Photography

I would love to have an ounce of photographic skills. This is something that has always interested me, but I just have always fallen short. I have never taken a class, I have never owned a REALLY good camera, in fact the one I have now is horrible, and I found one I want to replace it with, but it is a couple of hundred dollars, maybe for Christmas and birthday--- who knows. Anyways, I digress. While I was in Little Rock last week by myself for work. No kids in tow, nobody pulling on the camera as soon as the picture is snapped to “see” it. So I went down by the presidential museum on the one day that was not 40 degrees below freezing, me without a jacket, and thought I have my work camera, time and a semi-sunny day. Let’s see what comes of it. Nothing. I suck. I can not take a good photo on purpose for the life of me. I guess I will just have to appreciate good photography from a distance and continue with the semi-focused, wrong angled photos I take of my family.
Here is the proof:







And these are the halfway decent, non-emabarrasing ones.

Oh well, maybe something will be my calling, becasue photography is SO not.

Quilting Square

So a while ago I mentioned the quilting square that my Mamagrand made. Well I have it and it is now framed and beautiful!!! I love it! Here are some before and after pictures of the wall I put it on. I am not sure if I am completely done, but I love the square. It is now the center piece -but now I feel like I am missing something, I am not sure what... And I am sorry for the poor quality of the pictures, but I could never get a real good and clear one.

Before


After


The poor picture quality just doesn't show how wonderfully beautiful the square is, I am going to attempt to take another picture because I truly believe this may be one of my most prized possessions now. It is right up there with the kids, the wedding pictures and my jewelry. I LOVE it!! Thank you Mamagrand!!!!

Awwww babies

Sometimes it is so hard to believe how old my kiddos are. They are almost 8 and 5! It seems only like yesterday that they were itty bitty babies!!!

Here they are:

Emily



Jacob

What's in a name? and a TV update

Jacob is wondering around the room, attempting to procrastinate the impending bath which is headed his way when he starts to discuss his name with me. As I sit in the chair listening to him spell his name out again and again (J….A….C……O……B) he declares that sometimes he likes to be called “Jake.”

I reply to him, “Really? Would you like to be called Jake?” Knowing his father is going to have a fit about it.

“Yes, sometimes”

“Well do you like Jake or Jacob?”

“I like Jake, because it is like Jacob! Or Up, You know…..Jake Up”

At this point I am in a fit of giggles at the logic of my fantastic 5-year-old son. Of course, it would have to be Jake or Up. Those are the only two that make up his name.

Boy, do I love his craziness.

On a side note I have “made a deal” with Emily regarding her television time. She was very honest with Mrs. Ann about how long she cannot watch TV, even when her father and I forgot to tell Mrs. Ann of the added time. If she comes home tonight and cleans her room AND keeps it clean through the weekend I will knock a week off the punishment. I think the whole no TV thing has gotten through to her; I think she is finally getting it. And unfortunately, TV is the one thing she seems to “miss” the most when it is gone. But on that same note, she doesn’t seem to miss the cartoons as much as just the sitting and vegging out. So we have to conquer that next. I do think when we bring back TV there will be some strict rules enforced as to how much and exactly what it is she is watching.
Today is Day 14 of no TV and she is already a much more pleasant person to be around. I think we will still stand firm on the whole month of October, but she maybe able to earn some of her most recent punishment back. As long as the lying, and back talking stop we will continue to allow her to earn back the time she lost last weekend. She has been mostly pleasant and sweet this week, except for the occasional 7-year-old outburst, that we expect. We just don’t appreciate the 17-year-old outbursts.

Art Night/Book Fair

So last night was the Art Night/Book Fair at the kids school. I was not sure what Art Night was, but my mom left the kids money to use at the book fair so off we went. The book fair was a succsess. Emily was disapointed at first becasue they didn't have one of her wish list books anymore but we found "Super Fly Guy" which is by the same author as "Parts" "More Parts" and others that she LOVES!!! So she was thrilled when I showed it to her, becasue it doesn't look like a book she would have ever picked up, but as it sat there on the shelf, I couldn't help but pick it up. The cover was shiny, and I like shiny. So books AND bookmarks were bought with Memmaws book fair money, mom picked up the tax and off we went to Art Night. Here is a picture of the books that were purchased:



Art night is the cafeteria full oif paper, crayons, markers, finger paint, chalk and string art. WOW, what a mess. We didn't stay nearly as long as they wanted, but I have a cold and I wanted to go home. Here is the product of Art Night:



We went home home and had "dinner" Here is Jacob eating his dinner:



Yes, those are pop-tarts. He is so picky, and I think he is tired of nuggets and rolled tacos. All he wants to eat is cheese for dinner, and I won't let him only eat cheese.

Here is what should be a familiar site to my parents minus the Spagetti-o's. I never was much of a fan.


I haven't been able to get her to put those books down all evening and again this morning. Which isn'ta horrible thing, I suppose. She loved "Super Fly Guy" and it is a chapter book, and she read it to me and Jacob last night. It was a great time.

Weekend Update II

We arrived in Marble Falls, were the retreat was taking place and unloaded our stuff and were put into boys and girls cabins! How funny. I had not even thought about how we were all going to sleep. It was so funny. It was SO HOT!!! I could not believe how much I sweat on Saturday. The kids got in the water and swam, and kyaked and rode on an intertube behind a jet ski. The had a lot of fun in the water. Jacob tried a s'more and decided he liked them, just with out the marshmellow cooked. So he likes his s'mores the way he likes his brocoli. Here are some pictures. I tried to get some good ones, but when they are in the water, it is hard.

Here is Emily and Jacob in the part of the lake that had a "floor" they could feel.


Here is Jacob and his little friend Emily Ann in the same pool.


Here is Emily coming down the big slide. Jacob wouldn't come down at all, and Emily only would do it once. This is the only picture I got. You can kinda see her head--sort of.


And this was the "Gloob" you would jump onto it and then move to the end. Then a different person would jump on to it and launch the first person off and into the lake. I don't know who this person it, but it was so much fun and quite amazing to watch. Jacob thought he wanted to do it, but once he got to the top he changed his mind.


Over all it was a fun trip. Emily got into some trouble and can not watch TV until her birthday in December. I will blog about that at a later time. But the kids were decent and everybody had fun. I can not wait until the next one.

Long Weekend Update

We had a great couple of days. My folks came into town late Wednesday night. I meet up with them on Thursday afternoon and hung out until the kids came home from school. After that PePaw took the kids to go treasure hunting and mom and I went and took my quilting square from my Mamagrand to get ramed in the frame my daddygrand made with glass. It will be ready on Thursay--I can hardly wait! We ate at Chuk-e-Cheese. Yum! Or Not! On Friday Josh and my dad played golf and mom and I went to visit the school and went shopping. I loved being able to hang with my mom without the kids or the boys. I don't know when the last time that happened, maybe before we even moved to Austin. After the kids got home we got all dressed for pictures and went to the mall for our yearly pictures! They came out so cute! I need to scan them, becasue I can't seem to get them off the website, something about copyrights and what not.

On Saturday Jacob had his very first soccer game! He played and had a great time! He was goalie and let the first goal be scored, but he had fun. Here are some pictures of Jacob.
Here he is sitting in the car, ready to go!!


Here is Jacob being coached as goalie: first by the coach and second my Emily.



She was telling him "You can catch the ball with your hands when you are the goalie!!" She wanted so much to help him do well.

After the soccer game we went on the family retreat, but I will post about that in a bit. I need to get to work.

Banned Books?!?!

I am a little slow on this, but I ran across the news story this morning. This week is banned book week. I had always know that there were books thst we couldn't have at school, but it never seemed to bother me becasue as a child I spent so much time in the public library, I knew how to get a book that the school district may not have wanted me to have. My parents never stopped me from reading any book I brought home. The only thing they would not allow me to read were certain magazines while I was in middle school. Those would be Cosmo and True Romance. As an adult with a child now I understand why however, at the time I was angry. I went back to reading babysitters club and anything by R.L. Stein.

So here is the list of banned books that I found.
Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Giver by Lois Lowry
It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Sex by Madonna
Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Blubber by Judy Blume
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Deenie by Judy Blume
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Fade by Robert Cormier
Guess What? by Mem Fox
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Native Son by Richard Wright
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Jack by A.M. Homes
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
Carrie by Stephen King
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Family Secrets by Norma Klein
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
Sex Education by Jenny Davis
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier


So now I know some are not appropriate for children, but really, I don't think a parent is going to be upset because some are not in schools, but others. Every girl NEEDS to read "Are you there God? It's me Margaret." and "Brave New World" and "Of Mice and Men."
I remember reading at least 20 of these books, and wanting to read several others. Two of them were required reading in high school. Emily just finished reading one in her second grade class and reads another while in church. I guess I don't understand. If it gets people reading how is it bad? And how can it be any worse that what people watch in tv? Seriously?

So I think I will be heading to the local library, where, if you remember I paid all my fines and picking up a few banned books to read. So there.

I love being a mom

Do you know what the best thing about being a mom is? Embarrassing pictures of the kids before they know how to be embarrassed by it. This is a photo from a few months ago, but I ran across it yesterday and laughed at it all over again. Let me set the stage:

I hear rustling in my closet and both the kids yell to me to stay out!! So I mind my business and get the camera, I know it is going to be good.

Emily comes out in her PJ's wearing my old flannel robe, one of Josh's ties and my high heels. Jacob comes out with one of Josh's t-shirts, three of his ties, a hat AND Emilys tinkerbell shoes form her Halloween costume last year!!! I about died! They proceeded to put on a show for me, singing, dancing and posing for the camera. I can't wait to show this to their future spouses!

Scabs and pictures, whats a mom to do?

Why is it that when my parents are coming into town to visit and to have professional pictures made with them and the family that BOTH of my children have scabs on their face?

Emily was playing flag football with her daddy and the folks on the block and got taken down. She has road rash on her butt, knee, elbow, forhead and nose. Lovely.

Jacob was at soccor practice on Monday night and was taken down. He has a scab on his forhead.

I am not sure what I will end up doing. I think Jacobs may be gone by Friday. in time for the pictures to be made, if not his is on his hairline, and not entirely noticable. Emily's are healing, but doing so at an alarmingly slow rate. The one on her forehead is probably the worse, but is covered by her bangs. The nose one is the least of the bunch, but... it is on her nose. The butt one won't show (it is on her butt) and the ones on her knees are ok, but very large and red. She is supposed to wear a khaki shirt. Yeah.

But my parents are on their way, traveling from Kentucky and should arrive sometime tonight. I seriously can not wait. I enjoy their visits, plus I am taking half days the rest of the week and I am FINALLY getting a much needed hair cut so I don't look ridiculous in the pictures.

Some Tuesday morning fun

Some of these are fun... I got this from Sarah and thought you all might get a hoot, because I have everything from NKOTB (oh, yes, I do) to the Beatles. Put your mp3 player on shuffle. Say the following questions aloud, and press play. Use the song title as the answer to the question. NO CHEATING….

How does the world see you?"Am I the Only One " by Dixie Chicks (Am I the only one?)

Will I have a happy life?“Move Along” by The All-American Rejects (I got nothing for this one)

What do my friends really think of me?“Forgotten” by Linkin Park (I hope not)

What do people secretly think of me?“Pieces of Me” by Ashlee Simpson (hmmmmm)

How can I be happy?“How does it feel ” by Avril Lavigne (I really like the grunge?)

Will I ever have (more) children?“So Yesterday” by Hillary Duff (So appropriate)

What is some good advice for me?“Kryptonight” by 3 Doors Down (huh?)

How will I be remembered?“Things that U do” by Jay-Z (that is good)

What is my signature dancing song?“SexyBack” by Justin Timberlake (I do like me some Justin)

What do I think my current theme song is?“Next to you" by Wilson Phillips (True, I like keeping my friends and family close)

What does everyone else think my current theme song is?“Where have you been” by Jay-Z (that's pretty good I guess)

What song will play at my funeral?“A boy Named Sue” by Johnny Cash (Well I am a “Sue” to a point, but not a boy at all)

What is my day going to be like? “You Don’t have to let go” by Jessica Simpson (I will try not to but work is killing me!)


So some of the artisits are a bit embarrassing, but I think NKOTB didn’t come up because I just listened to the entire album this weekend!! Now that is emabrrasing to admit. Plus, the Jay-Z stuff came loaded on my mp3 player, I promise. I listen to some of it, but a very limited cross section. I prefer much more poppy stuff. Oh my Dad will be so proud. Too bad my Beatles and Tom Petty didn’t some up. I really like Tom Petty. And New Kids On The Block!

What a weekend

This was an eventful weekend. On Friday night I though the kids had gone to sleep so quickly and queitly, I got a little worried. When I went to check on them this is what I found:


On Saturday we had our first brownie troop meeting for the year. Eight of the nine girls showed up! We had such a great time! We accomplished almost everthing we wanted too and everything I had planned. We have a diverse group of girls! But it is great! While Emily and I had our meeting, Josh took Jacob to Academy to get some new soccor shorts because the hand me downs of Emilys were too big:

Then they went to get his soccor pictures made. Even though our first practice is today, pictures were on Saturday. Here is is practice pictures and one of Emily "instructing him on how to take the pictures:


Do you see the disdane and frustration in my daughters eyes? She is going to be SOOOO much fun as a teenager!

After all the excitment of the soccer pictures and the Girl Scout meeting the Jehovahs Witnesses came a knocking, but we sent them on their way--- no need for crazy talk here!

Josh took me and dropped me off at my MIL's house and we went to a craft fair at the Dell Diamond. It was so much fun! We enjoyed ourselves and sent more money that we should have and sweat ourselves silly! While I was there I found a quilting square that had been framed and the frame was weathered and I loved it, but I though to myself, my mom is in Kentucky visting the grandparents, and they are all quilters maybe she can pick me up an old discarded quilting sqaure that I can frame and weather the frame and put in my kitchen. I have been looking for something for a spot in my kitchen for a few months and thought that would be just the ticket. Well, my Mamagrand peiced together for me a quilting square and my Daddygrand is making me a frame. I can't hardly wait till my mom brings it to me on Wednesday! Here is a picture of the square:


Isn't it beautiful?? Thank you Mamagrand!!

While I was at the craft fair Emily was giving her father a run for his money in the nap department. So... she had her first "puppy nap":



Aren't they cute?

Now I am exhausted and would rather sleep my weekend off than be at work.

Look where we are going!!! We are going on a church-wide Family Retreat next weekend! I am so excited about this retreat, we get to go on Sat. and stay over night and come home Sun afternoon. I am so excited to get to know some of the people in the church a little bit better and a retreat is the way to do it. It is also great because it is not going to cost a bundel and it is only about an hour from the house, so no long car ride with the kiddos!

We will wake up early, go to Jacobs soccer game and head out to the beautiful camp site. Too bad it is still a week away!

It wouldn't be me with out TV

This is the time of year that I like best. Kids are in school and new TV begins. I appreciate that the networks churn out some new stuff in the summer so it is not so full of re-runs, but I appointment watch so much and I am excited about several shows this year.

In no particular order:

Prison Break
7th Heaven
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
The Class
Project Runway
ER
Greys Anatomy
Desperate Housewives
6 degrees
The Office
‘til Death
CSI (Las Vegas and Miami)
Kidnapped
Brothers and Sisters
Friday Night Lights
30 Rock
Heros
Life with Brian

Some are old favorites, some I want to try out.
I have already knocked Vanished off my list. It just doesn’t hold my attention like some of the others. I want to like Lost, but never got into it, and now I can’t catch up, plus Project Runway is on Wednesday on the new CW. I never got UPN and could never watch it, and now I can.

My parents introduced my husband and I to CSI and we are hooked. I don’t like New York, but I will watch it for lack of anything else. I already love ‘til Death and Studio 60. And I am so glad 7th Heaven is back. I am afraid that several of the characters will not be back and that makes me sad, that one is on a bit of a trial run for me. I have DVR’d Kidnapped- it looks intense, I am not sure I will be able to get through this one.

I am so excited for tonight, I will never be able to watch it all, but that is what I do on the weekends and Tuesday nights—catch up. But tonight The Office and Greys Anatomy and CSI and ER. I am so excited, plus my husband has to work, so I get to control the remote!
I will report back in a month or two to see what I actually continued to watch after a few episodes.

The list

I was reading on another site about lists. You know the list of things you want to do before you die. I thought to myself, I know of a few things, but let me sit down and really think about it. Here is what I have come up with:

• road trip, coast to coast in a convertible
• travel to all the continents
• become better with photography
• travel to Paris
• learn Spanish
• donate hair to locks of love
• complete the cruise/motorcycle/baseball tour with Amy
• take a sailboat
• go to New York City
• own a mustang
• not be afraid of public speaking
• dance at my children’s weddings

So there you go. I think I want to travel, not like with my job, because that is work. I want to travel to see sights and to visit places that I overlooked when my parents took me there in middle school. I would have such an appreciation of it now that I just didn’t have then.

************************************************************************************
On a side note, I want to kill my van. The radiator hose popped off and the car started smoking and argh! Luckily I had just pulled up to the restaurant where I was meeting the family and his dad and new wife when it got all crazy. So they were able to eventually fix it (with rain water from the side of the road) and Josh is going to drain the radiator today to get all the bugs and grass out while replacing the water with the clean kind. I just don’t know. This car is about to kill me, but we can't afford to replace.

Girls, Girls Girls

At our church we are involved in a baby-sitting co-op. We watch 9 kids for 4 hours every 4 months and in return we get 3 months of nights out without the kiddos. Last night was our turn to have the kids at our house. There were 3 girls and I could hardly get them to keep their clothes on. They loved playing with Emilys dress-up clothes and Sunday dresses. Here are some pics I snapped of the three girls. This is Emily Ann, Emily and Hannah.

One tough chick

For all those folks who might have read the previous post and thought, "Wow she really is over reacting to a headache. " You don't know my daughter. She is one tough girl.

When she was 18 months old I was in Florida, working at Disney World for an internship needed to graduate from college and my parents were helping keep an eye on here while my husband worked. Well while she was hanging with the 'rents she steped off a matress that was on the floor for company that was visiting my parents. We are talking about a 6 inch height off the floor. She jumped/fell/walked off this matress and hurt herself. My mother, being completly over-protective and worried that we would sue her for hurting my child took her to hospital. She WALKED into the Emergency Room, limped once (which a nirse happened to see) and went to waiting. The nurse that determines if you have a "true" emergency decided she was not hurt and they could go see her regular doctor in the morning, but the nurse who happened to see her limp thought it would be best to have an X-ray. So they did and she had a broken leg. She WALKED on a broken leg, and didn't cry or fuss about it at all. So....when my child says something hurts we take her very serious.

Here is a picture of my Emily when she was 18 months old with a cast. How sad is this, she wore a hole through the heel of the cast. What is more sad, I missed the whole thing. She was broken and healed while I was away.

Update on Previous Post

The doctors office just called me with the results of her blood test. Nothing is wrong, poor girl is just dehydrated. We have been pouring the liquids down her like crazy! I think she kinds likes it, because the doctor told her no candy, no chips, no soda—but lots of water and Gatorade. So we have bought some and she is drinking that stuff down like crazy. And her brother can’t have any of it, I think she likes that part the best.
On another note, it is almost picture day, hopefully I won’t forget like I did last year with Emily. It is next Wednesday, and both the kids are way excited. Of course, that means I dished out a pretty penny this morning to buy these pictures they are going to have made. I thought it was supposed to be cheaper when they got out of “pre-school” and into real school!

What is one of the most traumatic things a mother can watch her daughter endure?

The first time her daughter has to have blood taken.

I am SO glad that is over.

She is growing up!

WARNING!!!!

If anybody speaks of this to my daughter I will physically hurt you!!! She trusted me and I do not want her to think she can’t tell me things in confidence!!! Keep your mouths shut!!!!

But it is SOOOOOO cute!!


Last night Emily comes into the living room when she is supposed to be sleeping. She has this look on her face that I just can’t quite describe. She looks shyly at me and asks, “Mom, what would you think if I had a boyfriend?” Immediately after she says this she throws her self down on the couch, very much full of embarrassment. I say, “Well, Emily, do you have a boyfriend?” She looks up at me very dramatically and says, “Yes” and throws herself back onto the couch. I am giggling at her because of her dramatic answer to everything, plus she was soaking up the attention. I ask her his name for which she replies “Isaiah” and I think, I know that little boy. He lives down the street, far enough away that they are not allowed to play together but close enough that you pass his house to get to ours. I ask her if this is the boy and she tells me that it is. I ask her if she has kissed him and she enthusiastically replies “NO!!” I ask her how long has he been her boyfriend and she says “Well, on the second day of school I told him he was my boyfriend.” My, my, my. What am I going to do? She begged me not to tell anyone and especially not her daddy.

So, it is all of our little secret. Shhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Sneaky Jacob strikes again

While at the store yesterday with Josh and Emily, Jacob decides to “sneak” a treat without asking. He opened a package of Starburst and ate a few of the little candies. Emily discovered the problem and quickly notified her father of his actions. Josh took the candy from the boy, paid for it and then required Jacob to take the candy to the little lady at the register (it was the self-checkout line, as that was all that was open-but that’s another story) and throw the remaining candy away. I was so proud of my husbands good parenting skills and so disappointed in Jacobs deviousness. However, the lady at Wal-Mart told Josh she had watched the whole incident “go down” and was impressed with Josh’s parenting as well.

Quite a far cry from when the lady at McDonalds threatened to call CPS on us.

Looking Good

So what do you think? I changed things up today… trying on a new look. I really think I like it. I may mess with it a little bit, but overall I am very pleased. Some of the links don’t work yet, I need to do some “research” for the site addresses again, and then they will be up and running.

Josh is having some issues at work. Seems that the guy who is leaving is giving him a hard time, and because he is a supervisor, he can and can get in minimal trouble. At least Josh’s main supervisor can recognize what is going on and removed Josh from the situation, which could have been harmful to Josh’s career, and now he is back on kitchen duty. Ugh. But on a different note, he will have an interview with the RR Police Dept next week, so keep your fingers crossed.

Last Saturday I spent the morning with MIL and ran some errands so that Josh could sleep. We ran to the movie store and the library and before too long my sweet, beautiful, loving son decided to become the span of the devil. He was screaming in the stores and crying uncontrollably. Plus, none of my usual tactics to ensure that the behavior would stop would work. So… we took the MIL home and suddenly he stopped and became the sweet, charming son that I have come to know and love. (I am 99.8% sure the his behavior was not the result of the MIL as the kids fought in the car all the way to her house and were so poorly behaved prior to picking her up that the chance to see a movie was taken away) So we decide to hit up one last place prior to going home and inevitably waking the husband up from his slumber. We drive down the YMCA in order to sign the kiddo up for fall sports. Josh had tried to do it a few weeks ago, but he was to early. So now registration is in full swing and as soon as we enter the door the nice lady looks at Emily and says, “ Are you here to sign up for cheerleading?” Well the answer was NO when we walked in the door, but Yes by the time we left. What have I gotten myself into? She wanted to play T-ball or baseball but that is a spring sport only if you are over the age of 4. So her only other choices were volleyball or soccer. We had played soccer before and she wasn’t all that into it, and I tried really hard to turn her onto the idea of volleyball, but I had no luck and so cheerleading it is. Plus the cheerleading sign up sheet was pink and volleyball was green. Evil YMCA! So $117 lighter on the way out the door (and we were only supposed to pay for uniforms if they picked a regular sport, but that is not good enough for my baby) She is now the owner of a pink YCheer practice shirt, she will be measured for a “real” cheer uniform and we picked up Jacob’s soccer shirt while we were there. I love being a parent.

Josh just texted me and said that the guy who got the training Sergeant position in February that he wanted so bad and I wanted so bad (so I could stay home) is leaving the position to go to patrol! I don’t know what this means for Josh, because it has been longer than 6 months he will not automatically receive the position, but it could mean big changes!!!! We will wait and see. I would be so happy for him if he could get this promotion.

The Round Rock Express Game

Last week we received tickets to the Round Rock Express minor league baseball game from our church. The tickets had been donated and whoever wanted them could get them, so I enthusiastically picked up 4 for our family to go to the game. Here are some pics of the great time we all had!

We enjoyed some cotton candy.

The First Day of School (A week late)

The first day of school. I went in and woke Emily up this morning and she looked up at me and grinned like it was Christmans morning. She has been antsy for school to start for a few days now. She got up, took a abath, got dressed, ate her egg in a hole that daddy made and smiled pretty for the camera. I had to drag Jacob out of bed, my bed, and dress him in two sets of clothes. The first pair of pants we put on were too bib. Thanks mom and dad for the clothes, hopefully someday he will have a waist that will fill them. My son ate a "healthy" breakfast of Fritos and cake and smiled pretty for the camera and it was off to school.

Jacob was a little bit anxious to walk into the room, but once he found his seat andstarted doing the lacing project that was laid out for his table he could have cared less if we were there.

Emily was also the first one to walk into her room and was excited to find her place to sit and started in on her work. She looked so grown up in those desks that actually hold the school supplies as opposed to the tables she has had for the last 2 years.

They both looked so grown up when I left them, I really didn't want to leave.

Meet the Teachers

Met the teacher night went off without a hitch! Jacob is in fact in Mrs. Smith's class! We couldn't be more pleased! He seemed excited and nervous about going into the classroom. Well that is until he found the building blocks. Then he didn't want to leave.

Emily is in Mrs. Ainsworth's class. She seems like a very nice, sweet teacher. Emily was very nervous at first, until we found the Magic Tree House books. Then she got excited! Plus, we already have homework! I think I will ike this teacher! So I think it will be a good year for all involved.

I also added the links to their "pages" to the sidebar. I think that they are not updated from last year, but that way I can find them for this year.

Jacob is sneaky and we are ready for Christmas

I don't recall if I have spoken of my sons sneakiness on the ole blog before. But now I will. Jacob is by far the sneakiest kid I have ever known. He does things; I believe just to see if he can get away with it. Well his world has come crashing down around him as the husband and myself have finally put our foot down with his sneaking.

Now the boy sneaks all sorts of things. He is an all-encompassing sneaker. He sneaks food. I always find rotten strawberries under my couch, because he will sneak them and as I come into the room he will throw them under the couch as to not get caught. (I only find them after the house begins to have an interesting aroma and I have to hunt it down.) He ate an entire bag of cookie dough that had been in my house for less than 48 hours. I had intended to make those cookies this week, but because I did not so it immediately after purchase, they were gone.
He also sneaks for the fun of it, as I call it. Sneaks finger-paint, permanent markers and scotch tape. Unfortunately my poor house is often on the receiving end of his sneakiness. So now I will show you some of his "work."
Here are pictures of his train that he drew on the wall as pictures that includes the fingerpaint stain which he snuck while he was supposed to be taking a nap and the train tracks he drew down his train table and across the floor. The tracks on the floor are difficult to see in the picture because they are orange, and it has been a few weeks and they have started to fade.

On another note***********
Tonight we have Meet the Teacher night at the school and find out who the kids teachers will be and where the classrooms are. Yesterday I recieved a call from the coveted Mrs. Smith. Mrs. Smith was Emily's Kindergarten until they had to disband her classbecasue there were too few kids. She went and taught first grade that year. We loved Mrs. Smith. She is what a Kindergarten teacher should be. She called yesterday to make sure I knew about Meet the Teacher night and that we would be there. She remembered Emily ( I am not sure if that is good or bad, but --) and she asked if Jacob would be coming. I REALLY, REALLY hope this means that he is going to have Mrs. Smith for his teacher. I would be SO happy! And I would know that Jacob would have a good year with her as a teacher, as opposed to the teacher Emily ended up having for most of Kindergarten and was less than perfect.

****************************
Last night we went to Mackenzie's birthday party and on the way home I was telling Emily and Jacob that Mrs. Smith had called, but I said, "Emily can you guess who called me today?" Knowing full well that she did not know I was curious who she would guess. She guessed "Santa Claus?"

We ended up having a conversation about Santa, and if nobody has seen him, how do we know what he looks like? I had no answer to that. She concluded that some kids must have seen him at some point, and they told us that he wears a red suit, black boots, a black belt with a gold button and glasses, sometimes. But then Jacob said, "Emily! We have seen Santa-at Wal-Mart" She asked if that was the real Santa, I said "Sure!" She was thrilled. It was the first time that I think she really gets it. The magic is still alive! But she is questioning it. She said she wants to stay up and see him put the presents under the tree. I don't know if we will get to that point, but she is totally into it. She is ready for Christmas, and all that fun.

The library card

On Saturday I was looking for something cheap and fun to get the kids out of the house while the husband slept and we took a trip down to the local public library. Now I had been to the library back a few years ago when we first moved to Round Rock. I had checked a few books out and my dumb dog, Cookie, chewed one of them up. Well since then, we have owed the Round Rock City Library $30.00. So I swallowed my pride, paid the fine and entered the world of books once again. Well, as we were paying the fine Emily asked if she could get her own library card. I said sure, lets do it. So after I filled out a short form they issued Emily her very first library card. She was so excited. She had to sign her name on the back of the card.

I think we need to discuss what her name actually is. She signed Emily And Sumpter .Oh well, I always knew she was special.

Nothing new to report, just working and praying that the summer will end so that school will start. I can not wait for school to start, I am so ready for my poor kids to have a routine again. They are having a pit of a rough time not having one at the moment. Only three more weeks until school is in. We are excited! Or maybe I am …

Amy

The stars know a shine no greater than that of a true friend
The ocean knows a depth no more unfathonable that that of the warmest touch in the coldest moments
There never was a mountain tall enough to equal true compassion in majesty
In all of nature's glory, there is nothing that can claim the same treausres as a gentle kiss blown in the harshest of winds
Friendship cannot be meausred in quanity nor can it be measured in volume
It is one of the indescribable pleasures of this life that can only be known when the heart is open and the mind is unaware
--Amydodd, 1997 or 1998

I was cleaning, I know, everyone can pick theior mouths up off the table, and ran across my folder of important letters, poems and cards I have collected from my friends over the years and found this poem that a dear friend of mine gave me back when we were in the early stages of planning our cruise and helped me in during some very difficult times. She was still Amydodd at that time, thus the refrence to her in that manner. She lived in the next room when she wrote this poem and now she lives less than 5 miles from house, and I enjoy her any time I can.

Thanks for being my best friend Amy.

The Reunion

Here are some pictures I recieved from the reuinon, becasue none of the ones I took came out very well. The first picture is of Myself, David Mosley and Meleia. A group that probably never would have been together in highschool, that is why I loved my reunion! I was friends with both in school, but I don't know that they knew each other, but we had a great time together!! You can also see on Daivd's right hand his Final Four ring, he was so very proud, and showed anybody that would look. In the background is Luke Porter, another basketball player, also very nice at the reunion.
This second one is of David, Serina, Kelly Nelson, Annika and myself. I love how we all have to look up to talk to Daivd! He has to be one of the nicest, funniest guys I know. He won most sthletic at the reunion, but that was not really any suprise, as he plays international pro-basketball in Venezulia. As I look at this picture, it is funny to me...I have known David since we were like 3 and I have known Annika since the 2nd grade, so when we were 7 we were playing on the playground together, making up plays, she always allowed me to boss her around.
At last, is one of myself with Bill McCamley and Tito Armati. Two guys I never hung with in school. I do beleive Tito is the most changed since school. He used to have this big, crazy afro-on a white kid, and now he has short hair. He is that guy that is still in college, becasue he likes it. Because he likes the younger girls, and the ability to buy liquor. Bill is a city councilman. I don't know that I beleive in his politics, but he did get some personality over the last 10 years, something he lacked very much so in high school.

Over all it was a great time. I am so glad I went and I am thankful that Heather did SO much work to get it together, she deserves a metal!

It's been a while

I haven’t updated my blog in…too long to count. I enjoyed looking at “my” mountains every time I opened up the page. But alas, much has happened since the trip to New Mexico.

The reunion was fabulous. Everybody was well behaved and nice to each other. People talked to me that NEVER would have said hello to me in high school. It was a nice time. It was great catching up with everybody and I enjoyed spending some down time with the family.

The week after we returned, Josh and I were children free. We did nothing exciting. We did eat out together twice and enjoyed the conversation that adults have without crazy kids running a muck in a restaurant. The kids returned home on Friday with my parents in tow. Waiting for them was Josh’s cousin, Shaylyn, whom is 14 and one of the sweetest kids I know. She has her moments, as does everyone, but it has been a pleasure having her stay with us. On Saturday we had Jacob’s birthday. He had a train party, because, he loves trains. We let all the neighborhood kids come over and go swimming and have cake and ice cream. A good time was had by all. Jacob received several toys that he loves and loved the piñata.

The next Saturday we all (Josh, Emily, Jacob, Shaylyn, Pam and myself) went to Waco to go to the zoo. I love the Waco zoo. It is great! It is just the right size for kids who are not old enough for an 8 hour day at the zoo. After the zoo we went to the Dr. Pepper museum and took Shaylyn to have her first ever Dairy Queen! Those crazy folks out in California don’t have DQ, I don’t know what’s up with that.

I picked my parent up from the airport on Sunday, they spent the week in Nicaragua and were glad to be home, where we have running water and electricity. The took the kids shopping for school clothes (which I am having a hard time keeping Emily out of) and we enjoyed seeing them for a day or two. The fourth was nothing to special for us. I spent most of the day with Amy, who is very special, and her kids. We went to Target and Goodwill and had lunch at Chick-fil-A. It was so fun to hang with her and her kids. All the kids got along fairly well. After all that shopping we went back to our house and went swimming and the grown-ups just chatted. It was nice to talk to her, in person, not through the phone. After some swimming and some time watching Thomas the tank engine Josh brought home some fireworks and we set of all the noisy ones and I took Amy home. We had a cook-out and had Josh’s mom over and watched a bit of TV before going to bed early. We are such losers.

However, I have come to a decision. I am going to be checking out the opportunity of getting my teachers certificate. Whenever I am unhappy with a job I start to think about trying to get my teaching certificate. So I know What I am doing now is not what I want to do forever. I do not have a passion for it, and this job requires a passion. So I start to think about what I want to do, and the idea of teaching comes to mind. I think nothing of it and push it back down inside me. Then I am looking at the paper on Sunday and there is an ad for a school to get your teaching certificate. I go to the web site and decide I am going to call and setup a meeting to see if this is something I can do. So I maybe going back to school for a year, 2 classes in the fall, 2 in the spring and 2 in the summer. From what I understand they meet once a month, and do the rest on-line. So keep me in your prayers that I can actually get his done, and it is where I am suppose to be.