Christmas

...It was great... Santa was extremely good and Daddy Dearest was very good to me. I feel bad because he always does more than I do... The kids are not nearly finished with Christmas. We'll head to Amarillo next week to see the rest of the family. We'll have Christmas with both the grandmas and there will be TONS more stuff to haul home! Hopefully, we'll be hanging out with friends in Amarillo on NYE...since the kiddos, our New Year's Eves have been pretty mild, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Here are some pictures of what we've been up to in December...
Dickens of a Christmas
ICE at the Gaylord
Great Wolf Lodge
Polar Express in Palestine
Christmas

Enjoy, not sure if I'll post before we leave, but I'm sure I'll have lots to share after we return!
Happy New Year!!

Change is Coming

Like my new blog look? I worked most of the evening on it. Not sure if it will stay, but it's a start.
I've come to the horribly sad realization that I need to make a major change in my life. Denial is a word I am very familiar with.....I knew that the scales were creeping up instead of down. I knew that I wasn't really watching what I was eating. I knew that my clothes were getting tighter and tighter by the minute. I just kept avoiding the mirror, eating more and more, and shoving those realizations further and further back in my mind. Wanna know what my 'wake-up call' was? I saw a picture of myself and my children and it had a great (disgusting) side view. I nearly cried....it's awful. Something has to change. I know it, I won't deny it anymore. I'm planning on starting a boot camp after the first of the year. I'm also planning to start eating better. Here's where my weakness is. I'm an emotional eater. I eat when I'm happy, I eat when I'm sad, I eat when I'm bored. I eat, just to eat. It totally sucks. I also have a hard time working out. I'm exhausted when I get home and I don't have the motivation to get up early (hear that denial???). However, the class I'm looking into will be in the evenings. I've already worked it out with Daddy Dearest to make sure it's something that can be worked out. I'm going to try to find a sitter to come over on the nights when he's gone, just to make sure I can get there. It's for a month and I am going to start at 3 nights a week. I can do anything 12 times, right?
My point for posting this is to hold me somewhat accountable. So if you know me and you see me, please encourage me! I need all the help I can get! It's pretty sad when a video game (Wii Fit) says your obese and your Mii is fat...ugh!
I promise to post Christmas pictures and stories later....Sweet Pea seems to be recovering quite well, thank goodness!

RSV AND...............

PNEUMONIA....gotta love the winter cold season, right??? My poor baby is so darn sick. The good news is that she isn't acting like she feels bad. It's been a week of struggling to get those breathing treatments in. We wrestle with her, restrain her, sing to her, talk to her, WHATEVER it takes to get her to take the medicine. This morning we headed in for our follow up only to find out that she's not getting better. Um, excuse me??? It was somewhat insinuated that somehow 'we' aren't making sure she's getting all her medicine. Nothing like making a mom who already feels like crap feel even worse about her daughter being sick. Never mind the fact that I've been to their office each week for 3 weeks prior to this trying to get her well. UGH. I adore the pediatrician that is 'ours' in the practice, but I can only see him if I have an appointment scheduled about 3 months in advance. I'd like to book now for March because I know we'll have something come up... I'm not particularly crazy about the other doctors and assistants. They tend to rush through, dismiss my concerns, talk down to me, make crazy insinuations (is that even a word?) like the ones that were hinted at today.... the list goes on. The only reason I haven't left is because just when I think I've had enough, we'll have a visit with the good one and I remember how awesome he is and I keep going back .... What to do, what to do??
Anyways, back to the story.... We gave her two breathing treatments at the office this morning (under the watchful eyes of super nurse and the physicians assistant who has had an abundance of work done), head to Allen for a chest x-ray, rush home to get a 12 pm breathing treatment in, try to get her to eat something, nap for about 30 minutes, have another 3 pm breathing treatment, AND head back to the office for a 4 pm appointment. This time the PA is gone and my least favorite doctor gets to see us. She tells us the bad news on the x-ray, we also find out that part of SP's lung has collapsed, she compares it to the little balloons in her lungs were so full of that thick, yucky stuff, that they just collapsed, poor baby! It's decided that Sweet Pea will have a rocephin shot, continue her breathing treatments, and start 14 days of antibiotics tomorrow. We did spend some time talking about how to get through the next two days, since their office is closed. Kinda scary to be talking about which ER we will go to. Wow. Where did all this go so horribly wrong?
So, we'll try to get through the next few days, praying that the treatments are working and she's getting well. We haven't decided what to do about our trip next week, we need to make sure Sweet Pea is well enough to travel and won't infect all the baby cousins with this lovely sickness!
It's amazing how much better I feel just getting all this 'out there', whew..... I am now vowing to put all this behind me and get into the official spirit of the season~
Happy Holidays, Y'all!

Neglected....

That should be the title of my blog...ugh, sorry. It's that time of the year. I don't even have time to think anymore! We've been really busy. We had a little staycation at the Great Wolf Lodge. Can I tell you that I absolutely LOVE this place?!?
Everyone at my house is kinda teetering on the edge of being sick. Sweet Pea still hasn't recovered completely from her Thanksgiving ear infection. She's been to the doctor twice since then. Turkey Butt has a cough and green nose, but I can give him medicine that seems to help. Last night, Sweet Pea and I were snoozing and I noticed she felt warm...being in the hotel, I didn't have her thermometer. I gave her some Motrin and tried to go back to sleep. My poor baby has been dealing with this cough and nose issue for almost 4 weeks now. On our way home from Grapevine, I called the pediatrician to make an appointment. We went in and I heard those 3 letters that every mother of a little one dreads......
R S V
That's right, my poor baby has RSV, she has breathing treatments almost around the clock and has to stay home for a week. Ugh, I win the award for World's Worst Mother....Never mind the fact that we kept her out of the water and have tried to get this under control for what seems like MONTHS.... Pretty much means my sister and the twins won't be stopping by next week, we just can't take the risk of the babies catching this one... We're just hoping she's well enough to travel after Christmas. Keep your fingers crossed!

Snoopy's Watchin' You!

One of my friends blogged about her latest Christmas Tradition, The Elf on the Shelf. If you have kiddos who tend to be naughty (like my oldest), this is a great motivator for good behavior. I realize the fix is temporary, but times are desperate around here...you can only ground a kid from so many things (DS, TV, Wii, computer, noticing a pattern here?). So, here's the idea, your elf shows up with a book, you read the story and learn that the elf is a special reporter for Santa. At night, your elf flies away to the North Pole to report his findings, returning the next day to continue to monitor things around your house. Each day, the elf finds some new spot from which to observe the daily happenings. You must name your elf, and you can go online and register your elf as well. Our elf is appropriately named Snoopy. He came from Learning Express and was a great investment on our part (Thanks, Daddy Dearest). The first day, Snoopy rested on the mantle. The next day, he was hanging over the lamp in the fan. This morning, we found him perched in the Christmas tree. I'm not sure where he'll be tomorrow. The hard part is going to be be remembering to move him each day so that we can keep this going! My friend and I joked that we need to have some type of alarm so that we can all remember!
Turkey Butt is all into this! He races downstairs to see where Snoopy is hiding each morning! If he starts to act up, I just remind him that someone is taking note of his behavior, works like a charm...

Now, if only Sweet Pea would catch on... the ornaments on the tree have been hauled all over the house. She walks up the the tree and says " oooohwee" and grabs one and runs... The presents barely made it 20 minutes before they had to be put in the closet. The paper and bows won't make it for 24 more days at this rate. Every stuffed 'thing' that we have that plays music or tells the story of The Night Before Christmas has been played AT LEAST a million times (especially that damn snowman that sings Jingle Bells, thanks Memaw). I have managed to locate all the off switches and this does not make the princess happy! She walk around with whatever stuffed noisemaker she can find, grunting until she finds someone to turn it on....usually Daddy Dearest.
Gotta love the holidays, right??

I Might Be a Little Prejudiced, But...

I do think this is one of the cutest kiddos ever.....

Look at this big girl, hardly a baby anymore! All this makes me sad, knowing she's my last...

Here are the promised pics from Sweet Pea's haircut last week. It wasn't a huge haircut, but it made a big difference!

Before...
During...
Now! Pretty stinkin' cute if I do say so myself!

Not to be left out....my other one is darn cute, too!

You Say It's Your Birthday.....

Today, one of my favorite people is celebrating her birthday! She is fortunate enough to have the privilege of preparing a Thanksgiving meal on her birthday! Lucky, lucky girl! Tomorrow, I will have the privilege of hanging out with her! Can't wait! Happy birthday girl!
It's been a busy week at our house! Last week, Sweet Pea had her first haircut, it's adorable! I'll post pictures soon. We made a mad dash north for the weekend, it was great to see everyone, but it's even greater to be home! I say that loosely, ya know....Poor Sweet Pea had a little cough that started on Tuesday, no big deal, right? She slept ok that night, yesterday it seemed to get progressively worse. Last night, she wasn't sleeping, only coughing. I went in to check on her and she was burning up. Her fever was 103.8. Off we go to Acute Kids Urgent Care. She has ANOTHER ear infection. 3 weeks ago today, she was at the pediatrician with an ear infection, a week ago today she had a follow up appointment and everything was fine. Poor baby, looks like she's taking after her brother. We'll be visiting with our pediatrician to see about talking to our favorite ENT....It never ends, does it?
However, in spite of all our mishaps, on this day, I am thankful for many things....my husband, my mostly healthy children, my family, my friends, my life.....
Happy Thanksgiving!

OOOOOOOOOOH Yeah!

One of my favorite bands in the whole world released their new album today. I knew it was coming out today and was secretly hoping it might make it's way into my Christmas stocking. Daddy Dearest was paying attention tonight and he let me know that the album was available to download on Amazon.com for only $3.99, I was so excited. Then, we began to argue about who's computer the downloading would take place on...I won, as usual! So, I have already done the download and now I'm burning my own cd, my car isn't so fancy and doesn't support my MP3 player, like DD's does....(hint, hint).
Now, if only they would release their tour dates.......sigh.....

Thanks!

Thank you to my friend for introducing me to Costco diapers...they rock!

Busy Week!

Next week is gonna be crazy busy, but that's OK with me! Tomorrow, Turkey Butt are going to see some of my student performing in a play. They will be the Munchkins in "The Wizard of Oz", should be lots of fun! At school, third grade will be in charge of the monthly assembly, so some class time will be devoted to practicing for 'Round-up'. Monday night, Daddy Dearest will be out of town, Wednesday night, TB has Awanas, and Thursday night.....


My friends and I have tickets to see the 12:01 movie....we're meeting at Dave and Buster's in our Team Edward shirts before we go. I am so excited, this is so unlike most of us! Starbucks will be our best friend Friday! If you haven't read these books, you should definitely consider it...totally the best stuff, EVER!! Everyone who starts them falls in love!
Friday evening the lil ones and I are flying to Amarillo for the the weekend. We haven't seen everyone since July, they won't even recognize Sweet Pea, she's changed so much! We'll be back Monday evening so we can spend the actual holiday at home. I love this time of year! So much to do so many memories!!! Good times!
Anyways, ending with some fun, frivolous stuff....

Not Perfect, But a Little Better

Still searching for the perfect background. Hopefully, I'm getting closer and not farther away!

I Know...

My blog header and background don't match....I know it! It's the best I could do right now. I'll work on it again soon!
Daddy Dearest returned today and let's just say that things aren't going the way I had planned for my day. Somehow, during his time away, he scratched his eye. Not a little irritating scratch, but a big "I can't function" scratch. He's been in quite a lot of pain and is unable to drive. I loaded up the kiddos and we headed to the airport to pick him up. Our first stop was Care Now. The doctor said to DD, "That's a helluva scratch you've got there." We headed home with a couple of prescriptions, one being the ever-important Vicodin. Needless to say, DD has spent the day in the dark snoring loudly. I feel really bad for him. He hadn't slept or ate for over 24 hours because he was in so much pain. We have to follow up with the doctor tomorrow and I'm hoping things are healing with all this much needed rest. However, this little turn of events meant that I was unable to get to school and get some work done. It would not have been a good idea to leave the littles here with their father and it's pretty difficult for me to get anything done with my kiddos 'helping'. Remember, I wasn't there last Thursday or Friday, so I'm kinda scared of what I'll be walking in to....
Oh well, such is life....someday, I will get caught up. I'm just not sure when that will be!

Barely Functioning

Sleep patterns still have not returned to normal at this house! I am adapting quite well, but I keep finding myself spacing out and yawning on a more than regular basis....
On the up side, I've gotten to watch lots of old and obscure movies in the middle of the night. One of my favorites is Fear, remember this one??? Mark Wahlberg is yummy in this movie, even as a psycho. I tivo'd it so I can watch it as needed! I also caught one called Little Children with Kate Winslet, very interesting! Pretty in Pink has been on several times and I've watched two weeks of The Young and the Restless.
Please pray for normal sleep at our house, Mamma's gone crazy!

4 am

Since my husband is out of town for 6 days, it's no surprise that the rest of us are sick. Tuesday night, Sweet Pea started to fuss as I was getting ready to go to bed. No fever, just fussing, I gave her some Motrin and put her back to bed. An hour later, she started again. I brought her a drink, rocked her for a few minutes and she was ready to go back down. It's now midnight, I am on the verge of drifting off for the 2nd time tonight and here comes Turkey Butt. He's coughing and he can't sleep. Poor guy! I head downstairs to find the cough syrup (searching for the good stuff, you mommas know what I'm talking about), no dice...only Delsym. I give him the meds, turn on his TV and head back to bed, again. Fast forward to about 4 am, here comes Turkey Butt, AGAIN(I am hearing Rob Thomas, 'It's 3 am I must be lonely). Only this time, he's dressed and had his breakfast. He's ready for school! I have no idea if he slept between 12 am and 4 am! Scary! I put the dog out (she thinks it's time to get up too) convinced him to go back to bed and headed back to bed again for a few more minutes sleep.
Today, I stayed home with my poor babies. We headed to the pediatrician, turns out Sweet Pea has an ear infection and TB has a viral infection. I have no idea what I have! I just know that I'd feel a LOT better if I could take some good drugs for myself! I guess I'll have to suffer through until Sunday when Daddy Dearest comes back. He owes me BIG TIME!

Halloween!

I love Halloween! It's one of my favorite holidays...I think I love it so much because it's a downhill slide until Christmas.
We spent the evening Trick or Treating with some of our favorite friends. Sweet Pea caught on real quick, I look cute and bat my eyes, I get candy...It was funny to see her figure it out! The boys were so quick that SP and I couldn't keep up. We only hit a few houses and she and I headed back to help hand out candy. We really had a great night! Here are a few pics:

Scary Skeleton Pirate

With the mask

An attempt for a picture together

The story of my life....she's never still for longer than 2 seconds...

Daddy Dearest is heading out of town tomorrow until SUNDAY (sucks to be me, huh?). So, I spent this past Saturday in Canton with some of my friends from work. It was crowded, but fun. I hadn't been before, and it was waaaaaay more than I expected, can't wait to go back!
Last night, Sweet Pea was playing with Turkey Butt's vampire teeth, it was pretty funny. I joked to my friends that she was 'Reneesmee', if you've read the Twilight Saga, you'll know what I mean, funny stuff!

Heavy Sigh.....

Wow, what a weekend! Our little get together last night, was fun! We had some very interesting costumes. It was hilarious to see what everyone came up with...

We had some German Beer Drinkers (renamed Yodelers), Shaggy and Daphne, Jack Sparrow and Bat Girl, Tony Romo and Jessica, The Obama Supporter and Bubba, Frankenstein and his bride....Ironman, a surgeon, a skeleton pirate, Indiana Jones, a couple of ghosts....I know there are more, but I'm having trouble remembering (mighta been the trashcan punch prepared by Daddy Dearest). Sweet Pea was the most adorable cat. Daddy Dearest and I did toga, Animal House style...



Everyone ate, drank a little, played a game or two and visited. The festivities ended early, but that was fine with me! I was thinking it might be because we are all getting older, but as my wise friend pointed out, we are all smart enough to know what it feels like the next day when we party to hard or late. Good point! Some of my sweet friends even stayed and helped me clean up, made my Sunday a whole lot easier! Anyways, it was fun and I enjoyed getting it all together, everyone (even the kids) behaved themselves and there could be a 'Second Annual Halloween Party"!

third grade teachers are cool

Yodeler and the Obama supporter (note the rose colored glasses)

Shaggy and the Yodeler (Bubba's in the background)

Shaggy and Velma

The Icing on the..........

PIE!!
It's been one of those weeks...I have managed to:

1. finish report cards
2. have the house cleaned (by my cleaning lady of course)
3. hide the laundry so I can pretend it doesn't exist
4. fall while trying to save Sweet Pea and knock her to the ground
5. finish a whole carton of Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream (thanks Christine)
6. book a little family stacation for December at the Great Wolf Lodge
7. order my Team Edward shirt
8. book all of my parents (except one) for conferences next week
9. get some things nailed down for our Halloween Festivities.

I have accomplished a lot!

Our students raise money for our PTO (which is awesome by the way) and in each grade level, the classroom that raises the most money gets to "Pie" their teacher. The entire time, it was neck and neck...there were 3 of us that were very close. THEN, they went and extended the donation period another week. I can hang with that, I NEVER win these things. It stayed pretty close the entire time. Well, on the final day, one of my kiddos brought in a check for over $200. Pretty much sealed the deal for me.....
So, tomorrow at 3 PM, I will be 'pied'...I've got my poncho and my goggles ready. What can I say, I am a wimp! If you're lucky, I might post pictures. What a great ending to a great week!

In a Funk

I think this is the longest I've gone w/o posting... I'm in a funk, report cards are due, even though the grading period doesn't end until Friday.... Halloween party on Saturday (which I am excited about, but wishing I had more time to get things ready for it), my house is a wreck, laundry is mountainous (I know, you're not surprised), Turkey Butt had an awful day and he's ruined the $40 Sketchers that he HAD to have....
I could go on, but I won't.....
Hopefully, something will bring me out of this soon!

The End is Near

Just so y'all know, tonight, I will finish the 4th book....That will be exactly 2,500 pages I have read in a little over a week. Take that as a sign, if you haven't read them, get on it! I consider myself a reader and I've NEVER read anything that has taken over me like this! I am sure my husband will be glad when it's over, but I am sad....my fantasy will be gone.
OK, how pathetic am I?

Consumed...

I am now on the third book in the Twilight Series (in less than a week)... It's really a sad existence when your life revolves around a fictional teenage vampire and the true love he can never truly have....

Also, the guest list on our little Halloween party is growing...can't wait... gotta get to work on fun for kids and grown ups.... Any ideas???

A New Obsession

So, someone at work was talking about the Twilight Series of books and since I am all of a sudden very intrigued by Vampires (see my last post), I decided to see what it was all about. I started the first book two nights ago. I was afraid this was going happen. I don't want to do anything else. Daddy Dearest is out of town for the weekend and I am DYING to get the kids in bed so I can read...Never mind that fact that the laundry is piled up and I have yet to take defensive driving.... I am consumed. I want to be Bella..... I want to fall in love with Edward. This is some good stuff! I plan on finishing the first book in the next few days. I've managed to get my hands on the second one so there will be no wait....



Another reason to be obsessed, it's gonna be a movie....

Sigh.....I love Edward...the actor that's going to play him in the movie, played Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire movie.

November 21 can't come soon enough!

True Blood

Do you watch this show? If not, you should! It's another one of my guilty pleasures. Kinda like Nip/Tuck, only scarier. I learned an important lesson about watching this show last night. I knew I only had to get Turkey Butt to school this morning, and I was really gambling on the fact that Sweet Pea would be feeling better and would sleep through the night. I crawled into bed about 10:15, I was tired, but about 10:30, True Blood came on. Normally, Daddy Dearest and I watch it together, but he had to leave yesterday for work. I decided to go ahead and watch it, after all, I wouldn't have to get up at my regular go to work time. It was a very good episode, was thorougly entertained. At 11:30, I turned the TV off, rolled over and prepared myself for slumber. It didn't happen. I swear my mind was freaking me out. I kept hearing things and I just couldn't settle my mind down to go to sleep. Finally it happened, but it was a long hard fight.

Note to self, only watch this show when your husband is home.....

More About School, According to Turkey Butt

It seems most of our conversations lately have been about school. Let's just say that I am very intrigued by TB's views and thoughts about school. Tonight, our conversation turned to the best thing about school. "Mama, you know what the best thing about school is?" I must admit, I kinda got excited! I love hearing what kids love about school. However, this response was less than desirable....

"Leaving"

You've got to be kidding me!

Sweet Pea is still sick. Her fever at 5:30 this morning was 103.4. I nearly freaked out! We did the lukewarm bath and it started to go down pretty fast. We went to Acute Kids, the rapid strep test was negative, but they gave us a prescription and told us they'd let us know about the strep culture in 2-3 days. Lovely, huh? Sweet Pea and I are going to spend the day at home doing laundry and all kinds of fun house picking up stuff. I know she can hardly wait! I'm hoping she's feeling better and not having many of those crazy, make myself go limp and fall on the floor fits....those are my favorite!

The Hardest Thing About School, According to Turkey Butt

Last night, as we were finishing up the bath and getting ready to read, Turkey Butt turned to me with a serious look on his face. He said, "Mom, you know what the hardest thing about school is?" Thinking it was going to be handwriting or walking in straight lines, I said, "No, honey, what is it?" Dead on serious, he looked at me and said..........

"Listening"

Oh Lord, what are we up against with this one??

I had my two biopsies today. Lidocaine is good stuff, til it wears off. I should know something in a week or so.
Sweet Pea woke up with fever, so she spent the day with DD. She's still running fever tonight and she's slept a lot. I'm hoping tomorrow will be better or we may end up at Acute Kids Care. Keeping my fingers crossed!

I Am Whipped

I am dog tired and my brain is dead.... Teaching 3rd graders to subtract and borrow is worse than labor pains. Just when you think they've got it, they go and make some silly little mistake. By 2:50 today, I could barely walk down the hall....it was scary!
Guess what? Daddy Dearest wants to host a Halloween Party! I said, great fun, I'm up for it if you can figure out something to do with the kiddos. Tonight, he said that he hadn't come up with a plan, so it would have to be a kids included party....darn it, I like the grown-up party idea much better!

A New Widget...

I do love those Nickelback boys....I can hardly wait 'til they announce their next US tour. I WILL BE THERE...with or without my dear husband! Anyways, I was doing my nightly decompression, this is my time to just sit and surf and not respond to emails or think about anything that requires thought (plus I am PMS'ing in a BIG way) and I headed over to the Nickelback site and guess what??? they are giving away a free download of their new song, 'Gotta Be Somebody', I had heard it earlier today and I already LOVE it... I downloaded and put it right in my favorites on my mp3 player. Next, I found the Nickelback widget, it tried to place itself at the top and I really didn't want that, so I moved it down a few places! Now, while you're checking my blog, you can check out my boys! The new album comes out in November, I can hardly wait!!!!

In other news, Turkey Butt has had several meltdowns and cases of the uglies tonight. He told me I was ugly and proceeded to tell me "I'm outta here, mama!". Um, OK. I decided that maybe our sweet lil angel needed some extra sleep (plus I'm PMS'ing, ask my hubby). So this favorite child earned himself a bedtime of 6:45 pm. He even hit the sack before Sweet Pea. Hopefully, this consequence will help the eldest to choose his word a little more carefully!

Oktoberfest

Normally, when anything happens in Downtown McKinney, we stay away. We learned our lesson two years ago at Scare on the Square. It was one looooooong continuous line of kiddos moving around the Square trick-or-treating. This was a truly scary experience. We got very little enjoyment out of the deal! Turkey Butt remembers it, and he thought it was loads of fun. Good thing he never knows exactly when the next Scare on the Square is!


This weekend was Oktberfest, like I said I normally don't venture towards downtown when events are happening. However, this weekend was an exception. I despise football season at our house. The only game I'll watch is one that I in the stadium seat at. Daddy Dearest's world revolves around college football. Not wanting to be subjected to random profanities and loud yelling, we decided to get out of the house. One of my friends decided to join us. Her husband was busy this weekend, and I think she was craving some adult company (Lord knows I can sympathize with that).


We met downtown about 3 and she was already in line for face painting, so we got to join in with her. About an hour later, it was our turn. Turkey Butt almost had a meltdown because I didn't want to shell out $15 for the design he wanted. Never mind the fact that we already had a $14 string puppet panda. We managed to compromise and he settled on a scary red dragon! The girls decided on cute kitty cats and butterflies. Sweet Pea didn't have the opportunity to participate as I am sure she would not have been very cooperative during the process!







After face painting, we created some beautiful fall art. TB is quite the artist.

Next, we made the rounds and climbed on the fire trucks. My favorite was the one from Margaritaville Fire Department!

After a brief visit to the bounce house (it's just too hot, said TB) we stopped at Mom and Pop Corn Company for yummy popcorn. Gotta love fall and carmel corn!

Our last stop was a pony ride. Turkey Butt was a big boy and rode all by himself. He thinks next time he visits Aunt 'Lissa's he can ride a 'big horse' by himself. We'll have to see about that!

We really had a good time. There were a lot of people, but it wasn't so bad that I wouldn't do it again! In fact, I think we're planning on going back for Dickens of a Christmas in November!

To Cut or Not to Cut

Poor Sweet Pea! Her mommy and daddy were not blessed with great hair. Daddy Dearest has hair that is OK, not real thick and a few random cow-licks here and there. Me, my hair is not so fabulous...I try to grow it out and then I cut it off. It's really fine and pretty thin, and it has a mind of it's own. I have, however found a new hair stylist that I think I'm gonna love....So, right now it's short and got some good highlights that keep it from looking mousy and dull. My little sister, she has FABULOUS hair...long, thick, strawberry blonde...secretly, I hate her! Damn gene pool sucks! Back to the point, SP has been looking kinda shaggy lately.


A couple of months ago, I trimmed her bangs and she looked much better, but now we're at a turning point. She almost has enough hair to have little pig tails, that would be darn cute, right?? I'm just not sure that I can continue to let it grow. It's really fine and it flips out and her bangs hang in her eyes. If I put a clip in it, as soon as she realizes it, out it comes. Ideally, I would love see her have a cute little bob that would sport little clips and bows. Or, I could see her having little pig tails and braids...adorable right? Turkey Butt has it so easy, we just get it cut and spike it up, DONE! Oh the agony, I don't want my child to have bad hair like her mama!

Easily Amused, Yep, That's Me

OK, not in the mood for anything that requires too much thought tonight, so check this out...

My personal fave

I'm not sure why I find the lolcatz so funny, but I do! If you enjoy them, go here. Happy Friday!

YEP!

To answer the previous question, Yes, DD did notice AND it only took him about 15 minutes!

Do You Think He'll Notice??

So, Daddy Dearest is in California this week for work. He's sent pictures and messages telling me how close how close he is to Disney Land. Tonight, he's dining somewhere in Laguna Beach. He even called to tell me that he is sitting right next to the winner of season 3 of I Wanna Be a Soap star. Damn, he's lucky, huh???

The kiddos and I are here to fend for ourselves this week and it's been a crazy already. I allowed myself to stay in bed 15 extra minutes and wound up at work 5 minutes late. I took Turkey Butt to the dermatologist with Sweet Pea and myself. THAT was fun! The doctor wanted to check me out, so here I am chasing two kids around the procedure room in a paper gown that doesn't tie in the back. Lovely image, I know... Sweet Pea has a mild case of Keratosis Pilaris that should be easily treated. I need to have a biopsy or two, so I chose to schedule an additional appointment when DD will be home to watch the two terrors.

Anyways, fairly normal evening, Sweet Pea went down good and Turkey Butt and I were about ready to head upstairs to do our 15 minutes of mandatory kindergarten reading when the doorbell rang. I answered it to find this wonderful lady who sells art for the model homes. She brings the extras by the neighborhood and sells it at a VERY reasonable price. I couldn't resist! If it's good enough for a model home, why shouldn't I have some??? So, I picked out a couple and I already hung 'em on the wall. I am not going to say anything, how long do you think it will take DD to notice??

By the back door

As you walk into the living area....

I know I still have some work to do, maybe some sconces or something, but it's a start, right??

Making the Most of Our Insurance

We've had several insurance issues (I won't bore you with them), but now, all is resolved and there are no pre-existing condition limitations. We're working to get in all those appointments that we've been holding out on. Friday, we took Turkey Butt to the ENT. He has horrible ear troubles. He's on his second set of tubes. In May, he developed a bacterial infection in his ears. It was the worst. He had to have his ears suctioned several times by the 'vacuum cleaner', OMG, it seriously takes about 5 people to hold him down, he literally freaks out. It breaks my heart! To clear up the bacterial infection, we had to do an anti-fungal medicine in his ears 3 times a day for THIRTY days. That was fun. Everyday, I struggled to remember how many times I had done this....totally sucked, but it cleared up the infection! So our visit Friday was just to check up on things....he's got a little bit of fluid that we're hoping steroid drops will clear up. We'll follow up in October & have some allergy testing for Turkey Butt and Daddy Dearest, lucky them! Today, TB had a podiatrist appointment. He rolls in on his ankles when he walks. This was a fairly easy visit (depending on how the insurance pays), he'll need orthodic inserts and we have to do daily stretches to lengthen his Achilles tendon.

Tomorrow, Sweet Pea and myself are heading to the dermatologist. She has a rash on her face, legs, and arms. I've been trying to treat it with 'over-the-counter' stuff, but it hasn't been very effective. The pediatrician gave us a steroid cream that really didn't help too much either, not to mention that I'm not so crazy about using any kind of steroid for a long period of time. I have a couple of 'growths' (aka moles) that I want to have checked. I'm pretty sure it's not going to be a fun visit for me. Skin cancer is pretty prominent in my family and I've only been avoiding what is there for as long as I can. I wear sunscreen, but my past sun exposure , tanning beds, and excessive burns probably haven't helped my case. It's most likely not going to be a fun day, but I promise, I've learned my lesson!

Another Skinny Boy Post

OK, I'm not quite sure what my obsession with skinny boys is lately. Here's another one:

I'll be the first to admit that he's not the most attractive person out there. However, there is something appealing about this one..... I found myself glued to the swimming during the Olympics. I tivo'd Oprah so I wouldn't miss him. I caught him during the VMA's and I tivo'd and saved Saturday Night Live so I could watch it repeatedly (if needed;o]). He seems to be a good boy and he loves his Momma. If he can resist all the temptations that fame has to offer, he'll make somebody a good husband!

And, just so y'all know I LOOOOVE my husband and I personally think he is HAWTER than Michael Phelps and Adam Levine ;-)~

Stalkers Needed

I am a blog stalker, I don't have a problem admitting that I stalk several blogs on a regular basis. However, I just won't tell you which ones I stalk! Blogger has a new gadget that allows you to follow blogs. A few of my favorite bloggers (like this one and this one) added this gadget to their page and now I follow them. I added the gadget to my page, but no one is following me....come on people, where's the love????

OOOOOOOOH My Feet

Anyone who knows anything about me knows that my feet hurt all the time! I was diagnosed with plantar fascitis after having Sweet Pea. If I have been sitting too long, I hobble around; when I get up in the morning, it takes about 5 minutes for me to start walking normally; I ache after wearing flip flops to the pool; I have orthodics..... I could go on and on! I really have to chose my shoes very carefully. I have several pairs that are killing my feet by 9 am, not a good way to spend the day, huh? Those shoes remain dormant in my closet. It's also no secret that I have big feet, really big feet. Before I had Turkey Butt, my feet were a size 9 1/2. Still not small and impossibly hard to find shoes in this size. After Turkey Butt, size 10. After Sweet Pea, size 11. I refuse to walk into Dillard's or Macy's and ask them for any shoe in my size, they look at me like I've lost my mind. And most times, they don't carry my size in more than a handful of styles. There are only a couple of places that I will shop for shoes. Mostly I shop online, just because I don't have to be humiliated to ask for a size 11. Zappos is great, so is Shoebuy. Last week I ordered my standard pair of black shoes and brown shoes for 'back to school'. I got these:

I wore the black ones today...they were ok, my feet were tired and a little sore at the end of the day, but my freakin' heel kept slipping out when I walked, ugh. Pretty sure Shoebuy doesn't want them back after I have had them on all day, through fire drills, rain, car rider duty, and several trips through the building! I bought some heel thingy, but I don't think that's going to help... I am hoping that since the brown ones have a strap, they'll stay on AND be comfortable (would that be asking too much??).
What has my life come to that I post about choosing shoes?? I'm not even blogging about cute, hot heels, or designer pumps, nope, I'm posting about finding the most comfortable shoes I can and trying maintain some sense of style. Ugh, I feel old!

I did buy Sweet Pea a pair of cute little Crocs.

They are darn cute, she hasn't quite mastered walking in shoes, but we're working on that. She's outgrown her Clark's so I've got to get out and find her some shoes that will be more appropriate for fall! These are fall shoes, dontcha think??