Happy Halloween

We did our usual trip around the neighborhood. Before we finished the rounds Madi got tired and went home because her candy bag was so heavy she was tired of carrying it. Carlie went home early because she wanted to start eating her candy!!!

Fall Day At the Belle Plaine Arboretum

When Frank has out of town football games, he has to be there an hour early. And then the games tend to run late. So the girls and I drive around town and see if there is anything interesting to do. This weekend we stumbled upon the Belle Plaine Arboretum. It was stunnly beautiful and we stopped to walk the grounds and take pictures. Of course we were dressed for a ballgame, not picture taking. Carlie had stayed at home with Bob because she didn't feel good. Here are some pictures.

My Baby Lost Her First Baby Tooth

She has waited forever for one to get wiggly, but they were all firmly in place.

When I came back from my trip from MN, I brought them back suckers. She was crunching hers up tonight and suddenly her tooth was gone. It figures that she would have to do things differently. All my other kids we had to hold down, cajole, beg, threaten....to get their first tooth out. Carlie's just comes out and disappears. We don't know what happened to it. But she's thrilled that she's finally lost a tooth.

October Quotes

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Why can't EVERY day be a weekend!!!! - Carlie Pool
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It's hard to unlove someone. - Olanna SWB
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When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.-Cherokee Expression
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You're a Great Friend, but if the Zombies chase us I'm tripping you - T-shirt
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Revenge on a Birddog

My grandma's name is Obie. And my grandpa's name is Cassol (Cass for short) and he always had bird dogs and coon dogs around the house.

One old dog just ate constantly. If food was thrown out the backdoor, that dog would catch it and eat it before it hit the ground.

Grandma Obie decided one day to teach that old dog a lesson. She took some biscuit dough and wrapped it around the lid of a mason jar. Then she threw it out the back door.

Sure enough, the dog tried to catch it in midair before it hit the ground. But the jar lid was firmly wedged in his mouth!!!! The dog tried to get it out and so did Grandma Obie, but it wouldn't budge.

When Grandpa Cass came home, he was so mad at what his wife had done to his dog!!! He did managed to get the lid out of the dogs mouth, and the dog was fine.

Cooking Mishap

The kids like to make Cinnamon Toast for breakfast sometimes. Libby decided to make some earlier this week. She mixes butter, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and then spreads it on toast that comes out of the toaster.

The kids dug into their toast and immediately spit it back out. Libby had accidently grabbed the red chili pepper instead of the cinnamon. LOL.

Animal Pictures From The Zoo

Day At The Zoo With Madi

Like myself, Madi is a true animal lover and we enjoyed taking our time at the zoo today without being rushed by other family members. There is something about Madi that attracts animals. At the lion exhibit a half grown lion cub came up and sat by the window right beside her. And when we went to the otters, an otter was trying to get her cap through the glass. We had a great day!!!

Rebel in the Wrong Century

I got an email from school yesterday. Frank had been having SUCH a good year. But apparently he took his DS to school with him yesterday. Then he took it to the bathroom with him and stayed in there alot longer than he should have. He had a sub...so I guess he thought he could pull one over on her. When they finally got him out of the bathroom the sub asked what he had in his pocket and he lied and said he didn't have anything in his pocket. They finally got it and took it away from him.

Then after he went back to class his teacher told him to get ready for a spelling test and he told her "FU".

I like to read romance novels set in the past. And they are full of swashbuckling men who get what they want and don't take any crap off of any one. Right now I'm reading about an Irish Chieftan.

I got to thinking that Frank was just born in the wrong century. If he were a 30 year old Irish Chieftan, his FU attitude would get him women and hero worship.

Unfortunately for us, it's just not appropriate for an 11 year old in a modern classroom. Sigh.

You Just Don't Use Coloring Much In Life

Carlie had just always marched to the beat of her own drummer. Pictured below she's at a football game with those socks that have places for each toe on her hands. LOL. It was about 90 degrees outside.


We've still been going 'round and 'round with Carlie and first grade. She's still getting in trouble alot, and I am having her tested independently so we can figure out what's going on. I told the lady doing the testing that Bob and I both and ADD/ADHD traits so Carlie might have a tendency towards that. So she sent two forms for each of Carlie's teachers to fill out and send back. There were questions where the teachers were supposed to rate her. Instead of just putting the rating on there, they wrote all over the form. And it wasn't pretty. I was so upset.

They wrote that she was telling the other kids "I'm SO much smarter than you are!!!" That when given assignment she was rolling her eyes and saying things like "This is SO easy." They said she was manipulative with adults and kids. They said if another student got a question right that she sulking and glowered at them until they felt uncomfortable. I don't know WHERE she got any of these traits from....no idea.

They were also concerned about her fine motor skills. So Bob and I sat down and talked to her that night. I asked her "If someone came up to you and said I am SO much prettier than YOU are...would you like that??" and she said "No".

Another comment was that she was rushing through her work and then immediately demanding more to do. Bob told her he wanted her to take her time and write her name. (She's a lefty.) So she wrote her name perfectly. Then he got one of her school papers out that was NOT written perfectly. He asked her why she didn't write her name neatly all the time and she mumbled "Well it's good enough that they can READ it." So then he asked her if she could color neatly...and she said she could. So he got out one of her school papers that had been scribbled on. He asked her WHY she didn't take her time and color her best. She stared down at the ground and thought about it a minute then she said "Well Dad, there's just not much coloring in life!!!" Oh My.

Birthday Update

When I woke up this morning, Libby had two birthday notes for me. One said "I love you there is nothing I would do exep love and care for you. Madi, Carlie and Frank love and care for you to. I am luckey to have you. We thank you. We don't care if you get older. The importet thang is that your in are hart."

Madi showed up right behind her and she had an ancient romance novel in her hand. She said she got it at a garage sale and she's been saving it all this time for me. Then she disappeared and came back with another one. LOL. I have no idea where they came from. I asked Granny about it and she didn't know where they came from either. They had garage sale stickers on them, but were not anything Mom or I would have bought.

Carlie made me a book, and it opens from the left instead of the right....just like her. Piano lessons were cancelled tonight, so Bob and the kids took me to China Star and the kids went to Walmart and picked me out jammies. And as predicted, I got my sales sack of shirts from my hubby. They were nice shirts though.

It's My Birthday

Pretty much every year for the last 8 or 9, I've spent my birthday angry. This one isn't looking to shape up any differently. It's not that my birthday won't be remembered, because it will be. It's not that I won't get a gift, because I will.

I think it's because TODAY we are 4.5 weeks into a 9 week season and my patience is wearing thin. It's the fact that my birthday falls on the same day of the month EVERY YEAR, but my husband can't manage to think that far ahead when all he has in his head is football and so ends up going to Walmart at midnight to buy me something....anyting.....whatever I TELL him to get me. Brings it home and shoves a Walmart bag into my hands.

I once heard a veteran football coach give a thank you speech for an award. He said "....and I want to thank my wife. Because she raised our kids, while I raised everyone elses." Amen, brother.

I have a Love-Hate relationship with football. Before I married my husband he told me his priorities were God, Family, Football. I think that's true for about 2/3s of the year. The other 1/3rd, I'm not so sure.

I am angry at him today because he totally refused to engage with the kids last night. So I wrote this poem in honor of all Coach's Wives.

I Am Last

I am the Coach's Wife
I come after football practice
I come after reading about football on internet forums
I come after phone calls from other Coaches
I come after creating plays in Playmaker

I come after High School football games
....and JV football games
.... and Freshman football games
....and sometimes Junior High football games

I come after Sunday football
....and Monday Night football
..... and Saturday College Football
..... and local Community College football.


I come after OU and the Cowboys
I come after watching film
I come after the Xs and the Os.
I am the Coach's Wife
I come last

- Julie Pool Sept 30, 2009

It's Football Time!!!

If you are a Football Coach's Wife....you find THIS on pretty much every free scrap of paper in the house during the season.



I've been too busy to post much lately between Bob's High School Football games and Frank's 6th Grade games. We feed the Offensive Line on Tuesday nights. I've been taking pictures and making slide shows of the games. Here are a few of my favorite pics.