Adventures of a Stay at Home Mom

Don't call CPS!

2009-06-02T17:16:00.002-05:00

In case you happen to see my son...really, we didn't do it. Although that is the typical excuse parents have, in this case it is true. In fact, sister did it. She'll tell you she did. He'll tell you she did it too. So, if you happen to see him anytime soon just know that his first ever black eye was because his sister hit him with a "C" battery straight to the eye and NOT because we are abusing our son in any way. And while this may be the last time she'll give him a black eye (then again, maybe not) something tells me that this won't be his last! In the meantime, though, please don't call CPS on us!

The Panty Wars

2009-05-28T09:35:00.002-05:00

So we all know how mean girls can me. They even made a movie about it, right? But that was about high school girls. When do these cute little girls become "mean girls"? High School? Middle school? My mom, a 3rd grade teacher, will be the first to tell you that she's seen how girls can be as early as 3rd grade. But how about a 3-4 year old class? Yep.

This week is the last week of school for many kids, including Gabriella's preschool class. As far as she's told me, she's enjoyed it. She's made friends, but has pretty much stuck herself to one little girl all year. Tuesday, however, when I picked her up I could tell she was upset. As I asked her about her day she told me that some of the girls didn't want to play with her. She proceeded to tell me they said they didn't want to play with her because she didn't have the same kind of panties as they did! Of course, my initial thought was "Why is everybody showing each other their undergarments?" Apparently the girls asked each other what they were wearing. The others were wearing princess, but Gabriella told them she had on Dora panties. (Silly mom for thinking she could just put on the first pair I grabbed out of her drawer...what was I thinking?) So because she was honest and said she had Dora, they didn't want to play with her that day. And it must have been bad enough because she said the teacher had to tell them to stop teasing. Of course we talked about how that was not nice that they were teasing her and we shouldn't tease people...all that good parenting stuff. But then after dinner she and I took a trip to Wal-Mart to buy her some new panties. Hannah Montana to be exact, since she's the "big deal" among Gabriella's preschool class.

Wednesday she went to school wearing her new Hannah Montana undergarments. After school she told me that she told her friends she had Hannah Montana ones. These girls were not too impressed. They told her they didn't have any and that that was cool, but they still didn't want to play with her. Her one little girl friend did play with her,though, and Gabriella was fine with that. So, today was the last day of preschool. I sent her to school in a cute dress and curled her hair. (Because I wanted to, nothing to do with those mean girls.) And under her dress, Gabriella wore another pair of Hannah Montana undergarments. (Yes, because of the girls!)

I walked her to the playground where her class was and watched her, even though she didn't know I was watching her. There, at the door, were 3 little girls from her class. And let me tell you they looked at Gabriella like "Who do you think you are?" and gave her a 4 -year old version of the mean girl glare. Well, Gabriella, who is timid at school but no where else, walked right through them with a "Get out of my way" attitude. She turned the corner and there was her little friend who Gabriella immediately said hi to. She didn't even let the other girls get under her skin! I was so proud. Her little friend smiled and said "Woohoo Gabriella!" Gabriella responded with, "Thanks, my mom got me this dress," as she flicked back her hair in such a prissy way. The last glimpse I got of her was her leaning one hand on the wall and the other hand on her hip with the ever famous Gabriella attitude and a smile on her face. I, too, was smiling as I walked back to the car. I'm glad she stood up for herself, in a 4 year old way at least! And if it took Hannah Montana panties for her to gain a little confidence, then it was worth the $4.

So to all you moms with daughters- brace yourself. I can already tell it's going to be a long, bumpy road! Mean girls at preschool...who would have thought? And to think, I have about 14 more years of this!

Happy (Late) Birthday!

2009-05-14T21:22:00.010-05:00

Yeah, yeah, I know. I need to start getting better about blogging. We have been a little busy lately. In fact we have had 2 birthdays in our home since my last blog. On April 22, Gabriella turned 4. How time flies! I remember her as an infant and wondering if I could handle her going through the "terrible twos and threes" and potty training. (No, we are still in that "terrible" phase and yes, we got through potty training. 1 out of 2 isn't bad...) But it has been a fun and exciting 4 years! I really enjoy having a girl to be girly with. We have our rough moments, but we also have many good ones. She's the one who loves to snuggle with me, the one I dance with, tell stories to, have makeovers with, and helps when I'm baking. We also make up silly songs together, play dress up together and both enjoy watching movies! I see many mom-daughter spa days in our future! I have also celebrated a birthday. I am not mentioning it to gain attention, but rather to admit that I am no longer in my twenties. :( It was a sad day and one that went by with no big deal, thank goodness. I guess I feel if I can admit it then maybe I'll accept it. Anyway, here are a few birthday pictures. No, none of me. I figured everyone would rather see the cuties at Gabriella's party instead of the 30 year old mom!

Once again we had her party at Bear Castle. What more can a little girl ask for? Stuffed animals, dress up, tea party, cupcakes....even a REAL princess! Yep, Sleeping Beauty attended her party. Here is a "before" and "after" shot of the birthday girl and

her little brother. She could have stayed in that dress up all day. His, on the other hand, came off

about 10 seconds after this picture was taken!

After dressing up, taking pictures, stuffing an animal of their choice and walking in a parade down the hall of the shopping mall, they sat down to enjoy a tea party...of cupcakes and Sprite. Her buddy, Ethan, was the 1st one to grab a seat next to the princess! Look how excited he is to be there. What a cutie!

It was a fun day and she thought she was a princess for a week after that! Oh, wait, she always thinks she's a princess! Or like she says, "A little princess with a BIG attitude!" Well, girl, I hope you will always be a princess, now the attitude thing.... that's another story!

Better Late than Never...

2009-04-12T17:36:00.017-05:00

It's hard to believe that two weeks ago Eric and I were coming back from Las Vegas. I have been meaning to post about the trip, but have been so busy since we got back that I haven't had a chance to post until now. Here's where I get to brag about my husband for a little bit. The reason for the trip is because each year AT&T honors their top employees. By 'top' I mean only the top 3% of employees are invited to attend the awards trip. Honorees have to meet several different criteria, one being sales. Fortunately for us, Eric is #1 in sales at his office and has been for a while now. He may not sell ice to Eskimos, but he has sold DSL to those who don't even have a computer. (True story!) Because of all his hard work, this was the second year in a row for him to be recognized as an AT&T Circle of Excellence winner. Last year each region recognized their own winners separately and our trip was to the Hyatt Regency Hill Country in San Antonio. That was very nice and a great trip, but nothing compared to this year. This year the company flew all the winners to Vegas for an all expense paid weekend to the Wynn Resort. And by "all expense paid", I mean from Friday-Sunday all winners and their guests didn't have to pay for a thing, except personal spending money. And even on Saturday night, they gave everyone some spending money! Airfare, hotel, gratuities, meals...all taken care of. And it was NICE not having to worry about a thing or a little person running around!

But let me back up for a minute. Eric and I decided to get there a day early to do what we wanted to do- shop! So we arrived in Vegas on Thursday afternoon and checked in at Excalibur. (Since we got there a day early we had to foot the hotel bill that first night & decided to find a cheap room.) When we checked in, we were told that we were being upgraded to a suite! Woo-hoo! We had a separate living area and even had a whirlpool tub in our room. And after all the shopping we did at the outlets that day, I sure did use the whirlpool to relax that night! Afterwards, we decided that since the rest of the trip was paid for, we could splurge a bit and have dinner at Gallagher's Steakhouse in New York New York. Eric remembered walking by it the last time we were in Vegas. He also is a Letterman fan and had to try this place since Letterman talks about the one in NYC all the time. Here is a picture outside the restaurant. Seriously, the steaks were that big! Everything was wonderful and all the portions were huge. I was so glad that we were in Vegas because afterwards we got to walk everything off.
On Friday we checked into the Wynn...right at the time that ALL the AT&T winners were checking in too. This year, instead of dividing up by region, winners from all over the country were together. Of course, we happen to get into the line where the computer was down. Every time the lady tried to check us in her computer would shut down. Those around us who had been on a plane all morning were angry and frustrated. Fortunately for us we had a whirlpool to relax us the night before so we were actually patient while waiting. Our patience paid off because when we were finally able to check in we were upgraded to room with a beautiful view. While most of the company guests were on the first 20 floors we were on the 58th! Seriously, my ears would pop each time I was in the elevator.

Check out the view from our room! The entire wall was a window. When Treasure Island would do its show at night, the people crowded around to see it looked like ants. Of course the view was even more beautiful at night, but I couldn't get a good picture through the window. The room itself was beautiful, too. There was a bathtub that I took advantage of (I got to take the bubble bath, not give one to kids this time) and did I mention there was a flat screen TV in the bathroom that I was watching while in the tub? I also enjoyed how every time housekeeping left they would leave their comfy slippers right next to your bed. I could have stayed in the room all weekend, except we were in Vegas...hello!

So, that first night was the award ceremony followed by the banquet/dance. Here is Eric accepting his award from his 'team's' VP. I think there were like 6-8 different award ceremonies going on in different rooms all divided by which 'team' you were on. Eric's office actually had 5 other reps, 2 managers and their area manager who qualified for this team, too. It was fun. We got to meet other team people from all over- Florida, Connecticut, Illinois. Then all groups combined for the banquet and dance. I think I heard there were about 1200 people in the banquet hall.

Then Saturday after breakfast, all winners and their guests got to go on a pre-selected excursion. Eric and I chose to go on a raft ride down the Colorado River. We figured that was something we probably wouldn't choose to do on our own, so why not? It was a 3 hour tour on a motorized raft (no rapids). It was a cool day, but very HOT during the tour. But it was beautiful! After the raft ride we headed back to the hotel and got to drive over the Hoover Dam. We didn't get to get down, but we still got to see the Dam which was still so cool.

So...basically that was our Vegas trip. We had Saturday night free- with spending money! I was determined to see how fun the slots can be. My third time in Vegas and I had never gambled before! My first try I told Eric that it felt like literally throwing money in the garbage. So I went for the lower value slots and got bored after 10 minutes. So that was my gambling experience and it confirmed that I am not a gambler! But I still enjoy Vegas. I enjoyed getting away with my husband and spending time alone without having to worry about getting back home to put the kids to bed. I enjoyed not having to worry about the kids. I love them so much and missed them, but being a SAHM is a 24-hour job so it was nice to get away. I enjoyed being able to take a loooong bath without interruptions and not having to cook or clean. I even enjoyed the noise of the casinos. At least it wasn't the sound of cries, screams and yells of my 2 kids fighting! To all my moms reading this to take time to get away without kids once in a while, if you can. I came back relaxed and stress free...even if it only lasted a few days! And to my husband- I had a great time! Thanks for all the hard work you do for our family. You totally deserved this trip and deserve many more to come!

TGIF....or not!

2009-03-13T21:31:00.003-05:00

So, what are you doing this Friday night? Relaxing after a long week? Snuggling next to your loved ones on the couch for a movie? On a date with your significant other? Or maybe taking your family for a weekend getaway? Nope, not me! Let's see, a SAHM mom's work is never done. We get no vacation or sick days and our job doesn't end at 5pm.

First off, this morning I had to get our flat fixed. Last night upon returning home apparently we got a flat tire. Because of the cold weather, though, we had no plans to go anywhere today, so it didn't put a damper on any plans. Plus, we have AT&T Roadside Assistance on our phone and they quickly came to fix it. Thank goodness.*Weird coincidence #1- A few months ago I had a flat (different tire) and called Roadside. The same man that fixed my flat then, fixed my flat today! Weird. Not bad, just a little strange.

So, aside from that, today was a long day and I just couldn't wait for the day to come to an end so I could relax and watch TV or turn in early. Eric left to hang out with a friend and I was looking forward to taking a shower and putting the kids to bed. As I'm gathering things for bath time, Caden walks out of my room and SLAMS the door! (Remember, this kid loves slamming doors...) As soon as I heard the door slam, I knew he had locked it first. Sure enough I walk to open the door and it is locked. There is no way to take the doorknob off or anything. (Really. This has happened before- same door only the kids were inside and were too young to know how to unlock it. I tried everything before calling the locksmith.) So, once again, I call the locksmith. *Weird coincidence #2- The SAME guy that unlocked the same door last time, unlocked the door today! I mean, really...is this town just this small or what?!

So now I am ready for this day to end! This has just been a very long and weird day. I guess throughout it all, God has a sense of humor in sending these same people to help me with the same problems! I'm sure both of those guys are thinking why didn't I learn my lesson the first time. Anyway, I think I deserve to order a movie On Demand tonight. Good night and hope the rest of you are having a better Friday than I am!

The Saga of the Missing Rings

2009-02-18T18:01:00.002-06:00

This morning as I headed out to take Gabriella to school, I went to grab my wedding rings and put them on. They weren't there. I always put them on this glass shelf we have in the living room. I was in a hurry so didn't have time to look for them. I asked Gabriella about it and she said that Caden had gotten them and hid them in the pillows- meaning the sofa pillows. So when I got back home I started looking. Nope, not in the sofa cushions or anywhere on the floor of the living room. That began a hunt all throughout the house that lasted all morning and afternoon!

Living room drawers: Nothing
Kitchen cabinets and drawers: Nothing there either, but I probably need to reorganize those...
Bathrooms: Nothing...please don't tell me they flushed them!!
Computer Room: Nothing, but it could use a little straightening. Too bad I don't have time, since I'm looking for my rings....!

Then I asked Gabriella again. Where are mommy's rings? They are very special rings that daddy gave mommy. She proceeded to tell me that yesterday when she was watching a kid show that Caden climbed the sofa and got them. "I told him 'no' three times, mommy." Then she said he put them on. I asked her what he did with them next, but she didn't know. So, now, according to my 3 year old, Caden took them and was the last one with them. So, I'm thinking they have to be somewhere downstairs. How could he have made it upstairs with them without them falling off? So my search continues:

Under sofa (required me to take apart the bottom of the sofa): 2 pencils, a Neo-pet that used to belong to my niece, a Tech pin, Eric's iPhone stand, a necklace and Gabriella's pink sunglasses, but NO rings
Kitchen trash: Not my favorite moment and still NO rings!
Caden's room: I don't know if he brought them upstairs, but it doesn't hurt to look. Nothing in dresser drawers, under bed, in closet or any corner in that room. I am running out of rooms now!
Gabriella's room: Nothing in her drawers, closet, under bed, or in toy bins. Nothing mixed with her doll clothes or in jewelry box. Nothing in her dress up clothes or with hats & scarves. (Sheesh, this girl likes to accessorize!) How about her purses? Nope, nothing there. Wait, here's a purse that's out of place. Let me look in before I put it where it goes....Well what do you know?! Yep...rings!!!

I have spent ALL morning and afternoon searching for rings that I believed my son took and put away somewhere and it turns out that big sister was the culprit here. I let her "find" them in her purse. She was a little surprised. How did they get there Gabriella? I may never know. Gabriella claims Caden put them there. I asked Caden and he already covers for his sister because he said he did it. Anyway, I found my rings and that's what matters. I did not do laundry, cleaning or anything productive today. Another day in the life...!

How was your weekend??

2009-02-10T10:23:00.007-06:00

How was your weekend? Hopefully it was better than ours! This past weekend Eric was actually off on Saturday so he wanted to go to Lubbock. We couldn't leave until he got off work on Friday and by the time we were ready to leave it was already around 9pm. Our trip was fine and we arrived to Lubbock around 11pm. Of course the kids were excited to Grandma and Grandpa as well as Dexter (the 'grand' dog that didn't get to make the move to Arizona with the rest of my brother's family). Eric had also planned on meeting up with his brother so the kids were even more riled up when Marc got there. Needless to say bedtime was off to a late start! So Eric took off with Marc and around 12:30am we were laying down in bed, lights off, TV on quietly. Caden was walking back and forth between our bed and my parent's room deciding where the best place to hang out was. When he decided our room was better since I at least had the TV on, I told him to close the door. Now, on a side note, Gabriella and Caden are constantly wanting to out-do each other. If I ask one of them to do something, they argue over who is going to do it. It is nice that they both want to help however it does cause many arguments and frustration. For example:

Gabriella: "I want to close the door!"

Caden: "No! I close door, Ella!"

Gabriella: (headed towards door) "No! I want to do it!"

Caden: (almost at door) "I do it!"

Gabriella: (also at door now) "No, Caden, I..."

And that was it. She didn't finish her sentence because the next sound I heard was SLAM!!! Then there was crying. Remember, it is dark so for the first few seconds I'm wondering who is hurt here. It was Gabriella. She comes to the bed and I reach to comfort her thinking she got banged on her leg or head. As dark as it was, as she came closer I could still see the blood on her mouth. I rushed her to the bathroom to see how bad it was. I am thinking at this point that a tooth may have been knocked out. In the bathroom I see the inside of her lip banged up and bleeding. I stayed calm and started to clean her mouth. That's when I saw the cut on her bottom lip- it wasn't big, but it was deep! I yelled for my mom. If you know my mom you know she's hard of hearing so she came around on the 3rd yell. As soon as she saw it she predicted Gabriella would need stitches. I didn't second guess that. So, my mom and I changed out of our pajamas while my dad cleaned up Gabriella. By this time she wasn't crying anymore. I explained to her that we were going to the doctor so that he could fix the cut on her lip. Then I realized I needed to call Eric. He didn't answer so I left him a message that we were headed to the ER and asking if he wanted to come too or stay and put Caden to sleep. Luckily he was able to stay with Caden because Caden was crying when we left. Around 1am we were in the car driving to the ER.

I was worried that Gabriella would get fussy since she was tired and it was so late or that she'd fall asleep, but they'd have to wake her to see her. And waking her up would not be fun! We got to the Children's ER and luckily they had a TV showing Disney Channel. That kept her entertained. We also brought her blankets and I was smart enough to remember to bring my earplugs for my iPhone in case she wanted to listen to music or play games on it. Around 2am we were taken back to be examined by the doctor and nurse. And yes, it was going to be stitches. Eric was afraid they'd give her a big shot and that she would be in pain. Instead, they put some blue stuff on a cotton ball and taped the cotton ball to her lip. They said it would numb her lip and it would take about 30 minutes to work. So, she laid there as I applied a little pressure to the cotton ball and watched Little Einsteins on my phone. Throughout this entire time, she never fussed, cried, complained or anything. I could tell she was nervous, but she NEVER cried and even stayed awake the whole time. Everytime the nurse or doctor would check on her or looked at her lip, she sat or laid completely still and let them do what they needed to do. I was really proud of how brave she was. Anyway, 30 minutes later, it was time for the stitches. Gabriella was fine. I think I was more nervous. They laid her down and began. 3 stitches later, she never moved, never cried, never complained and was done. The nurses and doctor told her how good she did.

Around 3;30am I was finally in bed. Gabriella had fallen asleep almost as soon as she got in the car! The next day ended up being a "Gabriella Day". We told her she could pick a treat and she wanted to go to Bear Castle. So Eric and I took her to Bear Castle where she picked out a purple unicorn dressed in scrubs to remember her experience. She didn't want the day to be over yet and sweet talked daddy into taking her for ice cream. So, that was our weekend in Lubbock! She is fine now and she gets them out on Thursday. Keep her in your prayers and we'll update on her progress!

Goodbye Mr. President

2009-01-23T20:27:00.008-06:00

2009 has brought forth major changes in our country already. We said goodbye to one President and welcomed in another. I'm not a political person, but I guess I did get caught up in all the patriotism this week. We began our inauguration viewing on Monday as Gabriella and I watched the Kids Inauguration event on Disney. For those wondering what Miley Cyrus and Jonas Brothers have to do with the inauguration, the show was actually pretty good! Except, Mr. Jamie Foxx, the quote is "Ask not what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country." Oops, guess those cue cards were reversed! But overall it was entertaining to both me and my 3 year old and not many shows can do that.

On Tuesday, I wasn't fortunate enough to witness the inauguration in person, however, I did watch the swearing in and other events on TV. Maybe you don't agree with Bush, but it was a big day to say bye to our nation's leader. And maybe you didn't vote for Obama, but witnessing our country's first black President get sworn in was definitely a historical day! Now, like I said I am NOT a political person. I do vote, but I don't get involved in politics. My husband will watch CNN all day if he could. And my mom loves MSNBC. My poor dad has had no choice but to watch the campaigning, election news, and such for the last several months! For me, though, anything 'political' is not really my cup of tea. However, on Tuesday, Gabriella and I DID attend President Bush's homecoming in Midland.

When I first heard he was coming, I really wasn't too interested. I picked up a free ticket they were giving away, but I didn't think I would actually go. Maybe it was the excitement of the inauguration or the Disney show I watched the night before, but when I woke up on Tuesday I suddenly wanted to at least try to go. I mean, how often does a President (especially one so recent) visit your area?? And since we live only 20 miles away I really wanted to attempt to go. So, I left Caden with my grandma and decided to take Gabriella with me for company. I knew they were expecting about 20,000 people so I thought if we can't get in, then that's ok, at least we tried. When we got to Midland, though, everything was so well organized. The parking lots were cleared so we didn't have to park too far. In fact, right when we got there another mom and her son were just arriving, so we kind of 'hung out' throughout the event. The line to get in was moving fast, so we got in pretty quickly. There was already a large crowd, but I was determined to find a good spot. So, me, Gabriella in her stroller, the other mom (I never got her name!) and her son in his stroller headed straight into the crowd attempting to get as close as we possibly could. Have you ever pushed a stroller in a crowd?! Yeah. Not easy or fun. People were getting annoyed, but the majority were helpful and let us through. Luckily we found a spot. Not that close, but we did have a way better view than we did before, so we set up camp. We had a good view of one of the big screens they had set up and if you squinted we could see the podium. At this point I was surprised at myself for actually making it out there for this event. But once I was there it was actually fun! They passed out little flags and cardboard red, white and blue "W"s. Gabriella enjoyed playing with the flags and holding up her W when everyone else did. Lee Greenwood, the Gatlin Brothers and Rodney Atkins performed. I thought the music would be Gabriella's favorite part, but since that coincided with nap time, poor girl fell asleep during all the loud music! Of course she woke up when we were waiting for President Bush to get there... As we waited the audience was told that his plane was going to fly over the crowd before he landed. I stood there with my camcorder zoomed into the sky. No one expected how close to the crowd his plane would actually fly! I couldn't zoom out fast enough! Shortly after, the Bush's arrived- right when I had a cranky 3 year old wake up. She did pretty good, however, I was trying to video President Bush (on my tip toes so I could zoom in on him and Laura Bush) while dealing with Gabriella in her stroller. So, the video came out shaky. Eric tried to watch it later that night, but was a little frustrated at my camera skills. Personally, I think he was just a little jealous that he couldn't be there! Overall, though, it was actually fun. I found myself waving at Bush when he waved at the crowd. Like he was really going to see me in a crowd of 30,000!

And maybe you don't agree with Bush's administration, but it was fun to welcome home a fellow Texan. It was neat to be a part of Bush's first moments as a "former" President. And it was so cool too look around the crowd and see the diversity of people that were there. Babies, senior citizens, students, men, women, all ethnicities...putting aside all their differences to take part in this special event. There may never be another President from this area in my lifetime. So to be there, in the same town, same place with a former leader of the U.S. will definitely be a day I'll remember. And even though Gabriella is too young to understand and even fell asleep during the rally, at least she can grow up and say that she 'saw' a President in person. Hopefully she'll appreciate how I wanted her to be a part of something special. So, goodbye President Bush and hello President Obama.

Little Drummer Boy

2009-01-13T18:13:00.002-06:00

No, the little drummer boy is NOT my brother-in-law! It's out little guy. In case you haven't seen it, here is a video my brother-in-law posted a while back. Caden LOVES the drums. My favorite part is when he walks away. It's like he's saying "I'm done. Did what I needed to do and I'm outta here!"

Anyway, keep our little drummer boy in prayer today. He has an ear infection. This isn't our first. Unfortunately it's hard to know that he has one. He doesn't act sick, run a fever or pull on his ears. Last night, though, he couldn't go to bed because every time he laid on his left ear he cried and said it hurt. Of course, he blamed it on Gabriella- saying she hit him! But there was no evidence of that. Since he was hurting I gave him Tylenol. Poor baby, kept waking up at night saying his ear hurt and asking for more medicine! Then this morning he was running a fever, which he never has before. So, sure enough- ear infection! He does have antibiotics now, but he obviously doesn't feel well. So keep him in your prayers. TIA!

Looking back at 2008...

2009-01-07T09:58:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's. As we all know, with the new year comes New Year's resolutions! I am not a big fan of resolutions, but I did make one this year. And my resolution this year is to blog more. A friend of mine recently started one and has already blogged more than I did all year! So, to start off the year this blog is just looking back on a few of our family experiences in 2008.

In June, Gabriella took her first dance class ever! It was a tap/ballet combo and she loved it. Of course if anyone knows me then they'll know how excited that made ME. Here is a picture of her on her first day of class. She is still taking a ballet/tap combo class and will have her first BIG recital in May.
In July, we took our 1st family vacation! It was a big deal for us because we had TWO little ones and one LONG drive. But it went well! We drove 10 hours to Houston (Katy) to spend some time with my nephew and nieces. They have always lived in another town so I LOVE getting to spend time with them when I get the chance. It seems just like yesterday when my nephew, Caleb, was born and now he's 14! And of course Gabriella got to spend time with Caitlin and Chloe. I never thought my kids and my brother's kids would ever be close since my brother and I are 9 years apart. Luckily, the younger ones are close in age and play very well together. And Caleb and Caitlin are great with my little ones so it's just a blast when we get together. After spending time with them we headed to San Antonio for a few days of fun at Sea World and the San Antonio Zoo. Our first day we tried to go to the zoo, but we were tired from the 3 hour drive to San Antonio and it was hot! The kids were tired and cranky so after an hour we called it quits and checked into our hotel. Gabriella was so excited when we got to the hotel room. She thought it was the coolest place. Both of the kids also enjoyed the whirlpool tub we had in our room. They thought it was their own personal swimming pool! We spent 2 full days at Sea World and the kids had a blast. They enjoyed feeding the sea lions, spending one full day in the water park, and watching the shows. They still talk about Shamu and ask all the time to go back. Here is a picture of my silly kids. Eric was so determined to get the perfect picture in front of the sign.... unfortunately it didn't happen because they were more interested in getting inside the park. This was the best picture we got of them.

August brought forth Gabriella's first day of preschool! We enrolled her in a 3 day a week program and she goes from 9-11:30. She was actually more excited than I thought. I think on the first day I was more nervous than she was. If she was nervous, she sure didn't act like it! I took her to school, walked her in and she went straight into her classroom...no tears! She is still going to school and loves it. It's amazing how much she has grown in these past few months, though. Here she is on the first day of school and she already looks different!

Then in September, our little boy turned 2. Since he loves Elmo and Sesame Street we had a Sesame party for him. Each table had a different character theme and we had a few games for the kids to play and win prizes. Then to top it off, we had 2 guest appearances. Yep, Big Bird and Cookie Monster came by to take pictures with the kids! I was actually pleasantly surprised that most of the kids weren't scared and wanted to take the pictures. In this picture Caden is a little unsure...He hears daddy's voice inside, but it sure doesn't look like daddy! My husband had this great idea that if he could find a Big Bird type costume then he would dress up. Of course that sent me on a mission to find one! True to his word, Eric dressed up like Big Bird, walked around and took pictures with the kids (and adults!) that were there. The costume may not look exactly like the big yellow bird we see on TV, but when he walked out all the kids knew who he was. My brother-in-law also dressed up like Cookie Monster. Now every time Caden watches Sesame Street he says "Daddy Big Bird" or "Marcus Cookie". So, at least for a while I guess he'll remember them dressing up for his birthday. Either that or he believes that daddy IS Big Bird and that Uncle Marcus is Cookie Monster!

And that brings us to 2009. I hope my trip down memory lane didn't bore anyone and to those who are still reading, thanks for joining in. I hope everyone's 2009 is off to a great start! I hope to update more frequently, so be sure to check in once in a while.

I Got Tagged...

2008-11-10T17:07:00.003-06:00

like a month ago! I'm supposed to write 6 random things about myself. So, Gayla, here it goes-

1. I've never (knock on wood!) broken a bone. Not even so much as a twisted ankle or anything. Of course now that I've said that I'll probably twist my ankle AND break a bone!

2. I cannot stand onions. I don't like the way it feels or tastes when I bite into a piece of onion that happens to be in my food. I order food with no onions and if I taste an onion in my food I will spit it out. There's just something gross about biting into a piece of bare onion. Now that said, I like onion rings. But they have to be thin, not the big chunky ones. Weird, I know!

3. I've never learned to ride a bike! Yeah, so now you're thinking "freak"! It's true. I wanted to learn and got a bike one year that I had picked out. I think it was purple with teddy bears or something. I liked the bike...with training wheels! However, I was embarrassed when all the boys on my block (the only kids my age were boys) were riding around on their bikes without training wheels. Anyway, I was as stubborn and hard-headed back then as I am now and that mixed with the fear of no training wheels meant I never learned to ride. My brother and parents encouraged me, but after a while that bike stayed in the garage untouched! After a while I got too old to even care. By the way, my mom never learned to ride either, so the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

4. I am also a little on the OCD side. No, I've never been diagnosed or anything like that, but if I let myself I will get freaked out over "little things" such as- crooked picture frames, books or movies that aren't all facing the same way, drawers/cabinets that aren't shut all the way or that are closed but have something hanging out of them, things that don't match, and the list goes on! If I see something that bothers me I HAVE to fix it or it will bother me for the rest of the day. Really. If I let it go I start feeling a little nervous and paranoid. My DVD's are alphabetized, before I leave a room I make sure the cabinets or drawers are completely closed and my towels have to be folded & facing the same way. I've gotten better since I've been a mom of 2 little ones, though. My house is not perfect and I've learned to let go of some things or else I'll drive myself crazy. But, if I'm ever at your house and you catch me straightening the picture on the wall, don't take it personal!

5. I collect children's books. I have tons of different books that I've kept since I was a child- Anne of Green Gables, Chronicles of Narnia, Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume, Berenstein Bears, Magic School Bus, to name a few. My mom would always buy books for me and I loved the book fairs at school. One day I will organize all my books in their own little library. But for now, they live at my parents' house.

6. I like One Tree Hill. That is a confession. I don't know why I enjoy it, since it's a CW show targeted to teenagers and young single adults and I am not a teenager or young adult anymore. I started watching reruns on Soap Network once and have been hooked since. Now I look forward to Monday nights to see if Peyton and Lucas will end up together. (If you watch it, you know! Right, Laura?) In college I was hooked on 90210 & was sad when that ended. Now I will secretly (or not so secretly, now) be sad if they ever end this show.

Well, that's it for now. If you ever want to talk One Tree Hill, I'm here! I will try to find more time to keep my blog updated.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2008-08-22T22:26:00.003-05:00

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

Does anybody remember that nursery rhyme? I guess I will soon find out how and if my garden will grow! My story starts a few weeks ago when Eric's dad gave him a package of "Tahoka daisy" seeds to plant, if we wanted. The instructions said to plant them in early September so they can bloom mid-Spring. I do not have a green thumb nor do I ever attempt to grow anything. However, I did think that it would be fun for the kids and I to plant them and give it a try. I figured they would enjoy digging in the dirt and watering with their cute little watering cans. So, we just left the small bag of tiny seeds on the computer desk where Eric's dad had placed them.

Now this past month has kept us traveling a lot! (I will post more about our vacation later.) And so our bag of seeds just sat on the computer desk until the kids and I returned home this week. I saw the bag with seeds on the desk and thought about moving them, but left them so they could remind me to plant them. After all, the kids aren't allowed to play in the computer room and if they are in here it's usually because myself or Eric is in here too. Well, yesterday Gabriella asked to "do abc's" on the computer. She likes to get on starfall.com and "learn her abc's", as she says. So I pull up the website and from there she can do what she wants and I can generally leave her alone unless she gets stuck on something. If Caden is around he'll either sit on the chair with her or end up standing near her listening to letter sounds as well. This day, Caden was sitting with her on the chair... in the computer room.

Meanwhile I go start dinner and peep in on them every two minutes or so. Then I began to pick up. I started to pick up things in the computer room and put them away. As I'm clearing papers off the computer desk I notice the bag of seeds. At this point I figured I need to move them so the kids don't play with them.

Too late! The bag is empty!! Now this was a very small bag with a small amount of very tiny seeds. There were no seeds on the floor (that I could see). Of course, like I said the seeds are tiny and could easily blend in our carpet. There were no seeds on the computer desk. I asked the kids where the seeds were and they looked at me like they were clueless. So I don't know what happened to our seeds, but I think I have an idea... For those who don't know my son, he is a total boy. He sticks things up his nose, in his ears, will put anything in his mouth, and yes, he was holding the now empty bag of seeds. I know some of you are probably freaking out that I allowed my son to swallow seeds, but he wasn't acting sick and there were so few that I didn't feel I should worry. God will take care of us, right? Besides, there was no proof that he swallowed them.

At least not yet....I guess we'll see how my garden will grow when Spring comes and Caden starts sprouting daisies! Then we'll have proof!

A Birthday Fit for a Princess...

2008-05-22T19:51:00.014-05:00

Gabriella turned 3! She may act like she's 13, but no, she is only 3. Right now she is really into anything princess. She is a girly girl so she also loves tea parties, dress-up, make-up, jewelery, lipstick and her "animal friends". So this year for her birthday what better way to celebrate than to combine all her favorite things into one party at... The Bear Castle! The place was wonderful. They dressed up the kids in "royal" clothes. The girls got "makeovers" and chose what jewelery to wear. (If you look at Gabriella's picture she has a ring on almost every finger!) They each got to choose an animal to stuff and even got their picture done with their chosen animal. After a cute parade in their outfits around the shopping center they settled down for a nice tea party with cupcakes and presents. Here are a few pictures. The kids really had a great time and Gabriella absolutely LOVED being a princess for a day! Maybe she's a bit temperamental and adventurous at times, but she's our little princess!

Here is Gabriella after she got all dressed up. Notice her hands! That is her little princess walk that she came up with on her own. She thinks she's ready for the runway already!

And here is Gabriella sitting in her throne and getting "sworn in" as Princess Gabriella. Even after we left her party I think she really believed she was a real princess!

Of course you can't have a birthday party without a birthday wish! All the kiddos had a great time and I think they ALL look so adorable!

Our powder princess

2008-03-06T16:37:00.005-06:00

Our 1st blog. It is what inspired me to go ahead & start one. See, these things are a daily occurence for us.

Yesterday morning as we were getting ready for the day, my kids were watching Sesame Street. They were in a good mood- sitting quietly and eating their breakfast, so I decided to sneak upstairs and start a load of laundry. Usually Caden is running after me wanting me to hold him, so I decided to take advantage of the situation. No, I don't leave my kids unattended for long periods of time & from upstairs I can hear them anyway. A scream usually means Caden is bothering Gabriella- taking her things, hitting her or just annoying her. A cry means Gabriella is bothering Caden- bullying him (like my husbands likes to say). Complete silence means trouble.

So I go upstairs and start gathering their clothes. No screams or cries but not complete silence either- a few laughs, Caden saying "Melmo" for Elmo...nothing bad. I start to sort their laundry. I hear walking around, a few "No Caden!" yells from the almighty big sister, but that's normal so I figured all was well. At this point I knew I should've gone down to check on them, but decided to start a load first. After dousing a few outfits in Shout (thanks to grandpa's dirt-filled outing a few days before) I started the first load, then went downstairs.

At first glimpse everything seems normal...until I turned the corner and saw the couch...

The floor and couch were COMPLETELY covered in white! It looked as if it had snowed on that half of the living room! I turned and saw our "powder princess" holding a now empty bottle of baby powder in her hand. I couldn't see Caden so I scanned the room for him worried that he was in the midst of all this mess. Sure enough...blending in with the couch sits Caden COVERED with powder! I hadn't even seen him the first time because he was covered head to food in white! He looked like an albino- his hair, face & clothes were all white. Apparently Gabriella had decided everything looked better in white so she used her dad's powder to cover the room...and her brother.

Through it all Caden is just sitting there smiling and playing with the powder. Not once did he cry or complain that sister was pouring white stuff all over him. Actually, by now he is pretty much used to it.

Now of course I was angry, but at the same time I wanted to laugh. That's what I get! After all atleast the baby powder made the room smell good. As for the mess, we did sweep up the floors and got powder out of most of the cushions. That is, except for the cushions that still had spots of glue on them from a previous incident. A day in the life...!