It's Summer

It's the first week of summer vacation here. The kids got out of school Thursday afternoon, although Friday was supposed to be their last day (just a half day) but it was cancelled due to flooding. Again. Tim surprised me for Mother's Day with a trip to San Antonio with my friend Holly. We stayed in a hotel right on the Riverwalk and got a morning at the spa, too. It was so nice! We had the best time and talked, shopped, and ate delicious food. And walked! We waked so much that we had no regrets about all the chips and salsa we ate. I came home Saturday night feeling so refreshed. And so thankful for such a wonderful husband and such sweet kids.

Tuesday the kids and I were pretty lazy, but had Rose's kindergarten graduation to go to in the evening. Of course it rained as we left and just poured down as I got to the school. (It had already been postponed twice due to rain/severe weather.) As soon as everyone had trudged through the down pour and got sufficiently soaked it stopped and was a pretty nice night. I am so proud Rose. She worked really hard this year and learned so much. It was a difficult beginning with getting her to sit down and read through her readers and practice her memory homework. Man, the beginning of the year was rough on all of us. I'm glad for summertime.

Snippet from my day

And now for today's little journal entry...

I took the kids to school this morning and stayed for chapel since Rose's class was singing. It was nice and I should do it more often. A few months ago I started volunteering in Ry's class in the afternoons. I help the kids while they're at centers and his teacher does reading tests with individual kids. It's only for about an hour and just once a week, but I've found it to be really rewarding. And from being there that small amount of time I have a new found appreciation for those that are called to be teachers. The patience I've witnessed is outstanding! 

Well, I'm not feeling great due to the lovely cedar pollen in the air so I'm calling it a night. 

a few random things

First
I just started the Couch-2-5-K program. My first run/walk was last night and it actually went really well. I had been thinking about starting to run for quite a while (6+ months), but seeing as how I have barely exercised at all in 6 years (since having my first baby) I was not really confident in myself. It helps a LOT to have finally voiced my desire to try to run to Tim because he has been insanely good at encouraging me and very supportive. I had no clue as to what I should eat or not eat before/after a run or workout, but I've been reading a lot (thank goodness for the Internet or I would have done a lot of no-no's yesterday). I can hardly believe I'm looking forward to Wednesday's run- as I am not in excruciating pain like I thought I would be. (Bonus: I found a 5K that I want to enter and when the kids found out about it D said he wanted to run too... You get all the ice cream you want after finishing the run!)

Second

D graduated from kindergarten and summer vacation is upon us. (It has been for a week.) It has been good so far. I really enjoy not having to be out of the door by 7:30am every morning. And the kids are finally sleeping past 6am. Well, some days. I signed the boys up for swim lessons and we are "playing school" every day. Basically we practice some math and reading, learn a couple of Spanish words each week and do one science activity on Fridays. Last Friday we learned about volcanoes and then made one- the boys loved it.

Third

 Sam is almost crawling. She'll be 6 months old on the 14th. Didn't I just bring her home from the hospital??? Time is moving way too fast for my liking. She tried avocados on Sunday as her first food and it was hilarious. Any time the spoon came close to her mouth she would get super excited and stick her thumb in her mouth. We laughed a little about that.

I know it seems like I've completely forgotten that I even have a blog, but I haven't. I've just been busy and tired. I'm hoping I can pick up the pace and blog a little more often.

off the top of my head

Yesterday after we picked up D from the bus we drove to the back and fed the catfish. (My father in law bought catfish to restock the tank, or "pond".) Buzz rode along in the feed scoop.

Rose. People always talk about the "terrible twos", but really you should be warned about the terrifying threes. I think it's a combination of wanting to be independent and still needy (???) with a side of jealousy of the baby thrown in. She's wonderful to her sister, but I think she really misses ALL the attention that she used to get. I do feel bad that I don't get to snuggle with her as much as I used to and I have been trying to get some quality one on one time with her.

 Ry is our negotiator. He will try to talk his way out of everything and nap time has been... exhausting. Between him and Rose nap has turned into a big battle that I've come to dread and yet, really look forward to. Well, I still look forward to it even though only Rose (sometimes) actually sleeps. Today it was nice outside and I gave Ry two options: sit outside and read or lie in his bed. It worked out really well and hopefully this will be the beginning of something good.... because I have a much better afternoon when I get a little break after lunch time.

Sam is smiling and cooing and being a good little baby. She gets needy at the best times- when I'm cooking, cleaning or doing anything besides holding her. That's only when she's awake so I try to do everything while she's napping, which thankfully is often.

Apparently I felt that you all needed updates on how the kids are behaving. I know it's been a week since I've posted last, but I am currently experiencing some sort of writer's block. I'll be honest I think that I'm on autopilot right now and trying to find time AND something to blog is too much most days. Maybe my own expectations are too high. I have been reading lots of blogs that are witty, introspective, creative and just plain entertaining... so I guess I feel like my posts should be as good as theirs. But I'm not going to give in to that pressure. I'm going to keep celebrating the small things that happen everyday. I don't know, I guess I just needed to get that out.

back on the blogging horse

So... hi there. If anyone was wondering what happened to me, I am still alive. I've just been very, very busy. Besides the holidays, sick kids, working on the house and the usual everyday stuff I have a newborn. A newborn that needs lots of holding and back patting and talking. I think every time I have sat down to write a little post either Sam wakes up or someone else needs me for something. To try to get something done while the littlest is demanding to be held I finally tried out the Moby wrap my sister is letting me borrow... Sam screamed. I took her out and then she spit up all over me, but I am going to try it again soon.

getting ready to yell at me. again.

Really, though, Sam is a great baby. I won't say that she's sleeping through the night (don't wanna jinx anything), but she has been sleeping really well. She simply prefers to be held instead of sitting all alone in her swing or bassinet when she's awake. She loves it when we talk to her (which is all the time) and has started smiling! 

Our Christmas vacation ended Monday and D went back to school. Apparently he had a really great day, but it's like pulling teeth trying to get him to tell me about his day. I'm not much of a talker myself and he does take after me quite a bit.

Rose turned 3 during my unplanned blog-cation.

She's beautiful, bossy and strong willed. She's also just plain adorable.

And not leave him out, Ry needs a haircut. Desperately. I think it's time to take him a licensed professional for this one. 

I spy a Rose!

Well, I guess I should get something to eat while I have the chance. Adios.

streaming live from preggo brain

My blogging has been lacking lately. When I have time to write I find myself obsessively researching hospital bag packing lists and what I still need for the baby and reading birth stories.... as if I haven't done this 3 times already. I really need to chill out. And when I'm not stressing about that stuff I'm stressing about managing everything I do with a newborn. Everything I do.... um, mainly just making sure we are all presentable to drop D off at school. Yesterday I saw a mom at school with two preschoolers and a newborn. They were all dressed and they were on time. It gave me hope that I can do it, too. It sounds sort of ridiculous when I say it out loud (like I did to Tim yesterday and writing it here), but I've been in a pretty good groove with these three so I'm just praying this little girl is a cooperative team player and takes it easy on her mama. 

I read a lot of posts on message boards and blogs that the mom-to-be is saying how she wants to have the baby early (well, full term- 37 weeks) instead of later (due date or later). I was sure with D that I would go past due, but he came 10 days early. With Ry I wanted him out! I waddled around dilated for 3 weeks and he came before his due date, too. When I was pregnant with Rose I just knew she was coming before her due date and I predicted the date (I was right!) ten days early again. This time around I find myself in no hurry for the baby to arrive. Don't get me wrong, I'm so excited about her and I can't wait to have her here in my arms instead of kicking me in the ribs, but I feel much more relaxed that she'll come when she's ready. I probably won't be forcing spicy foods and fresh pineapple down my throat and all the other things women do to speed up labor starting. I did it once before and I don't regret it, but I was in such a hurry that I don't want to do that again. (Talk to me again in about 8 weeks, I might change my mind.)

I'm preparing for a baby in eight-ish weeks in case she follows her siblings and wants to be "early", too. I'm predicting that she'll be long (at least 20 1/2 in), I'm not sure about weight... maybe around 7 pounds 6 ounces (random or what?). That seems to be about the middle of road with mine being from 6.15 -7.15. And although we are pretty much all Monday babies (except Ry- Sunday) I'm thinking a Friday for this girl.

Well, I'm stopping myself before this goes on forever. I promised a kid or three that I would make cookies today so I better get on that while I have the time. The grocery store didn't have reese's peanut butter chips... like I even care. (I care. A lot. It was quite the let down, but no worries I found the little reese's pieces candies to put in the cookies. Not obsessed.)

19 weeks

We are getting very close to finding out if Baby 4.0 is a boy or girl! My last update (only update) was at 14 weeks. I suppose if anyone is curious about what has changed in five weeks then this is for you.

The all day/spontaneous nausea has pretty much disappeared, occasionally emerging if I am super hungry, extremely hot or happen to smell something gross. As far as what I like to eat... I'm eating normally again. Not really craving anything too much or having aversions. Usually garlic is a big offender while I'm pregnant, but it hasn't been a problem with this one. I am loving dill pickles and Colby cheese. Non pregnant me does not eat bananas except in muffins/bread or shakes, but I have eaten several and enjoyed them lately. I prefer beef over chicken (not really unusual), potatoes any way, sauteed veggies, strawberries, watermelon... sliced avocados with salt and pepper, fried eggs, biscuits with sausage gravy. Um, food. I like it. I haven't been super into Mexican food that I prepare, we had lunch at my favorite Mexican food place and it was perfect and I could probably eat there several times a week, but tacos at home are not really appealing to me. As far as sweets I prefer ice cream (with pretzels) or homemade cinnamon rolls (just made some!).

I had a doctor's visit yesterday and I think I've gained 12-15 pounds so far, which is very much consistent with how I gained for my other three. I am not a light weight (haha) with packing on the pounds; I have always gained about 40.

I'm still tired and I still cry at just about anything (America the Beautiful, Tim bringing home chocolate ice cream, the kids not napping). I think the only time I experienced the "bliss" of 2nd tri was with my first.

I have been feeling little kicks or jabs, but it's still early and I only feel them once or twice a day. My doc says the baby is growing beautifully and is happy with how everything is going. So, if you still want to take a guess at what this baby will be wearing (pink or blue- the poll is at the top right corner) please do! It looks like blue is winning right now.

If you want some sort of comparison with how I felt while pregnant with my boys compared to my girl... not much different. The nausea has been worse with each pregnancy. I craved fried chicken, enchiladas and sweets with my first boy, healthy food and sweets with my second boy, pretty much a combo of both with my girl (and chocolate!). I don't see a whole lot of difference there.

I have to go find something to eat now. Big surprise.

lab work, target, baby stuff...

This morning I had to get some lab work done (because I am pregnant, in case you've missed the announcement). Anyhow, I am not afraid of needles or getting blood drawn... I just can't watch it happening. Lucky me I had a large window to stare out of while the technician took four vials of blood from my left arm. This lady was really good, too, I didn't feel a thing. And that was it. Afterwards I rewarded myself with a stroll through Target. I got T a father's day gift and D a pair of shorts. I couldn't believe I made it out of there spending less than $15. (I went all out didn't I?) Everyone knows Target rarely lets you leave the red doors without spending a minimum of $75. I could have spent that much if I would have found shoes in my size, known the gender of the in utero baby, found season one of Swamp People and been impressed (even a little) with the maternity section. (Thank the Lord for all the things that I didn't find.)

Since I mentioned not knowing the baby's gender yet (although I have a very strong feeling) I will be putting up the mandatory "Guess the baby's gender" poll. I believe it's a requirement if you have a blog. Also, I know a lot of expectant bloggers post pictures weekly or monthly of their growing bumps... not sure if I'm going to do that. Maybe. (Shirt over the belly- I promise I won't show skin.)

My time seems to have expired here as I am suddenly being forced to open applesauce pouches, yogurts and water down three cups of juice. More words tomorrow. 

our weekend

 Saturday afternoon we decided we had been cooped up in the house too long and we were going somewhere. Anywhere. T was not feeling his best after fighting a stomach bug all Friday and into the early hours of Saturday morning, but insisted on going out. So... we lounged around for hours trying to figure out what to do. Due to a wedding this coming weekend, several birthdays and Mother's Day I had us quite a strict budget and taking a family of five out to eat only happens once a month so we were kind of stuck. The park would've been nice if it wasn't a million degrees already. We headed out right at dinner time (this always happens on spur of the moment outings). I decided we would have to eat somewhere that was cheap and definitely not Taco Bell or McDonald's. Eventually we ended up driving through a parking lot with a Denny's. My super eyesight plucked out the words "kids eat free Tuesday and Saturday". It was Saturday. I hadn't eaten at Denny's since I was in California during Spring Break approximately TEN years ago. T and got burgers. I thought the first bite was surprisingly good, but unfortunately each consecutive bite was worse than the previous one. I left feeling empty and full at the same time. I regretted not sticking with breakfast options. The kids enjoyed their meals though and had a good time which is always what really matters in the end.

Sunday we had a birthday party for me, Ry, my sis and brother in law. Our birthdays are all in a ten day time frame. It was fun! I insisted we have homemade pizza for supper and spent a good deal of time making the perfect supreme pizzas. I also made a chocolate cake with boiled icing. We ate until we could eat no more, opened presents (I got an awesome herb garden from my sister which I will have to get a picture of later) and then took our sugar high kids home to crash in their beds.

Many thanks to my family, T's family and our awesome friends (Holly and CLB) for making our birthday's so great.

P.S. It looks like Ry's fingers are on fire, but fear not, it's just a fancy photography trick.

weekend details (maybe too many)

Friday was Ry's birthday and it started with birthday doughnuts and a couple of presents. In the afternoon I let the kids play in the sprinkler and then they watched movies and ate some junk food. That was a bad idea. Around 10pm I had just checked on the sleeping kiddos and had spotted a gigantic scorpion in Rose's room. While T was introducing it to the bottom of his shoe we both heard a cough and splattering sound from the boys' room. I won't go into further detail, but D doesn't remember it happening (lucky) and junk food, juice and sweets were very limited the rest of the weekend. (He is fine, by the way.)

So, Saturday T had to go into work (they work one weekend a year and it's always the last weekend in April. So, always on Ry's and my birthday weekend.) Saturday was my birthday and all I asked was not to cook dinner. T got off work hours before I expected and came home with an awesome birthday present for me. A kindle. It is awesome. Highly recommend. We spent the afternoon chillin' and then took the kids to T's parent's house and we headed out to enjoy dinner. It was delicious, I had steak and lots and lots of potatoes. I didn't realize until I was picking at my broccoli that ordering Texas cheese fries for the app and then having loaded mashed potatoes as a side that I ate approximately ten pounds of potatoes in one sitting. Then in the car I totally embarrassed T by dancing (think Elaine from Seinfeld) at a red light to a wildly popular tune that came on the radio. (He doesn't even like the song and the next morning he purchased it from itunes for me. He's sweet like that.)

Oh, but I'm forgetting something. We were pulling into our driveway when Ry said his stomach was hurting and I didn't really think much of it and told him we were home and he was going to be fine. (I figured he just needed to go potty.) Instead of going into great detail here I'll just say he got sick. It was not a good night for him and I ended up sleeping on the couch with him at 4am. He is fine. I don't know what caused this but we were fully expecting Rose to follow suit, but she has been okay so far.

Sunday I made french toast which I've only made once before (and only eaten three times). It was perfect. If I had any energy right now I'd make some today for "brunch", but I have to save all my energy for a grocery run. Super excited about it. I better get going soon or I will end up at the grocery store at lunch time with three kids which is always so much fun. Okay, everyone have yourself a merry Monday!

Random Tuesday Tidbits

I bought a new nail polish yesterday and I love it. Not too pink, not too red. Rimmel London's English Rose and it's supposed to last 10 days. My sister recommended it to me since I am constantly abusing my hands and polish doesn't last past a day with me. I have only painted Rose's toes... it's adorable! I'm waiting to do my fingernails Saturday night.

It's muggy today. Overcast, humid and not much of a breeze. It's plain icky.

Tonight D has a t-ball game and I'm looking forward to some sno-cones. We have the early game so I'm making supper to go... not sure exactly what it will be, though. Hmm, better start brainstorming.

For once I have beat my mom at planting something! We bought tomato plants at the same time (the first week of March) and I planted mine just a few days afterwards. She was finally getting around to hers yesterday. She's been busy-busy lately. (Usually I'm the one that lets the plants sit in the plastic pots until they are ready to die before I try to plant them.)

I washed, dried and put away the one load of laundry I did this morning AND I have D's uniform all set out, T's coach's shirt and hat and all the t-ball gear ready to go. Now if I can get myself presentable and out of these, ahem, "workout clothes" I'll really be ready to go!

feeling normal

 I spent the weekend trying to sleep as much as I could. Apparently some sort of virus got through my elaborate germ catching nets that I weave tightly around myself when I venture out in public. OR I got it from T... who, after seeing the effect it had on me, is convinced he already had it just a few days prior to me. If that's true then I somehow caught the "man cold" version because I was simply out of commission for 3 (4?) days. I spent Friday on the couch only getting up to slap some lunch together, open snacks and fill sippy cups. T made dinner Friday and Saturday night. He brought me chicken soup and ice cream (vanilla). I almost didn't go to my sister's baby shower, but I was feeling better Saturday morning so I braved it. Probably not the best idea. I spent the entire time feeling exhausted and miserable. It was a great party, though! I'm glad I got to be there. Then I spent the evening and night paying for it. Sunday I actually rested all day. Definitely needed to do that.

Today I am feeling almost back to normal. In fact, it's time for nap and I know some cute little kids are going to put up a fight about it and make elaborate excuses... I'm ready.

I think.

at least it smelled good (body wash sniff test: fail)

This morning I went to the grocery store. I know, it's all very exciting. I really thought I had things together and was patting myself on the back. Grocery list, check. Money, check. Mail for the post office, check. Matching shoes & hair brushed, check. Ha. Ha. That's when I reached for my phone and remembered I left it charging. For some reason it's only holding it's charge for like six hours (if even that) at a time. It wasn't so bad as I was with my mom and she volunteered to watch the children while I went to the store alone (!!!! happy dance !!!!). My mom made me take her ancient phone and when I finally figured out how to text T to tell him I didn't have mine I wanted to go all Office Space on it. (Please, someone know what I mean by that.) I sure hope she gets a new one soon. I also hope I never forget mine again.

So I grocery shopped without my entourage, peacefully picking out the best apples and joyfully placing chips into the cart without having anyone trying to crush them into crumbs. It was nice. I even got the kids those fruit snack things they like so much and out of season strawberries. I managed to get everything on my list without having to backtrack through the store. I am so very thankful that I am able to leave the kids at grandma's occasionally and do that. I am glad she suggests it, too. Otherwise I would feel guilty asking her.

Okay, there is a funny little story for you. This is what happens when you feel like you can stop and smell the body wash because you don't have a ticking time bomb on your hands comprised of antsy children. I needed some body wash and of course flipped the top open to smell them. (Never would have slowed down long enough to do that with the kids.) The first and second choices I passed and I reached for one I've used before and wanted to make sure I remembered how it smelled. You guys, before I knew what had happened I inadvertently snorted body wash up my nose. Not a little dab, either. I didn't even squeeze the bottle! I threw it in the basket and hurried out of the aisle I was unfortunately sharing with several other customers. If they noticed then I hope they had a good laugh and learned a lesson at the same time. I spent the next ten minutes wiping body wash off of my nose and sniffing... I probably looked like an addict of some sort while I was selecting which bottle of generic zyrtec to buy. Mmm hmm. Just be careful when your snorting sniffing the body wash next time. Smell it from a safe distance or just take a gamble that you'll like it and don't sniff at all. I certainly learned my lesson.

I am home at last and need to get with the afternoon Oreo ritual. Oops, I mean laundry and supper planning. See y'all tomorrow!

more vision updates (D & me)

We're back home again from another trip to the optometrist. This time it was for me and D. D's checkup went well and his vision has really improved! We are continuing to patch and do strengthening exercises. The only thing that didn't improve was his depth perception. (I was not even aware it was that bad.) Anyhow, our optometrist is referring us to a specialist she works with and we will probably have to see her for an evaluation and get set up with some in office therapy.

I do have mixed feelings on this. I am so glad his sight is getting better!! I'm also glad we caught this before it progressively worsened. I am glad we can do something to improve his vision. My sad feelings are mainly about cost of therapy (will insurance cover? will the doc accept it?) and the (probably) weekly visits to an office an hour away. I didn't expect to hear there wasn't improvement. Especially after Ry showed improvement across the board... I just thought it would be good news all over again. We'll do what it takes, though. It's good to know that we can do something!

I had my first eye exam and there was nothing to be worried about. My eyes are healthy and my vision is "better than perfect" (doctor's words). Oh, but I do have a slight astigmatism in both eyes (I'm told it's common) and have a prescription for reading glasses (although I could just pick up a pair anywhere; the prescription is because of the astigmatism.) My left eye is worse than my right and I have noticed while I'm focusing on things close up (reading, computer time) that my right eye seems to be doing more of the work. It's hard to explain but I have been aware of my left eye's lack of focus for a while. I did get my eyes dilated (the drop stung a little, but it was fine). The whole process made me much more aware of how my kids feel at each visit.

That's all for now! See ya tomorrow.

before & after

At first sight...

D exclaimed, "Well, you don't even look like Mommy anymore!"

I think that was a compliment.

Ry- "Hi Mommy!" then proceeded to rub the top of my head. 

(??)

Rose- attacked me when I walked in the door and has been taking every opportunity to "tousle" my hair. Completely normal.

my hair needs your vote

I have some plans to get a hairchop on Saturday. It's actually more like a trim and style since I don't want to go short-short. Anyhow, here's the thing, I want something pretty and easy. I haven't brushed my hair in days so... yeah. I'm hoping a little trim will give me some kind of pick me up so I will want to brush my hair, get dressed before noon and make me a tiny bit happier. I don't care what anyone says, when my hair looks good I feel better.

I had bangs growing up. Sometimes they looked good and sometimes I wonder how my mother let me go to school looking so fine. Sarcasm, y'all. I have some wonderful examples:

Ignore how dorky I look in that birthday pic. These are the best pics I could find showing the hair in a semi-good state.

Here is what I'd love to avoid:

Not only am I missing a lot of front teeth in this picture, I also look like I was just rescued from the wild. See how that hair flips out on the right side? I have to deal with that all the time. Still. The picture above with my hair pulled back... the wispy hairs? Every day. I used to call them horns. Not that I was devilish but that's what they look like. I have wavy hair. Not good wavy, mind of it's own wavy.

Hold on, I'm embarrassing myself here so I can get your opinion! Bangs or no? Currently I have none. (Except for the weird ones growing out.) The closest I've been to having bangs was almost three years ago.

I had some side swept bangs and it looks nice. (My hair is straightened in this pic.)

I've had some bad haircuts in the past and a few good ones. Even if I do decide to get bangs it'll probably be another year before I get a real haircut (I'm shooting for something closer to six months, but we'll see) so any bangs will be growing out as soon as the haircut is complete. I'm a bad maintainer.

I'm going to put up a poll and you may vote away. I know I'm asking you to do this, however, it's all up to how daring I feel on Saturday.

Here's my current look...

We have until Saturday to figure this out! Bangs or not? That is the question.

Weekend Highlight

Yesterday we trekked to the back to set up a game feeder (not for livestock; for deer and wild hogs and hunting). The kids climbed up on this fallen tree that was laying across a dry creek bed, so I had to get their picture. They were looking so cute and isn't it sweet how the boys have their arms behind Rose to make sure she didn't fall backwards? (It was only about two feet off the ground.)

This was one of the few times Rose wasn't hanging on to me... she hasn't been feeling super for the past few days. (Cedar pollen really sucks right now.)

That's me. Sawing a Yaupon (yo-pawn is how we say it 'round here). They are so spring-y! I had to sit on it (obviously it wasn't like I was cutting down a giant oak or something) and sawed away until I had it done. It was probably 15 feet tall, but only about 2 inches in diameter. If my saw had been sharper it would have been effortless, I'm sure. T thought it was funny watching me hack my way through it. I cut a couple more down... just because I could (and they were in the way of the feeder).

The boys. They had a blast riding on the tractor and playing hide and seek. (They were so worn out that they actually took naps in the afternoon!) We had such a nice time. I even packed us a lunch and we had a picnic.

That's how we celebrate New Years.

(By the way, I fiddled with the blog... do you like the new layout? I like that my pictures can be bigger now and the posts are more centered.)

adios 2011, hello 2012

Resolutions. I am reading a lot of them today on different blogs and if you make them, great, but I am not a big resolution maker. I tend to make changes at random times throughout the year. I don't like waiting to make a change because I'll end up putting it off and then forgetting about it.

I do have some things I've been working on and will continue in 2012. Here they are:

Around the house

• Keep getting rid of things I don't use or need. (Simplify our life)
• Put the laundry away (can we go for twice a week? that would be a huge improvement!)
• Paint the kitchen, finish updating bathroom

Me

• Make time for myself
• Drink more water
• Stop eating the entire bag of tortilla chips in two days without sharing
• Be a better listener
• Be kinder
• Be patient
• Have more self control
• Be a good example of the previous 4 statements to my children

 Things I'd like to do

• Plan and go on a vacation that is relatively inexpensive, but lots of fun (This CAN happen, right?)
• Have date with T (at least) once a month. Even it's just a few hours on a Sunday afternoon to go for a walk and talk about winning the lottery. (Any volunteer babysitters? Sign up now!) 
• Save $$ so we can build our house.

Top 10 of 2011

Here are the most viewed posts from this year.  I've written a very brief description of each.

Dear Me- Five Years Ago,
I wrote my past self a letter from my present self. It makes me cry every time I read it, just warning you. (One of my personal favorites)

Pictures from the fire
A terrible wildfire went raging through our county. Several families we know lost their homes, my aunt and uncle, the pastor of our in-laws' church, my sister-in-law's parents and grandparents... and many more. 

I blame anyone but myself for this nonsense
One of those rambling posts.

Apple Pie
I made apple pie for the first time and posted my recipe. I hope it has helped at least one person be the star of the dessert table.

Posting 201
This is about D's 5th birthday. I mistakenly thought I had published 200 posts.

He has Amblyopia
D went to the eye doc... we got this diagnosis and he got glasses. 

Documenting the Drought
The drought in Texas is "exceptional", the worst label/level to have. (Contributed to the wildfire) Our stock tanks went dry and it looked like the middle of winter in the middle of summer. Everything was brown and dry.

My Friend the Sink
I wrote about how washing dishes by hand (since I have no dishwasher) has been somewhat therapeutic. (Also one of my favorites.)

Weekend Update
That one time I was feeling sick. My family is amazing.

Stop
I wrote it in response to a prompt and while the words felt forced, for me, the feeling is something I've been dealing with for a while.

my morning- how not to shop with kids

I decided I would finish my Christmas shopping today. I knew I'd be going to a few stores that didn't have shopping baskets to throw at least one of the kids in so I called up my mama and asked if she needed to go to town. She said she'd go with me. That was nice of her. Our first stop I ran into the bank to get some cash. (you know, so I would have a set limit. I also forgot my bank card. whatever.) Anyhow, that went smoothly and I managed to grab D's (free) wildlife calendar while I was there. I also took three lollipops for the kids. (hindsight: should've gotten candy canes, they last longer.) I walked over to the first store and the kids were happily occupied with their lollipops for the 15 or 20 minutes it took for me to decide that there was nothing there I liked. Right at that 15 minute mark (as soon as the lollipop was gone) Ry decided he didn't need to hold my hand anymore, collapse into a heap when I took his hand in mine again and apparently his legs stopped working and he couldn't manage to walk. Now, at this point I was done with the store and we were going to leave. I also understood that this was immensely boring for him (it was a clothing store) and that he needed a little break. After 15 minutes. We made it out of there without major incident. I did pick him up and carry him out (mainly because I wanted out of there and he was being a handful about not walking). D was wearing a little halo and Rose was pretty darn good too. Although she was all about Neenaw (that's what they call my mom) and didn't want anything to do with me.

Our next stop was Ross. It is new to our little town so it's pretty nice. (I've been to some that are less than appealing.) I found a gift for our Goddaughters and a gift for my "name in the hat" person. I had three things and was done with that store so we checked out. This time Rose didn't want to sit in the cart that we had, so she was holding Neenaw's hand (I was, again, not wanted). Ry did the whole "I can't move anymore" pout with spaghetti legs accompaniment. Okay, so checkout line. The lady was really nice and I was done paying so my mom was getting her stuff rung up. I happened to turn to see Ry try to knock the "form a line here" sign down as well as the stretchy rope thing. He exclaimed that he had super power strength and started back to wreck some more shop. A lady eyeballed me. I grabbed him and this ginormous bag I had while Rose freed herself of anyone and started for the automatic doors. Now, at this moment I was thinking that there's no way that little magic sensor pad would open for a 25 pound-ish person... I was wrong. She stomped on it and the doors started opening so I grabbed Ry's hand, the unruly bag, and darted to Rose. She threw a very impressive fit when I caught her hand so I just kept on walking through the doors thinking she would calm down and no one would have to witness this "bad mother/bad child" scene that was rapidly unfolding. D ran outside with me (I guess he panicked that I was leaving) so all three kids are with me and Rose is screaming her little head off because I picked her up. Ry is making me practically drag him down the sidewalk and I'm still trying to wrestle this bag of Christmas cheer I just bought. Thankfully I got to the end of the sidewalk and very far from the doors (although Miss Lungs probably could still be heard inside). Oh, not only was she screaming bloody murder because holy cow, Neenaw is still inside paying and not in Rose's sight, but she is trying to run away from me. (I would've taken them to the car but I didn't have the keys) I gave the bag to D to hold, Ry acted like we didn't exist (which was fine with me at that moment) and Rose is flopping all over the place trying desperately to get away from me (doing the back arching to fling herself away from me), hitting me, and still screaming.... That was the longest 2 minutes of my life. (okay, maybe not, but definitely longest in this month and last month) More than embarrassing. This doesn't quite capture the intensity of the drama that happened. Just take my word, it was b-a-d.

My mom came out and we got in her car and Rose was still throwing her epic temper tantrum and Ry was still epic pouting. I had wanted to go to Walmart, where I knew I could get the rest of my things, but instead I told my mom to drive us back to her house. There was no way I was going to another store with those two acting like that. My stomach is still in a knot. I'm sure it looked like I was kidnapping my own children. I was way to preoccupied with them to notice anyone staring and shaking their head, though. I was very much on the verge of tears myself during the whole thing, but did manage to hold it together. To top it off I had to straighten out some payment that got screwed up when I got home making me feel even more in control of things. I might have shed some tears over this morning, but I'm hoping this afternoon is better after we've all had a chance to settle down or nap.

I love these goofy kids, even when they aren't wearing halos

 They really are good kids. I know it. They know it. Sometimes we just have a tough time. I think I'm calming down now. I'm starting to reason out their terrible behavior. Anyhow, I'm doing the rest of the shopping a-l-o-n-e. Sorry kids, I need some time to recuperate before I brave the non grocery shopping event with you again.

Later friends, thanks for letting me vent.