overworked and underpaid

Me From A to Z

2012-01-23T15:46:00.001-06:00

Me From A to Z

A. Age: 36 (i mean 29)
B. Bed size: King -- i can't stand to be touched when I'm sleeping so the bigger the bed, the better! i haven't talked the hubby into separate beds yet. ;-)
C. Chore that you hate: pretty much all of them but if i had to pick just one, washing dishes
D. Dogs: 2 -- a big german shepherd and a beagle
E. Essential start to your day: downing a glass of orange juice as soon as i wake up
F. Favorite color: green
G. Gold or Silver: silver -- i don't think i could tell you the last time i wore gold
H. Height: 5'7"
I. Instruments you play: none -- i wish i could play the drums
J. Job title: domestic goddess
K. Kids: 2 girls (ages 8 and 5)
L. Live: texas! i wasn't born here but i got here as fast as i could!
M. Mother’s name: karen
N. Nicknames: shirley (not my name),
O. Overnight hospital stays: 2 -- delivering of both my babies
P. Pet peeves: people that leave shopping carts in the parking lot, people that can't park their car
Q. Quote from a movie: “Doing nothing is very hard to do...you never know when you're finished.” Leslie Nielsen
R. Right or left handed: right handed
S. Siblings: one brother that is 2 years younger than me
T. Time you wake up: unfortunately 6:45. if i had my choice, 10:45
U. Underwear: thong
V. Vegetable you hate: sweet potatoes and beets
W. What makes you run late: myself -- i will be late to my own funeral!
X. X-Rays you’ve had: teeth
Y. Yummy food that you make: i make really good pancakes from scratch and a 16 bean soup that everyone in my family actually loves (which very rarely happens that all 4 of us love the same thing)
Z. Zoo animal: kangaroos and elephants

what we have been up to since my last post

2011-11-14T20:13:00.007-06:00

me and hubby at ranch bash

me and the hubby on our 14th wedding anniversary

14 balloons with 14 "reasons why i love him" attached

me and the hubby at a halloween party

the girls at the pumpkin patch

our family on halloween

my mom, my girls and me on halloween

"how much is that doggie in the window?"

a chicken and a doggie

shrimp boil while tailgating at NASCAR

team drunk

let's go racing!

hello again!

2011-10-12T20:50:00.001-05:00

well, hello there! did you think that i disappeared?! i guess i kinda failed at the whole "picture of the week" thing, huh? i don't think i'm cut out to be a blogger! i just don't get on here enough or have enough things to say. i find it hard to even post the pictures each week! a lot has happened in the almost 4 months since i last posted. so, here we go...

our family at the texas rangers baseball game

my precocious one on their dirt bike. the hubby decided the girls needed a dirt bike to ride -- i was less than thrilled!

my little one in her dirt bike helmet

fulfilling an item on my bucket list -- seeing willie nelson play

my precocious one's 8th birthday

we took our girls and two friends to great wolf lodge for the precocious one's birthday

making a wish at great wolf lodge

the girls having a ball at great wolf lodge

me and the hubby at gruene hall to see ray wylie hubbard

me with ray wylie hubbard

our family at gruene hall to see emory quinn

us with one of our favorite bands, emory quinn

my little one tubing the san marcos river

my precocious one tubing the san marcos river

my girls with their best friend before she moved half way across the country

the hubby with my nephew

me with my nephew

my girls with their cousin

the three cousins

my precocious one's first day of third grade

my little one's first day of kindergarten

and last but definitely not least, my little one's broken arm! two weeks ago (today) she was running and playing and she tripped and tried to break her fall by putting her arm out. as she puts it, "my arm turned but my hand didn't" and she broke both bones in her forearm! it was so awful!!

okay, i'm not gonna promise to continue the "picture of the week" blogs ... because i think we all know that that is not gonna happen but i will definitely try to write something and/or post pictures at least once a month!

Picture of the week -- 20 through 24 of 52

2011-06-24T11:23:00.002-05:00

WOW! this blog has been severely neglected lately but we have been really busy. they say a picture says a thousand words so here's some pictures to bring you up to date!

my brother, his wife and son with my mom and me at my nephew's baptism

me with my newest godson

my brother and his mini-me

my mom with her only grandson and the blanket that she knitted for him

can you tell that i like to eat crawfish?

my little one at pre-k graduation

our family at the little one's graduation

my precocious one with her certificate for having straight a's all year

my precocious one and her second grade teacher

my little one swimming in the lake

summer evening's at the lake - swimming and eating hot dogs

me and the hubby at an all-day country music festival (it was so hot!)

me and the hubby at a dirt bike race that his brother and nephews were racing in

the girls with their "racing" cousin

my precocious one getting a bit too comfy on that four wheeler

my girls

look at those blue eyes!

my little one swimming in the pool

my precocious one swimming in the pool

me and the hubby on a date night

Picture of the week -- 19 of 52

2011-05-14T13:15:00.003-05:00

my precocious one loves to read books to my little one. i love the sweet times between sisters! unfortunately it's not quite as often as i would like.

Picture of the week -- 18 of 52

2011-05-07T21:47:00.004-05:00

my baby is now 5 years old!! i can't believe it! i wish she would just stay this age forever! i told her that this is going to be her last birthday because i don't want her to get any older or any bigger -- from now on she will just have an "anniversary of her 5th birthday"!

my little one was very diligent about making her birthday wish. the praying hands lasted for about 7 seconds!

she was excitedly opening her gifts!

my little one with her "besties"

that night we had a crawfish boil at our house for one of our friends birthday. we figured we already had the house cleaned and decorated from the little one's party so we might as well have another party!

Picture of the week -- 17 of 52

2011-04-30T19:56:00.006-05:00

happy easter!

Picture of the week -- 16 of 52

2011-04-23T19:55:00.003-05:00

we were going for a walk down the driveway.

i so want to live at the ranch!!

Picture of the week -- 15 of 52

2011-04-16T19:54:00.003-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

we celebrated my birthday at the nascar race track

me with the girls in the front yard (which they decorated with my parents for my birthday)

out to a yummy mexican dinner with some of my family and friends

Picture of the week -- 14 of 52

2011-04-09T09:50:00.001-05:00

my little one all dressed up for western day at her school! she LOVES her cowgirl boots and cowgirl hat (not cowboy -- cowgirl)! she was so excited because they were getting to ride a pony (which she said the pony went faster with her on it than anyone else) and they had a special lunch (hot dogs, chips, carrots and a rice crispy treat)! it was a good day for her!

Picture of the week -- 13 of 52

2011-04-02T21:46:00.004-05:00

the precocious one with her research paper and display board at the school's district wide show. she did her research on horses -- a new favorite thing of hers!

Picture of the week -- 12 of 52

2011-03-26T11:45:00.001-05:00

the hubby's newest toy

Picture of the week -- 11 of 52

2011-03-19T11:54:00.004-05:00

pictures from spring break

the girls visiting their great-grandmother in south texas

the precocious one sliding down a huge slide at the bounce house place

my little one sliding down a huge slide at the bounce house place

the precocious one running through the sprinklers with neighbor friends

my little one taking a nap with the dog after all of this fun!

happy st. pattys day

2011-03-17T12:31:00.004-05:00

kiss me, i'm irish

team emily (i guess)

2011-03-14T10:30:00.005-05:00

it has been 15 seasons (i think) of the bachelor and i can actually say that i have yet to watch one whole episode of the show. i LOVE reality tv but for whatever reason i never got into this show. i do know that brad (the bachelor) has been on a previous season of the bachelor. i do know that he did not propose to anyone on that season. what i do not understand is why everyone was so angry with him for this decision. he was not in love with any of those women so then he got crucified for not proposing because it messed up the premise of the show! how does that make sense?!

like i previously stated, i know nothing about this show but i do hope that he picks the blonde girl (emily). and just to prove that i truly am a redneck, the reason that i want him to pick her is because she was engaged to nascar royalty ricky hendrick and then dated dale earndhardt jr. her friend signed her up for the show so she could find love again.

so i guess that i could say that i am on "team emily" -- although i would say it rather half-heartedly because i really don't care that much! in fact, by the end of tonight i still will not have watched one whole episode of the bachelor because i know that i will hear the results constantly tomorrow on every news show, entertainment show, etc.

Picture of the week -- 10 of 52

2011-03-12T22:48:00.003-06:00

tug of war at the precocious one's field day at school. she won quite a few of the events during field day...tug of war was not one of these events however! i came to watch her class during the morning and then i volunteered to help with the older classes in the afternoon. it was fun but by the end of the day, i had a horrible headache! i was outside all day and it was incredibly windy and the smoke from nearby grass fires made it that much worse! oh well, a shower, some tylenol, a nap and some wine and i felt much better!

a little bit of heaven here on earth

2011-03-09T22:04:00.001-06:00

oh my gawd! it's official -- in-n-out burger has already broken ground on the site here in town. i am going to weigh like 400 pounds soon from eating there all of the time. the good news is that i do have to drive about 20 minutes away to eat there but that is so much closer than say...california (where i have previously had their mouth-watering deliciousness)! about 8 years ago the hubby and i went to san diego to visit my brother and while we were there we had in-n-out burger. it was REALLY good and the french fries (my biggest weakness) were too die for! the only problem that i am having now is, maybe i built in-n-out burger up too big in my head. what if i go there for the first time and i'm like "eh". no, that does look pretty damn good!

Picture of the week -- 9 of 52

2011-03-05T22:01:00.002-06:00

the hubby's newest toy
i am totally anti-motorcycle and i have always told my husband that he could get a harley when the youngest child was 18 years old because i don't want to be left a widow raising 2 kids with no money! well, for some reason i caved! i LOVE to get a good deal and the deal on buying this motorcycle was definitely a good deal.

charlie sheen is ... winning!

2011-03-04T13:00:00.001-06:00

i am completely fascinated with all of this media coverage on charlie sheen! i love his show (two and a half men). and for whatever reason, i have always liked him -- even though he shot a previous girlfriend, has paid numerous prostitutes and porn stars for sex, has a long history of drug abuse (not exactly someone that i look to as a model citizen). i can't stop watching it but it is also so, so sad!

i've been watching many of his interviews lately and he swears that he is not on drugs (even passed a drug test) but i actually HOPE that he is on drugs! if he is not on any drugs then that means he is actually this crazy! he looks like hell. his ramblings make no sense. case in point:

On his natural high: "I am on a drug. It's called Charlie Sheen. It's not available. If you try it once, you will die. Your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body." ("20/20.")

On how he survived his other highs: "I probably took more than anybody could survive. ... I was bangin' seven-gram rocks and finishing them because that's how I roll, because I have one speed, one gear. ... I'm different. I have a different constitution, I have a different brain, I have a different heart. I got tiger blood, man. Dying's for fools, dying's for amateurs." ("20/20.")

On partying: "I mean, what's not to love? Especially when you see how I party man, it's epic. The run I was on made Sinatra, Flynn, Jagger, Richards, all of them, just look like droopy-eyed, armless children." ("20/20.")

On his dual personality: "I have a 10,000-year-old brain and the boogers of a 7-year-old. That's how I describe myself." ("Piers Morgan Tonight.")

On how he cured himself of addiction: "I closed my eyes and made it so with the power of my mind, and unlearned 22 years of fiction ... the fiction of AA. It's a silly book written by a broken-down fool." ("The Today Show.")

On how he avoids relapsing: "I just don't do it. I will not believe that if I do something then I have to follow a certain path because it was written for normal people. People who aren't special. People who don't have tiger blood and Adonis DNA." ("The Today Show.")

On his desire to be his true self: "I'm tired of pretending I'm not a total bitchin' rock star from Mars, and people can't figure me out; they can't process me. I don't expect them to. You can't process me with a normal brain." ("The Today Show.")

after i wrote all of this, i found jimmy kimmels take on charlie's antics and i think it about sums it all up for me!

Picture of the Week -- 8 of 52

2011-02-26T11:23:00.003-06:00

my girls with their new little cousin who came in town for the first time.

my proud dad with his only grandson and the person that will carry on our last name (my dad was an only child and my parents only had one boy). these two actually share the same last name and the same middle name!

Picture of the week -- 7 of 52

2011-02-19T11:01:00.002-06:00

today we had a baby shower brunch for my good friend, caitlyn. she is pregnant with her third baby girl. some people might say that you don't need to have a baby shower for the third baby, but i think that every baby deserves to be celebrated and every mom needs diapers for a new baby! well, she got lots of diapers and some cute new outfits for baby gracie.

Picture of the week -- 6 of 52

2011-02-12T10:37:00.000-06:00

the hubby and our good friend, bobby, took the little one and the precocious one to a father/daughter valentine's dance.

Picture of the week -- 5 of 52

2011-02-05T16:37:00.002-06:00

this picture is probably not very self-explanatory. it is a spot that is smack-dab in the middle of my living room carpet! it's not just any spot -- it is bright RED nail polish! my precocious one was painting the little ones nails. i knew that they were doing it but they had a towel spread out and i didn't know that they had any nail polish that was so dark! anyway, they spilled the bottle...off of the towel. a few days later my wonderful hubby and his friend used carpet cleaner, oxyclean (a miracle concoction) and some major elbow grease and managed to make the spot almost disappear!

Picture of the week -- 4 of 52

2011-01-29T11:58:00.003-06:00

this sums up my little one quite well! her barbie dolls riding in her tonka truck - a tomboy with a little bit of a girly side!

Picture of the week -- 3 of 52

2011-01-22T13:42:00.004-06:00

the precocious one (after her awards ceremony at school). she got an award for "A" honor roll and for "Star Student" of the 6 weeks! very proud of her!

Picture of the week - 2 of 52

2011-01-15T21:45:00.001-06:00

me and the hubby at a concert of one of our favorite new bands - emory quinn

Picture of the week -- 1 of 52

2011-01-14T16:10:00.001-06:00

well we are 2 weeks into the new year and i'm jumping onto the bandwagon. the concept here is that you post a picture of the week for every week of the year. i will make sure to post up one picture a week! honest. unless i don't. and in that case, i'll play catch up. again.

aggie fans at the cotton bowl at the cowboys stadium

my view of december 2010

2011-01-06T22:23:00.001-06:00

The little one's dance recital

Me and the hubby

The hubby and the girls roasting marshmallows in our fireplace

At the Christmas party for the gymnastics class

The little one's dance class

The little one's class party

The precocious one's class party (with the little one there too)

The girls decorating their Gingerbread House

Our family on Christmas Eve

Santa came to our house!

Sisterly love on Christmas morning

My little one opening a present on Christmas morning

My precocious one opening a present on Christmas morning

Christmas dinner with my parents

The girls getting to visit with old friends

Me and the hubby on New Year's Eve

sick and tired of being sick and tired

2011-01-03T22:13:00.002-06:00

i like my kids pediatrician and all but i am really getting tired of seeing her lately! in the last month and a half, my precocious one has had strep (twice) and then a horrible cough (which kept her from being able to go to church on christmas eve). i thought she was pretty much over it but she ended up missing school today (the first day back after christmas break)!

the little one had an ear infection in her right ear and then two weeks later i had to take her back to the doctor and lo and behold, she has an infection in her OTHER ear and it has spread to an infection in her eye and she too has a horrible cough!

last week, i was planning to go and see my 90 year old grandmother and visit with my aunts, uncles and cousins! the pediatrician advised me not to take them to see her because of all of their ailments. i was really looking forward to this trip because my immediate family is pretty small (especially with my brother living in chicago with his family) so sometimes i don't feel like we have much "family time" for the holidays with my side of the family. we have plenty of visiting with the hubby's family - in fact we can see all of them on just about any old tuesday night because everyone lives right here!

i was also sick on christmas day - vomiting (and other stuff), aches all over, chills and headaches. we are not usually a "sickly" family and this does help to put into perspective how blessed we really are with (normally) good health, but i do have to say that i am ready to stop playing nurse-maid and have everyone back up and running!

merry christmas from the family

2010-12-17T22:00:00.003-06:00

well, here it is again - almost time for christmas and i have very little time to do much of anything extra (ie: update my blog)! so for now, the christmas letter that i sent out in my christmas cards will have to do. i will write a real update soon...no, really, i will!

We hope that this card will find each of you in good health and happiness. 2010 has been an enjoyable year for our family!

The hubby has been working at the same commercial heating/air conditioning company for almost 5 years. He is doing continuing-education to learn more about working on the really big units on high-rise buildings. When he is not working, he is usually watching football, working on his truck, going to NASCAR races and playing golf (his newest obsession)!

I celebrated my 35th birthday in April with a “like totally awesome” 1980’s themed birthday party! Everyone dressed up as someone from the 80’s and it was so much fun! I continued to volunteer a lot at the girls’ schools this past year (being PTA president, Room Mom and doing some substitute teaching). Of course, my main job is being the “CEO of the Household”! Whatever time I do get by myself, I love to workout. In fact this summer, I led a fitness boot camp for some of the neighborhood women. It was a lot of fun and I think that I might like to look into becoming a personal trainer.

The precocious one (7) is in second grade and has now started at the just-built public school. It has been quite a shock – for her and for me! She was in hip-hop dance class for the first half of this year and now she is back in gymnastics. She is singing in the choir at the Christmas program at church. She has been on the A-honor roll every six weeks and we are so proud of her for that!

The little one (4) has started preschool this year. She goes on Tuesday and Thursday of each week and she LOVES it! She actually gets upset on the days that she doesn’t have school, but I don’t because I miss her when she isn’t around to help me! I don’t know what I will do next year when my “little baby” is going to school 5 days a week! She was in gymnastics for quite a while but now she decided that she wants to take dance so she has been doing ballet and tap. She just danced to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer at the local Christmas event.

We adopted a dog from a shelter in February – her name is Sadie and she is a BIG German shepherd! She had been abused and has major separation anxiety issues but overall she is a good dog! The girls love her and she is so gentle with them – truly a gentle giant! We decided that she needed a “buddy” so in September we got another dog! She is a beagle puppy (named Sierra) and she is adorable although she chews on everything!

We went to a lot of Texas Country music concerts again this year. The hubby and I saw Charlie Robison at Gruene Hall in September and it was an amazing concert! A few weeks later, Charlie Robison came to the DFW area and we took the girls to see him – they are huge Charlie fans and can sing along to numerous songs! They had a great time.

We were greatly saddened by the passing of my Uncle Robert in August. He had fought a long, hard battle with cancer and he is dearly missed! We had a family reunion in late July and got to catch up with many of my extended family (including a final visit with my uncle). The reunion was in Galveston and then our family went on a week long vacation to Sea World in San Antonio, to Gruene, Texas and tubing the San Marcos River! The hubby's dad moved back here in July and we are enjoying having him nearby to see the girls more and for the hubby to get to “hang out” with his dad quite often. Probably the most exciting thing of this year for us was that my brother and sister-in-law had a baby boy! He was born November 8th and his name is James Hinton and he is so sweet. I got to go up to Chicago the week after he was born to visit with them all.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

happy 2 week birthday james!

2010-11-22T19:44:00.006-06:00

my nephew was born 2 weeks ago today! his name is james hinton and he is ADORABLE!! i just got back home yesterday from visiting him -- oh, and i did see my brother and sister-in-law too!

i have been around quite a few newborn babies in my life and i have to say that this baby is the most easy-going, happiest baby that i've ever met! i thought my babies were pretty easy - my oldest slept for most of the night by the time she was 10 days old and neither of them had colic or anything like that so they didn't cry excessively but i definitely had quite a few nights of standing up (because somehow they know if you are sitting or standing) and bouncing a crying baby to try to get them to quiet down and go to sleep!

for the five days that i was up there, this little boy ONLY cried when his diaper was being changed and that's mainly just because he was ready to eat! he would wake up, they would change his diaper, she would feed him for 30 minutes, burp him and he was back to sleep for 3-7 hours at a time! the few times that he didn't fall fast asleep he still didn't cry he would just swing in his swing or look around. i am so happy that they got such an adorable, happy baby but they may be in for a big shock if their next baby doesn't behave the same as this little angel!

happy housewives' day

2010-11-03T14:39:00.006-05:00

today is national housewives' day. oh come on, don't pretend like you didn't know that already! okay maybe it's not a nationally recognized holiday like bosses day or mail-carrier day or nurses day but i think housewives have a pretty damn important job! it just happens to be the most under-appreciated job too! when i was growing up, i always wanted to be a housewife ... of course i anticipated it to be more like it is on tv (kids are rarely seen, moms are doing their own thing and helping out at the kids' school every now and then). i was in for a rude awakening! it is the most monotonous job EVER -- make the same foods, clean the same things, launder and put away the same clothes, wipe the same butts -- EVERYDAY!! but i also know that if i was working at a job outside of the home i would feel that i was missing out on so much of my children's lives! i didn't have kids so someone else could raise them. i want to be there to help with homework, to make their lunches, drive them school, take them to dance and gymnastics, cook dinner, and volunteer at their school. no one may be giving me a raise or a bouquet of flowers and a card on this "housewives' day" but i do feel rewarded everytime my girls give me a big hug and tell me how much they love me! i feel very fortunate that i have been granted the opportunity to do this important job!

happy halloween

2010-10-31T20:54:00.001-05:00

what a busy weekend -- which finished off a busy month (which might explain why i haven't written in so long)! or at least we will use that as the excuse! this month has been filled with gymnastics, playdates, birthday parties, concerts, carnivals, pumpkin patches, school field trips, dress-up days, preschool parties, choir practices, church, our anniversary and of course, halloween! my little one dressed up as a cowgirl (because she LOVES to wear her boots) and my precocious one was a gothic vampire (because she LOVES to make me crazy)! here's a few pics to recap the month of october:

back to school

2010-09-23T10:15:00.002-05:00

school started up one month ago today! a lot has happened in this month (which explains why i haven't written much)!

my little one started preschool and she LOVES it! she only goes 2 days a week and she's sad that she can't go on the other days! she loves getting to take her lunchbox and she has made friends in her class (although she can't remember anybody's names yet)! she even takes naps during naptime!! this is the same child who hasn't taken a nap for me in two years! i guess she's just so worn out from all of the fun she's having!

then there's the drama queen! she has started a new school this year. she was going to a small christian school for kindergarten and first grade but they are no longer going to have any higher grade levels so we had to find a new school for her. our housing development got rezoned for a brand new elementary school that was just built so we figured this would be the perfect time to try out the public school system. everyone coming into this new school would be new - the teachers, the students, everyone! she could transition to a different school and not have to be "the new kid".

the first week she started crying and saying that she didn't want to go to school (which is completely out of character for her). she has always loved school! it is so disheartening for me to hear her say everyday "i hate school"! this school is very strict - which i guess you have to be when you have this many students and some of them have never been disciplined!

here are some examples of the other things that have been a "buzz-kill" to her: on the first morning of school, my "precocious one" was asked to make something out of clay. she just made it into a ball because she was nervous and didn't know what else to make. her teacher asked her what it was and she said "it's a circle". to which her teacher replied, "wrong! it's not a circle, it's a sphere!" keep in mind, this is the first hour of school! one of the other second grade teachers has a couple class pets (turtle, gerbil, fish) and when drama queen's class asked when they would get a class pet her teacher answered "there is no pet in this classroom and there never will be". she keeps complaining that they won't let them have fun and told her that you don't go to school just to have fun, you are supposed to be learning but she doesn't get to visit with her friends in other classes before school, at lunch, or after school. the boy that has been sitting next to her has been taking her things, pinching her and scratching her. other kids have said "shut up", "you're stupid", "i don't like black people", "i don't like white people" and even "i'm gonna kick your ass"! i went to the principal this week to talk about all of this and it seems to have helped. she has been moved away from that boy and she has actually come home a couple of times now and said she had a good day!

i really hope that things will keep getting better because i want her to like school! especially since she's only in second grade -- she's got plenty of time to hate school when she's in middle school and high school!

just what i needed...

2010-09-21T18:02:00.002-05:00

...a new puppy! i have officially lost my mind! not only do I have more than enough to do taking care of everything to do with this house, tending to my husband and two children and trying to clean up after a gigantic, hairy dog who seems to want to destroy my house but last week I brought home an 8 week old puppy! she is adorable and really sweet and cuddly but she is a puppy which means chewing on anything and everything and peeing in the house! she has narrowed it down to peeing on (mostly) just the tile floor! my girls LOVE her to pieces and even sadie (my huge german shepherd) seems to be enjoying having her around! (which giving sadie a companion was one of the main reasons that we got her.) i guess my kids happiness is more important to me than my sanity!

♥ R.I.P. Uncle Robert ♥

2010-08-16T17:29:00.000-05:00

my uncle was diagnosed with anaplastic thyroid cancer two and a half years ago. anaplastic thyroid cancer usually takes its victims within two years and has a less than 10% survival rate. since being diagnosed with this type of cancer he has also been battling cancer in the bones of his legs, cancer in his brain and cancer in his lungs! he has fought all of this harder than i could EVER imagine!

his diagnosis worsened - in fact, he was unable to attend our family reunion in Galveston a few weeks ago because he was in the hospital. the doctors at m.d. anderson in houston told him that they could not do anything more for him so they placed him in hospice care at his home. we were still hoping and praying for a miracle of some kind or at least to have him around for a little longer! unfortunately, he sub came to the cancer yesterday...fortunately he is no longer in pain like he was!

please allow me to reminisce about him for a moment - he was always the "fun uncle" that every kid wants to have (really, he was just a big kid himself)! he was my uncle (and my god father) and every year i went to visit him and my aunt during the summer. he took us to see movies like ghostbusters and howard the duck (which as an adult now i know must have been torture)! actually, i think it just gave him an excuse to see the movies since he didn't have any kids of his own yet! every summer he would teach me how to dive in his pool and by the next summer i would forget and he would teach me again! always patient and always kind!

due to his positive attitude, many prayers and all of the love (that he said he didn't know what he did to deserve) he was able to pull through and "fight the good fight" longer than anyone thought!

AND HE WILL BE GREATLY MISSED!

the return of the flies

2010-07-26T16:08:00.001-05:00

i love summer but i cannot stand all of the flies!! i have been killing at least 5 a day - oops, better not tell peta that! president obama killed a fly during an interview last year and peta raised all kinds of hell for "killing a life". give me a freaking break! peta stands for "people for the ethical treatment of animals" and last time i checked flies are insects and not animals! god help us if no one killed flies because we would have even more that we already do and i'm about to go insane with just the ones that we have now!! i would like to know how many people die of insanity in third-world countries - you see all of these poor children in ethiopia with 100 flies buzzing around their face and they just sit there! i would lose my mind!!

boot camp

2010-07-07T21:49:00.001-05:00

i just recently finished a fitness boot camp - three days a week for five weeks! it was HARD but i did enjoy it! i love to work out but my biggest problem is that i get into a rut and forget about most of the exercises so i learned a lot of "new moves"! i wasn't trying to lose any weight - i just wanted to tone up a little for bathing suit season! we did measurements before we started and after we finished. i lost 1 pound (which isn't really a big deal because i gain at least that each day from when i wake up until when i go to bed)! but i was shocked that i lost 4% of my body fat...i am now at 15.5% body fat! like i said, i love to workout but i am not one of these people that counts calories or weighs my food - in fact to tell the truth, i pretty much eat crap! if i can't have french fries or my glass of wine then there is no point in living!

well, i am now "conducting" a boot camp in the neighborhood for all of my friends. it is good for me to still be able to workout and they are all "into" it too! one of the girls has already lost 7 pounds and 6.5 inches and another one said that she always hated to workout but now she likes the feeling when her muscles are sore and if she misses the bootcamp she works out on her own! it's nice that i'm able to help them and it is great experience for me since i (one day) would like to get certified to be a personal trainer.

why do you have to get a license to drive a car or go fishing but not to have a kid?

2010-06-28T22:18:00.002-05:00

a few weeks ago i was running errands all day. during one of the many stops, i tried to pull into a parking spot but the car next to me was too close to the line so i drove around to find another spot. each time that i tried to pull into a spot the other cars were parked so bad that i couldn't fit (that will be a topic for another blog) so i drove back to that original spot and squeezed my car in. as i was getting out of my car i noticed a child alone in the car next to me (the car that was parked so badly)! i am not the most observant person and i was busy gathering my stuff ...and i almost didn't even notice her, but i thank the Lord that He put me there at that time!

it was over 90 degrees outside and her father had left this 4 year old little girl in the car with the windows up! i went in to the store and immediately told the store clerk and then we went back outside and called 911 and i got the little girl to unlock the door so i could get her out. she also wasn't in a car seat but i guess in this case that was a good thing because she wouldn't have been able to unlock the door if she had been strapped in. she was so hot and was about to throw up! we took her in the store and got her some water while we waited for the police officer.

apparently, the dad of the little girl was going to the DMV and when he parked he realized that his daughter was asleep so he left her in the car with the window (barely) cracked! he had been in there for at least 30 minutes when i saw the little girl. i don't understand how people can be so stupid, ignorant, careless!

my sweet 4 year old baby

2010-06-21T22:20:00.000-05:00

everyone talks about the terrible twos but i don't agree! i love it all the way up to four and then they seem to get a mind of their own (and it doesn't agree with my mind)! my sweet little one is not nearly as sweet as she was 2 months ago when she was still three years old! how did this happen?!

she doesn't want to learn to spell or to practce her counting. she gets awfully cranky because she hasn't taken naps in about 2 years (although she could probably still use one). she has absolutely no patience (i don't know where she could have gotten that trait?!). she only wants to learn something if it is HER idea! but yet she can be so sweet! she's considerate (always letting her sister have something of hers) and will sit quietly and color or play with her ella (her favorite stuffed animal) while i am in a meeting.

all in all, she may have gotten more difficult but she is still my sweet baby girl and i love her to pieces!!

2010-06-10T22:46:00.005-05:00

okay, i have not written in FOREVER! and if you don't believe me, just ask my mother because she has reminded me of this fact at least twice! i have been crazy busy lately! my first grader (who i guess will now be known as "the little lady") just finished up school. the last week of school was filled with first grade graduations (don't get me started) and parties and watching movies and more parties! it sounds like nothing but i'm the room mom so, of course, i was up there everyday and helping with the parties and activities. the week before that was teacher appreciation week, which as the pta president, i was in charge of organizing. we had a "treat" for each day of the week and then on friday we had a big "escape to the sea" luncheon! it went really well but it was a lot of planning and work! all i can say is ... i'm no longer the pta president!!! YEA!!! we are now in the midst of summer - which means going to the pool almost everyday, eating fresh fruit, going on playdates, and catching up on big jobs around the house (i have cleaned out my closet already)! my only schedule is taking the girls to gymnastics, art camp, music camp, vacation bible school and doctor appointments (which really isn't that bad)...except for the doctor appointment that i have already missed!!

april lights

2010-04-26T21:09:00.000-05:00

why on God's green earth would anyone take the time to put up lights on their house for christmas and then be so freaking lazy to not take them down?! don't get me wrong, at our house we are not these crazy people that take down all signs of christmas on december 26th! we leave everything up until at least after the first of the year. usually we wait until january 6th (the epiphany). i can even understand people that may be out of town or have been in the hospital or just really busy from the holidays, but how in the hell can you not have 15 minutes to walk outside and rip the light cord down from your roof! IT'S ALMOST MAY!! i find it very hard to believe that you haven't had even that small amount of time in 4 months!

tattoos

2010-04-19T15:05:00.001-05:00

i don't have any tattoos. that isn't to say that i haven't thought about it! i even seriously considered getting one for my 35th birthday! and i very well may still do it! i do think that if you are going to get one, it should mean something to you (i mean, you will have it for the rest of your life)! maybe you got it for a loved one that died. maybe you got it for the birth of your child. that, to me, makes sense!

most people that i know (that have tattoos) have them in discreet places and/or they are small. if you have a butterfly on your ankle or a star on your shoulder blade, it looks cool now and when you are 80, you probably won't be wearing clothes that show it off.

but then there are other people that must not expect to live more than about 5 years! why on God's green earth would you tattoo your neck? or more especially YOUR FACE?!? a face tattoo says "i've gone as far as i want to go in society...in fact, i think i want to take a few steps back"! okay, mike tyson can sort of get away with it because he's rich, famous and weird but the guy that works at my local target, really should have thought a little more before he got his multiple face tattoos!

i ♥ the 80's

2010-04-10T23:12:00.002-05:00

i really do! i loved the music, the movies, the tv shows and especially the clothes! i so wanted to dress like madonna in 1983 (with all of the necklaces and bangles and fluffy,short skirts) but i was 8 and my mom wouldn't let me dress like that. now, a lot of the 80's fashions are coming back in style but i'm too old to dress like that! can you imagine me coming in to the pta meeting at my daughter's christian school and i'm dressed like cyndi lauper!? i think i might get a few weird looks!

i told you all of that to tell you this: today is my 35th birthday and last night we had an 80's themed birthday party! it was like so totally awesome! we had a lot of fun dressing up and having 80's music and 80's movies on tv. we had 80's themed food and drinks - st. elmo's fire roasted salsa, the breakfast club sandwiches, and pretty in pink lemonade (with vodka in it)! i didn't want the night to end - partially just because i wanted to keep wearing my 80's outfit!

tonight we (me, the hubby, and the girls) went over to my parent's house for a fish fry! i made a pig of myself! i'd have to say that this was the best birthday that i've had in a long time! i'm not thrilled with being 35 but this birthday was actually much easier than when i turned 30!

interesting things about me

2010-03-16T20:41:00.001-05:00

1. i have NO patience (inherited from my dad).
2. i hate to snuggle - if anyone (even my kids) are touching me i cannot sleep!
3. i love rap music and country music - not really a "normal" mix.
4. i watch way too much tv - thank God for tivo! i don't know how people who had kids ever watched television before tivo was invented. my husband is so annoyed by how much stuff I have recorded and never get a chance to watch (kids are always around)!
5. i used to read books but have given that up since having kids (it takes me at least a week to get through a magazine).
6. the only reason that i like to do cardio is so i can read a magazine (see #5) but i love to lift weights.
7. i don't drink soft drinks at all (don't like the carbonation).
8. my whole life i've wanted to be a mom and housewife. i love it, but it is the most challenging job that i have ever had!
9. my hubby and i have been together for more than 17 years. that's over half of my life!
10. i'm a germ-a-phobe!
11. i love food! i actually will think about what my next meal will be before i finish the meal i'm already eating!
12. feet gross me out yet i wear flip-flops (almost) year-round!
13. i've never had short hair. the shortest its ever been was just past my shoulders and the longest was past my waist.
14. i'm a right-wing, conservative republican yet i watch the view every day. (i guess i like to torture myself!)
15. i'm a casual girl (my "uniform" is jeans and a tank top or hoodie). i'd rather be underdressed than overdressed anyday!
16. i sucked my thumb until i was over 10 years old. i didn't do it at school or in front of my friends but as soon as i got home i would have to get my "fix" (like a drug addict)
17. i'm an awesome bargain hunter! i often get food and household items for free (or the store pays me) and i've bought clothes from target and old navy for less than a dollar!
18. i hate to be cold - give me 100 degrees in the shade anyday!
19. i can't stand the sound of apples being chewed - it's like fingernails on a chalkboard to me!!
20. i love the 80's! i wanted to dress like madonna and cyndi lauper (circa 1983) but i was only 8 and my mother would not let me. now the 80's style is coming back and i'm too old to dress like that. can you imagine the looks that i would get dropping my kids off at school dressed like madonna in her like a virgin video!? i am having an 80's theme for my 35th birthday party in a few weeks though!

i think this pretty much sums it up. it all makes perfect sense now doesn’t it?!

weirdos need love too.

if you watch only one show...

2010-03-05T23:12:00.001-06:00

...make it the soup on e! the great thing about the soup is that they show (and make fun of) all of the crazy things that have happened on reality tv for the week - which is the whole reason i watch reality tv!

i am the queen of reality television (just ask my husband). if i could, i would spend all day watching reality tv but "my reality" does not allow that! i tivo and then eventually watch celebrity fit club, celebrity rehab, toddlers & tiaras, little miss perfect, keeping up with the kardashians (even though i don't like any of them), the hills, the city, kendra, girls next door, my life on the "d" list, 16 and pregnant, teen mom, real world (which was of course the original reality show), brooke knows best, all of the real housewives, and the list goes on! i know that it sounds like a lot but each of those shows have a short season (maybe 2 months) and they are staggered throughout the year. and like i said, it takes me forever to get around to watching them - usually while i'm folding clothes or cleaning.

and when i do miss a show i can see the highlights on the soup!

welcome sadie

2010-02-16T21:16:00.006-06:00

well, we finally got a new dog. i wanted a cute little puppy - we got a gigantic german shepherd that's full grown (i hope)! her name is sadie and she is a great dog...when I am home with her! she's sweet, rarely barks, is housebroken and walks well on a leash. she loves the girls and they love her! when the girls go to bed, sadie lays at the foot of my little one's bed. she follows me EVERYWHERE (like i really need someone else to follow me around all day)!

those are her good qualities - now for the bad stuff! she suffers from major separation anxiety! when i leave the house (even for just a short time), she howls, scratches the door, tears stuff up (fence, trampoline, etc) and gets out of the backyard! the first two days we had her, she tore the bottom of the pickets off of the fence to get under it and get out. saturday night we went out to dinner and a movie and put her in the backyard. we put her on a 25 foot leash (so she couldn't get out of the yard) and we left her on the back porch with food, water and rawhides. when we came home she had pulled the table and chairs off of the porch, ripped off and tore the window screen and chewed up the door frame! everytime she comes back in the house (even if she's just been outside for a few minutes) she gets way too excited and jumps up, paws at you and rolls around like crazy (this is also another sign of separation anxiety)! i don't know if she was abused by a man when she was younger but she is terrified of all men that come to our house! it doesn't help her case any that she won't go near my husband! he was the one that wanted her the most and i think he would have more patience and be more willing to work through all of these problems if sadie would at least have something to do with him!

the biggest problem is i know that she is probably this way because she has had so much instability in her short life and i don't want to contribute to that but i also don't know if we can handle it. i have been reading all about separation anxiety and trying to do everything that is recommended but unfortunately there is no "magic switch" to flip and it just takes time to make her feel secure - and i don't know how much more time we can give her!

bacon etiquette

2010-02-05T14:58:00.000-06:00

a friend of mine posted this on facebook a while back and it is oh so true!

"could we establish a standard for bacon..... I am not a crawfish, I am not attracted to raw bacon. I feel that anyone in the food industry who takes on the serious responsibility of pig preparation, should be fully aware that bacon is intended to be crispy...... It's how God intended......that is all."

whenever i order any other meat, it is either cooked completely or they ask me how i want it cooked (example: "how would you like your steak"). no one has ever served me a "flame-kissed" pork chop so why would you serve me barely cooked bacon?!

leave me a comment on how you like your bacon.

first amendment rights at large

2010-01-27T11:38:00.003-06:00

we live in the the land of the free, right? unless you want to say something that comes across as crass and insensitive (even if it does happen to be true)!

the first instance of this that i saw this week was from south carolina's lieutenant governor, andre bauer. he said: "My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed! You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don't think too much further than that." bauer said monday that he regrets his choice of words but that government should expect welfare recipients to try to better themselves. he wants to require them to take drug tests and attend parent-teacher conferences if they have children in school. heaven forbid, right?!

the next instance that i heard about today was by paul shirley (former nba player). he wrote this article:

I do not know if what I’m about to write makes me a monster. I do know that it makes me a part of a minuscule minority, if Internet trends and news stories of the past weeks are any guide.

“It”, is this:

I haven’t donated a cent to the Haitian relief effort. And I probably will not.

I haven’t donated to the Haitian relief effort for the same reason that I don’t give money to homeless men on the street. Based on past experiences, I don’t think the guy with the sign that reads “Need You’re Help” is going to do anything constructive with the dollar I might give him. If I use history as my guide, I don’t think the people of Haiti will do much with my money either.

In this belief I am, evidently, alone. It seems that everyone has jumped on the “Save Haiti” bandwagon. To question the impulse to donate, then, will probably be viewed as analogous with rooting for Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, or the Spice Girls.

My wariness has much to do with the fact that the sympathy deployed to Haiti has been done so unconditionally. Very few have said, written, or even intimated the slightest admonishment of Haiti, the country, for putting itself into a position where so many would be killed by an earthquake.

I can’t help but wonder why questions have not been raised in the face of this outpouring of support. Questions like this one:

Shouldn’t much of the responsibility for the disaster lie with the victims of that disaster?

Before the reader reaches for his or her blood pressure medication, he should allow me to explain. I don’t mean in any way that the Haitians deserved their collective fate. And I understand that it is difficult to plan for the aftermath of an earthquake. However, it is not outside the realm of imagination to think that the citizens of a country might be able to: A) avoid putting themselves into a situation that might result in such catastrophic loss of life. And B) provide for their own aid, in the event of such a catastrophe.

Imagine that I’m a caveman. Imagine that I’ve chosen to build my house out of balsa wood, and that I’m building it next to a roaring river because I’ve decided it will make harvesting fish that much easier. Then, imagine that my hut is destroyed by a flood.

Imagining what would happen next is easier than imagining me carrying a caveman’s club. If I were lucky enough to survive the roaring waters that took my hut, my tribesmen would say, “Building next to the river was pretty dumb, wasn’t it?.” Or, if I weren’t so lucky, they’d say, “At least we don’t have to worry about that moron anymore.”

Sure, you think, but those are cavemen. We’re more civilized now – we help each other, even when we make mistakes.

True enough. But what about when people repeat their mistakes? And what about when they do things that obviously act against their own self-interests?

In the case of mistakes and warnings as applied to Haiti, I don’t mean to indict those who ignored actual warnings against earthquakes, of which there were many before the recent one. Although it would have been prudent to pay heed to those, I suppose.

Instead, I’m referring to the circumstances in which people lived. While the earthquake was, obviously, unavoidable, the way in which many of the people of Haiti lived was not. Regrettably, some Haitians would have died regardless of the conditions in that country. But the fact that so many people lived in such abject poverty exacerbated the extent of the crisis.

How could humans do this to themselves? And what’s being done to stop it from happening again?

After the tsunami of 2004, the citizens of the world wailed and donated and volunteered for cleanup, rarely asking the important – and, I think, obvious – question: What were all those people doing there in the first place? Just as important: If they move back to a place near the ocean that had just been destroyed by a giant wave, shouldn’t our instinct be to say, “Go ahead if you want, but you’re on your own now.”?

We did the same after Hurricane Katrina. We were quick to vilify humans who were too slow to respond to the needs of victims, forgetting that the victims had built and maintained a major city below sea level in a known target zone for hurricanes. Our response: Make the same mistake again. Rebuild a doomed city, putting aside logic as we did.

And now, faced with a similar situation, it seems likely that we will do the same.

Shouldn’t there be some discourse on how the millions of dollars that are being poured into Haiti will be spent? And at least a slight reprimand for the conditions prior to the earthquake? Some kind of inquisition? Something like this?:

Dear Haitians –

First of all, kudos on developing the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Your commitment to human rights, infrastructure, and birth control should be applauded.

As we prepare to assist you in this difficult time, a polite request: If it’s possible, could you not re-build your island home in the image of its predecessor? Could you not resort to the creation of flimsy shanty- and shack-towns? And could some of you maybe use a condom once in a while?

Sincerely,

The Rest of the World

It shouldn’t be outlandish to hope that we might stop short of the reactionary word that is so often flung about after natural (and unnatural) disasters. That word: Rebuild. Thus, the tired, knee-jerk cycle of aid/assist/rebuild would be replaced by a new one: Aid/assist/let’s-stop-and-think-before-we-screw-this-up-again.

If forced to do so through logic-colored glasses, no one would look at Haiti and think, “You know what? It was a great idea to put 10 million people on half of an island. The place is routinely battered by hurricanes (in 2008, $900 million was lost/spent on recovery from them), it holds the aforementioned title of poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, and it happens to sit on a tectonic fault line.”

If it were apparent that Haiti would likely rebuild in an earthquake-resistant way, and if a cure could be found for hurricane abuse of island nations, then maybe one could imagine putting a sustained effort into rebuilding the place. But that would only be feasible if the country had shown any ability to manage its affairs in the past, which it has not done.

I can tell, based on my own reaction to that last sentence, that it might strike a nerve. The reader might be tempted to think, “We can’t blame the people of Haiti for their problems. Surely it’s someone else’s fault.” A similar sentiment can be found in this quote, from article on the geology behind the quake:

“Unfortunately, [Haiti]’s government was not in a position to really do much to prepare for the inevitable large earthquake, leaving tens of thousands to suffer the consequences.”

The sentiment expressed is one of outrage at the government. But, ultimately, the people in a country have control over their government. One could argue that in totalitarian regimes, they do not have much control, but in the end, it is their government. And therefore, their responsibility. If the government is not doing enough for the people, it is the people’s responsibility to change the government. Not the other way around.

Additionally, some responsibility for the individual lies with that individual.

A Haitian woman, days after the earthquake:

“We need so much. Food, clothes, we need everything. I don’t know whose responsibility it is, but they need to give us something soon,” said Sophia Eltime, a mother of two who has been living under a bed sheet with seven members of her extended family. (From an AP report.)

Obviously, a set of circumstances such as the one in which Ms. Eltime was living is a heart-wrenching one. And for that, anyone would be sympathetic. Until she says, “I don’t know whose responsibility it is.” I don’t know whose responsibility it is, either. What I do know is that it is not the responsibility of the outside world to provide help. It’s nice if we do, but it is not a requirement, especially when people choose to influence their own existences negatively, whether by having too many children when they can’t afford them or by failing to recognize that living in a concrete bunker might not be the best way to protect one’s family, whether an earthquake happens or not.

Ms. Eltime’s reaction helps define what is the crux of my problem with the reaction to this and to other humanitarian crises. I recoil at the notion that I’m SUPPOSED to do something. I would like to help, but only if I feel that my assistance is deserved and justified. If I perceive that I am being told to feel a certain way, and if I can point to a pattern of mistakes made in similar situations, I lose interest.

When I was young, the great humanitarian crisis facing our world – as portrayed by the media, anyway – was the starving masses in Africa. The solution found, of course, was to send bag after bag of food to those people, forgetting the long-understood maxim that giving more food to poor people allows them to create more poor people. (Admittedly, it’s a harsh truth.) At the time, my classmates and I, young and naïve as we were, thought we had come up with a better solution. “They should just go somewhere else,” we said. Our teacher grimaced, saying, “It’s not that simple.”

It still isn’t. And I’m not as naïve as I once was – I don’t think the people of Haiti have the option of moving. But I do think that our assistance should be restricted, like it should be in cases of starvation. It simply does not work to give, unconditionally. What might work is to teach. In the case of famine-stricken segments of Africa, teaching meant making people understand that a population of people needs a certain amount of food, and that the creation of that food has to be self-sustaining for the system to work. In the case of earthquake-stricken Haiti, teaching might mean limited help, but help that is accompanied by criticism of the circumstances that made that help necessary.

In the case of the Haitian earthquake, it’s heartening to see people caring about the fates of their fellow men. What is alarming, I think, is the sometimes illogical frenzy toward casting those affected by the earthquake as helpless, innocent souls who were placed on the island of Hispaniola by an invisible force. In the case of some, this analogy might well be accurate; children cannot very well control their destinies. And as far as sympathy goes, much of it should go to those children.

But children are brought into the world by their parents. Those parents have a responsibility – to themselves and to their kids – to provide. They have a responsibility to look around – before an earthquake happens – and say, “I need to improve this situation, because if a catastrophe were to happen, we’d be in bad shape.”

The people of whom I write are adults. Functional, human adults with functional, human adult brains. It is not too much to ask that they behave as such. That they stand up and say, “Yes, we screwed this up the first time. We are forever indebted to you. Now show us how we can do it right. So that, next time, we won’t need your help.”

mr. shirley was subsequently fired from espn for this article. i have already given money to the haiti relief (because i wanted to) and some of his opinions seem a little harsh to me but i think this is a well-written, thought-provoking article and he shouldn't lose his job for this.

after all, what both of these men are saying is "if you aren't going to help yourself, why should i help you?!" and i totally agree with that!

i've been a bad little blogger

2010-01-26T12:48:00.006-06:00

well, i don't know that i would actually call myself a "blogger" - more like "someone who happens to have a blog"! either way, i haven't written in quite a while so i thought i would write about a few of the things that my girls have been up to lately!

my oldest was recently reading the bible to her little sister "in the beginning, God created the earth. and that was even before mommy and daddy were born - so it's a long time ago!" (gee, thanks kid!)

a while back, all four of us laid snuggling in our bed and the first grader said "all of us are together and the tv is all alone"! (wow, maybe we watch too much tv if she considers it a part of our family.)

she lost her third tooth last week but it was the first one on the top so now she has a cute little "jack o'latern" grin!

my little one is 3 1/2 now and she keeps me laughing all of the time. i'm so happy that i get to spend everyday with her right now! here are some of the funny things that she has said lately:

"how come we don't ever see any elephants?" (she asked this while we were driving around doing errands and couldn't understand why we see dogs, cows, horses, goats, etc. but never any elephants!)

"what do you call a pig with no pink on it? a muddy pig!" (that's her attempt at telling a joke)

"this little piggy went to target, this little piggy stayed home..." (maybe we do go shopping at target too often)

"i'm gonna get you bug. and you'll be dead and you'll not be with your family!" stomp, stomp, stomp!

she only wants to wear skirts and play dolls and dress up all the time just like my older one did at this age. i can't believe how much she is growing up already. sometimes i miss the baby stage and think we need to have another baby - and then i put down the wine glass and go to bed!

happy new year, happy new hair

2010-01-01T11:52:00.004-06:00

in december of 2007, my oldest daughter (who was then 4 years old) cut off 10 inches of her hair and donated it to locks of love. they make wigs for kids with cancer. she had seen someone on tv who did it and asked me why the lady was cutting her hair. i explained it all to her and she decided that she wanted to do that with her hair too. at the time, i didn't really want her to cut her hair but how could i stop her for doing something so admirable. i did postpone it for a few weeks so we could get Christmas pictures taken first and for her to be totally sure that she really wanted to do it. she cut it off right around Christmas of 2007 and it looked really cute.

in these past 2 years, she and my mom have both been growing their hair out and yesterday they both cut off 10 inches of hair to donate.

if you don't like the weather in texas wait 10 minutes

2009-12-24T10:18:00.003-06:00

yesterday it was 75 degrees and today it's below freezing outside and snowing - only in texas! people joke about having to check the weather report before getting dressed but i thought that was totally normal. if i haven't watched the news before picking out my clothes, i will call time-and-temperature to see what it's like outside (and primarily what it WILL be like)! about the only time you don't need to worry about it is in the dead of summer because you KNOW it will be hot!!

the snow is pretty but only if i get to stay in the house and watch it! i sure as hell don't want to get out in it! unfortunately, i think i have influenced my kids to feel the same way. i asked them if they wanted to go out and play in the snow and they said "no, it's too cold and wet". they are 3 and 6 - they are supposed to love playing in the snow!! i even had to force them to go out in the yard for a few minutes just to get a picture of them in the snow!

we just found out that our church has cancelled Christmas eve services (that is always my favorite church service of the year) because the streets are getting too bad to drive on. i hope all of our family will be able to make it over to our house tonight (and to go back home to their houses tonight too)! :-) a white Christmas sounds great in the story books but it is actually kind of a pain unless you can stay "holed up" in your own house!

watch out hannah montana

2009-12-18T10:08:00.001-06:00

last night was the first grader's Christmas program at school and she did awesome! she sang a bunch of songs with her class, she had a solo (she actually had two but the other little girl sang over her part during one of the songs) and she read the closing prayer. i was very proud of her!

i've known for some time that my first grader has quite a "personality"! she is a ham - she loves to be the center of attention - that i get! what i'm not sure about is where she got such a pretty voice from because it definitely was not from me. i can't carry a tune in a bucket)! her dad is not really a singer either (i'm trying to be nice) and he is way too shy to get up in front of people to sing. he wouldn't even be able to get up and speak in front of 10 people and she got up there and sang in front of 300+ people (standing room only) and wasn't even nervous!

happy birthday Jesus!

family christmas letter

2009-12-16T18:50:00.001-06:00

wow - i've been so busy lately that i haven't even had time to read other people's blogs much less write my own! i will write something soon but for now here is our family Christmas letter that we sent out this year:

2009 has been a very busy year with a lot of ups and a few very hard lows!

Some of the ups – We spent most of the summer in the water – either going out on the boat or to the local water park or to the neighborhood pool. The girls took swimming lessons and the first grader can actually swim now (hopefully she won’t forget it all by next summer)! The four of us took a trip to Chicago in July to visit my brother Mike and his wife Erin. We had a great time visiting and playing tourists (although the water in Lake Michigan was COLD)! The hubby and I went to the NASCAR races again this year in April and he went to the Chicago race in July and to the Texas race in November and we also took the girls to the truck race in June. The hubby and I saw Robert Earl Keen in concert three times this year but the best was when we went to see him at Gruene Hall on November 13th with my aunt and uncle. It was awesome! We stood right in front of Robert Earl Keen during the concert and then I got his autograph!

A few of the downs – Our dog, Kitty, died in April. She was almost 14 years old. We have not gotten another dog yet. Unfortunately, my 98 year old paternal grandmother passed away on November 5th. She was such a kind-hearted woman and will be greatly missed. We went to Rayville, LA for the funeral. It was a bittersweet trip because we got to see some family that we hadn’t seen in a long time, but we had to say goodbye to a person who was such a joy in all of our lives.

The hubby is still working for the same heating/air conditioning company based out of Dallas. Because he was able to get a very good deal on a set of golf clubs, he has started playing whenever he can. Funny how we saved so much money buying this set of clubs, yet he has to spend so much to play the game! His 1972 Chevy step-side is still a work-in-progress, but it looks pretty good now!

I am still a stay-at-home mom but have been extremely busy with all of my work at the first grader’s school. I am the room mom this year as well as last year. I was the treasurer of the PTA last school year and am now the PTA president and treasurer. I am no longer babysitting for our neighbor’s daughter, Sophie, but we do get to see her often since they live next door! I am in relatively good health and am even more thankful for it after going through a medical ailment this summer. For about a month and a half, I had severe joint pain. It started off minor and progressively got worse until I could barely move (even while on prescription medications). I saw my primary care doctor and a rheumatologist and had MANY tests run and they finally put me on steroids which made me feel so much better. I still don’t know what caused it, but I’m just happy that I feel better now!

The first grader (6) is still doing gymnastics and really enjoys it. She is in 1st grade now and has been on the A-honor roll (both 6-weeks). She has lost 2 teeth so far (with 2 more very close to coming out). She may even be singing “All I Want for Christmas is my two front teeth” in time for Christmas. Just last month she went to a Dallas Cowboys football game with a friend from school – at the new stadium – in a suite!! She is now the only member of the family that has been to the new stadium! Brooke will be singing a solo in the Christmas program at school. She has been practicing A LOT!

My little one (3) is doing gymnastics now too. She loves it and her teacher says she is a natural. This is the first year that it has just been the two of us alone everyday and I’m enjoying it so much. She is at that age where she wants to do things just to please you and wants to help out. She is my little helper and I couldn’t ask for a better one!

We hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a wonderful 2010!

i'm like the wicked witch of the west - i can't get near water

2009-11-22T13:23:00.001-06:00
it's no secret - i hate to be pale! if there was a surgical procedure that i could get to be tan for the rest of my life, i would do it in a heartbeat! i used to go to a tanning bed in my younger days. i was not one of those people that likes laying in a tanning bed though. i can't sleep on my back and i lay there tapping my fingers thinking of all of the time that i'm wasting. now i go and get a spray tan. it's quick and so much safer for me, but it does require some planning!

it takes some planning ahead because you can't shower or work out for at least 4-6 hours afterward. i usually go at night and when i wake up in the morning i look like i just got back from some tropical vacation. my sheets are "tan" now too, but oh well! i also have to make sure that it's not raining or i will be splotchy. one time i went with my sister-in-law and when we were leaving the tanning place it was pouring rain. we had umbrellas but we would still get somewhat wet. the girls at the salon were so sweet that they put robes over our heads and walked us out to the car and when we were in the car they pulled the robes off and shut the car doors. they got drenched but our tans looked good the next day!

through trial and error i have figured out to use saran press and stick to keep the bottom of my feet from turning brown. i looked a lot more splotchy when i first started and it does take some practice, but most people are very surprised by how natural it looks for me now.

where did thanksgiving go?

2009-11-16T17:05:00.001-06:00
okay, i am not a scrooge! in fact, i love all holidays (especially christmas) and i love to decorate for all holidays (especially christmas), but this is getting ridiculous!!

i know that i have been really busy lately, but did i somehow miss thanksgiving?! i'm pretty much used to the stores putting up decorations early - although they started even earlier this year (before halloween)! the black friday deals are starting even before thanksgiving! one of my neighbors has hung christmas lights on his house already (and they are turned on)!! i have numerous friends that have already put up christmas trees and decorations!!! there is a radio station that is already playing non-stop christmas songs!!!! people, it's the middle of november!!!! there is another holiday that you are skipping right over - it's called thanksgiving! it's kind of an important holiday too because you are supposed to stop and think about all that you have to be thankful for. and i, for one, have a lot to be thankful for! i can't even find thanksgiving decorations at the store anymore - they went on clearance the day after halloween!

most of my friends that have already decorated said that it was because they would be out of town until thanksgiving. so what! there is no law that says that you have to put your tree up on thanksgiving weekend! yeah, it's convenient for most people because it is a four day weekend but i usually wait until december to put mine up anyway. (and you know that these will be the same people that take their decorations down on christmas day because they are sick of looking at it all)! one year i even put my tree up on christmas eve and took it down the day after christmas (we were moving). fifty years ago, everyone put there tree up on christmas eve. at this rate, it won't be long before people will start putting there christmas trees up on the 5th of july!

hell, maybe i'm the one in the wrong - maybe they cancelled thanksgiving this year and I didn't get the memo!!

winnie mae moreland

2009-11-11T20:51:00.003-06:00

my grandmother passed away last thursday in her sleep. she was 98 years old and yet somehow, that still wasn't long enough to get to be with her! we buried her yesterday right outside of the small town in louisiana where she lived for most of her life. she was one of a kind - so sweet, so funny. she has never riden a bicycle, driven a car, gambled or had a sip of alcohol. i spoke at the funeral and this is what i said:

Some of you may know her as Winnie Moreland, but to me she’s Ninnie. She became a grandmother at the age of 63 – I was the first grandchild and her only granddaughter. We had a special bond and I would have to say she spoiled me quite a bit! Every time that she came to visit us or we went to visit her she would scratch my back until I would fall asleep. She would always have some money folded up in her pocket that she would slip to me and my brother (when my parents weren’t around) and she would insist that we took it. She has never punished me or yelled at me (although to tell you the truth, I doubt she has ever yelled at anyone)!

One of her greatest achievements in life was raising a smart, honorable son (who is my dad). Ninnie worked hard and would do without because she wanted the best for him. He went to college and joined the Air Force and became a fighter pilot which she was so proud of. She loved her daughter-in-law like the daughter that she never had and she loved to come and visit us wherever we were stationed around the country. She liked to visit us but she hated the “getting there” part. She flew in an air plane for the first time in 1975 to come see me right after I was born.

About 15 years ago, I brought Brent (who is now my husband) to meet her for the first time, she told me that if I ever decided I didn’t want him around anymore to send him her way because she loved him from the first moment that she met him. And the feeling was mutual – Brent tells everyone in his family that Ninnie is “as sweet as apple pie”! She was a beautiful soul and definitely one of the kindest, sweetest people I’ve ever met (or probably ever will meet).

I am not a writer and I don’t write poetry but I did find an anonymous poem that kind of sums up how I feel about my Ninnie:

A Grandmother is one of life’s best gifts,
Someone to treasure all life through,
She’s caring and loving,
Thoughtful and true,
Someone who all of your life has a special part,
Someone who holds a prime place in your heart,
She’s a mentor, a confidant and also a friend,
Someone on whose love you can depend.
A Grandmother always has your best interests in mind,
She’s someone so dear and so kind,
She’s a blessing, she’s a gift,
She’s someone that is truly wonderful.
Wherever you go, and whatever you do,
A Grandmother’s love will always see you through,
These are my sentiments, Ninnie, for you!

Heaven may have gained a new angel, but we have definitely lost an angel here on Earth!

i love you, ninnie and i am going to miss you so much!!

happy halloween y'all

2009-11-03T14:38:00.003-06:00

i love halloween. i love dressing up. this was my favorite costume in quite a few years because ... i love the 80's!! i would dress like this every day if i could. i was only about 7 years old when this style was popular (and my mom wouldn't let me dress like this) and now this look is coming back in style and i'm way too old to dress like this! can you imagine the looks that i would get as an almost 35 year old mother of two walking around looking like cyndi lauper everyday?! oh, but i can dream!

and the worst-mother-of-the-year award goes to...

2009-10-23T10:19:00.002-05:00
me!! my little one has been coughing (pretty bad) for about 3 weeks. she has had NO other symptoms (no fever, no sore throat, no lack of appetite, no feeling bad, etc.) - her only other complaint was that she sometimes felt itchy. well, everything that i have seen on the news about the flu said if you have a fever that it's a good sign of the flu and to go to the doctor, but if you are itching (with a cough, runny nose, etc.) it is probably just allergies. i was so afraid that if I took her to the doctor she might catch the piggy flu from some other sick kid so i had just been loading her up with allergy medicine! i finally took her to the doctor yesterday and she has strep throat!! even the doctor was surprised that it's strep because her throat isn't even red and she has no fever. i feel so guilty, but i guess that's part of being a mom!

12th anniversary

2009-10-17T09:15:00.001-05:00
today the hubby and i are celebrating our 12 year anniversary! in those 12 years, we have had:

12 years of marriage (we got married at the base chapel on October 17, 1997)
11 years of going to nascar races together
10 jobs (for me - as a legal secretary at a law office, the accounts coordinator at an eye doctor's office, a housewife, a stay-at-home mom, babysitting "my weekday baby", and PTA president/treasurer and for brent - an air conditioning technician for hawk, tom's, air rite, and msi)
9 kids birthday parties that we have hosted at our house (6 for the 1st grader, 3 for my little one)
8 times that we have been in weddings (me in stacy's, kim's, and amber's, brent in jake's, kent's, mike's, james', and jason's)
7 pets (4 fish - kobe, albert, mickey and minnie and 3 dogs - scooter, kitty and anni)
6 cars (saturn, honda accord, dodge durango, chevy trailblazer, chevy 1972 pickup truck, and a dodge journey)
5 been to mexico (4 to cancun and 1 to cozumel)
4 trips to the beach with the girls (3 to port aransas and 1 to lake michigan in chicago)
3 houses (on langley avenue, on longmont trail and on vista way)
2 kids (the 1st grader and my little one)
and finally
1 imperfect couple who learned to enjoy their differences

I LOVE YOU HUBBY!!

-ing

2009-10-11T11:27:00.001-05:00
The -ING game:

Reading: the Sunday paper

Drinking: unsweet iced tea (my usual drink of choice)

Listening: to my husband gripe at all of us that "it's clean-up day"!

Feeling: overwhelmed (with everything that needs to be done)

Watching: Fox NFL Sunday Countdown (I love Howie and Terry)

Snacking: I'm actually not eating anything right now - I ate too much at breakfast!

Humming: "Little Sally Walker" chant that my daughter sings at cheer camp. "Hey girl, do your thing, do your thing, now switch!"

Wearing: a big Jeff Gordon sweatshirt and yoga pants - COMFY!

Cooking: Brent has a brisket on the smoker right now for dinner tonight

Paying: bills (that's what I need to do after posting this blog)

Dreaming: of winning the lottery (I guess it would help if I actually bought a ticket)

Smelling: the brisket on the smoker - our whole house will smell like smoke by the end of the day!

Loving: my family

Anticipating: our anniversary next weekend

Okay, your turn!

"what the hell?" wednesday

2009-10-07T09:42:00.001-05:00
have you watched the show "toddlers in tiaras"? what the hell? these "pageant moms" start these kids out early - some of them at just a few days old - the "late bloomers" at 10 months! i just don't get it! the natural pageants might be okay but these glitz pageants are nuts! by "glitz pageant", i mean fake teeth, fake hair, fake nails, fake tan, fake eyelashes - on a five year old. these girls are being told "you're so pretty but" ... you need fake everything!

then these little girls get on stage and make crazy faces that are supposed to look cute. i have never seen anyone in real life make faces like this! the funniest part is watching these overweight moms that are living their dreams through their child making the faces to prompt their "little darlings"!!

another thing that i don't get about why they do these pageants is the families spend thousands of dollars "preparing" the child for it and then the maximum prize is $600 - $1,000! I don't think it takes a math major to figure out that you are spending more than what is possibly coming in! they say that they are doing it for college money but if they would just take the money that they are spending and put it in a savings account they would have plenty to put their "little darling" into college!

hey pageant moms, what are you teaching your child? that being beautiful is the most important thing in life and to be beautiful you have to completely change yourself! of course, i think that my girls are beautiful but i have absolutely no desire to put them through all of this pageant crap! and really, these girls are cuter before they are all "made up" because they end up looking like freaky little dolls by the time the moms are done with them!

oh, and in case you want to watch, it will be on tonight on tlc at 9 pm - i'll be watching!

to yoga or not to yoga

2009-10-02T19:40:00.000-05:00
first let me say, i am a multi-tasker. i don't do anything by itself - except sleep (and if i could figure out a way to get something else done while sleeping, i would). i never just watch tv while laying on the couch - i'm either folding laundry, clearing out the dishwasher, clipping coupons, etc. i make phone call while cooking meals. the only time i have to read my magazines is when i'm working out. i even say my prayers while i'm taking a shower. i can never "turn my brain off" - i'm always thinking of things i need to do.

with that said, i'm thinking about taking a yoga class. i took a yoga "mommy and me" class once before and i thought it was the biggest waste of time! the whole class i was sitting there thinking "i could be lifting weights or running or something - i mean, i'm not even sweating"! it about killed me to sit there for a whole hour and do these "silly" exercises when all i could think of was all of the things i need to be doing! but you know, maybe that's what i need to do to slow down and learn how to relax. i have absolutely no patience and i'm always stressed out and irritable. i recently saw an article that said yoga may actually help me in other aspects of my life to destress and relax, so maybe i should give it a try! i'll let you know if i end up doing it.

need an excuse for a nap?

2009-09-28T10:30:00.002-05:00

i guess i need to add "nap" to my to-do list!

whose side are you on?

2009-09-21T22:26:00.001-05:00
**mom, you won't care anything about this post (and probably won't know who many of these people are)!

i read enough people and us magazines that i felt the need to give my thoughts on whose side i am on in some of the celebrity news stories:

team kate - yeah kate gosselin nags and is very bossy and controlling. you know, secretly maybe that's why i like her (because she reminds me a little of me). if jon had acted like a decent human being after their split, i probably would be on his side (or at least neutral) but now i think he is one of the biggest tools on the planet! with his huge diamond studs and his tacky ed hardy shirts and traipsing all over the world with his bimbo of the week and hanging out with his new buddy, michael lohan (who is another douche bag). i mean come on! if you want to garner any sympathy points go get a nice normal job and get a place to live (somewhere near your eight kids) and don't go telling anyone who will listen that you "despise" your kids mother and that you never really loved her! those kids will see that someday!

team jessica - okay, maybe jessica simpson was controlling and needy but come on tony romo, you dump her the day before her 29th birthday! even if he did want to break up with her, couldn't he have waited until the day after! unless she was cheating on him, i see no reason that it couldn't have waited. not only did he dump her - he took away her birthday! not to mention the fact that she gave him a $100,000 boat for his birthday a month earlier!

team anyone-but-speidi - i can't stand these two fame whores - spencer pratt and heidi montag totally deserve each other! i wish they would go live in some remote jungle - oh wait, they did that. maybe this time they can go and never come back! they say the stupidest shit just to get publicity! now that lauren conrad and whitney port are no longer on the hills, i don't know if i will even watch it. i guess i'll find out in a week when the show starts back up again!

team taylor swift - well, duh! what kind of ass clown would really take kanye's side?! if "george bush doesn't like black people" maybe kanye west doesn't like white people!

sometimes He shows Himself in the simplest ways

2009-09-17T16:31:00.000-05:00
i was paying bills today. every month i write a check to "the center for cancer and blood disorders" towards my balance due. today though, i really looked at the words as i was writing them and i got to thinking "i sure am glad that i'm writing this for my 'blood disorder' and not for 'cancer' treatment"! i may gripe because i get charged $100 every time i go to get a treatment (even with insurance) but really i have it pretty good. they are letting me make monthly payments (which i will be paying for the rest of my life because i will always have to get treatments), but really $25 to be healthy is well worth it! i started thinking about all of the things i have to be thankful for: i have insurance, we have the money to pay for what insurance doesn't cover, my medical problems are relatively minor, i'm not in any pain, my husband and kids are healthy, etc. after being in so much pain this summer, i really empathize with people that have to deal with pain all of the time: my uncle battling cancer, my dad having to use a walker, my grandmothers arthritis, my great aunt who just had her hip replaced, and an acquaintance of mine whose baby girl just passed away. i may not always show it (or even realize it) but i am so thankful for God's blessings!

where does my day go?

2009-09-13T11:48:00.000-05:00
as a stay-at-home mom, one thing that really ticks me off is when people ask "gee, what do you do all day?" grrr! but even i, myself, sometimes lie in bed at night (exhausted) and wonder where my day went!

i always have a million little jobs that i need to do - they don't necessarily take that much time or energy but it is lots of little things that add up. i don't have enough time to do everything i need to do even once so one of my biggest pet peeves is having to do the same thing two (or even three times)! when a computer malfunctions and i have to redo something i've been working on or i call a doctors office and they never call me back so i have to keep calling them. these kind of things are small jobs but when they happen a lot (which they do) they definitely add up and it stresses me out trying to remember everything! that's one reason why i love lists - because the satisfaction i get from making that little check mark is priceless! (i know, i'm sad!)

and i get so distracted throughout the day. example - i needed to return something i bought online so i went to get the book from the laundry room, i get in there and think "i should put the clothes in the dryer" so i do that and then think "i should start a new load" so i go to gather the clothes and as i get in the bedroom i notice that there are lots of cups on the bedside tables "i should go put those in the dishwasher" so i take them to the kitchen and remember "i haven't laid anything out for dinner yet" and so on. by the end of the day, i haven't returned the book, haven't started any more laundry, haven't run the dishwasher and don't have anything to cook for dinner! throw a kid in there asking me for something and my day is shot!

okay, i have to go and try to return a book now!

first week of first grade

2009-08-30T17:23:00.000-05:00

does it make me a bad mom that i'm happy for my daughter to go back to school? i must not be the only person that feels this way because there is a commercial out right now that portrays this. it's the best commercial! the dad has a huge smile on his face and is skipping and gliding through the office supply store getting school supplies with "it's the most wonderful time of the year" playing in the background and the kids look ticked. it is so funny (and true)!

yes, i do now have to get up early (which i hate) and i'm already sick of making lunches everyday and i have no patience for doing homework with her at night and i feel like i'm always in the car (driving her to and from school, to gymnastics, etc.), but i was still happy for her to start back to school! for my own selfish reasons - it's much easier to get things done with only one kid, the first grader hates to shop and makes my life hell when i have to take her to stores, and i don't have to listen to the first grader fight with my little one, but i'm also happy for her to be back in school because she needs to read, write and do schoolwork and she does not take constructive criticism well from me at all. that is why i could never homeschool (well, one of the many reasons)! we did have many days this summer of reading and doing workbooks but it was so stressful because she can only handle being told what to do by someone other than her mother!

she was so excited on the first day of school (and no one cried). as we got out of the car, someone asked her what grade she was in and she said she was in 6th grade! i think she said this because she is 6 but i told her we don't need to rush her growing up anymore than she already is. she had a good first week of first grade and my little one made it 3 whole days before she broke down and started crying that she wanted to stay with her sister!

my little swimmers

2009-08-10T22:12:00.000-05:00

both of my girls took swimming lessons this summer. my little one is usually the one that's not really scared of anything. she's never been frightened of the water so i didn't expect her to have any problems. on the first night of class, the instructor (read: 17 year old kid) called her name off the roll and she walked right up to him. he gathered his class and they all got in the water and then the tears began. she cried everyday for the first week! the second week she didn't cry and even seemed to have fun, but she's still wearing her floaties in the pool.

the first grader has always been afraid of the water, and getting water in her eyes and getting water in her ears (because of the tubes she had when she was little) so i really expected to have problems with her, but she was great! she is now swimming - i mean she's not going to be in the olympics or anything but she is holding her breath and sticking her face under water and moving for 15-20 feet across the water. i'm so happy - i just hope she doesn't forget it all over the winter and we have to start over from scratch again next year!

sometimes you just need to miss your kids

2009-08-02T19:32:00.000-05:00

i have been dying to have a kid-free weekend for so long! now don't get me wrong, i love my kids but i am with them 24/7 and i needed a little time to miss them and truly appreciate them! i think the last time that the hubby and i went away without them was almost 2 years ago for our 10 year anniversary! i am due!! this weekend our neighbors (and good friends) planned to go to austin to "get away". we said "we need to do that" and they said "why don't you come along". so we did! we left friday night and drive down to the radisson in downtown austin. we woke up early the next morning to make it to a 10:00 tee time in san marcos (and we were only a few minutes late)! i didn't play (just drank, drove the cart and read a magazine) but it was fun. after golf we went to eat at a well-known bbq restaurant. it was a bit of a drive (to the middle of nowhere) but it was really good and we had fun. after that we floated the san marcos river - the water was cold but it only took about an hour! afterward, we went back to our hotel in austin and rested for a little bit and got cleaned up to go out. since we are not 20 anymore, we went to 4th street instead of 6th street! we found an irish pub called fado's and it was really fun. we ate a late dinner (at 10:00) and then drank (a lot). they had a band and some fun music. the hubby and our friends found their new favorite beer - hoegaarden. we left there about 1 a.m. and as we walked out onto the street we saw the car in front of us with a girl hanging out of the passenger window puking her guts up! we crossed the street and saw a trannie standing on the street corner. it was craziness - imagine what we would have seen on 6th street! this morning we slept in and after getting dressed and packing we checked out of the hotel and then had brunch at the restaurant in the hotel. it was good but i damn sure didn't eat $15 worth of bacon and eggs! we spent a good bit of money but i really needed this trip and to get away without the kids for a few days. i really did come back with a better attitude and can appreciate the girls more now! i think i can even make it to the first day of school without losing my mind!

birthdays, doctors and chi-town

2009-07-18T23:21:00.000-05:00

that's what we have been up to lately! i haven't been able to write in a while because things have been so crazy around here. first was the 4th of july - it was a fun day. we went to my parents to watch the neighborhood parade and then came home and got ready to take the boat out on the lake. it was a hot, sunny day and we met up with some friends out there and swam and drank malibu with cranberry. we went in that evening and ate hamburgers and hotdogs at my parent's house and then went back out on the boat with them to watch the fireworks. i love the 4th of july! the next day was the first grader's birthday party - a luau. it was a lot of fun but it was also a lot of work since it was at our house and we had 18 kids here (plus parents)! i was expecting up to 25 kids!! the next day was the first grader's actual birthday and i had to spend most of the day packing, but that evening we went to my parent's house and they had a fish fry (yum)! i'm so glad that i've trained both of my kids to pick fried fish as their favorite birthday dinner too - now we get it at least four times each year! :-) that next morning we got up and got ready to go to the airport and began our excursion to chicago. we all four had a carry-on, two bags to check and a carseat plus two children that are pokey and wander around as they walk. we also had to switch planes in memphis. which fyi - that airport sucks (it was small, old and crowded)! we finally got there tuesday evening and were exhausted but excited to be there. my brother didn't have to work the whole time we were there and his wife only had to work that first day so we had a lot of time to play tourist with our own "personal guides" and get in lots of visiting. it was really fun! we went to the children's museum, the navy pier, the lincoln park zoo, the beach at lake michigan, shopping on michigan avenue, catching fireflies at night, walked to get ice cream, to see the bean and other attractions at millennium park, to the local pool, to see wrigley field and the guys went to a nascar race. all of that in four days - and we even had to time to just chill at the house and have dinner and drink (wine for us ladies and beer for the guys from my brother's keg that he has on tap)! it's amazing i even got my hubby to leave that keg! :-) while all of this is going on i have been in a lot of pain (see post about medical ailments)! i went to the first of my doctors appointments a couple of days before the 4th of july and then the week after we returned from chicago, i went to doctor's appointments three days. i guess it's no wonder my house is a wreck and we haven't written any thank you notes yet!

hallelujah - i feel almost human again!!

2009-07-17T11:00:00.000-05:00
for the last four to six weeks, i have been feeling like hell! it started out innocently enough with my ankles hurting towards the end of the day and i just figured it was from being on my feet too much and wearing flip-flops everyday. it progressively got worse and my knees started hurting too and i started having a cough (but no other cold symptoms). the only thing that helped was to take advil and i was taking it every 4 hours (like clockwork). after about a week to 10 days straight of doing this, i figured that's probably not good so i went to my doctor. she gave me some celebrex (to take instead of the advil) and ran some blood tests. when she called me back she told me that my sed rate (which gives an idea of the inflammation going on in your body) was 86 and it should never be higher than 20! she said she would refer me to a specialist and i should keep taking the celebrex. by this time, every joint is hurting and i'm coughing worse than any smoker you have ever heard. when i woke up in the morning (before taking my medicine) was the worst. i was useless for at least an hour - could barely walk and coughing so bad that i would nearly throw up and could hardly catch my breath to even breathe! it was horrible and the celebrex does not last a full 24 hours like it's supposed to - i'm lucky if i could get a good 8-10 hours out of it! this is the same time that our family is on vacation in chicago. when we got home i found out that the rheumatologist that i was referred to couldn't see me until august 25th!! on tuesday i called to see if i could get in any sooner and they said "can you be here at 1:00?" i hustled like crazy and spent the whole afternoon there seeing the doctors, giving 9 tubes of blood, and getting 16 x-rays (on my hands, wrists, feet, ankles and chest). without knowing any test results, the doctor was leaning towards RA (rheumatoid arthritis) which would not be good, but at least we would know what we are dealing with. well, he called thursday with the results and told me that "something is definitely off". yeah, no kidding - i never went to medical school and i could have told you that!! he says he doesn't think it is RA but he doesn't really know what it is. the antinuclear antibody test was positive and the chest x-ray showed interstitial inflammation in my lungs, but the x-rays of my hands and feet looked fine. he started me on a low dose of steroids yesterday and i'm feeling so much better already! i wish i knew what was causing my problems but at least i'm able to function now (i couldn't even make breakfast for my kids, run errands, work out, clean house, etc.). today, i hardly have any joint pain and i still have the cough but it is not as bad as it was. i'm not 100% yet but at least i'm feeling human again!!

shocked and saddened

2009-06-26T21:59:00.000-05:00
you may have heard, two celebrities died yesterday. the first being farrah fawcett. her death was not a surprise as she had been in a 3 year battle with cancer and the family had said that the end was near (her last rites had even been read). although, i never really watched any of her movies/tv shows, i also never had anything against her. she was a texan and seemed like a good woman and had fought a courageous, strong-willed fight against this horrible disease. what made her even more endearing to me was that she was diagnosed with her cancer shortly before my uncle was diagnosed with his and after watching the show "farrah's story" i noticed many similarities in the their battles. i think this may have been why i was so saddened to hear that she died (even though i was anticipating it)! the other death came a few hours later and was of course, michael jackson. this news i was shocked to hear! i realize he was the king of pop and for people of my generation, he was like our elvis. anyone around my age listened to his cassette tapes or records and when we hear it it takes us back to those days, but i can't understand why people on the news are balling hysterically when they didn't even know him. i think the reason that i'm not really that upset over his death is because the michael jackson that we knew and loved back then has been gone for 10-15 years. i also feel bad that farrah wasn't even given 12 hours of news coverage before being pushed to the side for the media circus over michael's death.

i'm a tv junkie

2009-06-23T14:52:00.000-05:00
i am the one person in america who does not watch american idol. it finally just ended and now they are all ready talking about the next one - ughhhh! the only part of the show that i like is in the very beginning when the really crappy singers are on and they make fun of them. after that, the top contestants all sound better than me so what do i care!

i used to dread tv during the summer because everything was reruns and i had nothing to watch but not anymore! now it just gives me time to watch some of the stuff i have tivo'd and i have way too much tivo'd!! i have a dvr on 2 different tv's and they are both over 50% full! i have 20 oprah's, 15 scrubs, and just 5 my name is earl's, plus a variety of different shows and movies that i have yet to watch. i figured i would have some time to catch up on some of these shows during the summer but now is also the time for tons of reality shows and i'm a reality show junkie! kendra, brooke knows best, denise richards, hammertime, my life on the d-list, 18 and counting, jon and kate plus 8, run's house, tori and dean, real housewives of new jersey. that teresa on real housewives, i sure hope she has a bodyguard with her at all times now that america knows she's carrying around all that cash. she'll throw down $10 or $15 thousand in cash - who the hell carries that kind of money!? and her husband owns a construction company, okay *cough*(mafia)*cough*. all i know is that show makes me glad i don't live in new jersey! and probably the best show on tv is the soup on e because it just makes fun of all of the crazy stuff on all the other shows!

maybe i'll be able to catch up during the fall because i just found out that some of my favorites were cancelled for the fall lineup - samantha who, earl, privileged. now, i just need to make sure i don't get involved in any more new shows!

happy father's day

2009-06-21T23:42:00.000-05:00

this morning (before they even came in to wake us up) our girls made breakfast in bed for my hubby. they had a glass of orange juice, a peach and a napkin on a tray that they carried in to bed. after we all got up, i made fresh baked blueberry muffins, bacon, potato & egg breakfast tacos and lots of fresh fruit (and cereal for the little one because that is all she ever eats)! it was good (if i do say so myself)! :-) then we did a little cleaning up around the house and wrapped father's day presents. we all went to my parents to visit and give my dad his gifts and cards. after hanging around there for a little while we came home and went down to the pool for about an hour. the girls and i made ourselves scarce so the hubby could watch the race in peace and then we cooked some dinner. and we're not talking just any dinner - filet mignon, snow crab legs, artichokes, asparagus, baked potato, crescent rolls, and wine (or apple juice for the kiddos). it was better than any restaurant - although we did have to clean up our own dishes! afterwards we gave the hubby some cards and presents and that was our day. i think it was a nice father's day but i guess you'd have to ask the hubby to know for sure!

hoping for a miracle

2009-06-20T11:25:00.000-05:00

i only have three uncles and all of them are great. i have good memories of doing stuff with them during my childhood, but one uncle was a little extra special! bob is my mom's oldest brother but he is a big kid - always has been and always will be! my family moved all around the country when i was growing up (military brats) but we would come visit at least every summer. when we would visit uncle bob, he would always take us (my brother and me) to do fun kid stuff. the funny thing was, i don't think he did it just to be nice - he actually enjoyed himself too. he would take us to eat at fun restaurants and he took us to see "howard the duck" and "ghostbusters" and other classic movies! looking back on it as an adult now, it sounds like it would be torture for him but if he didn't like it, he never let on! he taught me how to dive in his pool - and not just once but every year! somehow, every summer i would come back and couldn't remember how to do it and he would patiently teach me all over again like it was the first time. (by the way, i need another lesson, i can't dive anymore)! he would turn up the music loud in his car so we could "jam" and at home he would crank up the music and we would dance. our favorite dance to watch him do was when he would fall on the floor and do "the worm" and "the dead bug"!! his son wasn't born until i was a teenager but even when he had his own son, he still gave us lots of attention and wanted to do fun things with us while we were there. unfortunately, now he is in a very hard battle with anaplastic thyroid cancer. this type of cancer has a 10% survival rate and he now has a tumor in his bone in his leg and one in his lung. the tumor in his lung has doubled in size even though he has been on chemo and an experimental drug. so this week he had to be admitted to the hospital again for a transfusion. through all of this, he still remains positive and upbeat. i've seen him 3 or 4 times since his battle with cancer began and he is always in a good mood and still cracking jokes. he says he feels great! i'm not delusional, but i do remain hopeful. miracles DO happen so why couldn't my uncle beating cancer be another one?!

what a difference a year makes

2009-06-06T14:01:00.000-05:00

the kindergartner (who I guess from now on will be called "the first grader") finished kindergarten yesterday! i can't get over how much she has changed in a year (things she likes and dislikes, her personality and what all she has learned)! she used to be such a girlie-girl (she is no longer into princesses, doesn't want to wear dresses all of the time and now loves to pick up bugs and get dirty). last year in preschool, she didn't even like to be anywhere around boys (even as friends) and she is now boy crazy. especially over one certain boy who she says she loves and is going to marry him!!! she is such a flirt (and she definitely didn't get that from me), but she also just hangs out and plays with the boys (that was me). she is so much more outgoing now and has so much attitude (which is good and bad)! and although she has always been smart (not that i'm biased or anything), she has learned so much more this year! her computer skills have gotten even better, she's learned a lot more spanish and does really well at math (the hubby says she got that from me)! she is reading everything (not always a good thing) and writes so well (one of my friends says my daughter's handwriting is better than her daughter's handwriting and she is 4 years older). i also love that she reads stories to her sister now!

i was shocked (and happy) that she didn't cry when she had to leave her friends and her teacher. the good thing is that she is coming back to the same school next year and almost all of the kids are coming back too. while she won't have her wonderful teacher again next year, she will still be able to see her in the halls and at lunch everyday. while kindergarten may not seem like much, it is very important to giving a child a strong base to a lifelong enjoyment of learning and i couldn't have asked for her to have a better kindergarten teacher. it was a really great school year (but now i am glad to have the summer off)!

somewhere over the rainbow

2009-06-02T17:21:00.000-05:00

today was the kindergartner's talent show. all 6 of the girls in her class did a dance to hannah montana's "let's get crazy". it was really cute and she did great! i really think she has a natural ability to "shake her groove thing" (haven't decided if this is a good thing or a bad thing yet)! after the talent show, the administration presented awards and the kindergartner got perfect attendance and the godly character award for faithfulness! we were both very pleased. after the awards presentation, the kindergarten class had a luncheon for all of the parents of the class. the theme was "somewhere over the rainbow" and the idea was to let the students show off some of the things they learned over the year. as "pseudo-room mom", i planned the menu and prepared all of the food. we had a rainbow vegetable tray, a rainbow fruit tray and 4 pizzas (cut in half to look like rainbows). i painted the kids hands and we made a rainbow out of their handprints. it turned out really well!

the end is near

2009-05-28T14:01:00.000-05:00
i am almost done watching my "weekday baby" - only two and a half more days next week! (not that i'm counting or anything). her dad is a teacher so he will be with her for the summer and i have given them my resignation for the next school year. it will be nice to have a year of just being alone with my little one everyday. i was alone with the kindergartner everyday for the first 3 years of her life! i recently realized that i have been changing diapers almost everyday for 5 years and 11 months now!! i need a break from kids! maybe the hubby and i will plan for an overnight getaway because i am stressed out from kid crap! refereeing fights, picking up the same things over and over, repeating myself over and over, "i'm hungry", "i'm thirsty", "can so-and-so come over to play", "where is such-and-such", etc. and the sad thing is, the summer hasn't even started yet! i'm also stressed out because i have so much to do before the end of the school year, i've started a massive list of projects that have to be done this summer and i think my thyroid and hemochromatosis problems are acting up. that's it, i'm definitely planning a mini-vacation!

missing my kitty-dog

2009-05-14T10:38:00.000-05:00
it's been a month since my kitty-dog had to be put to sleep. i can't let kitty go without reminiscing about her life a little - after all, she was my first baby!

in the 12 and a half years that she has been a member of this family, we have gone through so much with her! as a puppy, she was CRAZY!! she tore up rugs, stole food off of the counter and even ate a book (that i borrowed from my boss) on how to train your dog! :-) she had to stay in a crate in my apartment during the day while i was at work - i did come home for lunch everyday. at night, she had so much energy and would run laps (at warp speed) through my apartment. i moved from my apartment and rented a house because i knew she needed a yard. not even a month after we moved there, she got parvo from the dogs next door and it nearly killed her! how ironic that the reason i got a house was for her to have a yard and the yard would be the thing that almost killed her! i spent thousands to get her through that (i.v.'s, medication, extended hospital stay, etc.) but i wasn't going to let her die. on the upside, the was so much calmer when she came back from her "near-death experience". about a year later, brent and i went out of town and a friend fed and took care of my dogs (i also had a black lab/rottweiler named "scooter"). while that friend was watching them, the dogs got out and scooter didn't go far before he was found, but kitty was missing for over a week! someone that saw our signs called and said they had seen her miles from my house on a very busy road. my friend told me that he had "a better chance of dating pamela anderson than i had of getting my dog back"!! side note: he and pamela are very happy together right now. :-) finally, a family called and when i got kitty back she was perfect! i had birthday parties for her (with doggie ice cream) and she had her own stocking at christmas. in the last few years, she had a tumor on her eye and we had it removed but it came back so we had to have her entire eye removed! how fitting that we named our dog kitty because they say cats have nine lives and she definitely did!

the girls talk about missing her and that they still love her almost every day. my little one said "i wish kitty was here but i still love her". my floors get so dirty now - i'm used to not having to pick up food when it falls on the floor. in her younger days, the food barely had time to bounce one time before kitty ran over and ate it! when i go to bed at night, i still look for her on the floor by my side of the bed so i don't step on her. the only good thing i can say about kitty not being here anymore is that we don't have to pick up clumps of dog hair, but i'd gladly do that again to have her back!

happy birthday, little one!

2009-05-11T09:56:00.000-05:00

my little one is not so little anymore - today she is 3 years old! it's pretty much a typical monday around here - hubby's at work, the kindergartner is at school and i'm watching my weekday baby but i am still trying to make it a special day for my little one. the local news showed her picture and wished her a happy birthday this morning, after dropping the kindergartner off at school we went to chick-fil-a (her absolute favorite) and got some chicken and fries for lunch. we would have gone there at lunchtime but that is right in the middle of weekday baby's naptime. i'm hoping to take her to the park later but right now it is raining and yucky. tonight we are going to my parents house for a fish fry and birthday cake - yum! happy birthday, sweet little one (and even if you are getting older, you will still be my baby forever)!

p.s. to "happy mother's day" post

2009-05-10T23:03:00.000-05:00
i'm seriously about to cry right now! i just got to thinking about how my little one is no longer a baby! by the time the kindergartner turned 3, i had already had 2 miscarriages and had given birth to my little one! i think my little one's third birthday is almost hitting me harder than my 30th birthday hit me (and that was not good)!!

happy mother's day

2009-05-10T22:36:00.000-05:00
i'm feeling really nostalgic this weekend - i (ie: my friend caitlyn) figured out how to finalize the dvd's on my camcorder (that i've had for 6 months) so i have been watching all of the old home movies of both of my girls. on top of that, it is also my little one's 3rd birthday tomorrow. i'm so sad because she is my last baby and she is already going to be three!! i told her i would pay her to stay two!! she started her first gymnastics class on friday, then had her party yesterday and her real birthday is tomorrow! i had a great day on friday, it was just me and my little one and we had lunch and went shopping and when we went in one of the stores, that trace adkins song was playing ("you're gonna miss this") and it was so surreal! like i was someone else taking in this moment to remember for the rest of my life! on top of all of that, it is also mother's day! i had a great day - lots of hugs and cards, breakfast in bed, gift cards to my favorite stores, visits with my parents and my mother in law and dinner at red lobster! when the hubby and i were still asleep this morning and my little one was sleeping late, the kindergartner made breakfast for me completely by herself (orange juice, strawberries and a banana) on a tray that she carried in to me - and the best part was, she didn't spill anything!! :-) it was so sweet! i just want to freeze both of my girls right now and let them stay this age (at least for a while longer)!!

will there be a ferocious beast at my house next saturday?

2009-05-03T22:38:00.000-05:00
my little one is oh, so funny! she makes me laugh everyday! her third birthday party is next saturday and we are having a “maggie and the ferocious beast” themed party. for anyone that is not familiar with maggie, it is a very cute cartoon on noggin. unfortunately for me, there is no “maggie and the ferocious beast” themed party supplies so i am having to make everything myself - the invitations (primary colors with a picture of maggie and the beast inviting everyone to the party), the cupcakes (pumpkin, because it's beasts favorite), and the cups (yellow with red spots - just like beast)! well, my little one doesn’t exactly understand what it means to have a theme for a party - she thought it meant that maggie and beast will be at her party! we were talking about the food for the party and this was our conversation:

little one: “when beast gets here I’m going to tell him about that”
me: “you know that maggie and beast are not actually going to be at our house for the party, right?”
little one: (with a puzzled look) “why not?”
me: “because they can’t come out of the tv”

then, the day after that discussion i told her that the grandmas have been asking what kind of presents she wants. so i ask her "what do you want for your birthday?". her reply ... "chicken strips"!! i told her "no, what kind of toy or present". she says "a truck". my little tomboy!

i absolutely love the innocence of a child! unfortunately they lose it all too soon (especially in this day and age), but I‘m going to enjoy it for as long as i can! i better because this is my last baby and she is about to be three already!

why do they call them "slumber parties"?

2009-05-02T19:53:00.000-05:00

i understand the "party" part, but "slumber" implies that there will be sleep involved and no one actually gets any sleep - not the kids and not the parents! last night my hubby was out of town on a fishing trip so i decided to have a sleepover with some friends. i have been friends with my friend teresa since i moved here in the 7th grade (22 years ago)! (please don't do the math!) teresa's oldest daughter is in school with my kindergarten and they are best friends. teresa also has another daughter that is one year older than my baby. so the four girls and teresa and i all went to eat at taco casa and then came home and did crafts and ate junk food and drank "kid wine" (sparkling grape juice). we made a palette on the floor for them and put a movie on and let them go to sleep watching it. teresa and i stayed up talking until almost 2 in the morning and then were woken up by little ones a little after 7 in the morning!! we made breakfast this morning (muffins for the kids and breakfast tacos for the moms) and let the girls play outside together. it has been so many years since teresa and i had spent the night together and now to do it again with our kids was really fun but needless to say we all needed naps today!

what a sh*tty day!

2009-04-20T23:12:00.000-05:00

well, that's not exactly true - today was sunny and beautiful, almost 80 degrees and no wind but as my husband put it "we had to execute a member of our family today". our dog had to be put to sleep this evening. lately she has not been eating, had a hacking cough and a very hard time getting up on her hind legs, but this weekend she started having a hard time breathing and i knew something was seriously wrong! we called the vet this morning and they told us to bring her in and they could check her out. they called back and told me that she had so much fluid in her lungs that they couldn't tell for sure if she had tumors (although they suspect she did), her heart was enlarged, her white count was double what it should have been and the arthritis in her spine and hips was horrible! i had no idea she was in so much pain!! first i told my little one that our dog, kitty (yes, our dog's name is kitty), was very sick and that she was going to die. she cried and was very sweet and told me "i'm gonna keep my kitty-dog" and "i'm gonna hug her really tight". then i picked up the kindergartner from school and told her that we had to go to the vet to say goodbye to our dog. she took it really well when i first told her and didn't even cry. in fact, she told me "i cried when my fish died so i'm trying to make myself cry because i love kitty more than my fish". i told her not to force herself to cry because it will come when she's ready - and boy, did it! my little one didn't understand that this was the end - she told our dog "bye kitty. i'll see you when you're all better". even though she had a hard time getting up and walking, kitty kept trying to come out the door with us. that was the hardest part - to leave her when she was looking at us and wanting to go with all of us (her family). to some people they may say she is "just a dog", but she was a member of this family! she was 13 1/2 years old - that's older than any of my kids and longer than i have been married! there is hardly anyone else on this earth that i have seen on a daily basis for that long! with a fish, you say a few words and then "flush", but it's so much harder with our kitty-dog! we have been through so much with her and she was a great dog who will be greatly missed!!
R.I.P. Kitty 1995-2009

it's my birthday

2009-04-12T21:27:00.000-05:00
i had a great 34th birthday - probably one of the best birthdays that i have had in years! the only thing that could have made it better is if i didn't get a year older!! first of all, my brother and sis-in-law came in town on thursday and my s-i-l and i went to get spray tans and then we had a bbq dinner with my family and my parents. s-i-l and i drank quite a bit of wine that night and after they all left (and my family was in bed) i tried to pierce a second hole in my right ear! i have my left ear double pierced and i've been wanting a second hole in my right ear for a while and my hubby got me a pair of diamond earrings for my birthday so i want to wear them in the second holes. long story short - it wasn't enough wine to actually pierce my ears so i think i may be going to claires one day this week to get it done! friday (my actual birthday) i got to sleep in because the kindergartner didn't have school and i didn't have to watch my weekday baby. we just took our time doing things around the house and then went to taco casa and shopping to a few stores and to my favorite store - target! when hubby got home he brought some beautiful tulips (my favorite flower) that the girls gave to me and then we got ready to go out. the girls stayed the night at my parents house and hubby and i went to a dance club/bar with my brother, s-i-l, and a few really good friends. we had a blast drinking and dancing the night away and then we came back to our house and drank some more. nobody had to drive home so it was fun and safe! saturday i worked out and just did things around the house and that night my family went to my parents for a fish fry with my brother and s-i-l. it was so good!! the family got up early this morning (easter) and we did a quick easter egg hunt and checked the easter baskets before getting ready for church. we met my parents and brother and s-i-l at church and then went back to the parents for a easter brunch. then my brother and s-i-l had to leave for the airport. i was so happy to have them here but it feels like they just got here and now they are leaving already! at least we are going to visit them in a few months! after my parents house, we went to hubby's mom's house and had a big meal and easter egg hunt with all the family. the kindergartner is off school tomorrow and i don't have my weekday baby either so i get to sleep in and we will probably go see the hannah montana movie. also, my hubby's been so good to me - he washed my car, doing lots of extra chores, given me massages, etc. it's been a great weekend and i'm so thankful for all of my family and friends!

birthday girl

2009-04-09T23:02:00.000-05:00
yea! it's my birthday tomorrow! i hate getting older but i love my birthday! i always have! i have a whole birthday week. my brother and sis-in-law came in for my birthday (oh, and easter weekend). we are going out tomorrow night and then we will have a fish fry at my parents house on saturday night. i still claim to be 29 but i started thinking that i should probably claim to my real age because if i don't i'm gonna be hit really hard when i turn 40 and i wonder what the hell happened to my 30's! plus people will be thinking "damn, she doesn't look very good for being 29!"

let me get on my soapbox for a minute

2009-04-02T22:01:00.000-05:00
i don't understand what is wrong with the world today! people have no sense of self - no sense of self respect, no self restraint and no accountability! they have no respect for their homes, their vehicles or even their bodies. i don't think anyone knows what self restraint even is anymore - on the news i recently saw a story about an 8th grader that stabbed another student REPEATEDLY with a pair of scissors and another story about a man that shot someone over a parking spot! what the hell? and apparently accountability is completely gone nowadays! why the hell are our grandkids going to be paying for bailouts of companies that screwed up and people that bought a house that was way too much for them. we bought our house 2 years ago - maybe we should have bought a $300,000 house so that the government can help us pay for it now!! what are we doing to our children if we can't set an example of how to accept any mistakes we have made and apologize for them and face the consequences of our actions! and like i tell my own children "you still have to apologize even though it was an accident and you still have to take your punishment". i just recently received this email and what a profound short little paragraph that says it all!!!

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931

what timeless words - it could just have easily been said yesterday about the state that our nation is in right now!

alright, that's it - i'm putting my soapbox away and i promise my next post is going to be something lighthearted and fun!

S.O.S. - i'm out of wine!!

2009-03-13T13:58:00.000-05:00
okay, i am burnt out on kids!! my husband has been out of town for 5 days so i've had my 2 and my weekday baby and today i even had picked up one of the boys that is in my kindergartner's class and kept him for a few hours. as if i didn't have enough to do, i also had to build a car by myself made entirely out of food for the kindergartner's school project. i haven't been able to go workout or tan or go shopping or even go to the bathroom without having 1-4 kids with me at all times! i don't know how single parents do it, but even then at least they go to work during the day and have some sort of adult conversations - i'm going insane!! to top it off, i'm so tired i can barely keep my eyes open most days. i don't know what's wrong with me because i'm already on thyroid medication and i know i'm not anemic (i have a blood disorder that causes too much iron in my body, but that's a long story for another day). all i know is i'm sick and tired of being sick and tired!

he called! he called!

2009-03-04T12:13:00.000-06:00
i sound like a teenage girl waiting for a call from some boy i have a crush on, but no, it's actually my brother i'm speaking of! no, it's not like that - we're not from arkansas (sorry, anyone from arkansas). i had not talked to my brother in 5 weeks and 1 day (not that i was counting)!! we were very close growing up - we were air force brats so we moved around a lot and it was just the two of us. when i was in 6th grade and he was in 4th grade, a 5th grade boy was picking on him so my best friend and i beat up the 5th grader (he hates that story)! i would help him pick out his clothes in high school and even before his first day of school at texas a&m, he called me to ask my opinion on what to wear. he has since traveled all around the world for work but we have remained pretty close. he now lives 1000 miles away and i know he is really busy (he is going to school for his masters, works as a federal agent and just recently got married), but i miss getting to hang out with him and at least talk to him! and you may ask, "well doesn't your phone work in both directions" and yes, i tried to call him quite a few times and sent him emails and still got nothing. at one point, my parents were sick of hearing me complain about him not calling and they asked me if i did something and he was mad at me. i told them "if he is mad, i don't know about it because he won't call". well, he finally called Sunday night and we talked for over an hour and then we talked two more times last night. he didn't believe that it had been that long but he promised that it will not be that long again! i'm also excited because he is coming down here next month and our family will go up to see him this summer and spend five days!

all about my "little one"

2009-03-02T10:50:00.000-06:00
i just need to brag on my little one for a few minutes. she keeps me laughing all throughout the day! i remember that my kindergartner was so much fun when she was this age too (2 1/2, almost 3). so maybe i just love this age or maybe it's just her that is so entertaining! my friend said the other day "she is so funny" and i said "yes, she is, but what did she do now?!" i gave her whole strawberries (i usually cut them up) and she asked me "why you put leaves on my strawberries"? a while back, she asked me "why we go to that place?" (we had just gotten home from chruch so i knew that's what she meant). i said "well, we go there to celebrate God and be with Him". she said "why he can't just come to our house"?! how do you argue with reasoning like that! :-) she does EVERYTHING that her big sister does - "monkey see, monkey do"! i think maybe she will be an attorney because she could argue with a brick wall. and if you tell her "wow, you'll argue about anything", she'll argue and say "no, i don't"! she's very stubborn - which can be a bad thing, but as she gets older it can also be good if she stands up to peer pressure. even though she's stubborn, she's also very sweet and sensitive. she's constantly telling me "i love you, momma" and "you're the best mommy in the whole world". she is a great mommy to her babies too. she's always dressing them and giving them bottles and putting them down for naps. she's starting to get to the point where she doesn't want to take a nap anymore. if she doesn't take one, then she's fussy and whiny in the evening and if she does take a nap then she's wide-awake at bedtime. she's very independent and easily entertained. the other day she had a tag that had been torn off of a shirt and she called him "little tag" and made a whole game out of "little tag" going places and talking to his "mommy" (which was a big tag). the other day i even had to take her with me to the PTA meeting and she was the only kid and sat there quietly for the whole hour! well, mostly quiet - she decided that would be the perfect time to let out a nice loud toot! everyone turned and looked at us, but at least she's polite and almost always says "excuse me, i tooted" with a big grin on her face! her voice is so sweet and she still "baby talks" so she could say anything and it sounds cute. this weekend we were watching horton hears a who and horton said "shut up" and she repeated it. even though it sounded kind of sweet when she said it i told her that we don't say that. that's a side note that i will have to get into another time - kids shows that are not always appropriate! she calls her perfume, "te-spume". my dad always corrects her when she says stuff wrong, but i think it's so cute and she's my last baby! if she's gone for awhile, you have to go look for her - she's usually in the bathroom playing in the water ("washing" her hair or wetting klennex to wash her babies). the other day she was stuck in her sister's room because she put lotion on her hands and then couldn't open the door! she was also in her sister's room and put tons of makeup on herself! my husband jokes that when the girls get older, she will be the one that is taking the keys to the car in the middle of the night! the poor little thing is so skinny and has no butt so her pants are always falling down. i affectionately call her my little "crack baby" because i can always see her crack. she may be scrawny but she is tough - the other day the older kids were running over her and she would just get up and keep going. i keep telling my kindergartner that one day my little one will probably be as big or bigger and she is gonna whoop her. last month, my little one did give my oldest a black eye, but it wasn't intentional! at least, that's what she said!

motherhood

2009-02-12T22:41:00.000-06:00
well, i've had 2 full days back with my "weekday baby" (her parents were out of town so i had a week off). i was able to go so many more places and get so much more done while i didn't have her. while my kindergartner was at school, my little one and i went to the mall, target, walgreens, cvs, james avery, to lunch, etc. and it was so easy. i remember, a few years ago, when i just had 1 kiddo and i thought it was difficult to get stuff done and now when i just had 1 kid with me, it seems like a vacation. one of my friends said just wait and see how much you can get done with no kids during the day (when both of mine are in school) - wow, that sounds like a dream to me! don't get me wrong, i love being able to be a stay-at-home mom! it's a lot of work (i feel like i'm running all day and then at night i wonder what the hell i did all day), but it is so rewarding when my kids say how much they love me and they are learning and developing so well. even keeping my "weekday baby" has it's perks. because the kindergartner is off at school all day, it's nice for my little one to have someone else to play with and because they are so close in age (18 months) they do bicker over toys and so it's good to teach both of them to share and play nice. they are both the youngest of their respective families and so they need to learn that they can't always have their way. and they do get along really well most of the time! my "weekday baby" gives huge smiles to my little one and is even starting to say her name. another name for the "weekday baby" could also be "destruction in a diaper"! she literally goes into a room and tears everything out of a drawer, basket, shelf, whatever and then moves on to the next room - she doesn't even play with the stuff! my house looks like a tornado hit it everyday when she leaves! sometimes i think it would be so much easier to not keep her but the money that i make helps to pay for my kindergartner's private school and i feel that it is really important. it may be a little (or sometimes a lot) more work for me, but i think it is all in all the best thing!

it's been a while

2009-02-11T10:57:00.000-06:00
i guess it's been a while since i have written on here (i even had to look up my password to log on)! truthfully, i don't really know why i even am a blogger. i definitely do not "feel this need to express myself before I burst", i'm not especially witty or funny and i never even liked writing when i had to do it in school. i guess it's good for me to actually use my brain for something other than kindergarten homework and calculating recipes and seeing how many bills i can pay, loads of laundry i can fold and dishes i can put away all during one cartoon. i used to write in a journal everyday while i was pregnant with my first and for most of the first year of her life. it's really a great thing to have and i love to go back and read it now. i really wish that i could still do that now but i just don't have the time. i still try to write in it at least once a month (or so) and now i have this blog so that i can look back on. i have been very busy the past few weeks - i'm the room mom at my oldest's school and they have had their 100 day party and are about to have their valentine's party. i have also gone in to help the teacher with some projects. her teacher is the greatest - i wish she could have her again next year! on top of all of that, our whole family was sick as hell! it started with my oldest throwing up and within a couple of days all 4 of us were throwing up and it took a few days before we felt like we hadn't been run over by a truck! right after that we had a super bowl party at our house and so i had to scrub the house before we could have people over. i washed every door handle and light switch because i didn't want anyone else to get that crud that we had! this is the first year we didn't get a flu shot (because i forgot about it) and i will never do that again! well, i better get to all of the chores i've been neglecting lately but i'll be back soon!

history in the making

2009-01-21T11:06:00.000-06:00
i have been watching all of this inauguration coverage for over 24 hours now; and really (unless you turn off the tv, radio, computer and talk to no one) how can you avoid it?! i realize that this is definitely a historic moment (that's the main reason i watched it and had my children watch it). it's one of those few days that you will look back on for your whole life and think "where was i when?". like when we walked on the moon or the challenger explosion or september 11th. president obama seems like a nice enough man and a good father to his girls. i think it's great to see a black person become the president of the united states of america - i'm just not very happy that he's the black person that has become president. i would have much preferred colin powell or condoleeza rice. my main concern about him as president is our nation's defense! many people bad mouth president bush for the state of the economy and such but any of those things can be fixed. i felt president bush had our national security in mind at all times. right now we may be in a recession and wall street may be a mess, but at least i know that america will be back on top again in a few years. if our country is unable (or unwilling) to protect and defend itself from idiots around the world that want us dead - there is no coming back! president carter depleted our military to nothing and i don't want to see something like that happen again!! i hope that president obama proves me wrong and that all of these supporters knew something that i didn't know! although i'm not so sure about that! i think that many people voted for him just because they wanted to see a black person become president and that is just as wrong as not voting for him because he is black. you should cast your vote because you agree with the person's beliefs and plans for the country. president obama seems to be bigger than any rock star or movie star; he's not the hottest new purse, people - he's the leader of the free world!! oh well, i'll get off my soap box for now. as my five year old reminded me, "whatever happens with obama as president, at least we know that we can always rely on God"! i'm adding a prayer from the First Baptist Church of Houston that i think is important for any believer to ask of God.

Father, I come today and I pray for Barack Obama as our new president and the leaders that surround him in Washington. I pray, God, that You give those men and women tremendous wisdom.

I ask that Barack Obama would turn to You, and all the people that surround him would turn to You, for wisdom -- that they would turn to Your Word, they would turn to prayer, and they would ask it of You, God, for only you can direct and guide our country. It's not a savior from the Republican party or Democrat party. It's the Savior of Jesus Christ.

We ask for Your will to be done in this country. We love this country, Lord, and we ask that You do great things here. Any decision that comes from government that is not of Your will, may it fall to the ground. And all the decisions that are of Your will, Lord, may they just go forward and make an incredible difference in our nation.

Lord, we give you thanks for this wonderful country, and we lift up our President, Barack Obama, and ask that you would grant him great wisdom.

In Jesus' powerful name we pray, AMEN.

Overworked and underpaid ... and unappreciated!

2009-01-07T22:43:00.000-06:00
i just need to bitch for a few minutes about all of the things that are pissing me off lately. maybe then i will be able to get on with life and be in a better mood! first of all, i'm sick and tired of being sick and tired! i've been taking care of at least one sick person for the last 2 weeks on top of me being sick too. i am so tired and can not seem to get anything done. my christmas tree and all decorations are still up!! i'm also tired of busting my tail around the house and doing everything for my girls and they are so unappreciative - i'm determined not to raise spoiled brats! maybe i do give them too much but i'm just trying to do special things for them. i will just have to make a conscious effort to keep an eye on this! i hate going to the gym right now. it is so crowded that i can't use the machine i want (like usual) because there are so many new-years-resolution people in there! the good thing is, most of them will be gone by february! i NEED my workouts as a stress reliever! my weekday baby is on a new nap schedule - she takes one long (3 hour) nap in the middle of the day. now don't get me wrong, i like the long nap, but i hate that it's right in the middle of the day - i can't get any errands done anymore! which ought to make for more time to do things around the house but yet, that is not happening either. there, that ought to do it. now, let's go see if i can make tommorrow a better day! if not, i'll guess i'll go to the store and get a bottle of wine!

God doesn't have a belly-button

2009-01-02T23:37:00.000-06:00
my precocious kindergartner thinks of things that i have never thought of in all of my 33 (i mean 29) years! she talks constantly and especially in the car (because she knows she has a captive audience). this is our conversation the other day:

she says "who is God's mother?"

i say "God doesn't have a mother because He is the creator of everything."

to which she immediately responds back "so He doesn't have a belly-button then?!"

"no, i guess He doesn't dear"

she is also the same child who randomly asks me questions like "do worms have ears?" and "why are shoes called shoes?"

maybe we have a future philosophy major on our hands -- how much money do philosophers get paid?

Christmas vacation

2008-12-27T18:35:00.000-06:00
i almost feel like i'm a teenager again -- at least for a few weeks! i've been staying up until 2 am and sleeping til 11 am! i do get up at 9 in the morning and fix juice and muffins and turn the tv onto cartoons so the girls will let me sleep (see i'm not totally neglecting my children's needs). i don't usually let them watch much tv but i figure it's vacation so a little won't hurt them, right?! granted i still have to cook meals, clean pee off the floor (my baby has had a few potty training accidents lately), do laundry, etc. but compared to my usual days - it's a vacation! the girls have been so occupied by all of their new toys, my kindergartner doesn't have school (so no pressing schedule there), i'm not watching my 1 year old "weekday baby" again until jan. 5th (so i don't have to wake up early for her). after the crazy weeks i had leading up to christmas i think i deserve this break! okay, so i guess i am a teenager - just one that has a lot of chores!