Seeing Polka Dots

Private.

2009-02-24T13:07:00.002-06:00

It's been an interesting leap around here and I've made the descision to take the blog private. If you'd like access, please email me and I will get you an invitation.

This is a time for me to grow. Learn a lot and put the words of my new journey down.

It's time I become true to myself again.

Somewhere in life, we all are told to stop being who we naturally were. Don’t do this and don’t do that. Bad girl. Many more limitations were put on us than were encouragement and explanations. Our curiosity got squelched and sometimes we were punished, severely.

Eventually we stopped wanting to learn and grow as our brains became cluttered with all those messages, pain becoming a frequent consequence for normal expression. Then as we grew older, other negative experiences added to these bad feelings about ourselves. We are so unaware of the sheer volume of negative messages in our subconscious. Only a small percentage makes it into our consciousness. And you wonder why one can feel so emotionally overwhelmed?

This is a deeply emotional, psychological, and physiological transition.

I must take the risks, face the fears, be creative, and ultimately learn how to stay focused on what I want to achieve and even to have fun.

I guess you can say I'm taking a break that distracts my mind. I am waking myself up. I am slowly taking off that which has been weighing me down and keeping me feeling dark. I am opening myself up.

All that I think is important is respect and clear boundaries along the way.

Ultimately we all must follow our own Truth.

Pretending it doesn't exist doesn't make it any less real.

For so many, it's easy to tell me to do this and that when you're not the one living my life. It's so easy for them to judge me. It's so easy for them to make false assumptions. Choosing to believe in something otherwise doesn't change the reality of the situation. But most don't even ask me or know what the reality of the situation is. And because at the end of the day, regardless of what they say or do, they keep forgetting that they don't want to understand how I live my life. They stopped trying to put themselves in my shoes because all they can see is how their own life has worked for them. They're looking at the same elephant through different eyes. I could never be happy if I subscribed to their ideals of walking away when the going gets rough. And most of them have chosen to walk away.

So you know what?

It doesn't matter at all.

You know they're not responsible for my happiness.

But I am.

Feel the Fear And Do It Anyway

2009-02-23T11:55:00.003-06:00

We change our circumstances and how we are treated by others when we change what WE say and do and how we see ourselves.

We change these things when we ask ourselves new questions and take new actions.

As they say: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting to get a different result.

Even when what we do does not work out the way we hoped or thought it would, something changes when we push ourselves outside our comfort zones and try new things.

IF we choose to see what happens as information, we grow, we learn, we recognize new possibilities.

If one set of actions did not work, perhaps another will.

IF we make the choice to keep trying.

We alter relationships in our lives when we begin to ask about others, especially those who are thorns in our sides: What are THEIR hopes and dreams and fears?

The thing is that it’s in our hands, how we live our lives.

The possibilities are there but we need to find a way to see them.

Over the past few months I have made a great many changes in my life.

NOW I see possibilities I could not grasp even a year ago and far more I could not see 5 years ago.

Only by taking action and being willing to face my fears and honestly look at the outcome, accepting my own responsibility for my life, could I LEARN to see these new possibilities.

I had to be willing to challenge old assumptions I hadn’t known I was allowing to control my actions and reactions.

Why is a sense of purpose so important? Because it gives us something to focus on beyond our own fears and self-doubts and past hurts.

It’s important because we feel better when we are closer to being the kind of person we believe we ought to be.

It’s important because while we may not be able to find the courage to do the things we fear if it’s just for ourselves, odds are much better we will when we know we are doing so to achieve something we believe matters.

And make no mistake—there is no way past fear except to walk through it and do the very things we think we cannot do.

What we gain is priceless. And we cannot fail.

Either we succeed or we gain new knowledge and insight and information—even if it’s that we may want to try something a little different next time.

Inherent in every situation is a gift—the gift of new possibilities, new ways of looking at things—if I choose to accept it.

We have choices.

We can stay exactly as we are and we will have exactly what we have now—until the universe comes along and yanks the rug out from under our feet!

Or we can choose to go forward, embracing change and new possibilities.

I believe that we can use everything that happens to help us move toward a life that is rich and fulfilling and filled with a sense of purpose.

It’s our choice.

And once we choose, it’s up to us to take the steps to achieve that life we want to have.

Reflections on 2008 - - What 2009 brings....

2009-01-16T10:13:00.002-06:00

In pursuing the life you want, you don't want to miss out on the life you have.

Embrace who you are, appreciate where you are and what you have, now, in this moment. There is no time like the present to enjoy what you have.

Sometimes life passes by so quickly that we forget to pay attention to what is going on. The kids grow up before our eyes, we get older and then we wonder where the time went. We live in a fast-paced society where work takes a large chunk of our day. Learn to live in the moment today.

Living in the moment is all about living like there's no tomorrow. It takes practice but in the end, you'll lead a fuller life. To do this you must realize beauty in every moment, and in everyday activities. This is your life, now live!

Be Thankful for what is. When you find yourself wishing for something you don't have, or wishing your life would be different, start your quest for your wish by being thankful for what is already in your life. This will bring you back to the present moment. You don't want miss the gifts right in front of you because you are always looking beyond what is in the present moment to what once was or what might be. If you are thankful for what is, you'll be happy to be in the moment instead of somewhere else.

sometimes I wonder why I read the news.

2009-01-14T08:33:00.002-06:00

Here are 2 top stories that really blew my mind:

Man accused of selling child for beer
GREENFIELD, Calif. (AP) - Police have arrested a Greenfield man for allegedly arranging to sell his 14-year-old daughter into marriage in exchange for $16,000, 100 cases of beer and several cases of meat.

Virginity auction hits$3.7 million
SAN DIEGO - Natalie Dylan, probably not her real name, is like many young women who are trying to find a way to pay off college. Dylan though is not like many young women in that she is trying to wipe out her college debt (and more) by auctioning off her virginity.

okay. back to work now.

I don't find it funny

2009-01-13T17:20:00.001-06:00

that I am so sore I can barely carry my purse.

holy hell, my arms HURT!

Conversation with my 6 1/2 year old.

2009-01-13T09:52:00.002-06:00

Hunter pops into the car yesterday after school & immediatly asks

H: Mom, can I have a cell phone?

Me: EXCUSE ME?

H: I want a cell phone.

Me: And just who are you going to call Hunter.

H: M (a little girl in his class) because she has a cell phone.

Me: WHAT?!?!?!?!???

H: She has a cell phone and I want to call her.

Me: Use our home phone or my cell phone.

H: But I want a cell phone like her.

Me: HUNTER MICHAEL PEARSON YOU WILL NOT HAVE A CELL PHONE UNTIL YOU ARE 10! 10 sounded like a good number and it was the 1st one to pop into my head. Even that sounds too young.

H: Mom, your such a bore. By the way, M gave everyone her cell number to call her.

Me: Hunter, stay young as long as you can. 7 year olds don't need cell phones.

It's when.............

2009-01-11T16:09:00.002-06:00

......you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like.

......you start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.

......you start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones.

......your opinions have gotten stronger. suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable andwhat isn't.

......one minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure.

......you laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life.

......you feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you tryand cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.

......you get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. And cannot figure out why you are doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person.

......you go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision.

......you worry about money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender!

What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it.

We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out. Maybe this will help someone feel like they aren't alone in their state of confusion.

My life.

2009-01-08T10:15:00.000-06:00

My life oscillates between extreme order and random chaos

I'm trying to decide which state I'm in right now.

2009.

2009-01-07T10:47:00.003-06:00

Wow. It's here. And it holds a lot in store.

It dawned on me New Year's Day that Jayden will be 5. Jayden, my baby. 5 years old.

I just don't know if I'm ready for that.

Surgery is looming its head around the corner but wait........maybe I do want another baby.

SHOOT ME NOW!

I am going to be 30 this year. 30. I don't need another baby.

If 30 is going to be anything as bad as 25, HELP ME NOW!

Maybe that's where the baby comes in.

I had 2 by the time I was 25!

That seems like eons ago.

as far as New Year's Resolutions, I've decided to de-clutter & simplify my life.

Sounds easy enough. No one needs so much extra crap.

Just don't touch my shoes.

We're B-A-C-K!

2008-12-31T20:06:00.004-06:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

for those who have missed us, we are finally back!

of course I will tell you all about it, but I am EXHAUSTED. BEYOND EXHAUSTED.

I'll tell you the TOP REASONS Hunter & Jayden are happy to be home:

1. The Wii. Of course. They are in wii denial.

2. Water. They are tired of mom telling them to drink lots of water. She was hoping to avoid mountain sickness but it left us with stopping in EVERY town to potty.

3. Their beds. They are tired of sleeping on the floor!

4. No more constant chap stick.

And finally, just a FEW pictures!

My handsome devils decked out & ready for church:

The family ready for mass:

Our 1st night on the road in Amarillo. This is them after being in the car ALL DAY.

What nuts we were stopping by the state line. The wind was blowing about 70 mph.

The mountains seemed so CLOSE

We quickly ran into snow & jumped out of the car to take a picture

It was COLD, SNOWING and the wind was still blowing about 70mph

The roads quickly looked like this

Then this

SNOW was EVERYWHERE! notice the road sign. this later becomes a problem.

We couldn't see much

The roads were HORRIBLE.

The rental car with 4WD was a LIFE SAVER. We had to make it 6 miles UP the mountain.

And we made it.

The roads the next morning.

Our driveway to the house

Soon became a sled run

Jayden getting in on the fun

A crash landing

another crash landing

Poising for the camera

Kreg got in on the fun

As did I

There were lots of rather LARGE snowballs

And snowball fights

We braved the roads and helped push a few cars along the way

To get the boys on ski's

now after calling a week before we left for ski school, I was told NO reservations were needed. once we got there, we found out ski school was BOOKED. what a bummer. so, we helped the boys to ski and Jayden took to the slopes like mad!

They were happy to be there

We ALL were.

Soon to be my favorite picture of him

Even the hard core ski boy needed a break

Hunter and I enjoyed watching everything

Jayden and Dad worked on skiing

But fun was right around the corner

TUBING!
They were ready to go

Hunter is off

Jayden waits his turn

I got in on the action

Hunter tried a few tricks

Jayden couldn't get enough

They even braved riding with dad

Us with the house we stayed in

Our last day we snowmobiled!

What an adventure!

YES our trip was a blast! Hunter was hit with mountain sickness the 1st night and Jayden got car sick on our very last trip down the mountain. THANK goodness for Phenergan.

More on the trip to come!

3 days before Christmas

2008-12-22T10:16:00.004-06:00

If we can make it through the week, this is what awaits us: The Rock House

sounds easy, right?

the kids are ONLY so full of energy yet it's 20 degrees outside.

Hunter has, what I'm PRAYING, is a cold.

There's packing to be done.

Dishes to be washed.

Laundry to be folded.

Yet, here I am on the computer.

I figured I'd catch up on some pictures.

Since in typical Pearson fashion, we try to do it all!

The Trail of Lights at Monument Hill:

(notice the Guitar Hero shirt. This crazy mom left LG at 4:30AM on the day after Thanksgiving to head to Target to score him Guitar Hero for about 50% off. Only to have him tell me he doesn't want it for Christmas. Well.........we are trying to pump him up about it now!)

And an early Christmas present, thanks to dad. I woke up Saturday morning to my kids opening presents under the tree. I had to make sure I didn't sleep for 4 days and it was Christmas. What the heck? Ask Kreg.
And the Trail of Lights @ Zilker Park.

so this is what we now have to contend with, EVERYWHERE we go.

I guess the joke on mom and all the times I have them stop and take pictures.

Jayden had the best seat in the house for taking pictures.

They convinced Dad to spin with them.

Just looking at it now makes me sick.

The Christmas Program

2008-12-18T21:08:00.002-06:00

getting a good picture of the 2 of them is getting harder.

this is about as good as it gets

and the boys busting it out

Jayden to Holly Jolly Christmas

Hunter to Deck the Halls

Recent (and old) pictures

2008-12-14T19:45:00.005-06:00

I finally uploaded some picture from my camera. Christmas is only 11 days away and I'm just now adding the Thanksgiving pictures!

We had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving at my sister-in-laws parents house on Lake Conroe. The boys had their first ever boat ride and had a BLAST! Only in Texas can you swim on Thanksgiving.

Hunter was brave enough to jump off the diving board.

They found the hot tub to be the most fun!

Just us.

And from their visit from Santa:

Our snow.

And from our hayride on Friday night.

And a quick note..........if you live in or around the Houston area, please check out my cousin Shalonda's blog at: http://chubbycheekphotography.blogspot.com/
She is taking nominations for a complimentary custom photography session!

Only in Texas.

2008-12-10T08:15:00.003-06:00

Tell me any other place where on Monday night you'd have your air conditioner on because it's 81 degrees with about 400% humidity and Wednesday morning you wake up to snow. Yes, SNOW this morning. I do have the pictures to prove it.

Yesterday I was running errands in gym shorts, a t-shirt and flip-flops. Today I have on long johns, my heaviest winter coat, along with all the winter accessories, gloves, scarf, hat.

And I have to wonder why my kids have this lovely, hacky cough.

We are all decorated for Christmas, yet the kids don't seem to be in the Christmas mood.

I use my best mom threatening voice that Santa is watching when the fighting ensues, but they just look at me like I'm a nut. But when I really think about it, I'm telling my four and six-year-olds that a fat man breaks into the house with this big key we leave for him. Any other day I have to check to make sure all doors and windows are locked, 5 times and I yell to never, ever answer the door. We're asking them to believe that deer can fly. Yet, that it's okay to hunt them down and kill them.

I spend day after day preaching the importance of telling the truth yet I'm feeding them one of the biggest lies ever. Why do I feel like a nut? I guess maybe I'd feel different if my kid's eyes lit up with joy when they saw the jolly old man, but this year, they just aren't.

Maybe the gig is up for me.

the finals

2008-11-26T10:25:00.003-06:00

here's the pictures I LOVE. the last post was kinda jumbled!

which is your favorite?

2008-11-24T16:59:00.006-06:00

A few outtakes:

why we LOVE La Grange:
The VIEW!

can you tell they were ready to go?

a few of my favs:

School Pictures.

2008-11-21T10:37:00.004-06:00

Can't believe I haven't shared these.

First, my darling Hunter

He's 6 going on 16. 1st grade has caused him to blossom in even more ways. Reading is his passion. He was quick to get his picture on the wall for Accelerated Reading & just yesterday he earned 30 points and his free Whataburger meal. This child is highly motivated. He's also grabbed math by the horns. He loves to be challenged and his sometimes quite the challenge himself.

And my darling Jayden. He provides me with the biggest hurdles in life. A few weeks ago at our Fall Festival, he went into respiratory distress. Talk about a frightening time. It took me a while to put everything together but I came to realize how important it is to keep this kiddo "corn free." When school started, I thought by letting him eat just that little bit @ lunch, in the bread or tortilla's, wasn't going to bother him as long as I watched his diet otherwise. After a week of him having some behavior issues at school, it dawned on me. That little bit of corn is effecting him. So I began the diligent job of wiping out his diet. And made an appointment to see our allergist. She confirmed my suspicions for me. Since starting his new diet over the summer, the kid has been extremely well & his behavior has changed completely. He finally felt better! By exposing him back to the allergen, he was getting irritated & it was causing his lungs to get inflamed. We set the recipe for disaster. So now he is feeling about 99% better. We've discovered that steroids is the WRONG answer for his problems. Turns out, they are derived from corn. So we are working on trying to get a formula compounded for when the occasion arises. We are also now equipped with an Epi-Pen for emergency situations, such as the respiratory distress. And we watch his diet like hawks.

So I've been working on putting our own "Medical Kit" together and Kreg and I have been learning how to administer the Epi-Pen. They say it's a breeze when your child is in distress.

And here's our church family picture I never got around to sharing:

it turned out decent. I spent 3 1/2 hours at the doctor yesterday trying to get some answers. He told me I have 2 options at this point in my life:

1. Surgery

2. Have another baby.

Can you guess which option has been chosen?

The Pink Elephant

2008-11-11T09:05:00.006-06:00

a wise person once said:

"The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget. Forgiveness does not always lead to a healed relationship. Some people are not capable of love, and it might be wise to let them go along with your anger. Wish them well, and let them go their way."

In a perfect family, what you see on the surface rarely reflects what lurks underneath. There is usually a pink elephant sitting in the living room everyone sees but steps around as if oblivious to it’s presence. Skeletons are hidden in closets never to be revealed, the theory being if I can’t see it or I don’t acknowledge it existed it won’t hurt me.

But we have to have feelings. We have to acknowledging or deal with emotions within the family.

No one ever aspired to break the family chain. Because as we can now see the links were not as strong as we thought.

We have to be able to ask for help. We can't live with never revealing any weakness . No one wants to place themselves in a position of vulnerability. But if you can't turn to your family, isn't that a problem?

I think it takes courage to step out of the illusion and give the pink elephant a poke.

Yes, it's far easier to walk in the shadows of deception.

But sometimes, it feels so much better to shake the skeletons in the closet and run the risk of being tossed from the family circle.

It is not an easy choice. But when you step around the pink elephant, ........................
As the song goes ‘I was blind but now I see."

The old, keeping up appearances, seemed less important than stopping the rot before it spread any further down the family tree. And this is the thing to remember, it isn’t only about us it is about the next generation and the next generation. If you think the family rules don’t get passed down think again. You can look back and see the patterns, the wrapping may change but the messages never do.

So here is the dilemma do you rock the boat and risk getting tossed overboard? Do you stay in your designated role to keep the peace? And why do we give families so much power over our own happiness?

You can love your family but you don’t have to like them, don’t have to accept inappropriate behavior, don’t have to give up your values to accomodate theirs. Being family doesn’t excuse you from being a compassionate human being; doesn’t make you right; doesn’t give you a lifetime pass to treat people disrespectfully.

Take the family part out of it and ask yourself “Would I accept this behavior from a stranger?”

The thing you find with dysfunctional family units is the don’t speak, don’t feel, don’t listen rule...........bit like those three monkeys, speak no evil, hear no evil, see not evil. We don’t talk about things because if we do, I might have to look at myself and it is easier for me to believe it’s all about you. We don’t deal with our emotions because we don’t want the outside world to see inside us. We don’t acknowledge realities because then we would have to shatter illusions and lose the imaginary self we have created over the years.

People will pull out the forgiveness card: the let sleeping dogs lie card, the family is all you have card, the blood is thicker than water card.

Well here are some things to consider:

1.Sometimes family comes in the form of an outstretched hand and a welcoming smile from a friend.

2.The baggage you do not unpack from your family of origin is the same baggage your children will carry around with them for the rest of their lives.

3.You only get one shot at this. God doesn’t give a next breathe guarantee think carefully about what you want to fill this moment with.

4.You can love your family but ultimately the greatest love has to be of self. If you love yourself you will ask to be treated with respect and dignity.

I don’t have the answers but I pray to God I did. I did it would make my life easier. At least now I am not afraid to ask for more, not afraid to expect more, or to believe I deserve more.

I know what losing the love of people close to you feels like. It hurts but I also know it hurts less than living a lie.

Words are so powerful yet when you can not find them they leave you powerless.

Words so descriptive, yet when you can not find them they leave nothing but assumptions.

Words the cornerstone of communication, the foundation of interaction, the building blocks of relationships, the cement that holds everything together.

Coming up the in the world!

2008-11-06T11:31:00.004-06:00

Tired of visiting me everyday to see I haven't updated? Wanna know when there's a new post? You can now subsribe to my blog via email! Simply enter your email address on the right and when I post, you will be updated.

slowly getting back to normal.

2008-11-05T14:37:00.006-06:00

first of all ~~~ thank to all of those who have emailed me checking up on me or have commented how much they miss the blog.

things like kidney stones & endometriosis have left me curled up into a ball on the couch for the past couple of days. okay......really, a week but you can't tell except for my house.

it's so hard to believe just how much we've done in the past couple of weeks. lots of updates to come. I am taking things S-L-O-W!

here's a little Halloween montage from when we did some costume cleaning:

Here's what my little Jayden is up to just about every day in class: WOOD-WORKING!

Each day he brings me home yet another project he's done. Let's pray this holds up for the future!

Here are a few pictures of the kids from when we went to the Magic Show in Bryan. I've learned, if you've seen one kids magic show, I think you've seen them all. But at least the kids had a BLAST and some good chuckles.

Here are a few pictures from the pumpkin carving:

If you can't tell what Hunter's is, here's a little hint:

The boys with their creations and mom's decorations. the mums are even more beautiful NOW! the pumpkins, not so much!

And here's my proof that every one in while, there are very tender moments in my house:

and why Hunter feels the need to do this shooting hand trick in every picture I take, I just don't understand.

but I think I've come to realize they enjoy dressing the same to confuse me. sometimes I will catch the tail end of a shirt & I have no IDEA which one is being sneaky. and secretly, I think they enjoy being twins.

and a picture from the Halloween I missed. I manage to get off the couch to snap one picture then dropped down back on it.

Caramel Apples + Raspberry Rhubarb + A Magic Show

2008-10-21T11:43:00.006-05:00

Oh the goodies, oh MY!

Friday night the boys and I settled down to make some Caramel Apples. As you can see from the pictures, they had a blast.

And the Raspberry Rhubarb was the $1 pint of Laura Ashley paint I scored off the miss-match table and Kreg and I spent Saturday morning sprucing up our kitchen.

Yesterday morning, I won tickets off the local radio station. I honestly had NO idea what I had won. Just that I was the right caller. Color me happy to discover they were armbands to Bryan College Station Children's Museum Fall Festival. We are going on Friday night for the kick-off Festivities of a Magic Show! I'm so excited.

Constantly learning.

2008-10-15T18:40:00.003-05:00

I don't think I ever realized just how much fun it is to go to Austin to just spend the night & enjoy ourselves. NO appointments. NO running around. Just relaxing. And that what we did over the weekend. Of course, I forgot my camera (GASP) so I will just have to tell you about the fun we had.

And while I've always known Jayden is a creature of habit, I tend to forget it and all since we have such a routine down with school. But boy when that child is out of his element and out of routine, he enjoys testing me. And I will never know how I stayed at home for 5+ years.

Kreg's mom took the boys to a pumpkin patch at a local church and let the boys pick out their own pumpkins. (DAMN my forgetful mind with the camera.) Because who knew it would take the kids FOREVER and a day to take time to study each pumpkin and after looking over them time and time again, become SO attached to one. Hunter had to study each and every imperfection & Jay had to pick up each one. After an hour, we left with 2 perfect pumpkins. Now they are patiently waiting for dad to be home to help them carve them.

And after living in Leander for 6 years and almost never running into people I went to school with, why is it a year and a half after I leave and choose to run to Target in something very close to my pj's, with no make-up, I run into 2 of my classmates. It was nice to see them and catch up but darn I need to remember to leave home put together a little more.

And since our trip to Angelfire is vastly approaching, Monday was as good of a day as ever to get the kids some ski gear. You know, since I kept reminding Jay that his last trip to the snow was when he was in diapers. Bibs, jackets and boots here we came! I'll spare the details of trying on about 10 pairs of boots each, to say we got it all, for the BOYS! and we are closer to being ready. At least I won't have to hear the kids complain about being cold.

And I finally broke down and bought the kids a beta fish. I was bound and determined since we went through Bastrop on the way home and Bastrop Wal-Mart is the only place around here that I know sells beta's. I wasn't making a trip to Bastrop just for a fish. So even though I was dead tired from spending the day shopping with my 2 boys & Jayden was knocked out cold, I still managed to lug him through the store and get our beta and food. So we got the fish home and into his vase with rocks and water. About an hour later, I'm staring at the vase wondering just where that fish went when I realize the darn thing somehow got out of the vase and was lying on the table, not looking so hot. In my scrambling attempt, I pick up our beautiful blue beta and put him back in the vase, where he immediately starts swimming around. Phew! Breakdown avoided. I kept checking on him the rest of the night & he seems to be doing good. Yeah.....the next morning wasn't so good. But thank goodness for RONDA! She was making a trip to Bastrop & managed to snag us an even more beautiful beta. He's red & turquoise! One of my FAVORITE color combo's.

Too bad the rest of yesterday was met with devastating news from 2 different friends. One's moving away & the other lost her job. I love you guys and hope everything turns out for the best.

And our latest accomplishments, Hunter has reached 10 Accelerated Readers points & has his picture on the wall at school. Once he gets to 50, his new goal, he will get a trophy. I was a little worried about his behavior problems that were arising in school. For some strange reason, he was getting bored. He was finishing his work very quickly and things didn't seem to be enough of a challenge for him. But his teacher put him to the challenge of allowing him to take as many AR tests a day, which now amounts to about 3 a day. He's already read over 12,000 words this school year.

Jayden's class has been doing a little bit of quizzing on just some basic knowledge. Names, address', letters and numbers. His teacher was taken aback by the fact he could count to 100. She said it's been quite a while since she's had a 4 year old be able to do that. See, my time out antics do do some good.

I am SO proud of all of the boys accomplishments.

And here are a few pictures from our rain this afternoon. This is my FRONT yard looking out ACROSS the STREET to my neighbors.

And the new betta. isn't he GORGEOUS?!???

Wednesday chuckle.

2008-10-15T10:31:00.002-05:00

200 and counting.

2008-10-10T10:14:00.002-05:00

That's the number of candles I made in one night this week. All for one store. Fall orders are trickling in.

So that's where I've been.

'Tis Friday........

2008-10-03T14:35:00.004-05:00

The boys had the annual blessing of the pets at school today. Jezabell was as hyper as usual & a big hit as always.

Hunter loved pulling her around or her pulling him around.

Jayden was much happier with his Webkinz fish.

And for those who missed the Junk-O-Rama Prom of Fall 2008. Here's a tiny glimpse. I didn't stay long but had a BLAST while I was there.

Installment #1

2008-10-01T11:21:00.002-05:00

Something new here to talk about my accomplishments for the MOTY award. (Mother of the Year!)

As you can read below, I was a bit under the weather over the weekend. But that didn't stop me from pulling my rear out of bed on Saturday morning @ 7 AM to be at the soccer field by 7:45 AM. We arrived, tissues in hand, for a bright & early 8 AM game. Now on my schedules, both boys had 8 AM games. Great. Our morning was going to be short & sweet at the soccer field. Yea....not so much. Hunter was actually scheduled for 9:15.

So after spending 2 hours in the cool morning air that turned warm quickly & on a field with NO grass, just dust & dirt, my head really felt like it was going to explode. I went home to resort to the couch & some Nyquil Nightime formula since that's the only medicine in the cabinet we had the box for & it described all of my symptoms.

Now I'm sure somewhere on that box it said that drowsiness may occur yet excitability may occur but to be careful driving a motor vehicle or operating machinery.

Not sure how I ended feeling grand enough to go outside and water the grass. Hunter followed suit to swing on our famous front yard swing. It's amazing how much use we get out of that $10 disk swing. Everyone loves it.

The boys and I have this new game where I push them as high as they can go. They get amount 2 minutes of excitability out of it before fighting over who's going next.

So on this lovely Saturday morning, I gave Hunter his normal push but then decide to give him an extra one. or maybe it was the excitability from the Nyquil.

Hunter squealed with delight until he reached about 5 feet in the air & then he decided to let go......with both hands......out over the cement curb & road.....

And so my darling 6 year old landed from 5 feet in the air onto the hard ground. I stood there shocked, not able to move. (Nyquil?)

Hunter actually held it together quite well. He was upset but ended up with nothing more than a cut on his wrist & a bruise on his knee. But I felt like the worst mom ever.

ho-hum.

2008-09-30T12:56:00.003-05:00

things have been sorta.

I've been terribly under the weather, barely moving off the couch for 4 days only to discover this morning at the doctor's, I have the flu. so one steriod shot later & some tamiflu, I'm back on the couch, with my blanket & box of tissues.

I just pray the medicine kicks in soon. God knows when mom's sick, not much gets done around here.

Here's the thought for the day along with a story. Thank goodness for the box of tissues near by. Please check out The Cab Ride I'll Never Forget

Ripples in a pond.

2008-09-26T11:01:00.003-05:00

Thought for the day:

What you may not realize is when you extend human kindness to one person it will flow onto another then another like the ripples in a pond. Gathering energy as it goes.

The truth is you may never know how many people’s lives were changed by an encouraging word you may have spoken or a generous act you may have performed or the silent prayer for healing you may have uttered.

What you have to hold onto is these things do change lives in small ways that lead to great things. Are you going to get a big pat on the back probably not, are you going to be front page news unlikely, will your ego get stroked by your peers doubtful.

So why do it? Firstly because the ripple of kindness will eventually find it’s way back to you in some form. Secondly the act of giving is a gift to the giver. When you give of yourself you are wrapped in a divine joy so great it can hardly be contained.

The greatest moments of my life have been when someone has said to me “you have touched my life thank you” or “you have given me the strength to keep going” sometimes these things are spoken verbally sometimes they are just a look. But always they are a gift back to me.

Here recently, I cannot begin to tell you how important my friends encouraging words, support and love have meant to me and the way my life has developed. Simple things like a hand on my arm and a look in the eyes which says “it’s going to be okay” or a hug that says we are here for you or when people take the time out to listen to me unconditionally or the warmth of a smile my direction. Small things done with great love which have lifted me on more than one occasion from the darkest hour.

Every word, thought and deed makes a difference. Every pebble of loving intent dropped into the universe creates a ripple of kindness that gets bigger and bigger with every person who is touched by it.

Every word, thought and deed I place into the universe comes the knowing a little ripple has begun. Where it ends or what path it will take is irrelevant because I know it will eventually find it’s way back to me. Whether you think of it this way or look at it as planted seeds of growth and understanding doesn’t matter. The thing is to remember the intent of the giver is more important than the size of the gift.

And to my friends......thank you for your ripples......

The Awakening

2008-09-25T13:04:00.003-05:00

I received this from a wonderful friend in an email & wanted to share:

The Awakening
Sonny Carroll

There comes a time in your life when you finally get it ...

When in the midst of all your fears and insanity you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out "ENOUGH! Enough fighting and crying or struggling to hold on."

And, like a child quieting down after a blind tantrum, your sobs begin to subside, you shudder once or twice, you blink back your tears and through a mantle of wet lashes you begin to look at the world from a new perspective...........This is your awakening.

You realize that it is time to stop hoping and waiting for something or someone to change, or for happiness safety and security to come galloping over the next horizon. You come to terms with the fact that there aren't always fairytale endings (or beginnings for that matter) and that any guarantee of "happily ever after" must begin with you.

Then a sense of serenity is born of acceptance.

So you begin making your way through the "reality of today" rather than holding out for the "promise of tomorrow." You realize that much of who you are and the way you navigate through life is, in great part, a result of all the social conditioning you've received over the course of a lifetime.
And you begin to sift through all the nonsense you were taught about :
- how you should look and how much you should weigh,
- what you should wear and where you should shop,
- where you should live or what type of car you should drive,
- who you should sleep with and how you should behave,
- who you should marry and why you should stay,
- the importance of bearing children or what you owe your family,

Slowly you begin to open up to new worlds and different points of view.

And you begin re-assessing and re-defining who you are and what you really believe in.

And you begin to discard the doctrines you have outgrown, or should never have practiced to begin with.

You accept the fact that you are not perfect ,and that not everyone will love appreciate or approve of who or what you are... and that's OK... they are entitled to their own views and opinions.

And, you come to terms with the fact that you will never be a size 5 or a "perfect 10".... Or a perfect human being for that matter... and you stop trying to compete with the image inside your head or agonizing over how you compare.

And, you take a long look at yourself in the mirror and you make a promise to give yourself the same unconditional love and support you give so freely to others. Then a sense of confidence is born of self-approval.

And, you stop maneuvering through life merely as a "consumer" hungry for your next fix, a new dress, another pair of shoes or looks of approval and admiration from family, friends or even strangers who pass by. Then you discover that it is truly in "giving" that we receive, and that the joy and abundance you seek grows out of the giving.

And you recognize the importance of "creating" and "contributing" rather than "obtaining" and "accumulating."

And you give thanks for the simple things you've been blessed with, things that millions of people upon the earth can only dream about - a full refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, the freedom of choice and the opportunity to pursue your own dreams.

And you begin to love and to care for yourself.

You stop engaging in self-destructive behaviors, including participating in dysfunctional relationships. You begin eating a balanced diet, drinking more water and exercising. And because you've learned that fatigue drains the spirit and creates doubt and fear, you give yourself permission to rest. And just as food is fuel for the body, laughter is fuel for the spirit and so you make it a point to create time for play.

Then you learn about love and relationships - how to love, how much to give in love, when to stop giving, and when to walk away. And you allow only the hands of a lover who truly loves and respects you to glorify you with his touch.

You learn that people don't always say what they mean or mean what they say, intentionally or unintentionally, and that not everyone will always come through... and interestingly enough, it's not always about you. So, you stop lashing out and pointing fingers or looking to place blame for the things that were done to you or weren't done for you.

And you learn to keep your Ego in check and to acknowledge and redirect the destructive emotions it spawns - anger, jealousy and resentment.

And, at the same time, you eliminate any relationships that are hurtful or fail to uplift and edify you. You stop working so hard at smoothing things over and setting your needs aside. You learn that feelings of entitlement are perfectly OK and that it is your right to want or expect certain things.

And you learn the importance of communicating your needs with confidence and grace. You learn that the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry and that eventually martyrs are burned at the stake. Then you learn to distinguish between guilt, and responsibility and the importance of setting boundaries and learning to Say NO.

You learn that you don't know all the answers, it's not your job to save the world and that sometimes you just need to Let Go.

Moreover, you learn to look at people as they really are and not as you would want them to be, and you are careful not to project your neediness or insecurities onto a relationship. You learn that you will not be more beautiful, more intelligent, more lovable or important because of the man on your arm or the child that bears your name. You learn that just as people grow and change, so it is with love and relationships, and that that not everyone can always love you the way you would want them to.

So you stop appraising your worth by the measure of love you are given. And suddenly you realize that it's wrong to demand that someone live their life or sacrifice their dreams just to serve your needs, ease your insecurities, or meet "your" standards and expectations. You learn that the only love worth giving and receiving is the love that is given freely without conditions or limitations. And you learn what it means to love.

So you stop trying to control people, situations and outcomes. You learn that "alone" does not mean "lonely" and you begin to discover the joy of spending time "with yourself" and "on yourself." Then you discover the greatest and most fulfilling love you will ever know - Self Love.

And so it comes to pass that, through understanding, your heart heals; and now all new things are possible.

Moving along, you begin to avoid Toxic people and conversations. And you stop wasting time and energy rehashing your situation with family and friends. You learn that talk doesn't change things and that unrequited wishes can only serve to keep you trapped in the past. So you stop lamenting over what could or should have been and you make a decision to leave the past behind. Then you begin to invest your time and energy to affect positive change. You take a personal inventory of all your strengths and weaknesses and the areas you need to improve in order to move ahead, you set your goals and map out a plan of action to see things through.

You learn that life isn't always fair and you don't always get what you think you deserve, and you stop personalizing every loss or disappointment. You learn to accept that sometimes bad things happen to good people and that these things are not an act of God... but merely a random act of fate.

And you stop looking for guarantees, because you've learned that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected and that whatever happens, you'll learn to deal with it. And you learn that the only thing you must truly fear is the great robber baron of all time - FEAR itself. So you learn to step right into and through your fears, because to give into fear is to give away the right to live life on your terms. You learn that much of life truly is a self-fulfilling prophesy and you learn to go after what you want and not to squander your life living under a cloud of indecision or feelings of impending doom.

Slowly, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself and you make yourself a promise to never betray yourself and to never ever settle for less than your heart's desire.

And a sense of power is born of self-reliance.

And you live with honor and integrity because you know that these principles are not the outdated ideals of a by-gone era but the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build your life.

And you make it a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting and to stay open to every wonderful opportunity and exciting possibility. Then you hang a wind chime outside your window to remind yourself what beauty there is in Simplicity.

A word about the Power of Prayer: In some of my darkest, most painful and frightening hours, I have prayed, not for the answers to my prayers or for material things, but for my "God" to help me find the strength, confidence and courage to persevere; to face each day and to do what I must do.

Remember this:- You are an expression of the almighty. The spirit of God resides within you and moves through you. Open your heart, speak to that spirit and it will heal and empower you.

It's Official.

2008-09-19T16:44:00.007-05:00

"Life isn't measured in the breaths you take, but in the moments that take your breath away."

I am a soccer mom. And I officially take back ever saying I was ready for both of my kids to be involved in sports! You see, we started soccer this month. At first it wasn't too bad. Tuesday and Thursday practice at 6:30 for BOTH boys. Alright. Not too bad. But then we got the soccer schedules. And they play just about every game at the same time. I guess it's good. It's just splitting up my time when at times I would much rather spend time with both! But hey - - soccer is going great and they both love it. We are keeping up with practice twice a week, so things, like usual are busy around here.

Whatever is in the air is KILLING me and slowly at that. I've become best friends with several boxes of tissues and they don't leave my sight.

In light of everything that happens, I've received several "words of wisdom" as you can see at the top of this post. And it's why we always try to make things count for the boys. So sure, 2 weekends ago was our first soccer game but the weather was beautiful! We jumped at the opportunity to take the boys camping on Saturday night. Sure it was a lot of work for just one night but hearing the boys teachers tell me how much they talked about that trip was worth it. Too bad I'm so under the weather or we'd go again this weekend.

We have our Halloween costumes. Yes.......I am on top of things. You just have to LOVE the "Second Chance" store where you can score Darth Vader for $1.50. Care to take a gamble at who's Darth Vader & who's a clone trooper?

and I'll close with a few pictures from soccer and our camping trip:

Jayden is loving his 1st year of soccer:

The lake was beautiful:The sunset was GORGEOUS with a nice cool breeze:

The boys favorite part of camping - - the fire! And this time they made it!

and my own mastercard commerical! Thanks Amy for the inspiration!

Box of corn free Granola, $3.49

The deer surrounding our campsite, FREE

Watching my 4 year-old trying to crouch down and hand feed the deer: PRICELESS

decorating for fall.

2008-09-15T18:09:00.002-05:00

I know, it's the 2nd time we have a nice little north breeze and a little cooler tempatures but I've already been bitten by the fall bug.

last week I broke down twice making Caramel Apple Pies and last night I made Crumble Top Pumpkin muffins.

The halloween/fall decorations were just calling my name.

so I put up a few things while the boys were at school.

Jayden just came up to me and asked me if lots of crows were coming.

I scratched my head and said no, but asked "why?"

to which he replies "well, we have lots of scarecrows around. the crows eat the corn so we have to put up scarecrows because they scare the crows. so do we have lots of crows coming?"

......guess I need to rethink what I decorate with.

The Aftermath.

2008-09-13T15:45:00.014-05:00

It’s been an exhausting week. Dealing with what could or would have been with Ike and the storm within my family has really worn me down.

It all started with an email from my sister, in which I’ll hit the high points for you:

“I am not wanting my own sister and her family to be at my wedding.”

“All I have to say that if there is any drama, no matter if it is family not, we DO NOT want you there and WE WILL have you escorted out.”

“You know what though I am done!”

at this point, I tried to be a bigger person. I stepped up and asked my sister:

“Just maybe one day we will be able to sit and talk like adults about all of this. There seems to be so much miss-communication and the air needs to be cleared.

Us not being at your wedding is what you really want?”

In which she replied:

“what part of i'm done with you, do you not understand? And what part of we DO NOT want you at our wedding do you not understand? You've done this to yourself. Deal with it and live with it. I don't want to see you. I don't want to even speak with you. I don't ever want to have contact with you again.

your right, I never wanted you to be part of my wedding. I don't even want you in my life anymore. Get it, I'm done.”

Now..............trying to describe how I felt at that moment is so hard to do......

Once a word is spoken it cannot be taken back. And that is why it is so very important to make sure what comes out of the mouth truly reflects what is in the heart. Unfortunately . . . those words can never be taken back. They did sink deep inside of me and leave scars that will not be quick to heal.

So much as been said to me that I just can't sit here and allow my family to fall apart. I have to make an effort. I have to do the right thing. Now isn't the time to make a point. I was being stupid. I had to be the bigger person. I wasn't trying hard enough. Did I realize how much I was hurting people? I was making a mistake by not attending and I wasn't going to make anything better.

Well, I really didn't have a decision since I was told, by her, not to attend. And therefore, there really wasn't a point to make. Not once this whole week did she make it a point to tell me I was welcome and that she did want us there. Yes, I may not have tried as hard as I would have liked to or should have, but this was my sister's decision and I can't and should not take responsibility for that. Did anyone realize how hurt I was? And who was the situation going to get worst for?
Is that letting my family down? But what does everyone define as "my family"?

You see, after getting an email like that, I was down. I would care to say, yes, I was depressed. Yes, I had anxiety as to what was happening to my sister and I. But what it was doing to me and therefore what I was passing on to MY children and MY family, wasn't fair.

It all hit me like a brick wall on Thursday night. Things were stressful enough with Ike and what it was or wasn't going to do to La Grange. I had to take Hunter to the doctor since he wasn't feeling well. I was down. I was having a hard time. And that got brought upon my kids. My anxiety was at a high. I was snappy, on edge, and upset. As I put Hunter into bed, he just lost it. He cried and cried and cried. He didn't understand why mommy was so upset. He didn't want me to be upset. I spent a good 30 minutes holding him and telling him how much I loved him and how sorry I was. To see how much my 6 year old was hurting, hit me hard. This only was not effecting me, but it was hurting my kids. And that hurt me more than anything.

I literally felt beaten down. And throughout my life this has happened. And I have to think to myself, how much more can I be beaten down?

How many more times can I allow this to happen? Right now my first priority in life is my children. They can't keep having a mother who can't keep together. They can't have a mother who's constantly sad and down.

Will I one day regret this decision? Right now, I have to do what's best for me & my family. I do not and will not regret that. Going into that situation, how was I going to be treated? Was I going to be beaten down even more? Again? I don't know. And that was a chance I wasn't willing to take for everyone's sanity. I would regret if that happened.

I know in my heart right now, I can't be constantly upset & unavailable for my kids and I can't put them in that situation. Their lives can't be shattered by a mom that's constantly depressed and full of anxiety. No one should want that.

I can sleep at night knowing I did ask my sister if she wanted us there. It was her decision for us not to be there. Her words will forever echo no matter even if are ever taken back. A broken heart caused by hurtful words, may never be right. Time may heal the physical pain but the memory of words can last forever. The emotional scars caused by the words will take time to heal, if ever.

Everyone else can show concern we are not there, but they can't tell me it's wrong not to show up. They can wish the situation was different, but they can't change it. They can put blame on me, but I can't understand why? Why is all the anger & frustration pointed at me?

For me, this wasn't a mistake. For me, I wasn't making anything worse. Because for me, I finally felt better.

I have finally found the courage to rise above the anger. The frustration. The blame. The would have. The could have. I've risen to say I'm not going to be beaten down anymore. I shouldn't have to ask anyone to respect that. But things should have never gotten this bad...........

I wish I knew what was going to change everything, but I don't. And I pray it will change.

someone once said.....you can forget what someone has said, you can forget what they did, but you never forget how they made you feel.

as the old prayer goes:

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.

oh...............and as for Ike, he didn't even come near us! Not a drop of rain. But I do ask that you keep in your thoughts and prayers all the family & friends we do have in Houston and the surrounding areas.

and thanks for these words of wisdom.
Acceptance is a state of non-reactivity and understanding. Acceptance does not mean 'approval' or that you condone what you are accepting. It means that you see something and know it for what it is, without having to need to change it.

The Quality of Acceptance

Acceptance is the widening of our vision so we have the ability to see more of the world without distortion or misinterpretation. Acceptance means that you see something and know it for what it is, without having the need to change it. Acceptance does not mean 'approval', or that you condone what you see, only that you see the whole picture. With Acceptance, we can more easily experience balance, forgiveness, and harmony.

These are the core aspects of Acceptance:
Seeing the world more clearly
Being more forgiving
Being merciful
Radiating Love in harmony with others and the forces of Life
Being responsible for my own life and not being a victim

And a Prayer ..........

God of My Heart, help me to see and to know things for what they are, both inside me and outside of me. Help me to allow things to be as they are, even when I wish them to be different. Help me to experience the importance of Acceptance: that things as they are hold many gifts, and that if my eyes and heart are open I can learn from what things and people teach me. Help me to remember that to be in the state of Acceptance means that I can truly move through the world knowing what I can and cannot change.

God of My Heart, help me to see with Acceptance today. Help me to see people for who they are, to see and accept the lightness and darkness of their souls. Help me not to judge others, and to understand in my acceptance what I must do to support what is healthy and to avoid what is not. Help me to use the same gift for myself, and to see myself without judgment but with complete Acceptance.

God of My Heart, help me to listen with Acceptance today. Help me to hear what people are saying, and what the true meanings behind their words are, without judgment or fear. Help me to know what I must do when I accept others’ words in consciousness and awareness.

God of My Heart, help me to experience Acceptance for one person today. Help me to see and to know one person I come across whom I may have judged, or sought to avoid, or sought to limit in my own fears, worries, and concerns. Help me to see this one person with fresh eyes, fresh ears, and an open heart. Where there is light in that person, help me to see and to know it. Where this darkness, help me to see and to avoid supporting it. And where there is a path they are trying to travel, help me to accept any role I can play to help them on their way. Amen

that cool breeze in the air.

2008-09-04T09:33:00.003-05:00

I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned

it couldn't have happened on a more perfect day.

with the cool breeze blowing & a feeling of solitude to enjoy.......embrace.

the words spoke to me.......

I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can't live that way

No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

The County Fair Part 2.

2008-09-02T17:17:00.006-05:00

so these got a little jumbled.

digging for treasures in the sand! what a mess!

the balloon guy that took 30 minutes per child to make a balloon hat.
and the Scorpion. Hunter's NEW favorite ride! Thanks Aunt Marsais for braving it with him!!!

Wild West Show - Hunter was so excited to participate in! look at those rope tricks.
still trying......
notice the excitement since we are NOW an Indian.
they went over the river, through the woods and crossed the finish line.
some fishing took place:

the football toss in which Jayden won 1st place:

Thanks goodness it's all OVER!

The County Fair.

2008-08-29T12:50:00.005-05:00

so much fun! so little time to report on all of it and we are only into day 1. the boys favorite ride thus far is the Tilt-A-Whirl. They rode it continuously last night. They'd get off and right back on. They looked terrified on it at times but couldn't get enough of it.

Hunter and his friend, who happens to be a very special little girl, made plans to ride the Ferris Wheel together & did! I would have loved a picture but you couldn't see their heads over the buckets. Of course it stops while they are on top & you see them climbing over the seats to look out!

watch for the video of this:

you won't want to miss it! it has BOTH boys ;)

The art of school.

2008-08-25T16:51:00.003-05:00

So.....since no one told me about being in first grade and I don't remember all those years ago, WOW!

Talk about starting that first week off slow. Hunter had one little piece of homework each night.

Today! Reading a chapter, practice spelling test & math homework. I'm cashed!

Now, not only do I get home to rush around to get dinner ready for 2 starving kids, but I also am calling out spelling words & trying to keep Jayden entertained while Hunter concentrates. It's a hoopla around here.

And it's funny what the kids remember most about their day.

They both have mass on Friday mornings and we've been blessed with a new priest from India. He's very nice & we look foward to learning about him, but he's so hard to understand. After 2 board meetings with him, I'm still unsure of most of what he's said. So, I was anxious to here what the boys thought about him. So I asked Hunter.....

Me: Did you got to mass?

H: Yes and I was good and I saw Jayden.

Me: Was Father Joseph there?

H: Yes.

Me: Did you understand him?

H: Not a word mom. He talks so fast. Faster than you. I was lost.

Me: (trying not to laugh) Hunter, give it time. I pray we all learn to understand him.

and now on to Jayden.

Me: Did you go to mass today?

J: No.

Me: (scratching my head) You didn't go to church today?

J: No.

Me: (still confused) Hunter, was Jayden at church today.

H: Yes, mom.

Me: Jayden, where you good in church?

J: I don't remember. But I ate my lunch and played in the loft and on the playground.

so I see what's important to him at 4! and I'm guessing since he didn't remember mass at all, he also didn't get a lick out of it.

well I am off to check math homework. wish me luck.

Back to Reality.

2008-08-24T19:50:00.002-05:00

Yes, this past week snapped us back to the reality as a life in school, sports, & work settled in.

Monday night was open house where each of the boys were able to meet their teachers, find out just who's in their class and have the harsh reality hit that summer was over. Though they were terribly excited for Wednesday to come.

Tuesday was spent with last minute preparations for the big day! Mom getting all the school supplies labeled along with snacks and studying the lunch menu.

Wednesday morning came way TOO early but we got off to school without a hitch! Hunter rushed off to his room while I spent time assuring Jayden he would have a fun day. By time I got Jayden settled, Hunter was already working hard at his desk.

Everyone just wondered what I was to do with those 3 extra hours I was going to have in the afternoon. It was actually terribly nice to walk into a quiet house and just sit.

I got to school to see how everything went. Turns out the cafeteria ladies got a good laugh at Jayden. Chicken nuggets were on the menu so I figured ketchup was going to be served. I sent Jayden with his own little Tupperware of ketchup so he would be okay. Well, it turns out since they had rice and gravy with the nuggets, ketchup wasn't served. So everyone had a laugh at the little boy who brought his own ketchup. I solved the problem with just taking a whole bottle to school for him to get on the days they serve it.

On Thursday, Hunter convinced me to drop him off at the big playground for class and he was about 1/2 way up the sidewalk when I realized he forgot his backpack. No worries. I would take Jay in and then take Hunter his backpack. I was unpacking Jayden when in flies Hunter into the classroom, his teacher following, and he was in hysterics, sobbing. Oh the poor boy. I told him all was okay!

I spent the day working at the golf course for our school fundraiser. And I must say, golf is the most boring thing ever. Though I learned alot, made some good money for the school and enjoyed being outside all day.

Hunter had his first soccer practice of the season.

Friday came way to early and way too fast. I'm so glad the kids start off with just 3 days the first week of school.

Jayden had soccer practice that evening.

Now with both schedules in hand, I'm blessed with both of the boys playing all but one game at the same time every Saturday morning until the end of October.

The fun is just starting and I can't say whether or not I'm ready. So much for sharing those shin guards!

Saturday we took off for the Greatest Show on Earth, Ringling Bros. and Baunum & Bailey Circus! The boys had received FREE tickets from the summer reading program at the library.

They had a BLAST and we are all still exhausted! I have to agree that it's great for kids of all ages. We all really enjoyed ourselves.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

The first day of Pre-K 4 and 1st Grade

The oh so important decision of souvenirs.

Racing to the pre-show.

Real circus costumes.

This clown could juggle and that's why he wanted his picture with him.

Hunter just couldn't believe that this elephant could paint!

Jayden had the best seat in the house for all 3 rings.

And a few highlights of our favorite acts:

Jayden was knocked out for the finale!

But he didn't sleep for long!

We enjoyed a nice dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse where a magician kept the boys entertained! Kreg spent the whole time studying his tricks and we are all still dumbfounded!

Let's pray this week is much calmer.

Happy Anniversary to us.

2008-08-18T10:57:00.004-05:00

okay....okay....! here's a picture. not the best quality, but it will have to do:

Today is our 7th Wedding Anniversary - can you believe it? If I wasn't so tired, lazy or overwhelmed at this moment, I'd scan in a picture of our wedding day and upload it for all to see. (Can you imagine 7 years ago how many of us didn't own digital cameras ?) Ah, screw it - if you were there you remember and if you weren't there, let me hit the high points of the day:

Throw together 7 small town girls with 7 big city guys along with a bunch of German-Czech Catholics and let them go through 5 kegs of beer in 4 hours, before dinner is served.

Viola! The White Trash Wedding of the Year.

You've got bridesmaids & groomsmen sliding across the dance floor on their bellies.

Pussy Control being played by the DJ.

Karaoke. Fights. Questionable dance moves. Hook-ups.

and a few words of wisdom to those few left to get married:

Don't do bird seed. Drunk people with hands full of bird seed = A hurtful MESS!

plan a back up honeymoon. there's nothing like being stranded 2 hours from home when a tropical storm hits your island and your honeymoon is devasted. if you don't want to end up somewhere you've already been, have a back up, just in case.

get some SLEEP the night before your wedding!

ELOPE!

always remember it's YOUR wedding day. Take and make the memories you want to forever hold in your heart. It's a day you'll never get back.

the one GREAT memory: Nona & Randy. they were set up together at our wedding. and still together today with a beautiful daughter!

Katy Sweet

2008-08-15T16:24:00.002-05:00

Our local candy factory, Katy Sweet, was giving tours today and the boys were VERY excited to go! My gosh, you would think they NEVER get to eat anything covered in chocolate.

They got to enjoy dipping cookies, teddy grahams, marshmallows, and chips! And they also got to see how all the super yummy pralines and fudge was made.

Hunter is overwhelmed already!

Notice the amount of chocolate we have here

Sprinkle Overload

Ooeey Gooey Yummy Carmely Pralines

I'd like a place to cook like this

And the best part. Taking home all those goodies

And did he have fun?

Pictures & Tales from our recent Miss-Adventures

2008-08-13T08:31:00.002-05:00

“Life is too short not to make the best and the most of everything that comes your way everyday.”

Boy have we been busy!

It's hard to imagine 1 week from now the kids will be enjoying their 1st day of school!

They are exicted. They are ready.

Mom is exicted, ready and sad all at the same time.

I felt like summer has passed by so quickly for them.

But it will be good to get some structure back into all our lives.

And we've been living up the past couple of weeks!

I took the boys to the Rodeo @ the Schulenburg Festival. Their 1st Rodeo ever and they had a blast. I'm still trying to upload the video from the calf scramble.

We finally made a trip to Splashaway!

Needless to say, Jay was conked out

And after another dreaded 102 degree weekend & an AC that decides to go bonkers, Kreg and I took the boys to the Blue Bell Aquatic Center.
Here's Kreg trying to be a kid again:

Jay is watching too much of the Olympics. He's trying to do "Olympic moves" here

And my little character Jayden who never makes life dull

this will make you want to hug your kiddos even tighter.

2008-08-07T20:11:00.002-05:00

The Girl in the Window.

click on it. read the story.

wipe your tears. say a prayer. hug your child.

This is such an incredible story.

She's such a beautiful little girl.

and that's one strong family.

here's........your sign.

2008-08-01T17:00:00.004-05:00

don't we all have those oh NOT so proud moments in our lives?

so way back for Mother's Day, the boys bought me a bike. here it is, the beginning of August, a mere 2 months later, when I finally ride the thing.

Hunter and I pack up to go on a bike ride.

I was so taken aback by all the bells and whistles my new bike had. I could adjust the resistance from the pedals, allowing me to pedal faster or harder. it as so neat!

I was so proudly telling my dad about this when he burst out laughing. "Had I never owned a 10 speed bike before? That's why it's called a 10 speed."

no dad, If I recall correctly, this was the last bike I owned:

and he gave it to me for my birthday before the 2nd grade. and it proudly had purple and white pom-poms hanging from the handle bars.

and I proudly rode it until I was in high school. maybe until I left home at the age of 18!

so this,

this was quite an adjustment for me!

it will get better?

2008-07-30T08:27:00.003-05:00

at least he can still be smiling!

and now I'm breaking out around my mouth.

Kreg's covered in something.

pretty soon Hunter is going to be taking care of all of us.

so much for another mini vacation before school starts.

I guess we just have to look foward to the circus on August 23!!! The boys scored free tickets from the summer reading program so they are excited about going.

Blogging over the years.

2008-07-29T15:17:00.002-05:00

It's funny for me to go back over the blog and read some old posts. I guess there are some things better left forgotten but I'm so glad I've jotted them down via the blog to remember.

here are some moments I seem to have forgotten about for you to enjoy:

Pain meds, Pain meds, oh how I love you

What I learned while shopping with my children this weekend

Been There, Survived It

These are days of our lives

what in the world weekend.

2008-07-28T19:54:00.002-05:00

gosh, I loathe having these.

Friday started off with a bang trying to get ready for the garage sale.

For 8 straight hours I had people dropping stuff off or stopping by to shop. which of course was great, but left me tired and with a migraine.

7 am Saturday morning came WAY too early but all in all it was worth it. or I keep telling myself that!

once we finally settled down Saturday to re-coup, we realized our AC wasn't working.

so we packed up to spend the night @ mom and dad's. with my house still a disaster area from the garage sale.

which we forgot how much fun going to do that was! since we haven't had to do it in the past year. Dad whipped up a FANTASTIC lunch, with Chef Hunter's help!, and we all got to have a good rest.

yea.......if it only would have been that easy.

Sunday morning I noticed that Jayden's arm where he had a cut was starting to have blisters around it and he now had some around his nose and mouth. I wrapped his arm and sent him washing his hands every 10 minutes.

by time I got home today, this was him:

poor little dude!

so instead of being able to wait around for my AC guy, I rushed Jayden to the doctor out of town!

and he was diagnosed with Impetigo, a form of a staph infection.

so now he's on an oral antibiotic for 10 days and he, along with Kreg, Hunter and I are on antibiotic that we sniff up our nose twice a day for 10 days.

I get to wash all sheets in hot water for 3 days and keeping long sleeves on Jayden.

I have to have him shower separate, dry him off with paper towels, paying special attention to his arm and face & not be in community water for a week. So we are under house arrest.

This should be fun!

Pray the AC guy comes tomorrow.

Isn't she precious?

2008-07-28T13:27:00.002-05:00

Congrats to Steven and Shalonda on another BEAUTIFUL baby girl!

http://chubbycheekphotography.blogspot.com/

And if you haven't checked out Shalonda's beautiful work, at http://www.chubbycheekphotography.com/
you must!!!!

she's so talented and one of the sweetest person's you'll ever meet!

Still Around.

2008-07-24T08:44:00.002-05:00

I turn 29, get a blog makeover and then I go to $hit posting.

Actually, for a change, things have been rather calm in our lives.

I'm busting tail to get stuff ready for a garage sale and the boys are busting tail trying to beat each level at Lego Indiana Jones for the Wii.

The countdown to school has started. I know, don't remind ya.

We've all discovered Jayden has decided to sky rocket in growth. I tell ya, the kid is about an inch taller than Hunter. So much for him wearing all those hand-me-downs. Hence, the garage sale.

Since we have taken him off all the steriods, antihistamines, and all other med's and given him NO choice but to eat extremely healthy, his growth hasn't stopped. Maybe Hunter should follow suit..........

Hunter got in a package of school clothes I ordered and was so terribly upset to see I ordered him size 5 shorts. I guess this is the only time in your life you are upset you are in a smaller size. He demanded he was 6, not 5. I told him to just try the clothes on. The darn size 5 were even still too big in the waist. Thank goodness for adjustable waists. Both boys have such slender waists.

And thank goodness for their grandparents. Now that Uncle Justin is gone and they have no more kids at home, they've taken up spoiling their grandkids. No more back to school shopping for them, that's okay, they'll take their grandkids. The boys already have dates to go pick out new backpacks & all the other stuff mom said she wasn't buying. They don't need lunchboxes, but Nana insists she buy them one. You know....that's the best thing about grandparents. They are there to do everything for you that your parents won't do. Thanks to them, the boys have seem all the new movies this summer. Hunter got his goldfish and new Wii game. Jayden got his heelies and Webkinz.

Webkinz. I swore I wouldn't get into the Beanie Baby knockoff of this generation. I still have tubs and tubs of all of Justin's beanie babies in my garage. I'm just waiting for the boys to discover them. But thanks to Hunter's kinder graduation, we've ended up with quite a few of these little creatures. But these little guys are a little more high tech. You play online with them. You register them and get 'money' to buy them stuff. Then you have to play games to win more money. Talk about a whole new addiction.

Happy Birthday Angie!

2008-07-16T17:36:00.001-05:00

Enjoy your blog makeover!

It's as FAB as you.

All our love.

just another day of swimming.

2008-07-15T19:51:00.002-05:00

the many jumps of Hunter

and I guess Jayden figures he'd rather be safe than sorry with all the floatation devices

and this chica is off to bed early tonight. turning 29 tomorrow takes a lot out of a girl. not that I have anything planned!

can you relate?

2008-07-13T20:00:00.001-05:00

summer. boys style.

2008-07-12T16:37:00.002-05:00

what happens with the pool when Kreg is left outside?....just look at the water level. glad he's home tonight to drain it.

the boys at least have fun running and jumping in it.

and this still has to be one the funnest water toys ever (thanks so much DEB!) to the boys

and each day that passes, they are considering more and more "twins"

I find myself more and more often trying to get pictures like this:

Jayden, youngest on the left & Hunter, oldest on the right

this was only a year ago:

babble.

2008-07-10T10:12:00.002-05:00

One great fun of my job is being able to look at all sorts of homes. Who doesn't LOVE that? Not that we are even looking to buy at this moment because we've yet to find IT. And IT is going to be hard. My dream is an old, late 1800's or early 1900's home. Kreg wants NEW. Brand, spankin' new. See that problem?

But I LOVE the old detailing.....bead boarding, hardwoods, secret rooms, carriage houses, basements, built-ins.....and the list goes on.

So yesterday the boys and I ventured out to take a look at a home we recently listed. It had it all, including the secret rooms. The boys loved it. Me, not so much because it had been a little too modernized and it didn't flow to me. And I don't ever want stairs again!!!! All that ontop of the $300K price tag. So as we are pulling away, this is our conversation:

Me: Boys, what did you think of the house?

H: Loved it. When can we move in?

J: Can I live in the room in the garage? (talking about the maid's quarters)

Me: J, that's not the place for little boys & H, mom didn't really like the house.

H: But we did.

Me: And ontop of that, did you know how much it cost?

H: No, how much?

Me: 3 hundred thousand.

H: Wow. That's a lot.

Me: Sure is babe.

H: Well, can't you just write a check.

oh.....if it were only that easy!

a few interesting things I've recently come across.

2008-07-09T18:48:00.004-05:00

it's sad to see Barton Springs like this:

and a website to pass on and share:
now i lay me down to sleep

pictures of our recent adventures.

2008-07-08T14:49:00.002-05:00

1st, the birthday boy and his cake.

I opted out of a cake this year. Ever since the Galveston Rainforest Cafe adventure, Hunter has been wanting me to make him a Sparkling Volcanoan dessert. What a perfect idea for his birthday. I then decided to let the kids make their own brownie or cookie ice cream sundaes. It was a hit and the kids enjoyed it. No left overs.

If only all my birthday ideas were brillant. Over 2 hours of filling up water balloons to have them last 5 minutes. oh well.

and the pinata

next we have the birthday cake we made for Uncle Justin's 18th birthday.

I don't know what's harder to believe, my baby brother is 18 or I'm old enough to have a 6 year old.

and pictures from our trip to the Blue Bell Aquatic Center.

there's nothing like loading up the boys & all their swim gear, driving 30 minutes to the pool to only pull up, start opening doors, and discovering you left your swim suit lying on the bed at home.

these are the days of my life.

the boys have also finished up 2 weeks of swim lessons. both are swimming great though Jayden has a little more punch than Hunter. I want them to work hard on swimming as joining swim team sounds exciting.

and a picture from the 4th

the boys are enjoying yet another round of vacation bible school and I'm trying really very hard to get things together for a garage sale. I've promised myself not to buy the boys any school clothes until I sell everything they've outgrown first. you can't imagine how much there is. and I'm working SO hard to finish cleaning my closets.

I've also put a lot of thought into another blog. do I really have the time? no but I've been asked to create it and it sounds like fun. details coming soon.

until then ~

Happy Birthday my dear Hunter.

2008-07-08T08:39:00.002-05:00

I know, it's only 5 days late, but my little Hunter turned 6 on July 3rd. We kept it low-key with the BIG party the weekend before. I'm trying to upload the 500 pictures off my digital camera & the computer, camera and all other electronic equipment aren't too happy about that. I'll post them later.

picturesque?

2008-06-23T20:25:00.002-05:00

maybe? I'm working on it!

but for now, that's my beautiful brown I've always wanted in a room. I know, I know, it's a rent house, but seriously, this $5 gallon of paint and 2/$1 paintbrushes really made a huge difference in this place we call home. Even my landlord was WOWED!

We painted 3 walls this color. All of them facing into the living room and it's truly a spectacular difference. Now if only a teal color would miraculously land on that $5 gallon table..........

Galveston Island Mini-Vaca 2008.

2008-06-22T19:10:00.004-05:00

there is so much to write about but I'm still trying to catch up on rest! We spent Thursday @ Nasa and then headed down to Galvestion Island. The boys had a blast and so did we. For now, here are some pictures. Check back tomorrow for stories from our adventure!

The tram ride at Nasa:

Then all the fun at Nasa:

Our Hotel:

The view outside our windows:

And one crazy adventure Thursday night:

This place knows how to suck the life out of you! When you arrive you have at least an hour wait. What else are you to do beside take a river adventure ride @$6 a person! That river ride then ends and drops you into Build a Bear inside the Cafe. Oh the fun that was had!

oh.......and let's not forget the ballon person that comes around making balloons:

and our early morning walk around the Strand before heading to the beach:

having fun yet, guys?

and our Jamacia beach adventure with a few friends!

and while Jay spent the day catching and riding the waves

this is what Hunter did:

then he finally decided to catch some waves too

and finally.......the beautiful Pointe West Beach Club

and nothing like topping off the night with a little Ben & Jerry's:

yet another typical summer day here,

2008-06-17T18:59:00.002-05:00

105 degrees - a
no rain - a
hyper boys - a

the boys are in LOVE with Miss Shelby, their sitter. They don't want her to leave & ask all afternoon if she's coming back. As guilty as I feel for working sometimes, I think it's a good break for all of us. Our afternoons are so nice with me spending my mornings busy and with adults.

the boys spent all afternoon trying to master their boggie boards for when we hit the beach. they can't wait to ride the waves! they are my children as they LOVE the water & don't care for the snow.

after a long, hot day in the sun, they love their treehouse. this has been my best $100 investment thus far for them. I can't wait until the weather is a little cooler at night so they can camp out back there.

fun in the sun.

2008-06-16T14:47:00.002-05:00

this is the offical start to summer for us. it's the 1st week I didn't have to rip the kids out of bed & have them be some where at 8AM.

and the question of the summer, who's who? can you tell them apart?

notice our NEW playscape that I scored for $100?!?!?!????

will a little closer help?

I spent all my time setting up the slip n' slide only to discover this was so much more fun for them:

Summer - - love it or hate it?

2008-06-12T13:01:00.003-05:00

what I love about summer - -
VBS
overflowing gardens of fruits & vegetables
no school
vacation
swimming
summer reading programs
cook-outs
long days

what I hate about summer - -
the heat
the humidity
VBS @ 8 am
cranky kids by afternoon
sunburn
mosquitoes
chiggers

sneak peek moments.

2008-05-29T14:58:00.002-05:00

yes, it's been a BUSY week. Here's my sneak peek in pictures:

Jay got a 'diploma' too:

I am SO proud of my boys!

some of the smaller teacher's gifts:

yes, I've been working hard ;)

but the boy's have been taking it easy playing on the water slide:

This doesn't even include swimming at the Country Club, Kindergarten party, Bike Obstacle course, and in typical Pearson fashion, more! as always, stay tuned........you won't be dissapointed.

we are off to Uncle Justin's High School graduation.

my, how time flies.

2008-05-20T18:20:00.005-05:00

I can't believe that May is already here. School is winding down and summer is rearing it's ugly head near. It's already 100 degrees here.

I've been running around like a mad mom trying to get the kids signed up for Vacation Bible School, swim lessons and various summer camps. Time is not being my friend. Jayden is out of school this Friday and Hunter next Thursday and I've yet to line up a sitter. Sometimes I wonder why I'm left to figure it all out by myself...............

moving on.....................

The hard thing about signing up for all this wonder stuff, is trying to explain Jayden's food allergy. Most people think, okay corn, but don't really think about it. High fructose corn syrup, corn meal, corn starch, corn flour which means..........no marshmallows, graham crackers, ritz crackers, and oh how the list goes on.

Since starting eliminating all corn products, Jayden's life has been turned around. You can almost certainly tell after he's had corn in his diet. First will come the Jekyll & Hyde personality and later the coughing and wheezing. And it's SO hard to try to explain to people where this comes from. And it's also SO hard trying to explain to people why he is the way he is. Children aren't as difficult and people make them out to be. People wonder why a child will yell at them they want to hit them when they get mad, is only because it's what those same people yell at a child when they are mad. Hello? Children learn what they are taught. Okay....this may be another story for another day.

Back to the allergy and it's improvements.

Jayden has calmed down quite a bit. When you take him out, he's not the grumpy, hyper child he used to be. He's calm and listens and is eager to learn.

Avoiding corn is still SO very hard. Eating out is pretty much NON-existent. Even on the RARE occasion that we do, I feel like I need to carry my own ketchup. Corn syrup is usually the 1st or 2nd ingredient in ketchup. We have to eat the Central Market brand. All hot dogs are off limits except for the Hebrew National ones and those cost us about $5 for 6. Juice boxes have been a struggle. I always thought I was doing good by buying the so called water ones, but nope, those have corn syrup as the 2nd ingredient. So much for living a healthy life before!

And granted, while the allergy itself is not life threatening, the asthma that it causes, can be. So it is my duty as a parent to find out how to protect my child. And to prevent the asthma attacks that can happen. I know I've spent countless hours online, reading and searching. But it's so hard to relay all the information I read and I just wish Kreg would do the same.

It's also hard to explain to people that press, oh just a little corn won't hurt. No, but that little bit of corn will have us up at 3 am doing a breathing treatment and that's NO fun for anyone involved. And that an allergen stays in the body for 4 days. The physical reactions can last 3-5 days and the mental 5-7. For Jayden, the mental/behavioral reactions are the hardest. The OCD of lining up his toys, the anxiety of not being able to do something right, the aggression & unexplained anger that ends up with him so upset and un-calmable. Adding steroids to him trying to calm the allergy induced asthma attack doesn't help either.

Here's some trivia for you about having a corn allergy and just how hard it is:
OFF Smooth & Dry Bug Repellent contains cornstarch. Which can cause Jayden to break out in hives if used.
Almost all vitamins contain high fructose corn syrup. Thankfully the Hero Nationals ones I order online don't!
Albuterol, a very common neb treatment, contains sodium citrate, which is derived from corn.
Over 85 different types of antibiotics are produced using corn.

The biggest ingredient we have to watch for is dextrose. Dextrose is glucose sugar refined from corn starch. Very common in IV's you get from the hospital.

You see, things aren't easy but they are getting better. And I'm left to ponder whether or not to order a Medic Alert bracelet for this allergy.

And Hunter sure has been testing his limits lately. First was at the Rec center last week as I was trying to sign them up for various things. All of a sudden the fire alarm is going off and my child is no where to be found. That's because he was in the back playing with the Emergency Exit only door. Then the next day at school, turns out he though it would be funny to lock the bathroom stall so no one else could get in and this was after he exited. When the next person tried to go, Hunter broke out in giggles. The teacher wasn't too happy and neither was mom. Then later in the week, while the other class was attempting to take a nap, Hunter broke out in some sort of loud behaviour. We had to have a very serious talk. I told him there'd be NO camp if this continued. Needless to say, he's been better.

But summer is approaching way to fast and I'm way too under prepared.

please someone, send me an angel to ease the stress and headaches.............

and oh.......the headaches. The ones the doctor gave me medicine for. The medicine that knocks me flat on my behind and leaves me incoherent. Is there some reason they can't make a migraine med that lets you keep going? I guess not since a migraine can be a sign that you need to rest and it's the way my body lets me know the most.

my little Hunter is preparing for his Kindergarten graduation.

2008-05-16T09:37:00.001-05:00

where has the time gone?

You were six months old and full of fun.
With a blink of my eye, you suddenly were one.
There were so many things we were going to do,
But I turned my head and you turned two.
At two, you weren’t very dependent on me,
And you grew up even more when you turned three.
Your third birthday, another year I tried to ignore,
But when I lit the candles there weren't three, but four.
Four was the year that you really strived,
Why, look at you now, you're already five.
Now you are ready for books and rules.
This is the year that went to school.
The big day came; you were anxious to go.
We walked to school, me going oh so slow.
As you ran into class and waved good-bye,
I felt a lump in my throat and tears stung my eyes.
Time goes so fast, it's hard to believe
That just yesterday you were home here, with me.
So I'm holding to these moments as hard as I can,
Because the next time I look,
I'll be seeing a grown man

Garner State Park camping sneak peek pictures.

2008-05-05T10:33:00.002-05:00

The pictures just don't do justice to how beautiful Garner State Park was. What a way to spend Kreg's birthday!

one EXHAUSTED mom here.

2008-04-30T19:01:00.002-05:00

the migraine of 4 days has finally being subdued in just enough time for Hunter's class Field Trip to Sea World. It was long and short all at the same time & I'm too exhausted to do much more than post some pictures. I've got to get some rest before our trip to Garner State Park this weekend.

what's been going on in our world.

2008-04-28T15:42:00.004-05:00

so much! WOW!

let's start with Popo's birthday weekend. We kicked off Friday night with the Yoakum Relay for Life event. The boys and I headed down to participate & they had a blast. I think Jayden actually ran 12 laps while Hunter entered all of the contests to try and win. I was so proud of my guys. Though they were never able to meet my Meme, they would have made her proud with all of their efforts in the event.

We attempted to take pictures in what was left of the bluebonnets & the boys weren't as thrilled as I was to be trying this.

Aunt Marsais & Uncle Kenny came down to celebrate Pope's b-day weekend. The boys got to take an extra special ride in Aunt Marsais' car as we went to Sweet Berry Farms to pick strawberries. I'm not sure who had more fun, Aunt Marsais, Hunter or Jayden.

We made Popo an ice cream cake for his birthday for everyone to enjoy.

Hunter has started t-ball & is having a blast. He has decided he wants to be a catcher & is a switch hitter. Jayden is, of course, his biggest fan!

Popo worked extremely hard with Hunter & he's now riding his bike like crazy! This has prompted Jayden to want to ride without training wheels also.

and just like when I was little, Popo promised Hunter a trip to McDonald's when he learned to ride past the big tree near the end of the driveway. Hunter was so excited to call the other night to say Popo was taking him on a special trip. I think this is what prompted Jay to want to ride his also.

We took time away to take the boys camping at Lake Sommerville this past weekend. We knew we had a chance for severe weather but how often does the weather man say that? The boys were in hog heaven when we arrived. Looking at this, who wouldn't be?

Nana and Popo came by Friday night to visit & we all enjoyed sitting around the camp fire. We were a little worried when it began to rain but nothing could have prepared us for the night we went through. I swear it rained for hours upon hours and thankfully, we never got wet. The rain wasn't near as bad as the wind that then was graced upon us. Our tent was literally folding in half on top of us. It would whip from one side to the other. The boys slept through it all, leaving Kreg and I to try and keep us all from suffocating. It was all worth it to get up and enjoy the beautiful weather on Saturday.

Hunter spent so much time trying to 'catch' the 'floating' shad to bring home. He had them all named & thought they were going to live with him in his room. Somehow I managed to pry them out of his hands with the notion we'd get a 'real' pet fish.

From the kite flying, scootering riding, all day & night fishing, weinnie roasting, playground playing, & tent sleeping, Kreg and I were left exhausted and the boys having a blast.

It makes us look forward to doing it all over again this weekend at Garner State Park in celebration of Kreg's birthday. This time Uncle Justin and Nana & Popo will be joining us for the whole trip.

And now on to the 'other' news. As my parents were heading home Saturday night along a back road, they stumble across a hat and shoe in the road. They looked at each other and slowed down. What they saw next, frighteded them. A body on the side of the road. Mom calls 911 who then wants them to turn around to see if the body needed an ambulance. Dad stated under no circumstances was anyone getting out of the car. And from the way the body was laying, the didn't think an ambulance was needed. Finally the Sheriff's deptarment & other various ententies show up & then keep my parents there for over an hour and a half. We still don't know much but you can read about it here.

Jayden's corn free diet has been going well. I get frustrated very easily with shopping at our local HEB but we are truckin' along. Since we've started this almost 2 weeks ago, we've taken him off Singulair & haven't had to do one neb treatment. He's had 1 asthma attack after eating an ice cream bar with corn syrup in it. At least I knew why the attack was happening. With having to pay special attention to all labels now, it's quite amazing how much stuff contains corn startch and high frutose corn syrup. Sometimes the worst culprites are Reduced Fat or 1/3 fat items. Shocking. So many things are still hit & miss but things hopefully one day will become more natural to us. And things have been so much more calm for all of us. Even a doctor noticed the other day how calm he was in the office. Instead of the usual bouncing all the walls, he sat and colored very quietly by himself. It was a little eerie. For the LOVE of mexican food, I will give it up to have a happy & calm child.

I wanted to post the article that lead me to find out what was going on with Jayden. It and along with the asthma attack in the middle of Kenny's wedding that left me grasping for answers, really helped me to find answers.

Food Sensitivities: The Hidden ProblemsRobert J. Doman, MD.
Parents today are often concerned about possible allergies in their children, but they are relatively unfamiliar with possible food sensitivities and their complications.

Check the following list. If three or more apply to your child, food sensitivity may be a problem:

Sometimes congested
History of ear infections
Behavior; frequent ups and downs
Poor attention span at times
Night or morning coughing spells
Variable hearing; sometimes good, sometimes poor
Post-nasal drip
Headaches
Periods of restlessness

Although the problems listed above undoubtedly have a number of possible causes, food sensitivities must be considered as one of the most likely.

When you think of allergies, you often think of hives or a skin rash, but the symptoms of food sensitivities are generally not as obvious or as dramatic as those of allergies. As a result, we describe them as hidden problems—this is particularly true with children. Common symptoms of food sensitivity are congestion of the nose and throat, often accompanied by headaches and post-nasal drip.

Food sensitivities can be quite variable. Certain foods frequently, but not always, cause problems. For example, eating a suspected food during the daytime when the child is active may cause little or no problem. However, the same food eaten before bedtime may lead to severe congestion through the night and the next morning. As a result, bedtime snacks, in particular, need to be avoided by children with food sensitivities.

What are the most common foods to which your child might be sensitive? Dr. Feingold, in his book Why Your Child Is Hyperactive, gave a long list which included foods and products with additives, including color additives, etc., and foods containing natural salicylates, including many fruits and some nuts. Contact your local Feingold Association for more details on his program.
NACD generally recommends that parents who suspect a food sensitivity in their child consider an elimination type of diet. By this we mean gradually eliminating certain potential offenders such as milk products, chocolate, citrus fruits, wheat, etc. When you eliminate the worst offenders, you may see a definite change in the child for the better.

If congestion of the nose and throat is one of your child's symptoms, you should be alert to potential ear problems. As adults, the sinus spaces in our skulls tend to act as buffers for infections of the nose and throat. Children have small underdeveloped sinus spaces so that nose and throat infections are generally pushed back quickly into the middle ear via the Eustachian Tube in the throat.

Pediatricians, although good at treating ear infections, often miss its most common hidden complication—fluid in the middle ear after the infection. Fluid in the middle ear often causes many of the problems listed earlier in this article, and is frequently undetected by parents and pediatricians even when the eardrum is looked at.

If you suspect such a problem in your child, you should take your child to an Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist and ask for a simple, easy, and safe test called a Tympanogram. The test takes only ten minutes and does not even require the child's cooperation. The doctor simply blows some air against the eardrum (Tympanic Membrane) to measure its motion. If fluid is present behind the drum, the doctor might recommend that small plastic ear tubes be inserted.
It has also been recommended that children with recurrent ear infections gargle twice a day with warm water in order to keep the Eustachian tube open.

Be aware of such possible problems in your child and attempt to eliminate foods causing congestion.

you don't want to miss this one.

2008-04-28T09:13:00.002-05:00

so I didn't get to update as promised but that's because we were preparing for our camping trip to Lake Sommerville.

And while this weekend was anything but DULL, I'll have to update the blog later. And you will want to check back not only for pictures of the boy's weekend in paradise but for the story of how we managed to survive what we describe as hurricane force wind and rain and the hotest news story around town involving a dead body and my parents. You won't want to miss this one.

Quick check-in!

2008-04-23T09:11:00.003-05:00

Things are going great! I've got hundreds of pictures to upload from our recent adventures. But we've seen a vast improvement in Jayden since trying a 'corn-free' diet. As usual, we've been busy with a variety of things, Relay for Life, T-Ball, swimming, and more. I'll post some pictures later today.

Moment of truth.

2008-04-15T20:01:00.003-05:00

So today was the BIG allergy test day. And I'm SO proud of my little 4 year old & the way that he handled everything. He wasn't nearly as bad as I thought he was going to be.

And while I am finally relieved to have some answers, I'm actually left just that much more frustrated.

My poor Jayden.

From the moment the child was 5 months old and we switched from breastmilk to formula, my happy, easy, low-key baby changed forever. He was plagued with itchy skin rashes, running nose, wheezing, & allergy induced asthma. We went through a nightmare, rough couple of months trying to figure out the formula issue. It was then, at about 6-7 months, he underwent his first round of allergy testing. We didn't suspect much from it and we didn't get much from it. But he spent the rest of his life under a year on Alimentum. We struggled to get the wheezing and eczema under control. And as you can see, we still haven't succeeded.

From that moment on, he seems like his health has somewhat been a constant battle. And topple that with his mood & behavior at times, and things haven't been the easiest.

You guys know me & have read the blog. I've learned to laugh, cry, & try not to do bodily harm to myself or him. He hasn't always been easy.

Somewhere under the defiant, aggressive, agitated, uncooperative, & moody child, was a sweet innocent loving little boy. I knew it & I'd seen it.

I am constantly put down because I refuse to treat the mood swings & behavior problems with beating my child. Or punishing him in a way that's as violent as he can get.

Something told me things just weren't right.

I've spent countless hours scouring the internet for answers, most of the time scared $hitless by what I read. But something finally triggered inside me & told me there had to be a food allergy somewhere. There just had to be something we were missing.

I never thought it would be what we are now working on trying to eliminate.

CORN.

The skin test for corn was pretty prevalent. Closely followed by SOY in the food category.

Now the scary part, the tests aren't 100% accurate. But, given his history & problems, we could be close to 100%. I pray. And I pray hard.

So now I am met with the biggest challenge of my life, thus far. For 2 weeks, we have to eliminate corn.

I challenge you to look into your pantry and fridge and discover just how much of what we eat and drink is laced with corn, corn: syrup /oil / meal / starch / sugar. It's OVERWHELMING, to say the least.

And instead of getting the support I need to do this, I'm met with SO many condescending remarks. From being told that this is impossible and he will just have to learn to deal with it, I'm really left speechless and in tears.

Can't he just stay on medication the rest of his life? You know you can't eliminate corn completely. Why waste your time and worry? He'll learn to deal with it. Your being stupid.

How, just how, can people be so mean?

Is it right for anyone, especially a child, be left to deal with something that is out of his control & left to someone he is suppose to trust?

How can any parent turn their back on a child & not want to help them?

Why should any child be left to suffer when changes can be made to help them?

Isn't it our duty as parents to not have to watch our children suffer?

Granted, I could be so far off base here with Jayden & the connection between his behavior issues & a food allergy/intolerance, but don't I owe him to find out. What if I'm not off base? Only the next 2 weeks will tell.

Please give me the strength to dig deep & be able to put the nasty comments & reactions behind me. Jayden deserves it. He doesn't deserve the reputation of being rowdy, hard to handle & nuisance if it isn't his fault. He doesn't deserve being treated with such negativity.

There's also the fun of being allergic to every tree, grass & animal around. And dust mites. My poor child.

And an interesting tidbit..........for those with dust mite allergies. You have to wash all bedding in water 140 degrees or warmer to actually kill dust mites. If you wash in 139 degrees, you will just have really clean dust mites. So I'm off to adjust the water heater to be sure I'm KILLING those little buggers so that my kids get a good, allergy free good nights sleep. They deserve it, even if it only makes me work a little harder.

My kids deserve a good quality of life if I can help control what makes them happy & healthy individuals.

If I can cut back on the $10 bottle of Zrytec every 4 days, the $30 Singulair a month, the $30 Elidel every month, the $30 Nasonex a month, and let's not forget the Albuterol, Pulmnicort, & Xoeponex that adds up to about another $75 a month..................WOW.

Eating a healthy diet just might be good for all of us. It can't hurt right?

Hey, if I could possibly get a happy, less moody, less aggressive child out of this, it's worth the world to me know matter what anybody in the world says.

Children Learn What They Live

2008-04-14T14:03:00.005-05:00

it's really been a tough couple of days. Jayden started his round of steroids before we go in for allergy testing. He's been very trying. I don't think I've ever stopped & taken this many deep breaths before.

This day and age it's SO hard to raise kids without so much disapproval around you. It seems like it is a constant struggle. Some days I feel like everything I do gets eye rolls or disapproving laughs or snickers. Why does it sometimes seem like the whole world is working against you? Why is it so hard for people to be happy for one another & the decisions that they make?

Our kids are growing up in a far different world then we ever did. Times have changed and they haven't necessarily changed for the better. Our kids see more, they know more, they experience more, they grow up so much faster.

They see the way we are constantly put down for the way we raise them. They hear the constant disapproval we get after decisions. And while we have the hardest time dealing with every one's opinion, we need to remember —It doesn't matter. They are OUR children and it's what we do that they will remember.

I just don't want to be remembered as a mom that screamed at my children or one who threatened bodily harm if my wishes are not adhered to. And that's why I choose to make the decisions I do and why I've learned to let everyone else's opinion's roll off my shoulder. It's all about that makes me and them happy. Everyone else just needs to realize that. I want my children to be respectfull and obediently comply with my wishes, not cower in fear of what they think a parent might do to them. Children learn what they live, and they will grow up to pass the same onto their own children.

Our Children our highest privilege. There is nothing more important we can do. They are our heaviest burden. There is nothing more difficult we can do. They are our greatest opportunity. There is nothing more satisfying we can do.

Once upon a time, while shopping, I came across this beautiful poem about children upon a wall hanging. I had it in my hand to buy when I was snubbed, laughed at and made fun of & told how ridiculous it was. But I did and still believe what it says and have since then learned not to care what everyone else thinks. These are my kids & I'll raise them just the way I want to. They are the ones I will leave a mark on. They are what's important to me.

Children Learn What They Live:

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

busy little life.

2008-04-09T08:57:00.003-05:00

in between the Antique Fair, Brad Pitt, T-Ball, the MS150 and our normal hectic life, things have been BUSY around here.

and in case you don't keep up with good 'ole PerezHilton.com or any other celeb gossip (I know, who has the time!) Brad Pitt was around La Grange this weekend.

Friday, while I'm hanging out at the MOPS garage sale, Justin gives me a call to tell me he saw Angelina Jolie in Wal-Mart in Bastrop. Her and Brad Pitt and the clan are staying in Smithville to film a movie. Justin's coach stopped Angelina and asked to take pictures with her, but the body guard informed everyone, it was family time. But that's didn't stop any of the tennis players from snapping pictures with their cell phone camera's.

Saturday, while my girlfriends and I are out browsing the Antique Fair in Round Top, we learn Brad Pitt is at the courthouse and Angelina is shopping at various shops around the Courthouse Square.

So this little town is buzzing.

And while the Antique Fair has winded down, we are gearing up for the MS150 this weekend.

And I've truly forgotten how much fun the Antique Fair is to browse. My girlfriends and I spent the weekend scouting out a place to have a booth this fall and trying to decide if it was worth it.

It was so GREAT to see so many of my friends who made it down to shop this semi-annual event and those who didn't make it, need to make plans to come down this fall! Seriously! Who can pass up the chance to shop at one of the world's biggest Flea Markets?

T-ball has started up and Hunter is enjoying himself. We are on the Astros again this year which is great that Jayden can wear last year's uniform to support his brother.

I have to have a good chuckle because everyone seems to have such a hard time telling the boys apart around here. From family to friends, if they aren't used to being around the boys, they don't know which is which. Almost everyone thinks they are twins and then can't ever tell who's older. They are basically the exact same size these days.

And whoever thought the 2 and 3's were terrible, haven't met my Ferocious 4 year old. WOW. This age is so hard on him. I think it's the independence he wants yet the fact that he will always be the 'baby.' Somedays I just want to sit and cry with him.

Thankfully the weather has been nice and we've been taking advantage of it by playing in the water every afternoon.

The boys planted a tomato plant and are already excited as can be that a tomato has sprouted. They carefully watch it each day to see how much it has grown. Man how I wish I could plant a HUGE garden. But darling little Jezabell keeps me from doing so. But if she keeps up her behavior of barking ALL NIGHT LONG we might have to trade her for the garden. And I swear, as much as I love dachshunds, they have the most annoying bark.

Let's Go ............................

2008-04-01T10:29:00.005-05:00

Antiquing!

It's that time of year here again, Antique Week or shall I say, month. They've been setting up everywhere since before Easter! But this is the week everything starts to wind down or start up, however you look at it.

Thousands of people from all over the country make the trek to Round Top and Warrenton for the antiques fair. And they invade La Grange.

Everyone wants to go, every day, all day. And it's so much fun.

So leave the kids & husbands at home and come for a visit.

You don't want to miss the one Antique Event/Flea Market that's been advertised all over the world.

Happy 4th Birthday Jayden

2008-03-27T20:12:00.004-05:00

It's SO hard to believe my little guy is turning 4 on Saturday.

We are gearing up for a birthday party tomorrow evening for his friends!

And boy.......there were the terrible two's but he is a ferocious four.

on the day you were born and times there after:

Spring Break 2008

2008-03-24T14:04:00.006-05:00

you know you are getting old when it takes this long to recover from Spring Break. I felt like I was in school again since we actually celebrated "Spring Break" this year. Now that our kids are school age, it makes since to get in a little vacation around this time of year.

Wednesday we left for Corpus Christi! And we had a FANTASTIC time. There wasn't a teenaged, spring breaker in sight.

Jayden loved spending time feeding the seagulls & both boys enjoyed being along the water, spotting ships, pelicans and fishers.

We spent Thursday morning at Texas State Aquarium where the boys loved the dolphins & otters. Then headed down to Padre Island National Seashore. The beach was almost empty so it was so nice & relaxing. There was NO seaweed in the water and the only jelly fish we spotted was dead. Granted the water tempature was about 60 degrees but it didn't stop people from getting into it. My kids included. It was about 75 degrees & a nice gentle breeze was constantly blowing. And with all the sand on the beach, you'd think the boys couldn't fight but low and behold they faught over the same pile of sand. But they spend about 2 hours just digging and playing. It was really nice. You wouldn't think you'd get as sunburned as Kreg and I did. We left miserable.

With Spring Break & Easter combined, we didn't get to stay long so we could head back to La Grange for the annual Urban family Good Friday fish fry. The boys went fishing where Hunter caught his first bass, all by himself.

Saturday morning was filled with the Annual Jersey Barnyard egg hunt where Hunter met and fell into love with a 'red' baby chick. And since Popo has been talking about buying a few chickens, Hunter was able to purchase his little chick to raise. The child was completely smitten and named the little guy "Big Red." All has been fine and dandy until my sister-in-laws dog thought the chicken was a play toy last night. I haven't had the heart to tell Hunter. Is it really fair to me to break the child's heart? He has been so excited about this little chick. And I was excited for him. ARGH. I really don't want to have to think about this one.

The boys spent Easter rockin' the new scooters the "Easter Bunny" left for them. And the boys spent more time fishing.

I'm really not looking forward to the start of school again tomorrow.............

and just in case you feel a need to help support Hunter, he's now selling Sally Foster cookie dough as a fundraiser. it's SUPER yummy.

A few pictures:

feeding the seagulls

on the pier

the awesome playground along shoreline drive

enjoying the peacefulness

beach buddies

jumping the waves

not sure who had the most fun

up, up and away

they could live here

fun at Port Aransas

his first bass

love at first sight

RIP Big Red

Rockin the scooter

Rockin the scooter

that's one big catfish

he was so happy

laundry is calling my name. along with the boys to head to the park to ride their scooters.

this close

2008-03-18T17:45:00.002-05:00

to a, losing it and b, hopefully finally having answers.

if an hour and a half car ride with both kids in the rain won't do a person in, sitting in a doctor's office for a mere 3 1/2 hours with 2 kids will.

ah.....my brilliant idea of taking Jayden to the Allergy & Asthma specialist during spring break wasn't my finest moment. but I figured, I was off & the appointment needed to be made.

but after those grueling 3 1/2 hours, I don't feel that much closer at the present moment of knowing what exactly is going on with my wheezing, asthmatic child. but I do know the worst is yet to come.

April 15th he's going to be skin tested. I pray then we have answers to most of our questions of why this keeps happening.

In the meantime, I'm washing everything on hot water, bagging up the countless stuffed animals, extra pillows & basically anything 'stuffed' in the boys rooms. I only hope NOW that maybe everyone will realize, you CANNOT give my children stuffed animals. The specialist has spoken and it all MUST go and shouldn't be given back. There's nothing worse for allergy & asthma ridden children he stated. Yes, Hunter is very, no, EXTREMELY upset, but I'm only trying to make him feel better & not wake up with swollen, crusty, bagged eyes.

and just when I thought I was going to enjoy spring break........

can you forgive me?

2008-03-05T13:23:00.006-06:00

I do have a good reason for being a bad blogger this week.

Yes, that's how we spend our evenings and sometimes mornings and days.

I've had the reminiscent of a migraine for the past 3 days and the boys asthma & allergies have been flaring up.

And since I'm having some tooth pain, I'm spending my nights & days, grinding the heck out of my teeth and locking my jaw. Oh the fun of TMJ. I've got to find an Acupuncturist & quick.

Topled with it being SXSW, I've pumped out close to 100 candles in the past 2 days along with helping out at Hunter's school Field Trip Fundraiser Dinner in which I had to bake for the bake sale and then help make plates & sell dessert.

I finally just packaged up our extra nebulizer & sent it to school with Jayden. I've got to get work done at work instead of running around with inhalers.

I'm exhausted.

It's always so nice to be acknowledged for the efforts you put in at school events. I figure if I have the time, I'm more than happy to help. So I've been asked to serve on the School Board or PTC. Hmmmmmmm........am I ready for the challenge?

what a difference a year makes.

2008-02-25T16:14:00.003-06:00

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since Kreg & I started a journey of living life simpler. It's been a year since we decided to take the plunge and make the daring move to La Grange.

It was scary and nerve-racking but all in all, I couldn't be happier.

I was scared of losing my beloved Target and 2 1/2 bathroom house and my walk-in closet. I was scared of moving into a smaller house. But now I look at that person and wonder why and who was I?

Living in the austin area, for the most part, was always having to live in "the house" or drive "the car" or be in "the neighborhood" or sending your kids to "the school." Kreg and I fell victim to that. The lifestyle of convenience and ease wasn't what we valued. And I look at that now and I'm embarrassed. That's not the life I ever wanted. That's not the person I wanted to be.

Things in life are suppose to be simple. We were so lucky to find the rent house that we did with a wonderful landlord. When we were first asked how long we would be here, we didn't know. All we thought was that we had to have more bathrooms and just plain more room. We seem to have had so much stuff.

As the year went on, and we started getting rid off all the excess in our lives (who really needs 4 sets of plates, one for each season), we have a new outlook.

I reflect back and realize that having 1 bathroom has NEVER EVER been a problem. In reality, more bathrooms would really just be more for me to clean. When we had 2 1/2 bathrooms, we only used 1 most of the time. But I got stuck cleaning all of them. Having one is SO easy.

As I now work in real estate and see houses on the market, I realize, even though we rent at the moment, we have a gem of a house. Granted, it needs some updating, but you aren't going to find another kitchen around here with 18 floor to ceiling cabinets. And for a cook like me, that's important. We lived in 2100 sq ft and we now live in 1700. Not that much difference. And really, it's a good difference. It's caused to see what we really value in life and what we don't. We've been able to shed ourselves of so much extra 'stuff.'

In a time of lead paint recalls, beef recalls, buying items that fund terrorists, the organic movement, it's nice to be somewhere that you can "Buy Local" and support small mom and pop shops.

The boys get a kick out of going to the meat market.

As spring rolls around, I'm looking forward to them help my dad with his garden. Or going to the farmer's market.

One thing I do terribly miss is our wonderful church we had. One of my biggest shortcomings is providing my kids with religion. Growing up Catholic and still being a practicing Catholic, religion did play a part in my up bringing and I want the same for my kids. It's one of the many reasons they, or right now, Hunter, goes to a Catholic school. He's getting some religion in his life and they can answer his 1 million quesions correctly. This year has been hard with both boys at different 'schools.' Today, Jayden got accepted at Sacred Heart and I can breathe a sigh of relief. No more running between schools and dividing my time. Next year there will only be 1 stop and I can spend time with them both on all occasions. One wonderful thing about being in a small town, is that you don't end up with big town private school costs. Let's just say that having both boys at Scared Heart next year will cost me less per month than my car payment. And it's actually the cheapest place in town to send Jayden if I'm going to work. And both boys at one school will be an ease. For Kreg and I, our kids education is something we value highly. Right now, it's one of the most important things to us. I can't even begin to list all the wondeful things about Hunter being at SHS this year. It's been a life changing experience for all of us. And we know it's only going to get better.

This move really made us look at what's important in life and how we want our kids growing up. We value so much more than what 'city' life could give them.

The way we live in our small house in a smaller town really does make a difference in the quality of life to us. We aren't looking to buy anything yet and it's nice. We are taking our time to do what's important to us. Taking time to get back to the basics of life where what you drive, where you live, the bigger is better attitude really doesn't matter.

Granted, we aren't where we wanted to be yet, but we are still working at it. We've had our fair share of ups and downs. The downs are getting fewer and the ups are getting so much better.

I have a new link on the right for my cousin Amber. Her blog is inspiring for me to read. (I know Amy would love to be her!) Amber is currently 'abroad' and I'm excited to read about her journies. It puts a simple life in so much more prespective. I think what she's doing is amazing!

And finaly, I'll share some lovely pictures since most blog readers haven't ever been to visit in the year we've lived here. (and don't tell me you are waiting for an inviation because you sure as hell didn't get one when we lived in Leander and that didn't keep you away! and I'm just picking on you guys!)

When we first found the house:

And one year later:

The wedding pictures

2008-02-20T19:22:00.002-06:00

I can't wait to see the professionals.

bad lighting. not so great digital camera. so many people. kids. smiles....

at least I got what I got!

practice makes perfect

next time I will lay off the tanner

before the cermony & the shoes are already off

finally a good picture & NO beer involved

mom just doesn't like to smile

hmmm...not bad.

this was tiring for Jay. he actually feel asleep during the ceremony

I actually just noticed Hunter & the flower girl

about 1/2 of Meme's clan

we bolted early thanks to Jayden's asthma attack. it poured Friday night and Saturday about the time we had to make our way to the ceremony. Friday night was so bad we couldn't see the road at all on our drive back. sleeping was next to impossible. a double bed with Hunter next to Kreg and Jayden seeing who could snore the loudest was miserable. and who knew Jayden was a sleep walker! but the ceremony on Lake Conroe was beautiful even with the rain and wind. It's Wednesday and I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep

I agree.

2008-02-20T14:59:00.002-06:00

yes I try to stay out of politics and keep them off the blog but I found this article to be so true. I LOVE John Kelso.

Democrats should tell TV to buzz off and get debate tickets out to the people

By John KelsoAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFFFriday, February 15, 2008

Today I'm fixin' to kick me some Yellow Dog behind.

Yes, the Democrats are the party of the people. Only 100 people, but still the people.

When Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama square off to debate Thursday at the University of Texas Recreational Sports Center at San Jacinto Boulevard and 20th Street, 100 lucky folks who won a drawing will get to see it live.

Everybody else in the audience of 1,000 to 3,000 will be invited.

Give me your tired, your poor. Just don't give me too darned many of them.

To steal from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., many Austinites had a dream. They had a dream of seeing this historic event in person. Keep dreamin', friends and neighbors.

Why not pick a bigger venue? The Democrats say it's not their fault and the TV people are running the show. Well, TV runs the NFL, so why shouldn't it run the Democratic Party? "The larger the venue, the worse the audio," said Sam Feist, political director for CNN, which is showing the debate, along with Univision.

The larger the event, the worse the audio? If that's the deal, when the Rolling Stones came to Austin, why didn't they play at the Cactus Cafe instead of Zilker Park?

This is a historic event. This is bigger than Ali vs. Frazier, bigger than Texas vs. OU. This is a black man running against a woman for president of the United States.

This has never happened before in the history of the U.S. Fifty years ago, Obama couldn't have even gotten into this shindig unless he was hanging up the coats. (Come to think of it, the way things are going, if he weren't running, he might not have been able to get in this time, either.) One hundred years ago, Clinton wouldn't have been allowed to vote for president, let alone run for it.

This is important stuff. This is the earth shifting under our feet.

What the Democrats should be doing is finding a great big joint with lots of seats and then filling them up with every school kid in Austin, Texas. Then maybe when they get old enough, the little boogers might bother to drag their happy behinds to the polls instead of sitting in front of their computers adjusting their MySpace pages.

But instead of doing something good like that, the place will be filled with the press and, I'll wager, a passel of lobbyists. Hey, you don't want your TV debate to look like the front row at Willie's picnic.

OK, so yes, this Obama-Clinton debate is largely a TV show. But the fact that these two candidates even have a shot at the White House and that the March 4 Texas primary will probably pick the Democratic candidate makes this debate a magic moment. Do something about it, Democrats. Let the real people in to see the magic up close and personal before I get mad.

John Kelso's column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Contact him at 445-3606 or jkelso@statesman.com.

Sneak Peek.

2008-02-17T18:54:00.003-06:00

it's been a LONG couple of days and going to be a long couple of more. but stay tuned for more pictures.

Dear Mr. Refridgerator Repair Man:

2008-02-14T13:33:00.002-06:00

Next time you decide to use a leaf blower to clean the coil under the fridge, please inform me before doing so. The 7 years of dirt, dust, grime & just plain nasty stuff all over the kitchen is making my children sick.

And I really wanted to spend Valentines Night and the night before we leave for my brother's wedding, cleaning up hundreds, NO, make that THOUSANDS of dirt/dusk balls the size of tennis balls, wiping down every single item in the kitchen, mopping the floors and rewashing all the dishes.

Yes you were cheap. Yes you were quick but I'd pay anything not to have to clean what I have to clean.

A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Be sure to clean UNDER your fridge more than once every 7 years. Nobody ever told me that.

Nothing says Valentines more.........

2008-02-14T09:25:00.002-06:00

than opening your fridge & getting hit with the smell of spoiled milk, defrosted frozen yogurt & rotting meat.

on the bright side, at least I discovered this today and not when we get back on Sunday.

too bad I also need a new tail light thanks to the juveniles running around town shooting BB guns.

I also just realized I haven't used my camera since Christmas (HUGE GASP) and now I don't have any clue where I placed the charger.

just when I thought my stress levels had reached an all time high.............

This sums up our day pretty well

2008-02-07T16:20:00.001-06:00

A day in the life of

2008-02-06T13:14:00.000-06:00

I know as a mom, it seems what I do everyday gets tossed into the wind. People have a hard time seeing what your day entails and how it's spent. I thought I'd share a day in the life of:

6:15 - after a night of tossing and turning due to my husbands loud, obnoxious snoring, my alarm goes off. I begin by praying that hopefully, just maybe, today will be the day my husband realizes I need the shower when my alarm goes off because my alarm is MY alarm.

7:15 - after getting myself almost completely ready, it's time to wake the kiddos and get them going. After bugging them for 5 mintues I finally get out of them they'd like French Toast for breakfast. Hunter wonders out of his room, in a sneezing fit, with red, puffy eyes. I damn myself for not picking up the Zyrtec yesterday. I add it to my afternoon list and give him a dose of Benadryl. Jayden emerges coughing up a storm and I realize we aren't going to make it out of the house without a breathing treatment. I get him started and decide an extra B vitamin might be good today. Thank goodness for the vitamin cocktail.

7:40 - I can't stress enough to Jayden that he needs to wear his newer tennis shoes, not the ones I had hidden in the back of the closet because I was tired of constantly having to tie them. Not only that, but the soles are falling off. Damn my husband for giving those shoes back to him. I swear I try to keep things easy for myself.

7:45 – I manage to get everyone’s folders, books, homework and the kids ready but we are leaving the house 5 minutes later than usual. Not a big deal, right? Yea…….there would be the 7:45 train.

7:52 – Jayden’s off.

7:54 – I watch as Hunter gets out the car, sneezing and I pray he stays awake today thanks to the Benadryl.

8:10 – I’m at work, finishing yesterday’s fires, about to start in on my caffeine for the day, when the phone rings, and the caller id would be Hunter’s school. I’m secretly shouting NO in my head. Thankfully, it’s not for me but for another mom.

12:00 – I’ve finished as much work as I can in the 4 hours a day I work and I’m off to get Jayden.

12:10 – We are now at home and I’m trying to put together lunch for not only me and Jayden but for Justin who also joins us.

12:30 – I realize the dishes aren’t going to get done by themselves and my kids aren’t quite old enough for chores yet.

12:45 – I spent 15 minutes pleading with Jayden to find another movie to watch since I can’t find Tom & Jerry. I’ve also GOT to get the dishes done if anyone wants dinner tonight and we still need to run to Wal-Mart for Zyrtec. And my god, it’s amazing how much dusts collects on the floor of my house each day.

1:00 – Daily vacuuming and sweeping are done but the darn dishes lay ahead of me.

1:45 – Dishes are done and I sit down at the computer to find the $4 off Zyrtec coupon I had just emailed to my mom last week. I open Outlook to realize I have 217 unread emails. No time for that now. The coupon is gone/expired so I’m off to google another one. There has to be a better one that the $1 one HEB is offering. It’s also then I realize I need to call about Jayden’s shot record, my medical chart, the boy’s old school info for taxes, and the list keeps on going.

2:00 – Coupon in hand, Jayden and I run to Wal-Mart. I’m hoping for a quick trip so that I can get home and take a small break. Jayden is insisting on wearing those darn shoes again.

2:30 –1 bag, $20 and 30 minutes later we make it out of Wal-Mart after 2 trips to the bathroom and my having to tie his shoes 3 times. I secretly think he knows it irks me. And one wonders why they were ended in the back of the closet?

2:45 – I have enough time to get home, find the tickets and information for Hunter’s Valentines Dance, get a check written and back up to school in enough time to pick up Hunter.

3:00 – Jayden and I arrive at Hunter’s school and walk to the office to turn in everything. Jayden shoes are untied yet again. I guess they are going into the trash tonight. My Aunt greets us and tells us about how over ½ of Hunter’s class is out sick. G R E A T. The flu, strep and a stomach bug have wiped out 10 kids in Kindergarten. There’s only 23 total to start with.

3:30 – We are know back at home and I’m ushering the kids out in the back to play while I start prepping for dinner and CRAP, I’ve got to finish business cards for work in the process.

The kids are in and out of the house the whole time, fighting, tattling, asking for a drink, asking for a snack, crying, so I end up getting nothing done. At least the boys were able to play outside and get their daily dose of vitamin D.

4:45 - Kenny calls and needs help with his taxes. I'm trying to walk him through the process while keeping the boys from fighting.

5:00 – Time to start dinner. The third meal of the day I’m preparing. I’m heading outside only to walk into the back room to realize the kids had been tracking mud inside the house with each slam of the door. I just want to sit and cry. I get the grill started and the chicken fajitas going. I’m now trying to make a small opening in the piles of laundry in the utility room so that I can pry open the armoire to get out my mop and bucket to clean the floor. Whenever will the laundry get done?

5:15 – Floor has been mopped, kids are working silently and I’ve got to finish the fajita fixings. WHOA. Wait a minute. Silent and my kids should not be in the same sentence. Where the hell are they? Sitting around the coffee table working on something. That can’t be too bad. HA! They successfully taken apart some pen their father gave them and were using it to ‘write’ on the coffee table. Yes, my coffee table is now full of very deep scratch marks.

5:45 – Dinner’s ready. I only managed to slice off half of the skin on my thumb in the process of trying to cut tomatoes. Damn sharp knives. My finger is now bandaged and the kids are washing their hands.

6:00 – The boys are finishing dinner and much to their dismay without guacamole and sour cream. Mom just didn’t have time to run to the store. I try to settle down to watch the day’s latest news.

6:30 – I managed to catch about 15 minutes of the news before Jayden spilled his drink over the table. After running to the bathroom to grab some towels, I have to ponder very hard on why is it my children can’t seem to pee in the toilet. Little boys are the worst.

7:00 – Hunter is doing his reading to me for his test on the computer the next day. The floor is clean and the dinner table is cleaned up. I guess I will be stuck doing more dishes tomorrow because it won't happen tonight with the big bandage.

7:30 – Both boys are in the shower and I’m trying to get clothes lined up for the next day. Did that weather man say the cold front was coming in that morning or evening?

7:45 – I’ve managed to get the kids slathered in lotion, allergy meds, vitamins and settled down with a bedtime snack. Yet they are now all riled up again after their father arrives home.

8:15 – I’m reminding everyone about school tomorrow and the need for sleep and 8:00 bedtime as I’m also trying to make muffins for the next days breakfast.

8:30 – Muffins are done and there’s nothing more that I’d like than a hot bath to finally shave my legs. Crap……I need to finish the business cards.

9:00 – ARGH. I’m exhausted. I really want to settle down to watch my one guilty pleasure of the week. Thank goodness I can wear jeans to work. Laundry will have to wait another day.

10:00 – I’m ready for bed. I go to set my alarm on my cell phone to realize I have 7 missed calls and a voicemail. Where was I when the phone rang? Boy’s shower? Vacuuming? Searching for the mop? Cooking yet another meal? Cleaning up a mess? I don’t have time to think. I really need sleep since the night before was tough. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to return the phone calls or the emails. Or work on my list of things to do. Or maybe I will be able to shave my legs, give myself a pedicure, fold the laundry, clean my room or hell, just have some much valuable, WANTED, NEEDED, time to myself.

My day as a mom is about giving to everyone else. That’s my gift to my 2 boys. While they are young and don’t understand and can’t value it, one day they will.

Until then, I must get some rest because I know I will be up half the night due to snoring, hit with 100 questions to answer, 200 things to remember and left with a million things to do.

I give SO much credit to full-time working moms. Honestly, if my kids were younger, I don't know if I could do it. At least now, they are sometimes self-sucifient and can get themselves ready in the morning. I still have to help some. Getting myself and 2 kids ready each morning is a job.

Feathers in the Wind

2008-01-22T16:47:00.000-06:00

A very dear and wise friend once sent me these words of wisdom. I've always remembered them.

I know for me, it's so hard these days to deal with the negative energy, gossip and comments coming from everyone. Every person feels like they need to give suggestions. Why is it those same people rarely care about anything positive in your life, just the negative?

Everyone like to make a rash judgment on someone without knowing all the facts.

Everyone loves to spit out hearsay.

And it seems like people just want to kick you when you are down.

All it takes is a little bit of knowledge, understanding, and a few questions, and you can avoid hurting someone. You can avoid hearsay. You can avoid passing on a wrong judgement.

You can show you care.

Feathers in the Wind

There is a 19th century folktale about a man who went about town slandering the town’s wise man. One day, he went to the wise man’s home and asked for forgiveness. The wise man, realizing that this man had not internalized the gravity of his transgressions, told him that he would forgive him on one condition: that he go home, take a feather pillow from his house, cut it up, and scatter the feathers to the wind. After he had done so, he should then return to the wise man’s house.

Though puzzled by this strange request, the man was happy to be let off with so easy a penance.

He quickly cut up the pillow, scattered the feathers, and returned to the house.

“Am I now forgiven?” he asked.

“Just one more thing,” the wise man said. “Go now and gather up all the feathers.”

“But that’s impossible. The wind has already scattered them.”

“Precisely,” he answered. “And though you may truly wish to correct the evil you have done, it is as impossible to repair the damage done by your words as it is to recover the feathers. Your words are out there in the marketplace, spreading hate, even as we speak.”

How interesting it is that we, as human beings, so quick to believe the bad that others say about someone; so accepting of the “news” contained in print and television tabloids, and so ready to assume the worst regarding another’s actions, actually allow ourselves to believe that the evil “we” spread about someone won’t really matter. Incredible that we can’t seem to immediately and resolutely accept the fact that the gossip we speak can - and often does - significant damage to that person.

Gossip is like a fired bullet. Once you hear the sound, you can’t take it back.

That is what the man in the above story found out in a very disappointing, shameful moment of self-discovery. And it isn’t just what we say about someone to others, but what we say to that person directly as well. We’ve all been told that “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never harm me.” We also know that is totally untrue. While a body will typically recover from a physical injury, the harm caused by direct insults can sometimes last a lifetime, and tear the self-esteem right out of a person.

On the other hand, kind, encouraging words can build a person’s self-esteem, help him or her to grow and give them the impetus they need to do great, significant things with their lives. The choice regarding how we speak about or to someone is ours. It’s called “free will.”

Deb ~ Thank you so much for sending me this!! Bet you never knew how much I would treasure it. I MISS YOU!!!!

quick history lesson

2008-01-15T08:55:00.000-06:00

I'm running off of about 2 hours of sleep and I'm a girl who requires 8 to function.

poor little Jayden. He wants to sleep. He needs to sleep. But he just can't. His little body is so wired from all the steroids. I'd be okay if I could see them working better but his breathing still isn't at a pace that I feel comfortable with. I hope the oral meds kick in soon.

I just hug him and thank god I'm not in my moms shoes at the moment.

when you live in a small town, everyone seems to be connected to everyone some how. so I'll shed a little light before I have to run to the store for more tissues.

Justin, Jay & Bradley were all close friends. They ran around together, designed the boys football t-shirts, partied together and so much more.

Jay is the son of my boss, who is also my landlord. Because the boys have known each other forever, my parents have been friends with them for quite some time. That's how we scored the rent house.

Bradley's parents are just well known around town. So his death has hit the community as a whole.

Watching the people around you suffer so much is very hard. Trying to help kids understand and cope is never an easy task.

My thoughts are on my brother today.

Bradley's mom asked Justin and Jay to ask the boys to wear their shirts today to the funeral. Justin wants his to go with Bradley. He's going to place it on top his casket.

It hurts to watch someone you love in so much pain. I can't imagine my mom or my boss. As a mother, seeing your child in pain is the worst feeling.

as my child bounces from room to room, off one wall to the next, I grab him and hug him a little tighter because, thank god, his pain will ease shorty and I think of those whose won't.

hard days night.

2008-01-14T15:13:00.000-06:00

I barely slept last night because my mind was on all those dealing with a friend's death and I could hear Jayden huffing and puffing.

But Jayden arose and was ready for school.

2 hours into work, I get the call to come and get him. He keeps telling everyone he just doesn't feel good.

By time I get to the school, I was shocked. The poor little guy was gasping for each breath.

I rush him to the doctor's office.

They immediately check his oxygen levels, which were dangerously low.

They start him on albuterol and something else followed by oxygen.

They check his oxygen level and it slightly improved but not enough.

So they start more albuterol.

His oxygen level finally rises enough so that we don't have to worry. The doctor gets a good listen to his lungs and says besides the wheezing, he sounds good.

Chalk it up to a mega asthma attack.

We get a mega dose of steroids, 4 prescriptions and are now back home doing breathing treatments about every 2 hours.

Each breathe leaves his chest heavy, looking for air, so the poor guy is just miserable.

I think we have a pretty tough night ahead of us.

and for fun:

if you guys thought your kids were monkeys, just check this out:
THIS IS HOW I GET A COOKIE

and this totally sounds like something Kreg would do:
FISH RECIPE

for more fun, check out the complete blog:
BECAUSE I SAID SO

devastation.

2008-01-13T10:17:00.000-06:00

for a group of high school senior kids, losing a close friend on the night of semi-formal is tragic.

dealing with the loss of a friend in a car crash is going to leave these kids grief stricken.

it pains me to see these kids going through this. most of all, my baby brother.

today, the day after, I think most are in a state of shock.

as school starts tomorrow, the realization on Justin and I know several others, that his friend, who he not only sits next to in several classes, but also ran around with, is gone, is going to be hard to handle.

god give me the strength to be there for someone when they are going to need it the most. give strength to the family and these kids.

There are things that we don't want to happen but have to accept, things we don't want to know but have to learn, and people we can't live without but have to let go. ~Author Unknown

the......not so funnies.....

2008-01-13T09:46:00.000-06:00

so we, Kreg, Kenny and I, are sitting around Kenny's kitchen table yesterday working on putting the ribbon on their wedding invitations ........ we are about half way through the pile when I realize that Kreg doesn't realize there is a shiny side and dull side to the ribbon. and the shiny side is suppose to be up. I flip through the invitations to realize over half of them have the ribbon on wrong. oh brother......and we had exactly enough ribbon and tabs to complete the invitations with no room for mistakes. we didn't think Marsais would notice.........when, yep, she did.

and when Marsais got home from work, she was so excited to see the boys since she hadn't seen them since Christmas. she asked Hunter if he had been playing his Wii. Hunter told her "sometimes" and her reply, "Sometimes! Boy you better play it a lot. You don't know all the trouble your mom went through to get you that thing." I don't think she realized just how bad it was until she saw the look of horror on my face and hearing Kenny die in the background. Hunter looked at her funny and quickly reminded her santa brought him that. She broke Hunter into giggles with tickling.

sharing the love.

2008-01-11T21:13:00.000-06:00

I think the inventions of gift cards where a FAB thought. heck, who doesn't love receiving one to be able to spoil themselves?

I was excited to get one this Christmas so I could grab some much needed work clothes. And while I was able to pick up an outfit for myself at an after christmas sale and spent a third of the card on me, I then spent the rest on the boys! oh well! their needs always take priority. the fun of sharing the love.

2 weddings & a graduation

2008-01-03T13:24:00.000-06:00

what we have to look forward to in 2008! and technically, that should be 2 graduations, since Hunter will graduate from Kindergarten!

and not to mention the 2 babies from friends we are expecting in March.

my darling brother Kenny will be getting married in Feb. 44 days from now to be exact. and my entire family is in the wedding. yes, Kreg and both boys and I. I'd give more details but I really don't have them. wait..........my dress did arrive and it's 2 sizes too big. I've yet to taken it to be altered. but hey.....at least I have my dress. the other's aren't expected in until almost Feb. I, the SavvyShopper that I am, ordered my dress online for over $100 less than everyone else. god knows renting 3 tuxes is going to take a chunk out of us.

my baby brother Justin will be graduating from High School in May. not only does it make me feel completely old, I just can't believe it. He has been my life saver since we moved to La Grange. His nephews adore him and he's that little brother Kreg always wanted. As much as I really hope he goes to a GREAT college, I think he should start off slow at a college around here.

and my little Hunter. the child not only is going through a tremendous growth spurt, I know those pants fit in August when we bought them, but he's learning so much. watch what you wear or read or say. he stops and reads every t-shirt. he knows exactly what's on tv. he flies through games on the computer and wii now because he can read it all! don't even think about doing something without the directions because he will sit next to you and read the instructions for you and tell you what you are doing wrong or not doing directly as told. in school, he's the 1st one to read instructions on worksheet and tells everyone what to do. he has grasped reading so well.

and of course, we were suppose to be participating in a Read-A-Thon fundraiser for school, and I have NO idea where the sign-up is. so over the course of the 2 weeks we had to raise money, we raised none.

having 14 days off can screw with your mind. and it doesn't help that Kreg was off for 12. not a good combination.

as I was trying to get everything read for school today, I searched the house for 45 minutes yesterday looking for Hunter's nap mat. only to finally ask him and he reminds me, he didn't bring it home, just the cover. there goes 45 minutes I will never get back. but great to know where various hiding places are around here.

of course, in anticipation for school today, the boys were IN bed at 8:00 last night but when Kreg went to shut Hunter's door at 9, he was still WIDE awake. and he was up at 6:45 excitedly bouncing. we will see if he is still bouncing when I pick him up.

I have vowed to stop eating emotionally, since I really need to put off the weight I've gained. Our scale broke before we moved here and no one has replaced the battery. Not that I'm pushing for that.............

I hope everyone had a great New Year's. (I was in bed by 10:30)