Field Day - Sterling

Field Trip - Sterling

Sterling's class took a field trip to a local farm that has lots of activities--animals, corn maze, hayride, and pumpkin patch.

Sterling was a little afraid to feed the goat.  He dropped the feed right on the ground.

It was a busy day for me.  Avery had her Field Day the same afternoon as the field trip, so I had to rush back to the school to watch Avery.  I missed the hayride and other events.  But, Sterling said he had a great time.

Pumpkin Patch

We made our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch last week.  These were not the pictures I was hoping for--The sun was beating down so there are lots of shadows! 

Which one should we choose?

Avery said this pumpkin looks like a cupcake!

Oh Let's Go Fly a Kite!

It was extra windy this past Saturday. Avery decided to make her own kite. It looked really cute; however, she really needed a longer string to get it flying. But, she and Ian had a great time trying to fly the kite! They somehow figured that if they stood on something (the stone bench), it just might fly!

ALMOST!

Sterling had gone to work with Juan, so he missed out on the fun.  Here are some cute pictures I took from the day.

And, here are a few more from a different day.  Ian thought it would be really cute to sit in the window.  It looked like he was posing for a picture, so I grabbed the camera.  Sterling had to try it, too!

Big Fat Lip

Last Thursday afternoon, Ian walked into my bedroom and fell and hurt his mouth.  He bit through his lip and the front tooth and gum line were also injured.  I'm not really sure how he fell or what actually happened.  There was so much blood--I've never seen one of my children bleed so much.  I was really afraid we were going to end up at the ER, but thankfully the bleeding stopped after 10 minutes.  He still might have damaged his tooth--it's kind of a wait and see thing.  The lip is healing quite fast, and he is now eating normally.

This is a zoomed in picture 3 days after the accident.  He had been playing in the sandbox, so there is some extra sand and dirt around his mouth.  This shows the tooth and gum line.

Computers!

I was ready to scream and cry last week. . .

Two weeks ago, my external hard drive crashed.  This was ok, since it was just my backup for all my files.   However, it did have all my digital scrapbooking stuff on it (and I do not have that on my computer because of the size of the files), so last week I took it to a local computer store to have the data backed up and put on a new external hard drive.  I also took the laptop in because lately it has been acting a little funny.  And, we had an older computer crash on us over a year ago.  A friend had told me it needed a new hard drive, so I thought I would take that in as well, so the kids could have their own computer to play on (and I wouldn't have to worry so much about it if something went wrong).  So, all three items were at the computer store--external hard drive, laptop, and older desktop computer.  I was ok with all of this because I still had my main computer that was a little over a year old.  And, all was good with that computer.

Then, last Wednesday night we had a little storm blow through.  There were several little power surges.  All was still ok; however, Friday morning I went to turn on my computer and nothing would happen.  NO power and it would not turn on at all.  I was still ok at this point because I figured that maybe it just had a bad power supply (we had that happen several years ago to another computer).  So, Friday morning, I took the computer in to the computer shop and had to pay a rush fee, so I could hopefully get the computer back that afternoon.  Well, I was not so lucky.  The computer guy called me that afternoon.  BAD News . . . My main business computer did not just have a bad power supply, but it also had a blown motherboard.  The laptop also had a bad motherboard that is about to go (that's why it acts up sometimes).  And, the old desktop that I wanted to fix for the kids had something else wrong.  Basically, all 3 computers were not worth repairing!  The external hard drive was ok and they could retrieve the data from it, but it would take a while because it gets hot and shuts down--so it's a slow process. 

The biggest issue is we desperately need a computer to run our business, and Saturdays I have to do payroll, and it's also near the end of the month (time for invoices).  We also need to respond to customer e-mails and requests.  Well, Friday afternoon we rushed out and bought 2 new computers--one for the business and one for a backup and that the kids can play on.  I then had to take the new computer to the computer shop so they could begin transferring the files from the old computer to the new computer.

We finally got the new computer back late Saturday afternoon.  And, then my work began.  I had to install all the programs (Microsoft Office, Publisher, Quickbooks, etc.), set up the printer and begin locating all the files to make sure everything got transferred.  I'm still searching for some stuff, but most everything appears to have transferred ok, it's just in a different folder than before.  I also had to upgrade our Quickbooks (more $) because our old 2009 isn't supported by Windows 7 (which is on the new computers).  And, I still haven't completed all the installs on the backup computer.

My biggest lesson in all of this is you need one of these!

We had our computers all on surge protectors; however, I have since learned that is not enough.  This is what most likely caused the motherboard and power supply to go.  You really need the battery backup.  So, when there are power surges or the power goes out, the battery backup goes to work and shuts down your computer safely for you.  And, I now recognize the importance of backup.  I was doing my part in that area, but now I think I want to backup my backup!

So. . .

QUICKBOOKS UPGRADE - $200.00
FEES TO THE COMPUTER STORE - $650.00!!! (I could have bought a really NICE computer.)
2 NEW COMPUTERS - $950.00
TOTAL SPENT - $1800.00

But, my pictures of my children are safe, which is PRICELESS!!

First Day of School 2011

We had a great first day of school this year.  Sterling started Kindergarten and Avery is in 4th grade.  We or "I" should say that I was ready.  We really needed to get back in a routine or regular schedule because with 3 kids and work, it's almost a necessity!

Sterling had a big growth spurt over the summer.  Now he looks so tall compared to the kids in his class.

The "3 Amigos"!

Such a big boy. . .I didn't think I was going to cry, but seeing him sitting in his chair and saying goodbye was hard, so I did have some tears!  :)

Here is Avery outside her classroom.  She is in a portable building, as is all of 4th grade.  When I walked into her portable, it reminded me so much of my 6th grade year, when I was in portables in Austin.  They even smelled the same and looked a little "old".  It is going to be different this year with her being in portables--they have to go inside for water and bathroom breaks.  But, she is thankful to have her friend, Taylor, in her class!