All That Sassafrass

Avery's first day of MIDDLE SCHOOL!

2008-08-20T12:54:00.005-05:00

OH MY WORD!! I have a middle schooler!! Avery started her 6th grade year at her new school today. We are sending her to a Christian school in hopes of smaller classes and good influences. Avery was VERY excited and a little nervous, but overall could not WAIT to get there this morning. I was so afraid of her waking up crying not wanting to go, but she was all smiles.

6 fingers for 6th grade (Yes I made her do that!! :)

She was SO cute last night telling me that a cool thing that middle schoolers and high schoolers are doing is tying a ribbon around their ponytails. I had noticed this before, but never thought twice about it. She asked if I would do a "half way up" and tie a ribbon around it. She picked her outfit out and had it all laid out last night. She wanted biscuits for breakfast and made a biscuit sandwich for lunch (one of her favs).

I have been praying for her all day and trying not to stress out. She is just so precious to me and I don't want her to ever hurt, ya know. I am hoping her middle school career isn't like mine. I hope for better for her. I can't wait to hear about her day!!

A Free Week

2008-08-06T09:07:00.004-05:00

Last week, my mom kept my kids for 6 days straight. Glen was on vacation from work, I took off from watching the kids (the ones that I didn't birth), and we had no appointments or schedule for the entire week. I had in my head that I would clean the house, have a few lunches with friends, do the things I NEVER get to do.

Well, the week was AMAZING, but I really didn't get to do everything I had hoped. I did other WAY FUN things! This is what we DID do.

1.Went to see the new Indiana Jones. It was pretty good. The alien thing threw me WAY off.

2.Went to see Step Brothers (Will Farrell's new movie) with friends. Umm. I laughed SO hard at things that are SO inappropriate that I SHOULD be embarrassed, but for some odd reason I'm not. What's really weird is that usually I don't think those kinds of movies are funny at ALL, but I think with the kids gone I was too care free to worry about the F word in every sentence. I know - BAD! I have a favorite line, but it is too nasty to put on here, so e-mail me if you want to laugh all day. :)

3.Went to see Dark Knight. I LOVED it, but was sad the whole time thinking about Heath. GREAT movie though. The best of the 3.

(Yes we saw 3 movies. We don't get to go OUT to the movies much, so we took advantage)

4.Went on a double date to the Beehive downtown with some friends and stayed up till 4 in the morning playing games. (That was a fun night!!)

5.Went to the pool twice without kids. Once BY MYSELF!!! HEAVEN!

6.Got a pedicure with my friend Autum. My toes are SO cute right now!! LOVED it!

7.Read 2 books. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, and The Good Guy by Dean Koontz. Both really good books. I am officially addicted to Twilight. I get the 2nd one on Thursday (borrowing from a friend) and I can't wait!

8.Slept in EVERYDAY. Staying up late reading, watching tv, and playing games really took a toll and I slept in till at LEAST 10 every. single. day.

9.Went out to eat with Glen for ALMOST every meal. Not quite EVERY meal, but a lot. I'm not talking Olive Garden, but you know Jason's Deli, Rick and Carolyn's, Joe's, that kind of eating out.

10.Shopping!!!! We didn't spend a ton, but Glen OFFERED to take me to the mall!!!! HIS idea! I'm telling you. I married the best man alive. So I got a few new things. Dillard's was having a great sale, so that was fun! Can't pass up a bargain!

11.BE WITH GLEN!!!! This had to be my favorite thing! We have never really gotten time alone, just us. We had Avery 6 months after we were married and so it has NEVER been just US. We had such a good time hanging out just being with each other. I love my husband!!!!!!

******I have a few thank yous!!!******

Thanks to my parents for offering to keep my 4 children for days on end when you are trying to pack and move houses! It's official! You are the BEST Grammy and Grandy!

Thank you to my brother, sil, and niece for helping with the kids and being so fun that my kids want to live with you!

Thank you to UPS for giving my husband a much needed and deserved break!

Thank you to Summer and Amanda for giving me the week off!! You are the best people to work for!

Things are back to the norm this week. I am glad to have my kids back, that's for sure. It's good to get back to the normal days of summer, even though last week CANNOT be topped. It was good while it lasted. :) Happy Summer. At least for a couple more weeks.

Ride Like The Wind

2008-07-21T13:08:00.000-05:00

As we all know, Jude LOVES horses. There is just something about horses, ropes, ANYTHING cowboy. So a friend of ours, Erin invited us out for Jude to ride their horse Peaches. Erin is AWESOME with kids. She just graduated from high school and is coming to ACU and cheering for them too! She is one of Jude's favorite people. Jude talked about riding Peaches everyday till we went. So on Friday we went about 30 miles out of town. Jude could not WAIT!!!

Gun: Check
Boots: Check
Rope: Check
Hat: Check

He was standing at the back door for a good 5 minutes like this waiting for me to get everything together. Usually he would've been complaining about having to hold ALL of that, but I didn't even ask him to do this. THAT's what was SO cute. I'm telling you. A total cowboy at heart.

I teared up a little when taking this one. They started walking off and I could hear her talking about what he needed to do to guide Peaches and he just looked SO big up there.

She led Peaches around this huge field. He was in heaven.

Then Erin got on with him so they could go faster. Erin said that when they were galloping, he yelled, "Ride like the wind!!!"

SO happy!

That look is priceless! Definitely worth the 30 minute drive out.

Riding all by himself. My big boy. She taught him how to turn and back up. He was eating it up!

Afterwards, they unsaddled Peaches and this is him carrying in the blanket, you know the stuff REAL cowboys do. It was heavy too! He loved it!
Jude got to brush Peaches after riding, with a little boost from Erin.

Then we jumped in their pool for a swim. Jude liked it.....just a little. :)

She just started teaching Jude to swim on her own. He learned SO much just in that 45 minutes. She is amazing! Thanks Erin for such a fun time!!

Giving another "talk"

2008-07-17T13:22:00.004-05:00

Today has been a little different. Not because I am have a total of 9 kids in the house, that IS a little different but that isn't quite what I'm talking about when I say different. (The kids are napping if you are wondering how I am blogging right now.)

*****TOUCHY SUBJECT - READ AT YOUR OWN RISK*****

I have felt for the past couple of weeks that God was inching my heart closer to telling Avery about something I have been DREADING. Last summer (before her 5th grade year), we had THE talk. The one where she was SHOCKED and yelled, "You mean you and daddy have done that 4 times!?" (Cause I told her that is where kids come from) Yeah, THAT talk. S.E.X.

So like I said I really have felt God prodding me to tell Avery about............homosexuality. I know. Touchy, right? It is SO hard for me to talk about. I want to shelter my kids from all worldly things. I'm just like that. I probably shelter them too much, but as a mom that is my right. They are MY kids. I know with Avery going into middle school, she needed to have some true answers about the subject. After telling God no for the last few weeks, I gave in. Believe it or not it was because of Kathy Griffin. The tv was on a commercial for her show and it just hit me like a TON of bricks. (She talks about gay people a lot on her show) Don't ask me how. God spoke to me though. I knew it was time.

I took her to the laundry room and we sat on the ground. I started off talking about last years talk and how God made us to love each other no matter what. Everyone sins, but it is how we handle those sins that make us who we are. Then I began to talk about what it means to be "gay". She thought that it meant happy!! I LOVE that. I told her that it DOES mean that, but now adays when it is said it means that someone is a homosexual. She was a little shocked at what that meant, but I could see it soaking in within the context I had started the conversation.

I started crying talking about someone that we know is gay. I love this person beyond words and so does Avery. I told her that I didn't want to tell her about it until she loved our friend for WHO she is, not WHAT she is. She IS a WONDERFUL, CARING, BEAUTIFUL, GENEROUS, and LOVING friend. I have loved her for SO long, it is impossible to NOT love her. Avery felt that and cried along with me. That moment was VERY special to me. It will be a lifelong memory for me and her as well I imagine.

I am SO proud of how Avery reacted and handled the WHOLE conversation. It really can be an awkward thing to talk about, but she was more ready to hear it than I thought that she would be. She is so much more spiritually mature than I was at that age (11) and I am just proud of the little prayer warrior she has become. She really motivates me to be a better person and Christian. It is fun to look up to your daughter on a spiritual level. Strange, but really enjoyable too. Pretty soon I will be looking up to her in a different way. She is about 5'3". CRAZY!

I told Avery that if she EVER has any questions about it, to ask. She has already told me she has thought of one. I have so many questions MYSELF about it, I pray I have an answer for her.

It is what it is??

2008-07-11T11:26:00.002-05:00

At my house we have a little pet peave with the saying, "It is what it is". Glen and I always look at each other when we hear anyone say it. It's just a funny saying. I am always so surprised at WHO says it too. I have heard some VERY smart people just throw it out there like it is something smart to say. That''s when Glen and I look at each other like, 'Did you catch that one'? and then of course we roll our eyes at each other. It's just a "thing" with us.

I have a few questions.....Where did it come from? Who started it? What does it mean? Do you or anyone you know say it?

I just think it is one of the funniest saying around and truly just don't get it. But I guess it is what it is, huh?

FUNKED!

2008-07-08T16:41:00.003-05:00

I have a few more back posts to do, but for right now I am taking a SMALL break from it. That means that I will probably do it tonight. Ha.

Today has just been a day. I have been keeping kids this summer 3 days a week and I have been loving it! I actually have a little spending money this summer which has been awesome! Plus, my girls are SUCH helpers! I am paying them $2 each a day for helping me, which they have LOVED!! They each gravitated towards one child and that is who they are "in charge" of. Kind of like the Duggars mom does. You know she is the mom with 20 or so kids and each older child is in charge of a younger. Anyway. That is how our summer has gone......until today.

This week the girls are in Arlington having a blast at music camp. So...I am here alone this week keeping an additional 4 kids + Jude. The kids are GREAT kids. Really. I'm not just saying that! I LOVE them. But .....they TOTALLY outnumber me and if I'm not on top of my game, I get railroaded with fussing, fighting, and tattling. Today, I was NOT on top of my game. The kids were fine, I just was in a strange funk today, so....it was just a hard day.

Glen even stayed up (he drove all night) to help me, but I still missed my girls. We just have a routine, ya know. Bailey holds the baby while I make the bottle, while Ave puts one to bed, while Parker gets the mat out for another. We just have it down to a science!! Today it didn't QUITE happen that way. My point is.....I TOTALLY miss my girls!! All round, I miss them.

I DID make it through the day!! BUT my funk is still here. So, instead of moping around the house and trying to keep Jude quiet, WE are going to the pool. Get this! I am even going under today ya'll. Yep. It's a getting my hair wet kind of day.

Just keeping it real. Sorry if this sounds gripy!!

Happy Birthday America!

2008-07-04T00:22:00.009-05:00

We had a busy 4th of July. First we went to Glen's family's celebration they have every year. I've posted about it before, here & here, but it really is a neat experience. My kids really look forward to it each year.

Here is a picture of Glen's Grandaddy giving the Flag ceremony talk. Look at that hat. We take this holiday very serious in our family.

Jude before helping carry his flag out

Sadly this is the best picture I got of the flag ceremony. We did it a different way this year and they all came out at once. I just couldn't get a good picture. Sorry.

That night, we went to the Sheets house for dinner and to watch fireworks. They live about 3 blocks away from the big event and had a GREAT view of all the action.

Jude being "the man" pushing his sister around. She seems to think it was fun. Not sure about Jude.

These are all of the kids doing sparklers. They had a blast spraying fire around. ha. Freaked me out a little.

Avery and Sydney - This is one of the kids I keep and the one that Avery has claimed. I literally have to tell her to put her down, not this night obviously!

This is where most everybody watched the fireworks. There were a few of us on the ground, but a lot of people watched from the boat.

Bailey during the fireworks

Parker posing for the camera

Parker wanted to take a picture of me and Glen and this is the one that she took. She loves to take pictures.

If you want to see a picture of the whole group, go here. Boat and all.

Happy 4th Everyone!!

Parker turns big #7!

2008-07-03T23:55:00.002-05:00

Parker's birthday party was this weekend. She wanted a Hannah Montana sleepover, so a HM sleepover is what she got. She had 3 of her friends and one of Avery's. When I asked her why she was inviting Bethany(Ave's friend), she said that she wanted Avery to have someone there too. I'm not sure if that was selfish being that Avery and Bethany would leave them alone or what, but Bethany came too.

I want to thank LB for teaching my kids that you can slide down the stairs on sleeping bags!! :) They LOVED doing this. Squeals galore! Sorry for the red eyes!

The home-made Strawberry birthday cake (my first time to make that one). I have to admit, when I usually make their cakes, I use a box. I know, I know! Don't judge me! Even though this took more time and effort, it was fun and it made me feel like I was being a good mom. Don't ask me why. I know it sounds dumb, ok?

Me and the birthday girl (missing 6 teeth!) with her cake

The birthday crew (without Bethany - Parker's plan worked. Ave and B were playing outside!)

"Happy Birthday to you...." Blow out the candles!!

This picture is SO funny, because she was SHOCKED and SO excited to get this Hannah Montana doll!! Can you tell??? Ha. Thanks Cindy!

I love this one because she looks SO happy. She loved everything that she got.

Parker is such a fun loving, happy, life of the party girl. She was the first of my kids to get a dimple. I remember when the nurse said," She is pink as a little pig! AND she has a dimple on her left cheek!" I tell her that story often and we both laugh. Well, she laughs while I tear up. I love her so much and am so proud of who she is. And did I mention I think she is GORGEOUS?? I know I'm her mom, but I just had to say it, OK??

Ruidoso Family Reunion WARNING!! (LOTS OF PICS!!)

2008-06-30T17:10:00.008-05:00

This past weekend we went to Ruidoso, New Mexico for a little surprise party for my grandparents. (Dad's parents) We went to celebrate their 61st wedding anniversary. We had family from Utah AND Arizona there, so it was a really fun get together!

My Nanny and Grandaddy

I just love the Gaines side of the family! They are goofy, loud and SO fun!! Everybody makes fun of everybody and everybody laughs. All. The. Time. It is never a dull moment with these people. Ever. When I leave them, I already look forward to seeing them again. I guess that's the way it is suppose to be, but I really feel blessed because I know not everyone has a family like mine. And it all started with Nanny & Grandaddy. Nanny's laugh is SO contagious. Even if you don't know why she is laughing, you just laugh. It's funny. SHE's funny. Grandaddy is quiet until he thinks of something that turns out to be the funniest thing you've ever heard. Then you can hear us a mile away.

THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE:

This is the BEFORE picture: 4 generations!!

And this is the AFTER: This is one of my favorite pictures of the weekend. It is the perfect example of how we are as a family. Laughing all the time!!Mine and my dad's face makes me laugh sitting here. You might be thanking me for no sound for this picture. It's just loud and I LOVE it!

We had a surprise dinner for them Saturday night at Cattle Baron.

My dad gave a sweet talk thanking them for how him and my aunts were raised and how they did a great job. It was so neat to hear some of the stories he told. It was really emotional at times. We also got a 30 min. video together with pictures from their childhood on until today's time. It was put to some really fun music - it just turned out great.

Aunt Tamra and Uncle Jim

Aunt Dana and CRAZY Uncle Gene (AKA-Egor)

My Aunt Dana made an autobiography about my Nanny (she already did one about Grandaddy) and gave a copy to everyone. It was really cool to read.

That night when we got home, we all got changed, then not knowing what everyone else was doing we all were reading Nanny's autobiography. Glen thought that was SO funny that he took a picture of us 3.I had NO idea why he was taking a picture, hence the cheezy grin.

Cousin Kailee and Mr. Jude

Bailey and the favorite cousin Ryan!! He is a BIG kid. Seriously. That's why we love him so!

Avery (AKA RED EYES!!!) and Kailee

Trace(AKA Bailey's crush) , Taralee (Isn't she the cutest mom - EVER!!??) and Baby Brody

Miss Danica and her hubster Cody

Parker and Ainsley

Momma and Daddy

Russy Rus and my Daddy (And yes, he did that face on PURPOSE!! He's just a LITTLE goofy! Pretty Par for my family.)

My bro Bradley and and sil Little Debbie

We celebrated Parker's 7th birthday and Brody's 1st there at the cabins. Mom made Parker's cake and it was SO cute. It had a big mirror on it that said, "Look who's turning 7!" Seriously adorable! She is SO creative! She puts me to SHAME!

Birthday boy Brody. He is a GREAT baby!

Parker in her new tutu, bow, and necklace - seriously though, isn't she C.U.T.E!!!???

Aunt Tamra brought a Pinata and the kids had a BLAST smashing it open, or trying to.

Avery's turn

Jude takes a swing. (with a smile of course!)

Birthday girl gets a chance to whack it!

My neice Ainsley was a little slugger

Jude just loved the pinata head!!

THE family we all came from. Grandaddy, Nanny, Daddy (front)
Aunt Dana, Aunt Tamra (back)

My crew

The family portrait of my family - as you can tell, none of us knew we would be taking a family picture. It was a spur of the moment thing. Ha.

All the cousins. We have a picture of a few of us when we were little doing this, but with 7 (mostly adults) doing it - it was FUNNY. I have a "better" picture, but this one is SO funny! We were all cracking up - the people taking the pictures included. Maybe you had to be there.

Of course we HAD to go ride the horses while we were there. It is really just horses that go in a circle, but to Jude - they were horses and he was the cowboy. Nothing makes him happier! Avery and Parker rode too, but I am SO tired of loading pictures.

I can't forget about my AWESOME cousin fixing a HUGE problem with my car, just cause he can. RYAN!! You Rock.

My baby turns 4!!!

2008-06-21T23:21:00.004-05:00

We had Jude's 4th birthday party this weekend. The preface to this birthday weekend is that I fell at the pool and hurt my back, AGAIN. So...my mom came in town to save the day and help with the kids and make the birthday. She made the birthday cookie and everything. I don't know what I would do without her.

We had a pool party, but with a cowboy theme, I guess you should say. With my back hurt I really didn't care all that much about the party as bad as that sounds. I was just thankful that we were having a party at all and that I had such great help.

Mom and Dad gave Jude this horse for an early birthday present the night before the party. Jude went upstairs and put his boots on and his cowboy hat. My little cowboy!!

Mom and Jude with his cookie she made. She was so sweet to make the cookie for me. It had a red bandana and his name on it. She is SO creative! Thanks Grammy!!

The whole party clan

Glen waiting to give "five" for blowing all the candles out.

Cindy and Dennis gave him this tool set. He's ready for tool time!!

He got Spirit the movie (his favorite) and a cowboy book. He was in heaven. Can you tell??

All the kids at the party. It was a small group and I was thankful. We only invited 4 kids. So I guess half came. Ha. Thanks Spell kids!!

I truly cannot believe that my baby is now 4. That just blows my mind! Happy Birthday Little Man!

Parker's Kidquest

2008-06-13T22:38:00.000-05:00

This was the first year that Parker got to go to ACU leadership camps. When you are going into 1st grade, you get to go to Kidquest. Parker has been waiting so long to go. Avery and Bailey have been going since they were her age and it just seems like forever that she had to wait.

She was so excited to have Kimberly Lewis as her counselor. That is who she was hoping for so she lucked out on that one.

She had the best week. Her friends Landry and Kennedy also went that same week. Keep in mind that these girls are the same age. Parker looks 2 years older, at LEAST!

Calling for Willy!!

On Friday they have a little program for the parents. They show us all that learned throughout the week. One of those things was the wildcat warm-up. They call Willy the Wildcat out to lead them in this.

Jude is so scared of Willy. This is where he was while Willy was doing his warm-up. (under his chair)

This is part of the warm-up:

Balance... balance.... (on one leg)

Brush - Brush - Brush (pretending to brush hair)

It is awesome that my girls get to spend a week around good Christian counselors at camp. My kids are blessed by their example and I am thankful!!

Gladiator Breakthrough 2008

2008-06-08T12:52:00.002-05:00

This weekend I was SO blessed to be able to be a group leader at our church for a weekend retreat for middle schoolers called Breakthrough. It is really a weekend to allow kids that have finished 5th grade to get to know some middle school kids and what the middle school youth group is all about. You know, breaking through to middle school. I can hear the ahas now. Our theme was becoming Gladiators for Christ. And that we all have "gladiators" in our way of following Him and we have to just keep fighting them. Avery got to go and so I loved getting to "check on her" throughout the weekend.

Me and Suzanne led the group together. She is going to be a Senior this coming up year and reminds me SO much of me at that age. Just goofy and fun and not afraid to make a fool of herself. Ha. No. The kids LOVED her and even though she made fun of me the whole time and told me I was old, I LOVED leading a group with her. She is AWESOME!!

They had us make up names for our groups and I had gotten these blue bandanas for all the girls (to match our Breakthrough shirts). A few of the girls had the bandanas tied around their heads and someone in our group had the BRILLIANT idea to cal us The Blue Unicorns. We turned our bandanas around to make a point with the end of the bandanas, and The Blue Unicorns were born. We thought it was so clever and cute, but needless to say, I'm not sure anyone else did. Ha. But it was SO funny ALL WEEKEND!! My girls LOVED it!

We gave ourselves the most creative group picture for this one. ( I'm serious. All weekend we were SO creative and NOONE gave us the credit, so we just gave it to ourselves.) We rocked it OUT!

Avery got to go and so I loved getting to "check on her" throughout the weekend. Her group leaders were Sylvia and Bailey (not mine of course) and she had a BLAST!

Bethany, Avery, and Sydnie

Part of the weekend was getting to fight some real life Gladiators. They were dressed up in all kinds of outfits. I am sad I didn't get a picture of them, they were awesome. So Avery got to fight on the joust with one of them. One hit and she was DOWN. She got a big strawberry on her foot which she still has a scar from. She was upset and embarrassed, but got up and was fine.

Remember the Alamo!

2008-06-05T20:42:00.007-05:00

This week we went to San Antonio for a little spur of the moment vacation. We stayed with one of my favorite friends, Allison and her husband Matt. I met Allison at Kadesh 8 years ago this summer. She was actually in the room when Parker was born, so to say we are close is nothing but the truth. Ha. They were SO sweet to let us come stay with them. Their home was beautiful and it was the perfect getaway, WAY better than any hotel. Their precious kids Hudson and Harper are the cutest things you have ever seen.

The first day they went with us to Sea World. They go a lot, so they went to show us the ropes. They were so helpful and told us what to do and what NOT to do. We had so much fun with them.

The kids in front of the Sea World fountain

One of Jude's favorite things in the world is horses. He loved getting to see the Clydesdales at Sea World. We went back several times to see them. Jude's souvenir was a stuffed horse and he carried that around the whole time.

Here's the crew waiting for Shamu. The picture after the show would have looked a little different. We were ALL soaked. Baby Harper and all. I guess that's why they call it the splash zone. Dodo me didn't think that it would be salt water. I know. Duh Nicole. It is the water that Shamu swims in!! It was seriously sticky. Who knew?

Me, Bailey and Parker in the little kids water park - I promise I'm not choking them.

Allison took us to a really cool mall called La Cantera that is outdoors. It is just like any other mall except the roof covering the walkway was not covered. It was all open air and it had the best stores there. It was fun to just hang out and shop. I of course was going for some MAC. :)

Parker with her new sunglasses and the Judeman shopping at the mall

Getting 6 kids to all smile proved to be too big a task for us. So this is what we got. It TOTALLY doesn't do them justice!! Her kids are GORGEOUS!! (BTW-It was hot and REALLY sunny that day. Not that I'm making excuses. :)

We ate at the Rainforest Cafe on the River Walk. It was a great experience for us and the girls.

Jude on the other hand freaked out every time it thundered. He would crawl under the table and do this. Nice.

On the River Walk

My 4 favorite people!!!

The kids were looking forward to seeing the Alamo. I guess they had learned about it in school and it was something that they REALLY wanted to see. I'm telling you though. San Antonio is a VERY hot place. The best time to see anything there is in the evening. NOTE TO SELF!

The last day we went back to Sea World. We got to feed the dolphins, ride more rides and swim at the water park they have there.

This is the only picture I have from the water park. It was over cast and Glen took the girls on all the slides while Jude and I hung out at the wave pool, so there wasn't anyone to take pictures. So you get this goofy grin from Jude - but really. What more do you want!! Ha.

It really was a fun vacation. I am so thankful for Allison and Matt for letting us stay with them. They were amazing hosts and made sure we had everything we needed and more. I feel so blessed to have Allison in my life. Her friendship is one that doesn't come along too often and I cherish it more than words.

I love New York!!

2008-05-16T19:51:00.003-05:00

Glen's parents took Glen and me to New York City for a special summer treat. They wanted to take their boys to see a Yankees game while they were still playing in the old stadium. For me, it was a trip to NYC!!! Yippee!! We met Glen's brother Jason and sil Sara there because they live in Colorado. It was so much fun taking a trip with just the 6 of us without kids. That doesn't happen that often as you can imagine. :)

Roye Sue and her "fellas" at Grand Central Station

The first day it was raining but we still went looking around went over to Canal street. It is a street where you can buy knock-off purses, watches, and all kids of what I would consider goodies. (Glen would NOT describe it as that. ha) The rain really took a toll on us and after being out in it for several hours, so after it got dark we headed back to the hotel.

The whole crew before the Yankees game

The guys thought this would be funny. I thought it was cute. I have one of them turned around, but I like this one. The 3 baldies.

The next day we went to the Yankees game. Glen's family are HUGE Yankees fans. Glen had looked forward to seeing them play his whole life. That day we went to the Subway series with the Mets, but sadly we lost. It was still such a blast. The weather was PERFECT!! I had a blast just people watching and enjoying the atmosphere and weather. It really was fun.

We ate at the fanciest restaurant that night in our Yankees gear. We all thought it was funny because this policeman recommended it to us knowing how we were dressed. We could feel the stares as we made our way through the place. Glen also almost crawled under the table when I asked for ketchup for my filet mignon. I guess our classiness was evident from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. Ha Ha.

We met my cousin Rustin and he tried taking us to a cool place that had dancing and pool, but we couldn't get in because Glen had on shorts and Jason had on sandals. (THANKS GUYS!!) So we walked FOREVER trying to find a place to hang out. We ended up at Gavin DeGraw's bar. It had live music and Rustin and I got to swing dance together. It was SO much fun and a MAJOR workout!! We also watched 2 people make out a foot in front of us for 15 minutes. It was nasty AND funny. Everyone around us were taking pictures. I am still not sure we weren't getting punk'd. (Yes. I DO know Ashton Kutcher. And yes he might punk me - OKKAAAY!)

The girls

We went to the Statue of Liberty. I had seen it when I was there before (I was 16), but it was fun to be with Glen when he saw it for the 1st time.

Rustin took us to a place called The Shake Shack and it was one of my most favorite moments of the trip. The weather was cool and pleasant, the food was amazing and I loved getting to hang out with Rustin. He is SO funny and it is always so fun to be around him. He always makes me smile!!

Me and cuz Russy Russ again

Rustin took us back to Canal Street for more goodies. I got a blister on my foot from walking in the rain in flats, so I took my shoe off and went bare foot. Glen and Rustin were GAGGING out! Rustin even took a picture, but honestly I STILL don't see what the big deal was. My foot hurt, I didn't want it to hurt, so I solved the problem. I ended up buying some really cute soft boots and my foot felt great after that. But it was funny to see them look SO disgusted with me.

Me and New York's Finest

You KNOW I had to go to the MAC store. I made a special trip the day we left JUST to go there. I think they should have a new slogan. Original of course. It should be MAC. Nuff Said. Catchy huh?? That's my slogan at least. :)

THANK YOU BOB AND ROYE SUE FOR AN AWESOME TRIP OF A LIFETIME!!!

YCW program

2008-05-12T14:10:00.000-05:00

We had our end of the year program at YCW. So glad that it is over, but it turned out REALLY good. I was told that my class did GREAT and that made me feel awesome! I was really proud of my 4 year olds.

Me and my little man before the program. We had shirts that were ALMOST the same. His letters were all in zebra and mine were different animal prints, but he still felt like twinkies. He LOVES his shirt!!

Jude's 3's class was so cute. They say down to sing, but Jude wasn't in the most singing mood. He sat and smiled most of the time.

He did a few motions, but for the most part watched himself on the screen behind the class. I think next year we are doing away with the big screen.

It is more of a distraction to all the children than something that enhances the parents view. Jude sure had a good time watching the back of his head though.

Whitney and Landon's reception

2008-05-10T15:11:00.000-05:00

Our sweet friends Whitney and Landon Sheets had their wedding reception at the zoo tonight. They are getting married in Colorado in June, so we were excited to be able to celebrate with them at the zoo. I never think to have any get together at the zoo, but let me just tell you. It is awesome. There is something for the kids and then the adults can talk and not worry about if the kids are getting into something they are not suppose to. We tried to take some family pictures there, but it is a MAJOR task to get 2 adults and 4 kids (heavy on the kids part) to ALL look good in a picture. But these are the ones we came away with.

This is a little fuzzy, but seriously it was as good as we got.

My girlies doing the "cuckoo" thing from Sound of Music

Me and my girls

I got this one of Jude while he was not wanting to take a picture at all. He was sliding down this hill on his bottom and while he was doing that I snapped this picture. Can I just say that this is one of my favorite pictures of ALL time!! Kool-aid stain that he had just gotten on his shirt and all. It just captures who he is to a tee!!

I love this one. Glen is always turning and doing this when we are taking a picture together and I usually laugh like I did this night. He is just SO sweet!!

Bailey turns 9!!

2008-05-09T14:01:00.004-05:00

We had Bailey's birthday party. We always try and think of something creative to do and somehow seem to come back to some of the old things. I try and give my kids a choice on what kind of birthday party they want. One of the choices that I gave Bailey was an ALMOST sleepover. She ended up thinking that was a good idea. Of course I loved it because I didn't have to have any extra kids spend the night, but still let her feel like they did most everything except sleep that a normal sleepover would have.

Bailey chose Hannah Montana party, so her cookie said Pump up the party cause Bailey's 9! My kids have been on a roll with picking a cookie instead of cakes. Easy for me, so I'm not griping.

We decorated pillow cases for part of the party favor/activity. I love choosing party favors that actually count as an activity/game for the party! It really helps with my stress level. :)

They watched the movie Meet the Robinsons and ate pizza. I couldn't believe that they would be into the movie that much, but they were GLUED to that tv.

Then they all got glow sticks and went to jump on the trampoline and play outside in the dark.
It was really fun to watch them and hear all their little squeals. They are holding up 9 fingers for Bailey turning 9.

Carrie Underwood

2008-05-07T15:26:00.000-05:00

Glen's mom called me at school and asked if I wanted 2 free tickets to see Carrie Underwood in Lubbock on the next day. I jumped on those tickets so fast. Carrie Underwood is one of Avery's favorite singers, so I was SO excited. One of my mil's co-workers had won the tickets and couldn't go because of other plans. So the deal was if she gave me the tickets, I had to get her a Carrie Underwood shirt at the concert. To me, that was a GREAT deal.

I picked Avery up from school and asked her to name her top 5 favorite singers. The very first one out of her mouth was Carrie!! When I told her that I was taking her to Carrie's concert, she thought I was joking. I told her that I AM the best mom ever and it was her 5th grade graduation gift. (I know - I have already thought about when the other kids graduate from 5th grade and I am setting the standards REALLY high. - Any ideas?? Ha)

I picked her up early from school on Wednesday and we drove to Lubbock. We ate at a really good Italian place and then went to get ready at my mom's house. Of course my mom was out of town, so we just borrowed her house.

Josh Turner performed first and he was great, but Carrie was AMAZING. She sounds just as good as she does on the radio.

One of the cutest things was how Avery just could NOT understand why we could not talk to Carrie. Our seats were so close to the stage that I guess she figured that we should be able to go up and meet her. I loved getting to go to her first concert with her. It will be a favorite memory for sure.

We got back LATE that night and both of us had school the next day, but it was SO worth that $30 shirt (+ our $30 shirts + gas + dinner - ha ha) I bought for the co-worker.

Cowboy Round-up

2008-04-20T14:14:00.001-05:00

At YCW we had a Cowboy Round-up for all the kids and it was SO much fun. One of things I love about teaching there is that I get to see Jude during the special activities we have every so often. I love to watch him interact with his class and see his face light up when he sees me watching him.

There were several activities that all the kids got to do. One was make a cowboy frame.

He also got to throw horseshoes.

Branding the cow was his favorite thing to do. I think he went back several times just to do it again.

He really was concentrating on making himself some trail mix. I found out later that he was using his hands and he was suppose to be using scoops. Nothing like spreading those germs in the food that everyone is going to eat. :)

Easter

2008-03-23T02:11:00.003-05:00

My favorite Easter picture of my babies

We had a great Easter holiday. We went egg hunting at Glen's grandmother's house like usual. It was pretty cold and so it was challenging trying to hunt for eggs and get good pictures outside. Of course we had already gotten their outfits before we knew it would be cold, so their clothes are not quite weather appropriate.

Bailey finding a sneakily hidden egg

My little man on the hunt!

Avery giving me the "don't take a picture of me" look

Parker showing off her loot

Starting the back blogging - Spring Break

2008-03-17T13:34:00.005-05:00

So this is what I'm going to call back blogging. It is where I don't blog for months at a time, and then try and catch up with some quick little posts. It is also where I feel nothing but guilt that I have not made time to do this until now. Where I look at the date that I posted last and feel like I have SO much to remember and wonder what I'm going to forget. I actually feel like crying right not, but I'll push through and get this done. If there is a story I was suppose to blog about, hopefully I'll remember it. I am going to try and get this done this week because the girls are gone to music camp and I might get a little bored. OK - here I go. Where to start? Hmm.

I'll start at Spring Break.

The Crew

The kids and I went to the cabin in Ruidoso for most of the week. Mom and Dad were there on their Spring Break also, so we got to hang out with them. We took Avery's best friend, Bethany with us so it was a special trip for us. It was our first trip with a friend so I was a little nervous, but Bethany is one of the sweetest girls that I have ever met. I am so thankful that she and Avery are such good friends.

Ave and Bethany

My kids favorite thing to do at the cabin is STILL going for a hike. We did and Bethany got a little sick. There is nothing like taking another child 6 1/2 hours away from their parents and them getting sick!!! She was and always is SO sweet. I just hated it for her. You always want your mom when you don't feel good and so I really felt bad for her.

We went to our favorite park and the kids really had fun playing. It was especially fun since Ruidoso was still in school and some of the 5th graders came to that park after we had been there for a while. I think my kids were feeling just a little cool that they were out.

Another thing the kids did was play fusball. We had some major matches going on, but sad to say that noone could stand a chance against ME!! Ha Ha. It is so fun beating little children. :)

Pottying, Ainsley, Water, Tests, & Rocks

2008-03-12T11:10:00.020-05:00

WARNING!!

Blogger is TOTALLY messing with my fonts. I have been working for over 15 minutes trying to get it right and I am now giving up!! SO sorry for all the weird fonts. The were not done on purpose.

POTTYING:

Top News of the day!! Jude is officially potty trained!!! I am done with diapers guys!! It took some time and patience, but we did it. We meaning Jude, me and Jude's teachers at Mother's Day Out, Ms. April & Ms. Lori. Jude started going potty at school for them, but still didn't want to at home. I kept trying with no results. Ms. April and Ms. Lori took him every time they took the other children and he would most of the time be successful. After each successful potty at school, she would let Jude come tell me in my class. (ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT I WOULD EXPECT FROM ANY TEACHER!!!) So, after all the encouraging words from Ms. April, I made the last run for diapers about a month ago and swore that it would be the last. AND IT WAS!! Woo Hoo. I am so proud. Don't ask me why. Every person in the world learns how to go in the potty, but I still am just so proud of him. Yeah Judeman!!! (and Ms. April) :)

AINSLEY:

My niece came to visit for a week. We had SO much fun with her. She fits in our little household SO well. She is SO smart and sweet, I just LOVE having her with us. She is 5, but very petite, so she even got to come to my school and be in my class (I teach the 4's class). We have 2 girls and 9 boys in our class, so the girls are ALWAYS excited when Ainsley comes so there is extra estrogen in the room. And again, she fits in our class perfectly!!! I took this picture at the house when the girls were at school. I can't wait till she comes back to visit. We were already talking about the next trip before she left.

WATER:

Glen thinks that I am insane because I found a new water that I am in love with. He thinks that all water is the same and that the water out of the tap is just as good. Well, I do like water out of the tap, but I found my most favorite water EVER!! Actually I found it about 4 years ago in LA. It was different looking and I tried it and liked it. I had never seen it before, so I totally thought that it was an LA thing.

I have since come to realize that IT'S NOT!!! It is right here in my little Texas town. I just love the taste, the size of the bottle, the look of course (HA), and mostly love that it helps me drink something that I usually have a hard time being motivated to drink. The funny thing is, I keep seeing people on TV drinking this water. I have stopped the tv several times and run it back to show Glen and of course he laughs and tells me I'm crazy! So... here it is.....my new water!! It is called Fiji. LOOOOOVE IT!

TESTS:

Update on Avery and Bailey's tests are that they both felt confident about how they did on the test. That was a blessing in and of itself. They both finished before lunch, which made me feel even better. Thank you to all who prayed for my girls that day!! We'll know if they worked in a few months.

ROCKS:

We went to watch Bailey's soccer practice yesterday. Jude and Parker usually get out and play in front of the car during the hour practice. Well yesterday, Jude got in the car with his shorts around his ankles. He was trying to get them around his shoes to take them completely off. I was on the phone, so I was trying to give him hand gestures and evil eye him to make him stop. I guess I need to work on the evil eye thing cause next thing I knew, he was in front of the car with JUST HIS UNDERWEAR ON!!! I got off of the phone pretty quick after that. BUT....while I was still on the phone, I grabbed his shorts and I barely could lift them. Sure 'nuff, my child filled EVERY pocket full of rocks from the parking lot and they COULDN'T stay on. THAT'S why he was taking them off. He really wasn't TAKING them off, they were FALLING off. So.... like any good mom, I had my camera handy and took these LOVELY pictures. I wish you could have heard some of the soccer girls gagging during practice at having to see Jude in his underwear. There are probably 10 eight year olds that will be scarred for life (or so they think!)

TAKS again.

2008-03-05T08:57:00.003-06:00

Well, today is the reading TAKS day. It has been the day that our house has been dreading/talking about/getting ready for...for weeks now. Actually the girls have been preparing at school all year, but Avery has really been focused the last couple of weeks. She has been tutored by a great friend, Kate everyday after school for a couple of hours. Kate has been AWESOME for her. She feels safe with her and Kate has a way of being patient AND loving AND firm. She gave Avery the sweetest card yesterday with some Extra gum (Avery's FAVORITE treat!) It is SO neat to see their relationship grow the past few weeks. *****(BTW-Kate is a grown up, not a kid. She is actually in her first year of teaching, so she is GREAT with kids. ALL my kids love her, but Avery feels especially close to her.)*****

I am not so worried about Bailey, but please say a prayer for her too today. You never know how stressed they might be during the test. I pray they both take the time to read and visualize what they are reading. That God bless their thought process and guide them to the right answer. I pray they don't feel the pressure of the test and that they KNOW I love them no matter what and that God created them perfect no matter what they get on this test!!!!

I totally started crying when I was saying bye to Avery. She is just so special to me. Well, they all are, but she needs my prayers today the most it seems and seeing her walk away from me was hard. Knowing she was going to have such a focused and intense day broke my heart. I know she'll do good. Bailey too. I just ask that everyone pray for them today. PLEASE!!

PS. I have so many posts to write and I promise this week/weekend I will get caught up!! But for today, I am focused on my girls!

My Man is 30!!!!

2008-02-21T21:28:00.003-06:00

Today is Glen's 30th birthday!!! I have been teasing him all day that I am so bummed about being married to someone that is in their 30's. It is partially true. Even though I turned 30 two years ago, I felt like I could hold on to the 20's a LITTLE bit since my husband was still in them. NOT NOW!!!! THANKS GLEN!!! :)

I have also been teasing him that I married him when he was a boy (he was only 18!!) and now he has turned into a man before my eyes. We both died laughing this morning when I brought that up.

Glen seriously is the best person I have ever met. I know people say that about their husbands, but I truly think that there couldn't be a better man out there. I guess lots of people feel that way though, huh?? I guess those of us that feel that are blessed, because I know not ALL women feel that way.

I am SO lucky that I am the one that ended up with this man. I am so proud of him and the way he has worked his REAR off for our family. Everyday he goes to not the easiest job and busts his rear FOR US. I am so thankful. We have been through ups and downs like every couple, but I am thankful for him and love him more everyday. This is sounding mushy huh?? Oh well.

I get compliments on him SO many times from the most random people. Today a lady that Glen delivers to (he drives for UPS) came up to me and told me how sweet he is and goes out of his way to help her with things, when most delivery guys are always in a rush and won't help. Glen has always been about helping people and would give you the shirt off of his back. It just makes me feel SO good to know that I am not the only one that sees how fabulous he is. THEN my mom almost started crying talking about him today. She adores him and couldn't ask for a better sil. Our whole family just feels blessed by him and loves him so much.

So......Happy 30th Birthday Glen!!! I love you!!!

Valentine Date With Daddy

2008-02-18T16:11:00.004-06:00

I am so bad about posting when things happen. It always has to do with my camera. I am either too lazy to go get it to download pictures, or......well, that is the only reason now that I think of it. So since we are all IN the house on this GORGEOUS day doing homework, I decided that I would finally post about last week when Glen took my girls on a Valentine Date.

Our church had a fancy Daddy/Daughter Valentine dinner for all the girls ages 3 to 5th grade. This year was special because that included ALL of our girls. Sadly Avery won't get to go next year because she will be in (GULP) Middle School. So anyway, Glen asked all 3 girls on a special date for Friday night. The girls were SO excited. We painted their nails, curled their hair, got them all dolled up for dad. Glen left a little early to get the girls some roses and a special Valentine bracelet for each of them. It was such a special night for all of them. Jude and I had our own date at Sharky's. I made him hold my hand and told him that people on dates hold hands. I'm not sure he was impressed with that. Ha.

Glen rang the doorbell holding their roses and bracelets.

Handing out the roses and bracelets

It was a semi formal dinner, so they felt so pretty. I loved seeing them glow.

Daddy and his girls

Then Jude wanted to join the group

Walking out to the car (Yes I got EVERY moment. :)

In the car, ready for mom to quit taking pictures

Off they went. I have to admit, I had some tears running down my face thinking that one day it won't be Daddy taking them away, but some other boy. (SAD FACE!!!!)

Flowers RULE!!

2008-02-13T19:14:00.003-06:00

I got a phone call from my brother today. You know the ONLY brother I have, Bradley. Well, I KIND OF forgot that he is a floral merchandiser for a large grocery company and his livelihood depends on flowers. In my last blog, I dogged getting flowers and he let me know that if I want me and my kids to continue to get great Christmas gifts(They give AMAZING gifts!!), then I need to support flower giving and receiving. So... I am going to give my top 5 reasons why getting and/or giving flowers RULE!!!

1. Getting flowers delivered to the house or workplace is an instant mood booster. No matter why they are being sent to you (an apology, special day, the list goes on......) it will always boost your mood to see that someone has sent you flowers.

2. When someone has sent you flowers or gives you flowers, you know that they spent some time thinking about what kind of flower would make you smile. Being thought about always makes ME feel good. AND if you are lucky enough to go to my brother's stores, you'll end up getting a WORK OF ART, not just a flower arrangement.

3. Fresh flowers make any place look brighter no matter what. Some even smell your house up and mask the scent of dirty diapers. That's always a plus!! Plastic flowers just aren't the same!!!

4. Giving flowers can be just as fulfilling as receiving them. Finding JUST the right words to write on the card can make even a simple arrangement SUPER special.

5. When you realize that you TOTALLY forgot to do something special for someone, it just takes a phone call and a GREAT gift can be sent. You don't even have to leave the office. You can even act that was your plan the entire time. :)

OK. So I know those were a little cheesy, but I think they are all true and flowers can be a VERY special gift to give or receive.

This post is dedicated to my favorite brother Bradley.
I love you!!

Valentine Gifts

2008-02-10T17:54:00.000-06:00

This year Glen gave me the most AWESOME phone for an early Valentine's gift. I HEART it so much. It is pink and everything. (The picture turned out blurry - but trust me. It's cute!!) I am married to the most thoughtful man who is SO generous. I sometimes wonder why God loves me so much to bless me with such an amazing man!!

Glen and I usually don't do big Valentine gifts. I really don't like him getting me flowers because it just feels a little wasteful to me to buy something that will die in a day or two. So we usually do something very small. My favorite gifts are homemade. I love him to do homemade cards with lots of thoughts on them. I also like to make cards for him and other crafty love actions. (Not the kind you are thinking, but that too) :) Hee Hee!!

Someone asked today that when girls SAY they don't want anything for Valentine's day, do they REALLY want you to surprise them with a gift?? OR do they really mean don't get them anything??? So what do YOU say on Valentine's? Give me, Give me... OR don't get me anything?? Do you do BIG gifts for each other OR keep it simple?

Students of the 6 Weeks

2008-01-21T15:32:00.000-06:00

At my girls' elementary, the teachers pick 2 students each 6 weeks to be the 'Student of the Six Weeks'. It is a very big honor to be picked and ALL of my girls have been picked this year. Bailey was picked LAST 6 weeks, and this 6 weeks, Avery and Parker got chosen. They have a ceremony after school for them to be recognized. They are called up one by one and afterwards there are refreshments. The kids just love it and feel so special. I am SO proud of these girls.

Mr Adams (the principal) and the girls. Jude was feeling a little left out I think and jumped in this one. :)

I CANNOT find the pictures of Bailey at her ceremony, so...here is a picture of her and HER teacher Mrs. Sharp (at Halloween). We LOVE Mrs. Sharp. I feel like a bad mom for not having HER ceremony picture, but what can ya do??

Avery and her FAVORITE teacher, Mrs. Varner. What are we going to do without Mrs. Varner next year. This is a teacher that Avery has said she wishes was her Grandma. Now THAT's a teacher!!

The thing that I think is cool about Avery is that she does NOT make straight A's or even straight B's, the teachers chose her for trying HER hardest and being a great girl. I just love that it isn't ALL about the child's grades. Avery would NEVER get chosen if it was JUST about grades. I am SO thankful that she has great teachers this year that think she is sweet and special, just like I do.

Notice Parker's nervous feet. I thought that was so cute.

I know everyone has heard of Mrs. Reese by now, so.... here is Parker with HER favorite - Mrs. Reese.

WAY TO GO GIRLS!!!

Playing puppy - it's all about the treats!

2008-01-21T15:20:00.000-06:00

While I don't post pictures where you can check my kids tonsils all that often, I thought these pictures were funny. My kids - ALL my kids were playing puppy and so I took their picture. They were giving each other treats for doing tricks (which I still think was their sneaky way of getting ANOTHER snack after school!) and taking turns being the dog trainer. So then I had to take a good one of them where they don't look like they are dying for a cup of water. :)

2 things to add. Yes there are Christmas presents in the back because this was before we had done ALL our Christmas with everyone. AND.....notice Jude's NEW smile. Isn't is charming??? My little Popeye.

Parker : My little inspiration

2008-01-18T17:39:00.000-06:00

The girls all share a room. IT is VERY hard for them to keep it clean. Harder for one most of all. (Parker) She is 6 1/2, but just isn't the most tidy child. She is too carefree and fun to bother herself with keeping her bed made and picking her stuff off of the floor. So.....the rule is that they are only responsible for picking THEIR own things up. Well, this past week their room was a disaster and it was time for a good cleaning. Avery and Bailey got all of their stuff done pretty quick. Well, Parker was the only one left with things to pick up and this was what she said with her eyes filled with tears, "I was NOT made to clean!! I was made to worship God!!!"

I about died laughing when I heard that, even though after thinking about it, she was SO right. She LOVES God. She writes love notes to Him daily and talks about Him constantly. I think it is SO special for a 6 year old to be that mindful of her Creator. I can learn a LOT from her.

SO.....even though I love to have a clean house and that IS important (Don't get me wrong about THAT!) I think Parker's view on this is spot on!!!

Christmas was GREAT

2008-01-02T17:44:00.000-06:00

Christmas was so much fun this year. It was just us and the kids. No other family was here. I felt a little weird about that, but it turned out to be great. We woke the kids up after I heard someone sneaking down the stairs (Bailey).

The kids were excited about their loot, but mom always has to have that Christmas morning picture!! :)

Avery's favorite thing was her pink cell phone and polka dot suitcase.

Bailey's favorite was her Academy gift card and a black knitted hat.

Parker's loved her Heelys.

Jude's favorite was his animals and the "big one truck" he asked Santa for.

We went to Cindy and Dennis's for Christmas lunch. Their daughter Tracy was in from DC. She is SO great with my kids. We always have fun at their house!

I talked to my mom Christmas day and she said it was my first Christmas without her there. I was OK until that moment. It just made me sad. I told her 31 years was an awesome run!! :)

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!!

Avery KNOWS!!!!

2007-12-23T10:01:00.000-06:00

So in my fast track catch up, I forgot one minor detail. Well, not really THAT minor. WE TOLD AVERY ABOUT SANTA. Yeah, so while you are thinking , " Isn't she already too old to still believe in Santa?" and trying to remember how old she is exactly, I'll tell you. She just turned 11!!! I know. It is very old to still believe in the old guy that dresses up in a fat red suit and delivers millions of packages every Christmas Eve. But....she did. Until about 2 weeks ago when she came home from school and told us how embarrassed she was because she was the only one that still believed in her class. I asked if she actually told everyone that she still believes and she said no. OK. WHEW!!!!!!! That would've been WAY worse for people to actually KNOW that she still believed. ha.

When Glen got home and heard the news about her embarrassment, he was quick to want to tell her AND all the other kids. (He is so ready for our kids to be grown) SO.....after a little sadness I got the video out and called her in our room. She TOTALLY thought she was in trouble. So I just matter of factly told her and she matter of factly couldn't have cared less!!!! She wasn't mad. She wasn't sad. She was silly beyond words and just said ok and thought that she was cooler than the other kids in the house.

I have told her that she is going to get to be my helper this year while we do Santa, and while I don't know exactly that will MEAN....she is WAY excited. I think it is cool that we share the secret with just her this year. I know she feels special and I LOVE making her feel that way.

She has been warned not to say a WORD about it to the other kids. She hasn't and I think it is again because she thinks she is too cool for knowing and it being a secret between JUST US. I don't look forward to ALL the kids knowing. I think it would be easier on me and Glen, but I don't care. I love playing Santa and now...... I have a new helper!!!! :)

Fast track catch up......

2007-12-22T10:45:00.000-06:00

I have been so bad about posting. Honestly, my life has been too busy to sit down and write it all down. I am sure some of you feel the same way. (you are just better about doing it) Here goes.....

We had our Thanksgiving Feast at school and it was great. Jude had his too and he looked so cute in his turkey hat.
Here is me and the little man at HIS Thanksgiving Feast.

Thanksgiving was great. We went to Ruidoso. It snowed, we went sledding...it was a BLAST!! My brother was the only one that had a camera, so I don't have pictures of me flying off of the sled with my dog. It was hilarious though. I was so scared that I ruined my jeans (You know the important things...not that I almost killed my dog! :) We stayed inside a lot, so here a few pictures of us all watching a Ratatouille together.

Parker

Avery

Bailey

Jude laughing AND eating

We also took the Christmas picture of the kids while we were in Ruidoso. It was so pretty because the trees were covered in snow. We did try and get one with the dog, but it just DIDN'T work out, so.........

here is the Christmas picture of the kids that we used on our card this year.

We got home and within the next few weeks, Parker got LICE at school. I have never been SO devastated in my life. I seriously had to keep telling myself that some children have cancer and this was NOT a big deal. It was just so overwhelming. We did 22 loads of laundry at the laundry mat and still had more laundry at home. It was just so expensive and time consuming. We had to wash everyone's hair with poison. It was just not lovely. It took about 2 and a half weeks to feel like we were done with it. I am still braiding all the girls' hair and spraying it with hair spray everyday. They say that deters the lice from getting on the hair. We'll see. I have several funny stories about the whole lice thing, but I'll save them for another post.

Avery's 5th grade class has been singing all over town and had their Christmas program too. They sang downtown before the Christmas parade, so after we listened to them sing we all went outside to the parade (for as long as we could handle it - it was FREEZING!!)

Jude, Aunt Becky, Nana Sue, Bailey, Avery, Farryn, and Parker

Next was Avery's 11th birthday. She had a movie party at Grandmama's house because they have a big projector that comes out of the ceiling and a huge screen that rolls out too. So Avery wanted a High School Musical movie party and it was a blast. She invited 5 girls and they had so much fun quoting the whole movie and singing along.

I made the cookie that says, "What time is it? It's Avery's 11th birthday" If you know HSM2, you know "What time is it" is a song from the movie. Sadly HSM2 come out ON her birthday, so we just watched the 1st one. We made CD's called Avery's mix to give as party favors and they got to decorate their own CD case. We also did HSM tattoos.

Avery got an iPod from us and my parents. This was Avery's reaction when she saw what it was. It was SO fun to see her SO excited about something.

The birthday gang

Here is the picture that our 6 year old took for our Christmas card. So this is the second picture on our card this year. THANK YOU PARKER!!

THEN...of course Christmas and all the parties started after that, so here we are. Glen and I are fixing to go shopping for the rest of our gifts. Thanks to our friend Cindy for keeping the kids so that we can go shopping ALONE and even go out to eat. YEAH!!

I hope I didn't forget anything. If I did, I'll go back and write about it later. It's good to be back. Whew!!!

Ruidoso for the Weekend

2007-11-14T11:56:00.000-06:00

We went to the cabin in Ruidoso this past weekend. It was so much fun to get so many from the family together for a few days. Bradley and Ainsley, and of course my parents drove most of the way with us. Then, we met up with my grandparents from Odessa and aunt, uncle and cousin from Arizona in Ruidoso. Mom made a great stew for us on Saturday night and we all had a good time listening to mom's school stories. Ha. :)

Nanny and Grandaddy

Aunt Tamra, Nanny, Grandaddy, and my daddy

Uncle Jim and my mom

This deer came up about 10 feet from the cabin eating deer corn we had put out. We all had fun watching it. The deer even let us talk and make some noise. Someone ended up making TOO much noise though, cause it walked off after a while. OR it was just full, we won't even know I guess.

Glen and Jude watching the deer, SOOOO quietly.

Nanny and Grandaddy and ALL the great-grandchildren

Bradley, Nanny, Grandaddy, and ME!! I LOVE this picture!!

Jude hopped up on the bar to watch Aunt Tamra make a yummy 7 layer dip minus about 2 (ha ha). It was still WAY good. I think that is all Jude ate for lunch that day. (We could tell on the car ride home) THANKS TAMRA!!!

We celebrated Nanny's 79th birthday which is in a few days. It was fun to surprise her. My mom made the cake and the kids all helped decorate it.

This is my cousin Ryan that all the kids ADORED!! And the next few pictures explain why. He is just SO fun!

Bradley (Bubba) and Ryan took the kids on a hike on Saturday and then on Sunday Glen took Ryan's spot and went. My kids' favorite part of Ruidoso is hiking with Bubba! I might have to go next time to see what EXACTLY they do on these hikes. MMmm.....HHHmmmm.

We are going back for Thanksgiving and we are already looking forward to it! We DID miss our DVD player in the car this time though. Man....those things are great and of course you never know what you have till it's gone, right??

100th post!!!

2007-11-07T19:20:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe that I have made it to my 100th post. Time DOES fly! I know alot of people do NOT like to read these, and those people don't have to. :) BUT.....for whoever DOES, here goes....

1. I was born Jennifer Nicole Gaines.

2. My birthday is May 28, 1975.

3. I have one brother who is 3 years older.(Bradley)

4. My brother was REALLY mean to me growing up, but now as adults, I count him as one of my closest friends.

5. We moved a lot when I was growing up.

6. My dad was a coach, nuff said.

7. I always wanted to go on the field with my dad while he was coaching.

8. The only time I got to was as an adult. I STILL loved every minute of it.

9. I wanted to have a son so that he could go on the field with my dad since I never got to.

10. My dad retired from coaching BEFORE I had Jude.

11. That broke my heart!

12. My Sophomore year I went to Permian High School in Odessa.

13. I graduated from Monterey High School in Lubbock.

14. I was a twirler in junior high AND high school. I loved it!

15. I don't talk to anyone from my high school anymore.

16. I met Glen when he was a senior in high school.

17. We married 2 days after he graduated.

18. YES! I robbed the cradle. He is 3 years younger than me.

19. I wonder why God gave me Glen.

20. Most of the time I think Glen is WAY too good for me.

21. My favorite job in the world is being a mom and wife.

22. This was my dad's number in football and Avery's AND Bailey's number on the soccer field.

23. Glen and I've been married for 11 and a half years.

24. My favorite color is black.

25. I love jewelry.

26. I love make-up.

27. MAC make-up is my FAVORITE!!!!

28. One of my favoritest (I made it a word OK?) things to do is going shopping at the MAC counter with my mom.

29. OK. Make that one of my favoritest things in the world to do is shop with my mom ANYWHERE!!! She's my shopping buddy!

30. My mom makes everything OK. Still to this day I want her with me when I get sick.

31. I hope my kids love me like I love my mom.

32. I want to love my kids like my mom loves me.

33. I have allergies and have since I was about 5.

34. Bailey scratches her throat like I scratch mine. It is an awful sound.

35. I am a little stubborn. OK a lot stubborn.

36. I really like purses. They can be bought whether you are having a fat day or not. They ALWAYS fit!!

37. One of my dreams is to ride horses on the beach. Maybe one day!

38. I used to HATE my nose, but now I think it is fine.

39. My hero is my daddy.

40. I have several best friends (Cindy, Mom, Kathy, Anna). They are all different ages, but I consider them all the best of the best!

41. I have one that I call my bestie. (anna) I know it is childish and I don't care.

42. With every pregnancy I wanted to have a boy.

43. I finally got my wish when Jude was born. Woo-hoo!

44. I DO love my girls though. Turns out God DOES know what he is doing!

45. It is making me sad that my girls are getting out of the bow stage. I'm trying to hold on to it as long as I can.

46. Avery has WAY passed that stage. :(

47. Speaking of passing - Avery is going to pass me height wise before too long. IT IS KILLING ME! It is harder to discipline someone that is eye level with you.

48. I really like acrylic nails, but also like the way short nails feel and look on me. AND they are free. :)

49. Yummy smelling candles are some of my favorite things to get as gifts. It is always interesting to see what scent people pick for you.

50. Watching disabled/overweight people or animals on tv, makes me not able to eat. I have to leave the room or just not eat. I have always joked about putting a picture of a really overweight person on my fridge to curb my appetite, but I never have. I know this is WAY abnormal.

51. I hope I don't hurt anyone's feelings by writing some of these things on here.

52. I love to tan. I KNOW I KNOW. It is bad for you.

53. I like to sing to my kids and be silly. I think they like it too.

54. I think Glen is so cute. Even that bald head is cute to me.

55. I hate to do laundry. Not the best thing to hate with 4 kids.

56. Oh yeah, I have 4 kids!!!

57. I do NOT like to wake the kids up in the morning. That is Glen's job.

58. I made something up called "Fun Night" where I spend 15 minutes with one kid per night. They each have their own night and they get to choose something that they want to do with me for 15 minutes at bed time on their night. The usual is nails or make-up, while watching tv of coarse. Sometimes they surprise me and read to me. I LOVE that!!

59. I love to go jogging with my dog Harley. She loves it too.

60. I usually run close to 3 miles.

61. I haven't run in 2 weeks and I am feeling like a loser!!!!

62. Growing up I would get strep a LOT.

63. As an adult, I get it at least once a year.

64. I have 2 nieces. One on my side (Ainsley) and one on Glen's side. (Madalyn) I miss them!

65. I do not have my degree.

66. I haven't needed one yet, but still don't know what I'll do when Jude goes to school.

67. Sometimes I think that I am a laid back mom and at others think that I am VERY strict.

68. I want to be a good mom!!!!

69. I love Rocket Dog shoes.

70. The pediatrician called me a skater the other day because I had Rocket Dogs on and a camo hat. It made me laugh.

71. My life long friend Paige and I had matching life like dolls growing up. Mine was a girl, Tiffany and hers was a boy ,Jason. They really sucked their pacifiers and people REALLY thought that they were real. We had so much fun with those things. I still have mine too.

72. Someone from high school that I didn't know very well asked me if I had a face lift since then. I laughed at that, but didn't quite know what to think. Still thinking on that one.....AND laughing!!!

73. I have come to love the Yankees because Glen loves the Yankees!!

74. I used to ask my dad who he was going for (still do) and whoever he was for, I was for!

75. I have 3 living grandparents.

76. I DO consider Glen's grandparents like my own though. They are very special to me!!

77. I really like teaching the 4's at my Mother's Day Out. I have been doing it for 8 years.

78. I like to have white teeth.

79. I am the reigning champion in the family at the moment for whitest teeth. :) HA HA Bradley!!!

80. I love to take naps!

81. I love to garage sale.

82. I love reality tv.

83. Whoever invented DVR deserves some kind of prize.

84. Long toenails gag me out!

85. I wear glasses/contacts.

86. I have been on 1 cruise and I hope to take my family again one day. They still talk about it and we went a year and a half ago.

87. I love my dimples, but they are turning into wrinkles. BUMMER!

88. My iPod is one of my favorite things.

89. It makes me SO sad to see my kids grow up. I cry about it every once in a while.

90. I can't imagine my life without my kids.

91. My kids are my buddies.

92. I wish I could have another child, but Glen said no.

93. He said no to having number 4 (Jude), but I talked him into it.

94. There is no talking him into it this time, unless we go back to the doctor. *wink wink*

95. Getting my hair done is something I look forward to the minute I walk out of the salon.

96. I already have some Christmas shopping done.

97. I love hot baths in the winter time.

99. If I could go anywhere for vacation, I would go to the beach.

100. This hasn't been as hard as I though it would be. It was kind of fun.

OK guys. I am sure after writing all that that very few will make it to the end, but it was fun anyway.

Halloween 2007

2007-11-01T21:32:00.000-05:00

The crew

I have had several people get onto me for not posting in a while, so I thought with a big event like Halloween passing by there would be little chance of getting by without at least one post. Of course now I have pictures for PLENTY of posts. I'll just wrap them up into one though.

We went to Trunk or Treat this year at our church. It was fun and the kids had a blast going around getting LOADS of candy out of peoples trunks. You can really rack up some candy going to those things!

Jude aka Cowboy
(He posed like that ON HIS OWN!! I LOVE this picture!!)

Parker aka Farmer
She LOVED being a farmer and told me last night that next year she wants to be a farmer again!! I love that she liked being something different than anybody else.

Bailey aka Batgirl
Bailey was going to be a Jack in the box, but decided at the last minute to be batgirl. She liked that we matched at the small group party later that night.

Avery aka Baby and her BFF Bethany aka tennis player
Ave was going to be something different too, but decided on a baby for comfort reasons I think.

THEN we came home so Glen and I could get dressed up in OUR gear for our Halloween party with our small group. I was Batman and Glen was the cutest Elvis EVER!!

We had so much fun seeing everyones costumes. We really have a creative small group that LOVES to dress up. Batman and Elvis was about as good as Glen and I get!

This week Glen's uncle Rick came over to carve a pumpkin with the kids. They love getting to share that with him.

Uncle Rick is one of those fun uncles that the kids just gravitate towards. He gets the kids ice cream every Sunday after lunch and is just always fun to be around. He has carved pumpkins several years with the kids and thought they might have outgrown it, but Avery made sure that he knew that they were NOT too old for carving. :) We love Uncle Rick!!

Bailey was the only one that wanted to get her hands dirty, so she got the job of helping Uncle Rick get all the guts out.

Last night we went Trick or Treating which is really just driving to all of our family and friends houses. It took about 2 and a half hours, but it was fun. We have so much candy, it is ridiculous. I have got to find something to do with it all - BESIDES eat it!

I love this picture of the kids Trick or Treating last night. They just are SO cute!!

Last but not least this is my class today at our Fall Festival (yes it was a day late) We have 9 boys and 2 girls so Cindy and I dressed as Batman and Robin so that they would think we were cool. Cindy was a great Robin and played the part well. She would even remind me that she was Robin today, NOT Ms. Cindy. It was just a blast to be a big kid and not care who was watching you. Of course anytime I am dressed up, I get a little character driven. :) I had fun spreading my cape all day when I walked down the hall and speaking "Bat talk" to the kids.

The kids had a BLAST with us all day. They did however tell me that I CANNOT be Batman because I am a girl, so they changed my character to Batgirl. I had one little boy ONLY refer to me as Batgirl all day. He came out of the bathroom and said," Batgirl, can you help me with my pants." It was TOO cute!

Cindy and I spent an hour and a half last night decorating our doorway to be the enterance to the Bat Cave.

There was a contest for teachers costumes and WE WON FIRST PLACE!!! We get our prizes on Tuesday! We were so excited. This is my second year to win first place, so we have a lot to live up to next year. Ha.

I ran my first 5K!!

2007-10-06T20:58:00.000-05:00

I know this picture is dark, but is the only one of my cheering section before the race. Glen was of course taking it, but he was there too! :)

So after MONTHS of talking about running a 5K(3.1miles), I finally just signed up for one last week. Cindy's daughter had signed up for one and I thought that if I didn't just sign up, I never would REALLY do it. It is so easy to say you're going to do something, but to really do it is a whole nother ball-game. (I've never typed that out before, is that how you say it?? whole nother??? ANYWAY!!)

Me and some guy that passed me right at the LAST second. I guess he didn't want to let a GIRL beat him. HA

I "trained" really hard this past week with the help of my friend Dennis (THANK YOU DENNIS!!!) He told me how long to run, what to eat, when to time myself, when NOT to run. The whole nine yards. I ate pretty good this week too, so I was REALLY feeling like a for real runner. HA.

Dennis (AKA-my trainer) and me - He really does smile!! Just not for pictures. :) NOTICE: I ran so fast my headband fell back!! Nice!! So much for fashion. Avery said that I looked like I was trying out for American Idol with the number on my chest. HA. That girl!

Today was the big day. I was really nervous and went into with 3 main goals:

1.Finish UNDER 30 minutes
2.To run the WHOLE way
3.Not to be last

All of these I was pretty sure I could do, but you just never know - ya know?
Well, let's just say that I made my goals by a LONG SHOT. (except I did WANT to walk once, but talked myself out of it)

My time was 27:33 and I actually got a ribbon. Yes, that's right - A RIBBON!!! I got 6th place in my age bracket. Dennis's time was 21:47 and he was UPSET he wasn't faster!!! Oh my. I guess real runners are crazy like that!! There were 175 runners ranging from 5 - 80!! I was WAY impressed.

Parker wore her My Mom Rocks shirt just for me!!

It was hard, but I really had fun. After we finished, we all headed over to Cindy's for breakfast. Pancakes, bacon and fruit. YUM!! She was so thoughtful to think to do that, and I even got to pick the menu. THANKS CINDY!

Bailey has already said that she is going to run with me next year, so that is something to look forward to. She loves to run and that gives her a goal that we can strive for together.

Not sure when my next one will be (There is one in November!!), but my first will always be remembered as an AWESOME experience.

BTW-Avery has been SO sweet this week about the race. She prayed about it at her Bible Study and has every night since. Then tonight, she came and said that I did good running. She even wrote in her prayer journal a thanksgiving prayer about it. That girl knows how to make her momma feel special! :)

Harley Marley turns 1!!!

2007-10-01T22:18:00.000-05:00

Harley's first picture - The night we chose her to be a part of our family

I can't believe it has almost been a year since we got our Golden Retriever, Harley. Most of you know the story of our first puppy that got parvo the day after we brought her home. SHE was the little dog that I have always wanted. After she died, I told Glen that he could pretty much get whatever dog he wanted to. A good friend has had Goldens for a long time and she planted the seed that a Golden would be the perfect dog for us. "I'm" the one that found her in the paper and when the guy brought her and another puppy for me to choose from, "I'm" the one that chose her. So when I blame Glen for us getting a big dog, it really is blame shifting on my part.

Today is her one year old birthday. Parker INSISTED that we throw her a party and could not understand why we couldn't invite her dog friends. So we went to Wal-mart and got her a new toy and treats to clean her teeth (shh... she thinks they just taste good). She got to get the treat out of our birthday plate that everyone gets to eat out of on their birthday, the kids though that was the coolest!

This is the crew at the birthday party tonight

Honestly, Harley Marley (BTW-Glen started calling her that and it has officially become her middle name) is the best dog for our family. She actually obeys pretty well. I've gotten lots of compliments on her behavior which means the world to me. It is like getting a compliment on one of my children. Parker has a special relationship with Harley. She is always the one that loves on her and baby talks to her. It is so sweet to watch. Avery isn't the biggest fan of Harley, but deep down loves her and is protective of her. Jude and Harley are buds. In fact, Jude was TERRIFIED of dogs until we got Harley, so she has been a blessing in that regard. Bailey comes in a close second to Parker. She really does love her. Harley has been a GREAT dog for our family - all round. My FAVORITE thing about Harley is that she is my running partner. She motivates me and actually takes my mind off of the run. The shedding I could do without, but I wouldn't trade her for anything!! (Even though I tease about it)

Happy Birthday Harley Marley!!

Trading Spouses - Funny AND Sad

2007-09-27T22:23:00.000-05:00

This is going to be an atypical post for me, but I just have to post about this. I was reading one of my favorite sites TMZ (Don't think bad of me!! I just like this site. Would it gag you out to know that I read Perez Hilton everyday too?? SORRY!!) today and saw that a girl that was on Trading Spouses died in a car wreck on Tuesday. I LOVE the show and one of my FAVORITE episodes was about this devout Christian family who changed moms with an athiest. This Christian mom OF COURSE went OFF at the end of the show!!! She was screaming, "They're dark-sided." and "I'm a God Warrier!!" Over and over. Come on!! Don't you remember?? Her name is Marguerite Perrin and her daughter's name was Ashley. They are just unforgettable to me. I was SHOCKED to hear about her daughter, Ashley's death today. It really made me sad. I'm not sure why I feel a little close to her, but I just do.

ANYWAY. On another note, but close to the same.........They ended up being on a second show that traded spouses with a prejudice black family. It's called God Warrier Part 2. I watched a clip of it on YouTube today that seriously made me cry and laugh so hard I couldn't even open my eyes!! I was doubled over with my whole face completely wet WHILE my kids just stared at me. THEN when Glen got home I played it for him (the whole time he was saying, "I've already seen this - with NO laughing) and STILL I was dying laughing. The thing is she is GAGGED out (literally) by any talk of gas or burping. It is the funniest I have seen in a really long time. It made my day watching it again. SO I wanted to share it with you. It really is just the first 2 minutes that is hilarious, the rest gets on my nerves because it is about the man being prejudice. So let me know what you think. AND did you laugh!! Come on people!!!

The funny thing is that I get sick like that when I am eating and there are animals, disabled people, or anything dirty while I'm eating. I don't know why I'm like that, but I just am. I kind of think I think it is funny cause someone else does this too. Anyway. Let me know what you think!!

Mrs. Jody Reese / "Me" box

2007-09-24T10:34:00.000-05:00

Mrs. Reese telling the class that Parker is her neighbor (WE LIVE ACROSS THE STREET!! How cool it that?? Look at Parker's face!! THAT girl is feeling special!!)

Parker's Kindergarten teacher this year is Jody Reese. Some of you already know her, but I just HAD to write a little post about this amazing lady. I have known Jody for over 11 years and Glen has known her for longer (not even sure how long). She has come to my baby showers and shown love to my girls since they were babies. My girls have loved her even before they had her in school, BUT she HAS had all 3 of my girls in Kindergarten. While you think that I should know her pretty well by now, I am always blown away every time I see her with children.

Parker sharing her "Me" box

On Friday Parker took her "Me" box to school to share some things about her with her class. Jude and I went upon Parker's request. As I sat there, I got tears in my eyes watching Jody with Parker and the other children in class. I cannot put into words how blessed she is as a teacher. Some people were just MADE to be teachers and Jody is one of those. Her expressions, her tone, her sweet words are just touching to watch. I couldn't have prayed for a more wonderful teacher for my kids to have in Kindergarten. There is a peace knowing that your child is being loved and taken care of at school. I am SO thankful for Jody and what she does for my family, and for children in general. This world is a better place because of her!!

Jude was such a big boy and sat so quietly listening to his big sister!! He looks asleep, but really is just looking down!

One small sticker on the potty chart, one GIANT leap into potty training

2007-09-21T21:14:00.000-05:00

NEWER UPDATE: We are going back to diapers. He just isn't ready. While I am still anxious as to what others will think, my husband said the sweetest and most encouraging thing today. When I was telling him that I didn't want people to think of me as a bad mom because I am putting Jude back in diapers, he said, "Nicole, you are doing what a good mom does. Watching YOUR child and doing what it best for HIM. THAT is what makes a good mom." I am SO thankful for a supportive husband!!!! So we will try in another month and see how it goes and I am OK with that!!

UPDATE: I have to admit that I am wavering today whether to keep potty training Jude. He loves to wear big underwear and can go on the potty if I ask every 30 minutes, BUT he has NEVER on his own asked to go. He has had several accidents where he doesn't even tell me that he has gone which has been very discouraging. Then he will not have an accident for HOURS at a time. We go to school tomorrow and I am very nervous about how it will go. This has been one of the mots stressful times as a mom for me. It is ranked up there with Bailey not figuring out how to nurse. I am just so afraid that he is just not ready and I am forcing him to do this out of my own insecurities as a mom. I don't want the scrutiny from anyone questioning why I am stopping, but I just don't know what to do!! I am going to see how the day goes. It has really only been 3 full days, so should I give it longer?? I am just at a loss!

Well today was THE day. The day where I put Jude in underwear. It has been quite an experience. He has done better than I thought he would. He has had 3 accidents all day. I thought that was pretty good, considering he went on the potty about 15 times. AND he even went poop once. Just a little, but it still counted. He has been loving the movie Cars, and has been wanting a cup with Lightning McQueen on it, so that has been our motivation today.

Here he is watching the Cars movie. He isn't even looking at me, just smiling and still watching the tv.

Tonight I got the cup but also got some Cars stickers and made a sticker chart for him. We will see how tomorrow goes. I told him that if gets 5 stickers in a row, then he can have the cup. I need some smaller rewards for him and he doesn't really like candy, so any ideas??

Mezmorized by Cars!!

I am really proud of him even though he did have some mistakes. I started thinking today about his accidents and realized that they do call it potty TRAINING for a reason. I never had to try that hard with the girls, but for him it is going to take some training and that is OK.

Tonight when I was putting him to bed, he did NOT want to put a diaper on. THAT was such a big step for me and just the push I needed to let me know that it is the perfect time to be training him. I put his underwear over his diaper, but it looks like we will be off to the store for some pull-ups tomorrow for bedtime!! Wish us luck!!

Random Things

2007-09-20T15:47:00.000-05:00

I try to be a really great mom.

Sometimes I feel like I am not.

I know lots of people that think I am a good mom.

I feel like I have fooled them.

This is starting off very negative and I don't like that.

I love to exercise, but sometimes don't because it is hard to find time.

That is an excuse and I know it.

I get my hair done TOMORROW!!!

I cannot WAIT.

I get headaches a lot.

I have one right now.

I love teaching in the 4's class.

I miss teaching with Anna.

Cindy has been an awesome replacement.

My favorite job besides being a mom was working in a tanning salon.

I would love to work in a tanning salon again if I got the chance!

Tanning is bad for you, but I still like it.

I struggle with this issue.

Money and I don't like each other.

I'm hoping one day we can be friends.

I worry too much about what people think of me.

I am trying not to care so much anymore and it is a daily decision.

I would LOVE to have another baby.

THAT is not going to happen thanks to a doctor and Glen.

I have seriously loved gum since I was a child.

Gum is the only thing I have ever stolen and I even picked it up off of the hot pavement so that I could chew it. (I was 4)

My girls share my love of gum.

I love tv shows that I probably shouldn't.

I love reality tv. It's my favorite. Sadly even the trashy ones.

If the bottom floor of my house is clean, I feel like I am doing good.

I HATE laundry.

I would pay someone to do it for me.

My vacuum broke a couple of months ago and I have been borrowing Cindy's.

My dog Harley sheds like no other animal I have ever owned.

That is the one thing that gets on my nerves about her.

I wished I had a little Mini Schnauzer.

I like to play guitar.

I'm not that good, but it is fun just the same.

I love to play and sing with my kids. They love it too.

They think it is cool that I play the flute.

I am waiting for them to realize that it really makes me kind of a nerd.

My favorite moment if the day is reading to Jude at night.

Glen reads to the girls every night when I am reading to Jude.

I love white teeth.

My brother and I always check to see who has the whitest teeth.

My brother is WAY more creative than me.

His house could be in a magazine and HE did it all. His wife doesn't get to help. HA.

I love for him to "help" me with my house.

He doesn't like to "help" me with my house.

I want to be the fun aunt.

I like big styrofoam cups WITH straws.

I usually keep an old one and drink out of it even when I'm home - Sonic ones are the best.

When people get hurt, I laugh.

Not on purpose, but that is just what I do.

I HATE when I do that. It makes me feel bad.

Feeling bad makes me laugh harder.

I get mad when someone laughs when I get hurt.

I am not a fan of double standards - but still have them.

I think it is hard to find GOOD friends.

I have a few GOOD friends. Not a lot. But enough.

I have a hard time trusting friends because of past relationships.

I love to camp with my family.

I am WAY excited about my parents new cabin.

I love good smelling candles.

The candles that are my favorites are expensive. Go figure!!!

OK. I think I am done.

Pigs, and freaks and us, OH MY!!!

2007-09-14T22:09:00.000-05:00

Tonight the kids and I went to the fair with my friend Cindy. (yes - the same friend that is my co-teacher) A child in our 4's class gave us five tickets to the Fair and so we used those to get in the gate. The kids had been BEGGING to go, so they were chomping at the bit when they found out that we were going tonight.

We first watched a pig show that was really cute. The guy said that pigs are the 5th smartest animal. When I got home I told Glen about it and he said the only reason they said that was because it was a PIG show!! Oh who knows??? These pigs were pretty smart though and they did all kinds of tricks. They are suppose to be famous pigs too. It DOES sound a little too good to be true now that I think about it. Hmmmm.......

The "famous" pig

There are some different kind of people at the fair. At one point Cindy said it looked like a freakshow. I was wondering if anyone ever thought that when they looked at us. You never know. We got a kick out of seeing all the strange looking people there. Not sure that is the purpose of the fair, but it sure is fun. :)

The only normal looking people at the fair.......US!!!

Parker being a big helper and riding with Jude

Who needs Superman when you have these 2 Supergirls??

The kids got to ride 2 rides each and if they went with Jude, that was just an extra ride. Avery and I were the first to go on this one that was just a little too scary for the both of us. (Of course the picture of this didn't turn out so great!! Ugh!) It was like a circle roller coaster where you just go around in a circle. We were the only ones on the ride and 15 seconds after the ride started, she was asking to get off. We went upside-down and we just hung there. She was almost in tears because she thought that she was going to fall out and I TOTALLY remember that feeling when I was younger. So it kind of freaked me out thinking she really was going to fall out. We both got off thankful to be on the ground.

Cindy and Parker on the Farris Wheel

It's me and Bailey on some crazy fast ride!!

We all had a great time and even ate some great food. We tried deep fried oreos. Those were pretty yummy. I'm sure I had enough calories to last a few days, but it was way fun to eat all that nasty, greasy food that you are not suppose to eat......ever. Once a year though, surely you can't clog an artery in one night can you???

Look at Ave being a great big sister!!

I understand why people get excited about the fair. It IS fun. I love making memories with my kids!! I am already looking forward to next year. :)

And that comment was ok because.........??

2007-09-13T16:59:00.000-05:00

So I am at Walmart yesterday will 5 children. (I know I am brave huh??) 3 of mine, and 2 others that are younger than mine. They all have blonde hair and COULD belong to me, but I was just babysitting the other 2. So a lady comes down the aisle and passes me. She then proceeds to back up her cart and say, "I have to ask, are all of these YOUR children??" I said no that the 2 younger ones were not. She then says, "Well, I was going to say - there is such a thing as birth control and I could tell you how to use it." Ummmm........WHAT???? Why is my birth control or lack thereof and of HER business??? Well, to answer it isn't. Her question irritates the fire out of me, but what was the MOST upsetting was MY response. I chuckled and smiled!!!!!! It makes me mad just thinking about it. I wish I would have said, "There is such a thing as manners and I can tell you how to use them." Of course this is a good 20 minutes after the fact that I think of this cute little dig to say. UGH!!!! Next time I am going to wear a sign that says MY SEX LIFE IS NONYA BUSINESS!! Or would that be trashy?? :)

Happy Birthday Momma!

2007-09-12T12:43:00.000-05:00

Today is my Momma's birthday!! She is turning....well let's just say next year she will be a double nickel plus 5. (Shh. You didn't hear that from me!) :) She is my inspiration for what kind of momma I want to be and everything I am as a mom is because of her. My Momma truly has the gift of being a mother. She loves me in so many ways and shows me pretty much daily. She is my number one encourager and give me 5 minutes with her and she cheers me up and makes me feel like I am the best thing since sliced bread. I want to be to MY kids what she is and HAS BEEN for me!! MY MOMMA IS MY SUNSHINE AND I AM HERS!!
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know dear how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away!!

Happy Birthday Momma! I Love You!!

Jude's first day at YCW

2007-09-11T21:41:00.000-05:00

Jude is in the 3 year old class at Young Children's World this year. He is the only child in his class that is NOT potty trained. I would pretty much pay someone at this point to train him for me. I am struggling SO bad with it. Mostly because there is just this stigma on mom's that don't have their kids potty trained by the age of 3. (He turned 3 in June - go on judge me, everyone else does!!) I hate it!! He is just not showing ANY of the signs that he is ready. He has gone on the potty a FEW times, but that is it. I could go on for days, let's just say I need all the advice I can get AND if there is anyone that wants to take on this task - I WILL take out a loan to pay you. (You think I am kidding??)

OK. I have SO gotten off the point of this post. Here is his first day of school picture. Again. He is holding up 3 fingers for his age. ISN'T HE CUTE???Jude's first day of school

Jude showing off his MASSIVE backpack (Notice the lunch box is almost touching the floor) My little strong man!!

For those of you who don't know YCW is the Mother's Day Out that I teach at on Tuesday/Thursday. I have taught there for 8 years. (I know. I think it is a LONG time too.) I love teaching there because it allows Jude to play with other children and I get to see other adults. (YEAH!) I wouldn't trade my time there for anything. This year I am teaching in the fours class. It is a class of 9 boys and 2 girls. YES - I did say 9. It will be a great year, especially since I am getting to teach with my great friend Cindy. So pretty much I am getting paid to hang out with my friend and love on kids. I LOVE IT!!!

Ruidoso / Labor Day Weekend

2007-09-04T18:50:00.000-05:00

My parents just bought a cabin in Ruidoso, New Mexico. The kids and Glen and I, my parents, and my brother and niece got to go this past weekend - Labor Day. Can I just tell you what a BLAST it was?? The funny thing is that my parents have been saying FOREVER, "Wouldn't it be cool if we had a place here (in Ruidoso)?" So it was SO surreal to actually be in the cabin that we had talked about for so long.
Me, my daddy, my momma, and Bradley (my favorite brother!)

It is a great place. Nothing fancy, but definitely perfect for us. It sleeps all 11 in our family and even has a fuz-ball table upstairs. There was deer that came up everyday and of course the kids loved that.

Parker, Ainsley, Avery, Jude and Bailey

My favorite things were walking around the golf course with my daddy and playing games with the whole family. The kids favorite times were when Bubba (my brother) took them for hikes.
Ave and her Bubba

They also loved walking to a park that is a few blocks away everyday. Needless to say through the woods and once even through the creek. WEARING SHOES AND ALL! Thank you Bubba and Daddy (theirs) for the brand NEW school tennis shoes that you got all nasty in that creek!! I owe you both!!!!

Me and my MAN!

A really pretty place (is there an ugly place there??) to go in Ruidoso is a huge hotel called Inn of the Mountain Gods. We went up there one day and looked around and took pictures. We were trying to ride the paddle boats, but they wait was SO long it didn't work out. We still had fun taking pictures and being silly.

Us being silly!! Daddy got in on the silliness too. Look at that FACE!

My Momma broke her foot about a month ago and so it was a LONG trek for her to get to everywhere we were going. Poor thing. We all took our turn giving her piggy back rides. Well, some of us did. HA.

Lift with your legs Bradley!! :)

I took a few pictures of Bradley giving her a piggy back ride and let's just say it is SO funny. (From behind anyway.) :) She was a trooper though. It makes you look at permanently disabled people in a WHOLE new light. It is a hard world for people that cannot walk, I'm telling you.

Grandy (my daddy) and Jude

I am looking forward to going back there. Parker asked me the day after we got back when we could go back. I have a feeling it will be a forever favorite spot of all of ours. :)

School is starting!!

2007-08-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

School started today. That in itself is not THAT big of a deal. Summer is over and that is a bummer, but the real sadness comes when I think about Parker (my 3rd daughter) starting Kindergarten. It breaks my heart! She is so precious. She is the one that plays with my hair when I am tired, or rubs my shoulder when I've had a long day. She cries when I cry and has been with me and Jude for the last 2 years. I am going to miss her SO much. I know she will do great. She is SO ready and excited about going. She has the most awesome teacher. Avery and Bailey had the same one for Kindergarten. She is our neighbor and dear friend, Mrs. Jody Reese. I couldn't have asked for a better teacher. I feel so blessed to be able to leave my child with someone who is a Christian, someone that will teach her with the love of Christ. It is a BLESSING I tell you.

Parker - Kindergarten

Parker is making the K sign in sign language. I don't want anyone to think that I have taught my 6 year old gang signs. :)

Bailey got a teacher that Avery has had in the past and I prayed that Bailey would have her this year. Mrs. Karen Sharp has been a precious teacher and our whole family loves her. I couldn't be more happy with Bailey being in her class this year.

Bailey - 3rd Grade

Avery has a few teachers this year. Mrs. Massingill, Mrs. Varner, and Mrs. Blair. My mil knows a couple of them and has only good things to say about them. I know that Mr. Adams (the principal) prays over which child should be in what class and that has always been a comforting thought for me. I know Ave will have a great year.

Avery - 5th Grade

These are their first day of school pictures. A friend gave me the idea to take a picture every year with them holding up the same number of fingers as the grade they are in and I have done it ever since. I always do it in the same place too just to see how much they have grown from year to year.

Lubbock Trip & Water Rampage

2007-08-18T17:11:00.000-05:00

The family

This week Glen had his one week of vacation this summer. So we went crazy and headed to Lubbock to stay with my parents. Woo Hoo!! See while this doesn't sound SO fun to all, it was the best week ever. We got to hang out with my brother, niece and sil! And of course my parents.

Glen and my little man

It was just a blast not having to be anywhere or do anything specific. Mom bought the girls some new school clothes so that was NICE!!! (Where would I be without grandparents?? My mil took them shopping earlier too. Yeah, I'm lucky!)

Parker, Bailey, Avery and Jude

The last full day we had, we headed to Water Rampage. It is a water park in Lubbock that is JUST big enough to be great fun. It has 2 big slides, a lazy river and my favorite - a Wave pool. We hadn't been to a water park since Avery was 3 and she didn't really remember, so all the kids were stoked about it. We had SO much fun. My kids thought they were the luckiest kids in the world.

All that fun made us HUNGRY!!! :)

Dish Scoop and More

2007-02-26T12:45:00.000-06:00

So, the guy came and installed Dish. Yes it took 5 HOURS to do, but it IS in. He had to cement some poles in the ground for the satellite dishes to stand on because he couldn't find a place on our house. I guess that took longer than expected or at least I expected.

After he got them installed, he started to tell me how to do the DVR. YA'LL!! I started giggling I was so excited, which made me embarrassed for being to excited. Anyhoo - It's working and I can't wait to tape(Is that even the word you use with DVR?) 24 OR Heroes tonight and get to watch which one I don't tape. YEAH!! You would think it was Christmas or something around here. So silly I guess when you think about it.

*UPDATE* - So everyone asked about Avery and the TAKS test. We won't know the results for a few months, BUT she came out with a smile on her face which speaks VOLUMES!! She even finished BEFORE lunchtime which was another GREAT sign. So thank you for the prayers. I cannot tell you how much that meant to me.

I am fixing to go work my first Dittos For Kiddos sale this afternoon. Those of you who don't know about it, it is our local top of the line children's consignment sale. When you work it, you get to be one of the first ones to shop. So, I am going today to help people get their stuff in the sale. It is SO organized. I just hope that they have some really great stuff in Avery's size. We don't get ANY hand-me-downs for her since she is the oldest. She just needs so many Spring and Summer clothes. We'll see.

I'll leave you with a couple of funny things that Parker has said in the last week or so.

We are riding in the car and out of the blue she says, "Mom, Jesus is NOT a number".

I was jumping up cleaning the walls with a wipe and she starts laughing and says," Mom, your bottom is shaking". Nothing like the honesty of a child!!

Rockin It with Dish

2007-02-23T15:56:00.000-06:00

So after all the comments about me having to miss Survivor when Jude made that HUGE spaghetti m ess, we have decided to try Dish with DVR instead of cable. I am kind of nervous even though I know TONS of people with it and heard LOTS of good things. I have just had regular old cable for so long and am scared that a big storm will come and knock the satellite dish off of the house. Storm season IS coming ya know?

But I decided to get it for Glen's birthday. (ya know, one of those I-really-want-it-so-I'm-giving-it-to-YOU-as-a-gift kind of thing) They are coming Sunday to install it. Why is it that they always schedule it during nap time???

I am SO excited about the DVR though. I have been told that I am going to wonder why I didn't change to Dish sooner. So here's to hoping that I feel like that next week!!

What does everyone else have? Dish or cable or neither?

Happy Birthday Glen!!

2007-02-21T07:26:00.000-06:00

Glen is turning 29 today. He is the sweetest man that I have ever met in my LIFE. He takes such great care of our family and deserves WAY more than I could ever give him as a birthday gift.

Happy 29th Birthday Glen!! I love you!

Next year, you better WATCH OUT! Hee Hee.

Picture of Mom / Avery's Big Day

2007-02-19T17:54:00.000-06:00

This is going to be a double post. First, I am going to post a picture of my Momma for my friend Stephanie. I just think this is the cutest idea. Sadly I don't have a scanner, so I am using a recent picture. This picture was taken a few months ago with my precious Avery. (Whom the second part of this post is about anyway)
My momma is one of my best friends. I tell her pretty much everything without holding back. She is a great listener and one of the most generous people I know. She loves to give gifts to people. She loves the element of surprise on their faces and the joy in their smiles.

I want to be a mom like her. I want to love my kids the way she loves me and my brother. I have cried many tears thinking about just that. The story that she has told over and over again to me is that when we were little, she would lay in bed and cry because her heart hurt with so much love for us. She would give up ANYTHING for me. (Except the treadmill that she says she is going to start using THIS week. HA!! Love you momma!)

THEN there is Avery. She is in the 4th grade and tomorrow she is taking the TAKS test. It is a standardized test and Avery is taking the writing test tomorrow. She did not do well on the practice test a week ago, so she is VERY nervous for the test. PLEASE say a quick prayer for her to do well. She is such a smart girl and I know she can do it if she will relax and concentrate.

So there you have it. My 2 girls for the day. My Momma and my Avery.

Anyone still there???

2007-02-18T14:51:00.000-06:00

Addictive personality, table for one please!! MAN. This week I have not been on the computer hardly at all. I mean I either I am blogging every hour or I just don't do it at all. There is no in between for me it seems.

I am like that in life in general also. With friends, with exercising, with food, with anything good, anything bad, I just am either addicted or I'm not. There is NO IN BETWEEN!!!! I have known that I am like that for a LONG while. I hate that little tid bit about myself, but have come to realize that it is a really hard thing to change.

This week I made it down to the J's in my bloglines ONCE, so if your blog starts with a letter past the J's, I did NOT come to your blog this week. I know. I can hear the loser comments already. You have that right. I have NOT been a good blogging friend. I didn't even go to my Bestie's blog. THAT is bad!!

So, If you will forgive me, I am going to try a new technique this week. You'll have to bear with me though because I am going to have to split up my comments to every other day. I know that makes people not want to comment on mine, and I TOTALLY understand!!! It is just that if I comment in EVERYONE'S blog everyday, then it would take me 2 hours. SERIOUSLY. I guess it just takes me a long time to comment. I never have been a fast typer.

I guess the main reason I am cutting back is because I feel like I am not seeing my kids and spending the time I need to with them OR Glen. Am I the only one that feels that? How does everyone do it? Do you just comment on the days that you post. And what if you post everyday???

I am just trying to figure this all out, STILL!! You would think after so many months that I would have this down. HA. Not so much. :)

THE Movie

2007-02-12T21:13:00.000-06:00

Well, since several of you asked, I thought I would go ahead and get this movie thing out of the way. Some of you know this story and I am sorry to bore you with it, but I figured I would write about it one day and that day has arrived.

When I was in middle school, my dad was the head coach at Permian High School on Odessa Texas. We didn't win for several seasons when a guy named Buzz Bissinger came and asked if he could write a book about the team. He told everyone that he was going to write a book a lot like the movie Hoosiers. So of course every one thought that would be cool.

That year Mr. Bissinger went EVERYWHERE with the team. He spent time with the family's of the coaches and players ALL THE TIME. Then he left to write Friday Night Lights. When the book came out, it was a shock to everyone in Odessa. It was NOT the book that he SAID that he was going to write.

The book was about my dad, his team, there were even a few things about me which at the time I thought was cool. THEN, I found out what the book was really about. There were so many tears and hurt feelings because everyone just felt betrayed. If you've read the book or if you've heard of it, you probably know that it was a lot about racism. That was SO far from anything that I ever knew and still don't believe half of what was written.

THEN, 15 years later, they make the MOVIE Friday Night Lights. Billy Bob Thornton played my dad (don't ask me why, my daddy is SO handsome and BB, not so much) and an actress named Connie Britton played my mom. We got to go to Hollywood to the premiere and meet all the stars. Faith Hill was PRECIOUS!! It was her and Tim McGraw's anniversary that day and they were just so nice. ( I would post pictures, but I'd had Jude 3 months earlier and I gained so much weight with him, there is NO way anyone is seeing THOSE pictures!! Sorry!) I also LOVED meeting Bryce Dallas Howard (she was awesome) and just SEEING Jimmy Kimmel. I LOVE his show. He caught me staring too. Sorry Jimmy!

The movie was OK. Lots of people ask me if that is how it really was and there are few things that were like that, but not everything. We did have for sale signs in our front yard after losing games. AND I didn't want to go to school because of kids being mean and people talking bad about my dad. So from MY point of view, those were accurate. ANYWAY. That is the movie story.

We Went

2007-02-11T19:55:00.000-06:00

Well, against about 60% of the vote of whether to go or not, we chose to go to my niece's party. We had called about 11:00AM on Saturday and my mom said that she was up and about AND that no one else had come down with the virus. SO, after TONS of discussion, the hubs and I decided to go and brave the storm.

The party was great. We had a really good time all weekend. I hadn't seen my parents for over a month and my brother since Christmas. So the visit was nice.

Before leaving my brother's house, my mom gave all of us our Valentine gifts. The kids all got great stuff, I got some really pretty breast cancer silver bracelets, and Glen got the DVD Facing the Giants.

NOW! For anyone that is a Christian or even if you are not, you need to see this movie. We watched it in the car on the way home and I cried about half of the time because it was so touching. It is a Christian Faith based movie and it is GREAT for kids. I will warn you that it is about 2 hours long, but for kids 5 and up, it rocks!! The acting isn't the best, but the message is AMAZING. I am not a big sports movie fan (yes, I realize how ironic this is since there IS a sports movie made about us). This though is a terrific movie that is MORE than a sports movie.

So, go rent Facing the Giants and tell me what you think!! It changed my life. (As cheezy as that sounds)

PS. We are all feeling fine. WOO - HOO!!!

To go or NOT to go.....

2007-02-09T20:16:00.000-06:00

TOMORROW (Saturday) is my niece Ainsley's 4th birthday and the party is tomorrow also. She is my brother's only child and 1 of our only 2 nieces. We have been planning on going to her town this weekend for the big party. The party is suppose to be at the coolest place. LOTS of stuff for the kids to do.

Today I call my mom (Her and my dad are already there) and she is at my brother's house and HAS THE STOMACH BUG!!! I am still debating on whether to go. I do NOT want to bring that stuff home. She started throwing up last night and says this evening that she feels a little better, but still. If I brought that bug home to MY house with 4 kids, let's just say NOT GOOD THINGS GOING THROUGH MY HEAD about that. We have not been sick in SO long and I just don't want to "go there".

So my question is what you would do. Would you go and brave it out OR would you be better safe than sorry? I need help on this one. I am going to feel so bad if I don't go. We've got the gifts ready, we have been talking about it for WEEKS and my kids are SO excited. But then, I am a MOMMA. I am the protector of my children. That is MY job and if I don't do it, no one will. I am just at a loss for what to do.

Spaghetti Anyone?

2007-02-09T09:25:00.000-06:00

My family loves Survivor. We love to sit down and watch it together every Thursday. Last night was the season premiere and so we were all excited. I had made some yummy spaghetti for dinner and we were going back during the commercials and cleaning the kitchen. While we were watching, I started wondering where our Little Man Jude was. I walked in the kitchen and found this:

He must like his left overs all mixed up together. HA. AND look at the serving dishes. Aren't those classy. Yep, out of pots. NICE.

I couldn't even enjoy the rest of Survivor. I had to get that mess cleaned up before it turned the wood of the table red. I wasn't mad at all. He looks like he is getting in trouble, but really it is more of a confusion on why I am taking pictures at this moment. Has he not figured out that I am going to blog about stuff like this??

Horsin' Around

2007-02-07T19:50:00.000-06:00

To clarify, Anna didn't have any rude comments on HER blog, just me. You know how I bring out the freaks!! HA. BUT she got weirded out by the comments left on my blog. BUT when all is said and done, I think she will keep her blog going, right Anna?

I've heard just about all the stereotypes of Texans. One being that we all ride around on horses. I have always thought that was funny, because WE have never owned horses and I have lived here all my life.There ARE horses in the outskirts of town. (I am making my town sound so Poe-Dunk, it really isn't)

We had just finished taking Avery to her weekly Bible Study, driving past some horses.(7 total) Jude about threw a fit to see them, so I pulled over and rolled the window down. While sitting there I started wondering if they would eat out of our hands. I got out and grabbed a bunch of grass and held it out to these horses that were about 20-30 feet away. THEY STARTED WALKING TOWARDS ME!!! I immediately got the 3 other kids out of the car (Poor Avery missed the whole experience) and told them to grab some grass and feed them.

So we spent about 30 minutes feeding these horses on the side of a country road. IT was SO cool. Even Jude was brave enough (I mean these horses must look HUGE to him) to feed them. It was the highlight of my day. Just watching the kids feed these huge animals and pet them, SO AWESOME!!

Next week we are going to stop BEFORE Bible Study so that Avery can partake in the activity. I can't wait. AND next time I WILL have my camera ready!!

Weird & Rude Comments

2007-02-06T22:11:00.000-06:00

Last night I had some weird and honestly quite rude comments left on my blog. That has never happened to me before. 2 of them were from "someone" that supposedly "has" a blog, but doesn't really post. And then 2 of them were left anonymously. They were from the same person though. I know this for a fact and it is a secret how I know.

Now my friend Anna is thinking more than likely she is not going to blog anymore. I totally understand her reasons and back her up ALL THE WAY. I am going to miss all her posts though if she does quit. She has a very unique blog and I always look forward to seeing what she is going to post. She has been leery of blogging in the past and I don't blame her for not wanting to anymore. There are security issues involved also. I just have a hard time letting someone ruining blogging for me, so I am not sure that I am ready to quit.

I just can't believe that there are people out there just trying to be rude and hurt people's feelings. So.... you will notice that I have made it to where you cannot leave anonymous comments & also I am moderating all the comments. So if you were wondering, that is why all of a sudden you can't access Anna's blog AND my comment section is different.

Fingernail Color & Debra Messing

2007-02-05T20:27:00.000-06:00

So I finally took my Solar Nails off about a month ago. They were so fun and took NO effort, but it was time to let my nails have a break. I now have been painting my nails about once a week and they have stayed great. I've been keeping them really short and really am enjoying them.

That is always the issue, me spending time painting my nails and them chipping the next day. So I have found some colors that I think are AWESOME and actually stay on. The thing is they are not the normal red, pink, or orange tones. They are DARK. OOOHH. Don't be scared!!

When I went to meet Lindsay in Dallas, I took off my (Don't flip out!) BLACK nail polish because I knew I was wearing black that day and I didn't want it to look goth. So I went with a REALLY dark ALMOST black with glitters in it (Of course - nothing wrong with a little shimmer!).

I really am digging the dark colors, but wanted to know everyone's opinion. I am definitely not the average nail "color" lover, and these really dark colors are IT for me right now. What do you think? What do you wear?

BTW-Did I tell ya'll that Lindsay thought that I looked like Debra Messing from the show Will and Grace? I totally forgot about that until right now. So tell me what you think about that too!

Super Bowl Party

2007-02-04T21:46:00.000-06:00

Tonight for the Super Bowl, we had our small group from church over. NOW, this group is HUGE on dressing up. They have had and 80's party, and goofy Christmas dressing up party, and I'm sure I'm leaving something out, but you get the drift.

We have been in this small group for several months and we didn't dress up for the Christmas party. When we walked in to that Christmas party, the disappointment on people's faces made me PROMISE myself to never NOT dress up for one of these "parties".

For tonight, we were suppose to dress up as ANYTHING having to do with football games. It didn't HAVE to be Bears or Colts, just football. I was SO close to calling my mom and having her send my twirling uniform, you know the one. It looks like an old one piece swimsuit with sequins all over it. I knew there would be food and I didn't want to ruin anyones appetite though, so I never made the call. That said, here are some pictures from out Super Bowl party tonight at our house.

We had some great "outfits" in the guy section.

(LEFT TO RIGHT)
Brandon was the Referee. They put tape on his black shirt. VERY creative.

Chad is holding Ava. She was a little football player. He was the Team Doctor. Look how smart he looks!

The 2 sitting in the middle of the couch were just people watching a game on tv at home. They totally fit that part, huh?

Zach (standing) and his brother Landon (seated on the right of the couch) were the Trainers of the bunch. Glad they were there to make sure we had our cups of water!

And then there is Glen the one in the grey t-shirt. He had just played football with the guys today and stayed in his football playing garb. WOW!! He stretched it on that one huh?

The girls were SO creative I thought.

(LEFT TO RIGHT)
The one that left the bathroom with toilet paper hanging out of her pants and has mustard on her shirt, but no one wants to tell her - That's Kara!! Look at her face. WE laughed and laughed about that face that she is making. And she is holding the toilet paper, like she just found out!! SO FUNNY!

Sarah is the football going through the goal posts. How cute is that? I think she won the prize. I mean - She painted her FACE!!!

Can you guess what I am? HMM..... I bet nobody can guess it. I am the Cheerleading Boot Camp Sargaent!!! You know like the one on Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders show!! Come on guys!!

Next is Kate the drummer. She actually played these in High School and I was SO impressed at how she could rock it out on those things! She gave us a demonstration. VERY COOL!

Whitney is next. She is the cutest football player EVER!

And of course the other Sarah was a Bears fan. (Which was easy for her because she REALLY IS!!)

And of COURSE I sent my kids to bed before taking their pictures. What a good mom I am. The girls were cheerleaders. (Hello, my cadets!!) and Jude believe it or not was just a little boy in plain clothes. He woke up about 20 minutes before people started coming over and it was just too late. OH WELL!!

The Colts won. I'm bummed, but I still had fun.

Yogurt That's Good For You

2007-02-02T20:54:00.000-06:00

So by now everyone knows I went to Walmart yesterday. So I am there and I am getting some yogurt. We love yogurt at my house. Now I have heard that yogurt has a LOT of sugar in it and should be considered a dessert, so I have been getting the Dora kind that has 20% less sugar. It also has NO Red 40 dye for Jude (he gets hyper with things that have Red 40 in it).

I went ahead and got the Dora kind for the kids, and saw this Soy kind that is suppose to be really healthy for you. I have gotten it before and it was SO gross, but I thought maybe this time it would taste better. Maybe my taste buds have changed.

I love trying to eat healthy. I think it is important for my kids to see us as adults trying to eat and live healthy too. So I bought this Soy yogurt and was really proud that I was buying something that I thought tasted gross and was willing to eat it no matter if it gagged me out or not.

Cut to today. Lunchtime. I gave the kids Dora yogurt and got my Soy healthy yogurt out. Opened the lid, stirred it up and took a small bite (A little gun shy). AND SPIT IT OUT!! That stuff is NASTY! So I went from proud of trying to be healthy to ashamed that I wasted $3.00 on yogurt that is now in the trash.

NOTE TO SELF: No matter how healthy Soy yogurt says it is, IT IS NOT FOR YOU!!!

Contest!!!

2007-02-02T20:02:00.000-06:00

I want to win this contest. I love this jewelry!! I would LOVE TO WIN!! But if I don't and you do, let me know. I would love to at least "know" the person that wins. That would rock too! Good luck!

Hands Full

2007-02-01T20:21:00.000-06:00

** UPDATE** My husband just read my post and told me that this man wasn't being mean, but instead making conversation. Well, that wasn't my point. MY point was WHO SAYS THAT???** Now for the original post:

The kids and I went grocery shopping today at the beloved Walmart. I would rather go to United (the local really nice grocery store), but Walmart has better deals and it really is hard to pass that up feeding a family of 6!!! So off we went and we rocked it out!!! My kids were like champs in there. We even got a birthday present for a party on Saturday. So we were set. We start to check out with the moodiest check-out lady in the building. Who am I to judge after yesterday though, right? I am loading the groceries BACK in my basket after she rings them up(the most dreaded part for me, besides unloading the whole load at home) and I notice an older man and lady behind us staring and whispering. I kind of felt a little awkward, but I was trying not to care OR look at them. While I was writing my check, the man says, "You sure do have your hands full." Hmm. What does that mean? Why do complete strangers feel compelled to say that to me? Why when my kids are acting WONDERFULLY, does someone have to ruin it with that comment??? AND how am I suppose to respond to that? I usually just say, "I sure do", but I just think it is an odd thing to say to someone. Am I the only one that thinks that comment is bizarre? How come noone says that to the moms that REALLY DO have there hands full? AKA: Out of control children? Anyone else feel like I do or get asked that question?? Anyone?......Anyone?......Bueller?.......Anyone?

Blah...

2007-01-31T14:36:00.000-06:00

**After reading this, I am afraid it sounds REALLY grouchy, so be ready. You may think differently of me afterwards, but PLEASE don't. Don't say I didn't warn you though.**

I am posting again today to let everyone off the hook that hasn't commented on my WW yet. I am doing you a service of not gagging everyone out including me. I had to stop the "ya'll are so cute, pretty, look like sisters" comments. I mean I LOVE those!!! They make me whole year. To even be considered in the same league as my Bestie Anna is a GREAT honor. (Am I going overboard??) ANYWAY, What are you suppose to say to a picture of 2 grown women hanging over a (yes Flip Flip) church nursery door. I LOVE that picture. It is one of my favorites. Truly. It is time to move on to......well other things. After reading this next post, you might be WISHING for the WW picture to comment to. Oh well. Here goes.

Today is blah. It's funny though. I don't "feel" blah. I mean I do, but I don't. My body feels fine. Great in fact. I just have had a weird day. I know most of you think that I am this always fun, happy go lucky, smilin' all the time, AND I AM most of the time, today though, not so much. The SUPER funny thing is I have NO reason to have a day like this today. It has been good. I wish I could say that I was PMSing, but I can't. That would make the most sense to me. Here are some GREAT things about my day that should pop me right out of my mood.

1. I am STILL in my pj's at 2:40 in the afternoon. WOO HOO!

2. BOTH of my kids at home are napping right now!! YEAH!

3. I just made some coffee. See, that is weird for me though. If I have coffee, it is in the morning. NOT the afternoon, it just sounded good today. Warm. STILL I am freezing. I have turned my heater down to almost off because our electricity bill was $415.00 and I about freaked OUT!!! So we are in freezing mode and coffee just sounded good to warm me up.

4. Did I already mention that I have 2 kids sleeping behind me!! It is going on 2 hours now!! Yipee!

5. I have gotten a few loads of laundry done AND cleaned the kitchen without interruption.

See, aren't those great things? Yet, when my husband called about an hour ago (I was already blogging and the kids were already down) he asked me what was wrong. I know I sound blah. I just can't. snap. out. of .it!! I hope it gets better. Maybe when I get the girls from school I will get out of this funk. Does anyone else do this? I have SO many things to be in a happy mood about and I KNOW it. I just can't seem to actually do it.

Wordless Wednesday

2007-01-30T22:12:00.000-06:00

My Bestie Anna and Me

Who took a nap today??

2007-01-29T20:58:00.000-06:00

I always make my two kids that are still home Parker (5), and Jude (2 1/2) lay down for a nap. Now granted Parker is getting to the age where she is not so excited about sleeping. She is always a champ though at laying down and reading OR just resting.

Cut to today where I was SO tired (went to sleep at 4AM and got up at 7am) so we were for SURE laying down today. Jude and I fell fast asleep no problem, but I knew Parker did not fall asleep today. SO, when we went to pick the other 2 girls from school, she starts hitting her foot on her seat in the car. OOOHHing and OUCHing making all kinds of ruckus. It kind of scared me at first, but then I could hear her saying, "My foot is hurting, my foot is hurting (while laughing)!!!" I told her that it was probably just asleep. So then, she says, "I guess my foot was tired today and not my head. Cause it didn't go to sleep today." So there you have it. Parker's foot was the one that took the nap today. NOT her head. :)

Dallas Trip/Meeting Fellow Bloggers

2007-01-28T18:15:00.001-06:00

My friend Cindy and I took off Saturday to drive to Southlake and pick up a stroller that I won on eBay. A JOGGING STROLLER!!! Yeah!! My kids are so excited about riding their bikes while we run. We have done this a few times, but only with the regular stroller. You know the one meant for malls, not bumpy roads. So now it will be SO much easier to push my little man.

On the way to the Dallas area, we stopped in a nice convenient store so that we could use the restroom. There was a lady there in the bathroom with her 2 girls. We were guessing they were her girls because they were calling her mom, but she actually could have been their grandmother. So when we came in the bathroom, the mom was pulling her child's pants up with the stall door open. Cindy and I were both waiting for a stall when we heard, "Mom, close the door." I looked over and the MOM was going to the bathroom with the door OPEN!!!! I was freaking out. There is no need for me to see a grown woman with her panties around her ankles. I'm sorry. That is too much. She yelled back to the girl," NO, mommy needs to see you and (sister's name)". I get that. Pull them in the stall OR let them put their backs to the door on the outside of the stall so that you can see their feet, but to go to the bathroom with the door open. COME ON!!!

Next we went to pick the stroller up in Southlake. If you have never heard of Southlake, you need to know that it is a very ritzy area. I knew by just talking to the guy that he was a little bit on the yuppy side. In fact, in one of the e-mails, the wife had "mentioned" (why I'm not sure) that her husband drove a Lexus SUV. So when we drove up in a Cindy's husband's Versa (brand new mind you) we were already thinking that they were going to start laughing at us at first site. Their house was not all that great. It was nice, but not THAT nice. Ya know what I mean. They weren't going to make ME feel like they were above us. I was bound and determined. So the people come out and start to help load up the stroller. I was impressed that they offered to help. So as we were walking to the car, the wife starts to ask about my running and how far I go. When I said 3 miles, and that I was planning a 5K in April, she giggled and said ," OH that is how we started, only with halfs." (You know half marathons) "We do marathons all the time. Both of us". Why oh why. I am sorry, but I feel plenty fine with starting with a 5K. OK. I am proud, but it really bothered me her saying it that way. I guess you would had to heard that conversation to know exactly her tone and how it sounded. Well, it just sounded yuppy.

THEN, we were on to bigger, and better things. MEETING LINDSAY from My Splattered Painted Life!!! We met her at the Grapevine mall. She walks up, gives me hug (I love huggers!!), and hands me a GIFT!!! OK. Isn't SHE the one that redid MY blog for FREE? And she is giving ME a gift. WHAAAAAT???? It was a pedometer. You know the thing that you put on your belt to tell you how far you've run. HOW SWEET IS SHE??? We have been e-mailing for a while and chat online almost everyday. I feel like I have known her for a long while. I was SO excited and anxious to meet her and SO glad that I did. She is so pretty and the sweetest thing ever. If there is such a thing as hitting it off as friends, I think we did. We ate lunch and there was not an awkward moment in the whole 3 HOUR conversation. It was a blast. The first thing that Cindy said to me after we said our goodbyes was, "Too bad that she doesn't move closer, cause I think that ya'll would hang out a lot." AWWW. I felt the same thing. So I am starting a petition for Lindsay and her husband to move to my town. OR for her husband to commute. Either way is fine with me. I just loved her!!

After we said goodbye to Lindsay, we came outside to 40 degree weather. It was like 60 degrees when we went in, so we were a little shocked. We were on a mission though. We went and changed in a nearby convenient store bathroom (nasty I know). We put on our running gear and headed to Lake Grapevine to run a route that Cindy had looked up online. We were so excited until we found out that the route that we "thought" we were going to run was clear on the other side of the lake. So we thought, "Oh well, we will just run a route, watch our new little pedometer and turn around at 1.5 miles". That way we can still do our 3 miles. Well, this was really a biking trail, so the first part was REALLY rocky and hilly and REALLY hard to run. We ended up going 3.55 miles, and we were SO happy that we actually did it even though it was like ice outside (It kept getting colder) and it was less than optimal running conditions. YEAH US!!! Here is us after we finished our run. We needed someone to take our picture and so I walked up to this car. As my hand was knocking on the window to ask if they would take a picture, I notice that there is STEAM on the windows!!!! When the guy rolled his window down it was 2 GUYS!!! I made a joke about their being steam on the windows and he said, "Yeah, it's my dad, WEIRD relationship!!" We both started laughing. Guess you had to be there, cause reading that back is not even funny. But believe me it was!! So here is me and one of my best friends Cindy!!! Sorry the picture is so small, I couldn't figure out how to get it on here the right way.

I also met Jenny Ha Ha from Girl Exposed today at MY church. And let me just say for people that have heard from her that she is "FRUMPY", it is all a LIE!!! I was expecting this girl who LOOKS like she has had 3 babies in 3 years, instead she looks like a rock star. She seemed VERY nice in the 2 minutes that we talked (I had to go to church, OK?). Her husband almost broke my hand when he shook it, THAT she was telling the truth about. I look forward to stalking her blog, If you haven't been there already, go. She is hysterical.

OK. Now that everyone has quit reading my post because it was so long, I will quit writing. I couldn't leave ANY detail out though. It was a fun weekend.

A Kid at School

2007-01-26T22:29:00.000-06:00

My oldest child is such a friendly girl. She really is. You ask anyone who has ever met her and they will tell you that she is just friendly. Social doesn't even begin to describe how she is. If we see someone in the grocery store that she think LOOKS familiar, she will tell me to go say hi.
Here is the usual conversation:

Avery: We know her (motioning about a lady nearby)

Me: No we don't.

Avery: Yes we do. I've seen her at my school.

Me: Well, I don't KNOW her though.

Avery: Mom, go say hi.

Me: (Kind of annoyed) Avery, NO. I don't know her just because you have seen her once.

Avery: (Looking defeated) MOOOM.

Me:(walking over to the lady) Hello, I'm Nicole and Avery goes to (schools name) and she wanted to say hi.

Avery: (waving while standing 3 feet from the lady) Hi.

See. So Avery likes people. All people. Wants to be their friend. And here is where we run into the problem.

LET ME SAY: We love Avery's teacher. She is a great lady and we have been pleased with her up till this point. With that...

This year in Avery's class, Avery has had some trouble with a kid in her class. It really bothers Avery that this boy is mean to her. She came home about a month ago and said that he called her a "cracker". I was shocked. Of course my poor child has NO idea what he meant by that. She probably thought that he was calling her a thin, crispy, small piece of bread. She said that he was laughing and asked why that was funny. My face said it all. I just told her that it was not a nice word and to not talk to him again. She did NOT like that idea. She wants to be his friend. Glen went up and talked to the teacher about it and the teacher said that "He is just a mean child". Well, REALLY???? She said that she would watch the situation.....OK.

Then, yesterday she came home and said that he called her a "man" and that he bothers her and she cannot concentrate. I finally told her to ask the teacher if she could move. She did today after he called her a "he/she". Avery also said that this kid keeps telling everyone that "She likes - likes me!!" And the teacher said, "I doubt that." I doubt that???? Am I weird for thinking that that is a strange response to a child that you KNOW has been harassing someone? I am not a 4th grade teacher, so someone else might think that is the most ingenious thing to say, but I just thought that it was strange. Through it all Avery insists that being his friend is the right thing to do. I have a hard time with that. I just don't want her to hurt and she is when she is around him.

I have a feeling that I am going to have to go talk to the teacher and/or the principal. It is just to the point where I think that it is affecting Avery's school work. She needs all the help she can get, NOT distractions from a fellow student. I KNOW that there are some teachers (you know who you are) that read this blog and I would LOVE to hear what you have to say. Am I being to judgemental about the whole thing?

Avery has been praying for this child. She also prays for his parents to have soft hearts towards him. I am proud of her for realizing that God can help her AND him AND to pray for the people that are mean to us. She is a good example to me. My little social girl.

Favorite/Daily Beauty Items

2007-01-25T16:45:00.000-06:00

Elle Bee has tagged me for this meme. BUT - I thought it would be interesting to do it as a Thursday Thirteen. It will be my first one. I thought it would be fun to see what everybody uses to get ready everyday. THIS is what I use:

1. Daily Facial Cleanser: OK. Don't laugh. I use Neutrogena Oil-Free ACNE face wash. IT is orange and everything. It is the ONLY thing I can use on my face without it breaking out. I love it though.

2. Exfoliant: St. Ives Oil Free Apricot Scrub, cheap but works on this "great" skin I've got.

3. Toner: Again for my "amazing" skin (HA) I use Neutrogena Clear Pore Oil Controlling Astringent.

4. Daily Moisturizer: Co. Bigelow No. 301 Deluxe Facial Moisturizer. I LOVE this. It makes my face SO soft.

Now for the fun stuff! :)

5. Concealer: Mary Kay's Signature Ivory concealer. It is the only concealer I use that I like. It is also the only thing Mary Kay that I like. Since I don't use foundation, concealer is my only way of hiding my, shall I say "flaws".

6. Powder: Cover Girl Fresh Look Transparent Fair. Could this powder be any cheaper. One of my friends a LONG time ago said that she only uses this powder, and now I'M hooked. LOVE IT!

7. Blush: MAC ONLY!! Here is where I get picky. I LOVE MAC make-up. It is the only thing that I am excited about my parents moving. There is a MAC department in the Dillard's there. So anyway. I have 2 colors that are my favs. One is Harmony (peachy) and the other is Dame (pinky).

8. Eye Shadows: AGAIN MAC only. I have so many colors, too many to count. So my favs right NOW are Vanilla (EVERYDAY!!! I always wear this one), Jest, Woodwinked, Expensive Pink.

9. Eye Liner: MAC again. I love their Powerpoint Eye Pencils. They stay on really great and are super creamy. My favs. Bordeauxline (purple), and Stubborn Brown (dark brown).

10. Mascara: Back to the cheap stuff. I have never understood the idea of getting expensive mascara, even though I know people who do and love it. I use Loreal Original Voluminous. So if you were wondering how I got my eyelashes so FULL looking (I just KNOW you were! - Don't be embarrassed.) now you know.

11. Eye Brows: Well, before when my hair was really blonde, I used to have to fill them in some with some MAC eye shadow. Now that I have darker hair, the hair lady just dyed them too. I DO use an old toothbrush to tame them down. CHEAP!

12.Shampoo: Pantene Extra Straight. I love Pantene. I've heard it isn't good for your hair, but it has ALWAYS done great for me.

13. Conditioner: Pantene again. I usually use the one for color treated hair even on my kids hair.

So there you have it. Feel free to write out what you like to use. I LOVE make-up. It is just fun to me, so I would love reading what everybody else is using. Even if it is 2 things.

I know it's Wordless Wednesday,but.....

2007-01-24T08:55:00.001-06:00

I have too much to talk about today to just put a picture on here. I'll pick up the WW next week, so don't you worry!

Wonderful: Reading to the girls last night. I have been reading a new book to the girls. Sun & Spoon. We borrowed it from a friend and we are LOVING it. Just Momma and girl time. IT IS AWESOME!!

Great: Getting to get in bed at 8:45 and snuggling with Jude and Glen under my electric blanket. Falling asleep around 9:00. (I've been getting to bed around 1:00 - 2:00, so this was GREAT)

Ugly: Not washing my face last night. I WANTED TO SNUGGLE!! It just felt yucky when I got up this morning though. Pure laziness.

REALLY ugly: Having to get gas this morning in my robe, pj's, glasses, hair not combed AND my DIRTY face. Whew - I know the image is rough. It even scares me.

SO nice: Harley (our pup) is in the kennel, Parker and Jude are coloring and playing behind me, and I am getting some computer time. WOO-HOO!

Time for the information that most of you could care less about, but some of you have asked, so here is the new info on my parents: They moved to Odessa about 2 years ago. My dad went from coaching (he had done this my WHOLE life) to being the Athletic Director for the schools in Odessa. We lived there when I was growing up for 5 years which is the longest I ever lived ANYWHERE growing up. It is the place that feels the most like home to me. It is about 2 and a half hours away and has been a great place for us to go visit. NOW my dad got a new job as the Athletic Director for the schools in Lubbock. I am sad and happy about this. I have really dealt with some pretty strong emotions the past few weeks. Some are too personal to put on here, but I will share a few. One is the feeling I had when I was growing up and my parents would tell me we were moving. I am having THOSE same emotions, which is weird because I am not the one moving. I have really felt like I have a connection to Odessa. It has been the closest thing to having a home town for me. I am going to miss it. Lubbock is about the same distance from here, even a little closer. My brother and sil AND niece live there, so I am sure that we will see them more. That will be REALLY nice. I just sometimes want to go see my mom and dad and that's it. Does anyone else feel like that? I am not WORRIED about this, I just love having time alone with my parents. It is a selfishness that I am going to have to get over. Only good things are going to come of this move for them. I am excited for them, I just have my own issues about it all. I am working SO hard on not being selfish and trying to say only good things. This is a GREAT move for them. IT will be great. (See how easily I can talk myself into it? HA!)

ANYWAY - That is the parents situation. I know boring to most, but like I said I needed to put it out there for those that wanted to know. AND it was good for me to "talk" about it.

There's a catch

2007-01-22T17:43:00.000-06:00

*****Sorry, I think the links are working now*****
******************************************
I know a few of you remember my big mishap when I tried to switch to my new blog name last year. I erased my old one thinking that my old posts were already switched over to my new blog. ANYWAY. I have just NOW gotten the chance to move them over to this blog. THE CATCH : None of the comments transferred over. So if any of you have a solution to this, let me in on the secret. Allrighty then.

Now that all my posts are caught up, I will now try the meme that Lindsay tagged me for. It looked kind of hard, but now that I have ALL my posts on here, I think I can handle it.

*FUNNY*: It would have to be my very first post Did you see my face?

*SERIOUS*: I'm not a real "serious" blogger, but this was pretty serious for me. Break In

*UGLY*: This one is kind of funny. To look at your old posts and try to find an ugly one is just weird feeling. Hopefully this is as ugly as I'll be. Hee Hee. Snubbed

*ALL ABOUT YOU*: These 4th of July pictures are pictures of all of us. And that is who I am . I am a momma and a wife. I LOVE being those 2 things more than anything!!!

*TAGGING*: Holly , Gina, & Beck

Giddy-up

2007-01-19T23:25:00.000-06:00

Today our vacuum cleaner belt broke. Well, it didn't break all the way, just a tear. It was enough that we knew we needed another one. We took it off so that Glen could measure it and go to Lowe's and get another one just like it. Meanwhile, Jude was watching the movie Spirit. You know the one with the horses. Cute movie.

Anyway, Jude loves that movie and is usually engrossed in it, but today he left the room while it was on. We saw him go upstairs, but we weren't sure why. In a minute he comes down with his stick horse he got for Christmas and the old vacuum belt. He puts the vacuum belt over the stick of the horse to make a "new reign" for the horse. Isn't that so creative? The horse already has a reign, but you know a vacuum belt makes a whole lot more authentic looking one. I just could not get over how he took the time to go all the way upstairs, get his horse and think to make that. I know, he's my baby, but it was just clever for my little 2 1/2 year old. Don't ya think?

Trip To Lowes

2007-01-18T23:13:00.001-06:00

Our door has been in need of some TLC for a while now. So Glen and I decided to use some of his Lowe's gift cards that he got for Christmas to buy that love. (Why is it that everyone gives him gift cards to places that they KNOW I don't want to go to??? HMMM?) Glen wanted to get a whole new door, which I would love to do too, but WOW doors are expensive!!! That is what we really need to do and hopefully soon we will be able to do that, but not quite yet. I was happy with just getting a new deadbolt/doorknob (which in itself was $70.00!!). I was thinking it would be an improvement without shelling out the big bucks. We ended up buying a really pretty one with Glen's card. It is a really dark bronze color, almost black looking. Glen and I both really loved the color of it.

So we get home and start to install this doorknob on the NORTH side of the house in 40 degree temps. Not so smart. Of course we didn't realize that it would take and hour to get it all on the right way. I never knew it was so hard to install a doorknob with a lock. Seriously. I think I am pretty smart and can read directions, but man that stuff was tough to follow. No words, just pictures. Needless to say the whole kitchen was FREEZING by the time we were done.

We rocked it out and it works WAY better than it did before and even looks better, so I am pleased. We are planning on getting a door soon though. But for now, we are going to enjoy all the hard work we did tonight.

WOW! It's Cold!

2007-01-17T20:54:00.000-06:00

I know, I know. It was the title that pulled you in this time wasn't it? So original. What can I say? I just good like that.

Well, I know so many of you do not live in Texas, but you just have to know that this is crazy weather for us Texans. We are not used to this ice and snow. Cold is usually all we get from Old Man Winter,so this is stirring things up a bit. All the schools in the smaller surrounding towns must have not thought that their parents could drive on an inch of snow, because they were all out of school today. My parents live in West Texas and they didn't have school. I know there were a lot of Dallas schools who were also out today. What about US you ask? Well, we DID have school. And no I'm not bitter, OK? One good thing, we got to start late today, which made it possible for us to sleep in. (You know I loved that!) YEAH!!
I went ahead and took a picture of our house with the little bit of snow that fell on it. I missed out on doing it the last time it snowed. I just love the way snow makes everything look. (yes - even an inch. HA!)

We are suppose to be having work (Mother's Day Out) tomorrow. I am hoping for at LEAST a late start. All we need is just a little bit more moisture on the ground tonight. YES, I'm sick of the cold, wet snow, but I can handle it for one more day. Come on late start!!

Wordless Wednesday

2007-01-17T00:24:00.000-06:00

Stomach Troubles

2007-01-16T17:10:00.000-06:00

Today I stayed home from work. My stomach is acting up, which seems to happen a lot. You know I never realized how much my stomach hurt until one day my mil said. "Your stomach sure does hurts lot." WELL, HELLO??? Why didn't I notice it before? I mean, it is MY body, right?

What is funny about my mil saying that to me is because that is something I always have thought about my mom. She has ALWAYS had stomach issues or for a long time anyway. So my mom leaves me a message yesterday that says she is getting some tests run on her stomach to figure out why hers is acting up. This has prompted me to think about getting mine tested too.

I have looked up IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)((I HATE the name of that!!)), but am not even sure that is what mine might be. Does anybody have this (IBS) or have any other ideas on what it might be? When I compare my symptoms to the symptoms of IBS, I am really not sure they match. Some do, some don't. I just can't imagine what else it could be.

Martin Luther King

2007-01-14T20:45:00.000-06:00

I came across these questions from another blog and thought that they would be cute to ask my girls in a question and answer format. We did this last night before bed. I called them in one by one so that all their answers were original. It gets more funny as they get younger in age. Here is how it went down:

AVERY - 10 years old
Me: Who was Martin Luther King Jr.?
A: A guy who saved people and he thought that white people should be with black people.

Me: Why was he an important man?
A: Because he saved peoples lives, same answer.

Me: What did he want?
A: For people to be free.

Me: Why is peace important?
A: So you can think. (I guess she got that from the saying peace and quiet.)

Me: What is the Nobel Peace Prize?
A: I don't know

Me: What are you going to do to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday?
A: Obviously my parents didn't make any plans so I don't know yet. (It's always mom's fault!)

BAILEY - 7 1/2
Me: Who was Martin Luther King Jr.?
B: Umm, he's a famous person that does lots of marches.

Me: Why was he an important man?
B: Because he was a brave man.

Me: What did he want?
B: He wanted for black and white people to go to school together.

Me: Why is peace important?
B: What does peace mean?
Me: It is when people get along and don't fight.
B: I don't know

Me: What is the Nobel Peace Prize?
B: I don't know

Me: What are you going to do to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday?
B: I don't know
Me: Well, it is tomorrow, what are you going to do tomorrow?
B: NO! His birthday is today. It is the 15th.
Me: OH. (amazed expression - even though the 15th IS tomorrow)
B: At school, I don't know what we are going to do and at home I don't know either.

PARKER - 5 1/2
Me: Who was Martin Luther King Jr.?
P: I don't know. Is he big or little?
Me: Big
P: Oh, I only know the little one. (I busted out laughing. It was just cute!)
Me: Well tell me about him. Who is he?
P: I don't know. One of the kids in the 3 year old class.

Me: Why was he an important man?
P: I don't know

Me: What did he want?
P: He wanted Jesus.

Me: Why is peace important?
P: What does peace mean?
Me: It is when people get along and don't fight. Why is that important?
P: Cause when you be mean, God doesn't like it. God likes it when you're nice.

Me: What is the Nobel Peace Prize?
P: A bell

Me: What are you going to do to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday?
P: Buy a cross. Are we going to his birthday party?
Me: I don't think so.

So there you have it people. Out of the mouths of MY babes.

*NOTE: Jude is too young to participate in such an event.

Why

2007-01-14T16:55:00.000-06:00

I have several things that have happened today that is great.

1. My in-laws took my girls to watch a movie at their house for the afternoon. AWESOME!
2. I have gotten to spend some uninterrupted time on the computer. GREAT!
3. It is 28 degrees outside and I still had the motivation to go out and run my 3 miles today. YIPEE!
4. I ran the ENTIRE 3 miles for the first time back. WOO-HOO!
5. I ran it in a great time for me - 27 minutes. BOOYA!

BUT the best thing about my day was not one of those things. It was something that happened on my run. I have a playlist on my iPod that I listen to every time I run. It has some pretty good music on it that I enjoy running to.
No Such Thing - John Mayer
Set Me Free - Big Daddy Weave (one of my favorite songs too!)
Clocks - Coldplay
Upside Down - Jack Johnson
King Without A Crown - Matisyahu
Beautiful Day - U2
And THEN the one that affected me today : Why - Big Daddy Weave

I have listened to this song so many times and every time it speaks to my heart. I actually started tearing up this week while running while this song was on. I just think the words are AMAZING and make me want to be a better person. Without writing out the whole song (I know some of you don't like to read lyrics) I will post just the chorus.

Why do I do all the things that I do
When I want to do what is right
Change this wicked heart of mine
Let me walk with you in the new life

If you want to read ALL of the lyrics (which would really help you feel the whole spirit of the song) go here.

I just LOVE this song. I am such a selfish person and have said some pretty selfish things to a loved one just TODAY. This song is my personal prayer for the day. I want Him to change my heart and I WANT to walk in the new life.
SO my number 6 for the day just happens to be my favorite.

6.My heart was changed for the better. THE BEST!!!

BTW - If you haven't heard of Big Daddy Weave. You need to check them out. All of their songs are really great!

I'm off to apologize for my selfish ways!

Toothless Fairy

2007-01-13T21:07:00.000-06:00

Yesterday when we were waiting to pick the girls up from school, Parker yells out, "I did it!!". I turned around to see her beaming with a bloody mouth and holding her first lost tooth. She was so proud that she pulled it herself. The other two girls had to have help with the first one, so she definitely has bragging rights. After Bailey lost her first tooth, my mom started calling her The Toothless Wonder, so I asked Parker what we should call her. She proudly answered, The Toothless Fairy". So here is our Toothless Fairy.

We have been couped up all day because of the weather outside. We DID run to the store for necessities. Cookie dough, and finger polish ARE necessities aren't they? Other than that we have been playing games, reading and watching movies. Oh we did rent movies I forgot. Another must have in cold weather is rented movies. (Thanks Anna for letting me steal the idea!!) So here are the girls (not room for Jude on this couch) engrossed in a movie. One day of icy weather and I am ready for spring.

High School Musical

2007-01-12T23:19:00.000-06:00

Tonight me, my girls, my mil and a close friend went to see a local production of High School Musical. I had dreaded it all day. Not because I didn't want to go, but I just had the worst day. Everything seemed to go wrong. EVERYTHING. If I started telling you, it would take up too much space. So just trust that I TRULY felt like the world was against me for some odd reason for the entire day.

My girls and I LOVE the movie, so when we found out that a close friend of Avery's was going to be IN the production, we were SO there! My friend Cindy got us all tickets. (Thanks Cindy!!) I didn't know what to expect. These were KIDS putting on a musical. I was thinking along the lines of the programs I go to at the girls' school. Boy was I wrong. This was the most amazing thing I have seen in a long time. The lead, Troy Bolton was played by a kid that goes to church with us (5th grader!!!) He was AWESOME!!! The choreography of the cast was so great too. I never thought that someone could get around 50 KIDS to be all together. The youngest was around 5. It was crazy. All of their voices were amazing. I truly wouldn't be surprised if one of them goes on to be big. Is that silly? They were just SO GOOD!!!!

I sat by Avery and it was just so cute to hear her (or was that me?) sing to all the songs. SHE has an amazing voice too, but is too shy to sing in front of a crowd. It was just a fun to watch HER watch her friend and be supportive.

If you live in town, GO SEE IT! They are having two more showings. Sat. and Sun. I believe. Hopefully you won't sit in front of a lady that coughs in your hair like I did. (See!! The world WAS against me today. NOW do you believe me?)

The Natural Cycle

2007-01-12T10:18:00.000-06:00

First before I write ANYTHING else, I want to thank Lindsay from the bottom of my heart for designing and fixing my blog. She did an AMAZING job and I couldn't be more pleased. She was GREAT to work with and is just a fun girl. Thanks Lindsay!!!

OK. Now for my post:

I have a very strong belief that parenting is what you make of it. Wouldn't you agree? When I was little my mom would always say, "Just wait until you become a mom, then you will understand." Then me with my attitude would sometimes think, "I'm never going to be like you!" I don't remember ever saying it, but probably wouldn't put up much of a fight if my mom said that I did actually say it outloud. (Sorry Momma!)

After I had Avery, things would come out of my mouth that sounded just like my mom. You know the sayings. One of which is, "You do it because I say so." I do and say a lot of things that I am sure my mom and dad both did and said. BUT - There are some things (no specifics in this portion, don't want to hurt feelings!) that I do differently.

I think that is one of the most awesome things of the cycle of parenthood. You take the good, leave the not-so-good and become the best parent you know how. In your efforts to be the best parent ever, you STILL make mistakes. We all do. AND our children are going to learn FROM US what kind of parents they want to be. Take what they think is good and leave the not-so-good. It can be hurtful to think that our kids won't think that everthing we do is good and are going to think of ways they want to be different than us. I just think that it is a natural cycle and I love it.

Strong Personalities

2007-01-10T22:38:00.000-06:00

I was talking to a friend the other day and the topic of strong personalities came up. I've actually had many conversations about this topic because I find it so fascinating. It is just one of those topics that everyone has their own opinion on. We ALL know people with strong personalities, right? I'll give you a second to think of "that" person.........................OK. Got it? Well. Here is my question. What makes them have a strong personality? Is it a good or bad trait? What do they do to make you think of them as someone with a SP? Do you yourself have one? I am really anxious to see what everybody thinks about this.

Wordless Wednesday

2007-01-10T08:32:00.000-06:00

New Shows

2007-01-08T23:05:00.000-06:00

I watched a couple of new shows tonight. I am a little embarrassed to even tell which ones I watched. They are so silly and trashy. OK, I said it. Well, most people who know me KNOW that I LOVE reality TV shows. So tonight I watched (cringe) I Love New York (the sequel to Flava Flavs show Flavor of Love - yes I watched that one too!) AND The White Rapper Show. PEOPLE!!!! These shows are such a waste of my time. I could have been doing laundry or packing lunches for our first day back to school tomorrow (again, cringe!), but NO I was watching this trash. And the sad thing is I probably will continue to watch. What is wrong with me?????

I Got Tagged!!

2007-01-07T22:49:00.000-06:00

Beck tagged me for this meme. It looks pretty fun, so I'll get started.

1.Do you like the looks and the content of your blog?

I like the look of my blog. I think it looks fun and bright. (like me. ha)

2.Does your family know about your blog?

Yes. My family knows about my blog. I am not sure that all of them read it though. My mom and dad do, but the rest of the family I'm not sure.

3. Can you tell your friends about your blog?

Uhh, I hope so. Why wouldn't I. Now some of them don't read it, but that is because they really aren't into computers. I think most of my friends at least read it and comment SOMETIMES.

4.Do you just read the blogs of those who comment on your blog?

No. I DO read those blogs though. I would be lying to say that I don't try and comment on the everyone's blog that comments on mine. I just think that is common courtesy. I do however have around 50 people on my bloglines, so I really don't comment on ALL the ones I read. But yes, if you comment on mine, I comment on yours. (Isn't that how it is suppose to work?)

5.Did your blog positively affect your mind?

I think so. It definitely gives me things to think about that I otherwise wouldn't have. Lots of tips on how to be a better person/wife/mom. And that is ALWAYS positive.

6.What does the number of visitors to your blog mean?

I think it is fun to look and see how many people have checked out my blog. It doesn't change what I write about. It just lets me know that people ARE reading it. Kind of fun.

7.Do you imagine what other bloggers look like?

ALWAYS!! I usually go scope their site out trying to find out. I DO like it when I can put an face with comments. It feels more "real" that way.

8.Do you think blogging has any real benefit?

This goes along with #5. I think you can learn LOTS of new and cool things and grow as a person by blogging. AND it clears my head of things I might want to say.

9.Do you think that the blogosphere is a stand alone community separated from the real world?

No???? Not sure I understand that question. Sorry.

10.Do some political blogs scare you? Do you avoid them?

Well, I wouldn't say "scare" me, but I would rather read something else. I think political blogs are for people who want to debate and that is not who I am. Now if you want to argue about fashion, I'm OK with that. :)

11.Do you think that criticizing your blog is useful?

Criticize MY blog. NEVER!!!

12.Have you ever thought about what would happen to your blog in case you died?

Not before I read Beck's answer. My husband now knows to write a short post just to let everyone know. I think that is a great idea.

13.Which blogger had the greatest impression on you?

Probably Flip Flop Mamma. She is just SO real. I would hang out with her in a heartbeat. And it seems that every site that I go to, she has been there first. It always amazes me how many people "know" her. I love her style of writing and like I said it is always so REAL!

14.Which blogger do you think is the most similar to you?

Probably my real life friend Anna. We started blogging about the same time and I think we are a lot alike. I might be flattering myself with that one! Ha. I just think we are both kind of funny and kind of serious in the way that we write.

15.Name a song you want to listen to?

Probably Yeah by Usher. I know that is WAY old, but that is what came to my mind. Bailey (my 3rd daughter) and I love to dance to that song. (RANDOM question!)

THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!!

I am going to follow Beck's lead and tag 3 people. Anna, Flip Flop, and Lindsay! Have fun girls!!

All That Sassafrass

Avery's first day of MIDDLE SCHOOL!

A Free Week

Ride Like The Wind

More Back Posts......

Giving another "talk"

It is what it is??

FUNKED!

Happy Birthday America!

Parker turns big #7!

Ruidoso Family Reunion WARNING!! (LOTS OF PICS!!)

My baby turns 4!!!

Parker's Kidquest

Gladiator Breakthrough 2008

Remember the Alamo!

I love New York!!

YCW program

Whitney and Landon's reception

Bailey turns 9!!

Carrie Underwood

Cowboy Round-up

Easter

Starting the back blogging - Spring Break

Pottying, Ainsley, Water, Tests, & Rocks

TAKS again.

My Man is 30!!!!

Valentine Date With Daddy

Flowers RULE!!

Valentine Gifts

Students of the 6 Weeks

Playing puppy - it's all about the treats!

Parker : My little inspiration

Christmas was GREAT

Avery KNOWS!!!!

Fast track catch up......

Ruidoso for the Weekend

100th post!!!

Halloween 2007

I ran my first 5K!!

Harley Marley turns 1!!!

Trading Spouses - Funny AND Sad

Mrs. Jody Reese / "Me" box

One small sticker on the potty chart, one GIANT leap into potty training

Random Things

Pigs, and freaks and us, OH MY!!!

And that comment was ok because.........??

Happy Birthday Momma!

Jude's first day at YCW

Ruidoso / Labor Day Weekend

School is starting!!

Lubbock Trip & Water Rampage

Dish Scoop and More

Rockin It with Dish

Happy Birthday Glen!!

Picture of Mom / Avery's Big Day

Anyone still there???

THE Movie

We Went

To go or NOT to go.....

Spaghetti Anyone?

Horsin' Around

Weird & Rude Comments

Fingernail Color & Debra Messing

Super Bowl Party

Yogurt That's Good For You

Contest!!!

Hands Full

Blah...

Wordless Wednesday

Who took a nap today??

Dallas Trip/Meeting Fellow Bloggers

A Kid at School

Favorite/Daily Beauty Items

I know it's Wordless Wednesday,but.....

There's a catch

Giddy-up

Trip To Lowes

WOW! It's Cold!

Wordless Wednesday

Stomach Troubles