-----Things I love about my boys-----

I saw this on another blog and decided to "steal" the idea and share on mine.
Things I love about Trey
1. He still shows me affection, even though he's 12 and taller than I am.
2. He likes a lot of my kind of music.
3. He doesn't like wearing the baggy pants, or the gothic look like so many jr. high kids do.
4. He has a variety of interests...sports, history, music, Nascar, church
5. He's very good with little kids
6. He likes getting good grades
7. He has a great sense of humor
8. He's not high maintenance
9. He likes to tease me--this is huge, because so many kids ignore their parents
10. He talks to me....*really* talks to me

Things I love about Kyle
1. He still calls me "Mommy"
2. He is so smart
3. He has a generous heart
4. He likes things neat
5. He has a beautiful singing voice
6. He's funny
7. He likes to do crafts and help me cook
8. He is willing to try new sports
9. He is very imaginative
10. He likes to snuggle, especially when he's had a bad day

This year, Kyle seems to be having a lot of difficulty in school. Not academically---he's reading at a 2nd grade level, his math, science, and social studies are all above average, and he even likes to write stories. No, the difficulties he's having are social/behavioral. So much so that I've been researching and asking all my experts if they have any ideas what could be going on with him. Since I am teaching a student with Asberger's, which is on the autism spectrum, I've been researching it and the more I read about it, the more it describes Kyle and some of my experts agree. So I went off to the school to ask for him to be tested. They had a psychologist come out and observe him and decided that there is no educational need so they denied him testing through the district. So now I'm having to look outside the school system to find a dr. who will test him, because without the diagnosis, the only thing the school district will do is put together a behavior plan for him. That's a good start, but I think he needs more, especially since he's having problems with his handwriting and writing his letters backwards, which has now caused him to fail his last spelling test because he writes b's instead of d's. So I'm not sure what the answer is but I do know that it looks like I've got a long road ahead of me to get him where he needs to be.

The Joys of Being a Parent!

Turkey Trot

*~*~*~*pictures to come later~*~"*~*~*

Kyle heard on the radio about the Turkey Trot, the annual race held uptown on Thanksgiving morning, that also included a kids' fun run. He said he wanted to run in it, so I looked it up online. When Trey saw me reading about it, he decided he wanted to run as well. So very early on Thanksgiving morning, we loaded up the car and headed into Houston so the boys could run. Trey ran Cross Country this fall, which was 2 miles, but he signed up for the 5K run, which is a little more than 3 miles so he had a much harder run than he'd ever done before. For a first timer, he did a pretty good time--running 5K in a little over 26 minutes. Kyle did the 1K kids' run. I was at the finish line, watching for him, but parents were pushing so badly, I somehow missed him.....my heart was racing while we looked for him in the crowd of runners and parents. After a crazed few minutes, he found his dad, who then brought him over to where Trey and I were frantically searching. We were so relieved! And Ky was so proud of his run, and the medal that all finishers received.

Thank You, Veterans!

A friend of mine sent me this video to honor our soldiers. Her brother is one of the soldiers in here and it reminded me that no matter how we feel about the war, we need to remember that there are men and women over there sacrificing everything so I may live in a free country. And I wish those who have to voice their ugly opinions about the war and the leaders would remember that those who are fighting deserve our support and our prayers, and yes, even our praise.

Kyle's First Race

My Soccer Star

More to come.....

My Halloween Robot

Pumpkins and Halloween

I was just getting ready to email a good friend of mine and give her a hard time about not updating her blog, but then I looked at mine and saw that mine, too was way overdue! In fact, she and I posted on the same day last month and it's been over a month.
And I've decided that I'm no longer going to say that my life is crazy or I'm too busy to post anything because it's really no excuse. Everybody I know has a crazy, hectic schedule.

So.....instead I'll write another update on my boys......
We're having a cold snap right now---well cold for us, which is not really cold in comparison to many parts of the country, but for Texans, when the temp drops down in the 30s, it's COLD! It's also been windier than usual. So the other night, Kyle came in our room around midnight and said it sounded like Halloween in his room. I couldn't figure out what that meant, but since I wanted to go back to sleep, I just moved over and let him sleep with us. Around 3 am, the wind started howling loud enough that it woke me up and I figured out that's what he must have been talking about.
Yesterday, we carved our pumpkins. Well.....it started out with the boys each carving their own pumpkins, but Kyle didn't like getting his hands dirty with the "innards" of the pumpkin, so it wasn't long until I was carving his. A little while later, Trey gave up carving his, because he chose an intricate design of letters and he made a couple mistakes and wanted me to fix it.

WaCkY WeDnEsDay WaMbLinGs

Here is a kind of rambling post about the first 10-15 things that pop in my head.....

1. Yesterday Trey was supposed to have a viola lesson. A lady at my church is a music teacher and is going to give Trey private lessons in her ( our) *spare time*. We've been trying to get together for weeks.....first it was the beginning of school, so we both canceled--decided to wait until after the first week of school. Then Trey got sunburned over Labor Day ( I'm still a little miffed at the coach for that!) so he couldn't even put his viola up on his shoulder. ( It was a BAD burn.) Then she got sick. Then Ike hit. Yesterday we were FINALLY going to do the lesson. After school, I picked up Kyle from school, came home and got them both a snack. We got in the car to leave, I backed out of the drive, and I had a FLAT TIRE!! Trey and I tried to change it, but I had to call and cancel once again. AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!! I'm not sure if we'll ever get this lesson in!

2. Today was SYATP (See You at the Pole). One current student and one former student of mine was there. It was nice to see them there. :o)

3. Traffic was HORRIBLE this morning on the way to work! They say we may not get all the stoplights fixed until the middle of November. Ike certainly did a number on us!

4. One of my students lost the roof on her house. 2 students are not back yet...I've heard that one is in Miami and the other one...nobody knows. I tried calling but there was no answer. I hope they're ok.

5. I'm so behind....I really shouldn't be typing this...I have papers to grade.

6. School will be out in 10 minutes---I can go home in 25 minutes.

7. I need to find something exciting for supper.....my hubby may leave me for another woman if I don't start cooking better!! LOL We always eat the same old stuff.

8. I just checked Trey's grades and his lowest grade is an 89. I'm so proud of how well he's doing in school.

9. Kyle loves math....hope that continues throughout his school years.

10. I really need to get back to exercising. I did so well for many months, but now I can't get motivated. If I don't watch it I'll be back in my bigger sized clothes again.

11. Grey's Anatomy starts tomorrow!!! Can't wait!

12. Many of the people of Galveston were allowed back on the island today. Hope they are able to rebuild.

13. Two weeks from tomorrow I'm flying to Chicago to see my family!! Can't wait!!! Kyle and I will have so much fun!

14. Trey has a girlfriend.....her name is Sam. He's so cute when he talks about her ( or doesn't talk about her and just blushes!)

15. Kyle loves to tease his brother about his "gool fwend" ( I love Kyle's little boy talk....I'm going to miss having him talk that way, but I know it won't be long now. *sigh*)

Hurricane Ike

Here is a slideshow of the devastation we faced (and still are facing!) after Hurricane Ike hit the Houston/Galveston area. It could have been so much worse....it's great to see the way Texans reached out to help each other in our time of need.

How I met your father......

My best friend was also the assistant principal at my school. She knew that I'd had a rough time in my last relationship and had basically sworn off men for a while. So when she started suggesting a blind date, I wouldn't listen. As soon as she broached the subject, I'd cut her off and change it to talking about something else. I was not interested in the least. Finally, as a joke, she wrote me an administrative directive, "ordering" me to go out on this date. I still wasn't interested, but at least started listening to her description of the man in question.

New Year's Eve, 1989. JoAnna and I had a girls' night. Her husband was out of town and had taken their daughter. Her son was at his dad's, so it was just the two of us. We went out for dinner and then watched the movie "Always." It was the breakthrough I needed...time for me to let go of the past and move on. So I agreed to the blind date.

Here was the scenario: JoAnna's best friend from college knew this guy who worked for her husband at his veterinary clinic. JoAnna knew me. Both were looking for the *perfect* person to hook up with their friend. So once I agreed to go out with him, it was just a matter of getting all of us together. The plan was for JoAnna and Wes, Debbie and Jack and Eddie and I to go on a triple date--country dancing.

Problem #1: When? After 3 weeks of one of us not being able to go, it was beginning to look like we'd never get together. Eddie had a wedding to go to one week, the following week it was my turn to go to a wedding, and in between the other couples had plans also.

Solution! Eddie got tired of waiting so he got my phone number and asked me out. So we were going to go out dancing the next Saturday, without our chaperones! lol

Problem #2: I couldn't dance! The church that I raised in is very conservative. We didn't dance. I had attended a few school dances; could slow dance (if you considered putting your arms around the neck of your partner and swaying dancing!) but I had never even had basic dancing instruction.

Solution! All week, one of the teachers at my school tried her best to teach me to 2 step in the back room of the library during our conference period, lunch and after school.

Problem #3: What to wear? Do people really wear all that cowboy stuff to go out dancing? Isn't that just during rodeo time? I had no boots--could I wear tennies?

Solution? Everyone insisted that yes, I should wear cowboy clothes. Jeans yes. Nice cotton shirt ok. Tennies? NO WAY! So the school librarian loaned me a pair of boots....the pointiest toed things you have ever seen! We are talking U G L Y!!!!

So.....it's Saturday. I took ALL DAY to get ready....took 2 showers because I didn't like the way my hair was curled and decided to start over. Then ended up fixing it back the same way. Did my nails. Vacuumed my apartment 3 times. Tried on 4 different pairs of earrings. Ended up wearing jeans and a yellow short sleeve sweater with a denim jacket with rhinestones all over it. ( the jacket was borrowed from the same lady as the boots....she insisted that it was the rage at the dance clubs.) Talked to my sisters long distance....all 3 of them! Jan laughed at me because she just knew I would be going out with a Kikker---a good ole boy cowboy type who drove a truck and said "yes ma'am." So NOT my type!!! I liked men who were more sophisticated--city folk--

Yikes! There's the door bell......at the last minute, I kicked off the ugly boots and put on my tennis shoes.

I answered the door......not bad! Nice height--taller than me but not too tall. Blue jeans. Cowboy shirt--but that's to be expected...typical costume for our plans. Ooh! He brought flowers! Nice touch.
As I put the flowers in water, he slips a tape in the stereo......no--not setting the stage for seduction. I told him I didn't know how to dance so we were going to practice a bit before we went out. He looked down at my feet. Uh, do you have any other shoes? You won't be able to move with tennis shoes on. You need something with smooth soles. Darn! I got those butt ugly boots out again. Eddie was polite--he didn't say a word about the ugliness of the boots...he just smiled and said those would be fine. So we practiced dancing. We fit perfectly together. He smelled so good that I really couldn't keep time very well so I ended up stepping on his toes quite a bit. Finally we decided that was the best we could do, so we left for dinner.

We went downstairs to the parking lot. He drives a truck...a blue shiny Chevy pick up truck. We get inside. He listens to country music. And I already knew he said yes ma'am----he'd already said that to me several times by then. Holy cow! I'm dating a KIKKER!

Casa Ole. He got a taco salad and ice tea. I got ..... I'm not sure...some kind of combo plate and a coke. We left and headed to Desperado, a country western dance club.

Now, I was always a good girl. I didn't drink, didn't smoke, went to church 3 times a week, did all the things the "right" way. I could count the number of times I'd been in a bar/club before that night on one hand. Eddie was aware of that from the very beginning.

We went in and ordered cokes and just watched for a while. Finally we decided to go out on the dance floor....I just hoped everyone would be interested in their own dates and they wouldn't watch me mutilate Eddie's feet, or dig a hole in his shin with those stupid pointy boots. I didn't need to worry.....we did ok. We danced for a while and then took a break.

We tried to talk but those places are not really conducive to conversation. Finally we decided to go back out and dance some more....just as we got to the dance floor, a policeman walked to the middle of the dance floor, and stopped a lady who had been dancing with her friends. The floor quickly cleared, and suddenly the cop started stripping---right in front of me! That was definitely a FIRST for me!!! Eddie was right behind me and I heard him gasp and then start apologizing. He tried to pull me back but the place was crowded so we couldn't move. We didn't know that there was a bachelorette party going on there that night. After a few minutes, I figured, hey, can't leave so I might as well enjoy it. :o)

Eddie decided to leave soon after, so we headed back to my apartment where he continued apologizing over and over. I just laughed at him.....it's not like he knew it was going on. But I defintely had something to hold over on him--he took me to a strip show for our first date!

All in all....it was a nice date. I'd already decided I'd go out with him again if he asked. As he left, he hugged me and said he'd call. But I'd heard that before so I really wasn't sure.

*sigh* The End of Summer Reflections

I have a love/hate relationship with the month of August. Just like for most other families, it signals the end of summer and the starting of school. I love buying school supplies. I hate all the start of school expenses. I love seeing my new classes. I hate getting up in the mornings. I love going to school in new clothes. I hate shopping for new clothes for school with all the rest of the world who waited until now to buy new things. I love seeing all my colleagues and catching up with their summers. I hate faculty meetings. I love that my boys are back in school. I hate that I can't stay at home year round.

Well you get the picture....This summer, we didn't take a vacation. Anywhere. We were lazy and stayed home most of the time. I did take quite a few pictures so I'm going to review my summer pictorially........

I got another year older.

So did Trey.

We celebrated Father's Day. My boys have a WONDERFUL daddy.

Kyle got his tonsils removed.




Kyle took swimming lessons.

I redecorated Trey's bedroom----Go Dynamo!!

Kyle played basketball.

Kyle lost a front tooth and found out that his tooth fairy is purple. (Did you know that if you put a lost tooth in a glass of water, you can find out what color your tooth fairy is? When the fairy touches the water to remove the tooth the water changes the color of the fairy. One of Kyle's basketball buddies told us that and we tried it and found out Kyle's was purple. He was surprised because he thought his fairy was green. Go figure!)

We toured the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory and began a wonderful relationship with new ice cream flavors each time we went to the store---my personal favorite was Banana Pudding and Kyle's was Cookies and Cream. Trey and Dad liked anything that had chocolate in it!

We went to Washington-on-the-Brazos, the site where the Texians signed the Declaration of Independence from Mexico, that started the Texas Revolution and the beginning of the Lone Star Republic. The boys pretended to sign the document.

We wandered around what's left of the original settlement, and Kyle got tired of walking. It was pretty warm that day! Trey was a wonderful big brother and gave him a ride.

Trey went to Alaska.

All in all, it was a good summer......

My Baby is in Alaska!!

Trey left yesterday evening to fly to Alaska for a week. I already miss him! But I know this work and witness trip will be a trip of a lifetime and I'm so glad that we were able to send him. Kyle thinks this week is all about him---with lots of special mom/dad/kyle times, and I'm sure it will be. It's hard to believe my baby is old enough to send on these trips....w0w!

Happy Father's Day, Eddie!

my gift~~ another slide show movie for him. Lame? probably, but I'm a sucker for emotional slide shows. lol

Who I Am, part 2, or Sisters are your Best Friends

The song was made famous back in 1954 when two blonde bombshells played singers in the classic movie White Christmas. And we grew up singing that phrase,
Lord, help the mister who comes between me and my sister. And Lord, help the sister who comes between me and my man.

I don't think any of us ever shared boyfriends, but we've certainly shared everything else. Clothes, makeup, cars, kids, food, diseases......

Let me tell you about my sisters. I have three of them. All younger. All royal pains in the butt when we were growing up, but now I treasure their friendships.

I am the second child of 5. I have an older brother and when I was born, my parents had the "perfect family-- one child of each gender." For some strange reason, they didn't realize how good they had it with just the two of us and chose to have more snotty nosed, whiny "curtain climbers" just to make my life miserable. Since they were all 3 girls, I had to learn to share---my room, my clothes, my dolls, my books, and all the attention that had previously been lavished on me. To add to it, they all had issues.

I was 2 when sister # 1 came on the scene. I really don't remember back that far, but it couldn't have been all bad. My brother and I took care of her. She never had to learn to talk because we anticipated her every need and basically talked for her. We've heard the story many times how when my mom was trying to potty train her, my brother and I would change her wet panties and hide them under the bed so she wouldn't get in trouble. I can remember jumping on our bed and she got dizzy and fell down our stairs and had to have stitches in her chin. That was right around the time that she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. And that's when our lives changed. She spent weeks at a time in the children's hospital in downtown Chicago because it was very difficult to keep her blood sugars under control. She came close to dying many times. As an adult, she still has Type 1 or Juvenile Diabetes, which is very very serious. The story of Steel Magnolias could be written about her....she has 2 biological children, and both girls put her life in jeopardy, but her philosophy is much like Shelby's: I would rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special. Now, she has 6 kids---2 biological daughters and 4 adopted sons. The ages of her kids span from 16 to 1. She has recently been placed on the kidney transplant list and is awaiting a match and just very recently, she started dialysis, which is really scary for all of us. I am waiting right now to find out if I may be a possible match for her....

With all of our kids in activities, and her with 2 very young ones, we don't always get much time to talk. She lives in Illinois and I'm in Texas, so it's not often that we see each other. In fact, sadly enough, I've not even met the 2 youngest. Nor has she been to visit me in my new house ( that I moved into almost 4 years ago). When we do get together, or have a few minutes of quiet where we can actually talk, we certainly enjoy catching up with each other.

Sister #2 was adopted into our family when I was 10. She had been with us, though, for 4 years by that time. My parents were foster parents, and she came to our house when she was 4 days old...straight from the hospital. My parents usually got boy foster children, so I was ecstatic to finally get a little girl. I felt like she was my very own baby and oh how I loved her. Since there were 6 years difference in our ages, we drifted apart when I got in high school. But now, she and I are very close. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and 3 children, the youngest of which is only 3 weeks younger than Trey.

Sister number 3 came along when I was 10. My brother and I wanted her to be a boy so badly, we dressed her in bib overalls, put her curly red hair in braids and called her Joey. So needless to say, she was quite a tomboy when she was young. :o) Since Jeff & I were so much older than she, we were already out of the house by the time she went to elementary school. I was in college and he was in the Air Force. So we weren't there in her "formative" years.....and sometimes I think that was to her detriment. Not that we were anything special or that we had parenting skills at our young age that might have changed the outcome of her life, but because we had been a vital part of her early years and then we moved away. anyway, she made some bad choices in high school and that resulted in consequences that totally changed her life plan. She became a mom during her sophomore year in high school and was unable to lead the kind of easy lifestyle that we led at the same age. Being a single mom made college more difficult and if it hadn't been for my parents, she probably wouldn't have been able to pull her life together like she has. She became a paralegal and worked for many years in a presitigious law firm in Chicago. Recently, she went to part time so that she could spend more time and energy on her foundation, Melanoma Support & Education Foundation, which she started after she was diagnosed with stge 1 melanoma a few years ago. Today, she's looking forward to the birth of her first grandchild-- a girl due in July and her wedding that will be later that same month, while she fights another battle with auto-iommune deficiencies which are probably caused by her melanoma. She and I work together on her foundation. Recently we spent the weekend in Austin and had a blast! It was so nice to have a weekend with just the two of us....not worrying about the kids, jobs, etc.

I truly love my sisters.

Who I Am, Part One

I've been reading The Pioneer Woman's blog. In it she has her fascinating story of how she met her husband. And I could relate to parts of it because some it could have been MY story as well. And one of these days I will tell that story, but not today.

Today, I want to start at the beginning. For some reason, 2008 has been the year for me to become introspective and look at what I have and be thankful for it. To cherish what's around me and not stress about what I don't have. Normally, I think those kinds of thought occur when one is faced with a terrible illness or a great loss. Neither of these are a concern of mine at the moment, so don't freak out on me! LOL

Today, I'm just going to introduce myself, and look at my beginnings........

I am the first daughter of a truck driver and a stay at home mom. When I was born, most moms did not work outside of the home, and I never understood what a gift that was until recently. Trey, my oldest, is just beginning to get involved in many school activities. Every week, my husband and I sit down and figure out our schedules to see who will be available to pick him up after school. It was expecially important this week since he is on crutches and cannot ride the bus very easily. ( That's another story and I promise I will write about it soon.) Trey has had to shuffle events and be sure to get home in time to meet Kyle's bus on a couple occasions as well. I don't remember having to worry about not getting picked up or not having a ride, because Mom was always available to pick me up after volleyball or soccer practice, or get me to my events on time. I was even able to get out of school for dr/dentist visits because she was able to go during the day. Trey's and Kyle's appointments are made in the evening, when they want to play outside, or they're on the weekend at the after hours clinic. So, thank you, Mom, for being a stay at home mom. I love you for it.