Home, Home on the Ranch

What started out as a wooded piece of land has now become a full-fledged ranch. Things are ever changing here. Our animals are increasing in numbers and variety. The seasons are trying to change. And the landscape is about to become 3D.

Our motherless lambs are thriving. They are growing, playing and always look forward to us coming at them with bottles. They have a fenced in area at the back of the ranch so that they have space to run and play. They also have a new friend. Roman, is a nine week old great white pyrenees. He has been brought in to protect the seven sheep from another tragedy. It's a sad deal because he is so cute and we cannot treat him like a pet. No one is allowed to touch him while he bonds with the sheep. I don't know if we will ever be able to treat him like a pet. Maybe Jennifer can give me some insight on this. So, we have seven sheep, two dogs, two random ducks that show up in the pond some days and three kids.

We are real excited about building our house. Jared is getting bids from the contractors while I decorate it in my mind. I am losing sleep because of all the thinking I do. Ive got colors picked out for rooms. a list of furniture we need and I am dying to go shopping. Jared and I seem to have very different opinions on styles. He says rustic, which I think of as country. I don't want wooden ducks or any blue gingham wallpaper but I do want cute primitive stuff. Hopefully we can compromise on this deal since I spend more time in the house. I think he has agreed to let me have the kitchen, dining room, Ashlyn's room and the jack-n-jill bathroom to decorate as I want. I'm hoping to gain the laundry room next. One room at a time....

So, things are changing. Whomever said, "change is good", was right on!

Stay tuned...

Since I've been gone

Hello y'all. Let me start by telling you where I have been the past month and will continue to be, for what appears to be, another two weeks. LAPTOPLESS. My laptop died and needs a new motherboard, which has been backordered. Now, the backorder is backordered - if that makes sense. February 22nd has now turned into March 3rd. If it's any longer than that I think they need to give me a rental. They do it for cars under warranty, why not computers? It is incredibly frustrating. I knew that I was addicted to myspace and blogging but I did not realize how many other ways that I use the internet at home - cooking ideas, shopping, Kidd Kraddick in the morning, etc. It was a good way to pass time in the love shack. I am getting things done but not any more than usual. I find myself bored these days and not to mention, in bed by 8:30 almost every night. But, I will have patience. Yes, I will.

Here are some things I have been thinking about blogging in my spare time.

The Princess:

* On the campaign trail: She is not voting for "Heery" (Hillary) or "El Bamo" (Obama). Instead, she wants to vote for Tony Romo.
* She recently decided that she would sell me in a garage sale so that she can marry her daddy. She said that the people that bought me would think they were getting a big toy in a box but instead, it would be a momma for sale.
* She is signed up for tee-ball. I hope that she is more active here than in soccer. I have taken on the role as coach.
* Don't hold it against me, but she likes to watch Ellen everyday.
* It makes me real sad to think that she is approaching five and will start school in just six months. Where does the time go?

Mini - Jared:

* He now looks me eye to eye. He is so very tall.
* He is signing up for baseball. He's a good baseball player.
* The bigger he gets, the bigger his attitude gets.
* He seems to be girl crazy...already wanting to go on "dates".

The Couch Potato:

* He is playing Little Dribblers basketball. He is right handed but dribbles with his left. He may be small but he is quick and makes baskets. Some may call him a "ball hog" because he never passes. He dribbles and shoots from wherever he is stopped. Basketball just might be his sport.

Lucky (the dawg)

* Loves when we have parties, he hangs out like he is human * Is obsessed with balls - can jump so high to try and get them. He shreds baseballs to the core.

Louie & Bronco (the donkeys):

* Are for sale. They are at the sale as I type.

The Sheep:

Tragedy strikes. On February 9th, one of the sheep had two lambs. That night, this brand new mom was killed by what may have been a german shepherd. Evidently, there was an attack during our Valentine party and we heard the commotion. We were able to find these two newborn babies and bring them into the shop. Jared created a kennel area (with hay) inside the shop. Five to six times a day, we bottle feed these lambs. Yes, I have even gotten in on the raising. Ashlyn thinks she is their mom. She takes good care of them. Clayson is learning responsibility through this. When Jared is at the fire station he has to make sure that all the animals are taken care of. He has named the lambs Kylie and Oreo. Trey could take it or leave it, he is not much for having to do many chores. These babies are thriving. Feel free to come to our petting zoo.

The Mom and Dad

Jared and I are doing great. We have learned to communicate about our lives and not just about the kids. Some of you may know what big progress this is. We enjoy being with our friends and having parties at the love shack :)

* On a HUGE note, it looks like we will be starting our house real soon. We've completed the bank paperwork and are looking for a builder to sign and let us do the contracting and work ourselves. Jared says he thinks he has found someone, yea! He has flagged the property for the slab and carport. It is getting to be exciting. My mind is filled with thoughts, ideas, colors, furniture. I look forward to having a "project". And, I can honestly say that this house will be built with love and no matter what, it will be the house of my dreams. I've learned that material things are not what make you happy. It's how you live your life and what you make of the things you have. I look forward to things to come and hope to post again soon!

I have to show the roses I got for Valentine's Day.

Friends Forever

On the way to our 5th grade field trip yesterday my teaching partner mentioned that she has a journal and she had recently written about something she was thankful for. She went on to tell me that her mom finds something to be thankful for everyday and writes it down. I thought this was a great idea and want to join the thankful bandwagon. I plan to blog often about things I am thankful for. I don't ever forget things that I don't like or enjoy but I tend to forget the things that make me happy or that I am so fortunate to have in my life.

Today I am so thankful for my very best friends, Jennifer and Allison. We have been friends since 4th grade, which is a total of 21.5 years. Wow. We are thirty-two years old (Allison will be in April) so for most of our lives, we have been friends. Not just friends - best friends. You know, BFFs. Kids don't realize that the friends they make in elementary school may be their friends for life.

Jennifer, Allison and I had many other friends that we enjoyed being with in high school and through college and we still continue to make new friends along the way but there is no one that can ever replace the bonds that we have created, the memories that we share, the secrets that we tell or the power of friendship that we have with each other. We are all different but the love we have as friends is all the same.

We went to dinner tonight and since Ava was sick we only had six kids between us. We went to Roadhouse and enjoyed the time that we got to talk and look forward to a big girl's night out soon. We try to get together once a week when it works out. Our kids are all friends and we hope that they are able to build relationships as we have done.

In closing, thank you Jennifer and Allison for being such special friends to me and always being there with your words of wisdom. Allison is always able to humor me and speak the truth and Jennifer is always able to mother and nurture with scripture or just her soft spokenness. I love you both and look forward to creating many more memories in the future!

You're A What?!

Yesterday I stayed home from school. The week long nagging cough got the best of me. It has robbed me of getting enough rest at night, so I decided to stay home to try to make up for it. Ashlyn played and watched cartoons all day while I stayed on the couch (when I wasn't straightening, washing dishes or doing laundry). Jared left for Arizona after lunch and will be gone until Sunday. Around 3:30, Ashlyn and I went over to Ralph and D'Uan's driveway to wait for the boys to get off the bus. I had sat out meat for dinner so when we got home I started cooking. Then, I got a pounding headache. I took some tylenol and continued cooking the chili-mac and green beans for the boys and I. I forced Ashlyn to make a decision on what she would eat for dinner. She wanted peas but I did not have any. Her next choice was cereal, as usual she wanted something sweet. She takes after my Granny in that way. She finally agreed to spaghettios. For those of you that don't know, Ashlyn is a very picky eater. She does not eat any meat except chicken nuggets from McDonalds. There is hardly anything that she likes and just because she likes it one day does not mean she will like it the next. So, we sat down in the living room to eat when everything was ready. There was play-doh all over the table so we ate and watched American Idol. The boys finished hastily and Ashlyn ate four bites. I told her I would put Emma and Arron (her babies) up if she didn't eat. She ate the four bites and Trey finished off the spaghettios, practically licking the bowl.

Ashlyn went to take a bath after dinner and the boys went upstairs to play the play station. Because of the way I felt (headache and coughing), I told the kids that they would be going to bed at 7:00 and they could watch tonight's American Idol in bed. They were as cranky as I was so I knew they needed the rest to get them through the rest of the week. 7:00 came and they all laid down. They fought and played while I scolded until about 7:45. As soon as I turn the kitchen light off because I am through cleaning, Clayson, Trey and Ashlyn decide they are hungry and thirsty. I lectured them about eating when it is time and asking for more at bedtime. I let them have a drink but their hunger would have to wait until breakfast. Ashlyn came back downstairs about 8:15 and was crying for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I could not deny her this nutrition. I got on to her for not eating, etc. She cried harder and through her tears she said , "I'm sorry momma. I'm just a failure". I was stunned. Had she said what I thought she said? "You're a what?", I asked. She repeated the word failure. I hugged her, assured her I wasn't mad and that she wasn't a failure. What four year old uses this word? I asked her over and over where she had heard this and the only thing she could remember is that she saw it on TV.

She never ceases to amaze me with what she hears and that she is able to use it in the right context. I reboosted her self confidence and then sent her back to bed. A little bit later I hear, "momma, I'm thirsty"....

Your word is interesting

Today was the 4th and 5th grade spelling bee. Clayson was a 4th grade representative. He was top speller in his class so he got to participate in the bee. Last night he tried saying that his throat hurt, until I told him the spelling bee was today and that he could not miss that. He never mentioned it again. (I may hear it tonight because there is nothing special going on tomorrow.) We studied the words on the way to school, that's us - the procrastinator family. I could tell he was excited and nervous. I assured him that no matter if he got out on the first word or the last that it was an honor just to be on that stage as a good speller. The bee started at 8:40 and I was a judge that had to listen to the speller and gave sentences and / or definitions upon request. I was front and center, with my camera, of course. I counted out the students and found Clayson's first word, pirate. I was so glad to know that he would make it to the next round. He made me proud by spelling pirate and then another word correctly. The third round, his word was "interesting". He spelled it like we say it "intresting". Darn, he was out! I was just proud that he made it this far and that he is a good speller. (Spelling things incorrectly is one of my biggest pet peeves - and it may stem from me receiving the spelling award in 2nd grade with a 102%. I cherish that trophy.) His teacher told me later that Clayson had told her it made him nervous for me being right there watching him. Maybe I should just be a bystander next year.

Just for the record, I do have a daughter that will give me plenty to post about soon! I can't believe that I haven't written a story about her. Her time is coming.

Motorcross Mania

So, here we are. Clayson, Trey and Logan were ready for some vroom vroom excitement. Me, I was hoping I could handle the people I would be hanging with and the amount of time that I would have to spend here. I kept telling myself that it was for the boys. We went to El Fenix for dinner and headed to Reunion Arena. I only had to call my dad twice for help getting there. We got there two hours before the event started. I didn't know how long it would take to park and walk and then get to will-call to pick up our tickets so we left home early and got to the event way too early. Getting there so soon did allow the boys to go down on the track for autographs and just to run around.

I was so happy to see "normal" people.

We made our way to our seats and realized that the racing did not start for another hour and ten minutes. Arrgghhh. I got Clayson's IPOD and made a list of the 270 songs I have downloaded. That took about ten minutes. It was a long wait. Right before it started the stinky haired family of five came and sat in front of us. I think they rode their dirtbikes to Dallas from a very long distance and have not taken a bath since Thanksgiving. Here they are.

So, we moved seats. A little later, we got booted out by the ticket holders and made our way back to sit by the stinkers. I could not wait for the motorcycle fumes to come up and cover the smell. Once the races started the smell wasn't as noticeable. The race is on....and on, and on again and again and again. I thought at some point there would be interesting tricks or wrecks but no, it was the same race time and time again. I don't even know if there were different drivers (nor did I care). I just know that six races into it I was going stir crazy. I kept asking the boys if they were ready to leave and of course they weren't. I got out my calendar and took notes. Then I took pictures.

Clayson asked me why I was taking so many pictures and I told him through gritted teeth that it was the only thing I had to do! Trey got mad at me for laughing when they would fall off of their dirtbikes. He would elbow me and tell me that they could get hurt bad. At 9:30 (show started at 7:30), I finally convinced them that we needed to leave to beat the traffic and they were okay with that. FINALLY!! We got back to the car, called my dad twice for directions and before you know it we were at the Seagoville Wal-Mart. I needed some staple items and meat. We were loading groceries when I was approached by a lady for "just a dollar". I told her I did not have any money and shuffled the kids into the car. After being at a skanky event feeling oh-so-safe, I find myself in more danger at Wal-Mart. Go figure....

I hope I earned some brownie points tonight.

Motorcycle Momma

If there was mom-of-the-year going on right now, I would nominate myself! Ashlyn is at my mom's for the weekend playing with a cousin and so I was trying to think of something I could do with the boys tomorrow, since I rarely ever have that opportunity and I am just not into boy stuff. While thinking, a commercial came on for the Toyota something something Motorcross that will be going on at Reunion Arena tomorrow night. They saw it too and wondered what time it came on TV. So, I looked into the ticket prices and decided that we could go to that. They have recently gotten motorcycles for Christmas so this is the newest boy interest at the Davis household and momma's biggest fear. So, think about me tomorrow night while I am getting revved up by some muddy motorcycle madness.

I wonder if there is a way I could get on my computer while they enjoy the event...