January 31, 2008

Bittersweet


I think I'll have to digest that for a day or two.

January 29, 2008

Two Sisters and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Well, today was just one of those days...

I woke up this morning after being as sick as a dog all weekend feeling much better. I asked Brandon to run my bath water this morning as he has almost every morning of our marriage. I laid in bed thinking about how wonderful it would feel to jump in that steaming hot water. I finally talked myself into climbing out of bed and ran straight to the tub, to find it filled to the top with luke warm water. I tried to add some hot, only to find that we were out of hot water. Brandon actually asked me before walking out the door for work if I "was still talking about the stupid cold bath." And, oh yes sir, I was! (And I still am!!)

The boys and I made it out the door without much drama. I did have to turn around to come back to the house to get a return I had left here because Sister and I were headed to Rockwall today with big plans of shopping at good places (Target) and eating good food (La Madeleine). I dropped the boys off with no problems, headed to the bank, and was about to meet Sister when I noticed T's lunch box lingering behind my seat. A short detour back to the church, met Sister, dropped her car off at the detailer's and we were finally off.

Our first stop (and REAL reason for our trip) was to go by the rent house we own to check out the condition that it was left in, grab the keys, etc. We got to the door and it was locked. We tried all doors, all windows, with no luck. I called Mr. Lukewarm Hubby and Mr. Nonpaying Renter with very kind messages explaining my frustrations. Hubs advised that I call a locksmith to open the house. Such a smart guy...I did just that. And 2 hours later, he was there with the great news that the door knob was stripped and needed to be replaced. And, of course, he had just the parts I needed in his truck and would replace them in twenty minutes. While he did this little job, I had exactly FORTY minutes of pure pleasure walking around our first home, the home I brought my first baby home from the hospital to, and look at how TOTALLY TRASHED OUT it was left. That is all I have to say about that.

Moving on...

During the initial part of the locksmith waiting game, Sister and I decided some retail therapy was in store. She had spotted a new boutique that had opened since we moved from the area that looked oh-so-great. It did not disappoint. The store itself didn't disappoint; however, the fact that the electricity had been blown out by some horrific arctic wind did. We walked around in darkness looking at what we could see and saying what we would buy if they could actually sell us something.

After squaring away with the locksmith and a short and not-so-sweet phone conversation with Mr. Nonpayment, we realized that we had exactly one and a half hours left to eat, shop, drive home (1 1/2 hour drive) and pick up our kids at their respective schools. This meant...drive thru food, NO Target, and driving very aggressively to make that deadline. The alarm sounded to let us know we were out of gas, so we pulled in to a gas station with 18 pumps....with NO gas!

Ya'll, I couldn't make this stuff up!

En route back to our little town, the detail man called Sister to ask where her keys were. Uh huh, she had them in her purse...there would be no clean car for her today!

We did make it back safe and sound. I dropped Sister off at her car where she slammed her entire head in the door because of the mentioned above wind gusts. (And yes, slamming your whole head in a car door is possible...this is not her first go round with such!) We parted and hoped for better futures.

A few miles down the road, I decided to call Sister to make sure that she was not bleeding or having vision problems, imagine my surprise when HER phone started ringing in MY car. I'm telling you terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day!

And as a little icing on the cake, hubs is home "sicker" than a dog tonight!!

BUT, I do have a little sunshine...my little Z just ran in the room, jumped in my lap, gave me a big unsolicited kiss and said so sweetly, "I love you, Mama."

It ALMOST made me forget about the whole cruddy day! Almost.

Welcome New Blogger

My stepmom has a new blog she will use to highlight some of her work. If her "lingo" sounds eerily similar to this site's, do not be surprised. As the (self-titled) "President of Marketing", I may or may not have had anything to do with this new venture!:)

Go check her out. She is doing a fun giveaway this week too. Make sure and enter to win. KK's Kreations

January 27, 2008

My FIRST-EVER Giveaway

***COMMENTS ARE CLOSED! WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON! THANKS TO ALL WHO COMMENTED...IT WAS SUCH A FUN WEEK OF GETTING FEEDBACK FROM SO MANY.***



Okay, ya'll, this means I am big-time! I mean, I am joining a Bloggy Carnival and having a giveaway. Now that my readership is up to about 10 readers a day, I thought it was time to take it up a notch. Between my husband and I, we have 3 sets of parents who are basically required to read regularly because I quiz them on things they have read. Plus, I have one cousin in Cali who is a bit homesick for family, so she reads religiously. That accounts for 4 readers...so tell me, who are the other 6 readers? Your starting to see what I mean by "big time", aren't you???

Sooo, I am giving away this awesome tile that my stepmom's company makes. (Of course, yours will not say our names on it--unless you just really want it to!) All you have to do to enter the giveaway is go to her website, Engraved Euniques.com, check out all her cool stuff, and leave me a comment telling me what your favorite thing on her site is. What I really love about her company is that the possibilities are endless. If you can dream it, she can make it. And, believe me, we have thought up some pretty crazy stuff!

I will hold the drawing on the afternoon of February 1st by some highly technical way involving a bowl full of entries and my four year old son. I will post the winner's name on this blog and link it to The Bloggy Carnival site too. (If I can figure that last one out!!!)

Thanks for playing! Good luck.

January 25, 2008

Never too early to start planning...

The boys and I were driving in the car the other day and out of the blue Z asked, "Why did you move out of your dad's house?" I explained to him that when I married Daddy that I moved out and one day he would get married and do the same. (I almost cried as these words came out of my mouth!)

He replied, "I am never moving out, Mommy, acause I am going to marry you."

"Oh, OK."

Z: "Remember I told you that before. And T is going to marry you too. And you will have lots of husbands."

"Uh huh."

Z: "And we will all do your jobs. T will mow and I will weedeat."

"Well, what job would Daddy do?"

Z: "He will blow, Mama, acause that is an important job."

"Alright, but what will I do?"

Z: You will take a nap on the couch.

And all God's people said, "AMEN!"



PLEASE tell me that there is something I can do to freeze him in time. I can't stand to think of the day when he discovers that I am not worthy to be his bride.

January 24, 2008

New Look!

Well, what do you think of the new look? I am not going to lie, I feel pretty cool that I figured this out without calling any 1-800-HELP lines, without cussing (at least out loud) and totally by myself. I am really impressing myself with all the things I have figured out on this piece of machinery. I liked the black, clean look, but this print is pretty fun. We need some "fun" around here!

We have been very busy selling one house, dealing with renters in another house and moving in several phases. I am hoping to see an end to all the craziness soon.

Check back soon because I am going to do my first ever give away next week AND I will share with you Z's plans on marrying and the details of his VERY-LOVELY-STRIKINGLY-BEAUTIFUL bride to be.

Have a great weekend!

January 20, 2008

Shout!

Why is it that every time you put your kids in white they end the day looking like this???

Anyone have a stain remover that you really love? I have tried a few and none of them really stand out.

Swinging Single on Sunday Morning

Sunday mornings are always so hectic around here. It seems like no matter how much preparation we do on Saturday night, it still is stressful getting everyone fed and dressed for Sunday School. Well....this morning was my first ever Sunday morning to do it all without my hubby. (He is out of town doing some more moving...another post, another time!) We didn't even attempt early service or Sunday School so we didn't have to be there until 10:30. You would think we could handle that with ease, but there were several kinks along the way.

It has been documented that Brandon is the "ironman" at our house, so in his absence, I had to take over that post this morning. He would have been ashamed, I hate to say. I put both boys in sweaters over their shirts so that I didn't have to iron anything but the collars of the shirts. Oh yes ma'am...it's the truth. I told Z that no matter how hot he got in church, he was never to take that sweater off! I chose a very safe ensemble for myself that didn't require ironing.

Another of Daddy's jobs is shining the church shoes. Z actually asked me to shine his shoes this morning. I assured him that since Daddy did it last week it would be bad for the shoes to be shined again this week! I was actually successful with this.

While I was getting myself ready, T found the jar of candy and helped himself. This is the scene that I discovered after hearing Z tell his little brother that he was in big trouble.

Because I wore a belt over my sweater to church, Z thought that he should too. He came in to my room with this on...I was also successful in talking him out of that.

Thank goodness Karen brought breakfast to us or we would have had to go to service hungry. Here is the finished product. I think we did pretty well!!

January 19, 2008

Still in Stitches

I just posted some of the funny things that Z said the other day, but I am in need of another already. If I don't share them fast, I will forget them...they are just coming at me so fast these days.

After talking about our preacher: "Who's brother is Bro. Clint?"

Noticing a bull in the cow pasture: "Is someone about to buy that bull?" I told him that I wasn't sure. He said, "To take him to the rodeo!"

After discussing how he needed to share his toys with company: "I haven't learned how to share yet. I am just learning."

Told to KK: "I like living in Texas best because our house in LR was too tall to put Christmas lights on. We could put lights on our house here."

My dad thinks that he is absolutely hilarious to tell us "See you next Christmas" every time we leave his house. Today when we were leaving a restaurant after eating with Grandmother, Z yelled: "See you next Christmas!"

After examining Raegan's homecoming mum, he pointed out a particular charm and asked: "Do you recognize this?"

January 18, 2008

Inspirational

Most of you are aware of my step-sister, Brandi's, accident in November and recovery process. I bragged on her a few weeks ago, but I received a card from her a few days ago that she gave me permission to share with you. I think she has been such an inspiration to all of us throughout her ordeal.

"Folks ask me how it is that I am so 'upbeat' and positive about everything. I tell them that there is nothing to be angry about, upset about--nothing. What an honor to be in the presence of God and for Him to have His hands on me and save me. It is awesome to know that we all have that honor and we all have His grace. Knowing that and trusting Him--there is always light."

Beautifully said.

January 17, 2008

Conversations with a Cutie


When I picked up Z from school his teacher, Mrs. Sheri, handed me a sheet of paper where she had written down a conversation she had with him. This is how it went:

Z: This letter is in my name (pointing at Z). This letter is in my brother's name (pointing to letter T). My brother's name is T James M (saying the whole thing). Pawpaw James has the same name.
Mrs. S: What do you call your Grandma Roxie?
Z: Grandmudder. I bet you don't know my Pawpaw Mark.
Mrs. S: Yes I do. And he has a dog named Tank and I have Tank's mother at my house.
Z: What's her name?
Mrs. S: Chelsea
Z: My other grandpa's name is Jackpaw and then I have a KK. Jackpaw is my mom's dad and Grandmudder is my mom's mom. Isn't that neat? They don't live at the same house. Isn't that neat? KK is my mom's uncle mom.


When he got in the car after school he told me that he learned about a president who lived a long time ago. I am anything but a history buff so I had a hard time with his little quiz.
Z: What was that president who lived a long time ago?
Me: George Washington
Z: No, Mama. A long time ago like when pirates lived.
Me: Abe Lincoln
Z: Yes, but his name was Abraham Lincoln. What happened to him?
Me: I don't know.
Z: He got shot.
Me: Oh, ummm...
Z: A bad man shot him. Where did he get shot?
Me: Oh, I can't remember.
Z: In Washington-ten-see, I think. Where George Bush W. lives.
Me: Yes, it could have been there. Wasn't he in a theater or a show?
Z: Yes, but how come that man shot him in there? You are not supposed to shot guns inside.

January 13, 2008

My Ironman

My hubby is the "iron-er" at our house. He likes doing it and takes great pride in the perfection that he produces. He is quite particular when it comes to the selection of this appliance and will only use a specific type of old-school-iron.

Saturday morning he woke me to let me know that his best friend, also known as our iron, had died. So after our dinner date on Saturday night we ran by Target to replace it. They didn't have the out of date, obsolete iron that he likes best (imagine that) so he had to shop for an alternative. He wanted to buy a $60 iron, but I put my foot down! (I could have bought 2 or 3 pairs of shoes at Target for that!!) I talked him into a perfectly good Sunbeam iron that had been marked down from forty-something bucks to $24.99.

Sunday morning, the peak day of his ironing week, he got the box out of our Target sack and began opening his new iron with a little apprehension (it wasn't the same one he has used for YEARS!), but with great anticipation (it was the beginning of an important relationship.) Imagine his surprise when this is what he pulled out:

If you know my husband at all, you are laughing out loud! He is SO not in touch with his feminine side! I got great enjoyment from watching him iron all of our church clothes with "the new (purple) love of his life."

Grandmaw's Shop Class

We spent our Saturday morning at my mom's house playing outside. Katie came to play, too. Grandmaw set the kiddos up with hammers, nails and scrap wood from her new house and they loved every minute of it. The "Camo Crew" had a great morning working together.




January 11, 2008

Week of Words

These pictures are just some cute ones from the week that I wanted to share. Z loves his boxing gloves and enjoys posing in them.



T is just cute all the time! Every time I get the camera out he runs and sits on the fireplace to pose. He says "eeee" instead of cheese.


Here are some of the funny things said around our house this week:

Brandon said, "I was just thinking about how much I love you." Z said: "I was just thinking that too."

Z asked why a cow didn't just jump over this creek by our house. I explained that cows can't jump. He said, "Then how come one jumped over the moon?"

Z told me that a little boy at his school told him that he wasn't smart. He said, "He doesn't even know all the things that I know about tools, about mowers, about bicycles without training wheels...."

One night Z told Bran and I that when you talk without your voice and use your hands is called "signlang-wage". I explained to him about people who are deaf and why they need to use sign language. On the way to school the next morning he said, "You know what the best idea is? If we used signlang-wage to talk to Jackpaw."

Amen. But isn't there some saying about an old dog and new tricks???

Yesterday a friend came home from school with Z. While driving by Jackpaw's house he said, "That is Jackpaw's house. Have you heard about Jackpaw?"

He will. Just give him time, honey.

My little T is cracking us up too. He constantly calls, "BO! BO!" any time we are outside. A few days ago he yelled, "OOOOOK" (Luke). KK and I both heard it and totally cracked up.

January 7, 2008

Groundbreaking



My mom and stepdad's new house is underway. It is such a anticipated and welcomed site! We are all looking forward to celebrating our first Christmas in the house this year. The view of the sunset shows how wonderful of a home place it will soon be.

January 3, 2008

Give them an inch

I was feeling really sorry for Luke during New Year's because he was scared of all the fireworks. He snuck inside every time we opened the door so I finally relented and let him stay. It didn't take long for him to make himself totally at home.

He may or may not have had some encouragement...his little partner in crime sure looks guilty to me!

A New Start



This was my boys this morning before their first day back at school. We had a tough time getting out of bed, but once we were up and going, I got very little complaining about heading to school. I think we were all ready to get back in our routine.

Last Day of Break

Our last day of Christmas break was filled with all the things we love. Emma and Rae spent some time at our house, we went for a bike ride in the FREEZING weather, we did puzzles, played Candyland and just hung out at home.

We had such a great few weeks off and Mommy was ready for the break to be over!:)


Granny-Great

I am so blessed to still have my grandmother around and in my life. She is an absolute hoot and I am always entertained when I am around her! She went to Hawaii a few months ago and got a temporary tattoo!! The "tattoo artist" told her that she was her oldest client...I wish I could share the pictures with you that her friend took of the tattoo, but since she felt it necessary to take her shirt off to model her tatooed arm, I think we will all be a lot happier if we pass on that! I'm telling ya'll--a total hoot!!!

Here is Granny-Great teaching Z how to play the Wii. No, this is not one of the kids' new toys, it belongs to the clubhouse at Granny's retirement community.

I hope I am still as feisty at 82!


January 2, 2008

Words of Wisdom

I haven't posted any of the funny things that my little one has said lately, but there certainly has been plenty. Here are some of the ones I remember:

After a bike ride: "That dog came after me and I was TERRIFIED!"

After getting SIX shots at the dr. office: "They penned me down like a dog!"

Smarting off to Daddy: "So?!" When Daddy was about to launch in to a whole do-not-smart-talk-me-speech: "You know, sew, like a sewing machine. I was just talking about mommy's sewing machine."

While cleaning out toys: "We need to keep that one acause I got it at TLC and it 'minds me of my old school." (This is the same school that I pulled him out of b/c he cried and disliked it SO much!)

When we were discussing how uncomfortable the couch that we chose to bring from LR was: "Ya'll were not thinking when you didn't bring our good couch."

In McD's drive thru: "Please get me some ketchup with mine...it kills the taste."

Also, T added a few new words to his basics the past few days. He now says bubble, stinky, pretty, fish, and me, me (mine).

What a blessing these boys are...even when they have sassy mouths!