saturday

We had a busy day planned today and all activities revolved around Trey's two basketball games. This morning I cleaned house and washed sheets. Between his games I needed to go to Mesquite for (you guessed it) a return, get the oil changed,vacuum out the car, go to Wal-Mart for swiss cake rolls and other staple items and to sale some clothes to Once Upon a Child. And, I was in the mood to buy Ashlyn some jeans and something new for gymnastics. On the way out of Crandall, I had Trey and Ashlyn with me and Clayson was going with Mimi to Wal-Mart. Somewhere within a half mile radius and a one minute time span, Trey decided he wanted to go with Mimi. So, we meet her at the gas station to make the switch when it turns into some version of a Chinese fire drill...Trey gets out, Clayson gets in and then Ashlyn is out. Turns out, Clayson and I would be making the trip to Mesquite. We head out and get to the AT&T store for my return that I have put off for three weeks and come to find out I don't have my debit card and they can only "refund the way it was tendered", I mouthed something about the fact that we don't live anywhere close to here, my thirty days is almost up and most places give cash back for debit card purchases. Red-headed salesman was not budging, his final words were " next" as if to tell me to move on, I was holding up the line and his opportunity for commission. I became a bit concerned because we were starving, not the fact that I did not know where my debit card was (ok, so I remember putting it in my back pocket after pumping gas last night). I knew that I had at least $14 cash and we could figure out ways to eat on that. But the jeans and gymnastic suit was out. I dropped off the clothes at Once Upon a Child and Clayson and I went into El Fenix knowing that we would get one order and possibly even share a drink. Thank goodness for free chips, tortillas and refills. *I did let him get a kid's drink when we decided on nachos for lunch. There was that much money to spare. We got out of there with money for the vacuum and that would be it.

My list of places to go remains full. And, we all know how I feel about my Sunday afternoons. Looks like I will have no choice, I have to have my swiss cake rolls - oh, and all the other things, like getting the oil changed and stuff because in case you didn't know, that there's fighting words at our house - don't you dare go 2,000 miles over the suggested mileage on the window sticker. Thanks for the reminder Kwik Lube.

this & that

I intented to write last week, then over the weekend but apparently today is the magic day for blogging. I don't have a topic to focus on, just a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I'm sure those with A.D.D. can hang :)

We had a sick day last week and got sick of being stuck at home on such a pretty Winter day so the kids, Mamaw and I loaded up and went to see George W. Bush's new home in Dallas.

The kids weren't all that enthused but I was. One day maybe they will realize the significance. And maybe one day I can go back when he is home...

Ashlyn is doing gymnastics on Mondays and Trey has started basketball games on Saturdays. (And, he even scored a goal in the first game - woohoo!) Clayson is living an uneventful life, waiting on baseball and football to roll around.

We've gotten to hang out with Megan (the brother's girlfriend) on a couple of occasions and I am pretty sure they need to get married.

The friends and I have celebrated Sharon's birthday three times and all were tons of fun. Trust me, we are classy - not trashy :)

(Just a random thought - Fox 4 chooses some of Dallas' finest to interview. Geesh.)

Talk about being scared...Jared was at the station last week and he calls me to tell me he is 1/2 mile from our house on a murder call - one guy shot in the back of the head, one guy tied up in the bathroom and the gunmen were on the loose, ran off in our direction. I am home alone, it is dark and my mom will be home from church with the kids any minute. I turn off all the lights and go hide in my closet, with the perfect corner in mind should I hear stranger danger. I stay on the phone with a friend, tell my mom not to bring the kids home but to send my dad over. He comes over and turns on the lights, says they are looking for dark places to hide. I run around like crazy gathering school clothes ( I knew there was a reason the laundry wasn't put up yet), makeup, shoes, chi, backpacks and purse. And, we go to their house for the night. Ashlyn thought I was tied up and Clayson was afraid our house was going to get broken into. So much for getting to bed early.

That's all I can think of for now. I am highly addicted to facebook, reading blogs and my iPhone. Other than that, I am spending time being a good mom and wife :)

It's cold here and we are hoping for a delay in the morning. I'll probably negate the thought of getting more rest by staying up late. Never fails.

Peace out. Word to ya mother.

Farewell to President George W. Bush

This picture says it all, doesn't it?! President Bush saying "I am out of here!" and Obama may be saying, "Wait a minute, what have I gotten myself into?" Ha! I googled for a picture of those two together as an opening to this blog and this is what came up. Speakers may not tell the whole truth in their speeches and the unconfrontational will say what others want to hear but pictures don't lie. George W. has had enough and Obama has promised more than enough.

Yesterday was a much anticipated day by many and a bittersweet day for the rest of us. It was hard to hold back the tears of sadness to see George W. leaving but I know that he must be so relieved to have the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders. I loved him as President. I know that he made some unpopular decisons but my goodness think back to eight months after he took the oath, he was faced with the tragedy of 9-11. It is amazing that he has been able to keep us safe, has protected our freedom and has made such an impact on the way that we view war. He is a Christian man that has held true to Christian values with such integrity. With him, we truly could be one nation under God. I sincerely hope that President Obama stands firm on these morals alone. We cannot function without God being put in the center of our nation. I hope that he prays over all decisions, laws, personnel and for the safety of his family. I pray for him and his leadership in this nation.

Though I may have a difference of political views and opinions, I did want to be involved in the inauguration that would become one of our most historical events (and probably even a holiday). We watched it throughout the day in our classrooms. It was an amazing day in history and gives hopes to those who may have been hopeless. And, as Christians, we must stand behind President Obama and pray for him as the President of the United States of America. God has placed him in this position for a reason.

United we stand.

science on saturday

Why is it that all kids were up and at'em at 8:30 this morning?! Can a mom not get one day a week to sleep in? Geesh. Here is what I woke up to and tried to sleep through.

The five senses on an early Saturday morning.

Touch: Ashlyn wanted some oatmeal so she patted me on my head until I woke up.

Taste: I tried to get a drink of my coke from last night and yuck, nothing worse than a flat coke.

Smell: Evidently, Ashlyn couldn't wait for me to make her oatmeal so she tried to fix it herself for three minutes in the microwave. Let me tell you, burnt oatmeal smells a lot like burnt popcorn.

Hear: This morning I honestly wondered why in the world we built the boys gameroom over our bedroom. BIG mistake. I heard running, basketball shooting, Ashlyn on her microphone, fighting, whining, tattling and the TV. They heard plenty of yelling or their cell phone ringing so I could chew them out over the phone - still refusing to get up.

See: When I finally got up I saw the stool pulled over to the microwave where Ashlyn had been busy cooking and cereal on the floor where they must have missed their bowl. I also saw some charred oatmeal in a bowl - Clayson wondered if it was burnt or if it was a big blueberry.

I should have stayed in bed.

food for thought

Well, if losing weight, eating healthy, exercising or just cutting back on junk food had been any of my New Year's resolutions, sixteen days into the year I would have failed miserably. It's why I don't make resolutions because as soon as I decide to set unrealistic goals my urge for control sets in and I don't do them on purpose. It may an undetermined illness in need of therapy, control freaks anonymous. Is there a pill for controlling control issues?

I realize that I am a closet eater. I eat after the kids go to bed or my favorite, while I am taking a hot bubble bath. Tonight I got caught. Ashlyn and Trey were around playing after we had gotten home from Trey's basketball practice so I poured up some coke, grabbed the cherry cheesecake and headed to the bathroom - where I found Trey. Busted! The conversation went something like this ...

"Mama, what are you doing with that in here?"
"Trey, why are you in MY bathroom?"
"Are you gonna eat all that pie?"
"Trey, get out of here NOW and I might save you a bite if you go on and leave me alone for ten minutes."

I turned my iPod on and it was a hot bubble bath, a cherry cheesecake still in the pie pan, some coke in a glass and some cool tunes to keep me company. Heaven....

This is not the first and won't be the last of my closet eating adventures. I can't tell you when the last time I had a decent dinner was. It has been pizza, crackers and cherry cheesecake all week long. Jared is gone so it is a big free for all at night. Thank goodness the kids are getting decent meals at school.

Oh, and one tidbit of important information - swiss cake rolls are the ultimate comfort food. Little Debbie rocks!

sugar & spice

Tonight I had the opportunity to take the triple A girls to gymnastics and let the other two moms stay home with their little bits. I would say stay home to rest but who would I be kidding?! (A little background knowledge: my two lifelong best friends and I all have Kindergarten girls and their names all start with the letter A. Last Monday Anna and Ashlyn started gymnastics with Alex, who was already taking).

I picked up Anna at her Nana's and Alex from her house and off to Forney we went. First stop: Double Daves. Giggling, squealing and nonstop talking were amongst the joy ride there. And not to mention the new chant that Ashlyn taught them. "first, second, third - elementary nerd" - the joy of big brothers. It didn't stop in the car. They were just as giddy while eating Pizza. I just wanted to listen in and here are some stories and tidbits of our pizza parody.

* The first discussion was who was sitting in the middle. To solve it all, Anna asked if she could just sit by me. As much as I would like to be the cool mom, I know it will probably be Allison so I took this request with pride and told Anna that I would love to sit by her. Somehow, I ended up sitting with Alex but no one ever complained. They were too busy tearing up some cheese pizza, cherry tomatoes, coke (diet and cherry) and chocolate chip pizza to care where they were sitting.

* It was beyond Alex why we were supposed to get a clean plate every time we went back to the buffet. It made absolutely no sense to her why they would want to wash that many dishes. She even asked the waiter about it and asked him if he liked to wash dishes - she said she had never seen someone who liked to wash that many dishes.

* The subject of boys came up and they all agreed that the only boys they liked were Jesus and God and they know that they have three daddies. Anna also informed them that there were angels sitting there so they were careful not to sit on the angels.

* Hilight of the day, maybe even the school year, is Anna and Ashlyn got ID tags to wear at school. Ashlyn keeps referring to it as her merit badge. She even wants her clothes to match it tomorrow.

Ashlyn cried all the way to gymnastics because she did not get to sit in the middle. I was so irritated with her. Anna told me about how one day Ashlyn cried at school and went and sat in her lap. Not surprising. Anna's mom is a motherly friend and is obviously raising her sweet little girl to have the same compassion.

They did great at gymnastics and seemed just as wound up on the way home. Somewhere along the way I had lost my energy.

Boys came up again on the ride home. Ashlyn told Alex she could have Trey and Anna could have Clayson. Anna's response was, "Trey is the funnest but I like to have the baddest", every mother's nightmare.

The rest of the way home there was the discussion of not taking any kind of medicine unless it has your name on it and if someone breaks in your home do you a.) call the police b.) call security or c.) stop by the prison. They all had different viewpoints.

It was a great night and I just love getting to listen. They make me smile :) I hope that this friendship stays strong, because they really have no choice but to be friends.

One down

and many more weeks to go in the second semester. This past week was filled. Filled with Ashlyn and Trey starting new weekly practices, cramming factors, after school tutoring and meetings and a night of shopping. It's no wonder we were looking forward to getting in bed early and sleeping late.

I really don't have any one thing profound to blog about. I just thought I would share our week with you.

On Monday, Ashlyn started gymnastics with two of her best A friends. We went to Chic-Fil-A in Forney (not one of my favorite places to eat but I do conform sometimes because it isn't always my day) before heading to the gym. The girls sat at one table, the grown-ups and A at another, while R played in the play area. Things were grand until Ashlyn snuck my full cup of sweet tea and proceeded to poke through the sturdy stirofoam with her straw, leaving the need for the giant mop and yellow mop bucket. Thank goodness it was not crowded. We cleaned up our table messes, packed some to go and headed out. We got to the gym and Ashlyn changed into her gymnastics suit in the car and we were ready to make a run for it. This happened to be one of the coldest, wettest days of 2009 and she froze all the way to the door. We'll be more prepared next time with a cute jogging suit to wear over it. But then again, it may be 80 degrees. I make no big plans for clothing in this Texas weather. In fact, it was bugging me last night that we have hardly gotten to wear any of our fine sweaters because it is too hot most days to dress for the season that it is. And I do love some comfy winter outfits. Back to the week in progress...

Tuesday, the kids were punished for some issues on Monday. This is their normal day to spend the afternoon at Nana's but I made them all come home. It is a pattern that Tuesday nights are our worst nights - everyone is tired and cranky. Why I chose to make them come home is beyond me. Punishing the kids is punishment to the parents. It was two hours of fighting with each other, me yelling, spankins and pure torture to all involved. Once they finally started playing it was greatness but then it was time for showers and bedtime. Peace at last.

Wednesday, Ashlyn went to church with my mom and Trey went to stay with my dad. It was a good thing. We had all had enough of each other that a little separation for a couple of hours could only bring joy to everyone. I did laundry while Jared and Clayson tinkered outside.

Thursday, Trey started basketball practice. Jared took him and Clayson went along. Ashlyn was at my mom's playing and I was home alone -- awww. There was a slight issue when my friend Rhonda called twenty minutes into practice to say that Trey had not made it. I was so worried. I called Jared and he was grumpy because he said he went all over the school and there was no one there playing basketball. (Due to some construction most doors to the gym have been blocked off and he did not find the one entrance door but never bothered to call and ask me.) They were at Walgreens printing pictures only making Trey thirty-five minutes late to practice. I will explain to the coach...

Friday, thank goodness for Friday. By two o'clock I could barely stand up but I managed to teach another important math lesson. I should really praise my students for this week. I have taught them some major concepts one right after another along with writing a research paper and they have been such troopers. I owe them some extra time on the playground that's for sure. (I will post more about the research papers next week.) My boys and I left as soon as we could, picked up Ashlyn, stopped at Sonic, picked up my dad at Jason's and then I dropped everyone but Clayson off at the AMC to see the movie Marley and Me. Clayson wanted to hang with me because he was aware of my plans to get an iPhone. He is so good when he is by himself. I enjoy every minute of alone time with him. We got returns done and my phone - which I am more than pumped about. And then we went to El Fenix after the movie. My dad preferred downtown even though we were in Mesquite - go figure. We got home and I immediately hit the bed...what a week.

Today, we slept in and hung out. Trey and Ashlyn baked in the Easy Bake Oven, I cooked lunch and now I am debating a short nap before a night out with friends and the husband. Whew. What a week. Thanks for listening.

writing right

Have I ever mentioned to you that I aspire to be a writer? It is in my wildest dreams. Me - an author - sounds like so much fun. Growing up I had pen pals. My aunt and I wrote back and forth. If I was mad at my mom I would slip a note under her bathroom door. I wrote a ton of notes to my friends, boyfriends and even my enemies. I have always loved to write and am a big fan of using correct spelling. Words that are not spelled correctly drive me crazy. Once in Crandall, I made my friends stop at the marquis to change peice to piece. I could finally drive past that sign and not get fired up. I am a very kinesthetic learner - I need to write it to remember it. I doodle whenever I am listening and can still grasp the sermon, the faculty meeting bullets or the ideas being presented. Anyone that has ever sat by me has seen my doodling in action.

This week I have presented a challenge to my students. I don't teach writing but after these past couple of days, I think I would love to. Only thing is, the grading would be horrid. Anyway, we are studying biomes in Science and I thought that writing a research paper would be a great way to end the unit and will count as their test grade. Yesterday I taught them how to make an outline - you know, the old-fashioned way to organize facts and thoughts. (Sidenote: There was a question that I saw on a released Science TAKS that mentioned an outline and the students had no idea what this was.) So, we got the roman numeral I with our subject and then headed to the lettered subtopics. Some got a little roman numeral crazy and I had to tell them that for this particular assignment we would not need any other roman numerals, everything would fall under the "I. Land biomes" topic. We moved onto our first biome, tropical rain forest, and added the five important facts. Then, I allowed the students to get with a partner to research and add information for the other five biomes. I was amazed at how quickly they picked this up. I hope to do this more often. (Maybe they'll think of me as they get older and need to write papers.) Yesterday and part of today was outline completion. Then, we started the research paper. I helped them with the introduction and the first paragraph. I did not get any of the normal sighs or huffs. I think they might be catching my "I love to write" vibe. The students took over on the second paragraph and it was completely silent in the room. I told them how much writing meant to me and how I enjoyed it. They had lots of questions about if I took a class in college and so forth. I hope that this turns out to be a great learning experience for them and maybe even a life lesson. I'll let you know how they turn out.

comfort and joy

A new year, a new look for my blog. Woohoo. I am diggin' it.

Today is the day that seemed so far off on December 19th but has arrived much quicker than I am ready. It is the day before we get back into our school/ working routine. It's like I needed to gear up for this "day before going back to work". I started the house cleaning and laundry on Friday, worked on it a lot yesterday and wanted to do nothing but go to church and rest today. For the most part, this has happened. We did go to church, ate lunch at my mom and dad's, came home to finish laundry and straighten up the house and I have finally been able to sit down to rest. Ashlyn is taking a nap - no more staying up late and sleeping late for her. Clayson and Trey have been sent upstairs for the fifth time and were threatened to find something to do or they would have rest time, too. Jared is at the fire station for the second day in a row. It won't be long before I have to think about supper. Let's hope I don't get too comfortable or it will end up being a do-it-yourself night. The mess after that is never worth the laziness I chose to endure.

I love the cold weather and am glad that it is back in time for school to start. I wear corduroy pants throughout the winter season no matter what the temperature. At least tomorrow picking out clothes won't be a big deal. (Sometimes it is hard to find a cool enough shirt to wear with my cords on the warmer days.) Randomly speaking...

One thing I did want to mention is the love that I have for my grandparents. I sat between Mamaw and Papaw at church this morning and it made me feel like a little girl again. I love to hear my Papaw sing the hymns. It's a sound I will cherish as long as I live. And I love knowing that my Mamaw is beside me, as she has been my entire life. They are my rock and I love them with all my heart. I hope they know this. They have brought so much joy into my life and the lives of my kids.

Here's to a good week - reestablishing routines, possiblility of basketball practice for Trey, checking into gymnastics for Ashlyn, papers to grade, plans to make, homework to do. It's all a part of the plan. Every day will bring us closer to spring break :0)

an AHA! moment

Happy New Year friends. Just when Ashlyn has gotten used to writing 2008 on her papers while spending four months in Kindergarten now she will have to write the new year 2009. Hands down, I bet she is better at remembering the change than I am. I'll get to practice tomorrow at our work day. Yes, it is back to work - but just until noon - tomorrow. I am so sad to see this break end. I promise you that it wasn't until Sunday (nine days into the break) that my kids and I got back into the routine of sleeping late. Granted, there was a lot going on but still getting up at 8:30 seemed pointless most days. Now that we get back into this restful groove it is back to school. As they say, all good things must end. And the good year of two thousand and eight has also ended.

If I were to take a quick trip down "memories of 2008" lane some of the most memorable would include, (but are not limited to), the following:

1. Trey was baptized.

2. Our trip to Disney World with my mom.

3. Trey was hospitalized with a sever staph infection.

4. Ashlyn graduating preschool and starting Kindergarten.

5. Building our amazing house after two years of being near "homeless".

6. The election.

7. Clayson's idea to create a mud pool and all the kids joining in the fun.

8. Our Colorado vacation.

9. Clayson's first touchdown.

(If I were more motivated I would put a picture with each memory.)

According to Webster here is a definition for a word commonly used throughout the past week.

res·o·lu·tion

1: the act or process of resolving: as a: the act of analyzing a complex notion into simpler ones b: the act of answering : solving c: the act of determining.

I really want to come up with some New Year's resolutions but can't really come up with anything.I am sure there are some things that need to be resolved; can't think of any big problems I care to break down into simpler ones (at that point you go from one problem to a bunch); I am determined - determined to get more rest, spend fun times with the kids, get an iPhone, look into putting Ashlyn into gymnastics and to get some things to put into my entry -way. I'm sure some of you can come up with more complex goals in life, I have to make mine on a daily basis on my to-do list. Things like this overwhelm me. I can tell you that one of my biggest accomplishments of 2008 was learning to pay the bills before spending the money shopping and going out to eat and it worked out so much better. If any of you were needing any suggestions...

On a more random note - Ashlyn and I rang in the new year with Cindy, Corbin, Angela, Nathan and Normandy. Clayson and Trey rang it in with their Nana and Andrew. Jared rang it in at the fire station. Not much excitement but it was fun and safe. (And, is it just me or is it so very sad to see Dick Clark?)

Jumping for joy - HAAAPY NEW YEAR!!

watching the ball drop

Today, New Year's Day, we went to my Mamaw and Papaw's to hang out and eat the ever-s0-lucky black-eyed peas. We played Chicken foot with the dominoes and my brother brought his friend, Megan. For those of you that know my brother, you know what a huge step this is :0) We were all impressed and hope she comes back around.

Chicken Foot

Now, I sit here in the bed contemplating whether I need to set out Ashlyn's clothes for tomorrow or if I could grab them on the go in the morning. AHA! That is a great resolution - get things ready the night before (clothes, lunches, bags, etc.) to make for an easier morning. Guess I'd better start that now. I wonder if we can wear jeans tomorrow...

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you!! I hope you make a bunch of fun memories and seek blessings in all that you do.