Ramblings from Robin

Life's Ups and Downs

2010-09-19T18:50:00.003-05:00

It's amazing how when things are going well, I don't have time to update my blog, but as soon as something rocks my world, it's one of the first places I head.

Life has been going along so very well....boys are doing well in school, I love my job, Eddie is wonderful. Life. is. good.

Trey is a freshman in high school and is struggling a little with Biology and Spanish II, mostly because he hasn't figured out yet that he needs to consistently study, instead of sporadically cramming the night before a test. He'll figure it out soon. In the meantime, he's staying for tutoring for some extra help. He plans to play on the school soccer team next semester. I can't wait! I love watching him play. He is on a club team this fall and is really doing well.

Kyle is doing well academically. He's in a Gifted/Talented Cluster class, where they put G/T and high achieving regular kids together. He is loving the extra challenges and all the projects. He's also part of a Destination Imagination team. I'm hoping that is a good fit for him.

This summer we finally had Kyle tested, and they confirmed my suspicions that he indeed did have Asperger's Syndrome, which is a high functioning autism. I KNEW deep down in my heart, but I sure wanted to be proven wrong this time. We just got the results a couple days ago and I'm still trying to process everything. Part of me wonders if he is this way because of all the fertility drugs that I took, or because I was older when he was born. When I stop to truly think about it, I know that it's probably not my fault, but Satan sure knows where to send his jabs to do the most damage. I hope I won't have a difficult time getting him help at his school, but I'm gearing up for a fight, because the testing was done outside of school, and they have already told me there was no academic need to have him getting special help. The doctors this summer disagree, so I hope that by sharing their findings, I will be able to get him some extra support, especially in speech and social skills.

Life is Good

2009-05-12T13:55:00.003-05:00

Sunday was Mother's Day. I sat in church between my wonderful husband and my handsome almost teenaged son. It's not often that Trey worships with us, because he is involved in youth activities and usually sits with his friends. (This time, his friends sat with us.) :o) As I sat there, I reflected back on past Mother's Days....back to 2002, when Kyle was dedicated...then to 1997, when I celebrated my first Mother's Day--Trey was almost a year old and I was so happy......to 1996, when I was pregnant with Trey, but had to stay home in bed that day because I had PIH ( pregnancy induced hypertension).....to 1994 and 95, when I was so heart broken because I once again was NOT a mom yet, and the future looked so bleak......to the many Mother's Days I spent with my mom and some even with grandmothers. I realized, once again, how very very blessed I am. Even when life looked so dark, God had it all under control. He knew what I couldn't see...the love, the happiness, the struggles, the pain, the tears of joy and sorrow, the proud moments......He was there through all of it....never failing me. Never abandoning me. Celebrating. Loving. Giving.
How can I NOT praise Him? He gave 2 precious sons, who are my reasons for living.

God's Timing

2009-04-15T11:43:00.003-05:00

A very dear friend of mine messaged me last night on Facebook. ( yes....that's where I've been. I know I have MUCH I need to share here, but for some reason, my creativity, which was never around a lot anyway, seems to be on an extended vacation. I have thoughts that swirl around my brain, especially at 3 or 4 AM!! But for some reason, the thoughts never make it from my brain to my fingers.)
Anyway....back to my friend's message. She is struggling with infertility and my heart goes out to her and her fabulous hubby because I've been there. In fact, I stayed there for a very long visit. Too long. Nobody should have to suffer that long on such an emotional roller coaster. She is near the beginning of her journey and shared that she had cried twice yesterday just because she wants this so badly and is afraid it's not going to happen. Yet. Ah the tears. If I could have bottled up the tears I shed while trying to conceive, I would have the greenest yard on the cul de sac this August.....no drought for me!
She asked me how I did it for so long....3 years for Trey and 3 years, then a miscarriage and 5 more months for Kyle. I couldn't give her an answer. At least not a concrete answer... I don't know HOW I got through those long painful years of shots, fertility drugs, blood tests and pee sticks. All I could say was first of all I had a patient husband who loved me ---who held me when I cried when once again, the test was negative or when another friend called me to tell me her wonderful news....she was expecting and I wasn't. He's the one who kept me sane when I wanted to throw my thermometer across the room and never take another temp. ( I don't want to admit how many I broke when they hit the closet door.) He's the one who kept me from scratching out the eyeballs of a well intentioned, albeit quite fertile friend who told me I just needed to get a dog! ( Uh...no...I didn't want a dog---I wanted a child!)
But the main thing that helped me through that time in my life was the knowledge that I didn't have to be in control....God had it all planned for me and while I didn't understand why it couldn't be RIGHT NOW, I was able to accept that HE KNEW BEST. One of the verses I claimed over and over was Jeremiah 29:11 'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the LORD. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'" I claimed that promise....over and over and over and over.
Philippians 4:11 "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." This verse was given to me in a Sunday School class...2 of my closest friends had just announced their pregnancies earlier in the week, and I prayed and asked God for something to help me to be happy for them even though I was fighting jealousy and envy because I wasn't pregnant too.
Today my friend is going to the dr for a bloodtest and I've been praying for her all morning. And just now, God gave me a song for her.....It's from the movie "Fireproof":

I'm waiting

I'm waiting on You, Lord

And I am hopeful

I'm waiting on You, Lord

Though it is painful

But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead,

bold and confident

Taking every step in obedience

While I'm waiting

I will serve You

While I'm waiting

I will worship

While I'm waiting

I will not faint

I'll be running the race

Even while I wait

I'm waiting

I'm waiting on You, Lord

And I am peaceful

I'm waiting on You, Lord

Though it's not easy

But faithfully, I will wait

Yes, I will wait

I will serve You while I'm waiting

I will worship while I'm waiting

I will serve You while I'm waiting

I will worship while I'm waiting

I will serve you while I'm waiting

I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

Looking back, from the other side of infertility, I can see that I did that.....and God rewarded my patience and my very long wait with two incredible gifts. And everyday, when I drop Kyle off at school or talk to Trey about what's going on in his life, I thank God for his good and perfect timing, because no other gifts could fit our family so perfectly.

No! Say it isn't so!!

2009-02-17T12:52:00.003-06:00

Has it really been almost 2 months since I posted? I never updated our Christmas trip or Kyle's birthday or anything?
I hate to admit it, but I've been bitten by the Facebook bug and catching up with old high school buddies has taken priority.
But I PROMISE to be a much better blogger in the future, and I will even go back and write about what's been happening since I last appreciated my boys.
They may not come in order, because I already have a thought swirling in my head that deals with my anniversary yesterday, so I'll start there, and work backwards and go forwards both at the same time....this should be interesting!
Hang on----it could be a bumpy ride! LOL

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

2008-12-18T14:52:00.003-06:00

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

2008-12-17T14:33:00.003-06:00

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!

2008-12-03T14:00:00.002-06:00

Turkey Trot

2008-12-02T14:20:00.004-06:00

*~*~*~*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!

2008-11-11T14:47:00.003-06:00

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

2008-11-02T07:57:00.009-06:00

My Soccer Star

2008-11-02T07:53:00.006-06:00

More to come.....

My Halloween Robot

2008-11-02T07:52:00.003-06:00

Pumpkins and Halloween

2008-10-28T13:22:00.007-05:00

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

2008-09-24T14:54:00.007-05:00

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

2008-09-22T14:25:00.004-05:00

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......

2008-09-19T21:37:00.004-05:00

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

2008-08-08T06:59:00.024-05:00

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!!

2008-07-21T06:50:00.003-05:00

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!

2008-06-14T09:40:00.003-05:00

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

2008-04-17T15:29:00.004-05:00

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

2008-04-16T09:47:00.006-05:00

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.

I AM Blessed, part 2

2008-03-25T11:12:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, I came to school, semi-refreshed and almost ready to face the rest of the school year. As I always do, I checked my email as soon as I got here. There were all the typical emails....DMC/Suspension/DHall lists, announcements, etc. But one email messge grabbed hold of my heart and held it tight all day long......

One of my teacher friends lost her husband at the very young age of 38. He'd had a massive heart attack. Earlier in the day, as he was having chest pains, he went to his regular dr who ran an EKG and it came back normal. Less than 24 hours later, he was dead. He left 2 small children, ages 3 and 7.

I am devastated. It's all I can think about.....his young life wiped out in a speck of time, leaving a young widow and 2 small kids.....

It makes me thankful for what I have.....for my wonderful husband. I can't imagine my life without him. He's the first person I see each morning and the last one I talk to at night. He's the first person with whom I want to share news, both good and bad. When I have a bad day, he's the one I turn to for a smile and a hug. God gave me someone extra special when he sent this man into my life.

Yes, indeed, I AM blessed.

I am blessed-----

2008-03-15T18:06:00.004-05:00

It's Spring Break. No school for a week. Time to spend with my family. When my students asked what I was going to do, I always had the same answer. SLEEP! This past week, with the time change, I've been so very incredibly tired each morning and it made it difficult to get to school on time. Kyle was extra tired as well so he had a hard time getting up in the morning too. Sooooo......today was the first day that I could sleep in. We had one of those extremely rare days where we had no where that we HAD to go....no soccer, no extended family commitments, nothing going on in the neighborhood or at church. My plan was to sleep at least to 9....maybe even later.

7:45 am.......I'm quietly walking out the front door in my workout clothes, headed to the gym. It was so beautiful and peaceful that I decided to walk the half mile to the gym to get an extra workout in. Time by myself is hard to come by, except for the drive to and from work and then my mind is usually centered on school issues. So this morning, I looked around at my neighborhood.....still sleeping for the most part.....a few bicyclists were already out, and it looked like there may have been an early baseball game getting ready to start.......but for the most part, all was silent. I started thinking about how wonderful it was to live in this subdivision.....the awesome schools, the athletic center within walking distance, the new mall coming soon....the wonderful neighbors who are willing to help me out in a pinch---something that many don't have in this day and age. So often I take my home and neighborhood for granted, and yet my kids are able to play outside without fear. I definitely am blessed.

Valentine's Day at our House----

2008-02-14T13:30:00.002-06:00

We started celebrating Valentine's Day on Tuesday when Eddie brought me beautiful pink roses. He decided to surprise me early because I'm leaving for Austin on Friday morning and if he brought them on on the 14th, I wouldn't have much time to enjoy them. What a sweetheart!

I bought each of the guys new red striped polos, each one a bit different so they'd have something new to wear today. Trey looked quite handsome, which made him feel good, because he has a special *friend* at school that he's trying to impress....he even sent her 2 carnations from the Student Council fundraiser! :o) Kyle had class pictures today, and they were all asked to wear red for the picture. He couldn't wait to go to school today since they're having a party and everything.

I don't think we are going to be able to go out to dinner, because Trey is supposed to have soccer practice (unless the coach's wife convinces him to take her out! LOL) but that's ok...we are planning to celebrate our anniversary ( 17 years on Saturday!!!) next weekend anyway....

LAST DAY--CHECK OUT, WILDERNESS LODGE AND GRAND FLORIDIAN

2008-01-14T13:56:00.000-06:00

Even our last day was busy----we got up and checked out then headed for Whispering Canyon for breakfast. Very yummy, but I was disappointed in out waitress. The lady who had the tables next to us was hysterical...but ours disappeared for a long time and then she just had no personality. Kyle had fun w/ the stick horse parade though, and we enjoyed ourselves watching the other tables getting picked on.
After breakfast, we headed over to GF for pictures. Since we prebought the photopass cd, we could get the portraits for $25 more and we hadn't had a family picture taken since Kyle was a baby so we decided to get pictures taken. We haven't ordered our cd yet....that's on the agenda this weekend, but we ended up w/ over 325 pictures. Some of them are duplicates, and the kids did get tired of taking them, but eventually they were on the lookout for photographers also.
It was definitely a memorable trip, and we're all ready to go back again SOON.....right now, I'm trying to figure out the finances so we can be DVC members....that's my goal!!!!

Boys' Choice---Epcot

2008-01-14T13:44:00.000-06:00

The original plan was to go to MGM in the morning and then head over to Epcot, but when they got up, they decided to only do Epcot. They slept in a bit, so we grabbed pop tarts, filled our cups at the food court, and took off for Epcot.
People were crazy that day---it took us 4 trams before we all got to the front gate. People were piling in w/ 8 and 10 in a row and the driver had to wait for people to get off, then they pushed other people out of the way to get on. Definitely not in the Disney Spirit. Sad.We got some more photopass pictures taken while we waited for Eddie to get in the park.
Then we headed for Test Track. While the boys rode it, I went to Soarin and got 2 Fp and to Mission Space and got 2. Soarin was already in the afternoon, w/ a 90 min wait, so needless to say, we didn't ride it that day...only the boys.
There was a 30 min wait for Nemo, so we rode that and then went to Turtle Talk. I was kinda disappointed because there really wasn't a lot of interaction...but that's because everyone seemed too shy to say anything. After that we headed for the World Showcase.....we saw O Canada! and then ran into the Brother Bears. The boys loved the red telephone booths, so we got their pictures in that. Then we went to England.....and saw Alice! I was excited, but she was getting ready to leave so I got a picture, but couldn't go up to "meet" her or get a picture together.
Then Eddie went back to Refreshment Port to get the boys McDs while I got us fish and chips. yummmo! the fish was so good.
Then we split up.....I stayed in WS while Eddie took the boys to MS and TT. I had about 2 hrs to wander around by myself!!! I loved it! I went to France and bought the boys coins from each of the countries---they thought those were really cool! In Morocco, I saw Jasmine and Genie.I took pictures of Snow White and Dopey in Germany. And then I went to Norway, picked up FP for the Maelstrom and got some yummy lefse in the bakery. I grew up in a predominantly Norwegian community and hadn't had kringla or lefse in years!
By then Eddie called---they were in Club Cool (again!!) so I headed over there to meet them.
We took more pictures, then headed over to Honey I shrunk the Audience. Before we went in we saw Figment, so the boys got their pictures taken w/ him and got his autograph. I HATED Honey I shrunk the Audience!!! I won't give it away, but I have too vivid an imagination and it felt REAL.
Next a few more pictures and then we headed to Maelstrom. I introduced the boys to lefse--they weren't impressed. We wandered around WS then, looking for something different and yummy to eat. I wanted Italian, but there's not a CS place there. How silly is that??? I would think that would be quite popular. Trey got a hot dog in America, we stood watching Rita Moreno doing the Candlelight Processional for a while, then headed on to France, where Eddie got the ham and Cheese croissant w/ strawberry tart and I got the quiche and creme brulee, which was ok but not that great. I have to admit I was disappointed.
Kyle was collecting the kidcot things on the mask and it got broken, so he started over....Eddie went back the way we came and picked up the ones he's already gotten and the boys and I headed towards England to get that one and Canada. Kyle got frenchfries at Refreshment Port, Then we went back to finally use our Soarin FP before the fireworks. We decided to skip the fireworks if we could all get on Soarin, but there was a 130 min wait at that time! Insane! Eddie met us just as the boys got off Soarin so we decided to head back to the hotel so we could start packing up.
The next day was check out day, but we still had a couple things planned....

December 27---Cape May Breakfast and Magic Kingdom

2008-01-14T13:38:00.000-06:00

Another Character Breakfast---I was beginning to get a little tired of the Character meals, although the food was very very good. Cape May was delicious though. We were running a little late that morning and then had a hard time finding the place so we were about 5 minutes past our ADR time when we got there. We had to wait about 10 minutes, so we wandered around the lobby for a while. The Chocolate carousel was so cool....Trey kept looking for the hidden Mickeys on it. We found one but I'm sure there were more. Once we got called, the food was delicious and the characters were great. Chip and Minnie were probably the most fun.
As we were leaving, we saw a wedding party getting pictures taken in the lobby. It was amazing how many weddings were happening while we were there.
Then we were off to Magic Kingdom for the first time in daylight. When we got to the TTC the CM said the ferry was about 15 min shorter than the monorail----no brainer: we took the ferry. I got some pictures of the castle, including some with fireworks---I guess we saw the opening???
We first took the train around to Toontown. We got off and the boys weren't really interested in seeing Mickey or Minnie's houses so they headed over to Goofy's Barnstormin and rode that.

From there, they headed over to the Indy cars and rode them, while I went to Buzz Lightyear and got FPs. Then we wandered over to the castle and got pictures taken. We could finally go through the castle--everytime we were there before, it was roped off because it was time for a show. Trey tried his hand at the Sword in the Stone. It didn't come out and they don't believe me that it sometimes does.
We went to see Philharmagic then headed back to Tomorrow land and did Buzz, and got another set of FP for later in the evening. I'm not sure what order things came in but we drove the Indy cars again, rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, and watched the Night Before Christmas Show. Somewhere in there, we saw Buzz, but he was leaving so we couldn't get the boys' picture taken w/ him. I did get pictures though. After using our FP for Buzz, we separated.
Kyle and I were going to ride the Indy cars while Eddie and Trey headed to the Thunder Mountain RR. (We'd gotten FP earlier in the day). Kyle decided he didn't want to ride anything so we went to Toon town to play in the little playground there.
Eddie and Trey rode BTMR and had 2 more FP to use to ride a 2nd time, but Trey didn't really like it so Eddie rode it 2 more times by himself. We were supposed to meet them at Pecos Bills for a late dinner, but we got caught by the parade and it was HORRIBLE trying to get back over there. We finally made it to PB and had wonderful cheeseburgers.
Then we headed towards Adventureland to try to do POTC again. We turned the wrong way somehow, and never passed it, but Kyle was insisting he was not going to ride it anyway, so it was no big deal. We stopped by Aloha Isle and got one last Dole Whip before heading for home.
Eddie & Trey headed to Tomorrowland so Trey could ride Buzz one last time while Kyle and I headed for the exit. Before we got out of the front gates, he'd fallen asleep and stayed that way all the way to the hotel, not even waking up when we picked him up to get on the tram or in the car. NEXT--Our last day in the parks---Boys' Choice...Where would they choose?

DECEMBER 26---OHANA BREAKFAST AND ANIMAL KINGDOM

2008-01-14T13:33:00.000-06:00

This morning we headed to the Polynesian for Breakfast w/ Lilo and Stitch. The juice was absolutely delicious! I don't normally drink juice but had 3 glasses! The fresh fruit and Hawaiian bread was great too. The boys liked the Mickey waffles and got everyone's autographs. Lilo was taking surf lessons so Goofy came in her place, which I was disappointed about but the boys didn't seem to care. There was great interaction w/ the characters, especially Pluto and Goofy. Kyle participated in the parade and played the maracas.
Then it was off to Animal Kingdom.....we did Photopass pictures and then we split up....Eddie and Trey headed to Expedition Everest while Kyle and I went to Camp Minnie Mickey and did the character greets...well actually all we saw was Goofy Santa...Kyle had seen so many characters at meals that he was losing interest in seeing the same characters all the time. So we headed to Africa and Kyle played the bongos while we waited for Eddie and Trey to join us. We saw Baloo and King Louie, got FP for the safari and took the train to Rafiki's Conservation Station. There we saw Rafiki and Pocahontas but of course the boys didn't care about her so they just got their picture taken w/ Rafiki and then we headed back for our safari....
We went right around lunchtime, so I was surprised at how many animals we saw...... After the safari, we headed to Restaurantasaurus for the boys' lunch while Eddie and I got the ribs at Flame Tree BBQ. These were very yummy. As we passed EE, Eddie and Trey told me all about that ride....they liked it , but weren't ready to ride it again anytime soon. After lunch, the boys were ready to do something else so we headed to DownTown Disney.....
Kyle was in heaven at the Lego store! He got the container of Legos as well as 2 car/truck sets, which he's been playing with almost constantly since we've been home. Then we went to the toy store and he bought a box of potato head parts to play with as well. He and Trey had fun making several silly faces on them. Then he and Trey found the light saber display and decided to make those also. When they finished we went over to the Photopass place and had pictures of them 'fighting' added to our cd. Trey ended up using the rest of his souvenir money on an ESPN basketball. The boys got Disney Dollars for every A or B on their report cards all semester so they ended up w/ about $80. each to spend on whatever they wanted. They also got a couple gift cards for Christmas from grandparents and Santa as well. This worked out really well and we didn't have any whining or asking to buy, because they had their own money to spend....it also helped them to prioritize exactly what they wanted.
By this time it was dark and we got McDs for Kyle then headed back to Pop. Trey went swimming while Eddie and I ate dinner, then he grabbed a burger later. Our plan was to go back to MGM for EMH but we were all too tired and decided to take it easy and just rest for the evening instead.....it wasn't long until both boys were asleep....
Next......Cape May Breakfast and Magic Kingdom

Merry Christmas at Epcot

2008-01-14T13:28:00.000-06:00

Christmas morning we got up early and again ate pop tarts in the room while the boys opened their stockings, and gifts from my parents and us---(Disney gc from grandparents and potato heads from us). Their main gift was this trip and they had a few other things waiting for them under the tree at home. They got a bunch of trading pins in their stockings as well as some Disney Dollars to use for their souvenirs.
We got to Epcot in time to be at the front of the line for the opening. That was cool---I was trying to get picked to be the family to open the park, but my kids were not very talkative to the CMs who came by to talk to us while we waited. They became more animated when the Test Track car came out but by that time they'd chosen their family. Oh well......
When the rope dropped, we headed to Soarin. I had to park the stroller, so Kyle and I got separated from the other 2 and never did find them. We got in line and had about a 20 min wait. Trey and Eddie had about a 10 min wait so they just wandered around checking out things in the area while they waited for us. We all LOVED this ride and got FP to ride it again later.
Then we headed to Test Track, used FP and rode it immediately. The wait was already 50 minutes by the time we got over there. The guys loved it---me not so much, We got the pictures added to our photopass and I looked quite windblown. LOL
We got FP for there also and then Eddie and Trey headed to Mission Space while Kyle and I went to the World Showcase. Kyle was hungry so he got chicken nuggets at Refreshment Port--a LOT of food for a CS meal---9 pc nuggets, lg fries, lg drink and a mcflurry. After he ate, Eddie and Trey met up with us, and Trey got the nugget meal also while Eddie and I got the Combo meal at San Angel. very yummy. Trey loved the churros--it was cool to see them trying new things.
After lunch, we did some shopping and I introduced them to Club Cool. I didn't like ANY of the drinks but the boys loved them ( except Beverly of course) I think they mixed a few and made their own drinks, and this was a place we hit a few more times while we here.
We wandered through Innoventions and Kyle did a few of the KIDCOT activities. Then we headed to Soarin to use our FP.
When we got off there, it was just about time for the next Jr Chef to start so the boys decided they wanted to do that. That was cute. It was nice to see Trey helping Kyle measure the ingredients---usually they're not so helpful or loving to each other----must have been that Disney magic at work! LOL Kyle absolutely LOVED this activity....

After we finished, we went upstairs to Garden Grill for our ADR---we had ressies for the Candlelight Processional afterwards. Garden Grill was nice---we had the BEST interaction w/ the characters here---esp Chip and Dale. The food was good---Kyle ate, which was great---he's my picky eater so I was concerned about what he would eat. Both boys got the make your own cupcake for dessert and had fun decorating and eating their creations. We didn't realize the restaurant moved....we were eating and I looked up and saw a mountain that I swore wasn't there before.....Eddie and Trey laughed at me until they realized that we HAD moved....that was pretty cool---to see the different scenes. Then it was on to the World Showcase to get in line for the Candlelight Processional..... Gary Sinise was the Guest Reader of the Christmas Story and it was WONDERFUL!!! I loved watching the lady doing the sign language---wow! she was so animated! Afterwards, we got photopass pictures taken in France then headed to the other side, got more photopass pics then headed to Test Track where the guys rode a couple more times. Then Trey got a snack and we headed for the hotel.
Next---Ohana Breakfast and Animal Kingdom!

DAY THREECHRISTMAS EVEDVC AND POOH

2008-01-14T13:25:00.000-06:00

After making our appointment, I called dh and told him what I had done....I'd gotten us 3 Fast Passes each to use whenever we wanted--alll we had to do was sit through an hour spiel on the DVC. There was child care/gameroom for the boys so even though Trey grumbled a bit, dh said ok and off we went to Saratoga Springs to tour the resort. We went through the models, and spoke w/ a wonderful sales rep. The rooms were beautiful and I could see us using them over and over for years to bring our boys and later our grandchildren. I was ready to sign right then and there of course, but knew that financially, the time just wasn't right for us. It was a great incentive and deal and we'll probably kick ourselves later, but with Trey's soccer expenses coming up, it's just not feasible. Some day though---we WILL be joining.
We ended our tour with ice cream and then headed out because we had ADRs at Crystal Palace for dinner. We took the Ferry over to MK instead of the monorail. It ended up being faster most of the week. We got to watch the castle lights come on from the boat, which was very pretty.
Crystal Palace was yummy, but very very crowded. I felt like we were practically sitting in the laps of the people at the next table. I'm not sure I'll go back there again. We saw the Pooh characters and the boys got all their autographs. Kyle joined in the parade around the restaurant w/ the characters---this surprised me. He volunteered to do that at every place they had the parades. He used to be too shy to ever do something like that. Kindergarten has brought him out of some of his shyness.
After dinner, we came out to Main Street just in time for Spectromagic and then headed to Tomorrowland. We were going to see Monsters Inc Laugh Floor and just as we sat down. Kyle needed to go to the bathroom, so he and I left. As we came out of the restroom, Wishes (fireworks) was starting, so we watched that and then met Eddie and Trey. We were near the Indy cars, so the guys rode that and it started raining so we headed back to the hotel.
The next day---Christmas at Epcot!

Christmas Eve Day---MGM

2008-01-14T13:21:00.000-06:00

We started w/ poptarts in the room. We got the souvenir cups at POP so we grabbed a hot chocolate and then headed over to MGM. We planned on riding the bus but we'd just missed the bus and didn't feel like waiting for the next one so we decided to drive. We got there about 8:40 but MGM had EMH so we walked right in. The Photopass photographers took our pictures and then took special poses of the boys w/ high school musical basketballs. They turned out really cute. As soon as I get my cd I'll post them. We grabbed FP for the Indiana Jones Stunt show then headed to Star Tours. All 4 rode it the first time (NO WAIT!) and then Trey decided to ride it again. Then we headed on through the park---we saw Lightning McQueen and Mater so the boys stood in line for less than 5 minutes and got their pictures taken. Then we headed to the Honey I shrunk the Kids playground. Kyle LOVED this and wanted to go back to MGM just to play here. Then on to the Lights ,motors Action (?) Stunt show--- This was the boys' favorite thing at this park! Then we split up--Eddie and Trey headed back to Indiana Jones and Kyle & I were headed to Animation Station, but the way was closed because of the area where they're building Toy Story. So I stopped at the DVC booth to pick up a map and started talking to the rep. Next thing I knew I was making an appointment to talk to a DVC rep---now to convince DH and the boys that it would be worth leaving the park for a couple hours!

DAY TWO CONTINUED---WE MADE IT TO DISNEY!!

2008-01-14T13:14:00.000-06:00

After leaving the Speedway, we grabbed some lunch (McD's for the boys, Burger King for us) and hit the road towards Orlando. I was worse than the boys---I wanted to get there NOW!
The boys looked at the park maps and planned their rides, then got out their journals to write about the Daytona part of their trip. Finally, I saw the signs ---- we made it!! Seeing the sign welcoming me to Walt Disney World fulfilled a life long dream----something I'd wanted to see since I was a little girl watching the Wonderful World of Disney on tv on Sunday nights. I got goose bumps just seeing it---it stirred Eddie too....neither one of us had ever been here before.
Then it was on to Pop Century. I checked us in and as I waited in line for the next CM, I got tears in my eyes. I'd worked so hard to get this planned and I so wanted this to be the most perfect week. Our room was ready so we went straight to our room--5109--first floor right in front of the little kiddie splash pool. We passed all these cute windows filled with Christmas lights and special towel animals. I never thought about bringing anything to decorate it for the week ----something I'll definitely think about doing next time.
I'd ordered Goody paks and instead of delivering them to the room, they just gave me the box when I checked in. So the boys opened the box as soon as we were settled. They were a HUGE hit---they used their bags all week, and I got a LOT of comments about them. It was nice to not have to carry their stuff all week too.
After we got settled, we headed to the Contemporary for dinner at Chef Mickeys. At first Kyle (my ultra-picky eater) wouldn't eat anything but a corn muffin w/ butter, but we threatened to go back to Texas the next morning if he didn't find something to eat, so he decided to try the mac and cheese and the pizza and surprisingly liked it. That's the only time we had any problem with him eating.....all week he ate like he hadn't eaten in weeks! LOL Guess it must have been all that exercise!
We saw Pluto, Mickey, Goofy, Donald and Minnie. The boys got all their autographs in their new books and took pictures with all of them.
After dinner, we headed to MK to see Wishes. We planned on taking the monorail, but it was 22 min to get there by rail and only 9 minutes to walk over so we walked. We'd brought a stroller for Kyle so he rode in style. lol
The castle was absolutely breathtaking and Eddie and I both cried during the fireworks. It was magical.
Then we walked around for a while---the crowd around the castle was horrendous, but once we got through, we were ok. We ended up near the Hall of Presidents so we decided to check it out. Since I'm a history teacher, I enjoyed it. Trey and Eddie are both history nerds too so they liked it. Kyle was bored so he climbed up on my lap and dozed off.
From there we wandered around some more, got our wristbands for EMH and came across POTC. Kyle didn't want to ride it so while Eddie and Trey rode, I called home so Kyle could tell his Gammy about WDW. There was no wait so as soon as they got off, Trey and I rode it while Eddie and Kyle watched some of Spectromagic.
Then we headed to Aloha Isle. Trey got a rootbeer float and Eddie and I shared the Dole whip. YUMMMY!
We headed back to the castle and got pictures taken. I had prepurchased the photopass cd, so I was on the lookout for photographers all week. We ended up with over 200 pictures so I don't think I did too badly. We then walked down Main St to head back to Pop.....it was snowing on Main Street!! how cool!
We took the monorail back to Contemporary and got our car to go home.

Day Two---Daytona Beach

2008-01-07T10:32:00.000-06:00

It was still dark when I woke up so I went out on our balcony to watch the sun come up over the ocean. It was high tide and the waves were hitting the edge of the hotel swimming pool. The boys woke up around 7 and we went down to the pool area, took more pictures and then ate breakfast. The boys didn't want to walk on the beach, so they didn't actually TOUCH the ocean, but they did see it for the first time.

After we checked out, we headed to the Daytona Speedway. That was cool--Trey and Eddie drove the simulators w/ Kyle as the passenger. Trey and Kyle were part of the pit crew challenge and had the record of having the 2nd LONGEST time ever! Kyle loved watching Jeff Gordon's car come apart so that he could see all the different parts. I think he will end up being some kind of mechanical engineer when he grows up.

Next stop-------Pop Century and the REAL magic begins!!!

~*~*note*~*~ I don't have any of my pictures here at school, so I will add those tonight when I'm at home. :o)

Day One--Getting to Florida ( Or Are we there YET????)

2008-01-07T10:29:00.000-06:00

Our plans & reality don't always match---
PLAN; a good night's sleep
REALITY: The boys got to bed around 11, Eddie went around 12 and I stayed up until we left, finishing up last minute things
PLAN: we were going to leave at 2
REALITY: we left at 3:15
PLAN: we were going to eat breakfast in New Orleans
REALITY: we stopped at a McDonalds in some small town west of Lafayette --

This was the LOOOOOOONGEST day! I didn't think we'd ever get to Florida, and when we did, we still had to drive clear across the width of the state to get to Daytona. We stopped at the Florida Visitor's Center in Pensacola and got free orange juice. Trey and Eddie had several samples.
We finally got to our hotel ( The Islander) in Daytona Beach right before 10 pm, got settled and then headed across the street to Denny's for a late supper. Then straight to bed because we were exhausted. By that time, I'd been up for 40+ hours and Eddie had only had a few hours sleep more. Definitely NOT the way to start a Disney vacation!

Telling the boys about the Surprise!!!!!

2008-01-07T10:18:00.000-06:00

We kept this trip a secret from Trey and Kyle until the very last minute. This was soooooooooo hard for me to do, but worth it in the end. Their reactions were priceless.....I have video that I will need to add to this once I'm home and have it cut and uploaded so come back later to see their reactions.
Here is the letter we gave them to tell them they were going----

Have a Jolly Christmas boys....
Every year I pick a very special family who has truly shown the Christmas Spirit for a very special Christmas present. Of course before I give this gift, I have to talk to Mom and Dad and make sure it is alright, because this gift is so wonderful that i want to make sure that everyone can go.
This Christmas, I have chosen your family. Make sure all your bags are packed because Santa is sending you to Disney World and you leave in the morning! That's right, you are so special that Santa is sending you to see Mickey and his gang!Remember to love each other and be there for each other all year long. Merry Christmas!!
Stockings and candy canes,
Santa

Our Magical Journey

2008-01-07T08:40:00.000-06:00

We just got back from a fun-filled visit to everyone's favorite mouse! It was each of our first time to be there and we definitely have some life-long memories. In the next few days I will post reports of our trip as well as pictures. Here is Cinderella's Castle, lit up for Christmas.

Taking Time to Be Thankful~~~

2007-11-07T15:52:00.000-06:00

It's November. That means it's time for turkeys. And pumpkin pie! And decorating the house for Christmas. Kyle got his Thanksgiving assignment last week. He had to decorate a large feather with all the things that he was thankful for. Here's his list: Mom & Dad, Trey, pumpkins, presents, fire trucks, race cars, candy canes, soccer, falling colored leaves, and construction vehicles. :o) That got me thinking about my list ( in no particular order). I'm thankful for .......
1. My husband
2. my boys
3. my home
4. my job
5. my church
6. my health
7. my parents
8. my sisters
9. my brother
10. my father in law
11. my history team
12. my friends
13. Kyle's babysitter ( well, caretaker---he thinks he's too old for a babysitter LOL)
14. I'm getting a new-to-me car---a 2002 Ford Expedition, Eddie Bauer edition w/ all the bells and whistles
15. my upcoming vacation to Walt Disney World!! I can't wait!!
16. Trey's good grades
17. Kyle's snuggles
18. my hearing---I love to listen to music....I can't imagine what my life would be like if I couldn't hear.
19. The Dynamos are in the playoffs!
20. Trey's soccer season is coming to a close---this is bittersweet, because he's so disappointed that they aren't going on, but it sure will be nice to have free time again on weekends
21. Kyle's soccer season ends Saturday. I know he's glad---soccer just isn't his thing!
22. living in a neghborhood that is safe for the kids to play and ride their bikes without fear
23. neighbors who care and look out for each other
24. neighbors that dn't like to party all night
25. neighbors that don't have barking dogs
26. my baby days are over so I don't have to worry about sleepless nights (until Trey gets old enough to drive)
27. knowing how to cook
28. being able to rely on my mom for parenting advice
29. having the opportunity to talk and laugh with my sisters on the phone
30. hot apple pie with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce

School Notes

2007-10-29T13:30:00.000-05:00

Trey is learning to play the viola. I have a love/hate relationship with that instrument. I'm beyond thrilled that he is enjoying orchestra so much. I'm proud of him, because he practices every day without my asking him. His teacher is suggesting private lessons for him because he's doing very well and could go far if he continues to put forth effort like he does now. But right now, the viola is not such a beautiful sounding instrument. There are lots of screeches, and wrong notes, and he always waits to practice at 8:oo pm when I'm trying to get Ky to bed, and my shows are coming on. It's hard to watch "Private Practice" with violas screeching in the background. I can't hear the volleying back and forth between Addison and Pete and I know I'm going to miss some good repartee. I know this too shall pass, and there will come a time when I will beg to hear the viola once again playing in my suddenly silent house but there is just so much that this mama can take right now.

Kyle is loving kindergarten. He's such a Know-it-all, that it's getting him in trouble. He argued with his teacher and got sent back to the end of the line. She acknowledged to me that he WAS right, but she needed him to know that he can't argue with adults. Then he argued with the substitute last week. Again, from the sound of it, he was right, but he hasn't learned when to stand up for himself and when it's best to keep quiet. Poor baby---he has his mama's sense of fairness and this time, that's probably not so good. I was always getting in trouble at school for doing what I thought was just standing up for myself. Unfortunately the teachers always took that as arguing also.

Our Fourth of July

2007-07-05T09:43:00.000-05:00

Happy Independence Day!!! We had a very quiet day. The parade was at 9 am, but it was raining so we decided to stay home. Kyle was ok with that---he played in his tent and watched tv. Eddie updated the computers and downloaded some new songs for our Ipods. I read, watched tv, thought about working on my lesson plans and just relaxed. After lunch, I read some books to Kyle and then we decided to go see Ratatouille. By the time we got there, the next 3 showings were all sold out--( did I mention it was raining? Guess everyone had the same idea.) so we saw Surf's Up instead. It was cute. Afterwards we were going to do some shopping but were amazed that several of the stores were closed. We don't actually live in a small town---we're on the outskirts of Houston, for goodness sakes!---but we do get the atmosphere of small town life. The only things open were the grocery stores, Walmart and Target. And the restaurants, of course, although we did see a few of the smaller ones were closed as well. Now we're talking 6:30.....I was just surprised that they were closed. We went to On The Border for dinner....Kyle ate some french fries, Eddie and I had some DELISH Mexican food. We came home, Ky got his pjs on, climbe4d in his tent and watched the Flintstones marathon on Boomerang. Eddie and I watched the History Channel until it got dark and then we went outside and sat in the back of his truck and watched the idiots on our street shoot off fireworks for the next hour or so. They were all around us so I kept turning around to see the ones right over our house. Normally I would have been nervous about them falling on the house and starting a fire, but it rained off and on all day yesterday so I think we were ok. I just hated that Trey wasn't there. He loves fireworks and would have loved watching them last night. Hopefully they did lots of fun things at camp yesterday. He comes home tomorrow!! Can't wait to see him!!

Summer Camp

2007-07-02T20:03:00.000-05:00

Trey left today for a week at our church camp. He was so very very excited. He started packing last Monday, and has been going through his suitcase every day to make sure he had everything he needed. His 2 buddies, T and T ( we call them the Triple Ts---which could stand for Triple Trouble! lol) were going also, and all I heard all week was his plans for the 3 of them. This morning, he wanted to say goodbye to his dad before he went to work so he asked Eddie to wake him up. At 4:30, he was already awake, dressed and downstairs waiting for his dad to get up. ( He didn't have to be at church until 1 pm!!) All morning, I heard, "is it time to go yet? What time do we need to leave? How long does it take to get to church? "

I just pray that Trey gets as much out of camp as I did growing up.....my summers were spent at camp, first as a camper, then as a teen worker, and later as a counselor. Some of my most precious memories and closest friendships started in those old cabins at camp.

Kyle is spending his week camping also----we put the little pop-up tent in the living room and he's sleeping in there. He's been busy today planning all the fun things we're going to do this week. Tomorrow we're headed to the library for story hour and some new books/dvds and he'll probably try to con me into a stop at McDonald's as well.

10 Things to Keep in Mind ( to make your life a little better)

2007-06-21T08:17:00.000-05:00

1. TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS.
If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't..fun, tempting....maybe, but not right.
2. REMEMBER YOUR MANNERS.
It doesn't cost you anything, but it speaks volumes about who you are.
Having class starts with this.
3. NEVER LET POSSESSIONS "OWN" YOU.
It's just STUFF!
The most valuable things in life----friends, respect, love, knowledge---don't cost money....
Hokey, but true.
4. NURTURE YOUR FRIENDSHIPS.
The investment you make in true friends will pay huge dividends all your life---remember
you can't make an old friend.
5. KEEP YOUR HANDS CLEAN.
This is meant both literally and figuratively....it will save you a lot of regrets later....
6. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.
Yeah this is another hokey one, but you do happen to be the only you in existence and
you're also the only person in the world who can truly hold you back in life....
Think about it.
7. BE GRATEFUL.
Don't waste all your todays in anticipation of some grand tomorrow. Now is all we've got.
Live in it!!
8. TREAT OTHERS THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED.
(okay, so I didn't make this one up.)
The point is, just because your're smarter or richer or prettier than someone else doesn't
mean you're better. It just means you've been more blessed.
9. ALWAYS KEEP PLAYING.
Who says adults have to give up toys? Keep the little kid inside you alive....it keeps your
imagination primed.
Silly is good.
10. NO MATTER WHAT, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE LOVED.
You don't have to test this one.....Just carry it around in your back pocket, and know that, no
matter what, you can always come home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
This list was on the birthday card that my parents gave me this year. I thought it was so special and wanted to always remember these 10 items, and be able to share them with my kids when they left home...I know this is probably silly, but #10 was very important to me because my feelings were hurt on my wedding day, because my mother didn't tell me that, but had told every one of my siblings, when they married, that if it didn't work out, they could always come back home. She said it was because she KNEW that I had married the right man, but had reservations about the others. And she was right~~ of the 5 of us, only 2 are on our original marriages. Now, 15 yrs later, and after I've been on my own for 20+ years, she tells me I can come home! LOL

School's Out & I never have to go back there!!!

2007-05-31T12:07:00.000-05:00

I'm starting at a new school in the fall and am ready to kiss my old school "bye-bye!"

Trey's D.A.R.E. Graduation

2007-05-16T16:27:00.000-05:00

Ok...it's starting. The week(s) I've been dreading all year. The time when I have no choice but to face the fact that my babies are growing up. It actully started last week, when we met with Trey's Middle School music teacher to sign him up for orchestra and set up our rental agreement for his instrument---the viola. I sure hope he enjoys it and sticks with it.

Today was his DARE graduation. DARE stands for Drug Awareness Resistance Education, and is taught by the local sherriff's department. Every Wednesday for the last few months, Trey comes home with enlightening info like, "mom, did you know that a cigarette has rat poison in it?" He really learned a lot and I feel better knowing that he has good comebacks if (no--when) he gets tempted by peer pressure to make the wrong choice about drugs, cigarettes, alcohol and even sex. Since I work in a middle school, I know it's out there and as much as I'd like to keep him young and naive, I know that he needs the tools with which to stand up for what he believes in the face of temptation and peer pressure.

I'm including his essay for ya'll to read...I'm really proud of him!!

To some people, D.A.R.E means “Drug Abuse Resistance Education” but to me, D.A.R.E is “Decision + Anticipate + Relationship = Effect. For the last few weeks, I have learned so much about drug, alcohol and tobacco like 1,200 people die everyday and there are 599 ingredients in cigarettes.
The Decision is not up to your parents but up to yourself. Make the right choice by saying No! Anticipate means to plan ahead to have at least one way to say no. Like the one that sounds funny to me is broken record because you just say one word every time. But there are lots of other ways too… Like walking away and giving an excuse.
R is Relationship. You have to choose the right friend. If your friend asked if you want cigarettes, that means he doesn’t care about you and is not really a true friend. That is also called peer pressure. You can change the subject or give an excuse.
E is the Effect you get when you add Decisions, Anticipate, and Relationships. Making good choices will help you stay away from harmful things like drugs, smoking and alcohol. Another effect is if you do drugs then there’s a lot of stuff that harm you like if you smoke you can get cancer and heart disease. Just say no and keep that answer. Everything has an effect so go the right way. I want to say thank you to Officer Bodine for teaching us about drugs and what would happen if you do drugs. D.A.R.E is really awesome and you will learn so much. That’s what D.A.R.E means to me.

Ugh! It's 3 months later!

2007-05-16T16:23:00.000-05:00

I try so hard to get online to write in my blog, but it's so difficult. During the school year, my time online is so limited. I wish I could get on at school....I"d find a bit of time to catch up then. Actually, I have a lot of thoughts during the day; I just forget them by the time I get home or I don't get access to the computer at home because I'm either busy or someone else is on it.

School is out in 7 more days so I PROMISE to get on very often during the summer.

16 years ago I married my best friend.....

2007-02-16T17:10:00.000-06:00

here are some pictures of that memorable day....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ewVGFn1sfk

Where did my baby go?????

2007-01-24T22:26:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to my darling Son! One of the lights of my life.....the one who watches cooking shows with me. The one who drives me crazy one minute but the next is amazing me with his incredible creativity and inventiveness. I can't believe he's 5 years old. It seems like yesterday I was being rushed to the hospital. I never want to go through those scary few hours before his birth again, but I thank God for giving me such a precious miracle.

Here is a movie I made of his first days......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMJToK8p6Bk

Christmas Photos

2006-12-30T11:35:00.002-06:00

My 2 handsome boys on Christmas Eve at Gammy & Papa's church

Kyle & my dad on the tractor

Kyle playing bells at church

My dad and Trey on the tractor

Our Christmas Card~~2006

2006-12-21T07:51:00.000-06:00

Thinking of my Angel~~Angela Noelle

2006-12-21T07:14:00.000-06:00

To Angela---My miracle baby. The one I knew was a gift from God, because she was a total surprise. The one I knew was a girl from the moment I found out I was pregnant.

It was different---I was sooooo sick with her, not like the boys who made me very tired and a wee bit nauseous, but never made me actually throw up. She was the only baby conceived without the help of drs and drugs, treatments and ultrasounds.

I saw and heard her beautiful heartbeat twice.....watched her grow from that tiny speck to look more like a peanut. Even though I knew from experience that I could lose her--I was older, and I'd already lost Tristan, so the fear was there, in the back of my mind---I began dreaming of this precious little girl who I was sure would have strawberry blond curls and big blue eyes just like her brothers. I pictured me dressing her up in dresses and bows, taking her to ballet and cheerleading camp...finally having a girl with whom to share tea parties, and giggle fests late into the night....things boys just wouldn't understand.

So needless to say, I just wasn't expecting to hear the dr's words---"I'm sorry. There's no heartbeat. This is not a viable pregnancy." After all, this was my miracle---my GIFT from God---the totally unexpected surprise! After giving me this precious gift, how dare He take it away from me?

It took me a very very long time to accept that there was a reason for this horrible loss, and while I will never know what that reason is, God does have a plan. And you better believe that it will be one of the first questions I ask when I get to Heaven! :o)

But for today....the 4th anniversary of that loss....all I can say is Happy Birthday Angela Noelle....born to Heaven way too soon. Your mommy loves you sweetie.

Sisters

2006-12-19T05:51:00.000-06:00

Sharing a video I made for my sisters for Christmas.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kae5JA9c6js

I hope this works!!

Kyle Funny ( repost from PALP)

2006-12-09T19:09:00.000-06:00

Kyle's been very sick lately and is on his 3rd round of antibiotics since Halloween.This time it's for bronchitis & a sinus infection and the dr put him on prednisone which he's only been on one other time and made him act more aggressively to other kids. WEll today he got in trouble because he pushed some stacked chairs into another little kid and when he started crying because he had time out, the class "bully" called him a baby so Ky hit him. He was telling me all about it on the way home tonight and I asked him if he was crying when Tony called him a baby & he said yes. Well I told him that he was being a baby...he needed to just do his punishment and not throw a fit because he got in trouble. He was quiet for a second and then sighed real loud and said, "mom, it's just so hard trying to be 5." I really had to stop myself from laughing because I'd had a hard day too and I was thinking how hard it was trying to be a grown up! LOL

A Mom's Letter to Santa

2006-12-05T14:26:00.000-06:00

I got this letter in an email, but there are days when I sure do feel this way! I changed a few things to make it personal.... (in green)

Dear Santa,
I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited their doctor's office more than my doctor, sold sixty-two cases of cookie dough to raise money to put a shade over the school playground.
I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, onthe back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find any more free time in the next 18 years.
Here are my Christmas wishes: I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, whichI already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store. I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine so long ago, I'm sure it's been claimed by soemone else.
If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone, and a secret computer room to which nobody else has access.
On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.
I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Leave your brother alone," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the neighbor's dog. If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.
If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely.
It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.
Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back.
Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.
Yours Always,
MOM
P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

Thinking of my Angel~~Tristan

2006-11-29T23:05:00.000-06:00

Six years ago today, I went in for a routine ob appt and the dr did an ultrasound. We were so excited and couldn't wait to see that precious little peanut again! There he was ----a perfect little thing....everything looked just like it was supposed to...........except there was something missing. Where was that little flicker that showed the heartbeat?

My dr tried every possible angle to see if he could find it. I couldn't see the screen, so all I could do was read his expression, and knew there was no heartbeat. My world came crashing down around me. Never had I considered in my wildest dreams, that I could miscarry a baby. God couldn't be that cruel. It had taken me 3 long years to get pregnant in the first place, and then I LOST it?? Impossible.

Unfortunately it was true. That was on a Wednesday, and the dr was unable to get me scheduled for a d&c until Friday. So I spent the next hours begging God for a miracle...he had to bring that baby back. I made every possible bargain I could think of, and even insisted that I have another u/s done before they did the d&c, because I BELIEVED a miracle would happen and my baby would really have still been alive.

Why had this happened to me? It was so unfair--it seemed like all around me girls who didin't deserve to be pregnant were having babies, and yet I would have given anything to have a baby and couldn't. Every night Trey would pray that God would send him a baby brother or sister to play with and it broke my heart because I wanted to give him a baby and just couldn't.

AT the time, I couldn't see any reason why I had to go through such heartache, but now, I see that it has made me a much better person....less judgemental, more caring and compassionate. So....on days like today, when the hurt is fresh once again as I relive that fateful day, I think of my precious little son Tristan, who is in Heaven welcoming other new angels to the playground, showing them around and getting to know the new kids, and I thank God for puting him in my life, even if it was just for a short few weeks.

Tristan, Mama loves you and wishes you were here.

I'm Baa-aaaack!!

2006-11-28T08:31:00.000-06:00

After being threatened with removal from The List, I decided I better hightail it over here and update! LOL So.....Gretchen...this one's for you!

My life went into Turbo overdrive this fall and I'm still trying to catch my breath! Trey plays on a Quest Team , which means he's in a competition league, rather than a recreational one. I'm not sure how I feel about that, mostly because I have REAL issues with his coach. But he loves it, so for the time being, I'm allowing him to continue playing in this league. My issues with said coach will be in another post, because this first post WILL be upbeat ( even if it kills me! ) LOL

Kyle is in a WONDERFUL preschool program, and I couldn't be happier! He is so smart and is a little sponge soaking up knowledge all around him. He amazes me with his inventiveness. He's learning Spanish and is absolutely adorable.

Trey is in his LAST year of elementary school and mom is having a very hard time dealing with that sometimes.....I look at him, so grown-up all of a sudden and it brings tears to my eyes. I am SO PROUD of him and he is doing well in school this year too, which is an added plus after struggling with math in the past.

I'm teaching TWO subjects at school this year, Language Arts and Texas History, both of which have a lot of prep-work and grading, so I stay busy with school as well. In addition, I'm active at church and with Staci's Melanoma Foundation, as well as going to as many of the boys' activities as physically possible.

I'm very happy with my life, though, and I've not always been able to say that and truly mean it. Right now, I'm facing the holidays, that seem to be filled with so much loss for my family, and even though I get in a bit of a melancholy mood every once in a while, for the most part, I think I'm over much of the grieving. This Christmas & New Year's will be difficult, because it's the first anniversary of my MIL's death, and I'm sure we'll all be a bit down then, but I'm hoping and praying that 2007 will be a MUCH better year for us.

Back to School......

2006-08-07T09:58:00.000-05:00

Wow! this summer FLEW by! I can't believe we're ready to start another school year!

Trey will be in 5th grade this year at a new school. His LAST year in elementary! YIKES! My baby is growing up! This is his last week of "freedom" so he's trying to jam-pack it full of everything he didn't do all summer. LOL

Today, Kyle started an accelerated preK program that is AWESOME! He will do PreK stuff in the fall and in the spring, he starts the Kindergarten curriculum with math and reading. I'm so excited for him and he can't wait to go to "big-boy" school! He's also excited because he gets to go on field trips this year and ride the bus. lol

I have a new assignment also---Texas History and Language Arts. That will be a lot of extra work, but hopefully it will only be for one year. I'm hoping to transfer at the end of this school year to another school closer to home. My inservices and meetings start officially on Wednesday, but I've been working on school stuff since the first of August.

The BEST part of back to school is the school supply sales! LOL I LOVE going shopping for school supplies! I buy so many scissors, glue, markers, pencils, etc., to last more than through the school year and always have a great stash put away ":just in case we need it".

Pictures of Kyle

2006-07-20T11:57:00.000-05:00

Kyle in his story box---He got the idea from watching "Pinky Dinky Doo" on Noggin.

Kyle on the computer---he discovered the Noggin and Disney websites this summer.

(this was taken in June--yes I know he is wearing Santa pjs....you talk to a sleepy (read crabby!) 4 year old and convince him that Christmas was 6 months ago---he doesn't care...it's the only pair of jammies he could find that didn't have a hole in the knee! )

pictures of my soccer boys

2006-07-19T18:17:00.000-05:00

I'm reading a blog of a woman who just lost her fight with melanoma and she started the blog to share pictures of her precious little boy with family who didn't live nearby and also as a way to look back and trace the journey of thier family. As time goes on the blog changed to her fight with melanoma. And it caused me to start thinking about my blog...I really don't need to make it that big of a deal---it's just a way for me to share my family. So here goes---I'm turning over a new leaf...more entries and more pictures.

the blog I'm reading: http://tebspage.blogspot.com

Conversation with Trey~~~

2006-07-19T17:54:00.000-05:00

TREY--Mom, what's a diaphragm? (yelled downstairs as he and a female friend are playing in the gameroom)
ME--uh.....how is it used in a sentence?
TREY--I'm not sure how to say it...it's a drawing of where everything goes....
ME--oh~~~ you mean a DIAGRAM?
TREY--yeah that's it! thanks!

~*~*~*PHEW!*~*~*~
I certainly wasn't prepared for THAT discussion!

The playground

2006-07-07T01:38:00.000-05:00

The playground was full of laughing, healthy boys and girls......They were bouncing balls, playing hopscotch, chasing butterflies, and just being typical kids. Everyone was getting along so perfectly....the sun was shining, birds were chirping the most glorious songs. You could tell that some of these children were siblings.... they had the same beautiful eyes and shining hair. There were three, very special children that kept looking off into the distance as if they knew that this was indeed an extraordinary day. There was a feeling of anticipation with these three, that the others just didn't seem to exude.

Suddenly there was a light tinkling sound.....all play came to an abrupt standstill as the children watched the beautiful lady in the white dress escort the small boy out to join them. The little brownhaired lad was a bit shy at first until he made eye contact with one of the three, and you could see him visbly relax because he recognized them. The lady introduced the lad , " Children, we have a new youngster joining us. Please welcome Jacob Daniel. He's had a very rough journey but he's here now."

The three welcomed their brother with huge hugs, lots of laughter and then they all ran off to play together. The lady in white smiled and wiped away a tear as she watched the lad running off...his spine was straight, heart no longer broken....whole and healthy in a way that only The Great Physician can cure.

~*~*~*written in memory of Jacob Daniel, a child too broken and God had to bring him back to Heaven to be fixed. May his parents find the love, support, peace and healing they need to survive this painful loss.~*~*~*

Picture by Patch of Heaven Graphics http://members.tripod.com/patchofheaven2/angel_and_duck.htm

They're growing up!

2006-06-08T08:07:00.000-05:00

Why is this such a SURPRISE to me????? I look at these 2 wonderful boys God gave me, and *I* see the little towheaded toddlers running towards me with huge smiles and dirty hands outstretched ready to hug me. Everyone else sees something different. Especially with Trey. They see a tall slim boy almost as tall as me with feet that seem to go on forever! My grandmother (God rest her soul) would have said he was setting a solid foundation. LOL
His soccer coach told him he looked like Prince Harry ( and he really does!) so now he goes around insisting that I call him "the Prince. " He's such a goof! :o) He decided that would get him out of his chores but soon realized the QUEEN (me!) thought he should still do them.
When they start growing up, the worries change. Where before I had to make sure he was safe from things that could hurt him physically (scissors, knives, broken glass) now I'm more worried about things that will hurt him emotionally or spiritually (bad language, violence, sex). Bullies at school do more damage with their words than they do with their fists. And how does a mom battle those??? All I can do is make sure he knows that he is loved, that he knows what we believe is right and wrong and pray for Divine Guidance for him when he's not with me.

Thoughts from a Soccer MOM

2006-03-25T18:09:00.000-06:00

Per Jules' request, I'm here! LOL Wouldn't want to upset the pregnant lady! :o)

Actually, I was planning to get in here anyway....I haven't written about Kyle's soccer games yet. To be honest, I should have written it last week, because it was amuch more positive experienc e than today was! OH MY GOSH!!!!! Today was utter T*O*R*T*U*R*E!!! When he woke up this morning he was so excited about going tothe game ans playing, but when we got there, he didn't want to play. We were short players so we needed all 4 kids out there the whole game. I had to peel him off of my leg several times, and he spend most of the game crying. I teased him, tried to bribe him, fussed at him, even sat him in timeout because he was throwing a fit. he said it was because they weren't playing with his ball, so we switched balls and evel let him do the kickoff. H dribbled down the field and shot on goal, but the goalie took the ball and Kyle FELL APART! He threw himself down on the field and cried. The OTHER TEAM's coach went over and picked him up and tried to console him and then he got down and came running to me because the other team took his ball away. At that point, I gave up and sat him on the bench. I was taking pictures of the team so I couldn't do anything else. Consequently, he didn't get his treat that I had for him in the car, because he had thrown a fit. Then I felt like I was a HORRIBLE pushy mom that was MAKING her kid play when he didn't want to. But usually, he takes a bit to warm up and then he LOVES playing--he just needs that little NUDGE to get him out there and playing. It made it worse because his dad was there....normally Trey's games are at the same time, so I take Kyle and Eddie takes Trey. Today, Trey's game was later so we could all go to both. He does better at games where it's just the 2 of us, but that's not fair to Eddie....he wants to see his son play too. Plus next week I'll be out of town so Eddie will have to take Kyle to his game. I'm really hoping that he does better next week for Eddie.

Trey, on the other hand. had one of the BEST games ever!!! he was ON FIRE!!!! He played both defense and offense, and while he didn't make a goal, he was everywhere he was supposed to be, and did everything perfectly.....AWESOME kicks, great passes, lots of assists, etc.

A Day at the Beach

2006-03-14T18:19:00.000-06:00

Last week, during Spring Break, I took the Boys to Galveston. Kyle had never been to the beach and Trey had only been a very few times. We took sand shovels and trucks and they played in the sand for quite a while. They probably could have stayed a whole lot longer just playing in the sand, but I was afraid that they'd get sunburned. It was a PERFECT day--overcast and windy so we weren't too hot. I could have stayed out there on such a gorgeous day too, but now that I have the beach "itch" again, and both boys enjoyed it so much, I'm sure we'll be going back again on my next vacation from school--Easter maybe???

We decided to take the ferry across to Bolivar Peninsula just to ride the boat and Kyle was excited about it until the captain sounded the horn. AS soon as he heard the loud foghorn, he RAN back to the car, got inside, buckjled up and grabbed his baby! LOL! I couldn't get him to come back out after that! As soon as we got across, he was ready to come back so we turned around and got back on the same ferry and came back to Galveston again.

They had so much fun...it's really cool to see these things through the boys' eyes, because you get to enjoy it all over again for the first time.

~~~HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LITTLE MRACLE!!!~~~~~

2006-01-25T21:22:00.000-06:00

Kyle is 4 today!!!! I decided to write down a little bit of what happened on the day of his birth....it was written in ParentsPlace PAL but I can';t seem to find it anymore...
1*24*2002
I hadn't felt Kyle move all day and was FREAKING out!! I'd made it so far in this pregnancy and I was so scared I'd lost him at the end...I was rushed in for an emergency U/S and we found out that I had very little amniotic fluid left, so the dr moved up my c sxn to 11:30 am on 1/25. I did my bloodwork and went home to get my bag packed and get Trey squared away.
8 pm-- I had just tucked Trey into bed and was packing the last of my things in my bag for the hospital. No sooner had I gotten him to sleep then L&D called...I needed to get to the hosp immediately. My bw was abnormal and baby's health was being compromised and needed to be delivered NOW! YIKES!!! I was totally freaked, but had to keep it together to make sure everything got done for Trey while I was in the hosp.
I told Eddie what the nurse had said but it obviously didn't register...he didn't even take contact stuff to take his contacts out. He was planning on dropping my off at the hosp and coming back home! MEN!
In L&D, as soon as I said who I was, nurses were scrambling to get me settled in a room and do more b/w STAT.... Then we had to wait for the lab to run the tests and it came back even higher than before---my kindeys were shutting down, my liver was trying to do the work of both organs, and my bp was up to stroke level. They had all kinds of machines on standby in case I coded. I got 2 transfusions prior to surgery because they were afraid I'd bleed out.
My dr and the anesthesiologist argued about when to do the sxn and I heard my dr say if we wait we will lose BOTH of them! Holy cow! I'd been worried about the baby--I'd come too far to lose him now, but there was a possibility that I could die too!!!
Facing your own mortality is a scary thing. I looked at Eddie but he hadn't heard the dr say anything so I didn't tell him what I heard...I just started giving him all kinds of instructions about what I wanted if I didn't make it. he didn't get it at the time, but later when the dr told us it would be touch and go, it scared him too.
You know how there are moments in time that are etched in your mind forever? the scared look on Eddie's face as they wheeled me to the OR will be one I'll never forget. I didn't know if I'd ever see him again....My dr's last words before he put me under--"hang in there Robin. I'm going to do all I can to pull you through!" Great! Just what I wanted to hear as I'm drifting off to sleep!
In the OR, there was a NICU team on standby, as well as a cardiology team, in addition to all of the OB team. It was pretty crowded. I found out later, that the nursery nurses had a prayer time for me while I was in the OR...I was known throughout the hosp! LOL
Even with all of that, we made it through and I now have a precious 4 year old getting moved to the PRE-K room at school next week!! and starting soccer next month! I look at that precious little boy and I thank God for allowing me to make it through a very difficult situation so that I can watch him and his brother grow up!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DARLING KYLE

scattered thoughts from a sad mommy

2006-01-12T18:48:00.000-06:00

I'm worried about Trey. In the past 2 weeks, he's called me three times because he's forgotten things he's needed for school. Luckily, in all 3 cases, I was able to bring it to him almost immediately, but I know that won't always be the case. Normally, he is not that scattered, so I know this is a new development.

According to websites on grief in children, this is a normal reaction to the loss of a loved one. I realize he has to go through all these stages in order to work through his grief, but oh my goodness, it is breaking my heart to watch him struggle like this. The MOM in me wants to hold him close, kiss him and make the pain go away, but the PROFESSIONAL me knows he needs to process his feelings in order to move on. The hard part is knowing WHEN to be MOM and when to be grief counselor....

I've decided to make a scrapbook and have Trey help me...I'll give him some pictures and let him make a page or two (or as many as he wants). I'll probably let Kyle make some too, even though I really don't think he comprehends that Grandma is no longer with us. But it can't hurt ---- I take a lot of pictures so I know I can find some good ones. I made a dvd of pictures of the boys with both sets of grandparents for Christmas, so I can pull a few pictures off of that if necessary, but I have a bunch of others also.

Trey and I are reading a book about forgetting a grandparent when they die. We're just getting started, so I don't know how it will turn out, but so far so good.....

You know, it's just not fair!!! Eddie and I both have grandmothers who are in their 80s or 90s. Why did my boys have to lose one of their grandmothers at only 65??? That's way too young to die---there is so much she will miss.....graduations, weddings, their first car, the birth of Trey's or Kyle's first child.

May She Rest in Peace.....

2006-01-06T21:23:00.000-06:00

This is hard for me to write....it may take me several attempts to put my thoughts down in type, but it definitely needs to be recorded.

One week ago today, my mother-in-law passed away. It was very unexpected so none of us were prepared for the news. We can take solace in the fact that she went very quickly and thus without much pain, but she was only 65 years old, and she should have been around for us for many many more years.

You hear all those mother-in-law jokes about ladies who are total buttinskis who are always giving their opinions or letting you know that you're not good enough for their sons. I was very blessed to NOT have one of those types of ladies.......We had a very good relationship and I have many very precious memories that just the two of us shared.....

Like when I lost my first baby and she held me and cried with me because we both were mourning our loss. She knew how very very much we wanted another child and it hurt her to see us in pain. She worried over all of her children, but kept it to herself because she didn't want to add to our worries.

I loved her potato salad and she always made it for our family picnics and made a big batch for me after both of our babies were born. I asked her once how she made it and she told me it was no big deal....no special recipe....but she left us before I got the recipe. Guess I'll just have to use trial and error until I get it right...

At many of our family gatherings, especially picnics at the park, she and I sat back and watched the guys play frisbee or toss washers....those times were when we had some great talks....it may not have been about anything important but it was enjoyable to just bring her up to date with the boys' antics and talk about the family.

Having the family together for Christmas Eve was so special......Eddie and I decorated the house so pretty for the holidays and we wanted everything to be perfect. I baked and cooked and we had a nice little meal before opening presents. It was noisy but it was the sounds of laughter and teasing and joy. The great thing was that all 3 children and their spouses and children were here. We were only missing the 2 oldest grandchildren, who are grown and out on their own, working and starting families of their own with new traditions. I didn't take a lot of pictures....I should have, but I just sat back and watched everyone enjoying a wonderful day. I was so happy----in a new home, surrounded by a family that loved me.....what else did I need??? My blessings just seemed to overflow.

I left the party early because I had to drive to Austin to pick up my parents. The last words I heard from Moma are still etched in my brain, "Thank you for a wonderful day. I love you, please drive safely."

My heart is aching because I see my loved ones in such pain.....she was such a vital part of this family and there is a HUGE void left unfilled. I think of all the things I never told her and should have like thank you for raising such a wonderful son and teaching him how to show love and to treat me like a queen. Thank you for opening your heart and your home to a strange woman and welcoming her with open arms into the fold. Thank you for always listening to my silly questions about raising boys and for all the suggestions you had for me even when I didn't always listen or take your advice. Thank you for the encouragement you gave me to keep trying when it looked like we'd never have those 2 precious boys. Thank you for loving my boys even when they were throwing temper tantrums or didn't want anybody but Mommy. Thanks for never treating me like an outsider....I always felt like I belonged. I wish I'd told her I'm sorry for not finding more time to just listen....I wish I knew more about her life as a child, and Eddie's life as a little boy. I wish we'd come over earlier so we could have cooked together and I could have learned her secret for making beans and rice....mine never turns out as good as hers. And most of all I wish I'd told her I loved her more often...I guess I just assumed she knew.....

Grandma.....Moma........you were very much loved. And nothing or nobody can fill the emptiness you left behind....

This picture was taken the day we told her Kyle was on the way.....one of the happiest days of both of our lives.

Christmas Thoughts

2006-01-06T20:21:00.000-06:00

Wow! What a whirlwind Christmas vacation I had! It started out so wonderfully...I finished my Christmas shopping early so I didn't have to deal with the crazy crowds...Kyle was still in preschool so Trey and I went to see "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" at the new theater by our house. It was WONDERFUL!! defintiely worth seeing again! Then the boys and I spent a day making cookies for Santa and for all the people that would be at our house for the holidays.

Christmas Eve was FANTASTIC!! Eddie's family came over lunch and I made lasagna. We opened Christmas presents and laughed and rejoiced over the time spent together. Grandma and Grandpa got Trey a big soccer table for the gameroom and Kyle got a smaller tabletop version. Daddy and Uncle Louis put it together and then Daddy and Grandpa played Trey and Uncle Louis. Grandma laughed and cheered for whoever was winning at the time. :o)
I didn't get to see the BIG GAME because I'd left to go to Austin to pick up my parents who spent the next week with us. Kyle was so excited about Santa coming that night, so he had Grandma help him get on his new pajamas and get ready for bed. He tried to help Grandpa and Daddy, too, but mostly cheered with Grandma.

Hi! Did ya miss me????

2006-01-06T20:02:00.000-06:00

HOLY CATFISH!!! It's been a LOOOOOONG time since I even came to this site! My life took a CRAZY turn and I just couldn't find ANY time to post! Part of the problem is because the School district decided that blogging cut into my teaching time and put a block on the site. I cant access it from school anymore and that was the PERFECT time for me to write.

Oh well....It's a new year and hopefully I can get back to it again. At least that's my New Yr's resolution---to write down about my memories. I want my kids to have something to read when I'm gone, so that they know the REAL me. So many of my posts from now on may be directed to my children but since it will be insights into my life, I'm willing to share with all.

I chose this picture because it shows my treasures----Trey and Kyle playing in our kitchen. Mon and Dad were here and Eddie and I were playing cards with them while the boys raced their loud monster trucks thru the kitchen...our house was noisy but filled with the sounds of laughter, teasing, playful arguments and most of all LOVE.

Ugh! We've got the Sickies!!!!

2005-10-11T16:57:00.000-05:00

I am a horrible wife. I might as well admit it, because it is true. Sunday I had a horrible migraine and decided I would take Monday off to recuperate. I knew I'd have that headachy hangoverish feeling, and I really didn't want to go sit in some stupid inservice anyway so I'd just stay home. I'd already made arrangements for the boys since Trey didn't have school so I'd be home all by myself.
Yesterday, I woke up and Eddie was just getting back in bed. I asked him if he was ok and he said he'd been up most of the night with an upset stomach. "Are you going to work today?" "no." Oh great~~there goes my day off...if I stay home I'll have to deal w/ Mr. Poor-pitiful-me-I-feel-so-awful all day...giving him clean cool washcloths after he vomits, checking his fever all day, etc. So I decided to go on to work and suffer through the unbearable meetings because it was the lesser of two evils. My only "help" at home was to spray Lysol everywhere before I leave and tell him to ONLY use the bathroom in our room.
Then all day I felt guilty because he really was pretty sick. I even got sympathy diarrhea (I know--TMI!) because he was sick. By the time we all got home from school, Kyle also had diarrhea, Trey was complaining of an upset stomach and even my tummy was a little shaky.
He stayed home again today but finally sounds stronger over the phone. I sure hope the rest of us don't get this too.

Ramblings about Rita

2005-09-27T10:30:00.000-05:00

Our lives, at least mine anyway, were turned upside down when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. I immediately went into help mode....I volunteered to help out at one of the local churches who was housing 100 evacuees, signed up to be a "Laundry Angel" and bought an unbelievable amount of supplies for all of the drives we had....The Boy Scout troop, neighborhood school, Kyle's school, Trey's school, *my* school, church, etc. My heart was breaking for all these poor people who lost everything. The thought that kept going thru my mind was "it could have been us!" I got some students who were Katrina evacuees in my classes, and they seemed shell-shocked. One young boy had lived through the horrors of the storm and aftermath at the Superdome.

Then last week it was our turn......Rita was heading into the Gulf, straight towards the Texas coast. At first it was towards Matagorda, which would have put us on the "dirty side" of the storm, with a HUGE storm surge (maybe 25 feet!) and the probability of several tornadoes. The mayor of Galveston and the governor of Texas decide to put mandatory evacuations in place. The mayor of Houston puts his orders in as well. Schools are canceled, businesses are closing and there is a HUGE run for supplies.

I went to Walmart to buy a few things (bananas for Kyle, milk, etc) on Tuesday night before we even know WHERE the storm was headed, and the place was PACKED. I had to drive around a bit before I could find a parking place and then it was utter CHAOS inside. I had Kyle w/ me, which may have helped because since I had a small child, I was able to get a shopping cart. The shelves were messy--a lot of food was gone, particularly soups, beef stews, etc. There was no water, no paper products (plates, cups, napkins, etc), only a few loaves of bread ( the expensive "gourmet" type breads). I was looking for the goldfish shaped noodle soup for Kyle and found ONE can towards the bottom of the shelves.....As I was reaching for it , someone grabbed it out of my hand. I grabbed a loaf of the gourmet bread and a woman actually had the nerve to ask me if I really needed that loaf of bread! Now, remember, I had my 3 year old son with me....And don't you think someone w/ a small child would NEED the bread???? I told her ," umm, yeah, unless I want to put my husband's sandwiches on Ritz crackers!" Stupid woman!! Then as we were heading towards the produce section, I mentioned needing bananas. The lady behind me hit me in the rear, and when I stopped to turn around and look at her, she went around me and grabbed the last bunch of bananas. I thought I was in a NASCAR race---it was the old "bump and run" move!!! LOL The bananas didn't look that good anyway, so she could have had them without crippling me! Since I'd gotten a prime parking place (first spot right in front of the door, ) I had several people fighting for my spot. I wasn't sure if they were even going to let me finish loading the groceries before they started crowding me...They certainly didn't give me much room to maneuver out of the spot! I was never so glad to get home!!!!!!

Wednesday we had school, and we were trying to go about business as usual---jr. high kids don't do well with change or new things. Obviously our principal doesn't know that because she kept coming on the intercom w/ updates about the hurricane! That left us w/ kids who had just studied about the 1900 hurricane that wiped out Galveston plus they'd just witnessed the devastation of Katrina. So they were scared and needed to be reassured that where we live, it will be ok. When the principal announced that the schools were going to be closed for 2 days, she should have gone ahead and ordered the buses to take them home right then and there. It was almost impossible to try to tech them after that point. By then we were thinking that Katrina maybe hitting closer to Freeport which would still put us on the dirty side of the eye, and for my house, it would have meant 125 mph winds. I was starting to get a bit more concerned.....

That night around 10 pm, I decided to make one more Walmart run to see if I could get anything else we may need. It wasn't as crazy as it had been the night before, but traffic was backed up on the freeway for MILES---all I could see were red tail lights. Good thing I lived close enough that I didn't have to get on the highway!!! I still couldn't get much food, but I was able to buy some pop tarts and of course my bananas! LOL I also got Kyle this cute little tiger flashlight that growls when you turn it on. :o)

Thursday, coordinates predict it's coming in to Galveston....We start looking for plywood to board up our windows, and of course there is none to be found. We taped them up as much as we can, but are not sure if it will be enough to sustain 120 mph winds. The good thing (if there is anything "good" ) about the storm hitting Galveston is now we will be on the west side of the storm, which doesn't get the storm surge, nor the tornadoes. We'll still have gale force winds but not as much rain. Later on, they say it's heading east of Houston, probably on the TX/LA border but it could still hit Houston if it turns back. AT this time they were worried about a possibility that it would stall out in Lufkin (East Texas) and turn around and come back to Houston like TS Allison did in 2001.

By noon on Friday, we started getting a breeze...At this point it felt good because it had been so dang hot all week. Trey and the kids rode their bikes and played outside until finally about 8:30 or 9 pm, I MADE him come in because the winds had picked up enough that the trees were whipping around pretty hard, and I was worried that something would break and blow around and hit him. He decided to sleep in our closet, because the other kids were sleeping in their parents' closets and he thought that was cool. We'd already decided he had to sleep in our room because we didn't want him upstairs, and the living room has a large window in the foyer that we were afraid might break. I didn't want him in the path of the glass.

Rita came ashore near Beaumont around 2;30 am....We started getting rain around the same time. It rained off and on all night long, and the wind came in gusts for most of the night as well. When we checked the rain gauge, though, it said we only got 3/4 in of rain. It was turned sideways by the wind so I doubt that was very accurate. We had a lot of wind all day Saturday as well, but we were very blessed and didn't lose power or water, like we'd been warned we might. So we watched the news and played games, talked with the neighbors, etc, and just had a nice relaxing weekend. The governor had asked the school districts to give everyone a couple of days to get back to town, so school was canceled for Monday and Tuesday as well.

Sunday night, just as the new premiere shows were getting ready to come on, cable went out all over the city. A generator had overheated. Now we'd been on news only mode since Wednesday and had missed many of the shows already--Martha Apprentice, Apprentice, ER, E Ring, 3 wishes, inconceivable, etc. And now we were going to miss Desperate housewives and Grey's anatomy as well! grrrr. How ironic that we survived the storm and THEN had problems w/ cable. I couldn't even get online since we have roadrunner!

Because of everyone's quick thinking and willingness to evacuate, the death toll w/ Rita was not as extensive as with Katrina. The last count is 7 storm related deaths plus probably about 30 maybe traffic related fatalities with evacuees. The bus that exploded in Dallas was one of the tragedies as well as who knows how many children, elderly and disabled died from dehydration or heat stroke on the highways as they tried to get out of town? I know it would have been much much worse if we hadn't had Katrina a month ago. Government officials learned from Katrina that we needed to make transportation available for those without the means to leave on their own, and we started the evacuation earlier even though we didn't know for sure where exactly it would hit.

For us, we didn't evacuate...But we did learn some lessons for the future: 1. We need plywood for all of our windows, and we will be buying some as soon as Home Depot has it back in stock. 2. duct tape does NOT work on windows and it leaves a yucky residue on the windows after you take it off, especially after the sun has hit the tape for a while. 3. We need to find back ways to stores, etc from our new house... There are side roads that we need to investigate. 4. We need to stock up on more C and D batteries....We had TONS of As and AAs because that 's what all the toys need but flashlights need the others. 5. We should evacuate if it looks like it will hit as a CAT4 or 5. This came in as a Cat 3 and we had some heavy wind gusts.

Countdown to Christmas.......

2005-09-06T15:16:00.000-05:00

Adding a ticker to my blog----It's time to start looking aghead to Christmas....Normally, I at least have a few things purchased by now, and am at least starting to think of ideas.

Yesterday I started my Christmas shopping---I bought a couple of gifts for the boys. I know what I'd LOVE to get Eddie for Christmas but am not sure if we can afford it this year. If only mone was not an issue....I LOVE Christmas and would LOVE to be able to go hog-wild during the holidays!

My Expelled Son

2005-08-26T22:01:00.000-05:00

I'm a teacher. I've taken all kinds of courses in child development, learned various strategies in classroom management, etc. I even have a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership! Wouldn't you think that I could get one very small three year old child to do what I wanted him to do???? Of course not!

This has taken me a week to write about, because up until now, I couldn't even THINK about this without crying. Last Friday, just as I was walking into a meeting with the rest of my History team, my cell phone rings. Uh oh! Everyone knows I'm at school and to email if they need to get a hold of me. It must be an emergency--Trey's school will call my school number so it has to be Kyle. Hello? Hi Robin. This is Patrick at -----. I have your son in the office with me. He's throwing a fit and is hurting the other children. We feel you need to find another day care for him to attend, because he can't come back here....try a small home center, blah, blah, blah! Wait a minute! You're kicking my son out of PRESCHOOL?????? He's being kicked out of school at THREE YEARS OLD???? What did he do? He head butted a little girl because she wouldn't stop crying and it hurt his ears! OMGOSH! Where did he learn to do that??? I was so humiliated--all I could do all day was cry. To be fair, they had warned me the week before (his first week of school!) that he was having problems adjusting and that preschool may not be what's best for him. But we talked and I explained that he had never been in a day care situation and he needed to learn to share, and to play w/ other kids, etc., and he couldn't do that if I had him w/ a babysitter by himself. That's where he's been for the past three years and thaty's WHY he's so spoiled now. So they agreed to give him a chance. Well, the following week, he missed the first 2 days because he had strep, and then the next two days were good days, so I really wasn't expecting that call. So I spent the rest of that day trying to find a place for him to go starting this Monday.

Luckily I hit upon a WONDERFUL one on the first try....Kyle is HAPPY there---he waves good bye and skedaddles to his room before I can even get him checked in. The last one---he clung to my pant leg and I had to peel him off of me to leave. At the old one, he refused to do circle time, or any papers, or to sit down to listen to stories. Now, he takes books so his teacher can read them--SHARING them w/ the other kids!!!! I have pictures that he's colored all over my refrigerator and cabinets, and he's a totally different child!!!

When I try to talk to him about his first experience, he gets a closed off look on his face and changes the subject. If he talks about his new school, he's animated and tells me all about it!

Yesterday my baby started Preschool!!!

2005-08-02T07:18:00.000-05:00

Wow! It's amazing that he's old enough to start school already! What a special little boy he is and so excited about going to his new "big-boy" school just like his big brother!

Yesterday, I woke him up and told him it was time to get ready for school---LOL he was out of that bed IMMEDIATELY! He got dressed and I fixed his breakfast (2 waffles and a glass of milk). After he finished (which took him a little while because he was so excited and kept getting down from the table to see what I was packing in his backpack), he went to wash his sticky hands and brush his teeth. He obviously looked in the mirror while he was cleaning up, because all of a sudden he came running through the house yelling "Mommmmmmmmm!!!" When he got back to the kitchen where I was, he said , "my hair is sticking up!" so off we went to my bathrrom where I put some no more tangtles spray on it to get it to lay down! LOL Everything had to be PERFECT for his first day. Before we left, he wanted his picture taken so I got a couple of pictures of him and then it was off to school.

When we got there, we went to his class, hung up his backpack and put his blankie and pillow in his cubby. He went straight for the Legos, but the rest of the kids were coloring and working on their letters, so I told him he needed to join the others. His teacher, Ms. Joanna, who had also been Trey's teacher, siad, "Kyle we're learning a new letter today..come join us." Kyle's answer: "Mom, I KNOW that's a U and it stands for umbrella. That's a picture of an umbrella. So now can I play with the trains?" I told himhe needed to color a picture to put on my new refrigerator, so he sat down and started working.

He apparently had a very good day, except he wouldn't eat any lunch. Wish he wasn't such a picky eater! I love how excited he is about school--it makes it so much easier to leave him in the morning.

New ticker!!!

2005-07-14T15:11:00.000-05:00

Settling In

2005-06-29T09:09:00.000-05:00

I LOVE my new house!!! The neighborhood is WONDERFUL and I feel so much better about letting the kids play outside. Trey is out much of the day riding his scooter, and he's already met 3 girls who are usually riding their bikes/scooters in our cul de sac too. This is the reason I wanted a new house---so that our house would be where all the kids hang out. If I'm the "cool mom" who lets kids play and get noisy, and have cool snacks, etc., then my kids will be here where I KNOW what's going on, get to know the other kids, etc.

I can't wait to finish up all the packing and cleaning of the old house so we can be here full time to really enjoy the amenities of the neighborhood as well as get to know our neighbors.

House Update #2 -- Our 1st Night!

2005-06-25T14:29:00.000-05:00

Quick Update--I'm supposed to be packing more stuff to take out to the house! :o)

We closed yesterday. Everything went very smoothly. No problems or surprises. We'd rented a Uhaul truck the night before so had a load already to move in. Eddie & I went to the house, unloaded the truck and set up Kyle's room. He got Trey's red bunk bed ( well one of them for right now). and his road rug, so his room will probably be done in primary colors w/ a truck theme.

I put up the shower curtain in the boys' bath and it looks pretty cool! It's a racing theme, complete w/ shower curtain hooks that look like lug nuts ( and they really kinda do! LOL)

That's really about all we were able to complete before we turned the truck back in and got the boys. Trey had his first basketball game last night so we went to that before coming back and spending our first night in our NEW house!

The boys were WILD and took a LONG time to settle down. But it was so cool to listen to their reaction when they saw the bathroom and Kyle's room for the 1st time! Trey ended up sleeping on the Aerobed in his room, and we took the mattress off the futon we just bought and haven't put together yet, and slept on the floor in our room. We're getting a new BR set as soon as we find time to go shopping and Trey is getting our bed, but we haven't gotten it moved yet.

They finally settled down and we all went to bed. I was a little worried about Kyle getting up in the middle of the night in a strange hgouse, but he was tired and slept all night long. I woke up earlythis morning and couldn't go back to sleep so I got up and unpacked some boxes in the kitchen. Since I'd packed some on my white corning ware dishes in newpaper, I decided to do a load of dishes in my new dishwasher (something the old house didn't have--I'd been washing them by hand for the last 14 yrs!). I'd bought some jet dry but couldn't remember how much to put in and I must have over filled it. I was in another room unpacking and came back to see my kitchen floor COVERED in white bubbles! My dishwasher had overflowed! LOL Of course my mop was at the other house, so I grabbed some bath towels to clean it up. While I was doing that, a light bulb had burned out above the jacuzzi in our bathroom, so Eddie had taken it down ( it's recessed) and replaced the bulb but couldn't get it to go back up, so *that* is hanging down in my bathroom now! (pretty, eh??) what a comedy of errors!!

When I was getting Kyle to bed last night, I asked him if he liked his new room. He said , "yes mommy. I so happy in my new room and you did it all just for me!" (Awwwwww!)

I know I'm gushing, but I've waited a very LONG time to get this house and I too am"so happy". :o)

Nine Years Ago Today....

2005-06-15T08:17:00.000-05:00

I held my first miracle!!! Edward Raymond III (aka Trey) was born at 12:21 am. Since I lost my birth story when Ivillage stopped the website, I'm going to try to re-publish it here.....

We had tried for 3 very long, very emotional years to get pregnant. And I will NEVER forget when I FINALLY got that BFP!!! It was October 17, d32 of my cycle and I woke up early because I needed to go to the bathroom. I decided to POAS and when I first looked at it, the test window was all cloudy, so I only saw ONE line....of course I didnt' have my contacts in so that might have been the reason too. LOL I tossed it away and I was SO MAD! I went back to bed, E asked what it was , and of course I said another negative. I couldn't sleep so I got back up and decided to clean the bathroom from top to bottom. I was throwing something away and decided to look one more time at the test......was that another line I see??? I took it into E and asked him if he saw it and he's blinder than I am so he put his glasses on and looked...." I see 2 lines...what does that mean?" It means, darling, that you're gonna be a daddy! WAHOOOOOOO!!!!

I called my dr, and they scheduled my first appt---which was when I was 10w! I had NO bloodwork or anything done prior to that! The amazing thing is I thought that was NORMAL so I wasn't stressed about it. LOL

At my first visit, we scheduled an u/s because I'd had 2 follies when I ovulated and we wanted to check for twins. I saw my precious peanut the next day and fell in love w/ a teeny little bean! That was my baby!

We tried to find out in Jan. if it was a boy or girl, but the baby didn't cooperate, but there was a problem w/ the kidneys--one was larger than the other one, so I had another u/s the next month. Then we saw BOY parts and still there was the worry of his kidneys.

On May 1 my blood pressure was elevated to the point where the dr decided to put me on bedrest. I was already starting to dilate also, so I missed the last month of school (aww shucks! no junior high kids at the end of the year--I really missed that!) . I HATED being on bedrest, but the thought that kept me where I belonged, was that if he came early I'd come home but he'd stay in the NICU. I didn't want to come home w/o my precious baby.

On June 12, I was supposed to be induced, but every other pregnant woman in Houston went into labor, so I kept getting backed off the list. On the 13, the dr. stripped my membranes to get labor started and nothing happened. June 14...we tried again w/ inducement. I finally got a room this time!

I went in asking for my epidural. I was already dilated to a 4 and knew that was the magic number! LOL my nurse told me I had to be labor first! About 1 pm, the dr came in and broke my water. I'd already had pitocin for a couple of hours and was feeling the contractions. I got my epi, and contracted the rest of the afternoon and evening. Around 9 pm I told E I wanted beef fajitas after he was born, so he called and oredered them. His parents were in the waiting room so he went out to tell them..While he was out there the dr came in...let's try a couple of pushes to help him move down. UGH! The tv was blaring (The Bulls were in the NBA finals!) the phone was ringing and I'm trying to push w/o my coach! The pushing turned Trey around ( he was transverse) so the dr left so I could finish dilating before delivery. E walked back in & I yelled at him for not being in there when I needed him. The phone rang again and it was pappasitos saying they don't deliver to hospitals anymore. (boohoo --I really wanted those fajitas! ) E went back out to tell his parents about the food and In walks the dr to have me push again. I was dilated, but the baby was still too high. Again no coach, but the dr turned off my tv (which I was focusing on, thank you very much!) so it was quieter. the baby came down a little. He let me rest again and said he'd be back in about 30 min and we'd have a baby.

When E came back in I told him to NEVER walk out that door again! LOL I pushed and pushed, the baby started getting distresses, so around 11:30, the dr decided to wheel me into the OR for a c sxn. When I got in there we had to wait for the anesthesiologist (sp) who was busy in another room, so I said I wanted to try one more time to push him out. The dr was using forceps, E was holding one leg, a nurse had the other one, and I had a nurse and later the anesthetist at my head. She was the BEST coach! She kept me pushing, and at 12:21 am out he came! 8 pounds 4 ounces and 19 inches long!

E kept telling me how he loved me and we did it and & all I could think was "yeah, yeah, get over there and check on our son!" E carried him over to me and I held him as they wheeled me back to my room. He was so beautiful.

And now he's my big boy...going into 4th grade....playing soccer and basketball.....a true racing fanatic....a great big brother....the apple of my eye.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, darling son!

Just adding a new ticker!!!!

2005-06-09T23:45:00.000-05:00

House Update #1

2005-06-09T23:14:00.000-05:00

Well I wanted to post a picture but can't seem to figure out how to do it! :o( I guess I'll just post the link to share the pictures I have so far.

The loan officer FedExed our loan papers over for us to sign but there was a HUGE mistake on it. ( The officer's assistant filed the wrong set of papers and our loan was for much more and our closing costs were higher. Also for that loan we don't really qualify, so there was no way we could be approved. ) But we talked to her and got it all straightened out and she said it looked like the house will be ours!!!!!!!!

We close 2 weeks from tomorrow!!!!! I've packed 2 crates, and have 3 garbage bags of stuff to give away. I've got a L*O*N*G way to go!!!!!

We're taking E's parents out to see the house on Saturday, just to get their opinion and to do a preliminary walk through. I figure my FIL will find EVERYTHING that's wrong w/ the house! LOL That way we can get it fixed BEFORE we move in!!

Here's the link for pictures:
http://public.fotki.com/ournewhouse/house/

Oh My goodness! What did we just do??????

2005-06-05T22:16:00.000-05:00

We've been house hunting for almost a year now, and we've always said it will be a couple of years before we actually purchase, because we had some bills to pay off and then a down payment to save for. So even though we were looking, we weren't actually going to buy.

Well today we were out house hunting and came back to the very first place we started last summer. The builder told us he had a wonderful inventory home that sounded like what we wanted, and if we close by the end of this month, he'd take care of our down payment and closing costs! That meant all we'd need to get in the house was the cost of the gas to get out there and of course the ink to sign the hundreds of papers. :o)

So....... we looked at the house---3 bedrooms but I really wanted 4 so that I had a "ME" room. It didn't have the leaded glass door like I wanted either, but I could buy one at Home Depot for cheaper than what it would cost to have it added, and I'd have a better selection. No biggie. This builder included stove, refrigerator, washer, dryer, dishwasher, microwave, ceiling fans in all bedrooms, living room and gameroom, automatic garage door opener, and mini blinds on all windows. At no extra cost!!!

Before I knew what hit me, I was writing a check for the earnest money, and making an appointment to meet w/ the mortgage company tomorrow night! We have to move quickly because the deal is void if we don't close by June 29. YIKES!!!! So now we wait to make sure we are approved for our house loan and then start packing and tossing. We've lived in our current house for 14 years and have accumulated a LOT of stuff!!! Looks like it's garage sale time for me!!!

I'm so excited to be a first time home buyer! I have so many ideas of how I want to decorate my new house. Both boys will have their own bedrooms and I will finally have bedroom with a door with a working lock, and a bathtub that I don't have to clean out the boats and toys before I get in the tub! :o)

Here is the link to our house!
http://www.lennar.com/lennarhomes/homes/plan.asp?planID=6500&ComID=4934&PLANSEARCH=true&DIVID=HONLEN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME......

2005-06-02T10:25:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I turned 42. No big deal...Turning 40 was hard, turning 41 was sad for some reason...this year it's just a number. Guess that means I'm finally coming to terms w/ growing old! LOL

Birthdays became soething I dreaded because I could hear my biological clock ticking so loudly it was a time bomb---and each birthday brought me closer to not having my dreams of a big family fulfilled. The miraculous births of my two fantastic boys helped me to be thankful for what I have and even though it took me a while to get to this place, I'm very very happy with the size of my family and have moved on to other dreams for us.

I have to share the wonderful cards my hubby and son picked out for me. Picking out the RIGHT card has been important in our relationship right from the start. We've both spent hours reading cards at Hallmark to find the perfect one. Here are the cards I got:

From the boys---
there's a mommy frog and a child frog on the front and it says,
" Open your present, Mommy," he said.
"Where is it?" asked his mother.
"here!" He wrapped his arms around her mother and squeezed. "I made it myself!"
Inside--Armfuls of birthday hugs for you Mom.

From my honey----
"It's just another day" you say. "It's no big deal" you say. But to me, the anniversary of the day YOU came into existence is about the biggest deal there is.
Until you came along I never thought it was possible that one person could so totally steal my heart away. But tha's what you've done. One look at you and all I want to do is be near you, touch you, hear your voice, and hold you so close that it's impossible to tell where you end and I begin.
I think you're incredible, and what I want, more than anything is to try to make you as happy as you've made me--if that's possible.
In a way, I feel guilty...I mean, here it is YOUR birthday, and yet I'm the one who gets to enjoy the gift...the gift of you and your love.

The cards made my cry---having hugs from my wonderful sons was gift enough, because I am so thankful for them. Hubby's card said it all. I am truly a very blessed woman.

Oh my goodness! What happened???

2005-06-01T10:04:00.000-05:00

I was going to be so good about making sure I at least posted once a week. And then suddenly life got in the way! The end of the year is so busy with field trips, final exams, summative conferences, award nights, testing, etc., etc., etc......

Add soccer games and church and time just slips away....

But one highlight of my week HAS to be the time I spent cuddling w/ a brand spanking new baby girl! AWWWWWW!!! What a beauty! only hours old and quite a little snuggler!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

And now it's almost a month later AGAIN! and I'm still trying to get online to post! Well, summer is here so I hopefully can be a better writer! lol

"There's a spirit can ne'er be told....."

2005-04-10T20:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we decided to make our annual trek to the country in search of bluebonnets. These wildflowers are our state flower and yet in the Houston area are very hard to find. So we decided to take our one free Saturday (without a soccer game!) and just go for a drive. We grabbed the camera, dressed the boys in shirts that would look good w/ the background we were looking for, and took off. We hit all out usual spots to no avail....seems like this year all we saw were Indian paintbrush and while they are pretty, it just doesn't look the same. So on we drove....we found ourselves up near College Station and decided to forget the bluebonnets and just go to A&M to show the boys where Daddy went to school. And it just so happened that we ended up seeing a decent patch right near the campus so we still got our pictures! Go figure!

Our first top on campus was at George Bush Presidential Library. What a beautiful place. Behind the library is a beautiful pond with a walking path and little benches all around. A very romantic setting! There's a footbridge that leads to a winding path back to where the President and Barabara will be buried. Already there is the stone for their daughter Robin who died at the very young age of 4. Even the Bushes know the heartache of saying goodbye to a child too soon.

From there we decided to go see the memorial for the 1999 Bonfire victims since it had just been erected last fall and we hadn't been back for a while. We got in all this traffic and realized we'd come on Parent's Weekend! Yikes!

The Bonfire Memorial was so moving. Not being an Aggie myself, I don't totally understand all the traditions involved, but I have attended Bonfire and it was something I'll never forget. I thought I had school spirit but the Aggies reign supreme in that department. The Memorial is right where Bonfire was always held, and there are 12 archways in a circle...each one facing the direction of the student's hometown. On the inside of each archway is a bronze plaque with the likeness of the student, their name and hometown, and poems, letters and quotes by or about them. What was amazing is that most of the families said their sons and daughters died doing what made them happy...preparing for the Big Game by building Bonfire, a tradition that had been going on for many many years.
I kept thinking to myself, what would I have done if I had been one of the moms recieving the call at 3 am that my son had died in this horrific accident? And as I was thinking that, I moved to another memorial to see a grieving family, touching the face of their lost loved one, with tears streaming. part of me wanted to go up to one of them and say I'm so sorry for your loss, and yet I didn't want to disturb their time of grief and remembrance. Even though it had been 5 years, it was obvious that their son was still greatly missed.

http://bonfire.tamu.edu/

I Fell in Love Again Last NIght......

2005-04-08T14:16:00.000-05:00

You keep doing everything just right
You're the reason my heart keeps beating
And every morning it keeps repeating...
I fell in love again last night.....
(Forester Sisters, 1984)

Now, the next line says "when you kissed me," but in my case, we weren't even in the same room. In fact, E was outside and I was standing at the kitchen window. It was a PERFECT spring afternoon. It was one of the rare occasions when T didn't have soccer practice, and we had nowhere to go, so I told the boys they could go out and play for an hour before dinner.

E decided to go outside with them so I stood at the kitchen window and watched them play....K immediately went for his little car and T grabbed his soccer ball to show Daddy what he's learning in his private training sessions. It wasn't long before all 3 of them were laughing and playing and that's what caught my attention.....

There's something about seeing a man playing with his sons, even if it's just pushing the little ones on the swing or kicking the ball back and forth that I find appealing....maybe it's just because my dad, who as a truckdriver, wasn't home much and when he was was always too tired to spend a lot of play time with us growing up, that being a hands-on dad was a requirement for my husband. Whatever it is, even when I'm upset or frustrated with my hubby, all it takes is seeing him interacting with the boys and I see why I fell in love with him in the first place. Maybe that's why that afternoon was so important to me....I needed to once again be reminded of the man I chose to marry and spend my life with.

then I decided that dinner could wait and I grabbed my trusty camera and joined them outside, so that not only could I savor the moment, but also save it . My boys won't be this age for long and soon they may not want to spend time kicking a ball or playing with cars in the back yard.

The frustrations of a junior high teacher, part 2

2005-04-06T14:50:00.000-05:00

Ok....it's the end of the six weeks and I'm grading unit tests. I teach Texas History and we've been studying Native Americans, and the Cattle Kingdom era. We've discussed the Trail of Tears, destruction of the buffalo, cattle drives, the invention of barbed wire and the difference between tenant farmers and sharecroppers to just name a few things. We've spent 4 weeks studying this and I really thought I'd done a pretty good job of sharing my vast knowledge about cowboy life. So naturally, I was quite perturbed when I read some of the following answers.....

The purpose of a cattle drive is to help the cowboys stay in shape.
The cattle drive is when we ride a cow from Texas to Louisiana so that the farmers can take their cotton to market. I'm not sure why they had to ride cows--what was wrong with their cars in the 1880's?
The cowboys went on cattle drives so they could go somewhere fun and it was faster and cheaper.
A cattle drive was the only type of transportation before railroads were invented.

What's really sad is these students are often pretty bright, and can "spit out" answers that I've given them, but when I asked them to think or to apply the knowledge, they can't do it.

K isms

2005-04-05T10:49:00.000-05:00

I'm the absolute worst mom when it come to writing in baby books, but I want to remember some of the cute things my boys say, so I think I'll just write a few of them here......

**K has just recently become potty-trained and when we were at a soccer game, we were nowhere near a bathroom so I told him to potty on the tree. Now he thinks he needs to potty on every tree around. :o) This weekend I was looking at some houses online and commented that the backyard had a lot of trees. K got excited -- he clapped his hands and said "I can go potty on all those trees!"

**Last week, E called and said he was stuck in traffic so K and I were going to have to take T to soccer practice and K did NOT want to go! He kept saying, "oh no! what am I going to do? what am I going to do???" LOL--can you tell he's been watching Vegie Tales a lot lately??

What happened to my little boy?

2005-03-31T16:30:00.000-06:00

Today I dropped my older son T off at school. This is something I do every weekday morning, but today I really looked at him as he walked in the school.....My mind drifted back to the day we came to meet his kindergarten teacher. He was so excited and I fought back the tears. I knew he was ready for this new step in his life, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to allow him to make that move.

We walked in the classroom--it was all decorated with Blue's Clues and paw prints. T held on to my hand like it was his lifeline, until he saw one of his buddies from church. As soon as he saw Andrew, he took off and they checked out everything in the room. I stood there watching him flit from one center to another and suddenly this woman came over and introduced herself to me. She was so sweet--I guess she could see the uncertainty on my face. I was so happy and excited about T starting school, but on the other hand, I knew that meant he was no longer my toddler... Would he still want to climb on my lap and cuddle while we read a book or watch tv together? She asked me which one was my child--I pointed to the adorable blue-eyed blonde haired little boy that was laughing at something Andrew had said. She then told me it would be ok...she'd take great care of him and he'd learn and grow so much that year. She handed me a little baggie with a poem about taking care of my child. It also had a kleenex, bandaid, tea bag and other little things in it that she said were the mom's survival kit instead of the students. LOL Then the tears started--I tried to attribute it to the fact that I was pregnant with K at the time, but I'm sure I would have cried anyway. And that was the day before school actually started! The next day, I dropped him off at school and cried all the way to my school. I couldn't wait for school to get out so that I could go pick him up. The first thing he said was, "Mom! they have a library inside the school!!" LOL Just what a teacher likes to hear--that her kid liked to read! :o)
Year after year, I've dreaded and anticipated the first day of school....I was excited for him, yet hated to admit that my little boy was growing up. Today, when I dropped him off, he stopped at my window, so I rolled it down. He leaned in and gave me a kiss, told me he loved me and then said, "mmmm you smell good today!" I laughed and asked him, " Ok, what do you want?" He just laughed and said "I just want you to know I'm glad you're my mom." Once again, I cried all the way to school. :o)

The frustrations of a jr high teacher....

2005-03-30T17:18:00.000-06:00

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! After school study hall is probably NOT the best time for me to decide to blog, because of course it's going to be about the frustrations of dealing with adolescents. Can I just say right here that something mysterious happens to children's brains between the years of 10 and 14? It DISAPPEARS! Gone...disintegrated into nothingness, leaving just a black hole in its place. Somehow, normal things like manners and common sense have gotten lost in the shuffle while rudeness, laziness and foolishness have taken over. A custodian was working on the water fountain today and left the cover off. Some "brainy" child decided to stick a cd case in the fan, causing it to stop the fan, which in turn led to overheating that caused it to start smoking and start a fire. Of course the kids weren't at fault (according to my students) -- it was the custodian's fault for leaving the lid off. Nothing is ever their fault---and that's what TERRIFIES me about this generation. What happens when they are adults and in charge????

Well study hall is over and I'm going home to my wonderful INTELLIGENT children that I am going to SOMEHOW keep from turning into adolescents......

Our Day at the Rodeo...

2005-03-15T16:52:00.000-06:00

You can't live in Texas without the annual trip to the rodeo......the one time all year to get out the old ropers and dust off the cowboy hat. Of course in our case, since none of us wear boots normally, the thought of walking around the carnival midway and all over the stadium grounds in tight-fitting, toe pinching boots is enough to make you want to run for the hills. So we get on our jeans and brightly colored cowboy shirts, dig out the bandanas & western jewelry...and then slip into our comfy nikes for the day.

For the boys, part of the attraction is riding on the "big bus" from the park&ride to the stadium. I don't think T was as impressed this year, especially since we got Metro buses insteqad of the fancy coaches that we normally get to ride. K, though, thought it was really something to ride on "Daddy's bus".

This year, since K is now potty trained (YAY!!!!), we had to make many stops to the outdoor potty houses. YUCK and DOUBLE YUCK! Even K was too grossed out to go in them after a while, so we ended up making several trips into the area where all the shopping was just so we could use a "clean potty." He was so funny---the first time we went inside to the potty, he yelled out very loudly, "mommy--this is a keen potty...there's no yucky poopys in here at all!" Ya gotta love a 3 year old---they tell it like it is!

We went to see Martina McBride. She did a great show, but I had never realized how many of her songs deal with domestic abuse. She's definitely a spokesperson for the downtrodden woman. I was disappointed that she didn't sing her new song "In My Daughter's Eyes." I love the song, even though I'll never have a daughter of my own. sigh

K HATED the fireworks...as soon as the first one went up, he hid his face in my elbow and never looked up for the entire concert. The funny thing is he didn't like the loud booms, but instead of covering his ears, he covered his eyes....

When we left the carnival, K looked like an abuse case himself...he climbed out of the stroller and scraped his belly on something on the side of the stroller. He has a scratch that's probably 4.5 or 5 inches long. I had to put a "bambaid" on it as soon as we got home. Luckliy one was sufficient, because if I'd had to cover the whole scratch, it would have taken several "bambaids". He also came home with a huge ropeburn around his eye that bruised and gave him a black eye. He was climbing on the rope ladder and somehow scraped his face. Good thing I'd gone the day before to get Easter pictures done! LOL

I always enjoy these days, where we get to just relax and have fun as a family. It seems like they are few and far between lately, so I always treasure the times we do get. I realize once the boys are older it will get even harder to schedule family days, so I'm trying to make the most of them now while they're young.

My Safe Harbor...

2005-03-15T16:11:00.000-06:00

This is my blog....a place where I can share......
* thoughts about my life
* cute things my boys say and do
* anecdotes about my students
* and a place where I can vent my frustrations whith whatever is ticking me off today! LOL

I think the harbor design is so appropriate, because in the midst of the storms of my life, I NEED a safe harbor to come home to. That harbor is often my family--my husband, sons, mother or sisters--but it is ALWAYS my God. If it wasn't for the everlasting presence of My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I really couldn't say what my life would be like today.

Ramblings from Robin

Life's Ups and Downs

Life is Good

God's Timing

No! Say it isn't so!!

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

The Joys of Being a Parent!

Turkey Trot

Thank You, Veterans!

Kyle's First Race

My Soccer Star

My Halloween Robot

Pumpkins and Halloween

WaCkY WeDnEsDay WaMbLinGs

Hurricane Ike

How I met your father......

*sigh* The End of Summer Reflections

My Baby is in Alaska!!

Happy Father's Day, Eddie!

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

Who I Am, Part One

I AM Blessed, part 2

I am blessed-----

Valentine's Day at our House----

LAST DAY--CHECK OUT, WILDERNESS LODGE AND GRAND FLORIDIAN

Boys' Choice---Epcot

December 27---Cape May Breakfast and Magic Kingdom

DECEMBER 26---OHANA BREAKFAST AND ANIMAL KINGDOM

Merry Christmas at Epcot

DAY THREE~~CHRISTMAS EVE~~DVC AND POOH

Christmas Eve Day---MGM

DAY TWO CONTINUED---WE MADE IT TO DISNEY!!

Day Two---Daytona Beach

Day One--Getting to Florida ( Or Are we there YET????)

Telling the boys about the Surprise!!!!!

Our Magical Journey

Taking Time to Be Thankful~~~

School Notes

Our Fourth of July

Summer Camp

10 Things to Keep in Mind ( to make your life a little better)

School's Out & I never have to go back there!!!

Trey's D.A.R.E. Graduation

Ugh! It's 3 months later!

16 years ago I married my best friend.....

Where did my baby go?????

Christmas Photos

Our Christmas Card~~2006

Thinking of my Angel~~Angela Noelle

Sisters

Kyle Funny ( repost from PALP)

A Mom's Letter to Santa

Thinking of my Angel~~Tristan

I'm Baa-aaaack!!

Back to School......

Pictures of Kyle

pictures of my soccer boys

Conversation with Trey~~~

The playground

They're growing up!

Thoughts from a Soccer MOM

A Day at the Beach

*~*~*~HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LITTLE MRACLE!!!~*~*~*~*~*

scattered thoughts from a sad mommy

May She Rest in Peace.....

Christmas Thoughts

Hi! Did ya miss me????

Ugh! We've got the Sickies!!!!

Ramblings about Rita

Countdown to Christmas.......

My Expelled Son

Yesterday my baby started Preschool!!!

New ticker!!!

Settling In

House Update #2 -- Our 1st Night!

Nine Years Ago Today....

Just adding a new ticker!!!!

House Update #1

Oh My goodness! What did we just do??????

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME......

sigh The End of Summer Reflections

DAY THREECHRISTMAS EVEDVC AND POOH

~~~HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LITTLE MRACLE!!!~~~~~

K isms