!

Enjoy the videos! :)

Love Always & Forever,

Rachele & Christian