For Your Listening Pleasure...

As promised, here are some videos of TJ singing songs he has learned from school...ENJOY!

Battle of Jericho


Humpty Dumpty


Mary Had a Little Lamb...this one is my FAVORITE!!!


I Caught a Fish Alive

I hope you have enjoyed the musical stylings of TJ Hill. Please come again.

This one's for Michael...

Just a small new story for Michael's enjoyment...

In TJ's class, they have the green light, yellow light, red light behavior system. Each child has his or her own clothes pin which starts out pinned on green each morning. The teacher will warn the student before moving their pin, but after a warning, their pin gets moved to yellow and so forth. The first few weeks of school, Mrs. Dewberry spends ALL day going over the rules and what she expects from them so everyone's pin stays on green. Every day after school, when promted by me asking what he did at school that day, TJ's response would be "we stayed on green today!" I've lost count, but we have now been in school for 4 or 5 weeks, so they have moved on from ALL staying on green. If they get moved to yellow, or by all means to red, the teacher sends home a note so the parents know what happened. So, much to my surprise, our chatty child has STAYED on green every day!!! Well, Friday I met him and his KK & Papa for dinner before heading over to the game and I noticed he didn't have face paint on - very unusual since every Friday he has had "eye-black" painted on him and prepared to go to the "Pepper-Rally." So, I asked him why he didn't have any face paint today. He just said that it had rubbed off. Fast forward to later at the game, I ran into the aide, Mrs. Strewsberry, and asked how he had been..."Be truthful" I said. She said he has been great, but that they were having trouble getting him to sit still in his chair. I will remind you, TJ was standing there while I was talking to Mrs. Strewsberry and never said a word. He has always had issues sitting still...I tell him he has wiggly bones. He is never still, well at least until he drops to sleep at night. Well, I still didn't think much about it...not until Monday when I was going through his school bag and looked in his folder...and.guess.what.I.saw, a YELLOW face. He had been moved to yellow for not sitting still...not just wiggling in his chair, but hanging upside down with his head on the floor. KK said she knew about it, but it wasn't her business to tell us. Come to find out the reason he didn't have face paint on was because he got so upset for having to move his pin to yellow he cried the paint off! I am sure this is the first of many occasions he will have to move his pin :)

Stay tuned for TJ singing nursery rhymes...hilarious!

A Lesson on Repentance

Ok, so I think it may be time to set up a one on one appoitment with Dr. Tom Tucker, our minister at First Baptist West Point! Maybe two appointment times, one for TJ and one for Thomas and I! I also think that I need to applaud TJ's Sunday school teacher for the marvelous job she has done teaching TJ lessons from the Bible, and some how gotten him to remember what he learned and use it against his parents! Let me back up and start off by telling what happened Saturday morning...TJ was playing around with Thomas and I and I forget what he was into or doing at that particular moment that he shouldn't have been (since it happens more times than I can count during a particular day), but I asked TJ to stop doing whatever it was he was doing. He, of course who has listening problems, didn't stop the first time, so I said, "I'm going to ask you one more time to stop." At which he shouted "NO, I won't!" So, Thomas picked him up and took him to his favorite spot in the house...TIME OUT! After his 4 minutes were up, Thomas went back over to ask TJ why he had been put in time out.

Thomas: "Do you know why you are in time out?"

TJ: "Because I yelled at Mommy and told her no..."

Thomas: "That's right. God doesn't like for you to act ugly to your parents, you need to tell Mommy you are sorry."

TJ: "Daddy, Did Jesus die?"

Thomas: "Yes he did, but he came back to life."

TJ: "Well...all my sins are washed away."

What do you say to that!!! Hence the much needed appointment with Dr. Tom to discuss said event, and how they also need to teach REPENTANCE in Sunday school...even to 4 year olds 'cause they obviously get it!

Traitor

A lot has been going on with the Hill clan since August began, but not much to blog about. Both of my boys have started school and I feel like I hardly see them during the week, therefore not much to write about! I do have to say that August has been a rather difficult month for me personally...well, as a mother. TJ is 4 1/2 and has always been a Momma's boy. He has his occasional Daddy Days where he follows Thomas around wanting to fight and play all day. But recently, I feel like I have a mutinous child...he is ALL about his Daddy right now! This is how our afternoons have been progressing since school began...As soon as we get home...which is not until about 6:30...I start dinner, cleaning up the kitchen and preparing for the next day. Thomas usually gets home from practice around 7:00, just in time to sit down at the table for dinner. Once dinner is over, we clean the table and get the kitchen cleaned up, yet again. Then TJ follows Thomas and they end up playing...aka fighting of some sort! To which TJ says, "Mommy, we're playing too rough, you can't play. Go into the living room." Then, Thomas feels bad that I am left out and knows that I just want to spend time with my "little" boy, so he tells TJ that it is time to calm down and head into the living room with Mommy. Of course, TJ huffs and puffs in annoyance that he has to stop playing and go sit down with boring 'ole me! He used to sit in my lap every night while calming down and getting ready for bed, well last night that little traitor sat in his Daddy's lap! I do all of the no-fun-at-all, getting ready for school, making lunches, cooking dinner, washing the laudry and what do I get...NOTHING! Are all Mommies no fun?

AFTER School Report...What a night!

I am happy to report that TJ's first day of K-4 was a success! He had a ton of fun and was excited to show us his notebook last night.

After school TJ went to his KK and Papa's house until I got home from work. We all went out to dinner afterwards, but TJ wouldn't eat any dinner...that is until Papa bribed him! He only ate his applesauce and drank his Sprite. Then we headed home. When we pulled into the drive and opened the garage door we noticed that Mya (Houdini Dog) had found some of TJ's toys and had them all over the garage! Upon further inspection, she had chewed an extension cord into numberous pieces, unplugged...but at this moment kinda thinking it would have been good if it was plugged in! Then comes the worst...she chewed through our garage door wiring!!!!!!!! Now, our garage door won't open and close!!! Beginning to rethink this whole dog thing again...

Next in our crazy night, we decided we needed to throw the ball to Mya and let her run around for a while before heading inside for the night. TJ was right along side her running up and down the driveway and across the yard. They ran and played for about 15 minutes and the mosquitoes were out in full force, so we headed in. As soon as we walked in, TJ tells me he has a headache. When I look at him, his little cheeks are bright red, so I just tell him that he is probably too hot and needs to get something cool to drink. After taking a sip, we head over to the couch to check out his school notebook. I opened the notebook and TJ was standing in front of the couch and still looked hot, so I asked if he was feeling alright. He slowly raised his head from the couch and S P L A S H...threw up all over the couch, his school notebook, me, him, the floor...EVERYWHERE! So, I ran him to the trash can and he threw up some more. After changing his clothes, he threw up 2 more times. He was so pitiful, kept crying because his Daddy threw away his notebook. Shortly after, he fell asleep and slept all night and is back to his cheery self this morning. WHAT A NIGHT! We won't soon forget TJ's first day of school.

"That Momma Did Good..."

So, we have closed one chapter and begun a new one with TJ's last day at Bonnie's Kids (daycare) and today, his first day at Springwood for K-4.


This is a picture from Friday, TJ's last day at daycare. Notice...he is the only one NOT looking at the camera. Anyway, he HAD to have a party for his last day. So, I suggested we take cupcakes for snack time. He went to the grocery store with me and picked out the mix...pink strawberry cake mix, and pink strawberry icing. Of course he was the only one not to eat his cupcake either! Overall our daycare experience was a positive one. We will miss the friends that we made there over the last 3 years and hope to keep in touch and see each other often. I am glad however to have escaped the teachers who cannot even speak correct English while teaching my child to say words like "ain't" (which I dispise). I will not miss my son saying "Well, Miss Rebekka says (fill in the blank with whatever is the opposite of what I am saying)" But, for nostaligic purposes, I will think only the positive and say thank you for all of the things you did teach our son.



This is a picture taken this morning, Tuesday, August 11, 2009, TJ's first day of K-4 at Springwood School!!! He looks so BIG! He, of course, has been super excited and counting down the days until he gets to go to "big school" with Daddy. I guess I should feel a little better that I have 2 family members working at the same school, one being his Dad and the other his KK (and she will even be in the same building). I decided I would put my happy face on today and not let TJ see me upset. Once we arrived at the school we all walked in and there he went, not scared or apprehensive at all! He looked up at his new teacher, Mrs. Dewberry, and just as matter of factly said "I go to school here now." The child could have cared less that Thomas and I were still there waiting for him to hug us and tell us good bye! When Thomas and I walked out, we walked passsed the headmaster and principle outside and I over heard one of them say, "That Momma did good!" With my back to them, all I thought was "only if she could see the tears streaming down my face at this very minute..." My little boy is growing up so fast!

Kids should come with a BLEEP button...

After coming home from the lake around 5:00 yesterday afternoon, I decided I would cook chicken alfredo (even though I didn't want to cook at all). I started the water on the stove and started pulling out my ingredients only to realize, guess what, I don't have any chicken!!! That is the second time this week I have started to cook dinner, then realize I am missing ONE ingredient! Thomas sweetly asked if I would like him to run to the store (during which time it is monsooning outside). I say no and ask if it would be okay to just have noodles and sauce...no chicken. He then says, "Let's just go out to eat." Which is secretly what I wanted to hear all along ;)

Fast forward to the restaurant...while finishing the last of our dinner, TJ stands up in the booth and says, "Ok, I'm ready to go now." Thomas then informs him, "we can't just leave...we have to pay a lot of money before we can get out of here." TJ responds, "Oh..." So, our waiter comes over and asks if we are all finished and need anything else. Then hands us our bill. During this process, I see TJ getting ready to say something..."My Daddy says that we have to pay a lot of money before we can get out of here!" We are giggling at this point and the ladies in the table behind us are laughing loudly. Our waiter takes it in stride and hands TJ the bill and asks him if he has any money to pay. When he says no, the waiter asks him if he knows how to wash dishes. He says, "No, I'm just a kid." We all chuckle...on to the next BLEEP moment...

Well, while waiting for our waiter to return with our card and receipt, I notice a smell and remember that in Chambers County (what century are they in) they still allow smoking in restaurants!!! So, I blurt out "We need to get outta here...those people are smoking...we'll all have to take showers again when we get home!" Waiter then returns with our receipt and TJ practically yells loud enough for everyone within a mile to hear, "We need to get outta here..." SLAM, my hand practically knocks his front teeth out as I cup my hand over his mouth and apologetically look at the waiter. This is where the BLEEP button would have come in handy. The waiter snickers and just says, "I understand" and walks away from the table with a huge grin on his face. Once he reaches the kitchen, we hear a thunderous laugh. About that time, as our faces are red-hot we escape to the car where we try to explain that not all things we say to him need to be told to other people!