What's going on

Boy, oh, boy is December a busy month or what?! But it is so much fun! Now that I stay home and home school the kids it seems I have never been busier. It's great being able to have such a flexible schedule!

This last week has been kinda yucky. Sean worked really late all week long. Now when I say late, I mean late. He has to be in at 6am and wasn't been getting home most nights until around midnight. Then he had to be up and back at work come 6am. Plus he missed all of the fun we had last week and over the weekend. It stinks but I guess we should look at all of the extra time as a God-send being that it's the holiday season and all. At least that's the way we choose to look at it!

Last week Thursday we had our Cub Scout Christmas party. Our den I planned it this year and I am glad it's over! That was the first time I have planned any kind of event like this on my own and it is so stressful. Especially when not a single person many people will cooperate with you!

Since my camera stopped working, all I have is my cell phone for pictures (and that's why it's such a crappy pic!). So here's Raiden on Santa's lap at the party. He visits each year. In fact, I wish I could find Kaitlan's picture from last year. Even funnier is the one taken this year the day after Thanksgiving. My sister's boyfriend snapped a shot of Kaitlan running back to her daddy's arms. She wouldn't even go see Santa at the Scout party... and he's a family friend! I guess Sean's pre-Christmas prep on Santa didn't work!

A couple of days before that Christmas party we had really nice weather and took advantage by going to the park.

We had lunch.

Then the kids played.

And they climbed.

And they slid.

And just had a good time.

Apparently this is the look I get now when I ask Kaitlan to pose for a picture. I don't get it, but it's still cute!

We went to the Christmas luncheon for our home school group on Saturday. The food was delicious and included an apple pie I made and from-scratch green bean casserole with fresh green beans so pretty that I had to take a picture of them.

The kids had a book walk and did some crafts.

Sage working on her her ornament. Kaitlan playing with sequins.

I guess this is the finished product.

Raiden working on his snowman ornament.

Raiden's finished snowman.

And then one of the Santa wish list holder craft that we did at home.

Besides all of this fun stuff we've been baking lots of cookies and I've been trying not to eat them! We head out to C-town in the morning and then back home on Saturday. Next week Sean is off so hopefully we'll get some stuff done around the house (yeah right!) and get to have some much need family fun.

Everyone have a very merry Christmas!!

What's going on

Hostile Environment

I think it was about 3 weeks ago that I talked to my dad and he told me about the trip he would be taking. He works on the road and stays out there often for up to a month or so. He has even started going to other near-by countries.

This time it's different, though. Pakistan isn't Dominican Republic. Nothing like it.

He called me last night and said that it did scare him some. Actually, I think it scares him a lot. He hasn't been sleeping well and all of the paperwork is overwhelming.

Apparently, the airport my dad will be working at has bombs dropping "no closer than a half mile away."

U.S. bombs, that is. You know how those Taliban guys keep hiding out in Pakistan? Yeah. That's who they're after.

My dad tells me that he has had his employers take out a hefty life insurance plan on him in case something were to happen to him over there. He's also getting his will in order.

I would rather just have my dad back home safely. 

It's really cool, all the traveling he does now. But it's not so cool that he's going into such a hostile environment this time.

I'll tell you this. My praying knees are going to be busier than usual.

Hostile Environment

You Annoy Me!!!

I am the oldest of three girls. I have to admit that, although I am a pretty laid back, conservative person, there were moments that my sisters would get on my nerves. What I don't remember was getting annoyed by them for doing things that had absolutely nothing to do with me or when they were in a completely different room than myself.

Let me explain.

I love my almost-teen daughter so much. She is a smart, caring, sensitive young lady. She gives me a ton of attitude, but she also gives me so much joy.

While sitting at the computer yesterday, she came to me for help with her Language Arts assignment. As she walked up behind me I could hear her talking under her breath about how she was "gonna kill him". Raiden was in the front room keeping Kaitlan entertained until I came back to prepare lunch. I hear this kind of thing quite often from her. I understand that he's her little brother and I know that he does bug her plenty, but he was in the other room. Talking to someone else! The poor kid can't do anything right in his big sister's eyes.

My response was to stop right there before anything else and ask her (very calmly I may add) what it was that he was doing to directly annoy her. She tried to walk away. Yeah, that's the response I get much of the time when I try to talk to her or get on to her about something. I figure it's pretty normal for a pre-teen/teen. Right?

I wrangled her back in and gave her a talkin' to. I explained to her how her words can hurt not only her brother, but herself. How we never know what tomorrow holds for any of us. I asked her how she would feel if those type of words were the last she spoke to her brother. Needless to say, there were a few tears by the time I finished talking to her. I also talked plenty about how her attitude needs to change. How she makes the rest of us feel like we are making her life miserable.

This kid. I love her so much. I am trying my hardest to make life as happy as I can for her, but she is always crabby and throwing darts at just about everyone in the house. (Not literal darts!) What else can I do?!? She gets to do so much more than her little brother. And rightfully so. I let her stay the night with friends or have friends over when she hasn't cleaned her room or finished all of her chores. Maybe THAT is part of the problem. We have given our children so many liberties without earning them that they now expect them.

AAAAAHHHHH!!!!! So frustrating!

You Annoy Me!!!

Fall Fun

Where, O, where to begin this....

I've been thinking about my blog more here lately. I keep asking myself, "Self, why can't you just get in there and write a little something about your day?" So, it may be boring, but I'm going to attempt to get on and just write something. I have already missed the first day of November, but I will now try to get into a habit of writing each day. Wish me luck. :)

With Halloween being on a Sunday, it made for quite a full weekend. I actually wanted to go out on Friday evening, but I'm kinda glad we didn't. I think we got plenty of junk on Saturday and Sunday. We started out Saturday evening with a carnival in downtown. It was a great family friendly event and the kids, well, the two kids we had with us, had a blast. Sage didn't go because she decided to go watch Paranormal Activity 2 with her friend and friend's mom. I didn't really want her to go see it, but she's smart enough to know that that sort of stuff is just a movie and not real. Not to say that she doesn't understand that Satan really does tempt us everyday and.... Okay, I'm getting into a whole 'nother subject now. Let's just say she knows what it truth and what is Hollywood. Reeling it back in now.

So come Sunday, we had a birthday party for an awesome little man. My friend H's amazing little boy turned 1!!! He slept most of the time we were there, but it was still a great gathering with our friends.

After Lil' Man dug into his cake, we headed out to try to get our little monster to nap. I say little monster because she was tired and acting like, well, a little monster. :) The nap never happened, but it's amazing what a nursing session does for that kid. Once we got Sagie made up, we all headed out to the fall festival at the church. We had a great time. Sean lost the keys. Someone found them (thank you, Lord and Pastor Daniel!). And we headed to a trunk or treat at another local church. We tried our hand at the cake walk. We lost. But we did have a great time. We ended the night with some more trick or treating in the neighborhood. I think we ended up getting home no later than 8:30 so we did pretty darn good. We also did pretty darn good in the candy-getting department. I'm trying to change up some of our eating habits and what we put into our bodies, but I think I'll take it easy on them for now as far as the goodies go. It's not like they get to eat a pound of candy a day!

Now on to the good stuff. Apparently our camera decided to die on us after our vacation this summer, so I have no real camera, but I did get a few shots of the kids with my phone:

My 80s rocker chick!

There's Tony Romo! Broken clavicle and all.

And last but definitely not least, my little angel baby.

Fall Fun

Running on empty..

Today I just know that I will be walking around my house like a zombie. I already feel it. It seems that my adorable two year old thought it necessary to stir at around 3:30 this morning which usually prompts a quick nursing and she's back off to dreamland.

Not THIS morning, though. Every time I pulled her off, she would whine again. I'd plug it back in and she would act like she was going back to sleep.

Needless to say, that was not her plan. I attempted to refuse her the ti-ti.

She would fuss louder.

Then Dad began complaining.

Yes, dear, I'll keep her quiet.

Back with another attempt to nurse the little booger angel to sleep. Never mind the fact that my bladder was on the verge of combustion.

Then the alarm starts going off it's normal six or seven times.

She finally decides to fall asleep just in time for me to get up and get Sean ready for work.

I do believe a nap will be on the schedule for today.

Running on empty..

She's Aliiive!

Yes, I am still alive and I am waaay overdue for an update! I have had such good intentions, but I have been so super busy.
This would make week 5 of our new home schooling adventure and I can now say that things are going pretty darn well. ;) I must admit that week 3 was a difficult one, though.

We had visited our family in C-town (for the first time in almost a year!) for the Labor Day weekend. Once we were back home, I started hearing a lot of complaints from Sage. She was voicing her desire to return to public school on Facebook and Myspace but not so much to me.

It hurt my feelings. It hurt that she had not yet given home schooling a chance. That she wasn't talking to me about it. I let her know how I felt and then left the ball in her court.

The past two weeks haven't been so bad. I am getting more organized and figuring out what works for us.

I'm happy with that.

Last week I finally took care of something that has needed to be taken care of for a while.

I am (what I figure to be) a typical mom in the aspect of taking care of the husband, kids and house and not taking care of myself so much.

I found out a few years ago that I had what they call dysplasia when it comes to my cervical cells. In other words, the cells were abnormal and could form into cancer.

I found this out at about the same time I found out I was pregnant with KK. In fact, I found out about the pregnancy the day I went in for the biopsy.

Praise the Lord that it was not too bad at that time and all I had to do was come back every 6 months for another pap.

Well there I go again not taking care of myself. I went to my first appointment a few months after Kaitlan's birth but failed to make my next appointment 6 months later. And the next 6 months after that.

With some hard nudging gently coaxing from dear husband, I finally went in for an appointment.

What do ya know, it had gotten worse.

That's when the wonderful Dr. W scheduled me for what is called a LEEP procedure. I went in Tuesday morning last week for a (really) quick day surgery that hopefully took care of what ailed me. (When I say quick I mean quick. I went in at 6am and was on my way home at 9am!)

Now I just pray that it has been taken care of and I will not have to face this issue any more.

In other medical news, it seems that Sean's maternal grandfather will probably be joining his wife in the Lord's arms sooner than we had hoped. We found out that he has stage 4 colon cancer that has spread to his liver among other places. We're talking about an old tough Marine who is now weak and depending on his children to take care of him. It's really sad and the family could use your prayers. I don't know if it's awful to think this way, but when it comes down to it, sometimes I just wish God would take them and get them out of the misery they're suffering. Such a difficult subject.

Okay, I really need to get out of the doom and gloom that I'm starting to fill with, so on to something great and sad in it's own right.

My baby girl is going to be 2 years old in just about 2 weeks now! I can't believe it! She is so tiny, but I can see how much she is growing and I wish she could just stay little forever. Especially when I think of her sister and that attitude! Only kidding... kinda. =) Actually, this kid is a teenager in a toddler body, I tell you. She has attitude that is unimaginable for a kid her age. I'm really loving (almost) every minute of it, though. Our family wouldn't feel complete without her.

Well that's it for now, folks. Someone has to do laundry around here and I can tell you that it isn't any of the other 4 people that live here! Have a blessed day and I hope to post again soon!

She's Aliiive!

Nerves

I almost feel as though am about to have a panic attack.

This is tough.

I am sure I've made the right decision, but I am still so apprehensive.

I feel like a fool sitting here crying over whether or not I am doing the right thing. I am though... right?

I definitely don't take my children's education lightly and that is why I decided to home school them. I would never down the public school system even with all of its flaws, but last year was a difficult one for us. I was tired of hearing my son tell me that he can't. It was hard to see my daughter struggle at something that I know she can excel at.

We start school in three days and I feel so unprepared as sit making our first weeks lesson plans. I know that I have put a lot of thought into home schooling. I thought about it for over a year before I decided for sure to do it. I really believe that we can do this and that my kids will be better off.

Then why do I feel like this?!?

I think the other issues in our life are contributing to this feeling. Money matters. Talk of moving. Talk of fixing up our house in order to sell. Would anyone even buy our house? Wanting to start my own business on top of it all. It is something I really want to do and know I can do, but is it the right time?

I'll be praying for insight and doing what I have to do in the meantime.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Nerves

Gone Fishin'

Today is the last full day of our little (much needed) vacation. We haven't been on a real vacation in about 5 years so this has been so nice!

On Thursday, we drove over to Possum Kingdom Lake to meet my dad and then my sister, Brandi and her family joined us on Friday.

This has been the best weekend we've had in a long time despite the sweltering heat!

Yesterday we rented a boat for four hours where we rode out to a spot called "Hell's Gate". There we all jumped in the water for a swim. Well, everyone except for Sage. She was not real happy about the boat at all! As soon as we got on she started telling us she didn't want to go. The rocking was making her sick. It didn't make me feel that way until we had been off of the boat for a few hours.

I can't wait to share pictures! I have never seen an elevator in the side of a cliff that takes you from your house down to the lake until yesterday. As Kaitlan says, it was "tooool"!, or cool for anyone who doesn't speak toddler.

I've been so proud of myself for making sure everyone has their sunblock on. I usually underestimate the power of that big fire ball in the sky and it's effect on our near-transparent skin! The only thing that seems to have been looked over is Sage's scalp.

Now I think we're going to go on a hike.

Catch y'all later!

Gone Fishin'

Five Question Friday

Good Friday evening everyone! All I can think about right now is getting dinner ready so I can eat, so I'm gonna jump right in to it. Shall we?

1. Did you have a favorite blanket or toy as a kid? If so, do you still have it?

I still have a little doggie that is white with blue tips all over. My Great Aunt Mary gave it to me for my first birthday. She passed away when I was really little, but my mom says that she was really nice.

2. Do you dream in color?

 

I think so... I don't really know. I'm gonna say yes because I just figure that I do.

3. How tall are you? Do you wish you were shorter or taller?

 

I totally wish I were taller!!! I'm the shortest of my sisters and the oldest. It so sucks! (you can't tell I'm a little bitter about that, can ya?)

4. If you could have anyone's (celeb or other) voice as the guide on your GPS, who would it be?

 

Ah, this one is easy. William Shatner. I don't find his voice sexy or anything, I just like the way he talks. It's kinda funny.

5. Do you return your shopping cart to the corral or leave it wherever in the parking lot?

 

I always return my basket!!! If it's closer, I'll even take it up to the front of the store. That is a HUGE pet peeve for me. I find it lazy to just leave it. You've just walked around the store. You can manage a few more yards to return the cart to it's proper place. It just makes sense.

Okay, I am about to have a mutiny here on my hands if I don't go get dinner ready. You can go to Mama M's place, My Little Life, and play along if you don't already. Catch ya later tater.

Five Question Friday

Hey people! I have an announcement to make!!

Well whadaya know. I finally did it. Post 100.

WooHoo!!!

So, for the century mark, I though I would share a few changes that are going on here around the homestead.

First I am excited to announce that I will finally be contributing monetarily to my household once again. It's been almost 2 years since I left my job to stay home and take care of the kids full time. The best part is that I still get to stay home with the kids. I love my babies and could not imagine leaving Kaitlan with someone else all day long. Not really because I don't want to leave her, but because I would never want to do that to another person. I'm telling ya, she's a firecracker!

Things aren't all set up, yet, but I'll be happy to share once they are. Now I just need to come up with a cute, catchy name for my company. Any ideas out there? Think gift shop....

In other news, it seems my kids will not be going back to public school this year. Yes, we have decided to begin home schooling!

I'm really excited about it and have started stocking up on little things and looking into curriculum. We have joined a home school co-op through our church and are signed up for classes and even an archery course for Sean to participate in with the kids. Now I gotta start making money so I can pay for all of this stuff!

Do any of you home school or have you considered it? Any advice?

I have already heard from family and friends the whole, "are you sure you wanna do this?" and "won't the kids be missing out on socializing with other kids?"

Actually, I am sure I want to do this. I've only been going through the thought process for over a year now. I don't take my children's future lightly.

And actually, I'm not worried about the kids losing out on social interaction. We have class once a week with other kids in the co-op. Kids that my kids are already friends with. Kids with parents that I know are like-minded in the way of the Lord. There are other get-togethers, field trips and extra-curricular activities that the kids can participate in.

All of this change does have me a bit nervous though! But it's a nervous excitement.

So please wish me luck in my new endeavors and keep a look out for my new business coming out soon!

Hey people! I have an announcement to make!!

A few of my favorite things...

There are so many things in life that we take for granted.

I know that I am so guilty of this.

I started thinking of the things that I really love, though.

You know, the simple things.

The quiet of the morning. It makes it perfect for sipping hot coffee and reading.

The sound of my children laughing.

A cuddle from my almost teen daughter.

Babies. Any and all babies. I just love 'em.

Ice cream. It's amazing how a scoop of Blue Bell's Homemade Vanilla can perk up my day.

A beautiful sunrise. Also great while sipping my coffee.

My husband's hand in mine.

Filling my kiddo's bellies with their favorite foods.

Hearing the voice of a loved one or friend.

A beautiful day spent with my beautiful family.

 photo via google images

A few of my favorite things...

Five Question Friday

Howdy, folks! I am so glad it's Friday. I have convinced the hubster to take the fam to an Asian museum in Dallas. The theme is Modern Twist: Japanese Art. We have been wanting to go check the museum out for a while now but haven't made the drive. I'm excited!

I'm also excited to participate in Mama M's Friday carnival. That's right, it's Five Question Friday time! And now for the rules and regs per Mama M:

Rules for Five Question Friday: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then c'mon back to link up! If you don't have a blog but would like to play along, feel free to leave your answers in the comments of this blog, or any blog along the way!

Questions for Friday, July 16th: (Thanks to Cristy, Renee, Emily, Maryanne, and my Belle [from her vlog debut] for your question suggestions! Want to be linked in a future 5QF? C'monover to my community and offer up your best question suggestions!)

1. Do you collect anything?

2. Name 3 celebrities that you find good looking.

3. Do you have any scars? If so, what's the story behind it (them?)?

4. What is a food that you like to eat, but others might think it's gross or weird?

5. Have you ever seen a tornado in real life?

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1. Do you collect anything?

 I don't collect anything, per se, but I didn't touch a little bit on my hoarding tendencies. I know it's weird, but I don't care.

2. Name 3 celebrities that you find good looking.
Oh goodness, we just had to go there. Well, there are a few that I find to be just delectable. Brad Pitt for starters. He is just gorgeous. Even in The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons where he was a little old man was hot. I also have a girl-crush on Tyra Banks. I think she is beautiful and if I were to swing that way, she would be the subject of many a dream. My third pick is Tyrese Gibson. Rawr! He has the face, the body (oh the body!!) and he seems to be a nice guy. I would sop him up with a biscuit! I know the question wasn't who I would trade my husband in for, but I do find all 3 of these to be very good looking. Now I must move on to the next question because I am committing sin in my head!

3. Do you have any scars? If so, what's the story behind it (them?)?

Hmmm, I have a nice scar that runs along my right arm just above my wrist. That's also were my favorite tattoo resides, so luckily the little scar is next to it, not on it. I got it from our cat we used to have when we first moved into our house. I miss that cat. I don't miss his mean streak. Other than that, I can't think of any more.

4. What is a food that you like to eat, but others might think it's gross or weird?
My entire family thinks it gross that I like Moo Goo Gai Pan. They say it looks slimy. I say it looks delish!

5. Have you ever seen a tornado in real life?

Why, of course I've seen a tornado in real life... I live in Texas aka Tornado Alley! When I was a kid we lived in a tiny community in West Texas called Tell that had a population of about 40(that's being generous) and a cotton gin. That's it. Once there was a tornado in our front yard. It was a small one, but it was purple and we thought it was pretty. I've seen so many tornados that I don't think I could even begin to come up with a number as to how many.

There's my answers and I'm sticking to 'em. Wanna join in the fun? Click on the 5QF logo above and get with it. Everyone have a great weekend!

Five Question Friday

You can call me a wimp...

...you can call me a wuss.

You can even call me battered and bruised.

But what you will NOT call me is spider-bitten!

It all happened when I went to take a shower. (No wise cracks, ya hear!)

I looked up and I saw the spider. On the ceiling. And struggling.

It seemed to be slipping from the condensation that was forming from the shower steam.

I'm not some big skeerdy cat when it comes to spiders (normally), but this involved me having to close my eyes at times to wash and I just wasn't risking it.

All I could see in my head was opening my eyes after rinsing my hair out or the soap from my face, and staring smack-dab at a spider!

No, I couldn't risk that.

So I did a little holler...

"KID!"

I didn't care which one showed up, but I needed a kid.

"KID!"

No response.

I thought that they probably couldn't hear me over the television being that Raiden thinks that the t.v. must drown out all other sounds including his own thoughts.

Then I saw that darn spider slip off of the ceiling!

I squealed!

It caught itself and clumsily pulled itself back up to the ceiling.

Whew! That was a close one.

I knocked on the wall and yelled a few more times before Raiden finally came to the bathroom door. That's when I did something stupid.

Right before my son came to the door, I thought it would be a swell idea to prepare myself to squash the little spider. I placed my left foot on the side of the bathtub. I began to lift my right foot to the wall of the bathtub.

That's when I slipped...

...but I caught myself as well! (just like the spider, ya see.)

I did bump my leg on the side of the tub, but no biggie. Could have been much worse! I'll just have a nice bruise on my leg as well as my foot probably.

Funny thing was that when I slipped I let out a little yelp and that was the same moment that Raiden was walking in the door. I heard him let out a little yelp as well and close the door back. I didn't understand why, but I thought it was funny. When he came back in I asked if I had scared him when I yelled but of course he said no. He's such a tough guy!

Well I ended up getting my shoe that I needed and proceeded to step back onto the bathtub side withOUT the shower curtain under my foot this time. Yeah, I'm a genius, I know. The spider was squished and all was right with the world once again.

You can call me a wimp...

Five Question Friday

Happy Friday everyone!! I hope all are having a super duper day! (Don't know why I'm in such a good mood so early.) 

Today I decided to get back into Mama M's five question friday. I meant to last week, but forgot by the end of the day. Anywho... I'll copy the rules and junk here (er, down there actually) so that you, too, can play along. Just make sure you link back up to Mama M so everyone else can see your answers! (Just click on the picture link below.)

 

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Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post. Answer them, then c'mon back to link up! If you don't have a blog, but would like to participate, feel free to leave your answers in the comments of this post, or any post along the way!

Questions for Friday, July 2nd: (Special thanks to Sami, Emily, Sarah, and a couple of patriotic questions from yours truly! If YOU would like to be linked in a future 5QF, visit my community, and leave your best question suggestions!!)

1. What is one thing you miss the most about childhood?

2. Are you still friends with your friends from high school?

3. Is there a catch phrase, cliche, or word that just drives you bonkers every time you hear it?

4. What is one thing that you think symbolizes America...besides "Old Glory"?

5. What are your 4th of July weekend plans?

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Now for my answers:

1. What is one thing you miss the most about childhood?

I think I just miss the innocence of being a child. Discovering new things. Doing the things that children do. Not having a care in the world. I miss all of those. And getting to spend time with my mom and dad and sisters. That is something that I don't get to do now and I miss that so much.

2. Are you still friends with your friends from high school?

I am with some of them. I don't live in my home town anymore and a lot of them still do, so that makes it kind of difficult to actually hang out as friends do. There are some that are still really close to my heart, though and I see try to see them when we do go back to Childress. It's been a while though. I miss them too.

3. Is there a catch phrase, cliche, or word that just drives you bonkers every time you hear it?

Something that really bugs me is "my bad". Especially when I catch myself saying it! I don't know, it just sounds idiotic... uneducated. There are more, believe me, but that's just the one sticking in my head right now. I think I heard someone say it yesterday. =/

Not to mention certain curse words that my DH just does NOT know how to filter. Namely, the "f" word. Our littlest one is a toughy and I can just hear her repeating it at the worst times. Like at church or something!

Oh, and there's the slang term for female genitalia. You know, the "p" word. It just doesn't sound nice. Vagina is a weird enough word as it is... do we have to have a worse slang word for it?! It's definitely a word that I cannot stand to hear.

4. What is the one thing that you think symbolizes America... besides "Old Glory"?

One thing that always makes me think "Americana" is a picture. A picture of children playing in a field. Of family and friends enjoying bbq and each others company. Lemonade. A picnic in the park. Okay, that's more than one, but that's what I see in my head when I think of America. I guess that would be somewhere along the lines of family and freedom or something. Sorry, my mind is usually just a jumbled mess and it comes out the same way sometimes.

5. What are your 4th of July weekend plans?

I really have no idea. I wanted to go to Childress and see our family, but I doubt we're doing that. Gotta save that gas money! Maybe I can convince Sean to actually get up and do something. I don't know if he just enjoys being lazy on holidays and weekends or he doesn't know what to do so he chooses to do nothing. Either way, it drives me craaaaazy and I'm gonna get him up off of his butt this weekend!!

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And there we go. My answers to the FQF this week. I hope you decide to play along if you don't already. It really is fun!

Everyone have a lovely Friday and a wonderfully festive July 4th holiday!!

Five Question Friday

I'm working on it...

...and this is what it is!

I have been trying to make more time for sewing with very little luck, but I did sit down one day and make Kaitlan this skirt. I think I did a pretty darn good job considering I didn't use a pattern.

I have also made an apron for Sage and a dress for Kaitlan. I don't know what happened to the apron pics and I still haven't finished the dress. Let's just say that a zipper foot really is needed if you're installing a zipper! I found out the hard way and ended up with a broken needle. Now I just keep forgetting to buy the darn zipper foot every time I go to the store!

I hope to really start getting some stuff done and even teaching Sage how to sew. I had not sewn since high school previous to the apron I did, except for sewing patches on Raiden's Cub Scout uniform and Sean really did most of that. Yeah, Sean thinks he is some seamstress extraordinaire just because he used to work at "the cap factory" before we got together. He would sit at a machine, load up the threads, put the front of the cap (pre-assembly) and the machine would stitch up the design on the front of caps. I told him that wasn't really sewing, but he disagrees.

Anywho, I just wanted to share with you all how proud I am of myself. I hope I can get more done soon!

I'm working on it...

Summer so far

My big kids have been out of school for over three weeks now. They haven't started getting on my nerves too badly... yet.

The last week of school was so busy. Especially for Raiden. It seemed that there was something going on every day for him that last week. We had Field Day, the TAKS Test ice cream party, the class picnic, and I don't even remember what else.

It was a great week, though!

The first week out of school we basically just slept in, cleaned the house and chilled at the crib. We also cut Raiden's hair for summer.

 

Sage attempted to give Kaitlan a mohawk as well.

She doesn't look like she cares much for it.

The second week out of school, Raiden had Cub Scout camp. He has been a Scout since first grade, but this is the first time he went to the camp. He had a blast!

Raiden's group doing the opening flag ceremonies one day.


I had to keep the girls occupied while Rai was at camp so we went to a museum one day. Sage thought it was so awesome to see real art by famous artists.


Sage has also enjoyed playing a bit of dress up with Kaitlan!


One Saturday morning we took a road trip down to Dr Pepper, Texas! (AKA Dublin, Texas the other 51 weeks of the year)

They were celebrating the Dublin Dr Pepper's 119th birthday.
The Dublin Dr Pepper plant is the oldest Dr Pepper plant in the world!

Dublin Dr Peppers are different than regular Dr Peppers, though.

Dublin Dr Pepper is made with real Imperial sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.
 
 Some guy did a really awesome sand sculpture.

It looked like a whole lot of work to me!
Despite the look of things here, a good time was had by all. It was pretty hot that day!


And of course, Sage has been taking more pictures of herself.


This past Saturday Sean and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. We went to dinner and then spent a couple of hours together kid-free before stopping for some late night ice cream and heading home. Unfortunately all of the kids were still awake when we got there. We had a really great day, though. We have been through a lot together in this first 12 years of our marriage but look forward to dozens more!

Summer so far

This message is NOT approved!

What does a parent do when they don't approve of one of their children's friends?

I have never had that problem until now.

I have always had an uneasy feeling when my son talked about this boy. Unfortunately, Raiden thinks this boy is the funniest kid ever. Besides his friend Noah, he says this is his best friend. Other kids at school will tell you that he and Raiden are best friends.

A few months ago I was checking through Raiden's text messages on his phone when I come across one from this boy (whom we will call Jason*). Not unusual. What was unusual was what the message said.

Something along the lines of, " you want to have sex with Kari*"

I was not happy. These are eight and nine year old boys we're talking about.

I was even less happy when I saw Raiden's response:

"you want to have sex with Hope*"

Raiden and I had a talk about that. We discussed how he didn't really even know what sex was and how it was inappropriate for boys his age to be discussing sex and including these young girls in their conversation.

Now I feel that Sean and I are pretty open with our children. I believe in modesty, but I believe that there is nothing shameful about the human body. I believe in answering any questions regarding sex and just life in general in an honest, age appropriate manner.

Okay, so I have allowed Raiden to continue to hang around Jason and he even had him over for his birthday slumber party.

Sean was very unimpressed (I don't think that's a word. oh well!). He felt that Jason acted a little uncouth to be in the house of a friend that he has never been to before. Now don't get me wrong. I know that boys will be boys and I did expect them all to have fun. I suppose I just hope that my son behaves the way I expect him to behave when he stays over at other peoples homes. Not the way Jason behaved that night.

So now to the text message that Jason sent to Raiden at 5:30 this morning. Yes, you read that right.

He first sent a message that said he was camping.

I looked at it, ignored it and put Raiden's phone on the kitchen counter.

A couple minutes later I had walked back into my room and sat on the bed while I waited for Sean to finish getting ready for work. That's when I heard Raiden's phone going off again.

I figured I would just text him back telling him that Raiden was still asleep. I didn't expect to see the message I saw, though.

Once I clicked on it, I saw that it was a forward. No biggie. Then the picture popped up.

I just stared, jaw agape.

There was a va-jay-jay staring me straight in the face.

I know, right?!

It had been edited to sort of look monkey-ish (like a snow monkey IMO --TMI?) and had an attached message that read: "this is what happens to white girls when they have sex with black boys."

I was floored!

I doubt the kids mom knows he has this on his phone. I only met her when she dropped off and picked up Jason for the sleep over. Then again, she may know. I don't know how she rears her children. All I do know is that she appeared to be a young mom, though I don't know how young, and is not with his dad. I am definitely not knocking young mothers being that I am 30 with a 12 year old. Nor am I knocking the fact that his parents aren't together. Things happen. Plus, it's not my place to judge anyone.

I am concerned of my son's relationship with this kid, though.

I am also a little concerned about what else this boy is exposed to.

I immediately deleted the message in order the keep Raiden from seeing it and went straight to Sean to tell him.

Am I over reacting if I tell Raiden that I don't want him talking to Jason anymore?

I will tell you that the first thing I thought was how relieved I am to know that Raiden will not be going to public school next year. In fact, I am about to print off the paper that I send to the school to let them know.

I want to protect my children and keep them innocent as long as possible. 

*not their real names! duh!

This message is NOT approved!

What is this all about?!

As mom to an almost-teen girl, I've noticed a big change in my daughter of the past year. One of those changes is how she seems to take tons of pictures of herself mostly in the bathroom making goofy faces. You know, silly teenage girl faces. She posts them to her Facebook and Myspace. Some of her friends take these same kind of pictures and I've seen others as well. I'm sure most anyone who has been on the internet has for that matter.

Here is one just before the goofy faces started:

Now they're all so ridiculously funny! I'll let you judge for yourself:

I find them hilarious! There are many more that she has taken on my cell phone, but I have either deleted them or I'm just too lazy to send them all to my email and then blah blah blah. I have told her that she should wipe the mirror down before taking these crazy shots, but I guess she "forgot".

Does anyone have funny self photos of their children? I could do a whole 'nother post on my son and his up-nose shots. Kids.... Gotta love 'em!

What is this all about?!

No One's Happy

What can I say... I tried.

For more than 20 months now, we have been co-sleeping with Kaitlan.

Go ahead, call me a hippie. I don't care. =)

For much of those months, my husband has been trying to get me to start putting KK in her crib. Here lately I have been trying to do that. After all, it would be nice to sleep on more than a corner of the bed.

Can we say bed hogs? Yes, the both of them.

I was doing pretty good at getting Kaitlan to sleep and then putting her in her own bed. It may be 11pm when I get her in there, but heck, I had space to sleep! She may wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning, but I can handle that. Just bring her back to my bed and nurse her back to sleep.

Yes, I am still breastfeeding a 20 month old kid. Call me a hippie again... I still won't care.

You think Dad would be happy about this.

Right?

Well imagine my surprise when we're laying in bed after I put Kaitlan in her crib and he mumbles from his pillow:

"I want my KK back in bed."

You're kidding me.

All I could muster was an "oh really?" and left it at that. I was too tired to ask him what in the world he was thinking.

Where do you think she's been sleeping since?

If you said with Mom and Dad, you got it right!

Since that night, we have moved in Sean's brother who is a truck driver and mostly only here on weekends, so he sleeps in Raiden's room when he's home. Kaitlan's crib is in Raiden's room so we don't even worry about putting her in there when Uncle Jake is here. I try to at least put her in her crib for naps, but she seems to sleep so much better in "our" bed. Actually, I wish we had a king size bed so we could fit all 3 kids in bed with us. I know, I know. I just love all of the togetherness, though!

No One's Happy