A Shameless Plea

Help Me Please!!!

Well, not only me, help me help my KIDDOs at school! I love them all very much and they deserve the BEST when it comes to school. I have created a project on http://www.donorschoose.org/?return=true to help my kids get a horseshoe table in my room! This table will make teaching 8 kids with moderate to severe disabilities much easier! Example: Last week I was going over matching words to context clues. Try sitting at a circle table with 5 13-17 year old boys! So I would hold up the card and I would have to take it to each student because we were sitting in a circle. If I had a horseshoe table I would be able to hold the card up and all the students would be able to see it!

I know this is a hard picture to paint for some of you that are not teachers! I don't have the words to paint it for you. I am calling this a shameless plea because I NEED this table and I am not ashamed to ask for it! I have already sent the link to my entire Farrington Family: That is 4 sets of aunts/uncles, my mom, and 14 cousins. One Aunt has already donated! I know that my Family thought that once I left high school they would be able to stop giving me money! Ha...They thought wrong! :)

I know that times are tough! If I had the 400 some odd dollars to buy the table I would myself! This is also a reusable gift! Do you know how long this table will last me-FOREVER-literally! The chairs, tables, and filing cabinets that are in my room have been around since before I was born!

You also might be wondering why my school/school board is not willing to buy me this table. The answer is: If they only could! Have you seen what Montgomery is predicting for the State of Alabama Education's Future: It is bleak to say the least!

With that all said I hope you at least take a chance to Look at my link below. It will take you right to my project page! If you don't want to donate that is no big deal...I understand. You might look around and see a project that is more up your alley that you would like to give to!

The link to my project: http://www.donorschoose.org/we-teach/801760.1338176188

Thanks for reading and thank even more if you donate!

Hello Again!

Sorry for the 2 week lapse! I would say we were busy, but we just haven't had much going on! Last weekend we just hung-out and enjoyed being at home. On Saturday we went to Belk to finish up our Mikasa Everyday china! We had some gift cards and we had 30% off everything on the registry. One Monday, Matt found out that he had to be in Knoxville on Wednesday! That means we ran around Monday night and Tuesday to get everything ready for Matt to go. We had to pack sheets, comforters, clothes, shoes, and all sorts of other things. He left Wednesday and was able to come back on Friday. He is home for the weekend and we are just enjoying our time together before he leaves again on Monday! We have a busy February: Stuart's Birthday next weekend, Camp ASCCA Valentine's Dance the next weekend, and many trips to and from Knoxville!

Some pictures of Matt's Stuff:

Waylon Update: Matt talked to Woody on Wednesday! Waylon is adjusting well and has been doing OK. He is not "birdy" like Woody wants him to be, but he told Matt not to worry because he has only been there a week. Woody did ask Matt if I was ok, and making it without my baby! He also said that we had spoiled Waylon and I will be the first to admit that it was me! We are suppose to call Woody at the end of February to see if he will stay for the full training or come home! 

****On a side note we found out last week that my brother Chip and his wife Cara are expecting their first baby in August! Our whole family is so excited for them and they are going to be GREAT parents! By August Matt and I will have 4 nieces possible 5 or 4 nieces and 1 nephew! Wahoo!!!!

MLK Weekend- A trip to North Carolina

As you read before I went to school on Friday. A 2-hour delay plus missing 2 students equaled for pretty interesting day! I high-tailed it out of school to hurry home so we could get on the road to NC! We left around 4 and made it to the in-laws house around 2 am Eastern Time! Not too much sleep for us since we got on the road at 10am to see this precious angel:

Look at those perfect lips!

We had a great time with Mel, Nathan,  & Becca! Mr. Tim and Mrs. Martha (Matt's Parents) took us all to Cracker Barrel and then Mel, Mrs. Martha, and myself went to Baby-R-Us because Mel had to pick something up for a baby shower! We then headed back to Mel and Nathan's to love on Becca! We also watched our wedding video since Mel and Nathan were not able to come! Neither Matt or I wanted to leave because we will not see Becca until she is almost 7 months old! We are going to the beach in July as a family! Wahoo!!! 

She is such a poser!

I could have held her all day!

With Melanie-Matt's Sister and the Baby Mama!

Cute, cute, cute!

All around we had a great trip. We can't wait for July to spend some serious time with Becca! And of course the rest of the family too!

On a Sad Note....

Our "baby" Waylon went to Gun Dog Training in North Carolina!

We dropped Waylon off on Monday in Laurel Hill, NC with Woody Thurman owner/operator of Twin Lake Kennels. We got there about 10:30 and we stayed for almost an hour. If you know Waylon you know that the first thing he did was not retrieve the bumper that was thrown for him but instead ignore it and go jump in the freezing cold pond! After we talked about Waylon, Woody put him on a lead and walked him to the kennel where he will be living. There were about 15 other dogs in this long barn-like thing and Waylon had his own little kennel in the front. He got scared when he was put in there and I may or may not have balled like a little baby. It was literally like sending my child to Kindergarten-except I can't pick him up for 6 weeks or possibly 6 months! I embarrassed Matt but Woody said he understood that I was attached to Waylon! I definitely think this place is good considering we have close friends that have sent their dogs to Woody. I can't wait to see how much Waylon learns! You can check out Woody out on ESPN Classics too! I miss Waylon terribly and cried 3-4 times on the way back from NC! Don't be fooled-Matt misses him too...He called me during my planning period to tell me how much he missed Waylon this morning! 

My pretty boy in front of the Christmas Tree-2010

Not much going on at the McMillan house this week. Thank Goodness! We are laying low until Matt leaves for Knoxville :( He is probably leaving anytime between now and the first week of February...Who knows what I will do then! Only a four day work week which usually means the longest week EVER! 

4 Snow Days Later...

What does one do with FOUR snow days?

In North Alabama you play in snow, sled, and enjoy warm fires! In North Shelby County you still build a warm fire, but there is no sledding or playing involved! On Monday afternoon around 4:30 pm I got the call saying we would not have school again Tuesday! I was fine with that since I wanted to stay up late and watch the BCS National Championship game! It was a horrible great game! On Tuesday I was positive that we would be going to school on Wednesday but maybe just 2 hrs late! Well I was wrong-Wednesday was another Snow Day! When I got that call I told Matt that he HAD to get me out of the house or ELSE! We ended up driving to Alabaster to eat dinner at Jim and Nick's and then we went and saw Tron 3D. I definitely recommend this movie if you are bored! NOT! Maybe for the boys! 

On Wednesday I decided that I would go to SSA and get my name changed. Going to the downtown office was a nightmare: 1. They actually didn't open until 10:30 (do you think that was on their website-NO) and I was there at 9:45, 2. Parking down there is a madhouse!, 3. I got a number and it said my wait time was 110 minutes-Yikes, 4. There were some interesting people in that office-I will leave it at that! It only took me about 30 minutes and I was out of there with a letter stating my card would come in the mail in 2 weeks!

The rest of Wednesday consisted of Matt building me another wonderful fire, taking Waylon to buy him some dog food, eating Hot and Ready Pizza, and watching Dinner for Schmucks-worth the rent!

This morning (Thursday) I got up and went to Pelham to get a new Driver's License! I then headed over to the local RBC to change/add my name on my bank accounts! Then Matt and I moved the furniture around and went back to the bank to join accounts! Whoa-big move, I know! I found out around 3 pm that I would be going to school on Friday, but 2 hrs late. Which added a bit of a kink to our North Carolina plans! (I had planned on taking Friday off so we could go to NC!)

I am so glad to finally have most of the "name-changing" process done! I still have to change my bills, work stuff, and other randoms!
We are headed to North Carolina this weekend to see Becca! Matt is so happy he can hardly stand it!!!! I have baked 60 teacakes to take with us and we are in the process of laundry right now! 
I will update with a lot of pictures after this weekend! For now I have to run and finished my mashed potatoes for dinner and to go with them: grilled pork chops, black-eyed peas, and cornbread! This is my first attempt so we will see how it was! Have a great LONG weekend!

Snow??? What happened James Spann?

We thought we were going to wake up to this... 4-8 inches of beautiful white snow to play in. James Spann got me way too excited and I made Matt go get firewood because they were predicting power outages. Around 3pm Sunday afternoon we were getting very large snow flakes and lots of sleet. Around 4:30om JefCoed called off school and I then became even more excited! (JefCoed only calls off school in extreme weather-Ex: the day the rest of the state got a half-day for the sleet we stayed at school!) It began to sleet/snow heavier by 6 pm and was accumulating! I just assumed that when I went to bed that I would wake up to a scene like the one above. Instead we woke up to this:

 

A couple inches of ice! Everything in our yard in frozen, including our grill!! I am sure it is a mix of snow, but it is HARD, nothing we want to play in! Even though the power stayed on Matt made me a fire to enjoy!

I love a real fire and I was so happy about being able to stay home today and enjoy it! Since we have no snow to play in Matt and I are going to take the day to get some things done around here! Confession: Our Christmas tree is still up! I did take the ornaments and lights down after Lindsey laughed at me for still having it all up! I also have some school work to get done! Can you say AAA? For all of you that don't speak Special Ed. Alphabet Soup: Alabama Alternate Assessment! The assessment tool used to test students with severe to moderate disabilities! Happy Snow Day to all of our friends North of us!

Christmas and Rebecca Rose Triche

I am finally getting around to posting about Christmas! We spent our "First Married Christmas" at my Mom's house on the Lake! Me, Matt, Chip and Cara spent the night at Mom's on Christmas Eve and then Nickel, Russ and the girls came on Christmas Day afternoon. We  didn't get to Mom's until after lunch from New Orleans so I enjoyed being out of the car and spending some time with Holland and Garrett (They just got engaged before coming home for Christmas!) while Matt had to run to Auburn to pick up some last minute Christmas gifts (Mine!). We went to Christmas Eve Service at church and then headed back home to eat dinner. Uncle Bill, Aunt Suzy, Cristin, Judy, and Dennis joined us for shrimp, salmon, salad, and good desserts! We enjoyed the fellowship and getting to listen to Uncle Bill call the girls and pretend to be Santa and then Dennis call Robert (Clay and Leigh Ann's oldest son) and pretend to be Santa! We also got to browse all of our wedding photos! Once we cleaned the kitchen Mom and I set out to stuff stockings and put Santa out! It was so exciting to put Santa out for my HUSBAND! :) Santa brought Matt a grill, pj pants, a helicopter and a new Carhartt jacket. He also had a bunch of stuff in his stocking! Santa did way too much for me this year! I was obviously a VERY good girl! I got a new Pandora bead, a Coach Purse, pjs, Apples to Apples board game, a white puffy vest and a Thirty-One lunch bag with my new initials!

Mom's Christmas Tree-She had a "wedding" tree this year!

If you were at our wedding you probably recognize all of these decorations!

Our Stockings and Santa!

Santa again!

Matt's gift from Santa! As a child my parents would tie outside gifts from Santa to the tree and you would have to follow the string to find out what you got-So I made Matt follow a string to find his gift!

Christmas Morning! 

Matt following his string to find his gift! 

Yeah a Grill!!!!

My new Pandora "Ring Pillow" charm!

Santa was G-O-O-D to ME!

We (the adults) did not do presents for each other because we are going to work on Mom's dock, so we just got the girls gifts! Matt and I gave Carley and Scarlett digital cameras for their trip to Disney and Lawson a Baby Princess doll! Chip and Cara got them new princess and Hello Kitty slippers! Lawson loved hers! It was so nice to just enjoy a quiet Christmas with our family! On Sunday we skipped church and headed to Mark and Lydia's to have Christmas with them! We have done Christmas with them since we have known them! They are basically 2 more brothers and 2 more sisters for me, Chip, and Nickel. It was fun to hangout and play with all of their new goodies! 

Yeah for gifts!

The annual Staples/Williams photo

Matt helping Scarlett with her camera!

Our Family!

Lawson loves Santa and Reddi Whip!

Chip, Scarlett, and Carley-Ready for a cold ride on the Polaris!

Introducing Rebecca Rose Triche!

Matt's sister and brother in law, Melanie and Nathan, welcomed our fourth niece into the world on December 30th around 7am! She weighed 7lbs 6oz. and was 20 in long. Matt always said he wanted to have an actually niece before getting them by marriage, but Rebecca waited until almost 2011 to make her appearance! We hope to visit North Carolina during MLK weekend and I can't wait to get my hands on that precious angel! Maybe some day in the future there will be a nephew for us?!

Cute little face!

Matt says she looks like him...Such a silly uncle!

I LOVE this houndstooth car seat! She is so precious!

Rebecca we can't wait to meet you! Uncle Matt and Aunt Mollie already love you and we will see you soon! We hope your Christmas and New Year were as blessed as ours was!